How Low Is Too Low on a Low-Calorie Diet for Weight Loss?

There is no doubting that calories count when it comes to losing weight, even if particular combinations of macronutrients or food types may have an additive effect. If you consume fewer of them, the number on the scale will go down.

However, the other side of the coin is that, like with everything in life, weight reduction by calorie restriction necessitates balance. Even while attempting to reduce weight, it is still possible to consume too few calories for our systems to operate correctly. Your attempts to lose weight may really be derailed and possibly jeopardize your health if you dramatically cut calories for an extended period of time.

Healthy calorie restriction for weight reduction should resemble a puzzle rather than a game of limbo (where you see how low you can go). You can lose weight and preserve your health if you put the correct components together in the appropriate order.

How do calories and weight loss relate to one another?

It is well known that eating fewer calories results in losing weight, whereas eating more calories has the opposite effect. But how does this process work? It is useful to realize that energy, or calories, serves a variety of functions in the body.

According to Kalyn True, RDN, a Houston-based practitioner, "when you consume calories as an energy source, your body will utilize most of those calories to maintain basal metabolic rate (BMR) or for biological operations like keeping your internal organs operating." Some of that energy will also be used by your body to digest the recently consumed meal (called the thermic effect of food or TEF). The remainder of your caloric intake, or activity energy expenditure (AEE), should fuel your daily activities.

There are only so many locations for calories to go when we eat more than our systems can utilise for these functions. These leftovers are then saved for subsequent use using the extra energy, according to True. "The storage will either be fat reserves or glycogen reserves."

Each person's body metabolizes calories at a different pace depending on a variety of circumstances. How soon you establish a calorie deficit or excess may be influenced by age, genetics, and medical problems. Additionally, various food varieties may undergo different processing. According to Houston-based bariatric surgeon Felix Spiegel, MD, calories from protein and complex carbs take far longer for your body to absorb, giving you more time to burn them off. Because calories from meals rich in sugar are absorbed fast, you could store them as fat instead of utilising them as energy.

Which Diets Qualify as Low-Calorie Diets?

A low-calorie diet need not be difficult. According to Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, of New York City, who founded BetterThanDieting.com and wrote Read It Before You Eat It — Taking You From Label to Table, a low-calorie diet is one that has less calories than you typically consume.

You might classify anything below these ranges as a low-calorie diet as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025 recommend a range of 1,600–2,400 calories for women and 2,200–3,000 calories for men for weight maintenance. However, some well-liked diet regimes deplete individuals to dangerously low levels. (The Master Cleanse gives a range of 600-1,200 calories, while the HCG diet offers as little as 500 calories each day.) Other low-calorie diets, such as the TLC diet and Jenny Craig diet, hover higher, close to the 1,200–1,600 calorie range, or choose a precise amount depending on your starting weight and target weight.

What Effect a Low-Calorie Diet May Have on Weight Loss

A low-calorie diet is an easy, scientifically supported method of losing weight, and there are many diaries, calculators, apps, and other tools you may use to track your progress. Additionally, a common lower-calorie eating strategy might be a flexible substitute for certain well-known diets that dictate precisely what and when to eat since it normally doesn't prohibit any particular items (or their time).

However, cutting and burning calories could have drawbacks. For some individuals, meticulously keeping track of calories and serving sizes may lead to undesirable behaviors, such as disordered eating. It is essential to approach calorie counting cautiously if you have a history of an eating disorder or a difficult connection with food; if necessary, seek the assistance of a therapist or certified dietitian.

No of your past experiences with mental illness, a very low-calorie diet may not be long-term maintainable. According to Taub-Dix, "for the majority of individuals, calorie restriction alone is not going to be the route to lifetime success at maintaining a desired weight." To make this process effective, it also requires reflection, attention, and some type of physical exertion. In fact, a research published in the April 2018 issue of Obesity Science and Practice found that gains in mental health over a 12-month period were linked to more successful weight reduction. And a ton of evidence backs up the idea that physical exercise helps people lose weight by causing them to burn more calories.

Why excessive calorie restriction might be harmful

To survive, we all require calories. Your body will oppose the process using a mechanism called as "starvation mode" if it detects that it isn't receiving enough, which will work against your desired weight reduction result. "The body adopts starvation mode as a defensive mechanism to stop famine and fat loss. According to Spiegel, the theory is that since your body tries to utilize your fat to keep you alive, you don't burn as many calories. "This reduces your metabolic rate, which results in fewer calories being burned. Calorie restriction that is too extreme prevents weight reduction.

Spiegel suggests setting a target of 1 to 2 pounds lost every week to avoid weight reduction plateaus. If you lose more weight than that, you're losing muscle mass and bodily fluid.

In other words, take your time if you want the weight reduction to be long-lasting.

You May Not Be Consuming Enough Calories If...

While having a trim figure may be appealing, starvation symptoms are unsightly. The Cleveland Clinic lists the following symptoms as indicators that you're not consuming enough calories:

• Low energy or weariness
• perpetual hunger
• Irritability
• Lack of focus or attention
• Brittle or falling-out hair
• Dizziness
• Depression, anxiety, or mood swings
• being unable to warm up
• How to Eat Less Calorie and Stay Safe

It's important to reduce calories carefully if you want to lose weight. Consider speaking with a registered dietitian or other healthcare expert who specializes in weight reduction about your strategy before you begin a low-calorie diet. (Other beneficial professionals include bariatric physicians and qualified bariatric nurses.) Additionally, True advises keeping a food diary both before and throughout your trip to help you assess and think back on your dietary decisions. (It may also assist you in figuring out how much food you're consuming.) Tracking applications like Lose It or LifeSum are additional helpful tools for keeping track of daily caloric intake.

True advises paying attention to what is on your plate, such as by adhering to the MyPlate recommendations for healthy eating from the USDA. Half of a balanced plate should be fruits or nonstarchy vegetables, one quarter should be a source of plant or animal protein, one quarter should be a source of carbohydrate, and one to two teaspoons should be reserved for fat at each meal. By doing so, you may fulfill your nutritional requirements without consuming too many calories.

Finally, keep in mind that consistency is key to winning. The healthiest strategy, according to Spiegel, is a modest reduction in daily caloric intake and a moderate increase in daily activity. "Avoid attempting to drop a lot of weight at once. Your long-term results may be greatly improved even by reducing your daily calorie consumption by 200 to 300 calories and increasing your activity by 20 minutes.