A weekly diet is a reasonable compromise between exhausting fasting days and a long diet as a lifestyle. The last option, of course, is the most effective in the long term, but what if you need to lose weight here and now, for example for a holiday, party or date? We tell you how to build a balanced and satisfying dietary menu for a week, the results of which will pleasantly surprise you.
A diet for a week is a good solution if you need quick results. Find out what rules to follow to not only lose weight, but also consolidate your success.
Diet for a week: briefly about the main thing
Duration:a week.
Result:less than three kilograms.
Rules:limit the calorie content of the daily diet, exclude a number of foods.
Peculiarities:a type of express diet, not suitable for regular use.
Authorized products:vegetables, fruit, cereals, lean meats, dairy products.
Prohibited products:fatty meats, lard, baked goods, foods with added sugar, soft drinks and fruit juices.
Contraindications:they can be any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and endocrinological disorders. Before starting a diet, be sure to consult a doctor and undergo the necessary tests.
What should your diet be like for a week? Does it make sense to suddenly stop eating all fatty foods or completely remove, for example, carbohydrates from the menu? We won't surprise you, but the truth is that it's best to stick to a balanced diet and healthy eating principles. Most scientists share the same opinion and there is no point in disbelieving them: their claims are based on a lot of research.
For example, the expert, associate professor of nutrition at Harvard Medical School, Deirdre Tobias, spoke about it, based on data from 53 studies on diet, involving more than 68, 000 people. The best results were shown by those who followed a balanced diet.
A week is a good period for a diet, if only because you can survive such a period only with motivation and you will not have time to get bored with the limited list of products. However, the effect of a diet for a week will be as short-term as the period of restrictions. If you immediately return to your usual diet, the kilograms will return. Below we will tell you how to properly exit the diet so that this does not happen.
Of course, there are many weekly diets. And although not all of them work according to the principle described above, some are very effective at short distances. We will also tell you about some original diets, but we still suggest adopting the following rules as the basis for a classic diet for a week.
Healthy diet rules for a week
Of course, a diet for a week will not help you get rid of what you have accumulated for much longer. But he will be able to instill a taste for good eating habits and motivate through a still tangible "plumb line".
Follow a varied diet
The principles of healthy eating to follow during a week-long diet include a varied diet. Let there be meat, cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, mushrooms and herbs on your table. If the body receives the full range of necessary substances, microelements, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, calorie restrictions will not cause any harm.
Count calories
Here it is, the main trap of the diet for a week. No matter how you look at it, to lose weight you need to eat less. We will not name the specific number of calories, because it is very individual, but it is easy to find special calculators on the Internet. Calculate your basal metabolic rate and subtract 20-30%. This should be your daily calorie intake. But in no case should you go below 1000 kcal per day: such severe restrictions are not welcomed by nutritionists.
Eat five times a day
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks: eat little and often and you simply won't have time to be hungry for the next meal. For a snack on a diet for a week, you should also choose healthy foods: it could be a tomato with salt, but definitely not a sandwich. Although scientists have recently said that the importance of breakfast is overrated and that you should eat when you are hungry, breakfast is important within this food system. If you don't feel like eating early in the morning, eat breakfast when your body is definitely awake.
Choose fresh foods rather than processed foods
You will definitely have to give up croquettes, burgers and sandwich and pizza deliveries for a week. Such foods often contain a variety of flavor enhancers and will satisfy your hunger only for a short time, and soon you will want to eat again. Well, let's not even talk about the fact that they are very high in calories, but the quality of these calories leaves a lot to be desired.
Plan your menu in advance
All the above rules should lead you to the idea that such a diet should be planned in advance. If you are hungry and for the pre-arranged meal there is only sausage in the refrigerator, you will eat it, convincing yourself that nothing will happen from just one meal. And you know how it ends. But if you prepare all the vegetables and meat the day before and plan the menu, the possibility of a breakdown will be minimized.
Diet results for a week: what to expect and how to maintain it
If you follow all the rules, the result can be impressive. You can count on less than three to five kilograms. But if, immediately after the event for which you lost weight, you return to your usual diet, and even start to detach yourself from the days of hardship and difficulty, the weight will return with an increase. Therefore, it is necessary to gradually abandon the diet for a week: it is not necessary to monitor the calorie content of the diet so carefully, but continue to choose vegetables and lean meat as the basis of the menu. So there's a chance that at least some of the lost weight won't come back.
Example of a diet menu for a week
The convenience of a diet for a week is also that the menu can be written in great detail for the entire period.
When following a diet for a week, try not to skip meals so as not to feel hungry. It is best to stew, boil or bake foods. For drinks, choose unsweetened coffee or tea. If you find portions are small for you, try drinking a glass of warm water before meals. We offer a sample menu for the week, adapt it to your calorie intake.
Monday
- Breakfast: hard-boiled egg, wholemeal bread, 100 g of low-fat ricotta, half a grapefruit.
- Lunch: lean borscht, 100 g of boiled veal, beetroot salad with plums.
- Dinner: 150 g of steamed lean fish, one boiled potato.
- Snacks: apple, tomato.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: Unsweetened oatmeal, carrots and celery.
- Lunch: 100 g of boiled beef, salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and radishes.
- Dinner: plain yogurt without fillers, bran, 100 g of low-fat ricotta.
- Snacks: half an avocado, cereal bread.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: chicken broth, 100 g of boiled chicken fillet, two rye bread.
- Lunch: cabbage soup, 100 g of boiled lean meat, spinach.
- Dinner: 200 g of low-fat ricotta with grated apple.
- Snacks: orange, a couple of cucumbers.
Thursday
- Breakfast: buckwheat porridge, a glass of low-fat kefir, fresh tomato salad.
- Lunch: grilled fish, rice, cucumber.
- Dinner: 200 g of low-fat ricotta with dried apricots or prunes.
- Snacks: kiwi, grapefruit.
Friday
- Breakfast: two hard-boiled eggs, salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
- Lunch: boiled chicken fillet, buckwheat, sliced vegetables.
- Dinner: tuna, boiled green beans.
- Snacks: apple, pear.
Saturday
- Breakfast: rice porridge with dried apricots.
- Lunch: lean fish soup, rice, cereal bread, beetroot and carrot salad.
- Dinner: vegetable stew.
- Snacks: low-fat ricotta with plums.
Sunday
- Breakfast: omelette with two eggs, tofu.
- Lunch: 100 g of boiled beef, lentils, cucumber and tomato salad.
- Dinner: 100 g of baked turkey, wholemeal bread, pepper.
- Snack: plain yogurt, 30 g of almonds.
Original diets for a week
We talked about the most balanced dietary option of the week, which, however, will require your attention: you need to monitor calories and take care of daily cooking. There are other diet options where the list of foods is significantly reduced, but these diets promise greater results. The downside is that these diets are not suitable for everyone, so under no circumstances should you try them without consulting your doctor.
Japanese diet
The Japanese Seven Day Diet can be used as a weekly diet. Its basic principles are low calorie content, maximum protein and fiber, minimum carbohydrates. The diet is based on fish, seafood, seaweed and soy cheese dishes, as well as vegetables, with some fruit allowed. It is expected that you will use simple, often seasonal ingredients for cooking. According to experts, the main advantage of this diet is that it is rich in fish, which contains healthy omega-3 fats. Avoiding foods with added sugars will also benefit your health. However, the diet also carries risks. It is quite severe, so it can lead to stress due to hunger. Doctors do not recommend keeping it for a long time.
Kefir and buckwheat diet
A diet familiar to everyone, attractive in its budget and scary in its severity. Only buckwheat and kefir seem normal if we are talking about a fasting day and as a test of willpower if we are talking about a longer period. As a weekly diet, we suggest changing your approach slightly and adding fresh vegetables and dried fruit to your diet. Even with such relaxation you can expect impressive results - starting from minus three kilos per week.
The advantage of a buckwheat diet for a week is that, despite the poor diet, you will not feel hungry. The carbohydrates contained in cereals are complex, so the feeling of satiety lasts a long time. In addition, buckwheat has a rich composition of vitamins and minerals. Contains fibre, potassium, calcium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, folic acid, B vitamins and 18 amino acids. Kefir contains beneficial lactic acid bacteria that aid digestion. Prebiotic milk cultures help to digest well not only kefir itself, but also other foods. Additionally, kefir is a source of protein and calcium.
Egg diet
Another diet that will give results quickly. But as in the previous case, we suggest changing the egg diet and at least adding vegetables and grapefruits to the egg diet. The egg diet for a week shows the best results: in seven days you can lose five kilograms, but, of course, the final figure depends on the initial weight and personal metabolic characteristics. The effect is obtained thanks to biotin, which eggs are rich in. Accelerates the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. It is very simple to plan a menu: each meal includes eggs, you can eat grapefruit for breakfast and supplement eggs with fresh or stewed vegetables in other meals.