A weekly diet is a reasonable compromise between exhausting fasting days and a long diet as a way of life. The last option, of course, is the most effective over the long term, but what if you need to lose weight here and now - for example, for a vacation, a party or a date? We tell you how to build a balanced and satisfying diet 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 in order not only to lose weight, but also to consolidate your success.
Diet for a week: briefly about the main thing
Duration:a week.
Result:from minus three kilograms.
Rules:limit the caloric content of the daily diet, exclude a number of foods.
Peculiarities:a type of express diet, not suitable for regular use.
Authorized products:vegetables, fruits, cereals, lean meats, dairy products.
Prohibited products:fatty meats, lard, baked goods, foods with added sugar, soda and store-bought 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, say, carbohydrates from the menu? We won't surprise you, but the truth is that it is best to stick to a balanced diet and healthy eating principles. Most scientists share the same opinion, and there is no point in not believing them - their statements are based on a lot of research.
For example, an expert, associate professor of nutrition at Harvard Medical School, Deirdre Tobias, spoke about this based on data from 53 diet studies, which involved 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 on motivation alone, and you won’t 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 over a short distance. 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 has been accumulating for much longer. But she will be able to instill a taste for good eating habits and motivate through a still tangible "plumb line".
Eat a varied diet
The principles of healthy eating that should be followed on a diet for a week involve a varied diet. Let there be meat, cereals, fresh vegetables and fruits, dairy products, mushrooms and herbs on your table. If the body receives the full range of necessary substances, microelements, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, then calorie restrictions will not cause any harm.
Count calories
Here it is, the main pitfall of the diet for a week. No matter how you look at it, to lose weight you have 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 percent. This should be the daily calorie intake. But under no circumstances 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 then you simply won’t have time to get 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 been saying that the importance of breakfast is overrated and that you should eat when you are hungry, breakfast is important within this food system. Just if you don’t want to eat from the very early morning, have breakfast when your body is definitely awake.
Choose fresh food rather than processed food
You will definitely have to give up nuggets, burgers and deliveries of rolls and pizza 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 much to be desired.
Plan your menu in advance
All of the above rules should have led you to the idea that such a diet needs to be planned in advance. If you are hungry, and for the appointed meal there is only sausage in the refrigerator, then 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 chance of a breakdown will be minimized.
Diet results for a week: what to expect and how to keep it
If you follow all the rules, the result can be impressive. You can count on minus three to five kilograms. But if, immediately after the event for which you lost weight, you return to your usual diet, and even begin to break away from the days of hardship and hardship, the weight will return with an increase. Therefore, you need to gradually leave the diet for a week - you don’t have to watch the caloric content of your diet so closely, but continue to choose vegetables and lean meat as the basis of the menu. Then there is a chance that at least some of the weight lost will not come back.
Sample diet menu for a week
The convenience of a diet for a week is also that the menu can be written out in great detail for the entire period.
When sticking to a diet for a week, try not to skip meals so as not to feel hungry. It is better to stew, boil or bake foods. For drinks, choose unsweetened coffee or tea. If you feel that portions are small for you, try drinking a glass of warm water before meals. We offer a sample menu for the week, adjust it to your calorie intake.
Monday
- Breakfast: boiled egg, grain bread, 100 g low-fat cottage cheese, half a grapefruit.
- Lunch: lean borscht, 100 g of boiled veal, beet salad with prunes.
- Dinner: 150 g of lean steamed 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: white yogurt without fillers, bran, 100 g low-fat cottage cheese.
- Snacks: half an avocado, grain 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 low-fat cottage cheese 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 cottage cheese with dried apricots or prunes.
- Snacks: kiwi, grapefruit.
Friday
- Breakfast: two boiled eggs, salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers.
- Lunch: boiled chicken fillet, buckwheat, sliced vegetables.
- Dinner: tuna, boiled green beans.
- Snacks: apple, pear.
Saturday
- Breakfast: rice porridge with dried apricots.
- Lunch: low-fat fish soup, rice, grain bread, beet and carrot salad.
- Dinner: vegetable stew.
- Snacks: low-fat cottage cheese with prunes.
Sunday
- Breakfast: two-egg omelette, tofu.
- Lunch: 100 g of boiled beef, lentils, cucumber and tomato salad.
- Dinner: 100 g of baked turkey, grain bread, bell pepper.
- Snacks: plain yogurt, 30 g almonds.
Original diets for a week
We talked about the most balanced diet option for 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 reduced significantly more, 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 dishes, seafood, seaweed and soy cheese, 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 sugar will also benefit your health. However, the diet also carries its own risks. It is quite strict, so it can lead to stress due to hunger. Doctors do not recommend sticking to it for long.
Diet on kefir and buckwheat
A diet familiar to everyone, attractive in its budget and frightening in its severity. Only buckwheat and kefir sounds 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 diet for the week, we suggest slightly modifying the approach and adding fresh vegetables and dried fruits to the diet. Even with such a relaxation, you can expect impressive results - from minus three kilos per week.
The advantage of a buckwheat diet for a week is that, despite the meager diet, you will not feel hungry. The carbohydrates in cereals are complex, so the feeling of fullness lasts for a long time. In addition, buckwheat has a rich composition of vitamins and minerals. It contains fiber, potassium, calcium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, folic acid, B vitamins and 18 amino acids. Kefir contains beneficial lactic acid bacteria that help digestion. Lactocultures of prebiotics help to digest well not only kefir itself, but also other foods. In addition, 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 modifying the egg diet and adding at least 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 your initial weight and personal metabolic characteristics. The effect is achieved thanks to biotin, which eggs are rich in. It accelerates carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. It’s very easy to plan a menu - every meal includes eggs, you can eat grapefruit for breakfast, and supplement the eggs with fresh or stewed vegetables at other meals.