800 Calorie Diet: Shocking Risks and Surprising Benefits You Need to Know!

An 800-calorie diet is a very low-calorie diet (VLCD) that severely restricts daily caloric intake, typically used for rapid weight loss under medical supervision. While it may offer benefits for certain individuals with obesity-related health problems, it also carries significant risks and is not suitable for everyone. This article delves into the potential benefits and risks of an 800-calorie diet, providing a comprehensive overview for those considering this approach.

What is an 800 Calorie Diet?

An 800-calorie diet is a type of rapid weight loss diet where you consume very few calories to lose more than 2 pounds (lb) or 1 kilogram (kg) a week over several weeks. These diets are most often chosen by people with obesity who want to lose weight quickly.

Very low-calorie diets are not the same as over-the-counter meal replacements, which you substitute for one or two meals a day.

Components of an 800 Calorie Diet

Meal Replacements: The diet typically consists of meal replacement products like shakes, soups, and protein bars. These products are specially formulated to be low in calories.
Vitamins and Minerals: Supplements or fortified products ensure adequate intake of essential micronutrients.
Hydration: Adequate fluid intake is emphasized to prevent dehydration.

Phases of an 800 Calorie Diet

Initial Phase: This is the most restrictive phase. It typically lasts a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on the individual’s health status and weight loss goals.
Transition Phase: Gradually, regular meals and low calorie snacks are reintroduced into the diet. The caloric intake is slowly increased. The individual is encouraged to eat healthy, balanced meals consisting of lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
Maintenance Phase: In this phase, the focus is on maintaining the achieved weight loss. The individual continues to follow a balanced diet with an appropriate caloric intake to prevent weight regain.

Potential Benefits of an 800 Calorie Diet

Rapid weight loss diets, including the 800-calorie diet, are usually for people who have health problems because of obesity. Rapid weight loss diets are less commonly recommended by health care providers. People on these diets should be followed closely by their provider. Rapid weight loss may not be safe for some people to do on their own.

Rapid Weight Loss: 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.
Improvement in Medical Conditions: Losing as little as 5% of your body weight may improve medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Rapid weight loss can help improve diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Blood Sugar Control: Some studies suggest that very low-calorie diets can improve blood sugar control, especially in individuals with type 2 diabetes. For those with type 2 diabetes, because stage one of the plan involves a very low-calorie diet, it may put your condition in to remission.
Reduced Need for Medications: The more rapid weight change results in a rapid drop in blood pressure and blood sugars, with the resulting need for lower antihypertensive and diabetes medications.

Risks and Side Effects of an 800 Calorie Diet

While an 800-calorie diet can lead to rapid weight loss and health improvements, it is essential to be aware of the potential risks and side effects.

Nutrient Deficiencies: To be healthy, you need a balance of foods from different food groups. It's difficult to get good nutrition and feel satisfied on a very low-calorie diet. It can also be unsafe when it lacks any essential nutrient. While it's possible to get the short-term nutrition you need with VLCDs, it's much easier to miss out on essential vitamins and minerals. Most people on very low calorie diets need vitamin and mineral supplements to ensure they are getting proper nutrition.
Muscle Loss: When you severely restrict calories, your body may start to break down muscle tissue for energy. Early use of very low calorie diets with poor quality protein and loose medical supervision resulted in about 60 deaths, many of which were attributed to loss of lean body mass and in particular, cardiac muscle atrophy. Losing more than 1 or 2 lb (0.5 to 1 kg) a week is not safe for most people. It can cause you to lose muscle, water, and bone density.
Gallstones: Gallstones are the most common serious side effect of very low-calorie diets. Rapid weight loss can increase the risk of developing gallstones. 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.
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. VLCDs may affect blood sugar levels, so if you're prescribed insulin or diabetic medication you must discuss this diet plan with your doctor. With VLCDs you are getting much less energy than before. This can lead to side effects like tiredness and brain fog. You also need to ensure you're staying hydrated with 2-3 litres of calorie-free drinks a day - preferably water - to avoid dehydration, associated headaches and constipation, or its more serious side effects. During this first stage, you may experience side effects - the most common are headaches, constipation or tiredness. This is typically due to dehydration, so the plan encourages you to increase your intake of calorie-free liquids to 2-3 litres per day.
Unsustainable Results: But in the long-run, very low-calorie diets aren't more effective than more modest diets. People who lose weight very quickly are much more likely to regain the weight over time than people who lose weight slowly through less drastic diet changes and physical activity. The weight loss is a bigger stress for the body, and the hormonal response to the weight loss is much stronger. Once you stop the diet, you are at risk for regaining the weight if you return to your old eating habits.
Mood Changes: Severe calorie restriction can lead to irritability, mood swings, and a preoccupation with food.
Dehydration: With VLCDs you are getting much less energy than before. You also need to ensure you're staying hydrated with 2-3 litres of calorie-free drinks a day - preferably water - to avoid dehydration, associated headaches and constipation, or its more serious side effects.

Who Should Consider an 800 Calorie Diet?

Very low-calorie diets are not OK for everyone. 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.

This does depend on your start weight, how much you need to lose and assumes you remain motivated and committed throughout this challenging phase.

Contraindications

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. In general, a rapid weight loss diet is not safe for children. It may also not be safe for teens, pregnant women or older adults unless a provider recommends it.

Alternatives to an 800 Calorie Diet

For most people, it is safest to choose a diet in which you lose a 1/2 to 1 lb or 225 to 500 grams (g) a week. If you are considering a weight loss plan, there are several alternatives to an 800-calorie diet that may be more sustainable and less risky.

Low-Calorie Diet (LCD): These diets usually allow about 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day for men. An LCD is a better choice than a VLCD for most people who want to lose weight quickly. But you should still be supervised by your provider. You will not lose weight as fast with an LCD, but you can lose just as much weight with a VLCD. An LCD may use a mix of meal replacements and regular food. This makes it easier to follow than a VLCD.
Mediterranean Diet: This involves lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, as well as healthy fats, like those found in olive oil and fish, and fibre-rich carbs, like those found in whole wheat foods and beans. There's plenty of research showing how effective this diet is at significantly lowering obesity and weight-related health problems1, and many of the healthiest and longest living people in the world eat this way. You do this by following a moderately low-carb, Mediterranean-style diet, with lean protein sources and vegetables.
Intermittent Fasting: Intermittent fasting involves time-restricted eating - having at least a 12-hour break in between meals - and calorie-restriction in the period when you do eat. By fasting for at least 12 hours during each 24-hour period, you can trigger your body to burn more energy. Time-restricted eating limits the number of hours per day that you can eat. A popular strategy is the 16:8. For this diet, you have to eat all of your meals during an 8 hour period, for example, 10 am to 6 pm. The rest of the time you cannot eat anything. There are some studies that this method can cause rapid weight loss, but there is little information so far about whether the weight loss is sustained.
The New 5:2 Diet: The New 5:2 is an adaptation of Michael Mosley's original 5:2 diet, which involves intermittent fasting two days a week. During this approach you: Have no calorie restrictions. Eat a moderately low-carb Mediterranean diet. Exercise regularly - a mix of short HIIT and resistance training sessions.

Importance of Medical Supervision

You should only follow one of these diets with the help of your provider. Rapid weight loss diets are less commonly recommended by health care providers. People on these diets should be followed closely by their provider. Rapid weight loss may not be safe for some people to do on their own. Talk to your doctor to see if this kind of diet is appropriate for you.

It is logistically impossible to provide complete nutrition on a whole food diet, and therefore, the weight loss will be much slower.

Long-Term Weight Management

Once you go off a diet, you need to change your lifestyle, committing to healthy eating and regular physical activity. Lifestyle education promotes long-term weight maintenance of approximately 56% 2 yr after VLCD treatment.

Exercise

Specifically, switching between regular resistance exercise sessions and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an effective way to maintain healthy weight loss. Rapid weight loss is more about cutting calories than exercising. Talk with your provider about what type of exercise you should do while you are on this type of diet. Your provider may suggest waiting until you are on a more long-term diet to start exercising.

tags: #800 #calorie #diet #risks #and #benefits