Our food gives us calories. Our calorie intake provides us fuel for all our daily activities and proper functioning of body. Therefore, we all need a basic minimum for our body to function properly. If we intake more calories than this, then we accumulate fat in our body.
On the other hand, if we reduce calorie intake to less than our body needs, it will burn fat to undertake functions of the body. This will also make you feel hungry all the time. Such low calorie diets may be good in loosing weight for a short term only because minimum nutrition requirement of the body is not met, leading to health complications.
Low calorie diet weight loss plans recommend calories between 1000 to 1,500 calories a day and regular exercise. A very low calorie diet (VLCD) that allows less than 800 to 1000 calories in a day may be recommended for moderately to severely obese people under medical supervision for a short period of time, usually between 3 and 6 months.
Doctors may recommend a very low calorie diet to people with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 and who have medical complications, including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol level because of their obesity. These people may record a weight loss of an average of 50 pounds over 12 weeks. This can improve their medical conditions.
A very low calorie diet programs is not recommended for children, adolescents and pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Side Effects Associated With a Low calorie & Very Low Calorie Diet
People on a low calorie diet may experience a number of temporary side effects like fatigue, nausea, constipation and diarrhea. This can also affect your metabolism. Negative calorie foods and diets do not fall under low calorie diet category.
Most people on a very low calorie diet develop gallstones.
People over the age of 50 should experiment with a very low calorie diet under the supervision of a doctor as very little information is available for older people. Only a Doctor should assess the risks and the benefits of the drastic weight loss in older people.
Negative Calorie Foods