I only consume about 500 calories per day and burn about 2000. Is that okay?

Question

I burn them doing stuff like exercising, swimming and even working. Is that natural. I''ve been trying to lose weight and I've been on this diet for a week or so but I've only lost 3 pounds :( what should I do? Thanks.

Answer 1

Assuming you are correct in your figures you should see an increasing rate of weight loss.

BUT the CRASH DIET you are on is not easy to maintain for a long time unless 1. you increase your calorie intake to near your Basal Metabolic Rate (weight in KgsX24) calories requirements.2. You have a lot of fat to lose 3. You supplement with a good multivitamin and multimineral .

A word of warning.....Unless you change your approach as described above you run the risk of 'Burning out" and this is ,unfortunately , the commonest reason for 'drop out' in any fitness programme.

Good Luck

Answer 2

The normal amount to burn is 2000 per day so you really are not exercising that much. You should try to eat about 1000 calories per day minimum. You should try to lose about a pound every two days or so. That means your 3 pounds is about as good as you can do safely anyway in a week.

On a practical basis I would guess you are underestimating how much you were eating and overestimating how much you are exercising. I say that because your loss matches someone eating 1000 calories a day with a minimal amount of exercise.

Stick to what you are doing and your weight will continue to drop but don't kid yourself about the actual numbers.

Answer 3

You would really have to be doing an awful lot of "stuff like exercising" to be burning that many calories. It would be rather odd to only take in 500 calories burn 2000 calories and only lose 3 pounds after seven days unless you are totally water overloaded or something equally as extreme, but most of what you say is pretty extreme.

Answer 4

3 pounds in a week is awesome! but the low caloric intake will catch up with you at some point. Try keeping up the exercise but eating like 1500 calories... more sustainable as your body wont notice the reduced calories as much. This strategy is better for you physically, and will make the diet easiest to maintain. Keep up the great work!

Answer 5

get skinny quick diets like that enable you to lose weight quickly, but when you stop the diet and start eating normally again the weight comes back fast. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you put in your body/day. I suggest this regimen:
1. drink a lot of water.
2. eat breakfast at 6:30 every morning
3. keep your heart level up for at least 2 hours/day
4. eat lunch consisting of fruits and vegetables and meat at 12:00pm
5. eat a snack at 3pm of fruit
6. eat a light supper no later than 6:30pm.
The reason that I say start at 6:30am is because it will stimulate your metabolism and the earlier you eat, the more breakfast you can eat
The reason that I say at least 30 min of aerobic exercise/day is because the longer that you keep your heart rate up the more energy you burn.
The reason that I have put you on a schedule of times to eat is because this schedule keeps your metabolism up. The later that you eat supper, the more likely that the calories that you consume at dinner will turn to fat.
I suggest a lot of water because it has no calories and it aids the digestive process. I suggest fruit and vegetables because they do not have many calories and they digest easily.
Eat nuts in the morning because they are difficult to digest and will keep you full longer.
Good luck getting into shape.
By the way, if you run for at least 30 minutes/day you can go out to eat 1 time per week.

Answer 6

Your body has gone into the starvation mode. It doesn't think it's going to get any more food than you are giving it, so it is storing all you eat in fat. You need to be eating about 1400-1600 calories a day....and continue with your exercise. Drink lots of water and make sure along with vitamin supplements you are eating six small meals a day to keep those fires of metabolism burning.

Answer 7

I am not sure that your diet is healthy. I think you should eat more than 500 calories. You don't have any energy left in your body to burn off fat if you burn more than twice you consume. Continue your exercise and you willl be able to lose more weight.

Answer 8

500 calories a day is pretty serious! and your probably burning more than you think if your exercising every day. 2000 calories is about what the body burns per day just through normal metabolism. but if you can stick with it you'll definitely loose weight. just make sure you drink plenty of water and get your vitamins, through supplements if your not getting them naturally.

Answer 9

Your body is going into starvation mode and storing fat. You can still lose weight eating 1200 calories a day (women) or 1500 calories (men). If you are burning 2000 a day then you will still lose plenty and you'll be healthy at least.

Answer 10

Thats no good at all! Your body needs a certain amount of calories daily just to function normally and thats based on your weight and age. 500 calories is extremely low since the average daily calories just to function normally is roughly 1500-1800. Since your exercising also you need the protein and carbohydrates as well as the fats that your body need to rebuild itself especially the muscles. Since your eating so little your body is trying to save as much fuel namely fats as it can because your starving yourself. You'll notice more weight loss if you consume the correct amount of calories you need. Notice also that the initial weight loss is only water weight then fat begins to be consumed if you continue with this muscle will be the next source of fuel.