A diet where you don’t get more than 1000 calories a day; sounds intense. Yet this is a diet that is very well known, this has to do with the fast results that the diet can provide.
However, people often wonder if this diet is healthy for you. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this diet. We will discuss this and more in detail in this article.
Table of Contents
- What is the 1000 calorie diet?
- What can you eat?
- How much weight will you lose?
- Pitfalls during the diet
- Advantages of the 1000 calorie diet
- Disadvantages of the 1000 calorie diet
What is the 1000 calorie diet?
As the name suggests, the intention of the 1000 calorie diet is that you consume a maximum of 1000 calories per day.
This makes the diet extremely low in calories. Men normally need about 2500 kcal per day and women 2000 kcal.
The nice thing is that the diet is relatively free in addition to the calories, you can determine the foods you are going to eat.
But how can this diet ensure rapid weight loss?
Due to the ‘shortage’ of calories, your body cannot get enough energy from your food. As a result, your body is forced to release energy from your fat mass and muscles.
What can you eat?
As we have already mentioned, you can actually decide for yourself what you eat.
It is of course very important to check exactly how many calories the foods you eat contain.
Despite the freedom in nutrition, it is strongly recommended to eat healthy.
But how exactly can you eat healthy?
Recommendations are protein-rich food and vegetables. In addition to the fact that this is very healthy, they also both give a strong feeling of satiety.
And this is very important if you want to stick to the diet.
In addition, it is also important to get a small amount of unsaturated fats every day. You can find these fats a lot in nuts.
To help you on your way even better, we have an example of a daily schedule below.
| Time of the day | Food | Kilocalories |
| Morning | Bowl of low-fat cottage cheese (150 grams) with a banana | 239 |
| Afternoon | Slice of wholemeal bread with peanut butter | 205 |
| Snack | Protein bar | ~ 210 |
| Evening | White rice (105 grams) with chicken breast (100 grams) and broccoli (200 grams) | 343 |
How much weight will you lose?
The weight loss is of course first and foremost dependent on how long you follow the diet. Generally people follow the diet for about 2 weeks.
In addition, there are many personal factors that influence the degree of weight loss. This makes it difficult to make a precise statement about this.
Yet it is often very motivating for people to give a number as an indication. But know that the actual weight loss can deviate greatly from this.
We think that a weight loss of 4 kilos in 2 weeks is certainly achievable.
Pitfalls during the diet
We will now discuss some pitfalls that often cause people to not stick to the diet.
#1 : Drinking calories
Drinking calories is one of the most dangerous ways to go over the calorie limit. Coffee or tea in the morning is not a problem, but with soft drinks, for example, you will very quickly exceed the maximum. Soft drinks do not cause a feeling of satiety at all.
#2 : Change into old habits
Another danger is that people will start eating unhealthy again directly after the diet. As a result, they often eat back the weight they have lost in no time. Make sure you eat healthy after the diet.
#3 : Too unhealthy food
The freedom to choose your own food also carries a danger. It often happens that people choose food that is too unhealthy. This leads to a feeling of too little satiety and therefore often to a binge.
Advantages of the 1000 calorie diet
#1 : Fast weight loss
We have already mentioned it a number of times, but due to the large calorie deficit you can lose weight very quickly. Be aware that muscle mass is also often broken down to compensate for the lack of energy.
#2 : Useful for specific medical surgeries
Some surgeries are only performed if the patient is under a certain weight. If the surgery is performed in the short term, the 1000 calorie diet is a way to quickly reach this target weight.
Disadvantages of the 1000 calorie diet
#1 : Weaker immune system
The calorie deficit has a negative effect on the immune system. This makes you more susceptible to illness.
#2 : Physical complaints
The 1000 calorie diet can lead to a number of health problems. Examples are dizziness, hunger attacks, nausea, fatigue and headache. Know that this is not the case for everyone. Make sure you listen to your body!
Lifestyle coach [5+ years of fitness experience]