A slender body is not only beauty and successful photos on Instagram. First of all, the lack of excess weight is health. And all over the world fitness marathons, challenges of refusing sugar and fast food, racing for weight loss are announced. But no matter what people striving for weight loss do, the principle of losing weight is always the same - calorie consumption should be greater than consumption. And diets, including extreme ones, help to reduce this consumption at times.
Calories and Weight Loss
Any living organism requires a lot of energy for successful functioning. Since people have not yet reached that degree of enlightenment in order to take energy from air and sunlight, it is received with food. The amount of energy that a particular product can give is measured in calories. The rate of calories per day depends on many factors - gender, age, height, weight, muscle mass, degree of activity. When calculating the individual norm, many professional nutritionists also take into account the state of the body and hormonal levels. Obviously, an athlete needs a huge amount of calories, so a menu of 600-800 calories per day will not satisfy his needs, even in a minimal amount. Conversely, a woman who wants to lose weight and is engaged in physical activity no more than two times a week can perfectly calmly cut her diet and expect positive results.
At the same time, for weight loss it is important to know not only the number of calories, but also the quality of the food entering the body. Otherwise, even eating 800 calories a day will not provide healthy weight loss if it consists of pizza and soda late in the evening.
800 calories per day diet
Nutritionists claim that to reduce weight, it is enough to subtract 500 from the daily calorie intake and stick to the figure. For those who want to get the fastest result, you can use the method of drastically reducing the number of calories. Among those who want a quick result, a diet of 800 calories a day is very popular, a menu for which can be found on the Internet, or you can create it yourself, following certain recommendations. Opinions of professionals vary. Some say that 800 a day is too few calories to maintain the normal functioning of the body. Others argue that only with such an extreme decrease in nutrient intake will the body have to expend already accumulated reserves. It is important not only the number of calories, but also their quality. Fast carbohydrates in the form of sugar or butter baking will give a large amount of energy that the body cannot spend instantly and put aside. Proteins containing the same amount of calories will give off energy more slowly, saturation will last longer, which means that energy will be spent more intelligently.
This diet is especially convenient for those who do not want to calculate the necessary daily calorie intake, or for those who do not want to adhere to strict mono-diets, but want to eat varied and at the same time lose weight.
The essence of diet
The menu for 800 calories per day can be divided into two types. Either these will be products with a total calorie value of 800, or the protein-carbohydrate alternation method will be used, when foods rich in protein are consumed one day and carbohydrates the second day. In both cases, the products should be divided into at least three, and ideally, five meals, in order to maintain the strength of the body and prevent hunger from appearing. The total number of calories can be divided into three meals - 300 for breakfast, 250 - for lunch and dinner. Snack can be replaced with green tea. The weight of each meal should not exceed 150-200 grams in total. And all meals should be completed not three hours before bedtime, as is customary with proper nutrition, but five in order to allow the body to digest and process energy. A diet of 800 calories is recommended for at least one, but not longer than three weeks, otherwise the body will begin to accumulate fat in a state of stress in order to survive a prolonged hunger. Also, this diet is categorically not suitable for children, adolescents and pregnant women. People with a chronic illness should consult a doctor.
800 calories daily menu: classic
If you do not adhere to protein-carbohydrate alternation, then the diet menu, divided into seven days of the week, may look like this:
Breakfast to choose from:
- Oatmeal with half an apple and a teaspoon of honey.
- Two boiled egg squirrels, a cup of milk and a slice of fruit other than a banana.
- Quinoa with two almond nuts and fresh grapefruit.
- One boiled egg, a cup of skim milk and half an apple.
- Smoothies from avocado, celery and chia seeds.
Lunch to choose from:
- Chicken bouillon.
- Stewed vegetables (except potatoes) and chicken breast.
- Baked turkey with tomatoes.
- Salad with tuna.
- Boiled or stewed fish with fresh vegetables.
Dinner to choose from:
- Seafood with fresh vegetables.
- Chicken fillet with green vegetables.
- Steamed fish.
- Lean beef or veal.
- Vegetable stew with pieces of chicken.
Given that the diet is designed for weight loss, recipes for 800 calories per day contain mainly steamed, boiled or baked dishes. Experienced housewives advise baking meat in a sleeve, in its own juice, so that it retains juiciness and does not require marinade. Vegetables are best cooked on the grill or wok without adding oil. And fruits should be chosen not very sweet and eat them without heat treatment.
Protein-carbohydrate alternation
With this way of eating, a menu of 800 calories per day looks different. In addition, it is recommended to adhere to such a diet for no more than two weeks, and then increase the number of calories to at least 1200. The alternation scheme: two days of protein, then carbohydrate and then through one protein, then carbohydrate.
Protein day:
Breakfast to choose from:
- Steamed omelet from 3 egg whites, chopped cucumber.
- 200 g of cottage cheese with cinnamon.
- Protein omelet with shrimp.
Lunch to choose from:
- Boiled chicken and 100 g steamed broccoli.
- Champignon cream soup.
- Low-fat fish ear.
- Chicken soup with egg whites.
- Boiled or stewed fish.
Dinner to choose from:
- Seafood.
- Grilled chicken fillet.
- Steamed fish.
- Lean beef or veal.
Carbohydrate day:
Breakfast to choose from:
- Oatmeal on the water.
- Buckwheat porridge without oil.
- Muesli with milk.
Lunch to choose from:
- Buckwheat soup with vegetables and herbs.
- Brown rice with vegetables.
- Durum wheat pasta with cauliflower.
- Tomato soup with rice.
Dinner to choose from:
- Salad mix with quinoa.
- Millet porridge with green onion dressing.
- Risotto with tomatoes and basil.
- Pumpkin baked with salt and millet porridge.
Grocery list
Obviously, a 800-calorie diet requires low-calorie foods. But this does not mean that you have to live only on chicken breast and broccoli. There are a large number of foods that contain up to 100 calories. Here are some of them.
- Vegetables: cucumbers, lettuce, celery, spinach, broccoli, bell pepper, cabbage, onions (onions and green), zucchini, eggplant, carrots, beets, cauliflower, pumpkin.
- Fruits and berries: lemon, lingonberry, watermelon, strawberries, cherries, pomelo, grapefruit, pineapple, cranberries, plums, oranges, green apples.
- Meat and fish: chicken, skinless turkey, veal, lean beef, cod, pike perch, pollock, pike, flounder, hake, as well as seafood.
- Cereals: buckwheat, millet, wheat, quinoa, brown and wild rice, oat and barley groats, as well as hard pasta.
Cook foods should be with a minimum amount of oil or grilled and steamed. Also, salt and spices should not be abused. Sugar is prohibited throughout the diet, and after its consumption is to be reduced.
Advantages and disadvantages of a diet
The advantages of such a diet are obvious - it allows you to quickly lose weight without suffering special calculations, and at the same time leaves room for an individual menu. Diets with a well-defined set of products may not be suitable for diabetics and allergy sufferers. A food menu for 800 calories per day can be developed independently, taking into account your individual characteristics. Some doctors are sure that with the right set of products you can not only change weight, but also eating habits, which in the future will have a very positive effect on the general condition of the body. In addition, all low-calorie diets help reduce the volume of the stomach, which is also useful in the difficult task of maintaining a healthy weight.
There are also disadvantages to such a diet. Firstly, it is not suitable for people who consumed a very large amount of food. A truncated diet with few calories is difficult to maintain without the habit of restrictions, which leads to disruptions and serious psychological discomfort. In addition, after returning to the usual style of nutrition, it is easy to return the old weight and even acquire a new one. Therefore, a diet of 800 calories is recommended as a short-term remedy (no longer than two weeks) to boost metabolism. As a drawback, many, including nutritionists, point out the incompatibility of such a diet with workouts of even low intensity. The maximum that a person on a 800-calorie diet can afford is easy walking. Under heavy loads, the body receiving such a small amount of energy may not be able to withstand and get sick.
Diet result
American dietitian Michael Mosley, who developed his nutrition program, argues that a well-chosen 800-calorie-daily diet menu allows people suffering from type 2 diabetes to significantly lower their blood sugar levels and overcome many of the difficulties associated with this. Most doctors believe that a sharp decrease in calories to 800 will help lose 3 to 5 kilograms per week. At the same time, they warn that such weight loss can adversely affect the general condition of the body, provoking sagging skin and muscle weakness. But with too much weight, an extremely low calorie diet helps start the weight loss process, get used to small portions and even reduce the volume of the stomach. Light physical activity (walking, swimming) will only improve the result.
800 Calorie Diet Reviews
Those who have already tried this diet, willingly share their opinions on the Internet. Judging by the large number of reviews, 800 calories per day is not so little. Keeping a balance of nutrients and sharing meals throughout the day, you can not only lose weight successfully, but also feel full of energy. Many users write that as a result they lost from 3 to 10 kilograms in two weeks of strictly following the recommendations.
Negative reviews also exist. They are mainly from women who wanted to lose 1-2 kilograms, and eventually drove the body into a stressful situation, from which it came out with even more extra pounds. That is why Web users recommend this diet only to people who are overweight.
Those who are accustomed to intensive training respond very negatively to the diet, since a small number of calories does not allow maintaining the usual pace.
The effectiveness of a diet of 800 calories per day depends on the willpower and desire of someone who wants to lose weight.