How Much Weight Will I Lose if I Only Eat Fruits & Vegetables for Two Days?

How Much Weight Will I Lose if I Only Eat Fruits & Vegetables for Two Days?
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Living on a strict fruit and vegetable diet for two days may help you lose weight, since it cuts the majority of calories from your diet. Fruits and veggies provide lots of carbohydrates and fiber and have only trace amounts of fat and protein. While a restrictive produce diet may be safe if you are generally healthy, talk with your doctor ahead of time to prevent any sort of adverse effects.

Macronutrients

Your body uses three macronutrients for energy -- carbohydrates, protein and fat. Both carbs and protein have four calories per gram, but fat has more than twice as many calories. Each gram of fat contains nine calories, making it a rich source of energy. Most of your calories should come from carbohydrates, since your body readily converts them into glucose, which is the primary source of energy for all cells. Between 45 and 65 percent of your caloric intake should come from carbohydrates, explains the Mayo Clinic. About 10 to 35 percent of total calories should stem from protein, while 20 to 35 percent need to come from fat. Eating strictly fruits and vegetables for two days means that nearly 100 percent of your calories originate from carbohydrates.

Losing Weight

Exactly how much weight you lose over a two-day span depends on how many calories you cut from your diet. One pound of stored body fat contains 3,500 calories, says National Institutes of Health online medical encyclopedia Medline Plus. So if your goal is to lose half a pound over the weekend, you need to cut 1,750 from your diet, or 875 calories per day. Consuming an average of 2,000 calories per day requires you to cut your caloric intake roughly in half to lose half a pound in two days.

Calories in Fruit

Monitoring your caloric intake while consuming fruits and vegetables for a couple of days helps set you up for weight loss success. A serving of fruit is equivalent to a small 4-ounce whole fruit, 1/2 cup of canned fruit, 2 tablespoons of dried fruit or 4 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice. Each of these portion sizes provide approximately 60 calories.

Vegetables

Vegetables vary in calories depending on their starch content. For example, non-starchy veggies, like spinach, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, carrots and asparagus contain 25 calories per 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw serving. Starchy vegetables, including potatoes, peas, corn, squash and yams, provide about 80 calories per 4-ounce or 1/2-cup cooked portion. Avocados are the exception to these categories, since they are naturally high in fat and provide a high amount of calories. A 2-ounce serving of avocado offers 90 calories, all of which come from fat. While following your two-day diet plan, measure your side of avocado carefully, to avoid consuming too many calories.

References

Article reviewed by Eric Lochridge Last updated on: Nov 8, 2011

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