Weight loss is usually accomplished by eating fewer calories than you burn off each day. However, eating too few calories can lead to starvation and undesirable side effects, such as nausea, fatigue, dizziness and even trouble concentrating. Furthermore, reducing your calorie intake by too much may not give you better results than a less restrictive low-calorie diet. A 500-calorie diet is classified as a very low-calorie diet.
Background
Very low-calorie diets, or VLCDs, are classified as diets containing 800 calories or less. Many VLCDs range from 400 to 800 calories per day. You should only consume a VLCD under the supervision of a health care provider. MedlinePlus reports that if you're not medically supervised, you shouldn't consume less than 1,200 calories per day if you're a woman and 1,500 calories per day if you're a man.
Research
A 2011 review article published in "Hindawi Publishing Corporation" reported findings from five studies where patients consumed VLCDs for as little as two days up to 12 weeks long. In the same article, studies that used intermittent VLCDs ranged from 14 weeks to more than two years. The Weight-control Information Network reports that every two weeks a physician should monitor VLCD patients and watch for signs of serious side effects such as gallstone formation.
Benefits
Following VLCDs can lead to a significant weight loss for obese individuals who are at risk for obesity-related health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. The 2011 review article published in "Hindawi Publishing Corporation" reports that in some cases HDL or good cholesterol improves with VLCDs, and often an improvement in HDL is observed during a period of weight maintenance after VLCD weight loss.
Considerations
Although VLCDs are effective for weight loss, you may not have to consume a VLCD to achieve a significant weight loss. According to the Cleveland Clinic, VLCDs are not any more effective than less restrictive low-calories diets over a long-term basis. According to the Weight-control Information Network, diets containing 800 to 1,000 calories per day result in a weight loss similar to weight loss observed in patients who follow VLCDs.
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