The 1000 calorie diet

Restricting your calorie intake is one way of losing weight. And a 1000 calorie diet may just be the amount of food you need to lose that extra weight. But you can’t just go on such an extreme diet without being aware of all its dangers and you should also follow some precautions before starting with your diet. Here is everything you need to know about 1000 calorie diets and more.

What you should know about low calorie diets

Restricting your calories too much is unhealthy as you still need calories for energy. I would recommend that you rather eat a healthy balanced eating plan and that you burn your excess calories by doing exercise. But if you want to go on a restrictive calorie diet, be aware of the risks and take all the necessary precautions that you need to take.

What are the dangers of low calorie diets like a 1000 calorie a day diet?

There are dangers with going on fad or restrictive calorie diets, and you should consider these risks before undertaking such diets:

• Dehydration – As most of the weight loss comes from losing water, you risk the chance that you may become dehydrated. To avoid this, make sure that you drink lots of water while dieting.
• Fatigue and malnutrition – Because you are taking in less calories, you will in effect have less energy and you will also take in less nutrients. To avoid this don’t exercise so hard while dieting and don’t go on a restrictive calorie diet for too long (not longer than 14 days)
• Damage to your metabolism -If you restrict your calories suddenly, your metabolism will slow down. If this restrictive eating occurs for a too long period, you may even damage your metabolism in the long term
• Learning of yo-yo diet behaviors and unhealthy principals – Not all of the calorie restricting diets are fad diets, but some of them unfortunately are and they may are may teach you to yo-yo diet and you may also learn bad food habits from them.

Is a 1000 calorie diet healthy?

From what I’ve seen, most 1000 calorie diet plans are nothing more than some weird weight loss fads, and usually unhealthy (some more so than others). Always check if the diet includes a balanced combination of food groups and not just one food group or preparation method, like only soup or only vegetables. You have to decide for yourself if the diet you going on is healthy enough – just use some common sense.

6 crucial things to do before you try a 1000 calorie diet

You can’t just go ahead and jump onto a 1000 calorie meal plan without taking the necessary steps to ensure that the diet won’t harm your health. To help you have a safe and an effective diet journey while on a 1000 calorie diet, make sure that you do these 6 vital things:

Book an appointment with your doctor and/or dietrician

Not one person are the same and everyone has her own individual needs and basic health requirements. Only when you consult with a registered doctor or dietrician, will she be able to tell you whether a 1000 calorie meal plan would be safe for you to go on.

Make sure that you are aware of the dangers/risks

Restricted calorie diets, like the 1000 calorie diet has lots of risks and dangers that it may hold for you. Make sure that you are aware of these risks before you go on such a diet.

Choose a 1000 calorie meal plan that is healthy

Before you go on a 1000 calorie diet, have a look at the different types of 1000 calorie a day diet. Try to only go on one that is healthy and balanced. You will know that it is healthy and balanced if it still contains all the different food groups that you need.

Fill up on water

A restricted calorie diet may cause you to lose some water weight together with other weight. SO it is best to fill up on water before you go on a 1000 calorie diet – at least 2 liters a day.

Change your exercise plan

When you are on a restricted calorie plan, like the 1000 calorie diet, you must switch over from your normal exercise to lighter exercise. This is because you can become tired on a restricted calorie diet.

Get rid of all the temptations

Rid your cupboards of all things unhealthy and anything that will tempt you and make you cheat on your diet.

If you do these things before you go on a 1000 calorie meal plan, you will ensure that your diet journey is safe and effective.

Different types of low calorie diets

1000 Calorie Vegetarian diet

It is easy to restrict calories while on a vegetarian diet as fruits and vegetables are usually low in calories. This diet would include eating only vegetarian, low calorie foods.

Healthy low calorie diets

These diets are very scarce to find. But if you find one, this is the type of diet that you should rather stick to. Try to go on a diet that will teach you healthy eating patterns. Good examples of such diets include: The slim habit and Fat Loss For Idiots .

Fad 1000 calorie diets

This type of diet involves eating nothing but one food group for a period of time, and is very unhealthy, as you need all the vitamins and minerals you get from the different food groups. These types of diets would include the cabbage soup diet, the milk diet and liquid diets. I should advise you to stay away from these diets.

Example of 1000 calorie diet sample menu

Do you want to know what your meals would look like if you were to restrict your calories to 1000 a day? Take a look at the following menu and ask yourself if you would be able to eat that little. Here’s what a typical 1000 calorie diet meal plan would look like:

Breakfast

Your breakfast will take up about 200-300 of your 1000 calorie meal plan. These are good breakfast choices:

• Oats – with skim milk and sweetener
• Hi-fibre cereal – also with skim milk
• 1 Slice of toast with egg, tomato and onion – use whole-wheat toast and prepare the egg with a healthy cooking method.
• Fruit salad, yogurt and muesli – any fruit you like with fat free yogurt.

Snack

For a snack, you can enjoy any fat burning fruit of your choice. Anything from an apple, to dried peaches will do.

Lunch

Your lunch should also make up about 200-300 of your total calories of your 1000 calorie a day diet. You may have a small portion of lean protein,one slice of whole-wheat bread and lots of salad and/or veggies.

Snack

For your afternoon snack, you may enjoy a small tub of fat free yogurt.

Dinner

Your dinner will also make up about 200-300 of your total calories in your 1000 calorie diet meal plan. You can enjoy a medium serving of lean protein and lots of vegetables or salad.

Snack

As a late night snack, you may enjoy a delicious fat burning drink, like ginger tea.

The above sample eating plan is balanced and healthy, when choosing a diet make sure it is similar to the above eating plan. Never restrict your calories for too long and always do it the healthy way.

1000 Calorie Diet – 7 Risks and Dangers to be aware of

Don’t be fooled by the fast weight loss promises and all the other sweet talk that you hear about the 1000 calorie diet, that you forget that it may hold in some serious risks and dangers. You have to be informed about those risks so that you can have a safe and a happy diet journey. Here’s 7 of the top risks and precautions:

Dehydration

Make sure that you drink a lot of water (2 liters a day), when you are on a 1000 calorie diet. This is because most of the weight that you lose when you go on a calorie restricted diet, like the 1000 calorie a day diet, comes from water weight.

Fatigue

You may expect to feel very tired and to have much less energy than before when you are on a 1000 calorie meal plan. This is because the calories that you consume gives your body energy and when you restrict those calories, you may very well also have much less energy and suffer from fatigue.

Slowdown of metabolism

Your body naturally slows down your metabolism when it suddenly gets in much less calories than before. This slowdown can seriously hinder your chance of losing weight in the long term.

Malnutrition

Following a 1000 calorie diet plan that is unhealthy and unbalanced can cause you to become malnutritioned. This is because some of your food groups are limited and it causes you to lack vital minerals, vitamins and nutrients.

Learning of yo-yo diet behaviors

Diets can easily teach you to rely on them when you want to lose weight. Coming in the habit of picking up weight, going on a diet to lose the weight but to put in back on, just to go on another diet again, is classic yo yo-diet patterns that you have to look out for.

Gaining back all the pounds

IF the 1000 calorie diet that you follow, doesn’t teach you healthy eating habits and how to keep that weight off, you have a high likely hood that you will pick most of the weight that you’ve lost back again.

Now that you are aware of the many risks and dangers of a 1000 calorie diet, you can go ahead and take the necessary precautions to avoid getting hurt. And remember for best results you also have to exercise regularly.

Conclusion

Restricting your calories will depend on your individual dietary requirements, your current height and weight and your special circumstances. Always consult with a doctor to make sure it will be okay for you to restrict your calories. If you do decide to restrict your calories, do so safely.