is it true that low calorie diets DONT work??

because i heard somthing about metabolism and i cant remember the rest but...

DO THEY REALLY WORK????????

It depends on what you mean by "low calorie".  In order to lose weight, you have to eat less calories than you burn.  However, if you eat too little, you risk putting yourself into "starvation mode".

Women need a minimum of 1200 calories; for men it's 1500; teens really should eat at least 1800.

Calculator and nutritional information for teens trying to lose weight, and then a couple of links as to the affects of under-eating.  Hope they help.

calculator and calorie information for Teens 
Nutrition, Exercise & Weight Management for Teens
More Nutrition & Health for Teens
Weight Management for Kids/Teens

• Dieting & Metabolism (explains starvation mode and why undereating is counter-productive)
• The Body Neglected (explains what happens when you undereat a long time)

Always eat within 1000 cals of your burn. That will keep you from messing with  your metabolism. If you are under 18, eat minimum 1500 girls/1800 boys. You need the nutrition and cals for a growing body and you burn more b/c of your growth, metabolism, etc.

good luck. And extreme low cal diets--anything that puts you under those minimums, and 1200 for women/1500 for men, are VERY, VERY bad for you. you will be malnourished and have to regain the weight and start all over to lose it in a healthy way. You won't be able to eat "normally" without gaining, either. It's a bad situation.

As far as working goes, I have lost 25 pounds and am still losing on a low calorie diet.  Eating 1400-1500 calories a day.  Works for me.

Hmmm.  Let's see.  Does it work?  I've been "low calorie" since April 2007 and have also been exercising and have lost 45lbs. I would say, yes it works, if you know what you're doing.

If you need information, this site has a Q&A section under the Advise tab.

If you use the tools this site has, you can safely restrict calories and lose weight the healthy way.

FDA recommends no less than 1200 calories per day for women, and no less than 1500 calories per day for men.  

Is that minimum 1200 calories daily, what you eat or what you net? Example: I eat 1500 calories a day but workout 5x a week about 700 calories. So am I under that 1200 mark because I am netting only 800 calories,or am I ok because I am consuming 1500???

Original Post by mkculs:

And extreme low cal diets--anything that puts you under those minimums, and 1200 for women/1500 for men, are VERY, VERY bad for you. you will be malnourished and have to regain the weight and start all over to lose it in a healthy way. You won't be able to eat "normally" without gaining, either. It's a bad situation.

I had some stomach problems when I was around 20, so I was consuming only 400-500 calories a day.  I dropped weight extremely fast, but I got to a point where it was difficult to complete normal daily tasks and I was always cold.

What really pushed me to the edge to get help is on Halloween, my friends and I were all ready to go out and I got terribly cold to the point I was shaking.  I put on sweats and got in my bed with the electric blanket on and I was still trembling.  So I took a very very hot bath, which finally got me a little bit warmed up.  I had gotten a terrible kidney infection and my temp was at 103.9.

I could hardly walk, everything hurt and I was on several medications.  I could have died had I ignored it and continued eating so little.

Needless to say, I gained back all the weight I had lost (that's why I am here) and then some, but now I am working on losing weight in a healthy manner.  Also, after several tests, I found out my stomach problems were stress related, so I got that figured out.

I eat 1250-1500 calories a day, exercise regularly and have lost 14 pounds.  The great thing about counting calories like this is it is like figuring out how you are going to spend your allowance every day.  It gets you into a lifestyle change that doesn't restrict you all that much (although Frappucinos are off-limits for me now!).  I am always excited to find new recipes that keep me full, but are low-calorie.

Also, if you look at the other successful diets---Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers or Nutri-System, those are all based on low-calorie diets.

I find low-calorie diets to be extremely successful and the most flexible type of diet with a high rate of success since you change your lifestyle to work with it.  And once you reach your goal, a few changes will help you maintain your goal.  If you slip and gain a little, you can always adjust, get back to your goal and continue maintenance.

Original Post by curepsp:

Is that minimum 1200 calories daily, what you eat or what you net? Example: I eat 1500 calories a day but workout 5x a week about 700 calories. So am I under that 1200 mark because I am netting only 800 calories,or am I ok because I am consuming 1500???

You don't just burn 700 calories in a week or a day, your body burns calories doing everything, breathing, sleeping, pumping blood, etc...  for instance, I burn 2000 cals a day at a sedentary lifestyle.  I eat 1450-1500 cals a day average. Before exercise I have a 500 calorie deficit. I just started the eliptical and burn 310 calories in a 30 minute weight loss program. So total burned for the day is 2310 and total consume averages 1500 - that's 810 deficit.

Any deficit under 1000 cals is okay.  Anything larger than a 1000 calorie deficit is not recommended.

I just find it's easier to think of it this way.

If it were, I wouldn't have lost 18 pounds since June 6th :)

This TEEN (the OP) needs to be eating at least 1500 calories per day -- probably more, as there are very few truly sedentary teens.  Which is why the TEEN calorie calculator was posted for her.

I have been on a low calorie diet (1200) since may 2008. I have lost almost 29lbs. However, lately I been having trouble losing more weight. I had to increase my calories. My daily deficit was over 1100 since I have been doing cardio 6x/day for an hour and weights 3x/day for another hour. I guess the low calorie diet worked for some time. I actually eat a 1325 calorie diet now.

Wouldn't really call it low calorie but ive lost 78 pounds since March eating 2000 calories a day