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If I can sustain it....?

So I know that eating under 1200 calories, etc., is bad for you, but I don't really get why IF I can sustain it...?

If I'm eating 600 - 1000 calories on a day (that's just how much I eat normally, while not even trying to cut back), and I'm sedentary - lightly active, will I lose weight?

I'm just wondering, I'm not really looking to lose weight (and I'm not anorexic or anything...I just seriously don't like food that much).

If I can sustain my intake and I've never felt the urge to 'binge' and I'm making sure I'm getting OK amounts of protein and nutrients and stuff, is this all right and will I lose weight, etc.?

I'm kind of confused and curious... all feedback appreciated!

no, your body can't function properly on anything less than 1200. try to say you're okay with eating that little all you want, but in reality your insides are in starvation mode.. and starving is never good.

You will lose weight, for sure.  But your body is not getting the nutrients that it needs to function.  Your brain, heart, liver, etc all need calories to function, so if you continue to do this you will be depriving your organs what they need and you will be setting yourself up for MAJOR health problems in the future.

Quick weight loss is not worth permanent damage to your major organs.  Please eat more, don't be stupid and unhealthy about weight loss.

If you continue to do this your body will EAT the protective linings around your organs, for example.  THAT is the weight you are losing.  How gross of a thought is that?

 Edit:  At 5'7" and 127 you should not be losing more weight, you are already slightly underweight.  Please see a doctor, it is likely you are in far worse shape (health wise) than you think if this is how you lost the weight.

Original Post by gettingxthere:

So I know that eating under 1200 calories, etc., is bad for you, but I don't really get why IF I can sustain it...?

If I'm eating 600 - 1000 calories on a day (that's just how much I eat normally, while not even trying to cut back), and I'm sedentary - lightly active, will I lose weight?

I'm just wondering, I'm not really looking to lose weight (and I'm not anorexic or anything...I just seriously don't like food that much).

If I can sustain my intake and I've never felt the urge to 'binge' and I'm making sure I'm getting OK amounts of protein and nutrients and stuff, is this all right and will I lose weight, etc.?

I'm kind of confused and curious... all feedback appreciated!

what are you trying to accomplish?

i interviewed a young woman the other day who was in heart failure at 20.  she'll never have children.  i interviewed another who has osteoporosis at 23 and has broken two bones this year.  two weeks ago i interviewed yet another who has the joy of knowing she's passing her unhealthy eating habits on to her pre-teen daughter.

sure, you can lose weight that way, but that's not all you'll lose.

 

this is a reply to pgeorgian.  i have no comment on the 600-1000 cals a day.  but i agree with the you will lose weight but thats not all you will lose. 

i noticed one of your posts the other day pgeorgian.  i think it was about how noone can diagnose a mental illness online.  perhaps i am wrong and it was something else.  i'm sure ive seen other comments though.

so it sounds like you are a therapist, are you a phd or a psychiatrist.. just curious.

anyways gettingxthere much luck to you.

If you're really 5'7'' at 127 lbs, you really should be taking in about 1500 cals daily. But if you're pretty sedentary, you're not putting much demand on the bod, and the meager fuel you're taking in will probably sustain your for a while. Are you sure about the calorie count? Have you actually logged it and been 100% honest in your log?

 Just hope you don't get sick. Your body will probably go in to starvation mode pretty quickly, as you are probably riding on the edge as a way of life. I bet if you got more active, you'd eat more. Please stay healthy!!

Original Post by sfredbull:

so it sounds like you are a therapist, are you a phd or a psychiatrist.. just curious.

neither.  i have quite a bit of clinical experience (youth work, mostly) and i'm in grad school taking social work.  the interviews i mentioned are part of my thesis research.

I'm actually 117 now, I'm not looking to lose anymore weight which is why I was wondering. I guess I'm just in a bad habit of not eating...Yesterday by dinnertime my total calories were 340 :/ I realise I do need to eat more though, I'll definitely start doing that...thanks for the replies. I do Pilates for 20-60 minutes usually every day, other than that not too much exercise, maybe strength training or cardio one or two times a week. I think I'll take your advice genern, and get more active; maybe that'll make me eat more. Thanks again...

If you're just lazy about eating then it helps to make a plan.  Think about your meals/snacks in advance, write down what you need to eat, then eat it....   Skipping meals is a bad habit and bad habits can be fixed, just like anything else.  If you prepare a packed lunch the night before or get the breakfast things out and ready then you're half-way there.   Make it easier for yourself to eat well than to eat badly and you can quickly get in a good habit.

I'd be very, very worried if you really didn't 'like food much'.... when that's the case, people don't tend to last very long.  The first sign of sickness in an animal is when it stops eating.  In human beings, loss of appetite can be symptomatic of all kinds of problems, including depression.  Even if the foods you do eat are full of protein or whatever, if you don't eat enough of them, it's a fast track to malnutrition.

So plan your meals ahead, make sure you've always got portable snacks on hand to top up and, if you still struggle to eat properly, ask for help either from your family or your doctor. 

1500 cals (1800 cals for male) should be considered as the lowest minimum for a teen who is sedentary.  As pg explained -- there are far reaching consequences of not eating now.

If you are under 21, CC's tools are inaccurate and you should use this calculator instead: http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html as you are still growing. Yes, even in the later years - there's more going on inside of you that you simply can't see.

Eating too low a calorie intake, or having a deficit from your BMR greater than 1000 results in something called "survival mode", where your body holds every last thing it can get expecting of a famine. Water, food, calories. While it can rebound with weight gain or weight plateaus -- what it does to the body from the inside is most important.

• The Body Neglected - This is what happens when you undereat for an extended period of time.

• Dieting & Metabolism - This article explains starvation mode and why undereating is counter productive.

And I must remind you that Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. And promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited.

There is no way that, on so little food, you are getting all the nutrients you need. You are starving yourself. Plain and simple. An adult woman needs 1200 calories per day to survive, a teenage girl or an adult man 1500 per day bare minimum, and a teenage boy 1800 per day minimum and that is when SEDENTARY. If you are exercising, you need even more than that. And this is the bare minimum.

Unless you are very, very short and small it is very likely you will need even more calories than those minimum guidelines. If you are 21 or older use CC's tools to work out your BMR. If you are under 21, CC's tools are inaccurate and you should use this calculator instead: http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html as you are still growing. Yes, even in the later years - there's more going on inside of you that you simply can't see.

Eating too low a calorie intake, or having a deficit from your BMR greater than 1000 results in something called "survival mode", where your body holds every last thing it can get in expectance of a famine. Water, food, calories. Explained:

• Dieting & Metabolism - This article explains starvation mode and why undereating is counter productive.
• The Body Neglected - This is what happens when you undereat for an extended period of time. 

The physical dangers that come with undereating and being underweight are numerous. You put yourself at risk of osteoporosis, of loss of fertility if you lose your period, hair loss, electrolyte problems, a weakening of the immune system, low blood pressure, blood disorders such as anemia, heart problems, and even death. From The Body Neglected: Between 5% and 20% of people who develop [anorexia] eventually die from it. The mental woes that come alongside can be just as devestating. Depression is common in undereaters - as you may well be experiencing - as well as distorted perceptions and problems like Body Dysmorphic Disorder. And you've certainly described the last.

I would go to your doctor as soon as possible - call and make an appointment tomorrow if you can. You are describing a disordered eating pattern even if you claim otherwise and this is something you need to talk to your doctor about. If you want some online support try http://www.something-fishy.org, and take a look through CC's Eating Disorders Health, Resources and Info Thread. But your most immediate concern is your health - and for that that means you need to talk to your doctor, and a close family member. A parent is usually wise.

But whatever happens: no, you should not eat that little, not even if you can "sustain it". Whatever that means. You're sending yourself down a path you do not want to tread in doing so.

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Original Post by sfredbull:

this is a reply to pgeorgian.  i have no comment on the 600-1000 cals a day.  but i agree with the you will lose weight but thats not all you will lose. 

i noticed one of your posts the other day pgeorgian.  i think it was about how noone can diagnose a mental illness online.  perhaps i am wrong and it was something else.  i'm sure ive seen other comments though.

so it sounds like you are a therapist, are you a phd or a psychiatrist.. just curious.

 I didn't interpret her post as making a diagnosis, just sharing some of her observations of what can happen when you eat that little.

no no no - i didn't think she was diagnosing at all or even coming off that way, in fact i liked the reply.

the interviewing of the 3 women made me ask if she was a therapist.

i had just read one of her posts that she said not even the most well read professional can diagnose someone online..  so i knew she wouldnt even due that.

 

i was simply curious.  thanks for responding pgeorgian.

5'7, 15, 117 lbs., perhaps it's just a coincidence that the number you posted as what you think you might be is the lowest healthy weight for your age and height? You should not be losing any more weight.  You will need to be gaining a few pounds (not immediately and not tons, but a few) as you get older to keep a healthy weight.  Protests are futile, you dieted to get to the lowest end of a healthy weight so saying that you're naturally skinny, small framed, look just perfect a few pounds underweight, etc. is all a bunch of hooey.

Eating under 1200 calories when you're 15 years old and 5'7" is not bad for you like eating a bit too much ice cream or not getting enough exercise.  The implication that you have here and in your other posts is that it's not a big deal and is something you can easily fix whenever you want to.  This is not true.  An extra bowl of ice cream is something that you can fix a bit later by doing an extra workout or two, not working out for a week is something you can fix by getting more consistent with exercise; eating too little on a regular and recurring basis is not a slightly bad habit to be fixed when you get around to it, it is a threat to the quality and quantity of your life.

Unfortunately the visible physical symptoms do not appear immediately.  In three months, you may lose hair or have dull wilted hair as a direct result of your diet now.  The same goes for your skin and nails.  By eating too little now, your body is going to take the resources that it needs from what's available.  Mostly that's organs, muscles, and bones, but the other thing your body will do is stop allocating resources to unnecessary things like the glossy hair on your head and keeping your skin well balanced (you might or might not have acne now, but wait until you've been screwing around with your body for a bit and just see how it returns the favor).  You might find that your body produces some lovely hair in unexpected places to keep you warm...not what most people consider the most attractive look.

Please start eating enough.  For your height, weight, and age, it will vary between 1820 to 3010 calories per day depending on your activity level.  To put it in plain words, if you sit on your butt all day long watching TV, eat 1820.  If you walk around between classes, or take a short walk, 2160, a solid workout requires 2480, if you run around all day 3010.