I have a question, and I would really like some honest opinions. It doesn't matter if it's what I want to hear or not. Last week, I was really sick and since then I just haven't been hungry. My daily calorie totals have been between500 and 800 calories a day. My mom calls this a "starvation diet" and says I cannot live on this many calories. I am honestly not hungry and I am eating healthy food, lots or veggies, etc. I also take a multivitamin. My question is........Is it ok to only eat this many calories temporarily if I am not hungry or is it harmful? I don't plan on only having this many calories forever, just until my stomach feels upto more food....or should I force myself to eat more? Thanks in nadvance for your advice! Sandie

Your mom is right that it's not enough calories - especially if you've been sick. Your body needs nutrition to heal.

One or two days of eating nothing when you're sick is fine. Sometimes you just can't stomach the idea of eating anything or your tummy is upset or whatever. It happens.

But you need to eat a *minimum* of 1200 cals and probably more. Eat things that will be easy on your tummy and split your eating out into 5 or more snacks if you can't face a full meal.

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Yep, your mom is right about this. 500-800 calories for someone your size is truly starvation.

Start eating again, even if you don't "feel" hungry. Plan your meals and snacks, figure out how many calories for each. For example, each meal could be 300-400 calories, each snack 100-200. 3 meals and up to 3 snacks per day. That would give you a range of between 1200 and 1800 for the day. If you come out in the middle of that range, you can probably lose weight. No, I'm not kidding.

Also, pay attention to nutrition. Vegetables are great--I love them--but you also need protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Don't for a minute think that you can successfully lose weight and keep it off by starving.

Good luck!

Jay

Mom wins on this one. Temporary is a few days - a week at max. I had surgery about 1 month ago and they had me on a liquid diet for one day so my calories were about 500. It took me a couple of days to get my calories back up over 1000, almost a week to get back to a regular diet of 1400+ calories.

I actually had to work at it but I knew it was the right thing. For a couple of days I probably could have survived on cereal alone. To be honest, it felt like I was not hungry so I can see how you are now thinking the same thing. One day I challenged myself to get back to fruits, veggies which I was so not in the mood for but after eating them I remembered how much I liked them.

I had some great weightloss days for the couple of weeks following getting back to eating right.

Lori

Hi, I hope you feel better. I have a cold and no appetite so I understand.

I was on medifast for a month and my calories were 800-1000. So my body got used to that calorie intake and I would gain if I ate more than that. If I had been on a 1,600 calorie diet, my body would have been used to that. Does that make sense? You don't want your body to think it only needs a low calorie amount.

I went off of medifast last week just as I got a cold and began to eat normally. I have zig zagged calories between 1,200 and 1,900 for a week and did not gain like i feared. I lost 1.5 I also eat every 3 hours or so and include protein.

It's really had to work at getting all of my calories in and I still can't taste anything. Hope this cold is over soon!

I agree, you should be eating more. If your stomach is still queasy then try to get down soups, juice, etc. until you can handle more solid food, but make sure you are eating more.

Just based on your weight and height I'd say you could probably lose on 1800 calories per day, but everyone is different and age and activity level are part of the equation too.

I'm glad you are feeling better!

Mom wins!

Even though your stomach may not feel hungry-your body still needs the nutrition. There is no way to cover your basic protein, fat, vitamin, and mineral requirements on 500-800 calories a day over the long term.

This, over time, will start affecting your health, and will show in your energy levels, your metabolism, your skin, hair, nails, etc...