limited Calorie intake

[Nicholine]

I am going extreme to lose weight and would like to hear from others that are doing the same. This is my first time doing this, so I'm no pro. If you have insights, I would love to hear them. I limit my calories to 400-600 a day. In doing so, the pounds are literally melting off. I have lost 12.9lbs in 10 days! Breakfast is my biggest meal unless I'm planning on going for a run after work, then I save my protein for lunch so I can sustain a run. I usually have 100 calorie bowl of cereal at 5:00 for dinner, and don't eat anything after that, only consume water. I started my weightloss journey at 211.7 pounds and my goal weight is 160.

[Dave001]

I'm not a big fan of these types of extreme weight loss plans. 

They might work for a few, but there are many questions.

1. Is it safe? With such extreme measures, are you equipped to perform daily activities? Is concentration impaired? How about motor skills such as driving? Is rapid weight loss linked to hepatic problems?

2. Does it work? I realise that there are short-term losses, but are they sustainable?

3. Does it contribute to overall health? Weight management is but one aspect of health. We would all lose weight on such a severe restriction, but would we be healthier?

For me, I'd much sooner make small, sustainable changes, lose the weight gradually and keep it off. And make other changes that contribute to my general health and wellbeing. 

[Esya]

I am concerned to the point that I would visit a doctor if I went that extreme. If (s)he says it is ok for you, then go for it. I have also concerns for the phase after your weight loss. You need to start planning for that. To lose it all to gain it all back afterwards is not something you want. I understand you want a quick fix and lose weight fast, but I want for you to be healthy. My advice would be to work towards a lifestyle you can maintain for both your food and activity levels. This is something you want to do for the long run. Also your health is more than the number on the scales.

[Bill_k]

Unless you are a monk in a monestary it isn't sustainable and you will likely just snap eventually and gain it all back and more.

You might even start getting dizzy,hallucinatory  and passing out occasionally.

Lowest i would suggest trying to do healthily is about 1100 calories a day.

Just my opinion and from my experience.

[JoannaPW]

12.9 pounds in 10 days is probably mostly water weight.  A human can't lose fat that fast.  Why would you want to starve yourself?  As a person who lost 120 pounds years ago I can certainly understand wanting to lose weight as quickly as possible, but why torture yourself?  Starvation is darned unpleasant, probably a bit dangerous for your health and completely unnecessary.

[GershonSurge]

You are getting into EXTREMELY DANGEROUS territory. In fact, you may need a doctor's help to recover.

First of all, with this low amount of calories, you could die of a heart attack without warning. You are probably destroying organs to get what little energy you have.

Secondly, if you start eating more calories quickly, you may experience refeeding syndrome. This can quickly kill you. This can happen even though your lab tests are perfect.

Third, you can pass out without warning at any time. This can be disastrous if you are driving a car or on a flight of stairs.

This is serious stuff. I almost NEVER recommend seeing a doctor, but this is one of those times. In my opinion, you should contact a doctor experienced in treating anorexia. It will only take a few days to get you back on track to a safer way of eating.  

[Nicholine]

I think you're a little dramatic. I eat 3 meals a day and a snack. I drink 60-80 oz of water daily. I am consuming about 10 times that of a person that has had bypass surgery. As far increasing my calories, I am quite aware of how to increase my calories slowly. And when I plan on doing exercise, I amp up my calories. 

[GershonSurge]

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@Nicholine wrote:

I think you're a little dramatic. I eat 3 meals a day and a snack. I drink 60-80 oz of water daily. I am consuming about 10 times that of a person that has had bypass surgery. As far increasing my calories, I am quite aware of how to increase my calories slowly. And when I plan on doing exercise, I amp up my calories. 

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I'm not being at all dramatic. You are eating 300-500 calories a day. Don't tell me a person who had bypass surgery eats 30 to 50 calories. The amount you are eating is not enough to sustain life even if you have stored fat to burn. You need other nutrients to burn this fat. You can't get enough in 300-500 calories a day.

It's likely all your lab work will be perfect except for a low range on albumin. It's likely your EKG will be normal. There is also a fairly high probability you could have a heart attack and possibly die.

There is another issue that is less likely. Fat retains many of the bad chemicals we have been exposed to in our life. If you lose it too quickly, it can dump these chemicals in a high enough concentration to cause harm. Keep in mind, all processed foods contain bad chemicals.

[DavidSchneier]

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@Nicholine wrote:

I am going extreme to lose weight and would like to hear from others that are doing the same. This is my first time doing this, so I'm no pro. If you have insights, I would love to hear them. I limit my calories to 400-600 a day. In doing so, the pounds are literally melting off. I have lost 12.9lbs in 10 days! Breakfast is my biggest meal unless I'm planning on going for a run after work, then I save my protein for lunch so I can sustain a run. I usually have 100 calorie bowl of cereal at 5:00 for dinner, and don't eat anything after that, only consume water. I started my weightloss journey at 211.7 pounds and my goal weight is 160.

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I am at the tail end of a significant weight loss, having dropped sixty pounds since early February. I set a daily budget of 1,500 calories but pretty much limited my recorded intake to 1,200 per day (I allowed for a 10% margin of error). While there were a handful of days where I came in under 1,000 calories, those were rare and unintended. 

Having had great success with a reduced calorie diet I feel somewhat qualified to comment on your strategy. I think you're flirting with disaster. If you view what you're doing as successful or healthy, it's probably an indication of an eating disorder. There is literally no way you are providing your body with necessary nutrients while limiting your intake to an average of 500 calories, regardless of how many meals you spread it out over.

Also, you are delusional if you think you've lost a legit 12.9 pounds in ten days. That would mean you created a deficit of 45,000 calories averaging 4,500 per day. You would need to be exercising for several hours per day at high intensity, which would make your reduced calorie consumption that much more of a problem.

While I don't know your measurements or age, I would suggest that you set a more responsible daily budget of 1,200 and see how it goes from there.

[Nicholine]

Yes gastric patients eat less than 100 calories, sometimes even less. 

• decaffeinated coffee and tea
• skim milk
• thin soup and broth
• unsweetened juice
• sugar-free gelatin
• sugar-free popsicles
  
  And let us not forget the people that FAST for days even weeks at end. 
  Eating such a limited amount of calories has put me so "in tune" with my body its amazing. I can now see how and what effect each food has on me, I can now feel my body actually consuming the food, I can feel the boost I get from eating high protein meals, I'm really in awe. Just 2 weeks ago I was eating 3,000 calories or more a day! And most of them were consumed after 8:00pm, bc that's when I would get home from work. I did not eat unhealthy food, not processed food, no cookies, candies or chips....all healthy. When my weight got up to 210 lbs, I had to take a stand. And I decided to do limited calorie intake. I've only been doing it for 2 short weeks and I have already lost 15.2 pounds. I am slowly increasing my calories now, up 100 for 4 days then another 100 in 5 days, and so on.....and when I hit my goal weight (36 pounds to go) I will increase them further if need by, and I will increase my daily exercise if needed. At this rate I should hit my goal in 3-4 weeks. I feel amazing!!
  
  I appreciate your concern, thank you...and can understand your negativity. On top of feeling good, getting healthy and striving to reach my goals....I'm so happy and proud of myself that I'm doing this for me, and I'm actually achieving my goal that I set out to do!! 

[Kateyd1]

My average intake is between 700-900 cal per day. It's taken me 6 months to loose 10kg.   Anything over 1000 cal per day and i put on weight very quickly.  I have done this on and off over the last 4 years since I first lost 30kg.   My  BMI is now 25, my biggest challenge is to stabilise it there.  

[Esya]

@Kateyd1

Sounds to me you are a petite woman, so you have a low BMR. Then it is really hard to lose weight, specially so close to your goal weight. Increasing activity can help. Good luck with the maintenance journey, it can be as challenging.

[emili]

@Nicholine so when you are asking for insights, you are essentially asking for agreement?  I also reduced my calorie intake drastically when I was losing weight. I ate about 1000 per day. But I didn't move beyond what was necessary to get from point A to point B. And there were days that I actually felt more tired than I should have and would eat a bit more. I dropped weight quickly and have kept it off for three years and going strong. But here is the thing, I did not eat sugar free pops and the items you list. I ate fruit and grain and veg and things that would sustain me. I learned nutrition. I ensured I had my daily intake of dairy and vitamin and protein. Now, I eat more in volume than most people, but my food choices are better than most people's as well. I went from 200 pounds to 135 and have been here for years. Plan on staying for years to come as well. Good luck to you in your weight loss journey.

[Nicholine]

No, not agreement, just advice. I'm really shocked at how negative people are. Telling me I'm going to have a heart attack, pass out while I'm driving, that I'm delusional-essentially calling me a liar. I don't understand it actually. I'm not at all saying everyone should do it, but I was just saying it is what I'm doing, and has anyone else done it. I'm on day 18 and I've lost 18.6 pounds. While one person wrote "It's only water" , that may be true-but water DOES weigh something too, and minus 18 pounds is pounds weather its water, fat, cellulite, or a little of everything. Thanks for your comment. 

[melaniejoy14]

Hi Nichole! My name is Melanie and I am a health and fitness Nurse. It is wonderful you are so determined to get to a healthy weight! However, this might now be the way to do it! I would encourage you to research "adaptive thermogenesis". Basically, it is the way your body adjusts to such a low level of calories. You will lose weight initially but because your body does not want to starve it will change its TDE (total daily expenditure) and you will stop losing. So, you would have to eat less and less for it to be effective. 

[GershonSurge]

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@Nicholine wrote:

No, not agreement, just advice. I'm really shocked at how negative people are. Telling me I'm going to have a heart attack, pass out while I'm driving, that I'm delusional-essentially calling me a liar. I don't understand it actually. I'm not at all saying everyone should do it, but I was just saying it is what I'm doing, and has anyone else done it. I'm on day 18 and I've lost 18.6 pounds. While one person wrote "It's only water" , that may be true-but water DOES weigh something too, and minus 18 pounds is pounds weather its water, fat, cellulite, or a little of everything. Thanks for your comment. 

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I gave you advice because you asked for advice. You said it's your first time doing this and you are no pro.

The fact that you do not agree with me doesn't mean I think you are delusional or a liar. I'd give some more advice on warning signs you are likely already experiencing, but I don't want you to accuse me of other things.

[Nicholine]

I have thought of that exact scenario! And the thought of not losing weight eating only 600 calories is something I want no part of. I am increasing my calories now since I lost 20 pounds. I have my biggest meal for breakfast, and I don't eat after 6:00pm. The first 2 weeks was so hard not eating after 6:00, sometimes the hunger pains would wake me up. They say that your mind/body has to repeat something for 2 weeks to totally adapt or retrain it, and sure enough, after 2 weeks, it wasn't even an issue. I was one of those people who ate PAST being full. I ate as if there was no food left on earth for tomorrow. It was painful and uncomfortable, and I would always be so mad and disappointed in myself. Thanks for the info, I will goggle "adaptive thermogenesis" and learn about it. 

[Baltoscott]

@emili - great insights! Your ability to maintain a loss of about 1/3 your body weight for three years now is inspirational.  Based on your comments, I suspect part of the reason that you have done so is that your post weight-loss diet, in terms of the types of foods you eat, is not a lot different than what you ate as you lost weight; you just eat more now.  I am curious as to how many calories you eat/day now -- if you know.

In any event, I think your points about nutrition are more important than total negative daily calorie balance during the weight-loss phase.  Your approach with a low calorie diet and @Nicholine's approach with a very low calorie diet are much more aggressive than my pound a week approach over the past six months.  Over that time period my calorie intake was about 1500/day for the first month, 1800/day for the second month, and 2000-2400/day for the past 4 months.  I've made it to my goal weight of 165 lbs (from 202 lbs) and managed to do it by modeling a diet I think I can live with long term  (I mostly shifted to more veggies/fruits each meal, increasing protein somewhat, and reducing alcohol). At about an hour or more/day of bike riding and three or four 30-60 minute weight-lifting sessions per week, my exercise is higher than most, but is about the same as when I was heavier; so it is sustainable for me.  

My main concern over the whole process has been how to maintain the loss over time.  To do that, I've tried to evaluate what caused me to creep over 200 lbs in the first place, and mostly I think it was developing bad eating habits that I've addressed through my weight loss plan. So I've tried to minimize or change those bad habits. Example, last December I was having maybe two beers. or a beer and a glass of wine every night -- one upon getting home after a long day, and another with dinner.  I figured I could easily cut that amount in half if I just decided to skip drinking altogether on even-numbered dates. It was an easy habit to implement and if I do decide to drink on an even-numbered day to participate in some social event, skipping the next odd-number day to get back to stasis is no problem.  Another habit I've tried to implement is more fruits and vegetables in volume for each meal then anything else.  That's going pretty good too, and I expect it will be an easy long term habit to maintain.   So I guess my advice/insights to @Nicholine are, regardless of whether you go for a moderate deficit like me, a high deficit like Elene, or continue with your very high deficit, work on developing a weight-loss diet that you can easily transform into a maintenance diet by simply increasing food amounts.

As to whether a very low calorie diet is unhealthy for you, I get why a lot of folks are worried, especially since you haven't talked about your long-term plan.  The fact is, most diets don't work long term, probably because dieters don't think beyond the weight loss goal, and ultimately don't change the behavior that got them heavy in the first place.  And when you go for rapid weight loss, talking to your doctor before, during and after makes sense.  (Since you seem to be modeling the food amounts eaten by patients who have undergone barometric surgery, it is worth noting those folks are under medical supervision).  It is really hard to get the nutrition your body needs on a very low calorie diet and @melaniejoy14 comment to read up on thermogenic adaptation bears on what you are doing (my take-away is that the faster you lose it, the longer you will have to keep your calories low in order to maintain over time).    That said, I thought this study comparing long term effect of low calorie and very low calorie diets was pretty interesting. All participants regained weight a year after initial weight loss, but the regain was not significantly different between the two groups.

[emili]

@Baltoscott you are correct my friend. It is very similar because I don't diet. I changed my eating habits. Permanently. I eat about 1600 per day and work off 500. All rough estimates of course. Friday and Saturday, I'm closer to 2500 and work off 750. These are my beer wine bread days. And snacks. Love snacks. I still eat my core meals same as any other day with the exception of dinner and after. So the week I use to balance out my weekend. This allows me to average 134-135. It works for me. Probably not for everyone. All my docs are super pleased..my blood pressure is low normal (it was 150/95). My sugar, cholesterol, etc are in the low normal range, I run, lift, walk, with minimal breathing issues. My resting hr is 48. I'm healthier at 47 than I have ever been in my life. And I actually look better too. 

[Bill_k]

Millions of people have done what you described. It's the classic start of a yo-yo diet.