Answer:
A 1,200-calorie diet for a petite, non-active woman and a 1,500-calorie diet for a small, non-active man may be fine, says Gans. But the average person will be hard-pressed to meet all of their daily nutritional needs. The exclusion of starchy vegetables and a very low carbohydrate intake can result in deficiencies of some minerals and fibre and cause low energy levels. For people who are active — especially those who do endurance training — this diet will be lacking in adequate carbohydrates. This could result in decreased energy and sub-optimal performance such as crashing too early in a race or a training run. Gans recommends active women consume at least 1,600 calories and active men consume at least 2,100 calories, and that all active individuals try to get 50–60% of their daily calories from carbs.