To eat 500 calories a day for 12 weeks

[Summerdays55]

How much weight would I lose

I did this using a vlcd - very low calorie diet, such as cambridge, slim and save or lighter life. Worked well and I lost over 2 stone, I only had 2 stone to lose though- the more you have to lose the more you'll lose.

HOWEVER- it is really, really hard, especially the first week. And any cheating stops ALL weight loss. If you don't follow a plan such as above and just eat 500 calorie you'll risk nutrient deficiency, and associated issues, including significant hair loss.

AND I gained it all back plus more as once I got to my goal weight I just started eating as I had before.

Don't do it.

Don't do it OP. I've done 5:2 and alternate day fasting where I was eating 500-600 calories per day on the 'fast' days back in 2014. I kept up the ADF for six months and lost 2.5 stone (which was my goal - to get from 10.5 to 8 stone). I did loads of exercise too - long walks with the dogs, weights, sit ups, step ups etc - and was bloody knackered/grumpy throughout. Not sure how I managed it TBH as we were also mid way through a major DIY house refurb involving lots of hard labour. Not to be recommended.......oh, and I gained 1.5 stone as soon as I stopped ADF. Am about to start again, but will stick to 5:2 this time!

Agree Junosmum Also the 'meal replacers' are plugged full of sugar and dairy etc. both of which are not healthy for some people; the chemical vitamins are not good enough for our daily life.

Paul Mackenna's I Can Make You Thin (silly title but good book,CD, app etc.) advocates normal healthy eating BUT you HAVE to eat when you're hungry, eating slowly, chewing properly, enjoying the food. You STOP when you're full.

It works, I lost 3 stone and am still maintaining the loss after 3 to 4 years. I will continue for life.

You need to see a GP or someone medically trained before undertaking an extreme diet like this. A lot of people on an Internet forum can tell you this is a bad idea but i suspect you won't listen.

I did the 5:2, whereby I fasted for two days. These two days I was allowed 500 calories, it's tough enough for two days, even if you have the willpower to keep to 500 a day, everyday, you will make yourself ill.

Having low calorie days in itself is not that bad, if you read anything by Michael Mosely or even Jamie Oliver, they suggest this way of eating could make you live longer. But it shouldn't be everyday for a short period of time. Health wise you are better off eating like this 2-4 times a week permanently. If the other days are healthy and you don't binge on junk, you will have a steady weight loss as well as seein other health benefits.

6lbs weight gain in one meal? Surely not.

A VLCD can work i.e. meal replacements not 'standard' food, however many people have stated here that you can put the weight back on (and more) very quickly because the hardest part is the 'refeeding'. I tried it five years ago and managed 10 weeks. I went on uncontrollable binges afterwards and I now weigh more than I have ever done. I also lost half my hair. I also have a friend who did it and lost 6st in 5 months for her wedding. She is now back to her starting weight as well. Not that many people manage to maintain from what I've observed. Just saying.

I have to admit, 6lbs on a plate is just humongous.

If you were extremely dehydrated you could certainly gain a couple of pounds... but to eat and retain 6lbs of food in one sitting?!?!

ah yes, Lighterlife. Look at what has happened to poster girl Pauline Quirke.

you need to eat properly and move to lose weight, and it is mostly in the former. It needs work, common sense and time.

which is why the diet 'industry' does so well as most people are can't/won't on the above.

I did a VLCD under medical supervision, and lost 13 kilos in 12 weeks. After the first two weeks I was not hungry and was very energetic and had never slept so well. Also started exercising 3 times per week after first month. Overall felt great, but had to take multivitamin, potassium, magnesium and sodium supplements. And blood tests every mont to check everything was fine. It worked for me, as a transition to a healthier diet and a quick way to lose a lot of weight (immediately had less pain in knees and everywhere). But the doctor said I should not do it for more than 12 weeks. Good luck!

Good grief, DON'T DO THIS. Your body will start to eat into its muscle mass and this can have long-term effects on your metabolism & health. Your breath will also stink........Get off sugar & complex carbs & eat simply & healthily, the Michael Mosley 8 week diet mentioned here is sound & medically tested, try this along with some extra exercise, even a 'good daily walk' will help. I have been doing SIRT for 4 weeks & have lost 9lbs, I am now shifting over to the MM diet, as the regular SIRT juicing thing is doing my head in (each to his own!). Good luck & take care.

Absolutely. Common sense: a simple idea that is easy to stick to.

Which is possibly why 5:2 can work well for some. You don't change your regular eating habits, you don't restrict anything. You just move it around a bit. So there is no 'come down', no feeling of hardship, martyrdom etc.

It also helps to avoid all the cod science and diet myths. They are scary and only serve to complicate things.

OP?

Sitting in the corner eating chocolate, trying not to think about the horrific crash diet induced death she has narrowly escaped... maybe?

Eating chocolate and drinking tea. OP's other (and only other) thread was about tea making teeth yellow.

OP?

Ah! That'll be what she is doing then. Drinking hot tea, raising her metabolism, using the power of food induced thermogenesis, to shift that weight

Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.

Starvation and binging are bedfellows. You might lose lots of weight and feel fantastic, you might even keep it off, but it's extremely unlikely. I did similar, once. Started out at 11 stone, got to 10 stone in a month. I looked great. A year later, I was 16.5 stones. I'd never had a problem with binging in my life, nor had I ever been over 11 stones. I suddenly found I couldn't stop eating. It was devastating and life-changing. I know several other people this happened to, sadly.

There is no need whatsoever for anyone to count calories. Weight loss isn't about calories consumed. I eat a paleo diet (similar to low carb). I eat as much as I want; lots of fat, it all tastes great and the weight falls off. It's sustainable, extremely healthy and I've pretty much never hungry.

I am doing a vlcd with 600 ish calories a day. In just over 2 weeks I have lost about 11 Lbs. I am neither tired or hungry. I still go to the gym but workout at a lower level. However, not going to do it 12 weeks straight.
We are advised to have at 200 calories in real food week 4 , 8 and 12. Will also have the odd day off too. And a long weekend when I go away.
Bizarrely I have always strugged to lose weight on traditional diets. I have a bad day and than binge. Yet I haven't cheated at all this time After 12 weeks I will probably add a healthy meal.

I'm doing slimming world, I've been on it two weeks and have lost 10lbs. I know it'll slow down after the first few weeks and I'm then expecting a sustainable loss of 2-3lb a week.

I haven't had to deprive myself, it's all been down to making different choices with what I'm eating so that there's less sugar, calories and fat in my meals. For example, for the amount of calories and fat in one meal of chips, pie and gravy I could have three SW friendly meals - cooked breakfast, jacket potato with salad and spaghetti bolognese. I've cut right back on bread and refined sugar and I'm cooking from scratch. I'm not snacking either because I'm finding that I'm not hungry between meals, if I do get hungry then I have some carrot sticks a piece of fruit.

The 6lb is plausible. You'd replenish glycogen in muscle and liver and that's stored with a specific amount of water per molecule of glycogen. Most of that 6lb will be water.

500kcal is nowhere near enough. 600 a day is officially the starvation level. You'll literally not have enough to power your energy intensive systems like brain, kidney, liver, heart. You'll snap and binge.

You can do 800 a day IF it's a medically supervised diet along the vlcd lines. These can be good for those with a lot to lose as you very quickly lose a motivating amount and see quick changes in body chemistry (lowered insulin levels, reduced visceral fat etc.) shakes etc aren't the healthiest, no, but the idea is it's a short term kick start for those whose weight is a clear and current danger to health. If you're 400lb, it's riskier to stay that way than to eat grim shakes for six months to lose a lot.

All diets work. If you stick to them. If you don't, and if you don't address why you put the weight on in the first place then you'll fail. Thus, a change to better habits for a lifetime needs to be done.

I don't know what plan you are doing, but it sounds like similar to the Cambridge diet which is about those calories per day for a 12 week period followed by 1 week off, you have to get your doctors permission and you are monitored with weekly support. Lighter life is the other one, Exante is another but is online and I wouldnt recommend it as it is not medically supervised.

It is incredibly tough and tbh when I did it although I stuck to it 100% the results were not much better than SW.

GL if you decide but please be supervised and in 12 weeks it will be around about a 3 stone loss

Terrible idea! You'd be better off doing 1300 ish per day, much, much better off

I think you need to give us a bit more to go on, OP, wherever you are.

500 cals a day for 12 weeks.

Sounds like a diet where you lose weigh.

And muscle tone.

And skin and hair condition.

And, eventually, vital signs.

Don't do it OP.