eating 1000 cal and feeling great

Yes, it's wrong. And yes you CAN force yourself to eat more to be healthy. You can do anything you set your mind to!! I fear you may have to learn the hard way though . You'll lose as much muscle as you do fat with a very low calorie diet. Muscle IS metabolism!! You have to fuel your body better. Good luck hon.

There have also been a lot of published books that have done the body harm.

Yup - and they become the "fad" diet of the decade. I remember back in the 1980's the "you are what you eat so cut out all fat" diets. Then came "carb restriction and don't worry about calories" Then MAYO, grapefruit, egg, and numerous other "diet of the day" plans.

You won't lose for long at that low a calorie intake.

not being rude or anything but i know a lot of people who lost lots of weight on this intake and haven't gained it back

Well lucky them. Except they're not lucky because they're not adequately nourishing themselves. And that's if they're even being honest about their intake.

Me too

You won't lose for long at that low a calorie intake.

not being rude or anything but i know a lot of people who lost lots of weight on this intake and haven't gained it back

Listen to YOUR body.

I hate this advice, and I'll tell you why.

I "listened to my body" when I was about 26 years old and had just split with my boyfriend. I only ate when I was hungry. I wasn't dieting. My weight wasn't on my radar at all. And I went down to a frightening 102 pounds at 5'5. I was wearing clothes from the children's department.

I "listened to my body" when I was about 36-37 and my parents died. I only ate when I was hungry. But this time around, "when I was hungry" was a lot more frequently. And I went up to a rather chunky (for me) 160 pounds at 5'5.

My body is stupid. I don't listen to it any more.

Well your body is the only body you have. Look after it, do not insult it and it will last you a lifetime

hey if your body says its ok right now then its ok right now just like when your body says "!!!!feed me!!!" you sould also do just that!! all tho you should try to eat some high nutrant foods and take an awsome multi vitamin non the less

oh and one more thing.
i have a binge eating disorder since i was 12.
so i don't have any eating habits. the only habit i have is overeating all the time.
so for me this is a lifestyle change.because i don't know how to eat 'normal'.

keep doing what you are doing - you don't need anyones permission or approval....sounds like you're taking control of bad habits, which i did also, and that can only be a good thing.....it will work, and it will stay off if you keep eating healthily x

I just read recently... 1 lb fat = 3500 cals... 1 lb muscle = 600 cals! On low cal diets, you drop weight faster bc it's usually muscle.

Typically as women, we tend to focus on the scale # but if you'll quickly see for yourself in the success stories section... The gals that lost slower, retained more muscle and their bodies are firmer with less cellulite than those weighing less who lost faster.

Just a little food for thought.

Listen to YOUR body.

I hate this advice, and I'll tell you why.

I "listened to my body" when I was about 26 years old and had just split with my boyfriend. I only ate when I was hungry. I wasn't dieting. My weight wasn't on my radar at all. And I went down to a frightening 102 pounds at 5'5. I was wearing clothes from the children's department.

I "listened to my body" when I was about 36-37 and my parents died. I only ate when I was hungry. But this time around, "when I was hungry" was a lot more frequently. And I went up to a rather chunky (for me) 160 pounds at 5'5.

My body is stupid. I don't listen to it any more.

Well your body is the only body you have. Look after it, do not insult it and it will last you a lifetime

There's nothing wrong with fitting into childrens sizes! I did as an adult before I had kids. Hope to fit in those sizes again once I'm done having kids.

Hi

My thoughts (I'll be repeating some other people's comments here).

On 1000 cals or less, you won't feel hungry. I don't get why, but you won't. I know you say you can't force yourself, but if you want to get healthy, you'll have to try and give it a go. I was on about 850-900 calories, no way was I hungry. But I'd done it for so long, well, other stuff started happening. Fainting, incredible tiredness, dizziness, seeing weird, tiny little stars around my eyes all the time. Some people lose their hair. My nails are foul, I've no muscle tone - essentially (and it upsets me to say this in public, even under a pseudonym - I am weak). I know you feel great, but you won't forever. It actually can't be maintained, because, simply, you'll continue to lose weight and die, or your body will intervene.

What I mean by that - you said you've always been a binger. Me too - big style. That's how I got so heavy (if you're looking at my ticker, don't - this is my second time on MFP). I've got to be honest, I was pretty proud of myself for being on less than 1000, and (another awful thing to admit) - I felt superior. If someone said they ate their BMR, I'd think I was awesome for having the "strength" to eat less. But back to binging - some people starve, other people, well, their bodies take over. After about 18 months of this 'less than 1000 rule', Lord, I was hungry, man! My body wasn't interested in my mind's goals. It was more than cravings, I can't say what it was. But I had to eat! No choice. Well, you get that yourself, you know what binging is like. It takes over. So I gained 40lbs. Which, you know, was a killer for my self esteem and my superior attitude! People who do it slowly, steadily, and healthy will keep on losing their weight, and when I was first on here, still my MFP pals were losing their lbs, while I was gaining. Kind of a kick in my superior teeth. But, they are the winners.

And now, I admire them and I'm trying to be like them. I deliberately add people who eat their exercise cals and aim for their BMR. They inspire me. (You can probably tell I have an eating disorder, so I add pro-recovery folks as well). These people have taken the time to educate themselves and learn the basic dos and don'ts. I didn't, and I'm wondering where exactly my arrogance came from!

As for losing weight - of course you're losing weight. But the scales don't measure your fat loss, they measure other loss. I mean, the scales basically only measure your gravitational pull to the earth If I didn't eat for a few days, there'd be no food in me, none at all, so I'd weigh less. I might lose water as well, so that would be more loss. And I've mentioned muscle - long term, you'll lose muscle tone and stuff (I'm just learning about that myself).

Example - I once measured my body fat. I was close to my goal weight (back then, it was super low). My BMI was about 17, and my body fat - can't remember the figure, but I do remember it was the high end of normal. So, scales said underweight, body fat didn't match it. So scales and numbers going down don't give you the full picture.

Right now, I'm aiming for 1300 calories with the long term goal of eating my BMR AND exercise calories (scary). A few days ago, I was hungry for the first time. I am still losing weight, and I'm still not exactly doing it the healthy way. But I remember - last time I was this weight, my jeans fit fine. Now, at the same weight, they're too big.

So yeah. I know it's hard, I know so well how it's hard. But listen to people, this isn't the way to go. You may feel great, but over time you'll gradually feel less great, so gradual you may not even notice it. That was the hard bit for me - feeling great, or believing I did, despite knowing I was exhausted most of the time. It just didn't register, not quickly enough at least.