800 cal isn't enough for a 6'5" man?

[RockingMyFiftiesNot]

We are very close friends with another couple. The other DH is 6'5" so he can carry a lot of weight. He lost a couple of stone a few years ago following a heart scare, using a calorie controlled diet 1800 cals per day.

He has regained most of that over the last 18 months and is now following a shake/soup diet plan of 800 calories a day for the next 6 weeks or so. I said to his wife when she told me that 800 cals seems ridiculously low for someone his size to follow for 6 weeks, I can't see how he'd have the energy to do anything. She said she is very worried about it but he won't talk about it and is going ahead. I said I'd ask for opinions on here.
Thoughts?

This is why 'diets' dont stick. He will feel horrendous.

I have no idea how many cals he burns a day, but the 800cal crash/kickstarter diets are designed for women and should be adjusted for men, esp 6ft5 ones!

Also, can you imagine how youd spend the entire diet dreaming of all the food you miss... if hes anything like me he would get to the end and eat absolutely EVERYTHING he could get his hands on, thus negating the diet in the first place.

Yeah I can imagine he will be unbearable! His wife is hoping he'll not make it past a week. Doesn't seem very healthy to me at all.

Sounds like one of these - www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/very-low-calorie-diets/ - which I understand doctors sometimes recommend for a short term under medical supervision. Like most medical interventions there are risks and benefits that need to be balanced but if that's what his GP advised it was probably for a good reason.

Is he doing it under medical supervision?

Surely an adult can adjust their diet to see how they go without it needing the opinions of strangers? Without a lot more details about his personal health and medical history, nobody here can tell you whether it's safe or not!

800 cals a day for 6 - 8 weeks if done in the correct way is a medially researched and proven diet for reducing fat around your organs and your risk of type two diabetes.

It's called the Blood Sugar Diet based on Professor Roy Taylor's research into type 2 diabetes.

Have a read and educate yourself.

No it's not under medical supervision as his wife said she'd suggested he speak to his doctor about it before starting but he won't.

It sounds maybe like the weight loss plan advocated by the professor from Newcastle. I think the idea of that is a rapid weight loss is more sustainable long term and also brings metabolic benefits for type 2 diabetics. Maybe it will work for him.

The Blood Sugar Diet is 800 calories a day for a limited period. It is used by doctors to reverse the effects of type 2 diabetes. Perhaps your friend has been diagnosed with pre-diabetes and is trying to manage it?

Cross post!

@DysmalRadius

Surely an adult can adjust their diet to see how they go without it needing the opinions of strangers? Without a lot more details about his personal health and medical history, nobody here can tell you whether it's safe or not!

A wife surely has a right to be concerned about such a major drop in her husband's calories over a 6 week period. 'Strangers' on MN will include dieticians, medical professionals and people who have personal experience of similar diets.

It's not a matter if it's enough calories or not. The NHS recommends that an 800 calorie/day diet should only be followed after consultation with a GP, and only for specific medical reasons. www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/very-low-calorie-diets/

Tried seeing a GP lately?

He will be able to function He’ll be hangry and a bit headachey at first, but it will pass. His body will switch from food to fat as a fuel source and then he will begin to use fat stores. Good on him for taking his health seriously.

VLCD (very low calorie diets) are not for everyone, but for some they are they only way of shifting a bit of weight to kick start a healthier lifestyle. As long as he stays hydrated, does a bit of light exercise and takes a multivitamin, he will be fine. He will also need a plan for the long term so he doesn’t put out on what he lost and more- that is where people fail.

There is a lot of miseducation around calorie consumption and the absolute nonsense ‘starvation mode’. I am a sedentary, petite female- my calorie burn per average day is 1254 calories. If I eat more than that, I have to exercise or I’ll gain weight. The amount of times people have told me I’m ‘starving myself’ because women ‘must eat 2000’ is crazy.

My dh is 6ft4 800 calories 😮 that'd be like getting starved for him! That poor man is gonny pass out or something. I assume he's doing it to get a good chunk of weight off quickly but it's extreme to say the least!

I'm tiny 5ft 1, 8 stone and I cldnt cope with 800 calories!

Sounds a bit too little calories, but I am sure he knows what he is doing.

I am sure he is healthier/will be healthier in the future, than someone who is obese.

Good for him for dealing with his weight gain. 6 weeks of 800 calories a day won't kill anyone. However, it is quite low, and he will lose it quickly, so will probably regain it fairly quickly.

@RockingMyFiftiesNot YABU a bit, because this man is just doing what's best for him.

I am a sedentary, petite female- my calorie burn per average day is 1254 calories. If I eat more than that, I have to exercise or I’ll gain weight. The amount of times people have told me I’m ‘starving myself’ because women ‘must eat 2000’ is crazy.

I don't see the connection between that and a 6'5" man consuming 800 cals a day?

@Suprima

He will be able to function He’ll be hangry and a bit headachey at first, but it will pass. His body will switch from food to fat as a fuel source and then he will begin to use fat stores. Good on him for taking his health seriously.

VLCD (very low calorie diets) are not for everyone, but for some they are they only way of shifting a bit of weight to kick start a healthier lifestyle. As long as he stays hydrated, does a bit of light exercise and takes a multivitamin, he will be fine. He will also need a plan for the long term so he doesn’t put out on what he lost and more- that is where people fail.

There is a lot of miseducation around calorie consumption and the absolute nonsense ‘starvation mode’. I am a sedentary, petite female- my calorie burn per average day is 1254 calories. If I eat more than that, I have to exercise or I’ll gain weight. The amount of times people have told me I’m ‘starving myself’ because women ‘must eat 2000’ is crazy.

Excellent post. ^

But you're not his wife and there is no way any medical professional on here will be able to give you any reassurance based on the info on your op!

Like others have said, he is likely following the Blood Sugar Diet.

A lot of people here, including me, have done 6-8 weeks of eating 800 calories.

I would advise his wife to read the book and let him get on with it. He is an adult who can make his own choices. I would be very annoyed if my husband's friend posted here all concerned about my diet.

@RockingMyFiftiesNot

I am a sedentary, petite female- my calorie burn per average day is 1254 calories. If I eat more than that, I have to exercise or I’ll gain weight. The amount of times people have told me I’m ‘starving myself’ because women ‘must eat 2000’ is crazy.

I don't see the connection between that and a 6'5" man consuming 800 cals a day?

The poster is just giving an example of how other people keep giving opinions on what she consumes, even though it's none of their business, and she does what works for her.

Which is what YOU are doing @RockingMyFiftiesNot

I have a 6 ft male friend doing an 800 cal diet.

In his case he was recently diagnosed as type 2 diabetic and 12 weeks on 800 cals a day can, apparently, put the diabetes into remission.

He is also in daily contact via an app with a dietician and has frequent phone calls with her and this was arranged via his GP.

He has 4 weeks to go and then he will have 4 weeks 'reintroducing food' to get him on track with a balanced sustainable diet.

That is what the diet is designed to achieve, normal blood sugar levels, although there is a drastic weight reduction that is not the be all and end all of this diet.

With no support and no plan B for after this the weight will go back on.

My friend only works part time and is feeling tired and keeps getting dizzy if he stands up too fast.

I would advise your friend to talk to her husband's GP. The GP will not be able to discuss it due to confidentiality but she can inform them of the diet.

Link to more information.

www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/whats-your-healthy-weight/low-calorie-diets

But you're not his wife

No but I'm one of his wife's best friends and she is worried and knows I am asking for broader opinions on here.

But I should have known better, will leave it here, thanks to those providing helpful responses.

@RockingMyFiftiesNot

But you're not his wife

No but I'm one of his wife's best friends and she is worried and knows I am asking for broader opinions on here.

But I should have known better, will leave it here, thanks to those providing helpful responses.

Oh wow, so you are flouncing less than half an hour after your first post, and 25 posts in, just because you've been getting a few responses you don't like?!

That's got to be a record!