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What is the 1000-calorie diet? Every day as we go about our daily lives we burn energy, and this is measured in calories. Everything we do, the housework, driving the car, sitting and even just breathing burns these calories. The number of calories we need just to be alive is called the basal metabolic rate. It varies with age, sex, weight and the amount of physical activity we normally do. It can vary a lot, from 1400 for a small elderly lady, to over 4000 for a young, active, overweight man. These calories come from the food we eat, and the drinks we drink, and each food has a calorie value equivalent to the energy it will provide if eaten.

Good news, Bad news

Your basic calorie requirements increase if you are a man, which is why they lose weight more easily than women. Calorie requirements also increase the heavier you are, so overweight people actually need more calories. This is why weight loss tapers off as you reach your goal, you simply don't need as many calories any more. If you are more active in your daily life your basal metabolic rate increases, so if you exercise you not only burn extra calories doing that, but for the rest of the day as well. The bad news is that the basal metabolic rate slows as we age, which is why it is harder to lose weight as you get older.

So what is the 1000-calorie diet?

If you use more calories than you eat then you will lose weight. On average if you eat 3,500 calories less than you need each week then you will lose one pound in weight. There are many sites on the Internet that allow you to calculate exactly how many calories you need in a day.

The 1000-calorie diet is when you limit your daily calorie intake to 1000 calories; this is far less than most people need, so losing weight is inevitable. For example, a 40-year woman in office job who weighs 155 pounds needs 2250 calories per day to maintain her present weight. If she eats 1000 calories a day there is a shortfall of 8,750 over the week, which should lead to a two pound weight loss. There will be variations. All the figures in books and on the Internet are based on average people, so some people will lose more than this and some less.

Simply put, the 1000-calorie diet involves limiting your calorie intake to 1000 calories a day.

What should you eat?

If you only eat five donut king donuts a day that will be 1000 calories and you will lose weight. You will also be very unhealthy. It is important that you eat a varied diet with a lot of fruit and vegetables in it.

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