The 600 Calorie Diet: Results, Meal Plan, Recipes and More


There are countless tips out there for ways to lose weight quickly; different diets, recipes, workout routines, operations- you name it and it probably already exists. This article will go into depth into the 600 calorie diet. You’ll learn how it works, some meal plans, and even see some results from others.

The 600 calorie diet is employed by people looking to drop weight fast and diabetics alike. Most fitness professionals recommend talking to your doctor before dropping suddenly to this caloric intake, so make sure to get that taken care of before initiating this new diet craze.

How it Works

Most fitness experts recommend doing this plan every other day, or two days on, two days off. It is not something that you should be using as an every day diet, as your body cannot sustain itself long term on this number of calories.

It is also important to take as many vitamins and supplements as necessary to complete your nutritional requirements. Subsiding on only 600 calories for an entire day means that some nutrients cannot be consumed; that is the trade-off of choosing this diet.

The 600-calorie diet should not be used by anyone who is also doing vigorous exercising. Exercising is absolutely encouraged. In fact, it is far better for you to increase your calories and workout than it is to stay at 600 and forgo any physical activity. If you are exercising as a regular part of your fitness journey, your caloric intake needs to be at least 1,200 per day.

600 calories a day

Its Effects on Type 2 Diabetes

In 2015, a CDC report found that a staggering 30 million Americans suffer from diabetes. That is 9.4 percent of the entire United States population. In addition to the 30.3 million already diagnosed, 84.1 million are pre-diabetic, an ailment that typically leads to type 2 diabetes within five years.

The excess calories we consume on a daily basis result in a fatty liver, which causes the liver to create too much glucose, which in turn raises blood sugars. That excess fat is then passed along to the pancreas, which results in the cells that produce the body’s insulin to fail, which then causes diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is extremely dangerous and can lead to terrible things like stroke, kidney failure, heart disease, blindness, and actual loss of limb.

Miriam Stoppard, a doctor from the United Kingdom, published an article claiming that the 600 calorie diet could cure type 2 diabetes for at least 10 years. Stoppard, an elected Fellow of Royal College of Physicians, London, states that, subsiding on the 600 calorie diet for a mere eight weeks can reverse the effects and progression of type 2 diabetes entirely. Well, at least for the next 10 years.

Most people who embark on this diet journey and stick to it stringently lose between 30-35 pounds, which automatically begins the reversal process on this ravaging disease. At this point, only significant weight loss is known to remove that tiny amount of havoc-wreaking fat from outside of the pancreas, which automatically increases your body’s natural insulin production.

600 calorie diet

What 600 Calories a Day Looks Like

Since 600 calories a day seems like an impossibly daunting undertaking, there are myriad resources available that map out the day’s meals for you so that you may plan accordingly for your fasting schedule.

As an example, the LA Times recommends the following guidelines for your fast days:


One cup of cornflakes (100 calories)
One half cup of 1% milk (50 calories)
Total: 150 calories


One three-inch apple (95 calories)
Total: 95 calories


Three-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast, grilled or baked (128 calories)
One cup of boiled and drained chopped broccoli (27 calories)
One medium sized baked potato (168 calories)
One pat of butter (36 calories)
Total: 359 calories, with a total for the day of 604 calories

If you think you can handle moving down to just two meals a day, you can indulge yourself a little more at each of them. The same LA Times articles recommends the following alternative options to the idea of three meals a day:

Breakfast Option 1

One large egg, scrambled (91 calories)
A single piece of whole wheat toast (75 calories)
Four ounces fresh-squeezed orange juice (58 calories)
Total: 224 calories

Dinner Option 1

Three-ounce broiled hamburger (184 calories)
One hamburger bun (117 calories)
One tomato slice (4 calories)
One tablespoon chopped onions (4 calories)
Two pickle slices (2 calories)
Four spears of boiled and drained asparagus spears (13 calories)
One Oreo cookie (56 calories)
Total: 308 calories, with a total of 604 calories for the whole day

Breakfast Option 2

A small, toasted cinnamon raisin bagel (191 calories)
Total: 191 calories

Dinner Option 2

Three-ounce round steak trimmed completely of fat (182 calories)
One cup of boiled and drained green beans (44 calories)
One half cup of cooked long-grain white rice (97 calories)
One cup of whole strawberries (46 calories)
Tablespoon of light whipping cream for dipping (44 calories)
Total: 413 calories, with a total of 604 calories for the whole day

The nature of this diet means that you can actually eat anything you want, as long as whatever you do eat does not surpass the 600 calorie limit on any given day. For example, you could have one beef and bean burrito and an ounce of tortilla chips for a total of 596 calories on the day. You are certainly under that 600 mark, but that is all you can eat for the entire day. Two pieces of a 14-inch pepperoni pizza with traditional crust is 626 calories, a cup of high-end ice cream will gobble up 580 calories, and a medium serving of fries and a 16-ounce, non-diet soda will ring in 580 calories total.

You do not have to deprive yourself on this diet, you absolutely can still eat all of the delicious things that you love, but that is all you can eat during the day, so keep that in mind.

Before undertaking any drastic life changes, especially regarding weight loss, it is crucial that you first speak to your doctor. Any changes on a grand scale have a profound impact on the body.


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