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  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    nope
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Everyone's different in the way that their body handles such defects. Check with your doctor to see what would be best for your body and then go from there.

    You are going to get lots of different views on the low calorie diets like that and many will say that it's unhealthy and not wise because of starvation mode and other such concerns. Please do research into it and check with a doctor before you decide.

    Good luck.

    This. Talk to your doctor and maybe get a referral to a nutritionist as well.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    Well, I don't know. If I was your co-worker, you could look at me and see that I look pretty healthy, I don't seem to have lost any glow in my face, I'm at goal, and I eat about 2000 calories a day. I'm going keep eating about 2000 calories a day and IT WILL MAINTAIN MY WEIGHT.

    How much do you think your coworker can eat to maintain her weight?

    (Hint: It's not 2000 calories a day).

    Still wanna be her?
  • angiechimpanzee
    angiechimpanzee Posts: 536 Member
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    You should eat at least 1200 calories a day. If you eat less, your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism is screwed up. You won't lose weight when your metabolism isn't working correctly.
    Thumbs down to this entire post.
  • angiechimpanzee
    angiechimpanzee Posts: 536 Member
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    Rule of thumb: if it comes off quick, it goes back on quicker
    rule of thumb - there are MANY people who have defied your rule of thumb.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    My opinion is that it is a bad idea.

    If you lose weight really quickly and end up losing muscle mass, and then regain weight when you start eating more normally, there's a really good chance the weight you regain will be fat, and not the muscle that you lost during the VLCD. Eventually you end up the same size you started, or maybe slightly bigger or smaller, but with a higher body fat %. Because muscle burns calories and you now have less muscle, your BMR is also lower than when you started.

    There are exceptions to the above story and ways to prevent the muscle loss (involving strength training which is not in your friend's plan), but the above story is the classic story of why people do a lot of damage to their bodies through rounds of quick weight loss dieting. I've been there and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
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    If you can lose a substantial amount of weight on a 1200+ calorie/day diet, why limit yourself to only 900? That's a snack as far as I'm concerned. Sounds awful. And unnecessary. Crash diet = bounce back = fatter you. Just do it right, dude.
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
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    Rule of thumb: if it comes off quick, it goes back on quicker
    rule of thumb - there are MANY people who have defied your rule of thumb.

    MANY studies have shown that crash diet programs are highly correlated with putting the lbs back on afterwards. It is VERY common. So yeah, maybe there are A FEW out there that actually kept it off, but I doubt it. If you don't learn to function in the real world by eating/exercising properly, you ARE going to put weight back on when you are done with your diet.
  • cbenzerga
    cbenzerga Posts: 65 Member
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    It's a lifestyle change. Most of us would not enjoy eating under 1000 calories a day for the rest of our lives. I wouldn't be able to maintain that. I think you can make some changes to kick start, but for the most part the changes you make in your daily diet should be one you can stick to for a lifetime in order to keep the weight off. GOOD LUCK.
  • tamsinwhitfield
    tamsinwhitfield Posts: 135 Member
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    You should eat at least 1200 calories a day. If you eat less, your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism is screwed up. You won't lose weight when your metabolism isn't working correctly.

    This is beyond scientifically inaccurate. I'm not denying that "starvation mode" absolutely does not exist in any way, shape or form, but I see this phrase tossed around haphazardly in about 95% of threads. At the end of the day, your body requires energy in order to perform functions. Every single reaction that occurs in your body requires energy in order to fuel it. If you are running at a deficit, even if your metabolism is slower than the norm, you have to lose weight from somewhere (it may not be the most desirable weight loss - i.e. you might well be breaking down lean tissue in addition to fat), but you will lose weight. And 1200 is not some kind of mythical, magical number that functions as an absolute limit.

    EDIT: I should clarify, I'm not down with a long-term 800 calorie a day diet, but nor do I believe that 1,200 is the absolute be-all-and-end-all. I usually hit between 1k and 1.2k per day when dieting, and on someone of a small frame with a sedentary job (bar additional exercise), this has always been fine for me. I should probably also state that I've never had trouble maintaining either (when not dieting, I usually eat around 1,800 a day).
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    Have fun cutting corners and taking shortcuts!!! Everyone knows that always works!! Nothing is worth working hard for, amiright??

    Good luck!!
  • Katie3784
    Katie3784 Posts: 543
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    I'm usually the one to say that (if you're a small framed female like I am), there's nothing wrong with eating below the 1,200 calorie limit that everyone for some reason worships like it's some magic number, but 800 for MONTHS seems quite extreme. Like the longest I'd ever go that little would probably be a week, then I'd up it to something like 1000 at least.

    But if it worked for her and she's keeping it off eating a higher amount of calories now then I think it's fine. I'm assuming since she was eating such a low amount of calories, those calories were from carefully selected, highly nutritious foods like lean meats and lots of vegetables (4oz of grilled chicken is a mere 100 calories and three cups of romaine lettuce is a measly 30 calories - so I can easily see how that's possible). I see no health risk in that case because she's likely getting in more nutrients than someone eating 2000 a day of junk and whatever they'd like.

    Something I'd like to point out is that when someone says they're eating quite a low amount, lots of people like to jump in with all of the "dangerous health risks". As if the risks aren't completely minuscule compared to the risks of those who overeat on fattening, virtually poisonous foods on a regular basis (ie the vast majority of america).

    And to anyone who wants to bring up "starvation mode" - it's a myth created by the weight loss industry which doesn't exist and is very annoying to constantly hear about.
    Severely restricting calories for any extended period of time will kill you a hell of a lot faster than overeating.
  • Katie3784
    Katie3784 Posts: 543
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    It's a lifestyle change. Most of us would not enjoy eating under 1000 calories a day for the rest of our lives. I wouldn't be able to maintain that. I think you can make some changes to kick start, but for the most part the changes you make in your daily diet should be one you can stick to for a lifetime in order to keep the weight off. GOOD LUCK.
    love this!
  • dougii
    dougii Posts: 679 Member
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    Everyone's different in the way that their body handles such defects. Check with your doctor to see what would be best for your body and then go from there.

    You are going to get lots of different views on the low calorie diets like that and many will say that it's unhealthy and not wise because of starvation mode and other such concerns. Please do research into it and check with a doctor before you decide.

    Good luck.

    Ditto

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