Chris Hemsworth Diet: Actor Consumes 500 Calories a Day for ‘In the Heart of the Sea’

Everyone is used to seeing Chris Hemsworth beefing up before he takes on a role such as the very strong Norse god Thor. However, since he began filming his latest action film "In the Heart of the Sea," fans will be shocked to learn how different his prep up regimen is just to make his new character convincing in the eyes of moviegoers.

Celebuzz writes that the 31-year old Australian actor has starved himself to portray the role of Ron Howard, a sailor who has been shipwrecked in 1820 after the ship has been attacked by a whale. The actor noted that he and his co-actors have reduced their calorie intake around 500 calories a day for three to four weeks to look like starving sailors. He shared that he has spent the entire time thinking about food above anything else.

It has been a challenge for Chris to lose more than 40 pounds for this film because he has been used to eating nonstop and looking all bulked up when he played Thor, where he is said to have gained 20 pounds. He had even joked in an interview that he will use Thor’s hammer if he sees another serving of chicken breast with broccoli after this movie has wrapped up its filming.

Healthline explains that a 500-calorie diet is an extreme way to lose weight as it will drastically lower your food intake beyond the maximum 800 calories allowed by medical doctors. It can be dangerous and may lead to complications if no medical supervision has been sought.

The greatest problems medical and nutrition experts see with a very low calorie diet are related to micronutrient deficiencies such as lack of vitamins and minerals. In fact, nutritionists believe that an individual will not be able to meet the recommended vitamins and mineral if they consume a diet that is less than 1200 calories.

Furthermore, it can put the body in danger of having muscle loss, and although it may appear that you are losing weight, sometimes it may actually mean you are losing important muscles that are vital for optimal body health.

Chris admits to People Magazine that he has been craving for high-calorie foods during the starvation period and swears to eat all the pizza, hamburgers, ice cream and all the junk foods he can have for their post-production treat.

"In the Heart of the Sea" will hit movie houses on Dec. 11.