Is this a suitable diet: 500 cals/day Need advice, thanks?

Question

For a 120 lb who exercises vigorously (out of necessity - skateboarding from point A to b to C etc...) about 6 hours of exercise apart from yoga a week...
Veggie burger with whole wheat bread, tea and coffee are staples, along with greens and the occasional fruit.
Any opinions? What if you eat this way for months? I haven't had any side effects and haven't noticed a drastic change in weight. Thanks!

- I've been on this "diet" for about three months or so... sometimes I get between 300-800 I would guess.

PS - thanks for the protein shake idea. I get v8 sometimes, it's good :)

Answer 1

I'd go for something like V8 instead of the tea and coffee. I'd also advise drinking more milk. Where do you get your protein from?

500 calories a day seems quite low to me, but if you're doing all that exercise and not losing weight...Are you sure you're only getting 500 calories?

Answer 2

o.k. in a magazine I read recently, a 600 calorie diet was given but to be done only 2 days a week with reasonable (and I think you know what that is) meals on the other 5 days. I know that is not what you want to hear but on 500 daily you are going to be feeling weak and dizzy before long. Not to mention how grumpy you'll be. Besides swimming are you able to walk? That is a mild impact activity.

Answer 3

500 calories a day is unhealthy. You are not getting the nutients your body needs to remain strong and healthy. You need an adequate intake of protein and fat for your body and brain to function. If you haven't noticed any weight change, it could be that your body has gone into "starvation mode" - basically it learns to live on fewer calories, so it burns fewer - it's not good for you in the long run. You might try adding some protein shakes to your diet.

Answer 4

You haven't noticed a change in your weight because by consuming so few calories you have sent your body into starvation mode and in turn it is holding onto every ounce of fat it has. If you are that active you need to add at least 1500 calories to your diet. Your body needs at least 1200 calories a day just to perform its biological functions. Just make sure that its food thats good for you.

Answer 5

This sounds like very little, but as long as you feel like you have enough energy to do all those things, I wouldn't worry about it. Depending on your body build, you might be very good at conserving energy, and not need to eat much to keep you healthy. It sounds like what you are eating is generally pretty healthy as well.

If you start losing energy, though, and yet don't feel any hungrier, it may not be a bad idea to see a doctor.

If this is a diet you're going to try to start following, i.e., you're not already on it, however, I would be careful. It really is a very little bit of food, and since you are exercising on a fairly regular basis, you're metabolism is going to continue to increase, and you're going to burn more calories than you might think.

The benefit of regular exercise is that you're body gets into the habit of letting you know what nutrients you need to replenish, and that's why you get specific cravings. Eat what you are hungry for and take care:)

Answer 6

500 cals a day is bad for your health. the reason you haven't seen a change in weight is your metabolism is more or less shutting / slowing down. you could have more prolong side effects later on down the road. best bet is at least 2,000 cal in take. i am sure if you talked to your Dr he would be able to give you more of a detail on how your hurting yourself. might want to take more vit a,b,c,etc.. if you don't up the 500 cal.

Answer 7

NOT HEALTHY at all. you should have atleast 1000 becareful otherwise you could get ill doing this.