Is this unhealthy, or am I wrong?

G-MAN2004

G-MAN2004

G-MAN2004

Caporegime
Joined
4 Jul 2004
Posts
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I have a friend, who is around 5'4 and is very active. Running everyday, plays a big mix of sports. Basically, super active and not a bit of fat on her.

Now today, she said she has around 700 calories a day.. I'm not sure, but I automatically thought, very, very unhealthy, but she's having none of it.

Am I right?
 
700 calories barely even counts as holding yourself upright for most people, if you're doing exercise then it is way, way under what you should be eating. Nevermind trying to lose weight, that has surely got to be counter-productive if she reckons she is even close to what she says she is eating.
 
can't imagine that is doing her any good, she'll be burning of energy and not getting it back into her system, let alone vitamins, minerals etc that the body will need to keep her in a decent condition.
 
My doctor thinks I was blacking out because of that. Hardly eating anything but skating and running about all day. I still do a bit of running and walking but started eating more. The most annoying thing was when I went to ask about it I got served a 12 month driving ban. I waited a year to do my bike test after I was 21 and 10 days before my birthday I got banned. Absolutely ******* sickened.
 
Does she monitor her calories.

I'm willing to bet that she's heavily underestimating her calorie intake :)

Ant :cool:
 
she would be more than thin doing all that exercise and only eating 700kcal a day. she must be wrong.
 
meghatronic said:
Madness all this counting malarky.
Click to expand...

That's entirely dependant upon your fitness and body image goals.

For instance, if people like Morba, FF, Wardie and UE didn't count calories, they'd be at risk of not consuming enough when trying to increase mass. Alternatively, those trying to reduce body fat, especially whilst avoiding as much muscle loss as possible, would also have to count calories.

What IS madness is this media-hyped obsession with having to eat LOW calories in order to loose weight. Without a clear idea of your calorie requirements and goals, many people eat way, way under their maintenance level expecting to get thin quicker.

Regardless, a lot of people who 'count calories' underestimate heavily, and its not uncommon for people to be consuming far more through spreads, drinks, toppings, snacks, additions/seasonings e.t.c than they believe :)

It's sad fact that many people have an almost obsessive focus on LOW CALORIES! LOW FAT! and put little to no impetus on a healthy balanced diet and a good, enjoyable excersise routine. Which funnily enough would result in a better outlook on their body regardless of how it looked. Not to mention once goals are attained its very, very easy to maintain fitness and fat levels, and even be able to have the occassional treat. It distresses me that so many feel that 'healthy' = restriction + misery.

Even now I still get some stick from my less healthy mates, and attempts at leading me off the straight and narrow :p It's not like I nag them about good macro-nutrient balance and shove a plate of greens in their faces :p

Sorry for rant and long post!!!! bug bear of mine :p

Ant :cool:
 
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Thanks for the replies all. I thought she might be underestimating how many a day she has, as it does seem very low. But if she isn't, then she can't carry on like that.

I'll have another talk with her. :o

Thanks. :)
 
Wanton - couldn't agree more. All this obsession with calories is a pile of crap. Low sat fat and low salt is much more important. If people read the labels and made sure they weren't taking in lots of simple carbs, hydrogenated vegetable fat and other horrid preservatives and E numbers in their food people would be a lot healthier. They just think that because it's low calories it's better for you - wrong. More often than not people will find calories elsewhere and the body will be scrounging for energy and storing fat instead as the metabolic rate slows. People just don't understand how their bodies work.

As for 700 cals, I seriously doubt that - that's hardly enough to keep alive. Typically women need about 1200 cals minimum really for a healthy intake.

I don't count calories per se, I'm more interested in the nutriontal content - I am one of those people that reads the label before buying food, and I do work out the amount of protein/carbs I'm getting, it's not sad, I'm interested in nutrition, I'm passionate about food, and I have goals which are dependent on my love for both of the aforementioned.

Here's some info on working out calorie intake:

Calculating Your Basal Metabolic Rate and Total Calorie Needs
Your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR is the rate at which you burn calories to sustain life functions at rest at a normal room temperature. Your activities, fitness level, stress level and more affect this. To calculate you take your resting metabolic rate and add the extra calories required by your daily activities to get an approximate total daily calorie expenditure.

To lose fat weight, it is generally recommended you eat 500 calories less than you burn up in a day.

To gain weight, it is generally recommended you eat at least 1000 calories more than you burn up in a day.

Here is how to calculate your BMR based on the popular Harris-Benedict formula:

Men
66 + (6.3 X weight in lbs) + (12.9 X height in inches) - (6.8 X age in years)

Women
655 + (4.3 X weight in lbs.) + (4.7 X height in inches) - (4.7 X age in years).

Example =
You are 32 years old woman
You are 5 feet 4 inches tall (162.5 cm)
Your weight is 154 pounds (70 kilos)
Your BMR is 655 + (662) + (291) - (150) = 1458 calories


Notes:
1 inch = 2.54 cm.
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.


To calculate your Total Daily Calorie Needs,

Multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:
If you are Sedentary - little or no exercise
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.2
If you are Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.375
If you are Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.55
If you are Very Active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/week)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.725
If you are Extra Active (very hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training)
Calorie-Calculation = BMR X 1.9


Example =
You are sedentary, multiply your BMR (1458) by 1.2 = 1750
Your total daily calorie requirement is therefore 1750 calories.
This is the total number of calories you need in order to MAINTAIN your current weight.

To lose weight you would reduce this by 500 calories per day or 1750-500 = 1250 calories/day
Click to expand...

Here's some interesting reading:

http://www.fitnessatlantic.com/eat_day_fat.htm

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/40/1/168.pdf
 
Well I hope for her sake that she is under estimating... otherwise she's heading for a fall. There's no way an adult can get adequate nutrition from just 700kcals per day.

Could she do it? Possibly, the human body is amazing. Could she do it and be healthy? Nope, not a chance imho.
 
Based on her being 5'4" as you meantioned, 120lb and 23 (random, really as I have no idea what she weighs or how old she is).
She would require around 1400 calories a day in order to stay at the same weight without any exercise.
 
Theres been a few days where I havnt eaten a thing all and the next day I feel fine :D

I tend not to eat at all when im really busy or got somert to do.
 
TiZoR said:
Theres been a few days where I havnt eaten a thing all and the next day I feel fine :D

I tend not to eat at all when im really busy or got somert to do.
Click to expand...

Do you train? Are you an active person.

Lifestyle and body composition play a huge role in calorie requirement. And as an exceptional adaptable organism, the human body won't suddenly keel over if you don't eat. We're talking about prolonged, extreme calorie deficit alongside a heavy training regime.

I assume you're skinny and wirey? Exomorphs have a tendency to have greater freedom in their diet without reprisal. However because of this, heart desease, stroke and other CP system disorders are I believe quite common, as a result of thinking low body fat is 'healthy' :)

FF, nice info :)

Ant :cool:
 
it is definately possible to 'survive' on 700 cals a day though.. whilst being active.

Me personally, I fairly often go to work after chomping 2 rounds of toast for breakfast and then dont eat at work due to time. This is then followed by a visit to the gym straight after work for a fairly intense 1 hour 30 mins weights workout.. and then a game of squash.

In fact, I'm doing it today. Not recommending it obviously, but we can easily adapt to missed meals etc. And I'd say I'm in fairly good nick too:

5' 10
12 stone 5
10% body fat
General Stud :D

But yeah, long term.. i'd pass out. I do think if it came down to it though I could cope for 3 or 4 days on less than 500 cals and stay as active. Maybe i'm odd.. who knows
 
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