500 kcal per day: menu with recipes, nutritional features, list of products

The 500 calorie diet is a low-calorie diet. You can lose up to a kilogram per day.

The amount of calories per day depends on: gender, age, weight, lifestyle. For women – 1500-2000, for men – 2500. Minimum – 1200 calories. Compared to these numbers, the 500 calorie limit seems very strict. The low calorie menu will force your body to burn extra pounds with your lifestyle. Sticking to such a scheme for a week without breaks will be difficult and unsafe.

Diet 500 kilocalories per day: the essence of nutrition, features

The basis of this technique is free nutrition, but up to 500 kcal.

Everything eaten should be entered in a diary to calculate the total nutritional value. Everything is allowed for consumption, the main thing is not to go beyond the norm. Although it is better to adhere to the standard rules: give up sweets, fatty foods, flour, and alcohol.

The maximum duration of the diet is 14-20 days, the optimal one is a week . Results – 300-1000 g loss per day. In an ideal situation, 20-30 kg are consumed per month, but this is if the weight was very large and all the rules were strictly followed.

500 calories is how much food?

To avoid calculating the calorie content of individual foods and learning tables yourself, you can use a smart smartphone app.

Calorie counters already have a basic base of products, which is supplemented by users. In some programs, you can create a dish yourself and find out its nutritional value based on the weight of the ingredients and the method of their preparation.

The lowest calorie, of course, are vegetables. So, 2 kg of cabbage, 1.5 kg of carrots, 1.1 kg of beets will provide 500 kcal. For fruits, you can make the following grid: 1 kg of apples, 1.5 kg of oranges, 5 medium bananas.

Calculation for dairy products for 500 kcal: 400-500 g of milk, 1.7 liters of low-fat kefir, cottage cheese 9% - 300 g, Russian cheese - 140 g.

Meat for 500 kcal: chicken fillet (boiled) – 350 g, salami – 150 g, pork steak – 200 g.

Attention! When counting, it is important to take into account all the calories consumed during the day, without subtracting snacks or coffee breaks. So, an average mug of latte with sugar will cost 250-300 kcal.

Weight Loss Results

Nutritionists say that following a diet of 500 calories a day, you can quickly lose weight, but in the future, to maintain weight, you need to alternate days with regular food and with limited food.

If you purposefully follow this diet day after day, you can lose a lot of weight in a very short time. But there is a high risk of bringing yourself to complete exhaustion.

Photos before and after losing weight:

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500 calorie per day diet: allowed and prohibited foods

To achieve the desired result in a short time, you need not only to count the amount of calories consumed and their expenditure. A slender, toned body requires proper eating habits, which is easier to achieve when leaving a diet if you limit yourself during it.

Be sure to read: Menu for 1000 kcal per day: how much weight can you lose in a week?

The list of permitted and prohibited products may vary depending on the individual characteristics of the person.

The only taboo: flour, fatty, sweet, fried.

How much is it - 500/600 kcal?

Reducing your calorie intake to a quarter of your normal amount is quite significant, so don't be surprised if your first fasting day hits you hard. If you limit yourself to 500 (for women) or 600 (for men) kcal, it's not like a picnic. It's not even half a picnic. A large latte at a café can be up to 300 calories, and even more if you add cream, while your regular lunch sandwich will more than cover the allowed amount in one large bite. So be smart—spend your calories wisely.

Diet 500 calories a day: menu for the week

Since the program is designed for 7-12 days, you can develop a diet for each day in advance, selecting low-calorie foods. This will make it easier to get used to a new lifestyle, eliminate breakdowns, and overcome the desire to eat more.

The menu is based on preferences and allowed products:

• Monday : breakfast – buckwheat (60 g) with milk (150 g); lunch – Chinese cabbage salad with cucumber and soy sauce; dinner – apple, kefir (250 g).
• Tuesday: breakfast – boiled egg (2 pcs.), porous bread (2-3 pcs.), tomato; lunch – chicken breast baked with bell pepper (150 g); dinner - banana;
• Wednesday: breakfast – grated carrots with apple (150-200 g); lunch – stewed beans in tomato (150 g); dinner – feta cheese (100 g);
• Thursday: breakfast – oatmeal, boiled in skim milk (150 g); lunch – onion soup (200 g); dinner – boiled hake (150 g), fresh cabbage salad with herbs and carrots (200 g);
• Friday: breakfast – dates (5 pcs.); lunch – mushroom cream soup (150 g); dinner – natural yogurt (150 g); plums (3-4 pcs.);
• Saturday: breakfast – omelet of 2 eggs and 50 ml of milk; lunch – buckwheat porridge (60 g) with kefir (100 g), apple; dinner – stewed rabbit in its own juice (100 g), Borodino bran (30 g);
• Sunday: breakfast – rice porridge with milk (150 g), banana; lunch – grapefruit and boiled chicken breast (100 g); dinner – kefir (200 g) with cinnamon and honey (2 tsp).

Attention! During the diet, you must follow a drinking regime (at least 1 liter of clean water). Herbal teas, infusions, and unsweetened coffee are allowed.

What is the glycemic index and glycemic load

High insulin levels caused by high blood sugar cause your body to store fat and increase your risk of cancer. Carbohydrates have the biggest impact on blood sugar, but not all are created equal. To understand which carbohydrates cause a spike in blood sugar and which do not, you need to look at their glycemic index (GI). The lower the number (maximum is 100), the less chance that this product will cause a sharp increase in blood glucose levels.

The spike in blood sugar depends not only on the product itself, but also on how much you ate. For example, in one sitting we can eat more potatoes than kiwi. Therefore, the term glycemic load (GL) was also introduced, which is calculated as follows:

GL = (GI*amount of carbohydrates in grams): 100

The reason GI and GL are so interesting is not only because they can predict health (people on a low GL diet are less likely to develop diabetes, heart disease and cancer), but also because they reveal lots of surprises. Who would have guessed that a baked potato has the same effect on blood sugar as a tablespoon of sugar?

In a broad sense, a GI greater than 50 or a GL greater than 20 is not good, and the lower both are, the better. Let's take a quick look at breakfast:

This shows that if you're eating carbohydrates for breakfast, cereal or granola is a better choice than cornflakes or a bagel. And by the way, what are you going to top your granola or corn flakes with?

The relatively high GI and GL values ​​of soy milk are one of the reasons why you should opt for real milk.

Another reason not to eat foods that quickly raise your blood sugar, especially on a fasting day, is that when your sugar levels drop, as they inevitably will, you will feel really hungry.

Mono-fasting days for 500 calories

Monodays will provide an additional effect on cleansing the body and losing weight.

Be sure to read: Menu for 1200 kcal per day with recipes for a week from simple products: proper weight loss

They involve the consumption of a single product or dish for one or several days. In order not to harm the body, you need to choose the right food for a mono-diet. Vegetables, fruits, drinks and even chocolate will do.

The most common diet is buckwheat with kefir.

Boiled cereal provides only 102 kcal per 100 g, and low-fat kefir - up to 30 kcal. For one serving, 60 g of kernels and 50 grams of milk drink are enough (it can be replaced with milk, yogurt, whey).

A delicious fasting day - with chocolate. TO

akao promotes the rapid removal of fluid from soft tissues, which results in a loss of 1-1.5 kg per day. This diet is strict, it should not be long, it is better to consult a doctor first. Daily diet – 100 g of dark chocolate (from 75%) and green tea. The chocolate is divided into 5 portions.

You can arrange a drinking fast.

It consists of consuming only liquids: broths, juices, yoghurts, smoothies, compotes, decoctions, infusions. Therapeutic fasting on water with lemon and honey is also suitable.

An interesting mono-diet is date.

Dried fruit contains all the necessary microelements to maintain life. Therefore, you can use the technique for longer than 1 day (up to a week). You are allowed to consume no more than 300 g per day. The berry has high sugar content, so the program is not suitable for people with diabetes.

The essence of the diet

A 500 calorie diet is hungry, you may experience headaches, dizziness, stress, poor health, apathy, hungry fainting, loss of strength, exacerbation of chronic diseases, and hair may fall out. The skin may become loose and there may be bags under the eyes. You don't need those results. Reviews from many nutritionists do not recommend this technique; it can harm your body.

You can use the technique as a fasting day no more than twice a week. Prepare and tune in. Consult a nutritionist or doctor.

The scheme removes toxins from the body, speeds up metabolism, cleanses the blood, normalizes glucose and cholesterol levels, and improves skin condition. Positive results will be obtained if the technique is used correctly.

Mono-fasting days:

• Fasting day with fermented milk products - one and a half liters of kefir, fermented baked milk or drinking yogurt;
• If you have high cholesterol, have a cucumber day, one kilogram per day;
• You can speed up your metabolism by having a protein day. The menu will consist of three hundred grams of lean boiled meat or lean fish and half a kilogram of vegetables;
• A day on buckwheat. Steam two hundred grams of buckwheat, for example, in a thermos and divide into four or five servings;
• A day on low-fat cottage cheese. Just divide into portions.

You cannot have a fasting day two days in a row, you risk harming your health.

During a low-calorie diet, compensate for the deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the body with vitamin and mineral complexes. If hunger creates discomfort, drink water and eat after half an hour. You need to drink eight glasses a day. If your health worsens, increase your caloric intake.

The diet is not recommended for pregnant women and people with diabetes.

500 calorie meal plan for a week

• Monday: your regular menu;
• Tuesday: any option for a fasting day;
• Wednesday: Eat whatever you want;
• Thursday: fasting day;
• Friday, Saturday, Sunday: regular menu.

500 calorie a day diet: recipes

Since there are no special dietary restrictions, the main thing is to stay within 500 kcal.

You can eat according to two schemes: separately or prepare combined dishes. In the first case, food is consumed raw, prepared products (vegetables, fruits, cheeses, yoghurts) are used. The second method involves targeted cooking in order to comply with the norm.

The best friends of those losing weight are fruit and vegetable salads, broths, stews, smoothies and fresh juices, cream soups.

Be sure to read: Menu for 1300 kcal per day with recipes and calorie counting: food for the week

When calculating the calorie content of a finished portion, the nutritional value of individual products is summed up and divided by proportion. It is important to take into account the degree of “cooking”: nutritional value decreases during heat treatment.

Drink with cucumbers and whey

Drink with cucumbers and whey
This cleansing and refreshing cocktail provides only 30-45 kcal, but tones well and restores strength.

To prepare it you will need:

• whey (7 glasses);
• cucumbers (2);
• dill;
• salt.

Preparation:

1. Cucumbers are grated on a coarse grater, salted, and poured with chilled whey.
2. The resulting mixture is infused for 5-8 hours, served with the addition of dill.

Fruit and vegetable salad with feta cheese and yogurt

Fruit and vegetable salad with cheese and yogurt
You will need:

• low fat cheese (150 g);
• Chinese cabbage (150 g);
• apples (2 pcs.);
• orange (1 pc.);
• cucumbers (2 pcs.);
• light yogurt (150-200 g).

Preparation:

1. The components are cut into large cubes (vegetables and fruits are peeled).
2. Stir and season with prepared natural yogurt sauce with spices (to taste). A 100 g serving will yield 80-120 kcal.

Cream of mushroom soup

Mushroom puree soup
Calorie content of the dish is 440 kcal (in a saucepan), approximately 100 kcal per serving. It is prepared in 30-40 minutes and does not require any special culinary skills.

Ingredients:

• champignons (500 g);
• butter or margarine (30 g);
• bulb;
• garlic (1-2 cloves);
• pepper, salt, herbs.

Preparation:

1. Mushrooms, onions and garlic are cut into cubes.
2. Take water (1-1.5 liters) into a saucepan and boil the vegetables until tender (20 minutes).
3. Beat them with butter into a consistency similar to cream or puree, salt, pepper, and serve with parsley.

Onion soup

Onion soup
This dish is ideal for a monoday. By consuming 1 liter, the body will receive only 500 calories. In addition, the soup is rich in vitamins A, C and E.

To prepare you will need:

• onions (6-7 pcs.);
• white cabbage (1 kg);
• tomato (3 pcs.);
• sweet bell pepper (3 pcs.);
• water (3 l);
• celery (bunch).

Preparation:

1. Vegetables are finely chopped and placed in a pan with cold water.
2. Bring to a boil and keep on medium gas for 15-20 minutes. If the ingredients have not softened, reduce the gas and simmer the soup with the lid closed.
3. Serve with cilantro or parsley. The broth can be stored for up to 7 days. Salt, pepper and spices are added for taste.

Useful tips

• Hunger pangs can be removed with a few walnuts or peanuts and fruits;
• Don't forget that there are high-calorie fruits - banana, avocado. Replace them with tangerines;
• Nutrition control - keep a diet diary, create a menu and write down everything you eat, count calories, summarize every week;
• For chronic diseases, diet is not recommended;
• Drink purified, non-carbonated water at least two liters per day;
• Steam, boil, simmer, avoid frying;
• Eat vegetables and fruits for breakfast;
• Replace coffee and tea with clean water;
• Don't eat after six o'clock in the evening;
• Avoid oils when cooking;
• A fasting day can be done once twice a week;
• Consult a nutritionist or doctor;
• The diet is not recommended for heavy physical labor and intense training.

THESE ARTICLES WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Say no to sauces

Mayonnaise is far from the only harmful additive. Sour cream, cheese, tomato and cream sauces - they all have high energy value and can significantly increase the calorie content of any dish. And soy sauce, although it does not contain as many calories, retains fluid in the body, which can cause swelling.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Skip the sauces and replace them with low-fat yogurt or balsamic vinegar, for example. Firstly, it seemed that familiar dishes would reveal a new side. Secondly, their energy value will decrease. For example, if you exclude mayonnaise from a portion of Olivier, you will get 100-200 kcal less.

Don't overuse fruits

Often, having decided to lose weight, many rush from one extreme to another and, for example, giving up sweets and baked goods, try to compensate for them with more fruit. Although they are indeed healthier than sweets and pies, many of them are still very high in calories and also contain a lot of carbohydrates.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Since the carbohydrates in fruits are simple, they are absorbed quickly and do not fill you for a long time. Therefore, without noticing it ourselves, we can eat too much, which is also not good for the body. Of course, fruits contain many useful substances and elements, so you should not exclude them from your diet. Use them in moderation and don't get too carried away.

What happens to the body if you eat apples every day?

Reduce the amount of fat

As a rule, we do not count how much oil we add to the frying pan when we stew vegetables, fry an omelet or fry meat. As a result, the dish turns out to be much higher in calories than it could be.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Reducing your intake of “bad” fats is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. For example, when stewing, butter can be replaced with broth or water, and for frying, use olive oil or a non-stick frying pan.

The best is the enemy of the good: why is junk food not so bad?

Following these five rules is not that difficult. Healthy habits will help not only reduce the calorie content of your meals, but also gradually switch to a more proper and healthy diet.

Reduce your sugar intake

Even if you just stop adding sugar to your tea and coffee, this will significantly reduce the number of calories you consume. For example, one cup of black tea with two spoons of sugar contains approximately 60-65 kcal, while the unsweetened version contains only 3-5 kcal.

Photo: istockphoto.com

In addition, sugar is also found in seemingly unexpected products - packaged juices, tomato paste and yoghurts. Replace juices with freshly squeezed ones, and buy yoghurts and curds without sugar, and you can get rid of several dozen extra calories.

Fresh berries and fruits, as well as spices, herbs and herbs will help satisfy your need for sweets. Moreover, some of them - for example, red pepper - also speed up metabolism. For other products that speed up your metabolism, watch the “Championship” video.

Replace carbonated drinks with water

Sweet soda not only contains a large amount of sugar, but also negatively affects the condition of the skin. In addition, carbonated drinks do not quench thirst well - after them you want to drink even more. And if you are also used to drinking lemonade with your food, there is a risk of eating much more than you need.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Try to replace sweet soda and packaged juices with plain water. For taste, you can add lemon and mint or, for example, seasonal fruits and berries. And if you really like “sparkling” drinks, take sparkling mineral water instead of still water.