What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day? - PaleoHacks.com

What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day?

2012-10-21T20:50:51Z

I am eating paleo because I have a bit of weight to lose (about 10 pounds) and want to eat apropriately for my body and get the most nutrition in a lesser amount of calories.

I would prefer to lose the weight as soon as possible, so am wondering if I ate paleo (read: lots of fat), but ate less than 1,000 calories a day, sometimes as low as 500, what do you expect would happen?

Would this make my body hang on to all the fat I eat (and I would end up gaining or staying the same)? Or would the same paleo principles apply, I would just lose weight faster?

If this makes a difference, I am recovering from a bad back and currently walk about 20 or 30 minutes each day.

note: based on an online calculator, I burn about 1,800 calories a day.

Answer by JayJay for What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day?

2012-10-21T21:18:33Z

It would be difficult to eat enough protein and get the nutrition you need to stay healthy on less than 1000 calories/day so I would presume you would break down more lean tissue than you may like. Not optimal. But, if your bent on doing it focus on having a couple servings of liver each week.

Answer by dsohei for What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day?

2012-10-21T21:19:15Z

hahahahaha....... honestly you would screw yourself royally big time.

Answer by UncleLongHair for What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day?

2012-10-21T21:54:06Z

I was 6' 228# when I first went Paleo and I found that a low-carb Paleo diet really reduced my appetite, to the point that I was eating about 1200-1300 calories per day and really was not that hungry. I didn't feel deprived at all, in fact was loving all of the protein and fat, which I need a lot of but don't get on other diet plans.

The body mass evaluators say that someone my size could eat 2000-2500 calories per day without gaining weight, but that is absurd, I would have swelled up like a Macy's day balloon, and there's no way I could have eaten it all anyway because I didn't have the appetite.

These days I do crossfit 3-4x per week and am definitely eating more than 1200-1300 calories but am probably well below 2000 still.

If you eat ~1000 calories per day and find yourself still hungry to the point that you're starving all the time, I think you'll probably get a bump down in weight but then your body will slow down its metabolism and you'll feel miserable all the time without losing weight. I think the best way to lose weight to is to be a little bit hungry some/most of the time, but not starving all the time.

There are those here that say that you have to eat more in order to lose weight, which doesn't make sense to me unless eating more allows you to exercise a LOT more.

Answer by cbucker for What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day?

2012-10-21T23:11:45Z

This is a terrible idea, based on some of the things you say in your OP you clearly need a better understanding of biochemistry and metabolism in general. Please read all you can and don't make any irrational decisions. Do not listen to 'foreveryoung' when they speak about well documented benefits of calorie restriction as they have never been proven in humans and have been called into question on a fundamental basis as of late within the scientific community.

Marks daily apple and the Eating academy has some of the most "digestible" information to get you going on the right path.

Answer by foreveryoung for What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day?

2012-10-21T23:14:32Z

As long as you actually do need to lose 10lbs and your views on your body are not delusional, then your plan is just fine. People get hung up when they see low calorie diets, but that's mainly because in developed nations we're so accustomed to being overfed and having continual access to as many calories as we wish. Another hang up is the fear of a down-regulated metabolism, which is a myth I'll dispel right now. A down-regulated metabolism/thyroid is not the same as a damaged metabolism/thyroid. The latter results from partly genetics and partly environmental and ingested toxins (from food, pharmaceuticals, and pollution) . THe former is a natural, normal, and healthy response to a reduced calorie influx, and is quickly reversed once normal calorie consumption is resumed. (Some people call it down-regulation, but it could also be seen as improved efficiency just as well, as your able to put fewer calories to work to keep your body running).

You would and may be surprised at how little food the body can safely live off of without complications, provided the nutrient intake is kept high. People will have a lot of different views on this, but just from my own experience I would eat primarily fresh, non starchy produce (like romaine, onions, leeks, tomatoes, celery, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, and berries, etc), some clean animal protein for muscle maintenance and general repair, and some healthy, nutrient dense fats (like mixed nuts for magnesium and vitamin E). I'd eat the produce raw or prepared in a soup and prepare the protein with as added fat as possible.
IMHO, these foods should really be the foundation of your diet regardless if your trying to lose weight or not. Once you've reached your goal weight, then you can start adding in more starchy vegetables, preparing your meat in and vegetables in other ways that include added fat, and just eating larger protons in general.

Hope that helps.

P.S. find a good herbal tea that you like to sip if you get too hungry. I'm a big fan of rosehips tea. It's not strong but it is warm and provides an excellent source of vitamin C.

Answer by JeJ for What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day?

2012-10-22T00:59:57Z

I think the most difficult part of this is being well nourished. This is basically a fast, which are safe if done when you are in good health (no existing deficiencies, good mental health status, etc). Done in the absence of good preexisting health, and with poor nutrient content (ex eating hardly anything, but only muscle meat with watery veggies, versus organ meats, shellfish, and nutrient dense veg), it would be considered malnourishment and not optimal for health.

If you do decide to do it, I would want to see liver (and other offal), shellfish, and egg yolks galore.

Answer by Haze for What do you expect would happen if eating paleo but <1,000 cals/day?

2012-10-22T01:05:42Z

I don't think it is a good idea. I ate more than that when I was suffering from anorexia. 500 calories is extremely low and it is extremely doubtful you could get all the nutrients you need on that amount. Also, it isn't a very good long term solution. You'll either need to continue eating an extremely low calorie diet forever, which I believe to be dangerous, or you would up the calories again and gain all the weight back plus more fairly quickly. When you cut calories that severely, there is more than just a down regulation of metabolism. Your leptin levels also plummet. Eventually you will be extremely hungry. As others have already said, the body is really efficient at dealing with starvation...but this is not necessarily a good thing for weight loss. I know what it feels like to be that hungry, and the only way I was able to resist it was through my own paralyzing fear. Why do you think so many people with anorexia eventually become bulimic? The body does not like being starved. It will fight back.