Category: Diet Plans
Should you eat just 500 calories in a day?
There are many people who are choosing extremely low calories diet plans to lose weight. They opt for high calorie restricting diets like HCG diet to lose weight quickly. These diet plans require people to consume just 500 calories a day. Health experts are of the view that intake of less than 1,110 calories in a day can cause serious health problems. Even if you are able to survive on this diet for a few days, you cannot survive on these extremely low diet plans for more than 6 weeks.
Effect of Low Calorie Diet on your Health
Some of the problems that are associated with low calorie diet include fatigue, hair loss, gallstone, muscle loss, electrolyte imbalance in the body and bone loss. Women who consume 500 calories a day for a prolonged duration can suffer from menstrual irregularities. Also, pregnant women who restrict the intake to 500 calories a day could be putting the health of their child at risk. Some diet plans that restrict the intake of proteins and sodium can cause phyponatremia which can led to confusion, dizziness, fatigue and even death.
Expert View on Extremely Low Calorie Diet
Most experts are of the view that selecting a diet plan that restrict your calorie intake to about 500 calories will not help you lose weight in the long run. Also, these diet plans can cause long-term health problems which can even led to the death of the person who has adopted this diet plan.
When people adopt these low-calorie diet plans they initially lose weight because they have drastically reduced their consumption of calories. However, the benefits of these plans are not going to last. Also, some of the long-term side effects of adopting these diet plans include irritability, tiredness, electrolyte imbalance, bone and muscle loss.
Another major disadvantage of adopting these diet plans is that it can lead to malnutrition. When you consume food that has less than 500 calories, it can lead to deficiency of nutrients like proteins, minerals and fats. Depriving the body of the essential nutrients can cause malnutrition. Some of the symptoms of malnutrition include weight loss, bone and muscle weakness, dizziness and fatigue.
How much calories should you consume in day?
To find out how many calories you should consume in a day, multiply you ideal weight (in pounds) by 12 to 15. For instance, if you are a 25 year old woman who is very active and you want to maintain a weight of 120 lbs., you must consume about 1800 calories (120 lbs x 15). However, if you lead a less active lifestyle, you must consume 1440 calories (120 lbs x 12).
The food that you eat must be a well-balanced diet and must include items like fruits, low-fat dairy products, vegetables, grains, lean proteins, seeds and nuts.
Detailed review of Fruit Diet Plan
Most people reading this article must be aware of the health benefits of fruits. Even though you must be aware that at least one serving of fruits in a day can help in maintaining your health, the idea of living only on fruits may be a new concept for you. Fruit diet pan program is usually recommended because it has low calorie content and is ideal for people who want to lose weight. Also, this diet plan also helps in rejuvenation and the detoxification of the body. Most people who have opted for this program have come out of the program more energetic and lighter than before.
There are different types of fruit diet plans depending on the diet menu and the duration of the program. Almost all fruit diet plans last for 3 days. People who opt for this diet plan must only eat fruits and some proteins. Protein is usually given on the first day of the program to prevent muscle burning. People who opt for this diet plan usually start their day with protein shake and have about 2 servings of fruit for lunch. On the first day, you can eat fruits and lean protein for dinner on the 1st day. For next two day, you must eat only small amount of lean proteins but can eat fruits every two hours.
This plan works by burning fat in your body for additional energy. Since your diet is low in calories, your body looks at alternate sources of generating energy. This diet plan helps you lose weight without affecting the water retention power of the body. Another advantage of this diet plan is that it helps in getting rid of waste and toxins from the body. People, who have opted for this diet plan, have lost up to 10 pounds just 3 days.
When you opt for fruit diet plan, make sure you eat good quality fresh fruits. Avoid eating canned or dried fruits as they can do more harm than good. Also, choose fruits that have low sugar content like grapefruit and apples and avoid high sugar fruits like grapes and melon. Most health experts recommend that you eat only one type of food and avoid eating a combination of different fruits. It is a good idea to opt for high fiber fruits like melons, oranges and apples as they improve the digestive system of the body.
The lean protein that you eat must come from healthy sources like egg white and fish. If you are drinking a protein shake, it must be free from artificial additives and must be low in sugar.
Some experts are of the view that this diet plan has extremely low calorie content and is not sufficient for day-to-day functioning of the body. These calories will get exhausted easily if you do physical work. Also, this diet plans lacks essential nutrients like calcium, healthy fats and vitamin D which the body requires. Hence, continuing this diet plan for more than 3 days can create nutrition deficiency. These health experts further recommend that you include health sources of fat like low fat dairy, olive oil and raw vegetables to fulfil the nutrition requirement of your body.
