The most important thing is – does the military diet actually help you lose weight? This article will explain everything you need to know about this diet!
What is the military diet?
This diet is also known as the 3 day diet. It is an eating and weight loss plan that can help you lose about 10 pounds in one week.
The military diet plan includes a three-day eating plan according to the diet, followed by four days in which the diet stops, and the cycle is repeated over and over until you reach the ideal weight.
Proponents of this diet claim that it was created by nutritionists in the US military with the aim of keeping soldiers healthy and fit at all times.
But the truth is that this diet does not belong to any government or military establishment. In the past, it has gone through many stages in which it has been called by different names such as the army diet, the marine diet, and the diet with ice cream.
How does the military diet work?
The Military Diet diet is divided into two phases over a 7-day period.
In the first phase, which includes the first three days, you should follow a low-calorie eating plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner – without snacking between these main meals.
Total caloric intake during this phase is approximately 1100-1400 calories per day.
In the second phase, which includes the last four days of the week, you should keep calories low and eat healthy food.
3-Day Military Diet Plan
The Military Diet diet spans 3 days with a total calorie intake of about 1100-1400 calories.
In order to benefit from this diet, you must stick to the meals required for each day. Do not eat anything more than what is given here for 3 days. And remember that you should always drink plenty of water throughout the day.
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Below we present to you the 3-day plan, the first phase of the Military Diet:
First day
The number of calories on this day is 1400 calories.
breakfast:
- A slice of toast with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
- 1/2 grapefruit
- A cup of tea or coffee (optional)
the lunch:
- Slice of toasted bread
- 1/2 cup of tuna
- A cup of tea or coffee (optional)
dinner:
- 1 cup of green beans with 85g of meat
- 1 apple
- ½ banana
- A cup of vanilla ice cream
the second day
The number of calories on this day is about 1200 calories.
breakfast:
- Slice of toasted bread
- 1 boiled egg
- ½ banana
- A cup of tea or coffee (optional)
the lunch:
- 1 boiled egg,
- cup of cheese
- 5 pieces of crunchy biscuits
- A cup of tea or coffee (optional)
dinner:
- 2 pieces of hot dogs (without bread)
- ½ banana
- ½ cup of broccoli and ½ cup of carrots
- ½ cup of vanilla ice cream
the third day
The number of calories is about 1,100 calories.
breakfast:
- slice of cheddar cheese
- small apple
- Five pieces of biscuits
- A cup of tea or coffee (optional)
the lunch:
- Slice of toasted bread
- 1 egg
- A cup of tea or coffee (optional)
dinner:
- 1 cup of tuna
- ½ banana
- A cup of vanilla ice cream
The rest of the four days of the week also include dieting. There are no restrictions on food types and snacks are allowed between main meals. However, you should keep your total calorie intake under 1,500 calories per day.
So once you finish the diet for the first 3 days, you are supposed to start exercising and eating healthy normally for 4 days. Feel free to drink as much tea or coffee as you like, as long as you don’t add any calories from cream or sugar.
Can we follow this diet for a long time?
The Military Diet may help if you want to lose a few kilos quickly. However, you are likely to gain weight back quickly as well, and this regimen cannot be used for long periods of time in order to lose weight.
If you really want to lose a lot of weight and keep it off, there are some other weight loss methods that are much better than this diet.