Below 1000 calories

I fully understand both of the points of view registered on here.

At the end of last year I got very and ended up being unable to eat, I mean physically unable to eat, as everytime I tried to swallow it felt like I was choking and I couldn't breathe. It was horrible and really scary.

My boyf took me to the doctors and the hopsital a number of times but for ages they said it wasnt that bad, that it was probably a virus,and until a person has not eaten for at least TEN DAYS (!) they dont do anything about it. After much pressing and persuasion and tears they finally gave me some testes (couple of cameras up my nose and a barium swallow) and they made a diagnosis of severe acid reflux presenting itself in the larynx. I am now on tablets and these are helping me eat but its still scary; I therefore fully understand the fear that eating creates although mine might come from a slightly different place.

On the other side, when I was only living on energy drinks (which I hate) and sorbet that had melted to nothing, I felt really awful. I was tired all the time, really irate, unable to concentrate and totally unhappy. I permanenetly felt faint and as if I was not in my body and struggled to cope with everyday life. Therefore, I genuinely believe that starvation mode is a real thing as my body could not cope with what was happening to it and shed weight like anything at a ridiculous speed. In the space of two weeks I lost 11lbs which is insane and not in anyway good for you. People kept joking about how they would like to be unable to eat as it helps with weight loss and whilst I laughed along sometimes I always felt like saying 'if you knew what this felt like you would not be saying that!'

I now have many food isses and want to make sure that I am well again and not scared of eating but on the other hand, I dont wnat to go crazy and eat anything and evrrything!

Sorry for the rant but I wanted to show I understand all posts

Starvation mode is such an overused term. If you eat 900 cals, your body is not going to go into starvation mode. It probably won't even if you eat 500, unless you do it consistently for weeks.

If you feel absolutely stuffed, don't eat. Eat when you're hungry and eat healthy when you do. Also eat healthy fats like nuts, beans, eggs, etc.

I, too, never really reach my 1000 - but I always feel full. I trust my body to tell me what I need.

So are you really saying that if I eat 500 calories a day or even 900 and my tested BMR is 2399 that I won't do any damage to my body ?? You couldn't be more wrong and frankly it doesn't matter if you call it starvation or metabolic reduction or whatever else you want. Absolute foolishness and downright dangerous advice.

I drink one cup of green tea a day. I find that it does boost my metabolism. I don't drink a ton, though because of all the caffeine it has.

I agree with everyone on here - You should try to eat more. When I need a caloric boost, and I don't "feel" like eating (which just really never happens with me -I love food!), I add a tablespoon of coconut oil to my coffee/tea. Coconut oil is one of the best fats for you, and I think it tastes really good. You can put it in a warm beverage, or even just eat it plain.

So if you're drinking 2-3 cups of green tea a day, why not add 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil to your tea? It will add some flavor and give you about 130 extra calories a tablespoon.

Also, add weight lifting to your routine. I found that once I started lifting heavy, I lost more weight, and my appetite increased. MFP has me at 1260 calories a day, and I burn between 300-600 in exercise. I generally eat back all of my exercise calories. And even though MFP has me at 1260, I can barely stay at that. I usually end up at around 1,400 on days I don't exercise and about 1,700 on days I do. I've lost 11 pounds in 2 months.

Hope this helps!

i used to try and eat under a 1000 calories a day (years ago not now older and wiser). went to see my doctor because i kept going dizzy, and he told me "the average 4 year old needs 1500 calories a day to fuel there bodies, so what makes you think you can survive on less"
certainly made me think twice about what i was doing to myself.
could you perhaps replace some of the things you are currently eating with a higher calorie substitute that way your not eating more but getting more calories

There seems to be a huge debate on whether starvation mode exists or not. I was eating under 1000 too for a couple of weeks and I felt fine but the scale did not move and this was with an hour of workout every day. I kept reading how people said your body cannot function properly on that low of calories but I kept doing what I was doing because I was not hungry. When I work out I am less hungry and I was taking no rest days so I was not hungry for a couple of weeks. A few days ago I started to feel really bad. Something really screwy was going on in me metabolically. I was urinating constantly. I was dizzy. I felt sick. I was cold and hot. It was bad. So I decided to surrender and up my calorie goal to 1300 (it was 1200) and try to actually eat it. yesterday I also forced myself to take a rest day and I ate a whole 2000 calories. I do not know how or if any of this will effect the scale, I'll let you know. But I can tell you I FEEL better.

I think a lot of us come from being addicted to food and the chemicals in different foods. So it makes sense that we then get addicted or overly obsessed the other way with exercise. I would guess we probably need to watchout for that and to have balance and make sure we are treating ourselves well.

Again, because everyone is different.

I exercise and restrict to 1100, I don't ever get dizzy or feel funny, I'm not an idiot, if I felt ill or not right, I would obviously eat more.

Different things work for different people. I may be eating below my BMR or recommended amount etc etc but I have lost the weight on my ticker in 4 weeks. Go figure. I'm not going to stop when I'm losing it that quickly am I, I simply don't buy the starvation theory when you're eating 1100 etc calories a day.

I would ask you these questions

1. How much body fat % change have you seen?
2. Have you gained any muscle mass
3. How well hydrated is your body

I know it's difficult we have to stop comparing health to skinny or weight, it's not how much you weight as much as what your made of that counts! Plus why are you focus on loosing quickly? Health is a marathon not a sprint.

Wow that is not healthy at all!

Only from working out my BMI on here, I've lost 2% of fat I think?

No idea about muscle mass, I hope not! I hate muscle, I do cardio (dance, jogging, walking etc) and 0 strength. I know muscle burns more calories but I hate muscley bodies.

I normally drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.

You can have lean muscle on your body that has little to no bulk whatsoever. And BMI I know it's bounced around a lot but it can be so horribly inaccurate depending on your body composition.

When I began mfp I wanted to lose weight. What I learned when I began was that I was not eating enough calories. The first time I was under 1200 calories and it popped up I was under 1200 and that can put your body into starvation mode. It suggested I eat more. Geez. I found I had to force the extra calories. I am completely convinced now after a loss of 16.8 lbs that before I began mfp I had too many days under 1200 and then when I would go out to eat it would go way over and my body would "store as fat". Thus the added weight. I am a believer of eating at the very least 1200 calories each and every day. Good luck .:flowerforyou:

Well, firstly, I am really happy to know that people are actually saying that I'm not that fat. But in the case of my country, South East Asia region, my current body weight and size (173cm tall and 68kg) is considered quite an amount. The clothes here aren't made for big sizers like me and I have difficulty in finding an adequate dress or clothes for myself many times...

Hmm....I should really consider all of the comments telling me to increase my calories... cause almost everyone are bombarding me with the same facts...hahaha.... actually I really hope you guys can check out my diet diary and give good suggestions to it so I can make good adjustments to my diet!

Thank you!!

I know what you mean! I, too, am Asian. Until I had my son, I weighed between 105-115 (I'm 5'3"). THAT, to my family, was considered FAT! The bottom line is, do what's good for your body, not what family, culture, or even total strangers tell you that is good for you. Sometimes you just have to do things by trial and error. If you try something that worked for someone else, but doesn't work for you, try something else. The pieces will eventually fall into place, you just have to have the patience to figure it out. A healthy lifestyle is just that - a lifestyle. Not a quick fix.

I want to share a little bit of my personal experience with you. Take it for what it's worth, as it may or may not work for you.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/c8linmarie