So, I was reading some older articles on NYMag.com today at work, and I came across this old (2007) article about a new phenomenon called CR...or calorie restricting.

http://nymag.com/news/features/23169/

Interestingly enough, this is shown to help people extend their lives...and the main people profiled ate 1,300 calories for the 5'4" woman and 1,913 calories for the 6' tall male. It struck me as interesting, because those numbers aren't too far off from what I (and a lot of us on this board) are eating in a day. Just wanted to see other people's thoughts

A couple of years ago I attended a lecture by a scientist and expert on CR for life extension. He says the evidence for CR's life-extending benefits in humans is much weaker in humans than in rats. If it extends your life at all, it's likely only by a couple of years. Also, men who undereat (to the point that they stabilize at a very low weight) produce far less testosterone and lose their sex drive.

F.

There was an article published in Nature in August of 2012 titled "Impact of caloric restriction on health and survival in rhesus monkeys from the NIA study" (I'd post the link but I can't yet, bummer). They basically found that CR didn't have any significant impact on the lifespan of rhesus monkeys, which are pretty closely related to humans.

Of course, there's quite a bit of evidence that eating lots of plants, lean proteins, fiber, and vitamins is very good for humans and does increase both our lifespan and quality of life.

I watched a documentary on this research in rats several years ago, and one of the researchers was asked about the implication for humans. The researcher himmed and hawed a bit, but with some prompting described some of the possible drawbacks, noting that despite living longer, there were other less positive effects. The lab animals showed increased aggression, and stress reactions, biting cagemates, lab staff, the cage bars and even themselves.

So it may be a case of living longer, but at what cost? Surely quality of life counts for something.

Too-severe calorie restriction certainly does make me feel miserable (and on vlcds I am more prone to lash out at others, and myself).

For me, finding the lowest calorie range that doesn't make me hate my life, myself, and everyone else on the planet is compromise enough.

I took a class around that time and we watched a documentary on CRs. I thought the same thing you did - that their restriction wasn't THAT restrictive. Many people who try to eat healthy end up around those numbers.

I'm not surprised the hungry rats bit the researchers lol!

That 1300 calorie figure is about right for me now, in my "losing" phase, but when I reach goal, I can't imagine keeping it that low.