To think that "you can't not eat enough"

[Abbey0134]

So I've been on a really strict diet for the last 14 days, lost 6lbs the first week and only 1lb this week. I'm eating between 600 and 800 cals a day. Apparently, I'm not eating enough. Could this be true?

I have always wondered that. I hear it a lot but don't really get what they mean by it.

You have still lost half a stone in total-that's great!

It’s true in the sense that you won’t be able to maintain it, so at some point you’ll binge or ‘fall off the wagon’ and undo your hard work.

I don’t really get the ‘starvation mode’ thing though, as people who are genuinely starving and not eating enough are generally very very thin.

I've never understood starvation mode. If you eat very little, you will lose weight. That's how gastric band and gastric bypass surgery works. Appetite suppressants too.

Oh and 7lbs in 2 weeks is brilliant! What are you actually eating?

Of course you can not eat enough.

It's fine to eat such a low calorie diet in the short term but it's not sustainable in the long term as eventually you'll either have to up your calorie intake or become malnourished.

Generally unless told otherwise by a doctor you shouldn't go below 1200. There are two reasons for this. The first is that you can't get enough protein, vitamins, nutrients etc on so few calories.

The second is that it's not sustainable long term. You're only human, and eventually you won't be able to keep going with that level of restriction. And if you can, that sounds like an eating disorder, and if so please please ask for some help. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea regardless.

Now you know you're capable of losing weight you'd be best upping your calories for a more stable, sustainable weight loss. The trick is to change your life to be more healthy and just keep going.

Oh nvm I think I misunderstood what you were asking.

The 6 lbs is more likely to be mostly fluid than excess fat, which is what you're trying to lose.

They say 1-2 lbs a week is best for sustainable weight loss - slow and steady wins the race and all that.

I don't know if there is any truth in the theory that if you massively undereat, your body goes into starvation mode to hang onto fat to survive. After all, famine victims etc are always dangerously underweight.

Unless there's a middle ground - very very low calories, little or maybe under 500 calories = major weight loss/death. 500-1000 calories = starvation/survival mode = body hangs on to weight. 1000 or more calories = steady loss of excess fat?

They say you shouldn't eat less than 1000-1200 calories a day unless medically supervised though.

Think of it like a salary. If you get 1000 a month you budget and spend that amount. If your salary drops to 800 you don't continue to spend 1000.

Your body works the same. It budgets your calories. It takes, on average, 1200 to 1500 calories just to exist - normal bodily functions. If you drop that amount to 800 say for an extended amount of time your body stops spending the 1200 and reduces it's expenditure to match the intake. Non essential functions eventually stop - hair growth, periods etc.

I think there are a number of things at play here:

1. You night feel that you can stick to this for a long time but eventually you will binge; it is how our bodies are designed.

2. Evidence is a bit mixed but consistently eating such a low number of calories could well impact your metabolism as your body will try and hold onto energy as much as possible.

3. If you're not doing this under medical supervision, it's almost impossible to get all the nutrients you need and you may well end up deficient in something which will leave you feeling crap. Plus, depending on what you eat, may play havoc with your bowels.

4. Your brain needs 500 calories a day to function, you don't have many left over for general life (or even exercise). You might thing you're fine but your cognitive functions start to be impaired - I see a psych weekly (probably not a huge surprise that I'm a recovering anorexic) and he says it's incredibly obvious to him when my calorie intake dips below a certain level because I am just much less present and much less able to engage. I have never thought this about myself though.

Take care of yourself

Malnutrition, a buggered up metabolism, the body will start eating itself using muscle, your mind will start to become foggy, periods get messed up. Very dangerous.

I reckon the first 5lb is fluid loss. It seems to be so in my case. I can drop 5lb over a couple of days and I lose my puffy ankles. I can also put on 5lb overnight when I take my Naproxen (for arthritis). Dr told me it makes the body retain about 5lb of fluid.

If eating more really makes weight loss faster, how come gastric bands work then?

I always feel that people who come out with the 'ooh, you're not eating enough' message are walking around with their eyes shut... have they not seen the pictures of the millions of starving people in this world?

It's a simple calorie combination. You probably lost so much the first week as it was also a combination of water loss. Keep it up and you will probably see another big dip by the end of the week!

There is no such thing as starvation mode. Your body needs calories to function end off.

If you starve yourself long enough you will fuck your metabolism up - indefinitely. It will slow down to conserve the few calories it gets and this will mean you will not be able to eat normally again without piling it on. Be careful.

If you want to lose weight, do more exercise.

yes, it will take longer than starving yourself but you will be healthier, your metabolism will be higher and you'll have more muscle which uses more energy in a resting state.

Of course it's possible to not eat enough - that's starvation - and you're not eating enough if your calorie intact is between 600/800 a day. No one can eat that few calories and maintain good health, it's untenable in the long term.

If however, you're asking if you've only lost 1lb in the second week because you're not eating enough for your body to lose weight then, no. The body doesn't stop losing weight because you're not eating enough, that's nonsense.

If you want to lose weight and sustain a healthy weight loss eat properly, just cut out rubbish and eat smaller portions. That way you have a better chance of keeping the weight off, you'll feel better, you'll lose the weight consistently and you'll be able to stick to it.

@thenightsky nobody's saying that the op wont lose weight by eating so little. They're just saying it's not a healthy way to lose weight - which is true.
Gastric band's stop you over eating rather than restricting your intake to such a drastic level.

*bands

Do you have your period by any chance? My weight loss during my period is negligible but there's a noticeable drop afterwards.

Nobody has the will-power to starve themselves for more than a few weeks. That’s why strict diets never work long term.
You will fuck your metabolism up.
You will make yourself ill and malnourished.
Be kind to your body OP. Nourishing food, enjoyable exercise, don’t fixate on what the scales say.

As a general rule eating less than 1300 calories a day is pointless as your bodies metabolism slows to the point where it's actively trying to get weight on you. So yes, you are eating too little.

Sudden weight loss after your period is known as the Whoosh effect.

I'm on 1500 calories a day and weight loss is minimal. I'm wanting to gain muscle but am scared to eat more to achieve this when I don't seem to be in much of a deficit. Bit of a vicious circle. By not eating enough I think you mean is it stopping you from losing weight. The answer is no. You will lose weight on a massive calorie deficit. On such a big deficit though the problems are 1. Can you maintain that or are you likely to spiral out of control as a result of undereating. 2. It's likely that your body will break down muscle tissue as well as fat to get what it needs. Loss of muscle tissue will lower your metabolic rate. This will make it harder for you to lose weight.

I think the "not eating enough" thing has been largely debunked, hasn't it? The issue is that you're likely to get bored, fall off the wagon, have insufficient energy for exercise, take in insufficient fat for your nervous system to function effectively, etc. Also, if you do really stick to an extremely low calorie diet long term, you're likely to become malnourished unless you are super careful about vitamins, minerals & your macros. People in famine hit regions, or with anorexia do just continue to lose weight. It's not healthy though!

If you go below a certain level of calories, nutrients etc, your body will start to prioritise certain processes. Hair falls out, skin appears less healthy, nails become weaker, your cognitive function will start to struggle. Fertility will temporarily cease - periods stop.

Unless you are very short, & naturally have a very light frame anyway, 600-800 calories per day is not really enough. You will lose weight, but it's going to be extremely difficult to maintain it without significant issues. And, when you hit your goal weight, you will struggle to maintain that as you will be used to a very low intake - and will likely have low muscle mass due to months of severe dieting. So won't be able to exercise to maintain on a "normal" diet.