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AMA

650 kal a day

418 replies

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 12:10

For 2 months iv been on a vlcd consuming 650 kcal a day and lost 2 stone - AMA

OP posts:
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Rocketpants50 · 11/07/2024 14:59

Well done for doing something about your weight, this has got to be healthier than sticking at your starting weight. I think for a short term intervention then go for it, some people are having surgery or taking pills- both with risks but ultimately being overweight is a killer. My dad has recently died from having diabetes due to his food intake, we tried so hard to help him but he ended up with a stroke so I applaud what you are doing. I am on the 800 diet, it was tough first week but now I am sleeping better, my legs have stopped jumping, my hair is thicker I feel so much better but half way there.. I will not be my dad.

Lanawashington · 11/07/2024 14:59

Welcome to mumsnet, where you get berated and judged for being fat, and also berated and judged for doing something about losing weight

thatstakingalongtimetoboil · 11/07/2024 15:00

nommom · 11/07/2024 14:53

@Differentstarts I am glad to hear it is going well for you! Perhaps some people don't understand that these diets are sometimes medically necessary and if they are done under the care of a doctor they can be safe and beneficial. My only point to others would be not to do this alone without the supervision of a doctor.

But the problem is they arnt sustainable and the weight will pile back on.

LuckySantangelo35 · 11/07/2024 15:00

why is everyone being so weirdly attacking of Op?? It’s clearly working for her!

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 15:00

AbraAbraCadabra · 11/07/2024 14:53

Absolutely, but there are healthier ways to lose weight that don’t come with the risk of gallstones and then a potential gallbladder operation. You have mentioned you are hypothyroid, I also have hypothyroidism. Very low cal/fasting can lower thyroid function so make sure the doctor is keeping an eye on your thyroid levels. You mentioned that you thought your weight loss would be slower as you are hypo. There is no reason this would be the case unless (like many people with hypothyroidism) you are under medicated.

He's monitoring it my thyroid levels are great at the moment but I'm having regular blood tests. I'm also under a heamotologist so he's on it to.

OP posts:
Jellybean85 · 11/07/2024 15:02

LiterallyOnFire · 11/07/2024 12:32

Congrats OP. That must be hard work.

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised you're being met by a chorus of criticism and scepticism.

I mean a good chunk of the calories seem to be from a 'bar' or crisps ans chocolate it can't possible be considered a good short or long term option!

What's the plan long term op will you gradually increase so you can exercise too? That's really important for muscle tone as we age

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 15:02

Rocketpants50 · 11/07/2024 14:59

Well done for doing something about your weight, this has got to be healthier than sticking at your starting weight. I think for a short term intervention then go for it, some people are having surgery or taking pills- both with risks but ultimately being overweight is a killer. My dad has recently died from having diabetes due to his food intake, we tried so hard to help him but he ended up with a stroke so I applaud what you are doing. I am on the 800 diet, it was tough first week but now I am sleeping better, my legs have stopped jumping, my hair is thicker I feel so much better but half way there.. I will not be my dad.

I'm sorry about your dad but well done to you for doing something about it and that your feeling better because of it 🥰

OP posts:
Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 15:03

Lanawashington · 11/07/2024 14:59

Welcome to mumsnet, where you get berated and judged for being fat, and also berated and judged for doing something about losing weight

🤣🤣🤣

OP posts:
MassiveOvaryaction · 11/07/2024 15:03

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 14:55

I drink between 2.5 and 4 litres of water a day. You can have up to 250ml skimmed milk allowance for tea and coffee. Alcohol only if you up your calories for a week prior to drinking and honestly I learnt the hard way of how important that rule was 🙈. I lost just under a stone but I have seen people lose much more. I have hypothyroidism so am a bit slower at losing. I started to get loads of energy on day 4, day 2 and 3 where horrific but once you past that it's very easy and you will feel better then you ever have. Good luck in whatever you decide to do 🥰

Thanks, I really appreciate you responding. I'll think about it some more.

Whatwouldscullydo · 11/07/2024 15:03

Then what's the point of the support? You said you chose this program because if the support available. But what support do you require if you are going to be relying on hour dr anyway.

I'm asking because I've seen how face book groups can go. Full of people who will encourage you to do stupid things.

fieldsofbutterflies · 11/07/2024 15:03

I knew this thread would go the way it has.

Diets like this aren't meant to be permanent or particularly nutritious - they're designed the way they are because the alternative is quite literally, death for many people.

Obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol - they kill people. Eating UPF brownies and cottage pie for three months may not be the most ideal diet in the world, but it's a hell of a lot better than dying.

Well done OP, you've done amazingly well! Weight loss is so hard to maintain - I really hope this helps you long-term.

Percivaleverett · 11/07/2024 15:03

A lot of posters aren’t reading OP’s updates they’re just piling on to say how unhealthy/ unsustainable her diet is. But OP has been very clear that it’s only for 12 weeks as a kick start because of hypothyroidism. Also being very overweight is very unhealthy & that’s often long term not just for 12 weeks!

Percivaleverett · 11/07/2024 15:05

OP what was your diet like before? Did you snack a lot?

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 15:05

thatstakingalongtimetoboil · 11/07/2024 15:00

But the problem is they arnt sustainable and the weight will pile back on.

Of course it's not sustainable which is why it's 12 weeks. Why would the weight pile back on il be staying in a calorie deficit then a calorie maintenance with an occasional treat meal.

OP posts:
fieldsofbutterflies · 11/07/2024 15:06

thatstakingalongtimetoboil · 11/07/2024 15:00

But the problem is they arnt sustainable and the weight will pile back on.

It's not supposed to be sustainable.

Mymanyellow · 11/07/2024 15:07

So if for instance you were on 1200 calories a day now you’re in 650, and are losing weight. When 12 weeks are up and you go back to 1200 you will put weight on or am I missing something?!

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 15:07

Jellybean85 · 11/07/2024 15:02

I mean a good chunk of the calories seem to be from a 'bar' or crisps ans chocolate it can't possible be considered a good short or long term option!

What's the plan long term op will you gradually increase so you can exercise too? That's really important for muscle tone as we age

Yes that's the plan going forward after the 12 weeks. I have 1 snack a day which is either crisps, chocolate, biscuits or wafers. Their all high protein low carb snacks

OP posts:
Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 15:08

Mymanyellow · 11/07/2024 15:07

So if for instance you were on 1200 calories a day now you’re in 650, and are losing weight. When 12 weeks are up and you go back to 1200 you will put weight on or am I missing something?!

No because I'd still be in a deficit you have to eat 3500 calories over your maintenance calories to gain a pound

OP posts:
stealthsquirrelnutkin · 11/07/2024 15:10

I make my own kefir and brew my own kombucha because they are expensive to buy, but really easy to make and don't take up too much space in my tiny kitchen.

When I had my allotment I used to make sauerkraut in a big German fermenting pot that could swallow a couple of big white cabbages, but then it all needed to be transferred into jars and kept cool until it was eaten, and sometimes it managed to go soggy and unappealing before I got round to it.

Since moving back to the UK I order the kimchi and sauerkraut from lovingfoods.co.uk - they send me 8 jars every 6 weeks, and sometimes add a jar of Vadasz Super Beet Kimchi to the online shopping trolley when it is on special offer.

I make around 3.5L of kombucha every ten days, using a mix of 6 organic black teabags and 4 teaspoons of high altitude purple tea from Kenya, with 300g of organic sugar, and filtered water, in one of these 4 and a quarter litre fermenting jars https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08P9VVSDD/ and this scoby https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MY91JH2/ that I bought in April last year and still haven't killed it yet. After 10 days in the jar I fill the second jar with tea, filtered water and dissolved sugar, move the scoby over to the new jug, top it up with a bit of the previous brew and use a jug and funnel to decant the remainder into these bottles that come with squares of muslin and rubber bands to keep fruit flies from skinny drowning themselves in the brew.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01LB1862A/ I let the bottles sit on the kitchen counter for a couple of days to build up a bit more fizz and then store them in the fridge.

The plastic funnel I had was too big to fit inside the necks of the half litre bottles so I had to invest in a smaller funnel https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07ZFXWMJ6/ to fill the bottles without mess.

The recipe that came with the scoby said to steep the tea for 30 minutes, so my first couple of brews were bitter and tasted overpoweringly of stewed tea. Someone else said that if you use high quality tea and enough of it then steeping for 10 minutes is sufficient to keep the scoby alive. Since I started doing that my kombucha tastes lovely. It's quite sour because the yeasts and bacteria in the scoby convert the sugar to vinegar, but fizzy and very refreshing. At first I'd add dried berries to the bottles before decanting it from the jar, to add different flavours, but it was a bit of a faff, and I really like the taste of plain kombucha now, so add the dried cherries, goji and sea hawthorn berries to my breakfast porridge instead.

I brew the tea earlier in the day and make sure there is plenty of clean fresh water in the brita filter jug, the mix of tea, sugar and water has to be room temperature before you transfer the scoby to the new jar. You have to wash your hands really carefully before grabbing the scoby and hauling it out and into the new jar, so as not to infect it with any unwanted organisms. Then stir the contents of the brewed jar before pouring it into the jug that is used to pour a bit into the new jar and decant the rest into the bottles, because the yeasts tend to settle towards the bottom of the liquid and you want them to be evenly mixed so that the new jar gets a proper starting boost and all the bottles have the same mix of yeast and bacteria.

I can get filling the new jar, transferring the scoby, stirring, bottling, and washing up the old jar, jug, mixing spoon, funnel and muslin, and have the fresh brew moved to the back of the counter and all the bottles lined up in front of it, on auto pilot in under 30 minutes. Considering how much kombucha costs in the shops (and never knowing if there is anything left alive in there when you drink it) the jars, bottles and scoby was one of my better investments. The home made stuff fizzes with life, and even people who recoil at the idea of fermented foods find it quite refreshing and pleasant to drink. I feel like a hobbit alewife each time I hang the freshly laundered muslin cloth to dry, and admire my row of bottles.

Catnipcupcakes · 11/07/2024 15:10

What does ‘not real spag bol’ actually look like?

Is it a spag bol flavoured powdered soup sort of thing?

LondonFox · 11/07/2024 15:10

combinationpadlock · 11/07/2024 12:26

no, you will put on weight even eating a low calorie diet, when your metabolism adjusts to the current calories you are taking in.

Your body will react as if you are going through a famine, and will start cutting corners all over the place to save calories, eg immune system, hormones, temperature, etc.

Exercising is great for health, but has no effect on weight loss.

I am very worried about you, you are putting your body through starvation, and your body will not ever recover. It will always in future be primed to respond very quickly to threat of further famine

What are you on about?
A lot of people recovered from anorexia after surviving years on low calorie diets (often below 650kcal) and they did not end up obesse.
We are historically much better prepared to get on a low calorie intake than to live as fat cows.

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 15:10

Percivaleverett · 11/07/2024 15:05

OP what was your diet like before? Did you snack a lot?

Yes it was horrific I would eat share bags of chocolate, crisps to myself, takeaways multiple times a week. Every meal I cooked was carb heavy and I had no concept of portion control

OP posts:
BonifaceBonanza · 11/07/2024 15:10

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 12:24

I have a shake or mueli for breakfast, soup or a bar for lunch and a bag of crisps or chocolate then something like spag bol or cottage pie for tea followed by pancakes or chocolate brownie for supper. These are packet foods though not actual foods you would make yourself if that makes sense

There’s no way this is 650 calories (which is a good thing)

Differentstarts · 11/07/2024 15:14

Catnipcupcakes · 11/07/2024 15:10

What does ‘not real spag bol’ actually look like?

Is it a spag bol flavoured powdered soup sort of thing?

Like this

650 kal a day
OP posts:
fieldsofbutterflies · 11/07/2024 15:15

BonifaceBonanza · 11/07/2024 15:10

There’s no way this is 650 calories (which is a good thing)

Yes, it is. Look at their website.

It's calorie controlled "meals" - it's not the same as going to the shop and buying a normal brownie/pancakes/cottage pie.

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