Eating 1000 calories or less a day

[femmyme]

I need to lose a lot of weight very fast, but I also want to have enough energy to work out. I want to be able to lose 5 lbs a week.

Will I truly get sick if I eat less than 1000 calories a day? What if I eat around 500-750? My diet will consist of water, fruit, eggs, and lean turkey.

[strung_out209]

WOW.


where do I start?


first thing is that YOU are not going to lose 5 lbs a week.

2nd, you need to give some info about yourself such as your weight,height, activity level, what do you eat currently.



please dont tell me you have already started this failure diet.


losing weight takes weeks....months...maybe years. you do not just wake up and say."hmm i want to lose 50 lbs this month"

[97LT1]

Originally posted by femmyme
I need to lose a lot of weight very fast, but I also want to have enough energy to work out. I want to be able to lose 5 lbs a week.

Will I truly get sick if I eat less than 1000 calories a day? What if I eat around 500-750? My diet will consist of water, fruit, eggs, and lean turkey.

Please do not do this. You will gain any weight back once you start eating normal again.


Losing 5 pounds the first week is normal; at 1500-2000 cals per. Some of it will be water. But after that, you should lose no more than 2 pounds per week max.

Eating 500-700 per day will result in muscle loss and you will have no energy whatsoever. For safe weight loss, start off at 2000 and slowly work your way down to 1500. Go no lower than that.

[femmyme]

Ok, I'd like to lose 50 lbs but I'm NOT trying to do in a month. Three months would be fine.

I don't see why it's impossible if you're dedicated. Trust me, I'm dedicated.

[97LT1]

Originally posted by femmyme
Ok, I'd like to lose 50 lbs but I'm NOT trying to do in a month. Three months would be fine.

I don't see why it's impossible if you're dedicated. Trust me, I'm dedicated.

It is possible to lose 50 pounds in 3 months the wrong way.

You will look horrible if you lose that much so quick. You will be very soft; due to muscle loss.

[femmyme]

I do not want to eat more than 1000-1200 calories a day, if possible. If you eat healthy, that can be a lot of fruit and vegetables.

2000 is way too much. I'm a female and only 5'3".

[97LT1]

Originally posted by femmyme
I do not want to eat more than 1000-1200 calories a day, if possible. If you eat healthy, that can be a lot of fruit and vegetables.

2000 is way too much. I'm a female and only 5'3".

I suggest you do some reading here first before taking on this diet. It will help you out.

[femmyme]

Thanks for your input. I plan to work with weights too so I don't see why I would get soft.

Plus, I already look horrible! Maybe it will take me six months.

What I'm asking is what is the least I can eat and still have a brain that works. I don't believe it's a number like 1500. I know they have medically-controlled diets that give people 750 calories a day. And what about the people who get their stomach stapled - they eat like, 300 calories a day for months at a time.

[strung_out209]

good grief...

[xil]

Originally posted by femmyme
Thanks for your input. I plan to work with weights too so I don't see why I would get soft.

Plus, I already look horrible! Maybe it will take me six months.

What I'm asking is what is the least I can eat and still have a brain that works. I don't believe it's a number like 1500. I know they have medically-controlled diets that give people 750 calories a day. And what about the people who get their stomach stapled - they eat like, 300 calories a day for months at a time.

300 calories a day? Lets put things into perspective... a McChicken is ~400 calories, granted theres a lot of fat, but it's just 1 burger. Now you're telling me you can live off less than that for a whole day?

Dedication has nothing to do with 5lbs a week, it's moreso stupidity. You will go into starvation mode, and your body will think "hm... since you're not feeding me and I'm hungry, I'll just hold on to whatever I can, ie. fat" You will lose weight, but you won't look slim. Doing weights will just make things worse, as you will burn up more calories in the gym and also not give your body enough nutrients to repair itself

[gallerygurl]

NO! NO! NO!
Speaking from experience, yes you will make yourself sick... You will screw with your metabolism and then it will start holding on to fat and you will eat like 500 cals and get cellulite...
Its called putting your self into starvation mode ..everything adjusts to what you eat...
I am trying to up my calories now because I did that very same thing for so long that I started physically feeling ill like REALLY SCARY stuff believe me , so I started eating HEALTHY and my body just like gained major weight off just eating healthy things...
so now Im adding even more cals to get my metabolism back to normal ...
Im 5"3 too !
You need to go to the female forum and talk to the girls.. they will help you .. No you wont lose 50 lbs.in 3 months but how about
but how about busting your behind in the gym putting on some muscle , losing some fat and losing 25 pounds that looks like 35 or 40 ??? You look the same size as if you starved off all your muscle with barely any actual body fat..I dont know everything but Im positive that under 1000is NOT the way to go..
and for the people who get the stomach stapling done.. Im sure they are at a stage where they are so obese that the ramifications of starving are less then the tons of excess fat they are carrying.. and that is probably their LAST option.. YOU have choices still , make the right ones you will be glad you did in 2 extra months you will look incredible. why do you need to lose so fast anyway??

[littlechris]

Originally posted by femmyme
What I'm asking is what is the least I can eat and still have a brain that works.

Dieting is not only supply calories for sufficient organ function. You cannot accomplish weight loss in such a manner without being environmentally impaired, no matter your dedication.

Decreasing body fat consistently over extended periods of time is not accomplished by keeping caloric intake to a bare minimum day after day after day. In the long-run, yes, a person must reduce calories to lose weight. However, a body gets used to whatever mode its kept in long enough and fat loss will stagnate if not completely arrest. Within weeks of a new diet if it's strictly adhered to, a body will make adjustments that inhibit fat loss. A person needs to intermittently increase their food consumption for short periods of time to combat the body's acclimation to a diet.

Here is what you need to do, honey. And not to become a dietician, not to become a body builder, not to enlighten yourself--to at the least lose weight efficiently. Learn how to stay safely above "starvation mode", learn "refeeding" techniques--the intermittent diet digressions alluded above--start getting 40% of your daily calories from protein, drop your calories a couple hundred below "maintenance", and learn everything you can about how your body uses carbohydrates (i.e. glucose this-and-that, timing, which ones to eat).

To get you started on the concept of precluding diet acclimation, take a look at this article I just finished reading myself. The guy was a chubster and managed to lose 2 lbs of fat a week, which is probably the most any person can accomplish long-term (1 lb is more typical).

http://www.avantlabs.com/magmain.php...=15&pageID=159

Something someone just said in another post (sorry for not knowing who to give credit to) was that the longer it takes to lose weight, the better chance you have of keeping it off for good. That doesn't mean losing a pound/month is great, but the saying means rapid weight fluctuations are usually temporary. Aim for premanent change and "diet" the right way for the rest of your life.

You've come to the right place though. Look at serious bodybuilders as a population--they probably have lower body fat (the serious ones!) than most other sports' players do.

Have fun.

[sawastea]

please dont do this

[user34566548717114]

i love how everyone wants to "lose weight fast!!!!"

it takes time and constancy to lose weight DEAL WITH IT

[littlejohn]

My goal was to go from 270 to 200 by January. I've been dieting and exercising like crazy since September 1st, and I'm only at 261.
There's no way you're going to lose a lot of weight quickly unless you get your stomach stapled, cut it off, or get it sucked out.

[strung_out209]

thats about 2 lbs a week little john, sounds good to me

[Falkon]

Please listen to this advice and don't do anything crazy! 2 lbs a week is the most anyone should ever expect to see.

Two comments/questions:

1. Someone mentioned that eating too little can contribute to cellulite formations? I know that eating too little can tell your body to store fat but I guess I don't know how the body creates cellulite and found this interesting if anyone can elaborate.


2. It was good to see the statement about loosing up to 5 pounds is very common in the first week of a diet. I lost about 5 lbs and didnt' understand why because I was on a solid cutting diet and doing lots of cardio/lifting yet dropped like 4% body fat in a week. I attributed some of it to possible scale variation although the same trainer and equipment was used. So anyhow its good to see this is a frequent occurance because now I'm seeing 1 - 2 lb drops most weeks.

[gallerygurl]

maybe I worded it incorrectly Im only saying that when your metabolism slows down to a low level from chronically eating a low amount... you can still form fat and cellulite even tho you arent eating much at all... Im trying to speed up my metabolism to a normal rate after 14 years of doing this the wrong way...
it sucks because people that eat like crap half the time are able to make minor adjustments and get leaner than me.. Its my fauslt and I have to deal with the ramifications... over time it will adjust... so if your thinking about it - DONT DO THIS TO YOURSELF !!!!

[user34566548717114]

Originally posted by gallerygurl
maybe I worded it incorrectly Im only saying that when your metabolism slows down to a low level from chronically eating a low amount... you can still form fat and cellulite even tho you arent eating much at all... Im trying to speed up my metabolism to a normal rate after 14 years of doing this the wrong way...
it sucks because people that eat like crap half the time are able to make minor adjustments and get leaner than me.. Its my fauslt and I have to deal with the ramifications... over time it will adjust... so if your thinking about it - DONT DO THIS TO YOURSELF !!!!

shes right man, don't screw up your metabolism your gonna regret it down the road!!!!!

[BodySculpturer]

loosin' fat(cardio)'s the most unliked thing since it takes time

you ain't gonna loose 5lbs in a week

[RonJ73]

God, I love how people ask a question and then seem to know everything there is to know about the subject.

femmyme...as you have seen here, you can't lose and maintain if you consume so little food. Will you lose weight eating so little? Yes. HOWEVER, it's going to be primarily water and muscle mass. You're not going to lose FAT by doing that. In addition, your metabolism is going to get so screwed up that you'll regain every ounce of it, and probably quite a bit more, once you start eating normally again.

Your best bet is to eat a nice, healthy, clean diet. Take in a number of calories equal to about 10x your body weight in pounds. So if you weigh 160, take in about 1600 calories a day. That should break down to about 160g of Protein, 160g of Carbohydrates and about 30-40g of Fat. Healthy fats though, like things that you get from Fish, Peanuts and uncooked Olive Oil.

Lean Meats (chicken, fish, lean beef...), Green Veggies, Low GI fruits, Whole Wheat Breads...all of this stuff is generally ok. Eat 5-6 times a day spread out nicely. Try something like this...

7:00am: Oatmeal with Skim Milk

10:30am: Low-Fat Cottage Cheese

1:00pm: Turkey Sandwich on Wheat bread w/Mustard, Lettuce and Tomato. Side Salad w/Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar

3:30pm: Handful of Peanuts

6:00pm: Chicken Breast w/Steamed Broccoli and a little long grain Brown Rice

9:00pm: Low Fat Cottage Cheese a little while before bedtime

Drink roughly 64-96 ounces of water a day, more if you can. 4-5 times a week, do about 30-45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, even if it's just a brisk walk in the evening for that amount of time. Anything is better than nothing.'

Keep us updated with your progress.

[Josh8315]

"Here is what you need to do, honey. And not to become a dietician, not to become a body builder, not to enlighten yourself--to at the least lose weight efficiently. Learn how to stay safely above "starvation mode", learn "refeeding" techniques--the intermittent diet digressions alluded above--start getting 40% of your daily calories from protein, drop your calories a couple hundred below "maintenance", and learn everything you can about how your body uses carbohydrates (i.e. glucose this-and-that, timing, which ones to eat)."

True dat.

"Here is what you need to do, honey. " -LMAO


I didnt mean to sound insulting, most women and MEN have crazy ideas about fat loss. I was on a diet for the last 6 days, I lost 3 lbs w/usnic acid. But I couldnt even get myself out of bed to go to class.

I ran 6 miles, and the next day, I literaly couldnt raise my legs high enough to get them out of bed. Starvation diets have there consequences.


I have found that there is a decent strategy to loose weigh in a healthy way. Do 1600 cals. NO FOOD AFTER 5! Sleep a lot. Wake up on MWF and runs 3 miles.

You will burn at least 1 lb a week. --safely

[BodySculpturer]

"NO FOOD AFTER 5!"

if that would be my dietin' I'd end up as a skeleton

[femmyme]

Thanks for all your sincere advice. I ate about 800-900 calories yesterday and I feel happy. I already feel so much thinner. But you guys are so serious about your advice that I will try to eat more today.

I don't understand how you can multiple your weight x 10 to figure out your caloric needs. What if you weigh 350 lbs - are you supposed to eat 3500 calories a day??

[matt20]

yep! 350 lbs. x 10 = 3500 -500 for weight loss = 3000 over 5 or 6 small meals and even a light exercise routine (walk once around the block 3 times a week) and you will loose weight.

In April of this year I was 251 lbs. I adjusted my calories and was taking in 2200-2500 a day (40p/30c/30f). 20 min. of cardio 5 days a week (missing a few from time to time) and started weight training in August 3 times a week......I'm now at 200 lbs.

You won't be happy for too long if you keep eating 800 cal. a day! Listen to the advise already given here in this thread...they know what they're talking about!

[Powerman5k]

Listen to these people. If you keep eating 800-900 calories a day you will go into starvation mode. Which will set you back a lot more than you would think. If you lose the water weight and muscle weight your going to be very disappointed with how your body looks once you reach your goal weight. You will still be soft and flabby looking because of all the muscle you lost and fat you retained. Just multiply your bodyweight by 10x's and drop 500 calories every couple of weeks. Never go below around 1200 calories. Losing fat takes time, if you do it right you will be happy with the results.

[Powerman5k]

One more thing, remember to pick up a weight lifting routine with your cardio. Weight training helps burn calories too. Check out the "for women" section of bodybuilding.com to get good routines and diets.

[wanttobefit]

Originally posted by RonJ73
[
Your best bet is to eat a nice, healthy, clean diet. Take in a number of calories equal to about 10x your body weight in pounds. So if you weigh 160, take in about 1600 calories a day. [/B]

Reading up on this thread and am quite intrigued, since I too have had issues with eating right.

I am only 5 feet tall and weigh ~97, 98 lbs. So, should I then eat around 980 cal, only?

I also lift weights 3 to 4 times a week and do cardio 3 to 4 times a week. Cardio is genearlly 30 mins of Interval training.

[LadyStarlight]

everyone here is right on track.......

i'd just add that chances are, if you have 50 lbs to lose, your metabolism probably gotta a little shaken up along the way. i lost 90 lbs - and guess what? i eat more than i did when i was fat! yes, healthier, but more in calories. and my body uses it.

i took 2 years to do it. diet, cardio, and weights. fastes rate was 1.5 lbs a week - there was a several month break. diet, cardio, weights. diet, cardio, weights. diet, cardio, weights, patience and time.

a day of 800-900 calories may make you feel fine. god knows, with my periods, my appetite fluctuates wildly. but continued use of that - no good. it's bad for your body and your brain and it will let you know it - and it will defend it's precious fat stores, too.

give yourself time and look damn good at the end. who knows, the slower weight loss might make it easier for your skin to adjust and tighten too? you may plan on eating 900 calories a day and still lifting weights - and even if you can overcome that physcial deprivation - your body will not be able to build the muscle, anyway. you will be soft and flabby. i personally think people look better with a few extra pounds around muscle than just all skin, flab and bones. but that's just me.

(oh, by the way, i'm 5' 4" )

good luck!

[RonJ73]

Originally posted by wanttobefit
Reading up on this thread and am quite intrigued, since I too have had issues with eating right.

I am only 5 feet tall and weigh ~97, 98 lbs. So, should I then eat around 980 cal, only?

I also lift weights 3 to 4 times a week and do cardio 3 to 4 times a week. Cardio is genearlly 30 mins of Interval training.

In your case, you cold probably eat quite a bit more. Chances are you're not looking to LOSE any weight. You're probably looking to manitain. You could probably eat around 13-15x your weight. So around 1300-1500 calories.

10x your body weight is for losing weight. It's also a GUIDELINE, not a law.