Many individuals resort to dietary regimens to reduce weight due to rising obesity rates.
And shedding some unwanted pounds in the body in a short amount of time is a dream come true for anyone looking to drop pounds for health reasons or obtain a particular physique.
However, some of the many individuals in the whole wide world may be looking for a quick way to lose weight, and there are plenty of fad diets available online, including, of course, diet manuals that promise these people will lose weight quickly.
Some trendy diets promote rapid weight loss in a short period that you might want to try only to speed up the process.
And since the importance of health and body-image standards in society has significantly impacted how individuals think about nutrition and diet, it has resulted in plenty of health fads, weight loss plans, and diet patterns.
These weight loss diet plans promise fantastic results in a short period and with minimal effort!
And since we all know the various diet programs out there, it appears that the 3-day military diet is the most recent one that people are putting to the test.
Military diet plans encourage rapid weight loss. Nevertheless, losing a considerable amount of weight in a short period comes with several hazards.
The military diet is presently one of the most popular “diets” in the world. It claims to assist you in losing up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a single week.
The military diet is also free of fees—the need to purchase any books, pricey foods, or supplements.
The fad diet is a low-calorie weight-loss plan that promises to aid weight loss in just one week.
If you’re considering joining the craze, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about the military diet plan.
Is this military diet plan, however, effective and something you should try? Is doing this military diet safe for you?
All things you need to realize about the military diet are included in this article!
What Exactly is the Military (3-Day) Diet?
The 3-day (military) diet, often known as the military diet, is a weight-loss plan that can help you shed some pounds, approximately up to 10 pounds in one week.
The military diet consists of a three-day eating plan followed by four days off, with the weekly cycle repeated until you reach your target weight.
US nutritionists created the military diet and many proponents of this diet claim that this fad diet is thought to assist soldiers in maintaining a good shape and help them lose some unwanted pounds quickly.
The military diet, on the other hand, is unaffiliated with any military or government organization.
Because it is so difficult to follow, the diet has been dubbed the “military diet.”
The military diet is also known by various names, such as the navy diet, army diet, and even ice cream diet.
So you’re in a calorie deficit for three days because you’re consuming fewer calories than you’re burning.
The goal is to keep repeating this weekly cycle until you’re at your ideal weight.
The Military Diet: How Does It Work?
The 3-day military diet recommends drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated.
And, if you’re a coffee fanatic, you may still drink coffee – but only black coffee (5 calories), with no milk or sugar, added.
You must also refrain from consuming alcohol for the three days of the prescribed diet, but you may consume alcohol on your four days off.
The three-day military diet plan is divided into two parts, each lasting seven days.
There have been fewer limitations for the last four days.
It would assist if you stuck to a low-calorie diet plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the first three days.
Between meals, there are no snacks.
This fad diet requires people to follow a low-calorie diet for three days and then regular eating for four days.
The military diet is abundant in protein and low in fat, carbohydrate, and calories.
It also includes specific food combinations to try to boost metabolism and burn fat.
Despite its name, this diet does not relate to how people in the military eat.
The military diet has a predetermined food plan and calorie limitation for the first three days.
Protein is abundant, whereas fat, carbohydrate, and calories are in short supply.
It also contains precise dietary combinations in an attempt to increase metabolism and fat burning.
Regardless of its name, this diet has nothing to do with how military personnel sit.
According to a website that provides information about the military diet, people can lose up to 10 pounds (lb) in one week and up to 30 pounds in one month if they stick to it.
During this phase, you should consume approximately 1,100–1,400 calories per day.
This diet is significantly less than the average adult’s intake. However, you can use this calculator to determine your calorie needs.
You are recommended to eat correctly and maintain a low-calorie consumption for the remaining four days of the week.
According to proponents, you can repeat the diet as many times as you like until you reach your desired weight.
What Foods Are Available to You?
The initial three days of this diet have a set meal plan and involve calorie restriction.
First Phase of Military Diet
Day One
Breakfast
- on a slice of toast, you must have paired it with two tablespoons of peanut butter
- a grapefruit weighs 12 ounces
- a mug of tea or coffee (optional)
Lunch
- a toasted slice
- 12 oz. Tuna cup
- a mug of tea or coffee (optional)
Dinner
- any beef weighing 85 grams or 3 ounces
- green beans (1 cup)
- one apple, medium size
- 12 cents on the dollar for a banana
- 1-quart ice cream (vanilla)
Amount of consumed calories: approximately 1,400
Day Two
Breakfast
- one slice of bread
- one hard-boiled egg
- 12 cents for a banana
- one coffee or teacup (optional)
Lunch
- one hard-boiled egg
- cottage cheese, 1 cup
- five crackers (saltines)
- one coffee or teacup (optional)
Dinner
- two hot dogs with no buns
- carrots (12 cups) and broccoli (half cup)
- 12 cents for a banana
- a half-cup of vanilla ice cream
Total caloric intake: approximately 1,200 calories
Day Three
Breakfast
- a piece of cheddar cheese, 1 oz
- five crackers (saltines)
- one apple, tiny
- one coffee or teacup (optional)
Lunch
- one slice of bread
- one egg, cooked to your liking
- one coffee or teacup (optional)
Dinner
- 1 pound of tuna
- 12 cents for a banana
- 1 cup ice cream (vanilla)
Total caloric intake: approximately 1,100 calories
From what we already know, the diet restricts daily calorie intake to 1,400, 1,200, and 1,100 calories across the first.
The intake of nutrients is limited.
People will struggle to consume enough fibre, vitamins, and minerals on diet days due to diversity.
These nutrients are necessary for optimum health, energy production, detoxification, and metabolic efficiency.
In the military diet plan, substitutions are allowed (with some restrictions) throughout these three days, but the total calories must be equal.
Here are the sets down of some of the foods and beverages you can take in substitute of foods you are allergic to when doing the military diet plan:
If you don’t want to have a slice of toast, you can have one on the following:
- half a high-protein bar
- sunflower seeds, 1/8 cup
- 1/2 cup cereal (whole grain)
- 1/2 teaspoon flax seeds with 1/4 cup yogurt
- tortilla
- steamed rice cakes
A half-cup of tuna can be replaced with one of the following:
- an oz. tuna (sushi grade)
- a pound almonds
- cup tofu in a can 1 cup cottage cheese
- a cup of chicken from a can
The Second Phase of the Military Diet
During the second phase of the military diet, you are encouraged to eat healthily. There are no food limitations, and snacks are permitted; for example, black bean burgers or shrimp fried rice are okay.
Nonetheless, you must keep portion sizes in check and aim for less than 1500 calories each day.
You can keep doing this till you achieve your weight loss target.
Artificially sweetened beverages are prohibited throughout the entire 7-day period. The following is an example of a 1200 calorie diet plan:
Breakfast
- one cup of green tea
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt (unsweetened)
- Five nuts, specifically almonds
Breakfast snack
- oatmeal
- 1 cup lemonade (no sugar added)
Lunch
- chicken breasts, baked or grilled
- 12 cup brown rice, cooked
- one cup of steamed vegetables There will be no potatoes
Snack in the afternoon
- Low-fat hummus on celery sticks
Supper
- salmon which is grilled
- one cup of steamed vegetables There will be no potatoes.
- 1 cup lemonade (no sugar added)
- a half-cup of quinoa
Dessert
- Using half a cup of raspberries and the same amount of bananas, make a banana and raspberry smoothie
Meal Plan for Vegetarians
There’s also a vegetarian and vegan food plan:
Day One
Breakfast
- a grapefruit half
- one slice of bread
- peanut butter, 2 tbsp
- 1 cup caffeinated tea or coffee
Lunch
- a 1⁄2 avocado
- two tablespoons hummus
- one whole-wheat bread piece
- 1 cup caffeinated tea or coffee
Dinner
- the tofu (up to 300 calories)
- green beans, 1 cup
- a banana cut in half
- a single apple
- 1 cup ice cream (vanilla) (vegans can use dairy-free ice cream)
Day two
Breakfast
- baked beans, half a cup
- 1/2 a banana, one slice of whole-wheat toast
Lunch
- 1⁄2 an avocado 1 cup unsweetened soy, hemp, or almond milk
- five saltine crackers, two tablespoons of hummus
Dinner
- sans the buns, two vegan hot dogs
- 1 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup carrots, and half a banana
- vanilla ice cream, half a cup (can be dairy-free)
Day Three
Breakfast
- one slice of cheddar cheese (about 15–20 almonds for vegans)
- 1⁄2 a cup of couscous or quinoa or five saltine crackers
- a single apple
Lunch
- a 1⁄2 avocado
- one tablespoon hummus
- one whole-wheat bread slice
Dinner
- half a cup of chickpeas, canned
- a banana cut in half
- 1 cup ice cream (vanilla) (or dairy-free ice cream)
What Are The Restrictions In Food And Beverages When It Comes to Military Diet
These are the lists of some of the foods and beverages you are not allowed to consume in the military diet plan:
- Alcoholic Liquor, Cream or milk (in coffee)
- Butter, Creamers, Fruit juices, Milk, Oranges, carbonated drinks, and the rest of the foods (for the first three days)
Is the Military Diet Safe?
The military diet is probably safe for healthy people, although individuals should not follow it for an extended amount of time.
It is unlikely to result in long-term weight loss.
And as we all know, proponents of fad diets focus on the benefits; they rarely inform you of the risks of following such weight reduction meal plans.
It is advised that everyone consumes a lot of dietary fibre, but it is especially vital for people on a low-calorie diet.
The military diet may not achieve the necessary daily fibre intake due to the lack of diversity in the food allowed.
Dietary fibre is essential for lowering the long-term risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease.
Constipation may occur in the short term due to a lack of dietary fibre in the military diet.
Added salt, sugar, and saturated fat are all high in this dish.
The military diet allows for ice cream and hot dogs too.
The diet contains a lot of salty processed foods, such as saltine crackers, peanut butter, bread, hot dogs, and cheese.
People should read nutrition labels to ensure they are not above the recommended sodium limit of 2,300 mg per day.
It’s advisable to buy food brands low in sodium or don’t have any added salt if possible.
Processed meat is present in the hot dogs recommended by the diet. They have a lot of saturated fat and sodium in them.
Vanilla ice cream, rich in added sugar, is included in each day’s meal plan.
People may replace the ice cream with 300 calories of healthy fruits, vegetables, or whole grains, which are now absent from the diet.
Because portion sizes are kept within the daily calorie budget, a diet emphasizing high-calorie, dense foods may not seem very gratifying.
This strategy may not be long-term viable.
While some foods, such as grapefruit and caffeinated beverages like coffee, have been linked to weight loss, no evidence combining the items recommended on the Military Diet can fire up your metabolism and help you lose weight faster.
Pros
The military diet ensures that your metabolism adapts to change and functions appropriately.
It could help you lose weight quickly.
Another advantage is that it is inexpensive and does not need you to change your eating habits over time because you have four days to eat as you usually would.
A structured food plan might be simple to stick to since everything is laid out for you, so you don’t have to worry about what to eat.
Cons
The military diet plan is not backed up by science.
In addition, hot dogs and saltines are examples of nutrient-deficient processed foods.
Other health-beneficial foods like salmon, almonds, quinoa, and avocado, which are high in nutrients, aren’t included in the diet plan.
Moreover, the military diet doesn’t encourage eating intuitively.
Cognitive processing becomes more difficult without a good intake of omega-3 fatty acids, which is a fancy way of saying brain nourishment.
Indeed, in a military diet, in just one week, you can lose ten pounds. But, most of this will be water weight, restored as you resume regular eating habits.
Because the military diet is so brief, it is unlikely to produce long-term harm to the average person.
However, if you stick to this diet for months at a time, you may develop nutrient deficiencies due to the rigorous calorie restriction.
Again, the diet is highly restrictive, contains nutrient-poor processed foods, and may not give enough calories to keep you going all day.
It isn’t regarded as a healthy eating regimen.
Furthermore, the follower cannot learn internal hunger cues or meal plans once the goals have been met because the meal plan is so exact and rigid.
This diet will almost certainly lead to weight gain.
The Bottom Line
The military diet can assist you in losing a few pounds in a concise amount of time.
However, you will almost certainly have weight gain again quickly. This fad diet is not a diet that will help you lose weight in the long run.
If you’re sincere about shedding some unwanted pounds and keeping it off, several weight loss approaches are far superior to the military diet.
Finally, everyone should live a healthy lifestyle that is appropriate for their body type.
Because what others do in their diet plan is unlikely to suit you, you should visit a competent, qualified dietitian and focus on long-term lifestyle improvements rather than approving temporary dieting tactics.
For the most significant outcomes, take your meals with whole foods and engage in regular physical activities and workouts rather than depending on possibly dangerous and restrictive fad diet fads.
Dieting on a whim is a burden you don’t need in your life.
According to experts, the trendy diet can help you lose weight quickly, but keeping it off may be more difficult.
The 3-Day Military Diet is said to be helpful for short-term weight loss, but any weight loss on the regimen is likely to be recovered once you begin a regular diet.
Fad diets, such as the Military Diet, may cause you to gain back even more weight than you lost.
References:
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/the-military-diet-101
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323952
- https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-and-nutrition/diet/military-diet-review-beginners-guide-day-plan/
- https://www.goodto.com/wellbeing/diets-exercise/military-diet-how-does-it-work-490056
- https://www.verywellfit.com/the-3-day-military-diet-review-3495299
- https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-and-nutrition/diet/military-diet-review-beginners-guide-day-plan/
- https://militarybenefits.info/military-diet/
- https://www.news-medical.net/health/Military-Diet-Health-Risks.aspx
- https://betterme.world/articles/7-day-military-diet-plan/
- https://www.emedicinehealth.com/how_much_weight_can_you_lose_on_the_3-day_diet/article_em.htm
- https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-the-Military-Diet.aspx
