Do 500 Calorie Diets Work?
Are you in a hurry to lose weight? Is there a special occasion close at hand and you want to drop a few pounds fast? If you are, then the 500 calorie diet may be just what you’re looking for. Or is it?
You should know that this diet is it is considered an extreme form of dieting; it is not healthy yet it is highly popular. Although standard 1,000 - 1,200 low calorie diets are common, the ultra- low 500 calorie diet only for those who are healthy and is only to be used for a short time.
A diet is considered low calorie if it involves ingesting no more than 1200 calories per day. The idea of a low calorie diet is to lose weight quickly. If not administered correctly they can be dangerous and as such it is important to plan your 500 calorie diet with a professional dietitian or nutritionist before starting. This article will help you to decide if the 500 calorie diet is right for you.
It is well known that the way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in. However a very low calorie diet can actually do more harm than good. When your body is craving more calories (energy) it can affect your metabolic rate. This means your body actually starts to eat away at your muscle mass.
It is doing this for the purpose of converting the muscle mass to energy, since there are no food reserves to take from. Because gaining muscle is the path to losing fat, this can have a highly detrimental effect on your body.
500 calories per day may be sufficient for some people depending on their:
- Gender
- Activity level
- Height
- Body type
- Overall health and well being
For other people though, particularly overweight people, consuming only 500 calories a day is almost like starving yourself. Your body is more than likely used to taking in over 2200 calories per day and up to 5000 or more. If you all of a sudden drop to 500 calories or less your body moves into starvation mode. Your metabolism then slows down to conserve energy.
While you are on the 500 calorie diet your body will learn to live with fewer calories. That means if you go back to your old high calorie habits (as all too many people do) you will have a sudden gain in weight, which is more than what would have occurred, had you not gone on your low cal diet.
The only real way to determine your ideal daily calorie intake is by using a bmr/amr calculator (there is one available on this site). You will then know how many calories you need to be healthy and to support your lifestyle. If you take 500 calories away from this, then you have the ideal number of calories, to take in per day to help you get your weight down.
As men and women are obviously different their ideal calorie intake is also different. This of course means while the average woman may need only 1200 to 1300 calories a day to survive, her male counterpart may need from 1500 to 1600. Again this is why it is so important for you to consult with your physician before starting any diet.
In conclusion a 500 calorie diet can be dangerous. However, if proper precautions are taken, such as a physical and close supervision by your health care practitioner, to determine your overall health fitness, you can lose weight quickly. It’s definitely not a diet to go on by yourself.
Years ago, I had a friend that would go on a minimal calorie diet about once per year. He was always having trouble with weight gain.
I kept telling him that it wouldn’t do any good. What could I know? I’m no expert.
At any rate, he would certainly lose weight, but I could bet that within a couple of months it would be back on plus more!
This is a good article. Perhaps it will help people to know that this is not the way to diet.
Comment by Rich Day — December 30, 2008 @ 2:42 pm