Losing weight is certainly a difficult process for many, however, the basics of weight loss are rather simple. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines weight loss as creating a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit means you're burning more calories than you're taking in. A low-calorie diet can jumpstart your weight-loss plan by helping you achieve a calorie deficit.
Calorie Recommendations
Although cutting calories from your current diet may help you lose weight, it's important to consume enough calories to still meet your nutritional needs. This varies depending upon your gender and physical activity level. The most aggressive weight-loss plan recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is 1,000 to 1,200 calories for healthy adult women and 1,200 to 1,600 calories each day for healthy adult men.
Weight Loss
The CDC suggests not exceeding 1 to 2 lbs. of weight loss per week, so this should be your starting point when determining your ideal calorie intake. Losing 1 to 2 lbs. per week requires a calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories per day, respectively. If your current daily caloric intake is helping your maintain your body weight, you can simply subtract 500 to 1,000 from that figure to determine your optimal weight-loss calorie target. For instance, a woman who maintains her current weight by eating 2,000 calories per day could modify her diet down to 1,500 calories per day to target 1 lb. of weight loss per week.
Potential
Over the course of six months the weight loss potential of a low-calorie diet plan -- with an average calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories per day -- can lead to a total weight loss of 26 to 52 lbs. However, this would require that you gradually reduce your daily caloric intake concurrently with your weight loss. As you start to lose weight, your body requires fewer calories, so it's important to refigure your optimal daily caloric intake every three to four weeks to maintain the same rate of weight loss.
Considerations
In some cases, a more rapid rate of weight loss is necessary for health reasons, such as in severely obese individuals or those with certain medical conditions. An even lower-calorie diet plan may be beneficial in these cases, at least in the short-term. These diets are referred to as Very Low-Calorie Diets, or VLCD, by the Dept. of HHS. These are typically 800- to 1,000-calorie-per-day physician-supervised diets that help people lose weight at a rate of 3 to 5 lbs. per week. VLCDs are short-term diets and should only be prescribed by your doctor.
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