Is it Okay to Eat 750 Calories a Day? (Solved & Explained!)

In my honest opinion, the only people who should be eating 750 calories per day are children, and small children at that.

Realistically, cutting calories to such a low level will not only cause many health issues, it can also cause your body to keep hold of fat.

To be honest, the only people who should really be losing weight are those who extremely overweight or obese.

Granted, that does account for a lot of people in the world.

However, in the main, for most of us, it makes more sense to lose body fat.

Is 750 Calories Per Day Enough?

No, for the vast majority of people 750 calories per day is nowhere near enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Your body will hold onto fat stores, your metabolism will slow down, both of which can actually make you fatter. Plus, you can severely impact how your vital organs function by eating so few calories.

Basically, when you’re at a severe calorie deficit, e.g. 750 calories a day, you will of course lose weight.

That said, the “weight” you are losing is not body fat, but more likely muscle, which can actually lead to you becoming fatter in the long run.

Carbs For Energy First

The body typically burns carbohydrates first for energy.

However, when the carb stores have been depleted, the body will start burning fat for energy.

This is actually the basis of how low-carb diets, such as keto and paleo work.

The thinking behind these types of diets is that when your body no longer has stores of carbs for energy, the body produces ketones, which are then used to provide energy.

And don’t forget, every single thing you and your body does requires energy.

So, I’m even talking about your heart beating, your brain working, blood flowing around your body, etc. all these things require energy.

Starvation/Survival Mode

But, when you have severely restricted your calories, your brain signals to your body that you are actually starving, and therefore you need to go into survival mode.

This is when the body holds onto stores of body fat and then starts burning the protein in your muscles for energy.

Now, the more lean muscle your body has, the more calories (and body fat) you will burn throughout the day.

Basically, your metabolism has to work harder the more muscle you have.

And the harder your metabolism works, the more calories you will burn.

This is also why very muscular people rarely have much body fat, in effect, they have turned their body into a fat burning machine.

But, as soon as you start burning muscle for energy, your metabolic rate will slow down, which in turn means that you’re burning less fat and calories now.

So, a 750-calorie daily diet will typically see you start burning muscle for energy and your metabolism will slow down.

The end result = you have less lean muscle, so your metabolism doesn’t have to work as hard, therefore it slows down. This means that you are now burning fewer calories and fat throughout the day, and because your brain thinks you’re starving to death, your body holds onto fat stores for later energy use.

You end up being an extremely unhealthy individual, who looks very ill and skinny (with your clothes on), but underneath your clothes you’ll still have rolls of fat hanging off your body.

If you carry on like this it won’t be long before it starts to impact your vital organs.

This, of course, can lead to serious illness, and as the worst case scenario, death.

How Many Calories Should You Eat?

The vast majority of people should be eating between 12-20 calories per pound of body weight, based on their activity levels.

So, as an example, let’s look at someone who weighs 150lbs.

If this person is not very active at all, e.g. has a desk job and does not exercise at all, they will be at the lower end of the scale, i.e. 12 calories per pound of body weight.

So, this inactive person should still be eating 150 x 12 = 1,800 calories just to maintain their current body weight.

However, let’s say our 150lbs person works in construction and also goes to the gym 5 times a week, and enjoys long walks on their two days off from the gym.

This person will be at the higher end of the scale, i.e. 20 calories per pound of body weight.

So, this very active person will require 150 x 20 = 3,000 calories just to maintain their current body weight.

Calories Required to Maintain Body Weight

The following table simply shows the minimum and maximum calories required for an individual to maintain their weight.

The first figure is based on an individual who is extremely inactive, whereas the second figure is for an extremely active individual.

Calories For Weight Loss & Weight Gain

If you wish to lose weight or even gain weight, then this should be a slow and steady process. Typically, you should start off with no more than a 200-300 calorie difference on a daily basis.

So, our active person wants to get stronger and more muscular, so they can add 300 calories to their daily consumption, e.g. 3,300 calories.

Then, our inactive person wants to lose weight, BUT, rather than decreasing their calorie intake, which is already quite low at 1,800 calories, they could increase their activity levels.

So, a 150lbs person would typically burn around 100 calories per one mile walked at a brisk pace, so they should walk 3 miles per day to “lose weight”.

A Doctor’s Guide to How Many Calories You Should Be Eating to Lose Weight

Final Thoughts

To be honest, this is a very basic way to look at calories consumption and weight/fat loss or weight/muscle gain.

However, this method makes much more sense than literally “starving yourself”, which in the long run will actually just make your metabolism less efficient and cause your body to hold onto stores of fat.

So NO, it is not okay to eat 750 calories a day.

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