A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:I'd like to go on a 500 cal diet. If i ever go over 500 calories, ill exersize it off. Has anyone tried anything like this and has it worked? I'm 5ft 3, 12st 8 and want to be about 8 stone by july. Could it work? I've had an eating disorder for about 3 years, so don't say it's bad for me coz i know its probably is. I'm just worried about it coz its not as strict as i'd usually go (id normally just try and fast or at least burn off EVERYTHING i eat and not just the cals over 500). I'm just fed up of being in this cycle of fasting and binging. Now binging has been worse than ever so am huge. Just want to get out of it. I've tried 1500 cal diet, 1200 cal diets etc but they've always left me binging. They dont work. Do you think this might? tyxx Reply to this Question
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female
reader, Gleek4Life +, writes (20 February 2011):
I'm going to be brutally honest with you, if you keep up with this eating disorder, you will die. And young too. It's absolutely crazy! I suggest you seek help from a professional before it's too late. I give you props for openly admitting you have a problem, but it seems like you want approval from people to say "oh yeah you go on this crazy diet and you'll lose this weight". The only way to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF is to live a healthly lifestyle, that incluses eating RIGHT and exersize. Go to see your doctor and ask him to either see a dietician who can help you work out a plan on how to lose weight the healthy way. If you join a gym, he/she who gives you an introduction will have lots of info on what are the best exersize methods and they can also give you advice on what foods to eat.
Losing weight doesn't happen over night, and you need to realise this. Please don't give yourself rediculous goals because that's what stops people from suceeding. You need realistic targets. Please take better care of yourself. You've only got one life, don't waste it.
Good luck.
A
female
reader, Battista +, writes (20 February 2011):
Unless you are seriously overweight and regularly eat a lot more than your recommended calorie intake then you will find it hard to lose weight and keep it off simply by cutting down on food. You need to speed up your metabolism and develop a healthy eating habit which you can maintain in the long term. Starving yourself will not do this. You need to take in calories and do regular exercise to get a healthy balance, that way you will keep the weight off.
In my opinion going on the 500 cal diet will not work. If you have found yourself binging on the 1500 and 1200 cal diet then I don't think it is feasible whatsoever. You would be better to perhaps eat 1800 cal, so cut back a little bit, and do some exercise to speed up the metabolism.
You should be eating in the region of 2000 cal per day. This means that if you want to only have 500 cal to use every day you need to burn off 1500. This equates to running 15 miles every day, ie more than a half marathon daily, to put it in perspective. If you try exercising this amount everyday you WILL injure yourself without question. It is very bad for your body- joints, muscles, bones- to do this. You won't be able to exercise at all if you get bad shin splints, for example, or damage your knee ligaments. Moreover, you won't be getting enough nutrition to be able to maintain this level of exercise without compromising your immune system Your body will shut down. Your hair and skin will be bad. You'll constantly have a cold, and you'll be exhausted all the time. You won't be able to think properly. In short it is dangerous for you.
If you simply started running with a sensible plan, eg this one
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k.aspx
then you will be able to exercise sensibly and in a sustained manner. Your body will burn calories faster as well AS LONG AS you keep eating properly. Cut back on fatty foods if you want, and sugary ones, but don't starve yourself. But, with any exercise plan, you need to start gently and let your body adapt.
Of course you know that the reason you aren't losing weight is because you are damaging your metabolism by this fasting/binging cycle. You are not huge by any means either. But, if you are serious about losing weight then you need to do it thoughtfully and sensibly if you want to keep the weight off. Starving yourself will just encourage your body to try and put weight on and make fat stores.
Incidentally, starting exercise in a regulated and sensible way will mean you will also tone up your body and give you a nice shape, not just get thin and bony. 8 stone is my ideal weight as well, but I know by experience that trying to starve myself down just doesn't work. By your calculation you need to lose about a third of your body weight in 5 months, which is completely unrealistic.
Please remember as well that it isn't all about weight. If you look toned and athletic, which you can easily do by some regular exercise and healthy eating, you will look great by July. Remember muscle weighs more than fat so don't just go by the scales.
I would also say that if you have had an eating disorder for three years I hope you are seeing a doctor on a regular basis to help you out. This 500 cal diet idea is only going to prolong your problems and make them worse, probably seriously hurting yourself in the progress, and also doing damage to your metabolism which, although I know I keep going on about it, is really the key here.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (20 February 2011): Im sorry to say that if a 1200cal diet left you binging, then there is no way a 500 calorie one will work for you.
The key to losing weight is to eat healthily, eliminate all the foods that make you bloat like white bread, white pasta and white rice, eliminate bread all together, and eat things like wholegrain rice and veggies and lean fat free meat. And then increase your exercise to about 4-5x what you are currently doing. The best thing to do if you can afford it is to get a personal trainer! :)
I hope this helps, but you have to find low calorie foods that make you feel full, and give them loads of flavour with herbs and spices, and fill up on them. Mushrooms, corgette, peppers, tomatoes and broccoli are all excellent!
Look at the calories per 100g, and make meals that have a ton of volume but low calories, and make them super tasty with herbs and spices and pretty soon you will retrain your body to eat less calories without feeling deprived and you will lose weight and not binge, because you dont feel like you are starving yourself!
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A
male
reader, eddie85  +, writes (20 February 2011):
 Yes 500 calories a day is WAY too low. If you think 1200 - 1500 left you binging, wait until you do 500. 500 calories doesn't leave you much to keep yourself healthy -- you'll wind up with vitamin deficiencies and you'll appear tired, cranky and worn out.
You didn't put the weight on overnight, so I think you have to be patient with the weight loss. For some people, it takes a good year or two to get to their desired weight. 1200 - 1500 is a good amount to strive for, for a sedentary person. If you run, and burn say 300 calories, reward yourself with an addition 250 calories. By all means, keep it sensible. If you think it is extremely, it probably is.
I think patience is key.
If you have had an eating disorder in the past, I think you really need to be working with a nutritionist / counselor to make sure you aren't going to extremes in terms of your diet plan. If you haven't already, check out Overeater's Anonymous and find a sponsor there as well.
Good luck!
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (20 February 2011): If you survive on only 500 calories, yes you probably will lose weight. The thing is, when you go back to eating normally, which you will eventually because nobody can survive on 500 calories forever, all that weight you lost will come back twice as fast because your body will have gone into starvation mode.
If you really want to lose weight sensibly then you're going to have to be patient and stop looking for a quick fix. It's not just about dieting it's about changing your whole lifestyle.
Throw out the junk food so you won't be tempted and go and see your doctor who can advice you on starting a healthy eating programme. Slow and steady weight loss has a much bigger chance of staying off then a quick fix which will more than likely make you gain weight.
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