On 450 calories today and need some help getting through this evening!

[ThisIsClare]

I'm on 1,000 calories a day now. Dropped from 1,200 after losing weight at that and then plateauing. However on a Monday I only taken in 450 calories to make up for the extra calories I usually eat at the weekend. It's not impossible - I make a soup with some protein in it, blend it, and drink it throughout the day.

Luckily I don't have any tempting food in the house (lots of chocolate but I'm more of a savoury person and am also good at resisting temptation). However I'm due to do a food shop after work this evening and I will need some help and motivation not to throw myself on the yogurts and fruit when I get back home.

Can anyone share their tips to avoid temptation when you're hungry? I will be going to be early and watching TV to chill before hand. But any tips to avoid stepping into the kitchen and undoing the hard work from today? Thank you!

@WannabeOT

I regularly plateau on my 1300 a day but I just carry on then after a few weeks I'll suddenly have a bigger loss and then it will carry on as normal. No need to keep dropping calories or the same thing will keep happening. Slow and steady is the best way

It’s more sustainable that way

You are doing your body so much damage. When you ingest so little nutrition your body goes into starvation mode, and stores all the calories it can rather than burn them off. Even the heart foundation diet which is a rapid weight loss for patients undergoing heart surgery doesn't go lower than 800 calories.

You are also binge eating, eating more at weekends and lowering calories intake during the week- again this pattern is so damaging for your body.

Carry on the way you are going and your hair will fall out, tiredness, fatigue, lack of vitamins, brittle bones, diabetes, heart disease the list goes on.

Finally saw some student project work today for photography and the theme was 'when your main goal in life is body image... mental health deteriorates'

You shouldn't undertake a diet this low in calories without medical supervision. Especially as you are already in the healthy weight range for your height, so you don't have a huge fat store for your body to fall back on.

Not sure why everyone is so horrified. Fasting is proven to be beneficial for health. Lots of people do it.

I occasionally went for a Coke Zero when I needed a psychological lift.

@Sarcobaleno

Not sure why everyone is so horrified. Fasting is proven to be beneficial for health. Lots of people do it.

I occasionally went for a Coke Zero when I needed a psychological lift.

Yes, occasional fasting is OK if on the surrounding days you are eating a normal diet or it's built into a diet plan that ensures you get a reasonable amount of calories overall in a 24 hour period - but the OP is already eating a very restrictive diet of 1000 calories a day.

@LApprentiSorcier but she said she was eating fewer calories today to compensate for over shooting her calories at the weekend.

Fasting plans work over a week or a month

The body is perfectly fine having a fluctuating intake

Im the same height and I'd look really skinny at 8 stone, and not in a healthy way

@Kittykat93

Im the same height and I'd look really skinny at 8 stone, and not in a healthy way

A lot depends on your frame. That's why 'healthy BMI' ranges span about 2.5 stone - your personal optimum weight could be at either end of that, but in theory no one of that height will be over or under weight to a degree that affects their health if they stay within that range.

Being so close to your goal weight means that you are going to have to lose weight at a much slower rate than a pound a week. Not eating enough calories means you will not only lose body fat but you’ll also risk stripping your lean mass out.

On myfitnesspal one of the users managed to give herself congestive heart failure by eating at the 1000kcal a day mark. Her thread makes for pretty sobering reading. community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10761904/under-1200-for-weight-loss

Please consult a doctor and make sure you aren’t causing damage.

capital
That post is about a 5'8" person
so not comparable with the OP

OP, you sound freakishly like me... I'm 5ft 2, currently 8st 7ish and aiming to get to 8st. I've been doing intermittent fasting and 5:2 since last year. I found out pretty quickly after I'd started that I need to restrict calories quite a lot more than other people to lose weight - I think it's because I'm so small and slight (I've got tiny bones and a really small frame). This is also why I don't look 'too thin' at 8st (I got to 8st 1 a few months ago. And then Christmas happened 😂) - I look 'just right'.

Anyway, since Christmas I haven't been massively strict as I can't really be bothered anymore but I'm still doing 2 500(ish) calorie fast days a week, as well as not eating breakfast. I used to count calories on my non fasting days but I don't bother anymore. One of the reasons I don't bother is because I'm beginning to realise that perhaps my attitude towards food and weight loss was heading down the unhealthy path. It's tough - I like being slim, but I also don't want to be unhealthily obsessed, but I've come to realise you do need a modicum of obsession to keep being slim!

ANYWAY... I'm also an exercise hater (and, like you, can't square the calorie/exercise circle) but I'm slowly coming around to the idea that I need to forget the numbers on the scales, concentrate on toning exercise (I'm going daily yoga atm) and making my body what I want it to look like without making it ALL about the food.

I don't think you should drop below 1200 a day

A few inches in height will not protect against things like hypokalemia or other electrolyte imbalances. The lower number of calories you eat the harder it is to eat all the right nutrients in the right quantities. This is why very low calorie diets (under 1200 calories) should only be done under the supervision of a doctor to ensure that you aren’t causing problems that you won’t see until it’s too late. A quick consultation with the doctor to check all is ok is much better than risking your life.

@thecapitalsunited

A few inches in height will not protect against things like hypokalemia or other electrolyte imbalances. The lower number of calories you eat the harder it is to eat all the right nutrients in the right quantities. This is why very low calorie diets (under 1200 calories) should only be done under the supervision of a doctor to ensure that you aren’t causing problems that you won’t see until it’s too late. A quick consultation with the doctor to check all is ok is much better than risking your life.

This.

TDEE is linked to
Weight
Height
Age
Activity

Short people need less calories than tall people

Old people need less calories than young people

1200 is not a magic number

1200 calories is the number of calories that medical professionals generally agree is the minimum number to provide essential nutrients. If you want to eat below this figure then the safest thing to do is consult a doctor. It’s nothing to do with TDEE which does vary between people but is only about energy requirements not other requirements for living.

The OP is trying to lose a pound a week so she’s trying to eat at 500 calories below her TDEE - I guess she’s estimated her TDEE to be around 1500. Dropping her calorie deficit to 250 calories and aiming for 0.5lb a week will be much safer - that extra food will allow for more nutrients. Unfortunately those last few pounds are the hardest because you have to make compromises like this.

1200 calories is the number of calories that medical professionals generally agree is the minimum number to provide essential nutrients.
Link please

This is not sustainable. Make long term changes/choices which don't involve staving yourself. I'm a qualified nutritionist and hate to hear people counting calories.
Binge and crash dieting ends up a constant cyclevof yo-yo weight.

When you exercise you build lean muscle, the more muscle mass you have, the higher your "fat burn" capabilities.
Restrictive eating can have all sorts of long term implications - deficiencies etc, and doing no exercise to strengthen your muscles / joints is setting you up for lots of issues when you get older - falls, brittle bones etc.
There's a nice saying "if you don't make time for exercise now, you'll be forced to make time for ill health in the future".

Will this suffice?
www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/calorie-counting-made-easy

But again, no one is saying people should never do it but that they should consult their doctors before they do so because there are risks.

This article (journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004377) indicates that losing weight just through calorie restriction slows your metabolism more than doing it through diet and exercise combined so adding exercise, even though OP isn’t keen, would be beneficial for her weight loss since it would prevent her metabolism from falling as much.

Thank you everyone for the input. I am now looking forward to a breakfast of eggs, vegetables and toast, as I have daily.

You make it sound so appetising.

It is. I've been on it since last summer - I couldn't stick to it if it weren't.

Gum helps a lot, also distraction in a form of a conversation with someone or something like that. Reading and watching tv doesn't really help me.
But I agree with those who say 450 calories isn't healthy. It really is not, OP, your body needs much more just to function and you'll certainly need more if you add exercises, too.