A weekly diet is a reasonable compromise between grueling fasting days and long-term dieting as a lifestyle. The last option, of course, is the most effective in the long term, but what if you need to lose weight right now - for example, for a holiday, party or date? We tell you how to create a balanced and satisfying diet menu for a week, the results of which will surprise you.
A week-long diet is a good solution if you want fast results. Find out what rules to follow not only to lose weight, but also to consolidate your success.
Diet for a week: briefly about the main thing
Duration:a week.
Results:from minus three kilograms.
Rule:limit the calorie content of the daily diet, exclude a number of foods.
Uniqueness:a kind of fast diet, not suitable for regular use.
Official 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:it can be any disease of the digestive tract and endocrinological disorders. Before starting a diet, be sure to consult a doctor and undergo the necessary tests.
What is your eating pattern like for a week? Does it make sense to suddenly stop eating all fatty foods, or completely eliminate, 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 have the same opinion, and there is no point in not believing them - their statements are based on numerous studies.
For example, an expert, professor of nutrition at Harvard Medical School, Deirdre Tobias, talks about this based on data from 53 diet studies, involving more than 68, 000 people. The best results are shown by those who follow a balanced diet.
A week is a good time for a diet, if only because you can survive the period on motivation alone, and you won't have time to get bored with a limited list of products. However, the effects of a week-long diet will be as short-term as any period of restriction. If you return to your regular diet immediately, you will regain the weight. Below we will tell you how to get out of the diet correctly so that this does not happen.
Of course, there are many weekly diets. Although not all of them work according to the principles described above, some of them are very effective at close range. We will also tell you about some original diets, but we still recommend applying the following rules as the basis of a classic diet for a week.
Healthy diet rules for a week
Of course, a week-long diet will not help you get rid of what has been accumulating for much longer. But he will be able to instill a taste for good eating habits and motivate through a "plumb line" that is still real.
Eat a varied diet
The principles of healthy eating that must be followed in a week-long diet involve a varied eating pattern. Let there be meat, cereals, fresh vegetables and fruits, dairy products, mushrooms and herbs on your table. If the body receives a wide range of necessary substances, microelements, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, then calorie restriction will not cause harm.
Count calories
This is the main trap of dieting 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, as it is very individual, but special calculators are easy to find on the Internet. Calculate your basal metabolic rate and subtract 20-30 percent. This should be your daily calorie intake. But under no circumstances should you consume below 1000 kcal per day - such strict restrictions are not accepted by nutritionists.
Eat five times a day
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks - eat little and often, then you won't have time to feel hungry for the next meal. For diet snacks for a week, you should also choose healthy foods - it can be tomatoes with salt, but definitely not sandwiches. Although scientists have recently said that the importance of breakfast is overstated and that you should eat when you are hungry, breakfast is important in this food system. If you don't want to eat in the morning, have breakfast when your body is definitely awake.
Choose fresh food over processed food
You should definitely give up nuggets, burgers and delivery of rolls and pizza for a week. Such foods often contain various flavor enhancers and will only satisfy your hunger for a short time, and you will soon want to eat again. Well, let's not 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 the above rules should lead you to the idea that such a diet needs to be planned in advance. If you are hungry, and for the specified meal there are only sausages in the refrigerator, then you will eat them, 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 chances of spoilage will be minimized.
Diet results for a week: what to expect and how to maintain it
If you follow all the rules, the results can be impressive. You can count on minus three to five kilograms. But if, immediately after a weight loss event, you return to your usual diet, and even begin to rid yourself of heavy, hard days, the weight will return. Therefore, you need to abandon the diet gradually over the week - you need not pay too much attention to the calorie content of your food, but still choose vegetables and lean meat as the basis of the menu. Then there's the possibility that at least some of the weight lost won't come back.
Example of a diet menu for a week
The convenience of a diet for a week is also because 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 you don't feel hungry. It is better for food to be boiled, stewed or baked. For drinks, choose unsweetened coffee or tea. If you feel that the portion is too small for you, try drinking a glass of warm water before eating. We offer a sample menu for the week, adapt it to your calorie intake.
Monday
- Breakfast: boiled egg, whole grain toast, 100 g low-fat cottage cheese, half a grapefruit.
- Lunch: lean borscht, 100 g of boiled veal, beetroot salad with prunes.
- Dinner: 150 g lean steamed fish, one boiled potato.
- Snacks: apple, tomato.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: unsweetened oatmeal, carrots and celery.
- Lunch: 100 g boiled beef, cucumber, tomato and radish salad.
- Dinner: white yogurt without fillers, bran, 100 g low-fat cottage cheese.
- Snack: half an avocado, whole wheat toast.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: chicken broth, 100 g boiled chicken fillet, two pieces of rye bread.
- Lunch: cabbage soup, 100 g of lean boiled meat, spinach.
- Dinner: 200 g low-fat cottage cheese with grated apple.
- Snacks: orange, some cucumber.
Thursday
- Breakfast: buckwheat porridge, a glass of low-fat kefir, fresh tomato salad.
- Lunch: grilled fish, rice, cucumber.
- Dinner: 200 g low-fat cottage cheese with dried apricots or prunes.
- Snacks: kiwi, grapefruit.
Friday
- Breakfast: two boiled eggs, tomato, cucumber and bell pepper salad.
- Lunch: boiled chicken fillet, buckwheat, chopped vegetables.
- Dinner: tuna, boiled green beans.
- Snacks: apple, pear.
Saturday
- Breakfast: rice porridge with dried apricots.
- Lunch: low-fat fish soup, rice, whole wheat bread, beetroot and carrot salad.
- Dinner: vegetable soup.
- Snack: low-fat cottage cheese with prunes.
Sunday
- Breakfast: two egg omelet, tofu.
- Lunch: 100 g boiled beef, lentils, cucumber and tomato salad.
- Dinner: 100 g roast turkey, whole wheat bread, paprika.
- Snack: plain yogurt, 30 g almonds.
Original diet for a week
We talked about the most balanced diet options for the week, which, however, requires your attention: you need to monitor calories and take care of daily cooking. There are other diet options in which the list of foods is significantly reduced, but this diet promises greater results. The downside is that this diet is not suitable for everyone, so you should not try it without consulting your doctor.
Japanese diet
The Japanese seven day diet can be used as a weekly diet. The 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, and some fruit is allowed. It is expected that you use simple and often seasonal ingredients for cooking. According to experts, the main advantage of this diet is that it is rich in fish which contain healthy omega-3 fats. Avoiding foods with added sugar will also benefit your health. However, diet also has its own risks. This is strict enough that it can cause stress due to hunger. Doctors do not recommend holding it for long.
Kefir and buckwheat diet
A diet familiar to everyone, attractive in terms of its budget and frightening in its severity. Only buckwheat and kefir sound normal if we talk about fasting days, and as a test of willpower if we talk about longer periods of time. As a week-long diet, we suggest changing the approach slightly and adding fresh vegetables and dried fruits to the diet. Even with such relaxation, you can expect impressive results - from minus three kilograms per week.
The advantage of a buckwheat diet for a week is that even if the diet is small, you will not feel hungry. The carbohydrates in cereal are complex, so the feeling of fullness lasts a long time. In addition, buckwheat has a rich vitamin and mineral composition. Contains fiber, potassium, calcium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin B and 18 amino acids. Kefir contains beneficial lactic acid bacteria that aid digestion. Prebiotic lactocultures help to digest well not only kefir itself, but also other foods. Apart from that, kefir is a source of protein and calcium.
egg diet
Another diet that will give results quickly. But as in the previous case, we recommend changing the egg diet and adding at least vegetables and grapefruit 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 the characteristics of your personal metabolism. The effect is achieved thanks to biotin, which eggs are rich in. It accelerates carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. It's easy to plan the menu - every meal includes eggs, you can eat grapefruit for breakfast, and complement the eggs with fresh or boiled vegetables at other meals.