Cutting Calories - Does it work?

This might sound like rather a naive question, but I've never counted my calories before - so I'm just curious as to if this will actually work. I've done the Atkins diet, and multiple others, but never anything as simple as just that. I've cut down to 800 calories a day. Do you think I'll see a difference?

800 is a bit too low. You should at least consume 1200, or run the danger of putting your body in starvation mode. Otherwise, yes, counting calories and making a deficit does work.

Yes, but you must NOT be eating less than the minimum: 1200 for women, 1500 for men; (add 300 if you are a teen). 800 a day will seem great at first but it will have a negative and dangerous impact on your health and even on your life if you continue. You are actually starving yourself and nothing about that is good or even useful for long term weight loss.

Calorie counting works when done properly. Let us know your "stats" (age, height, weight, activity in a normal day) and any exercise you routinely get. People here will be able to help you figure out how many cals to eat and what, if any, exercise you can add/change to help.

Tell us so we can help you and PLEASE do not continue to starve yourself. It does not matter if you don't "feel" starving--it is medically proven that you need a minimum as suggested above.

It totally works.  But only if, as the others have said, you actually nourish your body.  800 calories a day will completely mess up your metabolism, you need a minimum of 1200 if you're female, and more if you're active or heavy.

If you're just starting out it might also make sense to calculate how much you ordinarily eat, and then just gradually reduce by 100 cals/day so that you don't feel hungry and deprived, leading yourself to give up within a week.

Calorie counting does work, but make sure you follow the basic rules. 

First, use the tools on here to get a correct reading of what you're consuming and burning every day. 

Second, make sure your deficit between what you eat and what you burn is no greater then 1000, and maybe closer to 500, depending on your age, weight, bmi, etc (we need your stats to help you better). 

Third, like everyone has said, you need to eat a MIN of 1200 calories as an adult woman, or 1500 as a teen girl.  Any less then that and your brain and organs aren't getting enough energy to function.  After awhile, your body will start storing your fat and burning your muscle for energy.  And after that, it will start shutting down your organs as it doesn't have enough energy to run them.

Forth, make sure your calories are balanced.  Most people here try to eat about 50% of their calories from carbs, 25% from protein, and 25% from fats (good fats, not saturated or trans fats obviously).  Those numbers don't work for everyone so you'll have to find what works for you, but that's a good starting point.  The reason diets like Atkins don't work for very long is you're restricting your main source of energy - carbs.  If you're logging your food, you can use the "Analysis" fuction to see the breakdown of your carbs/fats/proteins.

It sounds complicated, but really, it's not, and it gets easier and easier as you go.  The first few days, I didn't worry too much about what I was eating, I just logged all my food and activity to get used to using the site, and to start seeing my natural patterns.  Then I started making changes once I got a better idea of how many calories were in the common foods I was eating.

Hope that helps and good luck!

I know what you're thinking, too, because I've been there. "1,200 CALORIES??? That will make me GAIN weight!" I did Atkins and lost about 30 pounds, only to gain it back gradually after a year of it. For someone who's used to a diet, 1,200 calories seems like a ton. Heck, I ate 1,500 calories a day for the past year (with a few cheats and exceptions) and exercised regularly, and I've lost over 60 pounds with less than 10 pounds left to lose!

It seems too simple doesn't it? Because Atkins and South Beach and all the others are fairly complex. But the truth is, after lots of research on the topic, all experts say the only way (pay attention: the ONLY way) to lose weight and keep it off for the long term is to eat less calories than you burn. But you have to keep your body from going into starvation mode, meaning your body holds on tight to EVERY calorie you eat because it thinks it's stranded on a desert island with no food or water.  In women, we have to eat a minimum of 1,200 calories a day to keep our body out of starvation mode. 

I would go ahead and answer the questions in the calorie analysis this site offers to find out just how many calories your body needs each day to lose weight the healthy and EFFECTIVE WAY! Heck, it worked for me. 60 pounds later here I am.

For basics on calories in/calories out, read up here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lo se-weight.php

Good luck! This is no easy thing we're all trying to do, and you're to be admired for deciding to do it the healthy way.

Lauren

800 is crazy. You need 1,200 calories AT LEAST and I am a believe that 1,200 is too low if you are getting any kind of physical activity at all. You might loose weight initially but you will get sick and loose muscle also. Then your body will go into starvation mode. Diet's never work. They may be a temporary fix but if you cannot stick to it the rest of you life why bother. You will just Yo-Yo up and down and mess up  your metabolism. It is all about a life style change. Eating a healthy balanced diet, choosing the right food. Whole grains, low fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, good fats and carbs and moving your body. Exercise and keep moving.

http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_ diet.htm

http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/diet.htm

 

It really does work.  I have been counting calories and shooting to keep at a 500 calorie deficit for most days (some days higher, an occasional day with no deficit at all) and I've lost 24 lbs since February.  I have 5-10 more pounds to go.

I added exercise to my life in February too, so that allows me to lose by eating about 1400-1500 calories a day. 

Loggin everything has helped me realize how many excess calories I was eating before and made me more thoughtful about putting healthier stuff in my mouth.

Good luck!  If this is a priority for you and you stick with it you will definitely see results.  And it's a lifestyle change that you can stick with for the rest of your life, not just a "diet".  My kids aren't happy about the soda and some of the snacks and junk food being gone from the house, but in the long run it's better for all of us!  Again, best wishes!

Cutting calories is the only TRUE way to lose weight. Forget all of those other gimmicky diets, nothing will work for you the way understanding how your body works. I've learned a lot about how I function by watching what I eat and exercising in the past few months. I used to try everything under the sun as far as dieting and obsess over not seeing results. Calorie counting isn't a fad diet, it's a science. Once you understand how many calories your body needs for your gender, age weight, height and daily activity, your life will change forever and you'll never need to diet again. In fact, you can truly eat whatever you want (in moderation of course) as long as you stay within you alloted daily calories. 

Figure out the amount of calories you need for you and remember that when you exercise you burn calories and you may have to eat some of those back. It's a balancing act, but the idea is that you should always burn more calories than you consume. It's that simple. Also, make sure that your eating more more proteins than fats and just enough carbs to help energize you.

P.S. 800 cals is too low for anyone. I'm sure you'll hear this over and over again but the minimum for woman is 1200 and the min. for men is 1500. But what you really need to do is figure out your personal calorie count and work off of that.

good luck.

I have had very poor health the past six years or so.  When I signed up here on June 28th and started counting my calories, it was because I was so frustrated with the weight I've gained and could not seem to lose.

When I started logging everything I ate I could not believe I had to eat MORE.  I was only eating about 700-800 calories per day and believe me nothing was coming off.

Since 6/28 I've finally got my metabolism kickstarted somewhat and have seen the scale drop 2.5 pounds in the past 8 days.  Before that the scale was just not budging - I think I had to fool my body into believing it would be fed.

I'm here to tell you your weight loss will come to a complete halt if you only eat 800 calories per day.

I would encourage you to use all the tools available here and diligently keep track of what you are eating and make sure you drink enough water.  Also, spend some time here on these message boards, they are encouraging and filled daily with testimonials of people who have been successful losing weight by making sure their calorie intake is below what they are burning.

Counting calories -- and eating a healthy number of calories -- really does work. I lost 22 pounds in four months, and I'm having no problem maintaining. Eating a healthy amount of food did two things for me: Obviously, it kept my body healthy, but it also kept my brain from obsessing about food all the time. I was able to develop a healthier relationship with food than I've ever had before because I wasn't starving all the time. This is vital if you ever want to stop looking at food as the enemy.