The allure of rapid weight loss often leads individuals to explore drastic dietary changes. One such approach is the 900-calorie diet, a very low-calorie diet (VLCD) that severely restricts daily caloric intake. But is this diet safe, effective, and sustainable? This article explores the potential results, risks, and considerations associated with a 900-calorie diet, providing a comprehensive overview to help you make informed decisions about your health.
Understanding the 900 Calorie Diet
A 900-calorie diet involves consuming only 900 calories per day, a significant reduction from the average adult's daily requirement of around 2,000 calories. This substantial calorie deficit forces the body to tap into stored fat for energy, leading to weight loss.
How it Works
When you consume fewer calories than your body needs to function, it creates a calorie deficit. This deficit forces your body to tap into stored fat for energy, resulting in weight loss. A 900-calorie diet creates a large calorie deficit.
- Energy Expenditure: Your body burns calories for everything from breathing to digesting food.
- Macronutrient Balance: It’s not just about calories.
Very Low-Calorie Diets (VLCDs)
The 900-calorie diet falls into the category of very low-calorie diets (VLCDs). These diets are typically used under medical supervision for individuals with obesity who need to lose weight quickly for health reasons. VLCDs are not the same as over-the-counter meal replacements, which you substitute for one or two meals a day.
If you have a BMI over 30 (which your doctor will call “obese”), then a very low-calorie diet may result in a loss of 3 to 5 pounds per week, for an average total weight loss of 44 pounds over 12 weeks. But losing as little as 5% of your body weight may improve medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. But in the long run, very low-calorie diets aren't more effective than more modest diets. Once you go off a diet, you need to change your lifestyle, committing to healthy eating and regular physical activity.
Read also: Your 30-Day Weight Loss Journey Starts Here
Potential Benefits of a 900 Calorie Diet
While the 900-calorie diet is restrictive, it can lead to rapid weight loss, which may be necessary for individuals with specific health conditions. Losing as little as 5% of your body weight may improve medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Risks and Side Effects
Despite the potential for rapid weight loss, the 900-calorie diet carries significant risks and side effects. It's crucial to be aware of these before considering such a restrictive eating plan.
- Nutrient Deficiencies: It's difficult to get good nutrition and feel satisfied on a very low-calorie diet. Most people on very low calorie diets need vitamin and mineral supplements to ensure they are getting proper nutrition. Nutrient deficiencies occur when the body doesn’t absorb or get enough vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from food. These nutrients are essential for both body development and disease prevention.
- Gallstones: Gallstones are the most common serious side effect of very low-calorie diets. Gallstones are more common during rapid weight loss. When the body experiences a calorie deficit, it starts to break down fat for energy. The liver then secretes more cholesterol and when combined with bile, can form gallstones.
- Metabolic Slowdown: When you don’t eat enough, your body may assume that you’re starving and go into ‘starvation mode’. Metabolism is the process by which your body converts food and drink into energy. When you eat too few calories, this interrupts your metabolism. As stated above, your body thinks that food is scarce and that it should conserve energy. It slows down metabolic processes so that the energy you have stored lasts longer. Without enough food to turn into energy, your body turns to the muscle, which it starts burning to give you energy.
- Common Side Effects: People on a very low-calorie diet for 4 to 16 weeks report minor side effects such as fatigue, constipation, nausea, and diarrhea. These conditions usually improve within a few weeks and rarely prevent people from completing the program.
Who Should Avoid a 900 Calorie Diet?
Very low-calorie diets are not OK for everyone. Very low-calorie-diets are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and are not appropriate for children or teens except in specialized treatment programs. They also may not be OK for people over age 50, either, depending on the potential need for medications for pre-existing conditions, as well as the possibility of side effects.
Approaching a 900 Calorie Diet Safely
If you're considering a 900-calorie diet, it's crucial to approach it with careful consideration and medical supervision.
- Consult with a Healthcare Professional: Before starting any restrictive diet, consult with a healthcare professional to ensure it's safe for you. Talk to your doctor to see if this kind of diet is appropriate for you. If your BMI is greater than 30, then very low-calorie diets are generally safe when used under proper medical supervision. For people who are overweight but not obese (BMI of 27-30), very low-calorie diets should be reserved for those who have weight-related medical problems and are under medical supervision.
- Medical Supervision: A 900-calorie diet should be used under medical supervision.
- Mental Preparation: Eating only 900 calories a day requires mental preparation as much as meal planning.
- Gradual Reduction: Rather than cutting calories drastically overnight, I reduce intake by 200 calories each week until reaching the target 900.
- Transition Phases: The transition phases are where most plans succeed or fail, yet they’re often completely ignored.
Meal Planning and Nutrition
On a 900-calorie diet, it's essential to maximize the nutritional value of every meal to prevent nutrient deficiencies.
Read also: Dangers of the 800 Calorie Diet
Sample Meal Plan
Here's a sample meal plan with daily averages of 889 Calories, 68g protein, 29g fat, and 95g carbs (79g net carbs). You can generate your own custom plans like this with a free Eat This Much account and generate complete instant grocery lists with our Premium features.
- Total Days 7
- Average Calories 889
- Average Carbs 95g
- Average Fat 29g
- Average Proteins 68g
Food Choices
If you’re insistent on trying this eating plan and are being medically supervised while doing so, here are some foods you should ensure to add to your diet.
- Whole Grains: These include foods such as whole wheat, brown and wild rice, oats, and quinoa. Not only are they low in calories, carbs, sodium, and fat, they also have high levels of fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium (5).
- Proteins: Proteins are a big part of very low-calorie diets. A high-protein diet helps with weight loss by increasing satiety hormones while reducing levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin. Proteins also boost your metabolism slightly, which makes you burn a few more calories (26). Examples include trout, tuna, salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, and pilchards.
- Vegetables: Dark leafy greens are not the only vegetables you should consume on the 900-calorie diet.
Importance of Macronutrient Balance
It’s not just about calories.
- Carbohydrates: Eat all your daily carbs (60-80g) before 2 PM and keep evening meals focused on protein and healthy fats.
- Fats: 5 days of higher fat intake (70-80% of calories) alternated with 2 days of moderate carbohydrates.
Practical Tips for Success
- Drink Water First: Sometimes, thirst disguises itself as hunger.
- Mindful Eating: Savor every bite.
- Healthy Low-Calorie Snacks: Look for healthy low-calorie snacks that also provide adequate nutrition.
- Distract Yourself: Cravings often pass in 15-20 minutes.
- Schedule Small Rewards: The key is consistency. I pair my afternoon meal with my favorite podcast or eat breakfast while reading something inspiring. These small additions make meals feel rewarding without relying solely on taste.
- Meal Prep: Just prep your proteins. Or even just wash your vegetables.
Alternatives to the 900 Calorie Diet
If the 900-calorie diet seems too restrictive or risky, several alternative eating plans can promote healthy weight loss.
- Mediterranean Diet: This is a primarily plant-based eating plan that recommends a daily intake of whole grains, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes, nuts, and a variety of herbs and spices. Research has suggested that such an eating plan has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that make it beneficial in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, and cancer (25).
- Vegan Diet: This is an entirely plant-based diet that prohibits the consumption of all animal products such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, and honey.
- Intermittent Fasting: This isn’t a diet per se, but rather a meal-timing schedule that blocks some hours for fasting and others for eating, generally resulting in overall lower calorie intake.
The Importance of Lifestyle Changes
Once you go off a diet, you need to change your lifestyle, committing to healthy eating and regular physical activity.
Read also: Diet Before Bariatric Surgery