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Comment by desigooner | Hacker News Reader

any calorie deficit of more than 500 cals a day doesn't really help as you'd be putting those pounds again after you return to your regular diet.

A healthy deficit of 500 cals and working out 3-5 times a week should be the best approach as far as the long run goes as it's just not about losing weight but maintaining it as well in a healthy manner.

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Not only that, but you also need to stay at healthy eating habits past the diet. If you're cutting so many calories it's makes it near impossible to keep at it, much less adjust back up to a maintenance level once weight goals are hit.

Right. People seem to forget that if you modestly restrict your diet daily and work out 3-5 times a week, you're actually shaving quite a lot of calories off your weight in a weekly or monthly timespan.

Halving normal intake daily may look good on a daily ledger, but it's really hard on your body.

I didn't get the idea that he was saying that 1200kcal was an everyday thing; if it was, then I totally agree. I can picture having 1200kcal days here and there when he's not really active though, like his aforementioned 12-15 hour hacking days. The main point being: listen to your body. I you feel like you really need to eat something, then eat something. If you don't, then don't.

I can't even picture voluntary 1200kcal days, period. You're going to feel like hell if you're an average male denizen of Hacker News. Even a lot of women would feel bad on that caloric restriction.

Fasting a day or a few days every now and then is quite bearable for normal people. Lots of religious people do it.

(I am not saying that it is a good idea, or that it has health benefits. It may have some or it may not. But it is definitely bearable for some days with the right mindset.)

Not so. Even manage a couple of 500kcal "starter" days is not too bad.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/subsubsection1_3_3_0_3_...

The Hacker's Diet: appropriately named.

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