Eating only 800 - 900 Calories and need some assistance.

Hi,

I have been trying to lose weight for years.  Especially since I have/had gained about 80 pounds over the past 10 years.  This time I am really making some progress but I think it's because I am eating around 800 - 900 calories (or less) a day.  I know that doesn't sound healthy, but I am drinking lots of water and I am always feeling full.  When I am hungry, I eat.  I just happen to eat smaller portions and less calories.

My problem came when I got married and comfortable.  My DH believes in big meals for any and every occasion and I fell into the trap.  I never grew up eating insane amounts of food, so I always ate small portions until I married.  Is going back to what I used to do so wrong? 

I have been doing this for about 2 1/2 months now and I don't feel tired, hungry, or deprived.  I make sure I get my veggies in and I even splurge on something sweet every now and then.

Am I in for a rude awakening later in this journey? 

Please refer to the sticky at the top of this forum. 

Original Post by sandycoils:

Am I in for a rude awakening later in this journey? 

Sooner, rather than later.

Edit to add (from the Q&A under Advice)

In order to get the daily food servings you need for a balanced diet, it takes about 1200 calories a day. With careful planning, you could have a balanced diet on 1000 calories, but the restrictiveness of a very low calorie level can lead to binging and weight cycling, which will take you further from your weight loss goal. What's more, very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight.

yes you are, please eat more.

As a grown woman, your body needs 1200kcals to fuel your basic functions (breathing etc...) even if you are comatose.

You didn't put on 80lbs eating 1500cals, and if you are even moderately active you will .lose weight eating that amount.  Without your stats nobody here can advise you on the exact amount.  But if you respect your body, you will start eating more immediately.

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Point taken.  I am not sure how I will do it, but to add 200 - 300 more clories to what I eat now will be tough.  I truly am not hungry after my snack in the afternoon.  How can I work in the extra calories/meal?

Eat a banana at breakfast, add half an avocado to your lunch, a have tablespoon of peanut butter, switch to full fat yoghurt.  It really isn't hard if you plan your daily intake and spread it over the day

The way you are eating now is dangerous, and the title of your post irresponsible.

You need 400 cals more and that's just to get you out of the danger zone to the bare minimum of 1200.  A healthy young woman, especially if you're 80lbs overweight and reasonably active, usually needs a lot more than the bare minimum.  Check the CC calculator entering your stats and a reasonable estimate of your activity level.

Edited after reading profile... You were 235lbs on August 19th so assuming you're thirty-something, lightly active and average height you could very easily & safely lose weight on about 1700-1800 cals a day.

How to eat more.... If you're not used to larger portions, choose naturally higher-calorie foods initially and swap 'diet' foods for the originals. Then increase the portion-sizes of other foods..... an extra ounce of pasta in the cooking pot is 100 cals, for example.  An extra slice of toast with breakfast could be another 100 cals.   And finally, add in some healthy snacks.... nuts and raisins are a very good way to increase calories healthily and without adding extra bulk.

Try not to fill up on things like water and vegetables at the expense of a balanced diet ... Your body needs plenty of nourishment and the consequences of malnutrition can be quite severe and often not what you expect.  Crash-dieting brings problems all of its own...

Good luck

Tell us a typical day and we can show you where you need more calorie dense and nutrition dense foods.   I don't think you can be getting enough healthy oils on that level of calories and it would be very difficult, if not impossible to meet your protein requirements at that level.

I am currently on a 1200 calorie diet and when I find, at the end of the day that I am under, I choose something like a tablespoon of peanut butter or a boiled egg (oils and protien) to make up the difference.

Original Post by demerara:

Eat a banana at breakfast, add half an avocado to your lunch, a have tablespoon of peanut butter, switch to full fat yoghurt.  It really isn't hard if you plan your daily intake and spread it over the day

The way you are eating now is dangerous, and the title of your post irresponsible.

 

 Please understand that it was not my intent to be "irresponsible" with my post.(and I have changed the title accordingly)  I posted so that I could ask questions and get some assistance.  I didn't know that I would be criticized as well.

Thanks for changing the title Sandy, and I apologise if I appeared critical.  Everybody here will be happy to help you up your calories to a healthy level, and encourage you with healthy weight loss if you post us a typical day's menu / activity.

Ax

You weren't asking for help in you original post because you said 'I know it doesn't sound healthy, but I am drinking lots of water and I am always feeling full'. 

If you're now accepting that it not only didn't sound healthy but was genuinely unhealthy then I'm sure there will be no more criticism... only support on how you can get out of this situation with the minimum of damage.

When you increase to a more sensible amount you'll probably experience some temporary weight-gain, so be prepared for that.  However, if you want to continue down to your 150lbs goal, that's just something you need to overcome and get past.

Tell us your diet and we can help. But I am thinking of foods like whole grain bread, nuts, whole grain rice, avocado, milk/dairy etc. If any of these are foods you like and can tolerate, eat up. You MUST EAT MORE TO successfully and heathfully LOSE WEIGHT and KEEP IT OFF.

Here is some info for everyone on why you should never go below 1200 calories from Ask Mary:

The 1200 calorie a day minimum recommendation for women has nothing to do with the “starvation effect”. Rather, it is virtually impossible to consume a nutritionally adequate diet with fewer than 1200 calories, and even with 1200 calories, older women need to take calcium supplements to meet their requirements and many younger menstruating women need iron supplements too. Women who are taller and younger should eat more than 1200 calories because there is no advantage in following a restrictive diet that creates feelings of deprivation. In fact, everyone should eat meet the Calorie Target recommendations for safe weight loss.

Why eating only 1200 calories or undereating doesn't work

In the long run, you won’t lose weight faster by eating 1200 calories a day. Under-eating deprives your body of essential nutrients and leads to muscle breakdown to provide energy. With less muscle, you require fewer calories and you reach a weight low plateau more quickly. Restrictive dieting also places you at risk for binge-eating which can lead to weigh gain and a life of yo-yo dieting. Use the Calorie Target calculator in the Tools section to figure out how many calories a day you need and set yourself up for lasting weight loss success.

Why must I eat at least 1,500 calories a day when I want to eat less?

In order to get the daily food servings you need for a balanced diet, it takes about 1200 calories a day (1500 for teenage females, 1800 for teenage males). With careful planning, you could have a balanced diet on 1000 calories, but the restrictiveness of a very low calorie level can lead to binging and weight cycling, which will take you further from your weight loss goal. What's more, very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight.

Will I go into starvation mode if I eat 1000 – 1200 calories a day?

Your body will not selectively burn stored fat because your central nervous system needs glucose and you can’t make glucose from fat. But protein can be converted to glucose, and so the body breaks down your muscles to provide it. Ultimately, you lose lots of muscle along with fat, and that drives down your calorie requirements because muscle burns calories but fat does not. You then maintain a higher weight on less food making weight gain inevitable.

Read a book. Get educated on diet. What you're doing is anorexia.

How many people here stay up late at night watching the health channel? How many of us have seen the documentary shows involving the bed ridden super morbidly obese? These people wind up on 800 calorie diets.Why? Because years of being bed bound has made all of their muscles atrophy to the point where they are no longer capable of even basic movement, meaning they no longer burn anything beyond what a comatose patient would burn to sustain basic life functions. But when they are given those diets it is a short term solution to an emergency situation. If a non bed bound person were to go on such a drastic diet for any length of time you would do more harm than good, You would make your muslces atrophy from malnutrition. However, it is posible to maintain life long health on a severely restricted calorie intake. Studies have shown that extremely low caloric intake can actually extend the life span. However, the skill and dedication required to maintain adequate nutrition is beyond what anyone I know can do, and it is still more than 800 calories.

My family is the same way...everything social revolves around food.  It would always bug me to see someone totally skinny put away twice as much as me and then comment on what I ate.  It's no wonder I was 240 lbs at high school graduation and 314 on medication for a health problem.  You absolutely have it right, just eat as many of the plain veggies as you want and a little plain meat.  You should also get some fruit and dairy.  A multi-vitamin would not hurt either. 

If your skin is really dry or hair a little thin, it is because you are getting insufficient nutrition. 

What weight/height are you now?  Try following the calorie recommendation minus 250 on here and walk a little ways every day.  Keep adding a little more distance to your walks every week.  You really should not eat less than 1200 but I have actually had a medical doc tell me something really low and she was astounded when I was losing weight eating 1500-1800 calories.  The weirder the diet sounds, the more you should question it..."something that appears too good to be true usually is."

Final recommendations, light weight training and stretching.  Things will look and feel much better. 

Original Post by miss_cas:

Final recommendations, light weight training and stretching.  Things will look and feel much better. 

Even better - heavy weight training and mobility drills.