Dieting to lose weight involves reducing your daily caloric intake so that your body burns more calories each day than it takes in. Over time, your body begins to tap into your fat reserves as a source of energy, leading to weight loss. Following a low-calorie diet, consisting of 1,000 to 1,500 calories per day; or a very-low calorie diet, consisting of fewer than 1,000 calories, can lead to a number of health issues and even prevent long-term weight loss.
Muscle Loss
One problem associated with following a low-calorie or very low-calorie diet is muscle loss as you lose weight. When you cut back calories, your body tries to retain some fatty tissue as a means of survival and begins to break down other tissues for energy, such as your muscles, according to the University of Hawaii. As a result, following a very low-calorie diet for extended periods of time may lead to significant muscle loss. To help maintain your muscle mass, avoid very low-calorie diets, and perform physical activity during your weight-loss journey.
Irritability
Severely cutting your caloric intake can also have an effect on your mood, leading to irritability, according to the University of California, Los Angeles. Any major change in lifestyle can prove stressful, pressuring your emotional well-being as you work toward weight loss. Starving yourself by following a low-calorie or very low-calorie diet also causes physiological stress, as your body adapts to taking in far fewer calories than it burns each day, which can further increase irritability. To help avoid irritability, consume a moderate number of calories to allow for weight loss, and consume small snacks and meals throughout the day.
Decreased Metabolism
One major effect of following a low-calorie or very low-calorie diet is a decrease in your metabolic rate, causing your body to burn fewer calories each day. If you consume only small amounts of calories each day, your body eventually adapts to this decreased energy intake, and responds by entering "starvation mode," according to Rutgers University. This reduced metabolic rate allows your body to hold onto any available energy, causing a weight-loss plateau as your body resists burning fat.
Eventual Weight Regain
Many low-calorie diets are not conducive to long-term weight loss, and many low-calorie dieters regain weight after they complete the diet. Your body entering starvation mode means that you will gain weight quickly after you return to your normal eating habits, since you will have slowed your overall metabolic rate. Weight regain occurs in around 99 percent of starvation dieters, with many individuals ending up heavier than their starting weight, according to Rutgers University. To learn how to effectively lose weight and keep it off, visit a dietitian to help plan a sustainable weight-loss diet appropriate for your goals.
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