[runnergirl]

Just wondering how many have tried actually doing this? I think that maybe some days I eat around 900-1200 calories because I prefer veggies/rice/seafood, since that's what I grew up on. Not dieting, but restricting yourself to what you'd be able to get from a garden/preps/hunting/fishing.

I think that I am gonna start a food journal next month, and see if I can consistently stick with 1k/calories a day or less, and keep up my normal routine (workouts included), and how it goes.

Has anyone else tried this? My goal is to train my body to be as efficient as possible, and I am wondering if other women (or people in general) have thought about this before...I think that women need much fewer calories than men, so planning for food storage for myself is different than planning for a man's caloric intake or for children.

 

[Wolfe10]

It really doesn't sound very healthy...
Have you done any background research? I just don't know if a person can physically maintain themselves on so few calories
But i am by no means an expert either

 

[biathlon]

Down where you're at and at your size maybe. Up here in the cold and at extended elevations? No way!

Welcome to Wyoming.:

 

[rachelinnys]

1200 calories is min needed to maintain yourself now. 900 is far too low. I believe the recommended is aroun 14-16 hundred perday depending on gender and activity.

if you go too low your body will start buring muscle. you don't want that.

 

[alergyfree]

I'm thinking you would be minimizing your bodies ability to function. Not something IMO that would be a good idea in a high stress situation where you would be burning extra nutrients.
I'd maybe rethink preps to include a few more calories.
Seems too few calories and high stress would have a less than positive effect on say the immune system for one.

 

[Kansas Terri]

To maximize your bodie's ability to function, you need 1400 to 1800 calories a day. More if you are athletic. (a previous poster said 1400 to 1600, but that is for someone who is no longer in her teens.)

If you take in less than that, your metabolism will drop and you will get less done and not run as fast. People who want to lose weight usually have to accept the loss of energy.

 

[nonameslob]

It doesn't make sense to me to "train" your body to survive on less than the recommended number of calories. I would think the goal should be to be as healthy as possible now so you have a better chance of survival and resisting disease should there be an issue in the future.

I see where you're coming from, but at the same time, we live in a modern society, many of us with access to nutritional food and the ability to eat a well-rounded diet. Make the best of it while you can. That's what will prepare your body! If you can get that from what you hunt and garden, great, but if not, supplement in the meantime.

 

[firebirdx]

Just my 2 cents worth: If this is something you're really considering, I would highly suggest discussing this with your doctor first as well as getting some general testing done to see where your body is BEFORE you start.

When you then get to where you want to be, have those same tests run again so you and your doctor can compare the results and make sure you can healthily maintain that lifestyle.

Would hate to see you cause more harm than good.

 

[liebrecht]

Yes and no. A number of years ago, I was on meds that caused me to gain a lot of weight. And nothing would budge it. However, X made a nasty comment and this little Sicilian gal got mad. I mean reallllllllly mad. Quit the meds and started The Diet From Hell. I even measured out the dressing on my salad. I HATE salad. I HATE micro meals but they were 230 cals. Even the dog refused to lick the box they were so icky. My daily goal was 600 cals BUT I was very very very careful to make sure I got enough balance in my diet. Other than the wretched 1# of salad a day. I went from a size 15 at the end of Feb ( when the Evil One made his comment) to a size 3 at the end of Sept. When I bought new bikinis and took myself to FL for a week without him<smile>. With no stress and no husband, my body wants to be a fat size 7 and I let it. So yes, it can be done tho I agree that it may not be wise. Did I mention I was reallllllly mad?

Liebrecht

 

[methemom]

[ yes, it can be done tho I agree that it may not be wise. Did I mention I was reallllllly mad?

Liebrecht[/QUOTE]

yep you did, and i learned the moral of your story is not to make you mad! LOL :

 

[Dragonid]

I think that I am gonna start a food journal next month, and see if I can consistently stick with 1k/calories a day or less, and keep up my normal routine (workouts included), and how it goes.

Has anyone else tried this? My goal is to train my body to be as efficient as possible, and I am wondering if other women (or people in general) have thought about this before...I think that women need much fewer calories than men, so planning for food storage for myself is different than planning for a man's caloric intake or for children.

How much energy you need depends entirely on your size, and how active you are. If you're short and petite and don't move around a lot, 1kcal might be enough. If you're tall, brawny, and engage in a lot of physical labor, you might need 6kcal.

The federally reccomended 2kcal assumes that a person is fairly inactive, and is relatively unfit (ie low muscle mass (muscle burns far more energy at rest than most tissues, and aprox 70% of the energy your body uses is just to keep your cells from dieing)).

Without visiting a dietician and doing a lot of speculative math, the best way for you to determine your personal energy needs is to closely monitor your intake for a long period of time, during which you maintain a stable body mass.

 

[emh1701]

I have tried extreme dieting in the past, and my body didn't adapt well. When I went off such a diet, it then proceeded to store everthing I ate as fat. Hence why I don't do extreme diets anymore. I suppose it all depends upon the individual genetic makeup. Some people can live off 1000 calories, and some cannot.

 

[Absolutely!]

Sounds like a great idea.

let us know how long it takes you to die of starvation. I'll start a book. PM me with your bids, people.

PS just pulling your leg really - but 1000 cals a day is not a good idea. Do a little research.

 

[MrSlacker]

Just ask anybody in North Korea.

Just wondering how many have tried actually doing this? I think that maybe some days I eat around 900-1200 calories because I prefer veggies/rice/seafood, since that's what I grew up on. Not dieting, but restricting yourself to what you'd be able to get from a garden/preps/hunting/fishing.

I think that I am gonna start a food journal next month, and see if I can consistently stick with 1k/calories a day or less, and keep up my normal routine (workouts included), and how it goes.

Has anyone else tried this? My goal is to train my body to be as efficient as possible, and I am wondering if other women (or people in general) have thought about this before...I think that women need much fewer calories than men, so planning for food storage for myself is different than planning for a man's caloric intake or for children.

 

[Megan]

Yeeeaaa... not a good idea. Women that are trying to lose weight are recommended to go no lower than 1200 calories (at least the GOOD diets anyway... not any of that HCG nonsense..). "Normal" women should eat about 1500 calories per day to maintain their weight, and more if they exercise daily. Breastfeeding women are supposed to eat about 1800 calories. I really wouldn't recommend, even in a survival type situation, eating any less than 1400-1500. If you are able to make the proper preparations, plan at least 1500, and even more than that so you have some extra or "leftover" in case your party is larger than what you figured at first. When you eat less than 1500, you're generally going to be burning muscle.. and that is NOT a good thing in survival situations.

 

[lynxx]

I once did 1000 calories a day on Jenny Craig. It was torture. I would lick the plate and sneak a teaspoon of peanut butter.

It's not just calories, it's the amount of protein, too. A woman needs 35 - 45 grams of protein a day for optimum health. That's about 3 1/2 oz, a piece of meat or fish the size of your palm, or else one egg. A lot of the packaged "survival foods" seem to be pretty stingy with the protein.

Let us know how the food diary works out, OK?

 

[ginwat]

1,000 calories a day is super tough for an extended period of time. Your body can go into starvation mode...it can actually start taking from organs and brain to survive, not just body fat. I know that I can do it, but not for more than a few weeks at a time...and I definitely can't go that low on calories if I am getting a lot of physical activity.

 

[rextex]

I decided to try this about 5 years ago. I had let my self go and had gained a huge amount of weight. I'm a big man large framed, 6ft tall. I weighed then 290 pounds. I went on a 1000 calorie a day diet. In six months time I was down to 200 pounds, lost 90 pounds. So far I've kept the weight off with the help of my garden and my gym. My high blood pressure went away as did my type 2 diabetes.I'm 65 years old and feel like I'm 40. Best thing I ever did. Don't think you could live on 1000 calories indefinitely.

 

[ozzie]

I did sub-1000cal for years - all it did was screw up my metabolism and probably unknown other side effects.

Its not healthy, you won't make your body more efficient (just the opposite), don't do it. The absolute minimum should be 1200cal, but the more active you are, the more good quality whole food your body needs for fuel.

 

[illegal_immigrant]

If you do it for too long, your body will start to consume muscle. This goes for any diet where you are using more energy than you are consuming. There is no magic number.

Don't do it.