A low-calorie diet provides 800 to 1,500 calories per day, according to Harvard Health Publications' Medical Dictionary. Eat fewer high-fat foods for the easiest way to reduce your caloric intake; for instance, 1 g of fat contains 9 calories, while 1 g of carbohydrates and 1 g of protein each have 4 calories. You'll lose 1 lb. when you burn 3,500 more calories than you eat.
Warnings
Low-calorie diets are risky and almost never work unless you also exercise, according to the college textbook "Health and Wellness" by Gordon Edlin and Eric Golanty. Eat at least 1,200 calories daily to ensure your heart and other internal organs function properly. Diets also result in fat and muscle loss. Losing muscle slows your metabolism, which makes it more difficult to lose weight unless you also gain muscle via exercise. In addition, rapid weight loss is "linked with increased mortality," according to the college textbook "An Invitation to Health" by Dianne Hales.
Fast Food
Fast foods often contain high quantities of calories, saturated fat, cholesterol and salt, while providing few important nutrients, such as vitamins A and C. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's list of the highest-calorie foods includes several fast foods in the top 30. Fast foods with 500 to 600 calories per serving include submarine sandwiches with tuna salad, double hamburgers with condiments, tacos, biscuits with egg and sausage, cheeseburgers with condiments, french fries, fish sandwiches with tartar sauce and cheese, pancakes with butter and syrup, and chicken fillet sandwiches.
Cheese
MyPyramid.gov recommends six to 11 servings per day of grains, which are high in carbohydrates and low in fat; examples include bread, cereal, rice and pasta. On the other hand, you should eat only two to three servings of high-fat, high-calorie dairy products, such as milk, yogurt and cheese. Only 29 percent of your calories should come from fat, recommends the USDA. However, several cheeses contain 100 calories per ounce -- fat accounts for about 70 percent of those calories, reports "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease." This list of cheeses includes American, blue, brick, cheddar, Colby, provolone, ricotta, Romano and Roquefort.
Meat
Eat only two to three servings of protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts, recommends MyPyramid.gov. Duck, fried chicken, pork spareribs, salmon, chuck beef and lamb are among the highest-calorie foods, according to the USDA. Know the quantity -- and caloric content -- of the food you're eating to maintain your diet. Pork spareribs, for example, contain 337 calories, but that's for a 3-oz. serving. Half a duck provides 444 calories, half a fried chicken breast has 364 calories, half a fillet of salmon has 335 calories, and 3 oz. of chuck beef or lamb contains 305 calories.
References
- Harvard Health Publications: Medical Dictionary: L
- "Health and Wellness"; Gordon Edlin and Eric Golanty; 2010
- "An Invitation to Health"; Dianne Hales; 2010
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Energy Content (Kcal) of Selected Foods per Common Measure, Sorted by Nutrient Content
- "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program For Reversing Heart Disease"; Dr. Dean Ornish; 1996
Member Comments