A week or so ago, I posted my original review of the 1000 Calorie Challenge in which I explained how this program works and what you may expect from it. At that time I knew that I would need to provide my readers with even more information about this program as I’m sure you have a number of questions about this program and wish to find out for sure that it’s right for you.
This second part of my review will not be done in a “review style” manner but as a questions and answers format. This way, I am sure that I will provide you with the answers to your most urgent questions about the 1000 Calorie Challenge.
Click here to watch a special video about this program
Basic Facts about the 1000 Calorie Challenge
Before I get to the actual questions and answers, let’s just make sure that you have the basic facts about this program:
1. The 1000 Calorie Challenge is a program designed for a fast and massive fat loss which is accomplished by creating a large calorie deficit and using the body’s own fat burning hormones to accelerate your fat loss. It was created by Arnel Ricafranca, a known fitness expert.
2. The calorie deficit is achieved by doing 1000 calorie workouts 3 times a week and combining them with some low calorie days each week, with a 1000 calorie total on each of those days. In general, you will need to lead an active routine to get the best results.
3. The rest of the days are higher in calories and include some cheat days in which you can eat un-dietary foods (like pizza).
Ok, now that we’ve got that covered, here are the questions and answers I’ve compiled about this program:
Question: How much weight can I lose with the 1000 Calorie Challenge?
Answer: The official statement is that you can lose 3 – 5 pounds per week. Given the challenging aspect of the program this may be possible during the early stages of the plan. However, this is not a steady rate of fat loss. If you only have 20 pounds to lose, you will not continue shedding weight after you’ve lost this much, nor should you want to.
In addition, you have to realize that every person is different from the next so your own fat loss may be slightly lower or higher than the 3 – 5 range. It is likely an average loss.
Question: Doing 1000 calorie workouts seems a bit extreme, isn’t it too hard?
Answer: There’s no doubt that this is a challenging program. However, you’re not expected to be able to perform these workouts from day #1 of the program. The workouts in the first four weeks of the program are less intensive and designed to help build your fitness so you’ll be able to perform those 1000 calorie workouts.
That being said, expect to make a real effort 3 times a week on those hard workouts. There is no denying it that a fast fat loss requires effort.
Question: How can I know if this program is right for me?
Answer: If your goal is to shed just a handful of pounds, say 7 or less, then this program may be too much for you. It is a program for BIG fat loss so I think that you should use it only if you have 10 pounds or more to lose.
As this program requires intensive workouts, you have to be physically able to perform them. If you’re currently unable to workout, and this is something you should check with your doctor, then it is not for you. You also have to be willing to put in the work required to get the results this program is capable of delivering and to follow the dietary guidelines.
Question: Is this program good for women as well as men?
Answer: I see no reason why women won’t be able to succeed with this plan. The notion that women can’t do good, fat burning workouts is ridiculous.
Question: About the diet part, isn’t 1,000 calories a day too low?
Answer: It is definitely too low if you do it day after day for a while. However, on the 1000 Calorie Challenge there are also days with higher calorie consumption and there are Cheat Days in which you can eat practically anything you want. The 1000 Calorie days help you create the big calorie deficit required for fast weight loss. The other, higher calorie days, help to offset any health issues that may arise from eating too few calories.
Question: What are these Cheat Days and can I really eat what I want?
Answer: Cheat Days are days in which you can “overeat” in moderation and they may include food that is not normally found on diets. Cookies, pizza, ice-cream, cakes are just some of the options you have on these days. Cheat Days help you mentally by allowing you to indulge yourself with your favorite foods and they help you physically by giving your body a big dose of calories in one day, boosting metabolism, and preventing weight loss plateaus. If it weren’t for the Cheat Days, I would not have recommended the 1000 Calorie Challenge program.
Question: I don’t have time to do long workouts. How can I fit this program into a busy schedule?
Answer: Although the workouts are intensive, each should take less than an hour. You only need to do 3 big workouts each week. I feel that you can fit this into a busy routine. However, bear in mind that being active for 30 minutes each day is something that’s highly recommended for health as well as fat loss reasons.
Question: What don’t you like about this program?
Answer: I feel that this program may not fit everyone. It is a program that demands a lot from you. If you’re not totally serious about losing a lot of fat fast, the 1000 Calorie Challenge diet may prove to be… challenging for you and you may not enjoy it. I feel that some people may find it hard to stick to this program for as long as they need to. However, if you do stick to it, I have no doubt that you will get results.
Question: Are you saying that this program isn’t doable?
Answer: No. That’s not what I’m saying at all. All I’m saying is that this program is challenging which is what it has to be to deliver the kind of results it promises. You need to have the right mindset to take on this challenge in a positive way to succeed.
Question: So, you recommend this program?
Answer: If your goal is to burn off a lot of body fat fast and you’re not afraid of hard work, then Yes, I do recommend the 1000 Calorie Challenge.
For more about this program visit the official site at 1000CalorieChallenge.com
hello john.
thanks for your reply.
i agree, one shouldn’t pick a new program each month. i’ve picked one, actually two: craig ballantyne’s turbulence training and jon benson’s every other day diet. they work like a charm.
to clear the air, when i said i think joel looks a little bit overweight, i’m not saying he looks fat and i’m also not talking about his pictures. i saw every video of them presenting the program, and joel looks “bloated”. if you compare the video and the pictures you’ll notice a considerable difference.
of course, he’ll probably put himself under his new program and probably will become ripped again. it’s normal for these guys to bulk up, then come down again, specially when designing a new program.
the better body in my opinion is john romaniello’s (although i don’t think he’s completely natural. me and some fitness trainers friends agree) and his program is quite good. but in the end, if you diet properly, work out hard and throw in some high intensity interval training for good measure, you’ll achieve the body you desire.
i’m sure anybody can agree with that.
I am a subscriber to Arnel’s emails, hence I also received the call which talked about this challenge. In the call you guys clearly mentioned giving away the copies of program for free for a day when it’s launched, but there wasn’t any email sent out. This just looks like one of the thousand websites which are in place already offering people help in return for lots of money. For once I thought you guys are for real and really upto helping people out without digging a hole in their wallets. My bad.
Hi,
I can’t speak for Arnel since he isn’t part of WorldofDiets.com, I just reviewed his product. However, it seems that you’ve missed the emails. There was a free giveaway of this product.
how can i trust the program, if joel and arnel used some the same photos of the – before and after – for the 1000 calorie challenge, as the ones joel used to advertise his “cheat your way thin” diet?
how can i trust the program, if joel marion is clearly not in the best shape of his life (and maybe somewhat overweight)?
and how can i know that “it’s the most amazing fat loss program everrrrrr”, if some of the SAME GUYS that are plugging joel and arnel now, released their own programs as early as december 2009? at the time, joel and arnel plugged them, of course.
listen, i think the program will work just fine, but it’s probably not mind-blowing diets and workouts. if they’re basing it on articles and research and tests, they are not the only guys doing that.
the reason they really developed this… “it’s that time of the year”. they need to reload their cash flows, so they needed to release a new program, since they are fitness authors and that’s what they do. wanna bet will be hearing about a mind-blowingly awesome, new fat loss program in the next two months or so?
Hi,
As this is a new program, it’s quite customary to show how past customers of Joel Marion benefitted from his methods. I’m not saying that it’s the most amazing program ever. It isn’t for everyone. I’m also not saying these are mind blowing workouts. They’re very intensive. That’s all.
I agree, this is a good program and it should work well for you. It is true that some of these fitness guys are friends and so they help to spread the word when one of them releases a new program. I don’t recommend buying a new program every month regardless of how “amazing” it is. There are many good programs out there. Just pick one and go.
I have never met Joel Marion, but judging from the pictures, he doesn’t look overweight at all.
This is just a test to see if the website is actually legit.
Hi,
I’m not sure what you mean. Of course, this website is legitimate
what is a sample diet for 1000 good calories?
Hey Mike, I recommend going straight to the source. Download the 1000 Calorie Challenge free report and learn more about this program