I'm a little confused....

[BrownEyedGirl87]

I am trying to stick to 1,000 cals a day so I can lose 10 pounds but there are mixed opinions about whether or not having only 1,000 cals is healthy.

Does anyone know anything about it?

 

[lemony]

Hi BrownEyedGirl,
I'm new on the forum, but have been calorie counting (or calorie/health aware) for a while. It is widely suggested that anything under 1200 a day is not healthy, because your body needs this as a minimum just to function properly. I was on 800 a day for a while but it soon caught up with me, i got headaches, huge cravings, i started shaking and couldn't concentrate. I upped my intake to 1200-1400 a day, and i feel so much better. It is also suggested that under 1200 your body goes into starvation mode, and all the calories you eat will be stored up because your body is preserving the little you give it, as emergency suppplies.

You only have 10lb to lose, and whilst you may get results temporarily from 1000 a day, it is not healthy and you may pile it all on again once you stop the diet.

On the other hand, there is a forum here for very low calorie diets, though i've not got much experience in that area. Stick to 1200+, and do a bit more walking!

 

[KD]

Lemony is dead right there. 1,000 is a little on the low side.

On the other hand, there is a forum here for very low calorie diets,

Yep, but it's a special formula that make it safe. Totally different thing

 

[Little Noo]

surely it would depend on your weight/height already? i am very petite and my bmr is only 1319. yesterday i didnt even manage 1100 in the day, not coz i was dieting really, i just wasnt actually hungry. i think it would depend. your GP would be able to tell u what is healthy for your height and weight.

 

[lemony]

surely it would depend on your weight/height already? i am very petite and my bmr is only 1319. yesterday i didnt even manage 1100 in the day, not coz i was dieting really, i just wasnt actually hungry. i think it would depend. your GP would be able to tell u what is healthy for your height and weight.

As far as i'm aware, the bmr calculates how much you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. Now, presuming you didn't do that, you could burn 500+ just doing everyday tasks. Even getting changed burns calories. So whilst you burn 1319 sleeping all day, you'd burn a lot more in reality. My BMR is 1462, but i actually burn around 2000 calories in a day. This is on active, but not excercise days.

 

[BrownEyedGirl87]

Oooh I've never seen a BMR before, I've just done mine and it is 1441.65. I walk a lot to Uni and do housework so I must burn around 2,000 a day (if not more when I am more active) which makes me feel a bit better and less willing to punish myself if I go over, say, 1,200 cals a day.

Thanks for that, I'm going to tell everyone I know about BMR =D

 

[serafyn]

^ I think age matters too. I am approaching 40... I am aiming at around 1200 as I have dieted and dieted and my body has seen it coming! I really would like to reduce this amount but I don't think you can safely.

 

[KD]

surely it would depend on your weight/height already? i am very petite and my bmr is only 1319. yesterday i didnt even manage 1100 in the day, not coz i was dieting really, i just wasnt actually hungry. i think it would depend. your GP would be able to tell u what is healthy for your height and weight.

BMR does depend on weight./height/age etc, but the minimin of 1100 isn't so much dependant on the BMR, but the minimum amount of food that is considered safe enough to get all vits, minerals, protein, carbs, fat etc.

So, 1100 would be the minimum for a small, young, inactive person and if you are bigger or older, you could get away with more

 

[Little Noo]

small young inactive person... now who does that remind me of??!! lol!!!

havnt done any exercise all week and ate everything in site up until wednesday when i kicked my butt in gear!

ive been eating really well yesterday and today, but today have a very bad headache that doesnt seem to want to go

im off home tomorrow for mothers day, back on sunday so i shall start doing exercise again then... im too busy today as have 2 essays to write! argh!! gonna get some weights in so i might not lose any weight but as long as i look and feel better i dont care!

 

[Capirossi]

Hi. Just wanted to say that I had very limited and very slow success eating around 1200 cals a day. I have stopped calorie counting now and eat 3 small meals a day and 2 snacks. I have always had a very small appetite, and struggled on any 'proper' diet as I couldn't eat all the food! I have lost 3lbs each week for the last 2 weeks. I am probably eating under 1000 cals if I counted, but I am not going to. All I know is that I feel much better now, am never hungry and am losing weight. So I say go for it! Some people just have small appetites, they shouldn't force themselves to eat. Just keep a check on how you're feeling. If you feel under the weather, weak or shaky, then eat a bit more. Good luck!

 

[Pam]

Hi all. On top of your BMR you need to add the Harris-Benedict formula of 20% extra calories for sedentary, 30% for moderately active and 40% for extreme activity. For example a nurse on a hospital ward, who cycles or walks to work and is on the go all the time, would have 30% or 40% extra calories than a sedentary desk worker who drives to work or takes public transport.

 

[PurpleButterfly]

Ooo that's interesting. So according to my BMR I need 1700cals a day. So then on a non active day I'd need just over 2000, on a moderate 2200, and active 2350 ish. Not that I calorie count to that degree but it's interesting anyway.

 

[Fuffa]

Hi brown eyed girl (hey me too lol)

Well I've been doing CC for a while. And I do it via a doctor. I never go over 1000 cals a day. I have lost a lot of weight and have done quite well. I normally lose between 3-4 lbs a week sometimes less but thats about on average. I gave up CC 4 months ago and have only gained 8lbs which is pretty good as things aside!

Everyone is different I do find it somehow odd some people can brand eating less than 1000 cals unhealthy but it's ok to do liquid diets such as LL and CD (to name a few) where the cals are around 430cals a day...

Like I said everyone is different I'm only 5,2 I do not need to take in 2000 cals a day I will gain weight regardless what people say. To keep my weight at bay I need to take in about 1450 cals a day thats just to maintane....(Which by the way I haven't been doing hence the 8lb gain lol)

Fire away if you have any questions. It's not unhealthy. At least you're eating which is the main thing!

 

[StephHowitt]

I've tried calorie counting before eating 700 calories a day and didn't lose anything in 2 weeks It's about what you eat aswell as the calories

 

[Fuffa]

yeah I agree Steph. I was quite strict with myself. I never touch a sip of vodka etc I had maybe a snack bar of chocolate once a week and I never once allowed myself to slip up. If I had to go out for a meal for a birthday etc I only ate that meal that day and had a plain salad. I figured it might be 7 weeks or hell but I have enjoyed wearing size 8 for the last few months so 7 weeks was worth the pain for that

 

[KD]

I do find it somehow odd some people can brand eating less than 1000 cals unhealthy but it's ok to do liquid diets such as LL and CD (to name a few) where the cals are around 430cals a day...

As I said earlier, it's totally different. It's not so much a case of calories, but more about whether you can get everything you need in the calories you are getting.

So, 450 cals a day is fine assuming you can get all the fat, protein, carbs, vits, mins, amino acids blah blah blah, and do it under supervision for just a while before you must increase to another plan, and following many other rules and conditions. Absolutely safe.

If you can't, you need more calories It is incredibly difficult to get it all in under 1,000 calories without a formula of sorts. Even very accomplished nutritionists who have worked out ways of doing this, generally want people to have days when they increase their calories every few days to help with lean mass.

I do not need to take in 2000 cals a day I will gain weight regardless what people say.

I doubt many people would say that. It's a very out of date figure that most people agree with is way too high for our current lifestyles.

Fire away if you have any questions. It's not unhealthy. At least you're eating which is the main thing!

Are you sure it's not unhealthy to eat too few calories? Even though it goes against all research? Eating too few can lead to lean mass loss, reducing metabolism, leading people to struggle to maintain on a decent amount of calories.

 

[KD]

I do find it somehow odd some people can brand eating less than 1000 cals unhealthy but it's ok to do liquid diets such as LL and CD (to name a few) where the cals are around 430cals a day...

As I said earlier, it's totally different. It's not so much a case of calories, but more about whether you can get everything you need in the calories you are getting.

So, 450 cals a day is fine assuming you can get all the fat, protein, carbs, vits, mins, amino acids blah blah blah, and do it under supervision for just a while before you must increase to another plan, and following many other rules and conditions. Absolutely safe.

If you can't, you need more calories It is incredibly difficult to get it all in under 1,000 calories without a formula of sorts. Even very accomplished nutritionists who have worked out ways of doing this, generally want people to have days when they increase their calories every few days to help with lean mass.

I do not need to take in 2000 cals a day I will gain weight regardless what people say.

I doubt many people would say that. It's a very out of date figure that most people agree with is way too high for our current lifestyles.

Fire away if you have any questions. It's not unhealthy. At least you're eating which is the main thing!

Are you sure it's not unhealthy? Even though it goes against all research? Missing out on vital goodies can lead to lean mass loss, reducing metabolism, leading people to struggle to maintain on a decent amount of calories

 

[Fuffa]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuffa
I do find it somehow odd some people can brand eating less than 1000 cals unhealthy but it's ok to do liquid diets such as LL and CD (to name a few) where the cals are around 430cals a day...

As I said earlier, it's totally different. It's not so much a case of calories, but more about whether you can get everything you need in the calories you are getting.

So, 450 cals a day is fine assuming you can get all the fat, protein, carbs, vits, mins, amino acids blah blah blah, and do it under supervision for just a while before you must increase to another plan, and following many other rules and conditions. Absolutely safe.

If you can't, you need more calories It is incredibly difficult to get it all in under 1,000 calories without a formula of sorts. Even very accomplished nutritionists who have worked out ways of doing this, generally want people to have days when they increase their calories every few days to help with lean mass.


Quote:
I do not need to take in 2000 cals a day I will gain weight regardless what people say.
I doubt many people would say that. It's a very out of date figure that most people agree with is way too high for our current lifestyles.


Quote:
Fire away if you have any questions. It's not unhealthy. At least you're eating which is the main thing!
Are you sure it's not unhealthy to eat too few calories? Even though it goes against all research? Eating too few can lead to lean mass loss, reducing metabolism, leading people to struggle to maintain on a decent amount of calories.


Ok well I for one have got the right amount of nutrients that I needed. Like I said before I am doing my diet via a doctor do you think my doctors advice is incorrect?. You most certaintly can get all the nutrients from 1000 cals a day. It's when you add all the high fat foods ppl like to consume thats where the cals get higher.

Sorry KD but after doing LL CD and now CC I refuse to allow normal people to tell me whats healthy and whats not. I have the intelligence to know what to eat and what not to eat. I also know when I'm starving myself and when I'm not. and doing 1000 cals a day for dieting is not as unsafe as some of you would lead others to believe.

I have yet to hear of anyone die or become sick from eating no more than 1000 cals a day. Eating 100/200 cals a day is unsafe and thats starving yourself.Doesn't take a mensa student to figure that one one.

 

[KD]

Like I said before I am doing my diet via a doctor do you think my doctors advice is incorrect?.

Depends on what he's advising and how much he knows about physiology when it comes to dieting.

You most certaintly can get all the nutrients from 1000 cals a day.

I wasn't disputing that. You were comparing LL, CD etc to other diets under 1,000

I also know when I'm starving myself and when I'm not.

Excellent. Most people don't though, so if you are going to advise people to eat less that 1,000 cals, and tell them it's healthy, I hope you will be able to help with any underlying symptoms they might not notice.

I have yet to hear of anyone die or become sick from eating no more than 1000 cals a day. Eating 100/200 cals a day is unsafe and thats starving yourself.Doesn't take a mensa student to figure that one one.

I have heard of a number of people die on a particular diet made of 500 calories. Did they realise that they were starving themselves? Did they realise that to eat more they would live? I doubt it. I very much doubt that they saw the signs and yet still refused to eat.

You are free to do exactly what you want obviously. Just picked up on the fact that you mentioned about CD, LL etc and led people to believe eating under 1,000 calories a day of your own choice of foods was perfectly healthy.

 

[Lostris]

Hi,

Regardless of what that BMR formula says it's also very dependant on your fat %. I still have a high fat % making my maintenance calories low because fat burns less than muscle. If I increase my muscle I will be able to maintain on more calories which is what I'm trying to do by exercising more etc.

So please (to those coming off VLCD as we seem to have quite a few) don't trust the calorie site blindly, I would've gained a lot back if I did that. If you have a low fat % then it's probably fine but if your fat % is still quite high it might not be.

Good luck xx