How long can I do this?
 

I'm at 1477 calories to lose 4lb in 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks is up, can I keep doing this, at 1477, to lose 4 in the next two weeks? Someone told me if I keep doing it I'll get very sickly. I was planning on doing it for 6 months to lose 40lbs. But do I need to make change and adjustments? I thought you only had to do that when you were at a plateau.

I'm obviously very ignorant, so any corrections would be great. Thanks.


The person also said to be careful to watch out for water intoxication. I drink anywhere from 3-5 7.7FL OZ water bottles a day. Is this guy just full of crap, or should I really be careful? I know water intoxiation is real, but I'm not drinking that much, am I?

I'm not sure why you would get "sickly" by doing that. However, it's always a good idea to just keep an open mind and take things one week or even day at a time. You don't necessarily want to say "I am going to do this exact same thing until I lose this weight" because you might have to switch it up or you might just get sick of it. I'm a big believer in calorie cycling and changing things up pretty often, so I wouldn't stick to the exact same number of calories for so many weeks in a row. Shouldn't make you sick though!

Yeah I don't get it, either. He said I'd become sickly, and induce starvation when I went off the diet again. I'm like.. huh? I take it week by week. How do you change things up? I understand the idea but I don't see the point, aside from getting bored. The most I can lose in 2 weeks is 4lbs. The most I can lose in 1 is 2-3. I don't think I'd plan for more than 2 weeks, I'm too adhd lol.

1477 calories would not make you sickly, in my unprofessional opinion. Calorie intake is not specific, during your journey you will find the need to have to tweak that amount from time to time, I am sure but it is all about getting healthy and doing what is best for you and your body. Don't listen to whatever else says, do what is best for YOU.

I agree. I don't think the 1477 would make you sickly. You may find that if you stay there too long you may hit a plateau and may need to changes things up a bit.

There are so many variables--both in the data, and between bodies--that your best bet is to look to your own body to see how you are doing. As long as you are doing well, don't worry. Here are the things I monitor in myself:

1. Am I eating too much? I look to see if I am losing 1.5-2 lbs a week, averaged over 3 weeks. As long as I am in this rang, I don't worry about eating too much.

2. Am I hydrated? Over hydrated? I look at my urine (TMI, I know) As long as it is straw colored/pale yellow, I know I am fine: if you are peeing straight water, you're drinking too much: if it's dark yellow and has a strong odor, you're drinking too little.

3. Am I eating enough? Here I look for the secondary signs of hunger, since stomach pangs are not, IME, reliable. Do I have headaches, trouble paying attention to things, a short temper? Am I forgetful, tired, cranky or fantasizing about food when it isn't in front of me? Am I "breaking down" and eating off plan? As long as these things aren't true, I don't worry about eating more.

Other people have other tests, but IMO learning to be aware of your own body and it's responses to things is crucial for finding your weight loss sweet spot.

I'm taller than you and I'm eating around 1400 a day... maybe introduce your friend to some of the calorie calculators online.

He's probably thinking of men's requirements, which, always have higher calorie recommendations.

I didn't know that. I mean I did, but I didn't know clear pee was just as bad as yellow. I normally try to drink so much that it's always clear. I'll cut back then, because I'm obviously drinking too much.

I did about 1477 for more than two months (three?) without too much difficulty (aside from cravings at first). Make sure that you are getting a good balance of nutrients, especially enough protein. I think I did lose some muscle even despite that, but was in no way "sickly" -- I just noticed I did not always have the same endurance on the elliptical as before I started the diet, and lost some pushup reps compared to before. If that happened I would increase protein/fat for a couple of days. Do try to do an exercise/resistance program while you diet as this will combat muscle loss: if your body thinks you're not needing your muscles it will burn them for fuel, basically. (Gross oversimplification)

I followed the Mayo Clinic recommendations which said get at least 50g of protein; according to my LoseIt records I normally have about 20% protein, 50% carbs, 30% fat. It's more "low carb" than it looks since almost all of my carbs are fruit and vegetables; I only eat grains/starches at breakfast and lunch and those are mostly whole grains. Your percentages may vary according to what works for you. It's really hard to get "diet" or fat-free things where I live, so I work with whole foods. Also a multivitamin to make sure I was getting enough calcium/iron.

Mayo Clinic Nutrition chart

ETA: I didn't stop the 1477 calories because I couldn't do it any more, but because I reached goal. I lost about 1lb a week on it. Now I have it figured out and my body has settled into it, I could probably keep doing it.

As long as those 1477 kcal come from a variety of foods, and not just from having chocolate or burgers, it won't make you sick. I stick to about the same, and plan on doing so for a year, or even longer.

I also don't think you are drinking too much, not at all. I drink about two to three times your amount (if I haven't made a really big mistake when converting that to litres) and have done so for about 20 years... water intoxication only occurs under extreme circumstances (drinking contests, dehydration in desert or through extreme sports etc.). Healthy kidneys are able to excrete approximately 1 liter of fluid per hour, says the Wikipedia. Here's a link to the complete article.

I would just dismiss that guy's "information".

Ummm, I really don't think this person is someone you should be listening to for nutritional advice. He really is giving you some wrong information.

You can go on forever ingesting 1477 calories. Provided they are 1477 nutrient rich calories, you can safely and health-ily live on that forever. The only reason not to - If you were to continue to lose weight once you got to a healthy weight consuming that number, well than you'd have to add in some calories as to not to continue to losing weight and then getting underweight.

You also speak of losing a specific amount of pounds per week for weeks on end. Well, there is no way to know for sure just how much you will lose. You can lose 3 lbs the first week, none the second, 2 the third, 1 the next. There reallly is no way to know. Our bodies are not machines. Weight loss is not linear and doesn't fall off in the same manner week after week after week, even if we were to do the same things to it week after week.

As far as changing things up - you'll have to keep an eye on yourself and re-assess as you progress along your journey. We are all different and each of our bodies work in different ways. There is no way to predict what will happen. You'll just have to take a wait and see approach.

I do think you have to keep in mind though, that when you are *done* losing as many pounds as you want to, you will than have to work on MAINTAINING that loss. You can't abandon your new healthy eating practices and go back to *normal*, the normal that got you to be overweight in the first place - because than you'll gain the weight right back.

What you're looking to do, I believe, is create a new normal. That's what we speak of when we say we are no longer dieting, but changing our lifestyle. We are looking to establish new healthy, sustainable, life time habits, ones that we can do indefinitely - forever in fact, or at least as long as we want to keep the weight off.

You also spoke of being bored. Well, I urge you to find delicious, healthy foods to ENJOY so that you don't become bored. Find healthy foods that are yummy, so that they are not a hardship to eat. It's much easier to stick with your plan if you enjoy what you are eating. So seek out some healthy recipes, be creative, experiment and find the joy in adhering to a healthy lifestyle, this way you won't ever want to go back, but just continue on. :)

It's not as bad as yellow--you really probably aren't drinking too much. It's hard, as said above, to drink to much. But no, it doesn't need to be clear. Doctors always seem to say "straw colored".

Seriously??? That's 22-36 oz/day...water intoxication???? Yes, this guy is full of crap. I drink 90-100oz a day and have been for years. I think the rule of thumb has been 8-8oz glasses for ages. As for your calorie intake 1477 is fine if you're comfortable with and making good food choices. Will you continue to lose 2 lbs/wk til goal, probably not. You may need to decrease your cals at some point to keep up 2 lbs/wk loss or you might even need to increase them if you incorporate a decent amount of exercise. We're all different and we all lose differently, I'm constantly fine tuning my cals. If I were you I'd just play it by ear and see how you do, you can always adjust.

One thing though, don't count on losing the same amount of weight every week. Your metabolism is adjusting and in my experience I lose the most in the first couple of weeks probably due to water weight.

Miaka is right, plus the fewer pounds you weight, the less energy (fewer calories) your body needs on a daily basis to operate. Therefore you need to decrease your calorie intake as you drop weight to continue to lose at the same rate...