Mend Your Diet

What are dangers of 1200 calorie a day diet for 270lb man. I have been doing this for 3 weeks and lost 20 lbs.

I have had several people tell me that 1200 is too low. I thought that was the lowest level you can saftely go to with out having to worry about health issues. Is this true or is 1200 to low?

Public Comments

1. you become fats pig
2. It makes me hungry just thinking about it
3. Call your primary doctor's office and ask to speak to your dr's nurse. Ask her what she or he thinks.
4. Depends on what your level of physical activity is. I spend my day sitting on my ass at work, so 1200 would be pretty good for me. If you are very active, you need more.
5. As long as your taking vitamins to get your daily supply of nutrients you will be fine but dont go any lower or you could cause yourself serious damage
6. 20 lbs. in 3 weeks is too much too fast. Of course the first weight you loose is water if you continue to drop that fast you need to reconsider and hike it up to 1500/day. Besides if you manage to take it off too fast all you are going to do is gain it back if you ever start to eat "normal" again.
7. good for you man, im on the same boat... although the nutritionist gave me the 2200 cal. diet. IM HUNGRY>>>>>FEED ME!!! you da' man !! good job i dunno, so long as your still alive, keep on it !
8. go ask the doc for that advice, you should have before you even started a diet like that at your weight, you could become anemic ..check your doc
9. work out and be on a regular diet or jog........i get about 4,000 thousand a day cuz i play basketball, football and jog
10. i think 1200 would be ok if you were a woman, but try 1500. 1500-2000 is the average for a man, so if you're looking to go low, then do 1500. you never know is my philosophy so i think you should try that instead of 1200 just to be on the safe side, because good health is a great attribute for anybody.
11. yep....mainly because it is slowing your metabolism down and making your body retain more fat because it is not getting the amount of calories it needs. A man of your size (whether it fat or muscle) should be ingesting at least 1800-2000 calories per day. the goal is to burn more than you take in....that is why diets that starve people do not work. You are actually telling your body to store more fat! It's a result of evolution...when food is scarce, your metabolism slows down and your body gets fatter because it thinks that food is in short supply.
12. Honestly I would call a doctor or nutritionist... it wouldn't hurt. It honestly depends on how many calories you were taking in before.. because if you are "crash dieting" compared to what you were taking it- and not getting nurtients you need, then yes it's dangerous. Congrats on the 20pds.
13. This is what I found. "A person’s caloric requirement depends on body size and exercise level. Sedentary people of both genders will keep their weight stable by taking in about 13 calories per pound of body weight each day. Moderate physical activity boosts this requirement to 16 calories a pound, and vigorous exercise calls for about 18 calories a pound. On average, a moderately active 125-pound woman needs 2,000 calories a day; a 175-pound guy with a similar exercise pattern needs 2,800 calories. And like women, men will lose weight only if they burn more calories than they take in." Congratulations on losing 20 lbs! That's a great accomplishment! Keep up the good work.
14. You are fine as long as you are not starving every day. If you feel hungry after a week of reduced caloric intake then you may need more calories. Think of it as, "what is the minimum amount of fuel I need to get through my day?" When I diet, I restrict myself too 1,000 or less calories per day and I lost 10 pounds in a month. Also, I saw Richard Simmons on TV once and he said that he also restricted himself to 1,000 calories per day when he was dieting.
15. the body will feed of the fat...but the problem is that you will slow your metabolism with such a low intake...try bumping it up a bit and just substitute the bump with a little more exercise
16. I did 1200 calories for 6 months and worked out 3 days a week on a bowflex. I lost 50 pounds and put on muscle. So my experience was great from it. But if you have health issues, particularly ones involving blood related problems, contact your Dr before continuing.
17. 1200 is for people that are 20, 30 pounds overweight, not 100 pounds. just don't drink any soda and coffe, have water and tea instead (no sugar or cream added) no sweets either and certainly no deep fried food. eat everything steamed and well done.
18. For free help with your weight loss, go to... http://www.nutridiary.com/ This is a really nice site. Pleas be careful with trying to loose too much weight too fast. You want to be healthy. Many bad things can happen to you if you loose weight too fast. It's recommended that one looses 1 to 2 pounds per week. Also, you are messing up your metabolism. You not only will gain back your original weight, but a lot more. I know you don't want to do that . Be patient, and you'll have better results. Hope things go well for you.
19. First of all the normal and acceptable amount of lbs. you should loose in one week is one pound, and perchance two. However if you are loosing weight excessively and do not provide your body with the appropriate and adequate level/portion of food which contain vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, and etc. then you can become anemic. Your body will retain the little food you consume and go on "starvation mode" which signifies that it will process all the given product very slowly, and when you reached the weight desired, or begin to eat normal all the food you consume will be digested slowly causing you to gain weight quickly and excessively, because it has now been accustomed to processing food slowly and in small portions. Therefore it is better to read articles or search for healthy ways to loose weight. However a good recomendation is to visit a nutritionist who is an expertise in this manner, and can orient you in developing/adopting healthy eating habits.