Can You Only Eat 500 Calories Per Day?

September 03, 2009

I had the opportunity to spend a day recently with some actors and models.  During one of the breaks, a model asked me a question which did something that does not happen often - it surprised me.

I thought I'd heard it all.  That was until the model asked me, in complete seriousness, "Is it okay to eat only 500 calories per day?"  I didn't reply right away as I was waiting for some kind of facial expression from the model that would mark what she said as a joke.  But it never came.  She was serious.  Wow.

Calories are still the enemy, apparently.  I thought we'd moved on.

How could the idea that 500 calories is an acceptible amount ever even get taken seriously enough that it becomes a serious question?

It is difficult to determine the exact number of calories you need in a day, but I can guarantee you, 500 is never the right answer. 

Fasting and overeating are easy to dismiss because they are extremes and extremes are just about always wrong in any area of life.  But in the big grey area between, how do you know how many calories you need?

First, decide of your goals are to maintain current weight or to lose or gain weight.  Next, you'll need to have a metabolic test done to determine your calorie needs for the day (your resting need and the amount needed to support activity).  Then you'll either keep your calorie count the same or adjust it up or down depending whether you want to gain or lose weight.  And this will involve weighing your food and tracking EVERYTHING you eat.  It's like basic training or nutrition boot camp.

If that sounds like a miserable way to spend your days, it is.

There is value in knowing your calorie needs, but long-term, you will be best served by having better instincts.

Once you have an idea about the correct number of calories for you, have a good handle on portion sizes and calorie density, you should be able to "graduate" from basic training.

When you eat better QUALITY foods, you avoid the artificially stimulated appetite that comes from eating chips, cookies, crackers, cakes, doughnuts, soda, fruit juices, cupcakes, doughnuts and other junk.  Your body starts giving you better, more accurate hunger signals, and you can move on from nutrition basic training.

The alternative is to live in fear of calories, never enjoy food, and enjoy life less as a result.

There is value - only as a learning tool - in counting calories.  Long term, your body and mind should progress and evolve.  Otherwise, you'll be stuck in nutrition basic training forever, and as anyone with military experience can tell you, that would be a nightmare. 

Jonathan Ross
National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
on line community:
www.inspire.com/JonathanRoss/
www.AionFitness.com

Comments

[Jonathan]

Theresa - thanks for your contribution to this discussion. You nailed it when you said that as long as the numbers are used as guidelines and you don't obsess about it, using them can be helpful. Amen.

One tip for you...if you're consistently able to get your "minutes" of exercise in, I'd recommend you start adding more intensity here and there.

Our bodies adapt to what we consistently do. A few extra minutes at what your body is already used to doesn't give you as big of a boost as a little kick up in intensity for a few minutes during the same you already spend on exercise.

Sorry to hear you're battling emotional issues surrounding eating. That is never an easy battle. I wish you well and will hope you know you've got my support.

[Theresa]

For some of us, weight loss has been a life long battle. I do micromanage my food intake on occasion but I use the website Sparkpeople.com to input my food and let them do the calculations.

You can estimate Basal Metabolic Requirement without an expensive test at http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html

Unless you are a pro athlete (or supermodel) who cares about ounces of body fat, this number should give you a minimum number of cals per day. Oh, and an 80 yr old, 80 lb midget would still need 850 calories :)

My point is, it doesn't need to cost a lot or take a lot of time to keep track of where you should be. As long as you don't obsess about it and use numbers as guidelines they really can help. Much of my overeating and poor choices have come from an emotional base and I will probably battle it for the rest of my life. Having a website that helps me realistically make good food choices has been really helpful.

You can also log fitness minutes and that is the number I really concentrate on. I like to see the weeks that I go over my fitness minute goals.

Thanks for such really great articles.

[a reader]

"It is difficult to determine the exact number of calories you need in a day, but I can guarantee you, 500 is never the right answer. "

Hey, us 80-year-old quadriplegic midgets have to watch our weights, too.

[natbcfitexpert@verizon.net]

Thanks, Marlon. I didn't go into details on the metabolic test and figuring out exact calorie needs for the simple reason that I don't typically recommend the "average" person do this.

For those very serious about their training (serious enough to want to devote the massive time and energy necessary to micro-manage nutrition to such an unnatural degree) it can be helpful.

But for people in the real world, trying to juggle many responsibilities while having a healthy life, it's overkill.

And, just as you pointed out, the need for a qualified professional and the need to lay out a significant amount of cash makes it an obstacle for many people.

[Marlon]

Jonathan,
Great article, however you briefly mentioned the fact that one needs to get a metabolic test done in order to figure out necessary daily caloric intake. I feel you should elaborate a bit more on where to get it done(your PRP, Nutrionist) and the costs associated with it($75 and up). Nonetheless, great information.