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How can you use the military diet to lose weight fast without harming your metabolism? The best diets decrease calories and increase or maintain nutrients. When a diet is suitable for your personality, and you follow it, the weight comes off faster. Many people love the military diet and the benefits it provides.
What is the Military Diet?
The Military Diet has become very popular. That is why people have started incorporating it into their daily lives. Doctors describe the Military Diet as helping people lose weight faster. It is a low-calorie diet. Some experts claim that the Military Diet can help people lose 10 pounds weekly.
Given the name military, people often assume it has something to do with the military. However, it doesn’t have anything to do with the military. Instead, people call it the military plan because of its strict nature and fast results. The military diet requires courage; sometimes, you may have to fight cravings and hunger.
It may not have anything to do with the military, but you will feel like you are in the military when you get on it. The results are undeniable, impressive, fast, and furious. Are you ready for boot camp? The Military Diet goes by many other names, including the navy diet and the army diet.
Usually, with the Military Diet, you follow a meal plan three days a week (more on that later). Then, you don’t follow any meal plan for the remaining four days. You keep repeating this process until you have reached your desired weight.
Basics of the Military Diet
The main focus of the Military Diet is to reduce the number of calories you eat. And since it claims to reduce your weight in just a week, the reduction of calories is massive. This diet includes eating three days a week and then taking the rest of the days off. Of course, how much you want to participate in the diet depends on you. Some people follow the diet once a month until they reach their desired weight goal. Others, however, participate in the diet every few months.
Experts recommend that people who want to see the desired results should at least follow the plan for 30 days. Considering the diet has the word military, people must assume all kinds of things. For example, they might think that the Military Diet consists of following strict training. However, that is not the case with this diet at all. You don’t have to do any exercise at all. However, doctors recommend that individuals following this diet walk every day.
While other diets follow how many calories you burn daily, the Military Diet differs. It controls the calories you eat by managing the food you eat daily. Experts recommend that individuals take around 1,110 to 1,400 calories each day for the first three days of the meal plan.
Advantages of the Military Diet:
Just like any diet, there are several benefits associated with the Military Diet:
- The first benefit of the Military Diet is the most obvious one: losing weight. We say this because other nutritionists claim that a specific diet can help you lose weight. It is true in the case of the Military Diet. The possibilities are endless, as the diet claims you can lose 10 pounds weekly. But, of course, it depends on how much weight you want to lose.
- The second significant benefit of the Military Diet is that you crave fewer snacks. Of course, that will be a problem at first, especially if you love to eat for taste. But once you take it upon yourself to follow the diet strictly. You will find it much easier to fight these cravings. The diet has a very scheduled cycle that people have to follow. Thanks to the process, they don’t need to eat outside their scheduled time.
- It will be hard to find the motivation to complete this diet. But once you complete the first cycle, i.e., the first three days. You will feel more accomplished than ever before. Apart from physical weight, the Military Diet is useful for managing mental health. Once you see that you are producing excellent results, you are ready to take on the world.
- If you have diabetes, then this diet might not be the best for you. Since the number of calories is reduced in this diet, it may affect a diabetic patient negatively. If you are not a diabetic patient, participating in this diet will make you less likely to be a diabetic. With the Military Diet, your fiber and protein intake are high. Thus, it balances out the extra sugar you consume.
- They are reducing the number of calories people take. For example, following a meal plan for three days a week, taking the remaining four days off, and losing up to 10 pounds a week while eating ice cream and hot dogs. Eating meals that are not hard to make. Consuming carbs and dairy but at a controlled amount.
Background of the Military Diet
Unfortunately, no one knows who developed the Military Diet and what was the reason behind it. Some people say that the American military nutritionists are the ones who came up with the diet. They wanted a diet that could get military men in shape and fast. You should take this information with a pinch of salt. Then other stories said that a marketer developed it.
The Two Phases of the Military Diet
Experts have split the Military Diet into two phases. These phases encompass a whole week. You must follow a low-calorie meal plan for the first three days. You are not allowed to eat any snacks these days. Your breakfast, lunch, and dinner must have low calories.
You can eat unhealthily for the remaining four days, but the calorie intake must be low again. But the good thing here is that you can have snacks—just two or three days. After that, you can repeat the process for a month until you have reached your objective.
During the three days, you wouldn’t consume much fat either. It will only be about losing weight with a limited amount of calories. Nutritionists have reviewed this method and say that the diet is beneficial.
On the one hand, it helps individuals lose weight while not disturbing their metabolism. With that being said, it is natural to consume snacks while you are on this diet. But don’t eat too many. Otherwise, all your hard work will be in vain.
Foods to Eat
As you must have noticed by now, this isn’t an ordinary diet; it is peculiar. Especially when it comes to consuming food. Researchers have spent a lot of time selecting each ingredient in this diet. So it would be best if you ate only that which is allowed.
If you lose your way in the middle and do not eat the right food, you will not see the desired results. Your health may not allow you to eat certain foods. You can exchange those foods in the place of others. But keep in mind the number of calories, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins you will need to eat.
One of the best things about this diet is that it doesn’t require unique foods. You can find all the required foods at a grocery store near you. So even if you live away from the city or are on a budget, following this diet will not be hard. The basic idea behind the diet is to combine low-calorie foods that help individuals lose weight.
For example, experts have included one food in the meal plan: caffeine. And everyone knows the relationship between caffeine and your metabolism. Caffeine enhances an individual’s metabolism for two hours after consuming it. Grapefruit is another example that helps your body. It enables the liver to burn fat more frequently. With the Military Diet, the possibilities are endless.
When participating in this diet, you are welcome to try out several drinks, including water, tea, and black coffee. You can have them with your meal plans or after your meal plans. However, if you think you can’t resist the random cravings throughout the day, we recommend that you consume liquids during these cravings. It helps your body feel full.
Foods to Avoid
We have talked about the foods you should eat during the Military Diet. It is only natural that we tell you about foods you shouldn’t eat. It would help if you didn’t eat anything your doctor or nutritionist told you to eat. The primary foods that doctors and nutritionists suggest you avoid are foods that never lived. Foods that make this list are processed foods, sugary foods, junk foods, and foods packed with chemicals. In the three days, you follow this diet. Apart from the food, there are also some beverages that you should steer clear of. Drinking soda, milk, juice, or alcohol shouldn’t be on your list. And not just during the first three days.
Beverages –
If you want to achieve your desired body weight as soon as possible, you shouldn’t drink the beverages mentioned above during the four days you do not follow the diet.
At this point, you might be asking whether drinking a diet soda would be a good option. After all, it has the word ‘diet’ in it. But, unfortunately, you would also need to stay away from diet soda. Anything that has artificial sweeteners in it is terrible for you. While it is true that some of these drinks don’t have calories in them, they don’t have valuable nutrition either. In addition, these drinks have other chemicals that disrupt your hormones and other biological functions, leading to weight gain.
In fact, instead of helping individuals lose weight, these drinks stop them from losing weight. Green tea and water are the way to go if you want to consume beverages. It won’t be easy to replace your favorite soda with green tea, but that’s a small price to pay for a healthy life.
Junk Food –
Your aim should be to eat healthy food throughout the week. That means staying away from sweets and junk food. Again, you will want to eat these foods, and sometimes the demand will be severe. However, you must remind yourself that doing so will not be the best option. It will ruin the plan that you worked so hard for.
Can You Substitute Foods?
In the Military Diet, you have to follow the eating schedule strictly. Under no circumstances should you reduce or increase the calories. Otherwise, you will not reach the desired outcome. This goes both ways. If you still feel hungry after having the recommended portion, drink water.
Similarly, you shouldn’t skip the recommended portion if you are not feeling hungry. If you are a vegetarian, vegan, or allergic to food included in the diet plan, you can substitute a few foods. However, substitute food should have the same calories as the original food. Apart from these substitute foods, you are not allowed to add or remove any other food.
Here’s what your meal plan should look like
The following meal plan is a standard meal plan created to control the number of calories. Of course, people are more than welcome to try out different meal plans. However, they should never forget the number of calories.
Breakfast-
A cup of black coffee or tea (If you are used to adding a sweetener, then only add stevia, nothing else). Substitute beverages: green tea, Hot chocolate (sugar-free), and Red Bull (sugar-free). Half a piece of grapefruit, One slice of toast. Substitute foods: half a cup of whole-grain cereal and half a protein bar. Two tablespoons of peanut butter. Substitute foods: 2 tablespoons of almond butter, cashew butter, or hummus.
Lunch-
Half a cup of tuna. Substitute foods: half a cup of chicken and half a piece of avocado. One piece of toast. 1 cup of tea or black coffee
Dinner-
Three ounces of any meat. Substitute foods: vegetarians and vegans can use lentils or beans. Instead of eating meat. 1 cup green beans. Substitute foods: green vegetables. But they should have the same calories as a cup of green beans. Half a banana. Substitute foods: 2 kiwis or two apricots. A small apple. Substitute foods: plums, grapes, or peaches. A cup of standard vanilla ice cream. Substitute foods: a cup of apple juice or banana-flavored almond milk.
Do’s of the Military Diet
The first thing that you should always do is follow the diet plan. Whoever created it did so after putting a lot of effort into it. And the results can be outstanding, but only if you have followed the plan accordingly. You can tweak the meal plans, but you should mostly stick to the original plan.
The Military Diet may not have anything to do with the military, but you need the courage to follow it. Think of it as a training camp you will have to complete, regardless of how intense your cravings are. Then, fight them in the appropriate ways, as the Military Diet has suggested.
Although the Military Diet doesn’t include exercising, you should do it nonetheless. You don’t have to train very hard. For example, walking just twenty minutes daily is enough to help you achieve your goal. Even more so, if you walk early in the morning on an empty stomach, it will burn calories and fats from your body.
Staying hydrated is another critical part of the Military Diet. Since the diet asks you to cut back on a few beverages, your body still needs liquid. Hence, drinking a lot of water would fulfill the liquid requirements of your body. In addition, water makes your body feel full.
Don’ts of the Military Diet
Nothing is going to ruin your diet as much as having snacks. Especially in the first three days, you are following the Military Diet. If you add extra calories to your diet, it will sabotage your diet plan.
Buy all the necessary ingredients before starting the diet. Never shop on a hungry stomach. It leads to buying many unnecessary foods that are not good for you. Just because you have four days off from the diet doesn’t mean you should overeat. Overeating on your off days can more than cancel out the positive results from your diet days. Eating 1300-1500 calories during your off days should be enough.
Cons of the Military Diet:
- Since the Military Diet focuses mainly on calories, it is nutrient deficient.
- Once you have reached your desired outcome and you stop following this diet. You will gain weight as quickly as you lose it if you don’t eat responsibly.
- Some people have benefited from the diet. But there is no scientific evidence that supports the Military Diet.
The Last Word on a Military Diet – Lose Weight Fast Without Harming Metabolism
The Military Diet is one of the best diets to lose a lot of weight in a short time. But only those who can follow a meal plan should participate in it. The diet is great when you need to lose weight quickly for special events like weddings, reunions, or that new bikini.
It will not be easy, especially for those who find it challenging to fight random cravings. However, those who stick to the plan will see that the diet works amazingly. Remember: the steps you take don’t need to be big; they have to take you in the right direction. If you or someone you know is considering weight loss, share this article on Facebook or Twitter so that others can learn more about losing weight.
