Low Calorie Diets – Are They Safe For Weight Loss

Low Calorie Diets – Are They Safe For Weight Loss

Do you enjoy taking risks when it comes to losing weight? If following a 500 calorie diet is your idea of a good way to lose weight fast you need to know that you may be jeopardizing your health. In an era where low-calorie diets are common, 500 Calorie diets are at the lowest end of that scale.

A standard low calorie diet usually consists of anywhere between 1200 to 1800 calories a day. The point of following a low calorie diet is to lose weight at a quick pace. If you choose a 500 calorie diet you should consult with a professional dietician or nutritionist. If the diet is not followed properly it can be dangerous to your health. We hope you will find this article helpful in deciding if the 500 calorie diet is for you.

We all know that in order to lose weight we need to burn more calories than we take in. In order for your body to function properly it requires calories (energy) which influence your metabolic rate. If you are not giving your body the needed calories to function it will start eating away at your muscle mass in order to convert it into energy. The purpose of this is that your body has no food reserves and will use your muscle mass and since we need to build muscle to lose fat this can be very harmful to your body.

Depending on your overall health, gender, level of activity, height and body type you may be able for a short time follow a 500 calorie diet plan. However, if you are extremely or moderately overweight, eating only 500 calories a day can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Let’s say that your body is used to eating anywhere in between 2000 and 5000 calories a day, if you suddenly drop to 500 calories your metabol ism slows down, it believes that you are starving it and it needs to save energy. It protects itself, it does not know you are dieting it simply knows you have drastically cut down on feeding it, so you will likely have a slow weight loss or none at all after a short period of time because your body will hang onto what you are feeding it.

In time your body will learn to survive on less calories, which also means once you go back to eating a high calorie diet (which often people do) you will start gaining weight. This is another consequence of following such a drastically low calorie diet plan.

The best way to determine your daily caloric needs is by finding your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which shows how many calories you burn even if you stayed in bed all day, you can find a BMR calculator online at various health sites. Once you have calculated your BMR, you can then remove 500 calories from that amount and you will now have the ideal number of calories you need eat per day to lose weight at a healthy pace. You should not lose more than 2 pounds per week in order to lose weight safely.

Keeping in mind that men and women’s caloric needs differ, as well as their activity levels, it is important to discuss losing weight with your physician or a professional nutritionist before starting any weight loss plan.

In conclusion following an extreme low-calorie diet can be harmful to your health. I do not recommend following such a drastic plan, but if you feel that you need to please take the proper steps and see your physician to discuss your overall health and fitness first as well as have them monitor you on a regular basis to make sure you are not doing any harm to your health.

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