Healthy diet?

Question

Hi all

Just embarking on a change of eating habits and have ended up eating just a little less than 1000 calories a day. It wasn't intentional but it's ended up that way. I'm having a little bit of protein, fat, carbs and vitamins so it's quuote balanced but I'm just wondering if this is too little.

The government guidelines seem ridiculously high and if I ate that amount I would never lose anything.

I've got quite a lot to lose and at the moment I seem to be losing it at a rate of about 2-3lb's a week which seems ok to me but I don't want to over do this as I want it to be sustainable

Answer 1

Good for you!

I think you have done really well. It's really harsh when other people are slightly critical of you losing muscle as well as fat. Just losing fat is nearly impossible. From Oct 05-Apr06 I lost 3 1/4 stone & have maintained my current weight since Apr06 which I am well happy about. If I was you then I would carry on with what you are doing.

Answer 2

In order to lose weight at a rate of 1-2lb per week you should aim for a calorie defecit of 600kcal per day less than what you were eating before.

The healthy eating guidelines are only a very rough guide. They do not take into account a person's height, or how much (or how little) a person exercises and these all impact on how many calories you require per day to either maintain or lose weight.

The guidelines are also for weight maintainance not weight loss.

If you are 5'-5'2" 1000kcal per day is probably fine for weight loss however once you have achieved your desired weight try to increase this a little and achieve weight maintainance by increasing your activity levels. If you have a higher muscle mass you will burn calories more effectively and more quickly i.e. it increases metabolism. Increased activity levels are also important for reducing risk of coronary heart disease, Diabetes and high blood pressure.

Answer 3

It really depends on how many calories you were consuming before you started dieting.
I believe that in order to be healthy, but still lose weight, a woman should consume at least 1,200 calories. That's about 1,400 extra calories/week, which doesn't even result in 1 pound.
It's going to be very difficult for you to maintain such a restricting diet.
Instead of trying to restrict to 1,000 calories/day, consider upping your exercise, especially cardio. Adding a mile walk to your routine, or a quick jog, will help burn away those extra 200 calories your consuming.
Also, 2-3 is completely healthy at first, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose.
Sometimes you'll lose less per week, and sometimes you'll lose more.
Just keep active, and keep your calories and nutrition in check with this website,
www.calorie-count.com

Good luck!

Answer 4

The normal person should consume around 2000 calories a day and the person trying to eat more healthy should consume around 1400-1500 calories. I think that having 1200 a day would be okay as well but I think that 1000 is too little and you will lose fat as well as muscle and that is not what you want.

Answer 5

I would say that how much you should be eating depends an awful lot on how much exercise you do. My dad eats like a horse and doesn't put on weight because he does loads of exercise and does a very active job. I've been doing sod all except essay writing recently, have been eating very little and still managed to put weight on. Therefore, all you need to do is get it into proportion, but this is easier said than done. Get advice from an expert in these matters, like a personal trainer or doctor.

Answer 6

Sounds like you are on the right track. But instead of focusing on weight.....try to think of mass instead. By that I mean....when I was trying to loose weight, I counted fat grams. AND.....I walked! I can't jog due to a heart problem from birth. But I walked. At least 20 minutes a day...just 3 days a week(to start off with). I got to like it so much, I did it almost everyday. When I would get on the scales, I wouldn't notice the weight coming off(because I was trading fat for muscles).....but I did notice my whole body was becoming smaller.....at the same time...really toning up.
I hope this helps...and good luck!!

Answer 7

hi..
the basic of a healthy diet is the balance of the parts making up the total meal or diet.

The average daily energy intake in the UK is 6870 kJ (1632 kcal) for women. The energy in the diet is provided by carbohydrate, protein, fat and alcohol. The amount of energy made available to the body by each of these varies.

The actual amount of energy needed will vary from person to person and depends on their basal metabolic rate (BMR) and their level of activity.
If you are overweight you should lose weight by using up your fat stores to provide energy and increasing your energy output. This means eating less and increasing your physical activity. Try aiming to reduce weight by no more than 1 kg a week. To do this you need to reduce your energy intake by about 1,000 kcal (4.184 MJ) a day. In this way you will lose fat rather than muscle.
Extra energy is stored in the body as fat. Balancing energy intake and output to maintain a healthy weight has many benefits.
Losing weight is about eating fewer calories than you burn off in your everyday life. Try to make small but permanent changes to your lifestyle, rather than opting for a dramatic new diet. You may lose weight more slowly, but you'll reduce the chances of regaining it again later.

If your weight stays the same for a week or two, don't abandon all you've achieved
Some weeks you may lose more weight than others. As long as your weight is continuing to decrease overall, there's no need to worry. If your weight stays the same for a week or two, don't abandon all you've achieved; instead, focus on the amount and type of foods you are eating and try to be a little more active.

Answer 8

There are lots of different diets. I would try weight watchers, which gives good guidelines for how much to eat. You will find that, at 1000 cal/day, you will lose at first, but your body will go into starvation mode quickly and will hold onto those calories with all its got.

Answer 9

At under 1000 calories a day, you will be losing weight but it will be muscle as well as fat. Your body needs a little more to function well - about 1200 a day if you are dieting.

Answer 10

To lose weight you have to burn off more calories then you are consuming, I don't recommend cutting down drastically as your body needs fuel to keep healthy and working properly. Just watch WHAT you are eating and incorporate a little excercise as well and you should lose weight.