Burning 600 CALORIES good?

for a week now i have changed my diet to one healthy meal a day, consisting of either salad and chicken, during day i only snack on fruit. i do not eat after 8 and in the evening i go on the treadmill for 50 mins burning 600 calories, meaning im burning more than what ive ate the whole day. im confident that by doing this i will see some change, im quite fit but need to tone up more and loose abit of belly fat (that we all have!!) for those who know more, am i doing it the right way? how long before i see any change? or am i totally going about it the wrong way? any advice would be helpful, thank you.

Reply 1

tinkerbellejess

13

You need to eat more than 600 cals a day...Your body burns cals just by living so you don't have to work off every single calorie that you eat. 600 cals is really good to burn just running, but you need to eat more to support that or you'll make yourself ill.

Reply 2

samba

6

do you burn 600 calories in 50 minutes on a treadmill? :s-smilie:

I thought that's how much an hour of intense 5aside burnt!

Reply 3

fisherman

16

One meal a day seems bad, but I can't remember why. Maybe you should split it up into 3 meals.

Somebody resting uses at least 2000 calories a day (2000calories is roughly 200g of fat), so you'll be losing about 1400g a week, or 3lb (min). Seems a little extreme.

Chicken is pretty healthy, but I would suggest you eat at least 1500 calories, and keep up lots of excersice. Simply eating less won't "tone" you, excersise is far more important.

I know plently of guys who eat huge amounts of "bad" foods, but are toned as they excersise to burn it off.

In a big cycle, say 8h, I'd burn 5k calories. If I ate what you're eating, I'd "bonk" after a couple of hours. I eat masses. It's not uncommon for me to eat 12 choc-spread sandwiches on a 2h ride. The bonus of excersice, as well as feeling good, is you can eat masses and stay thin.

Reply 4

Kaellya

Wrong way because:

Eating only one meal a day can never last forever.
Eating 600 calories or under a day is not enough to live on or keep your healthy or keep your metabolism high.
Your body adjusts to living on less calories and makes it harder for you to lose weight.
Eating too little and just doing cardio exercise burns some muscle and fat off equally, and then you will regain weight in just fat, ending up 'fatter' technically than you were before dieting!

Basically, when you go to eat normally again (which will happen, as your mind and body will be crying out for food) you put on any weight you lose and some more too. Because your body is like "I was so starving, now I need to put on lots of fat in case I get starved again".
Plus, you have less muscle to burn calories while you, say, sleep, so you put on even more weight (a more muscled person burns more calories in day-to-day stuff then a less muscled person, plus more muscle usually means more toned.)
Plus, 600 calories is too low - your diet will be lacking in the vitamins, protein, carbs, etc - yes, even fats - you need to ensure every part of you is healthy, from skin to hair to organ functions.

Basically, firstly, you should find out your BMR. It's probably between 1700-2000 calories a day. (Look online for a calculator - it's your Basal Metabolic Rate) This is the rate at which you burn calories in breathing, living etc every day.

To lose weight, eat a little under your BMR. Stick to a diet of about 1500 calories or more a day, from healthy foods, such as lean protein (chicken, turkey, eggs etc), vegetables, fruits, 'good' fats (oily fish, avocado, small portions of nuts, olive oil) and wholegrain carbs (brown pitta, brown rice etc). Try to have six mini meals a day, or three meals and two snacks. Drink 2 litres of water a day minimum. Don't eat when bored and bake/boil over fry your food. (Don't worry if you occasionally slip up, or if you eat a bit less one day or a bit more another - just aim for overall balance).

Exercise-wise, aim for some cardio, like your running (best is mixing it up a bit, with short periods of fast running and longer 'rest' periods of jogging). And also some weight lifting sessions (you won't get bigger, but you will be more toned and sleek :smile:

) - make sure you learn how to use weights properly, so you don't injure yourself, and how much you should start lifting.
I reckon about 2-3 weights sessions and 2-3 cardio a week will be a good way to start. Don't be afraid to change up your exercise and keep it fun.

Good luck.

Reply 5

burningnun

3

^ A BMR of 2000 kcal is very high.

3 meals per day is acceptable but probably not enough. 1 meal per day is terrible. 6 meals per day is what it's all about.

Reply 6

Kaellya

^ It's the average calorie intake recommended for a woman per day.
Though I guess I didn't mean BMR as much as BMR + exercise expenditure. I think if you're a fairly active, average weight woman you could manage 2000 calories a day and not gain. For a man, higher, I suppose.

Reply 7

o-e-s-j

2

burningnun

^ A BMR of 2000 kcal is very high.

3 meals per day is acceptable but probably not enough. 1 meal per day is terrible. 6 meals per day is what it's all about.

sound advice, but who has time to prepare and eat 6 meals a day (not to mention the will power to just eat a small number of calories per meal)

i decided to eat 3 meals a day, because any more just felt too much like my old diet [eating loads whenever i felt like it].

also, 2000kcal BMR is not very high - 'tis the recommended intake in a day for the average woman :rolleyes:

Reply 8

strongmotive

You can easily burn 600 calories on a tredmill on a level above 11.5-> for 30 - 40 mins of running

Reply 9

ChocolateEyes

600kcals is not enough for one day and will eventually leave you ill.

2000 is the average for women so it isn't that high. My BMR is aroun 1800 so I stick to around 1200kcals a day to lose weight.

Reply 10

Laus

13

Also, you've got to remember that your BMR is how much you burn when you aren't doing anything i.e. lying down all day (hence the reason you tend to lose weight when you're poorly and stuck in bed). You burn up calories sleeping, eating, breathing and all the rest of it. If you're trying to lose weight I'd recommend you eat at least 1200-1500 calories a day... work out your BMR and go from there. Exercise is great but you don't want to be burning off more than you are eating. You need something to keep you going!

Reply 11

burningnun

3

Kaellya

^ It's the average calorie intake recommended for a woman per day.
Though I guess I didn't mean BMR as much as BMR + exercise expenditure. I think if you're a fairly active, average weight woman you could manage 2000 calories a day and not gain. For a man, higher, I suppose.

My post was directed at the guy above you. I think we both posted at the same time.

Anyway, Laus is correct regarding BMR. BMR is the energy you burn when resting, only performing functions needed to survive. It is not the same as the recommended intake (2000 kcal) because that number takes into account an average amount of exercise.

Reply 12

hanadeka2002

Bloody hell, how do you have the energy to do that on only 600 cals a day?!

Reply 13

MarchOfMephisto

Im concerned. You should be eating more than 600Kcal per day, more between 1500 and 2000 for a girl depending on how active you are. It will actually not help to only eat one meal a day-it will lower your metabollic rate and make your body go into starvation mode so hwne you do eat it will take absolutly everything it can. Also, I hate saying this, but it sounds you bordering on anorexia as you are very concious about your calorie intake and seem to be doing a huge amount of strenous excerise. I would say jsut be careful. You dont have to do this to be slim. Just cut out all the junk food if you want to lose weight, but eat good sized healty meals at least 3 times a day.

Reply 14

Sephaeii

The body needs 1200 calories a day just to exist, any less than this and you enter starvation mode. You will eventually stop losing weight, even if you are only eating a few hundred calories a day, because your body will cling onto everything you do eat.

Starvation mode = not fun. Seriously. You are cold, all the time. You have no energy, eventually you reach the point where you physically can't get out of bed. You can't concentrate on anything. Everything hurts, all the time. You feel like you are barely connected to reality. Your organ systems start shutting down on you. Eventually, your body will give up altogether.

Please, please, listen to the "rational" voice in your head that knows this is not a good idea, which is why you're posting on here. Eating very few calories a day is a sure fire way to a living hell, and is a vicious cycle that is so hard to get out of.

Please PM me if you want to talk further.

Reply 15

Kater Murr

20

Just because you DO have the energy to do what you're doing, doesn't mean it's fine: you're on a slippery slope leading to an eating disorder beginning with a capital A.

Seriously - eat a bit more, maybe 1000-1200 cals a day, and it'll be much better for you, and you can lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way.

Reply 16

puppy

ChocolateEyes

600kcals is not enough for one day and will eventually leave you ill.

2000 is the average for women so it isn't that high. My BMR is aroun 1800 so I stick to around 1200kcals a day to lose weight.

My BMR is just under 1500 cals so eating 600 a day is very very low, anorexic low. I should stress that BMR is what your body uses if you just lie still in your own filth all day, obviously you need more than your BMR to maintain weight if you're going about your daily activities or doing exercise. Eating between 1200- 1500 cals a day and doing regular exercise is a better idea to lose weight at a healthy and steady rate.

Reply 17

ChocolateEyes

puppy

My BMR is just under 1500 cals so eating 600 a day is very very low, anorexic low. I should stress that BMR is what your body uses if you just lie still in your own filth all day, obviously you need more than your BMR to maintain weight if you're going about your daily activities or doing exercise. Eating between 1200- 1500 cals a day and doing regular exercise is a better idea to lose weight at a healthy and steady rate.