Is Consuming 500 Calories a Day Healthy?

500 is a very large amount in terms of calories if you consume them in just one meal, and a very small amount if that's all you consume in day. Either way, it is not very healthy to consume only 500 calories. Yes, weight loss is the first on your list of priorities and your new year or birthday resolutions, but it is definitely no solution to sustainable weight loss. Only starving yourself is not going to lead to losing weight in a healthy manner, and it is not even possible to stick to such a diet in the long run, thereby making you weaker and perhaps heavier in the future.

How Safe is the 500-Calories-a-Day Diet?

It has already been established that consuming only 500 calories a day is not healthy or safe for the body. One may consume only 500 calories a day by consuming fruits, raw vegetables, and a piece of grilled meat at the maximum. Some people resort to the hCG diet where they are given hCG injections that suppress the appetite and help utilize fat to burn calories, based on which they can then consume only 500 calories in a day. Before you decide to argue with the theory, you should know how consuming only such few calories in a day will affect you.

• You will feel hungry throughout because you are hardly eating anything. This means your chances of snacking on an unhealthy treat are higher at such a time.
• More often than not, if you consume only 500 calories in a day, not your fat but your muscle starts wasting. This means you are not actually getting rid of the fat in your body, but the protein. This is extremely unhealthy and will make your body weaker.
• The lack of nutrients in a 500-calorie diet will show on your body in terms of skin dullness, hair loss, and overall fatigue. You are also likely to feel lightheaded and dizzy because of it.
• The day you are done with this diet, you will revert to a normal diet, and will definitely put on weight unless you take complete care to remain the same. Further, when on such a diet, the body goes into starvation mode, so that everything you consume is stored as fat to be used mobilize as energy. In simple terms, you may just end up putting on more weight rather than losing it.

In short, it can safely be said that consuming 500 calories a day is not healthy. You may be obsessed with the calorie count and fat content and carbohydrate content of everything you are eating, but it is not going to help if you don't know how to combine these figures to make yourself a healthy meal. You can start suffering from anorexia, an eating disorder, and it can lead to severe health effects, all of which you were trying to ward off by losing weight.

Losing weight to look good or fit into a pretty dress should be an incentive, not your goal. Weight loss is essential to keep yourself healthy and avoid a lot of health problems that may be caused by being overweight. The 500 calorie diet is a quick fix, not a permanent solution. You cannot and should not stick to it for long periods or you will definitely be in trouble. Even the hCG injections that people take cause several side effects. The procedure is not cheap either. If you really want to lose weight, you have to give the process enough time. You have to follow a healthy, balanced diet, and work out to burn all those stubborn calories. The right combination of diet and exercise will help you lose weight and maintain it.

If you really want to follow a 500 calorie diet, do so only after you have consulted a doctor or a nutritionist. Follow it for a short period, such as 3-4 days, before your body goes into starvation mode, and slowly ease into a normal diet. Do this only once a month if you must. However, once again, consuming 500 calories a day is NOT healthy, and the diet should not be experimented with especially if you already are suffering from any health problem.

Disclaimer: This Buzzle article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert advice.

1. Prev:Negative Calorie Diet Soup
2. Next:Low Calorie Meal Ideas