I struggled with obesity a few years ago and was able to lose weight without gastric bypass. I've been blogging about weight loss and I'm often asked how many calories I eat a day. Part of how I lost 100 pounds was with a 1200 calorie diet and intermittent fasting. Bariatric surgeon Dr. Now of "My 600-lb Life" allows his patients 1200 calories a day. And they achieve great success fixing obesity, if they follow that diet.
A recent article in "Eat This Not That" affirms the "My 600-lb Life" 1200 calorie diet to lose weight but says ultra low 800 calorie diets can actually stall metabolism and weight loss. This is really important to note if you just a little overweight. If you only have say, 30 extra pounds, your body will store fat if it thinks you aren't eating enough. Intermittent fasting is different. It doesn't throw off metabolism like a daily 800 calorie diet.
I use a modified keto 1200 calorie diet consisting primarily of protein and vegetables, a little yogurt and about one fifth keto carbs. It may not sound like much but you can eat lot of lean protein (chicken breast, salmon, tuna, shrimp, lean beef and pork), unlimited vegetables and a decent amount of keto carbs for that amount. You can definitely get full. If I use intermittent fasting, I can sometimes even eat a little more and still lose weight (I'll blog more on that later).
An 800 calorie diet may sound like a good idea but it really doesn't work much better to lose weight. It leaves you so hungry that you usually blow it. We've all seen those promises of rapid weight loss, eating soup and things like that. But that's only for extreme cases of obesity. If Dr. Now of "My 600-lb Life" can promise 30-lbs a month weight loss with 1200 calories a day, it makes more sense to go that route, whether you're getting gastric bypass or not.
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