You know what? I wish nobody had ever even defined calories! Because the body's health isn't about calories, it's about nutrition, and nutrition is a very complex thing!
But people get an idea about calories, and then they want to put everything in terms of too many calories, too few calories, average calories,
And then folks think "Gee, if I need a 500 calories per day deficit to lose a pound a week, then if I make it a 1,000 calories per day deficit, I can lose TWO pounds a week!" Yahoo! And if you don't eat at all, who knows HOW much you can lose!
Well, a person can eat nothing or next to nothing, and watch their heart muscle deteriorate, their hair fall out, and their bones start to go... And a person can also eat 1200 lousy, greasy, carb-y, non-nutritive calories in a day, and yeah, maybe they'll lose weight. But they'll also be SICK!
So I really do think it's a good idea for folks to do some research, read a few good books about nutrition, weight loss, metabolism, exercise, and so on, before deciding to launch into some half-baked plan for weight loss. Talk to a doctor! Talk to a dietitian! Go to the library! Heck, even read some of the reviews on 3FC and some of the Sticky Threads on the forums!
It just tears me up inside to see people try this, because I truly believe that crash dieting like this contributed more to my weight gain than it ever did to weight loss, and probably caused or contributed to a bunch of my current health issues as well.
I can't go back and undo any of it, but I would if I could. I think my life would have been so different if I had never once attempted dieting like this.
This is my exact experience. I dieted my way from a fairly normal sized teenager to a 200 lb woman. Every time I drastically cut calories, I DID lose weight, short term, I ALWAYS ALWAYS gained all the weight back and MORE. MORE WEIGHT each time.
And believe me, I thought I knew what I was doing. If someone gently said "are you eating too little" I thought stuff like "It's WORKING, I'm losing weight, this is GREAT, that person is so stupid."
Over 4 years ago, I sat down and thought hard about why I could lose weight and never keep it off. I didn't want to lose some weight and then gain it back, it's so heart breaking. I wanted to lose weight and be a slim person forever. This was my first completely honest, clear-eyed evaluation of my weight. I realized I had to abandon my idea that if I could lose some weight by cutting some calories, I could lose MORE weight by cutting more calories.
I was finally successfully (and LOOK at my numbers - 200 to 130 in about a year, maintainer for nearly FOUR YEARS) by allowing myself to eat good foods that I liked.
I challenge anyone that thinks eating less than 1K calories is the way to do this to come visit the maintainer's forum and ask ANY of the long term success stories how they did it. I can think of one person who did a VLCD under a doctor's supervision - one person!
I know that weight loss is a journey, I don't know if I would have been ready to hear this when I was 20 or 25 or even 30. I was sick of being fat, I wanted to be thin RIGHT THIS SECOND and I was willing to DO anything, RISK anything to be thin. I wish I had done it differently, I wish I had a time machine to go back to that fat, sad woman I was and tell myself - you don't have to starve, or struggle or be miserable and hungry. You can eat, you can be slender, you can be happy.
Well, a person can eat nothing or next to nothing, and watch their heart muscle deteriorate, their hair fall out, and their bones start to go... And a person can also eat 1200 lousy, greasy, carb-y, non-nutritive calories in a day, and yeah, maybe they'll lose weight. But they'll also be SICK!
So I really do think it's a good idea for folks to do some research, read a few good books about nutrition, weight loss, metabolism, exercise, and so on, before deciding to launch into some half-baked plan for weight loss. Talk to a doctor! Talk to a dietitian! Go to the library! Heck, even read some of the reviews on 3FC and some of the Sticky Threads on the forums!
OK, I'm done.
You know, Jay and I don't always see eye-to-eye but good GRIEF I agree with this 1000%.
I honestly don't understand why people who have so much great information at their fingertips don't bother to use it. There is a WEALTH of information online and on this site. If you read it all and get confused, ask questions, by all means. But why just ... as Jay said .. launch into some half-baked plan w/out bothering to learn anythign first???
I posted in a hurry earlier, I just wanted to add - I definitely don't feel PERFECT or want to cut down anybody. I am vocal and passionate because I have literally been there. I know why I did it, I know now why I wish I hadn't done it. I would spare anybody the pain, if I could.
I definitely don't feel PERFECT or want to cut down anybody. I am vocal and passionate because I have literally been there. I know why I did it, I know now why I wish I hadn't done it. I would spare anybody the pain, if I could.
Oy. Totally! I am so passionate about this because I've been there and I wish someone would have opened my eyes to it years ago. I wish I'd had a great resource like this when I was in my 20s and struggling to lose the 15 lbs I wanted to, instead of having to get to 100+ overweight.
Gosh, I feel like the posterchild for why not to diet this way, and so many of the other posters obviously feel the same way. But who can believe a person at nearly 400 lbs when they say they crash dietted to that weight? It doesn't make any sense, and yet it's the God's honest true.
When people told me in high school it was stupid to only eat on weekends, I knew it was stupid, but only sort of. It was working, and that's all I cared about. I didn't care if dieting that way killed me, as long as I was losing weight. If getting to goal weight meant dying at age 35, I would have gladly agreed to it.
I wasn't an idiot. I was pretty smart for 16, but not smart enough. It took me years and years to really understand what I had done to my body, and still I wonder. I wonder how much of my health problems were caused by not only by the weight itself and the dieting ineffectively, but what problems were caused by the crash dieting itself - the malnutrition - the stress on the body.
I don't know, but I do know that every crash diet (any diet under 1200 calories), made it harder and harder to lose weight the "right" way. I still find myself tempted my the allure of faster weight loss. And initially it is faster, which is why it's so tempting. In the very early stages of any crash diet, the weight comes off faster - and it's all that seems t matter. But, it's an illusion, promising much and delivering little.
Yes, everyone who has experienced this is passionate about it - not condescending or self-righteous, but passionate about sparing even one person the pain of going down that path that leads nowhere good.
Seeing as how I am doing 500-750 a day now I've decided to try to up my daily intake to around 1200. That's a good number? I dont' want to go to high, I used to eat around 2500-3000 a day, and look where it got me, up to my highest weight of 231. I'm done being the fat girl ya know.... I guess if it comes off slower, it's ok, as long as it comes off right?
I'm not sure how long you've been at 500-750 a day, but you might want to ease into a higher number (ie. so you don't freak out when you gain a little). Try 750-1000 for a few days, then 1000-1250 and I'd really end up somewhere around 1250-1500 as a minimum. You may still gain a bit of weight back at first. Your body may have become used to the lower calories (and afraid its coming back) so it may try and store excess for a little while. Until it knows you're not going to try and starve it again.
I missed if it was you (or someone else) who made a point about trying to eat more (and finding it hard). Add in some good fats (olive oil with your salad dressings, a few nuts and/or dried fruits, etc.) and it shouldn't be a big problem. I admit some days I will have a hard time getting the calorie levels up, but that's mainly because I also aim for a certain amount of protein as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieJo
Where do you guys get your information from on using calorie restriction as a diet? Do you just pay attention to the calorie count or are their other factors that you take into considersation? How do you have any idea what calorie amount you should be at to lose weight?
I know weight watchers and how to count points, but I might try this calorie thing to mix things up a bit. What should my daily calorie intake be if I want to go from 163ish to 135/140ish by mid Jan?
Calorie counting is complicated as even general calculators can be off. I know (for example) that I burn about 3000 calories a day just doing my daily life things (ie. no exercise). I'm working that out through past progress though (ie. how much I ate last month, how much exercise I did, and how much I lost).
I put in my weight/height, with Resting (10), Very Light (10), Light (3), Moderate (1) and get 2975. Estimating your activity level is hard though. It's a starting point though. So on days I don't exercise I do ~2000, and on days I lift weights I do ~2300 and split the difference on cardio days, since I mainly just walk for that.
A starting point would be to try and estimate your activity levels, use the calculator and decide how much you think you burn. To lose approx. 1 lb a week you need to make the difference 500 cals a day. So pick numbers, make sure your calorie counting is good, and try it for a couple of weeks. If you lose a lot fast, bump them up a bit. If you lose nothing, check your calorie counting again, and then bump them down a bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayEll
So I really do think it's a good idea for folks to do some research, read a few good books about nutrition, weight loss, metabolism, exercise, and so on, before deciding to launch into some half-baked plan for weight loss. Talk to a doctor! Talk to a dietitian! Go to the library! Heck, even read some of the reviews on 3FC and some of the Sticky Threads on the forums!
I agree with most of what you've said here... however, I've seen doctors put people on some pretty stupid calorie levels. In the end though, aiming for a reasonable deficit, and understanding about what you're eating is crucial.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Glory87
I was finally successfully (and LOOK at my numbers - 200 to 130 in about a year, maintainer for nearly FOUR YEARS) by allowing myself to eat good foods that I liked.
I'm one of those people who thinks 'if I knew then what I know now' as well. I thought I knew what I was doing a few years ago when I started losing weight (for the first time a real amount), but I didn't. This time I know that I've found 'the secret' if there is such a thing. I have to make sure that I eat enough. A strange thing for someone trying to lose weight, but oh so true.
The fact that people felt a need for this thread is one of the reasons I love this site and appreciate all of you so much. I love that so many of you are so knowledgeable AND so caring both! Being a part of this community has really changed how I eat and how I think about eating/health but it has all been so amazingly positive. Thank you all for being such a great source of support.
I'm with you. I've only been using this site about a week, but I have learned so much. And forget about the fact that actually seeing people who have gone threw it and did it makes it so much easier. Losing weight, 90 lbs in my case (GOAL..) it just seems so overwhelming and I don't know where to begin. I'm trying to figure out my place in all of this & how I can change my habits & my life so I'm not this way anymore. I don't know exactly how to do that yet, but I'm learning. And I'm starting to learn that there is no quick fix and whatever I do is going to take a lot of time to do. And even though I just cheated and ate a dinner I prob should of, it's ok. I'm over and moving on & will try to maintain this new healthy way of eating next time. I can tell by all of your determination that just cause I screwed up, it's ok, I'll keep going and hopefully someday, maybe a year from now, I can be one of the success stories. Thanks everyone!
I'm trying to figure out my place in all of this & how I can change my habits & my life so I'm not this way anymore. I don't know exactly how to do that yet, but I'm learning. And I'm starting to learn that there is no quick fix and whatever I do is going to take a lot of time to do.
I'm over and moving on & will try to maintain this new healthy way of eating next time. I can tell by all of your determination that just cause I screwed up, it's ok, I'll keep going and hopefully someday, maybe a year from now, I can be one of the success stories. Thanks everyone!
Ya know what? That, IMHO, is a successful attitude right there.
No-one does this perfectly. A lot of us have scheduled cheat meals or days or whatever and everyone gets in a funk and goes off plan for an hour or a day or a week. It's about making progress, not about being perfect. I continue to learn and get better at eating healthy and staying on plan, but truly it has taken me a couple months or so to feel really comfortable with what I am doing and I'm still learning and tweaking and I probably always will.
I don't think I really expected to be able to lose the weight. I'm almost half way to my goal (50 pounds for me) and I am in awe at the progress I have made. I can honestly say it would not be going so well if it wasn't for the women on this forum.
Because the body's health isn't about calories, it's about nutrition, and nutrition is a very complex thing! 
