One of simple ways Lose excess weight – carry out fasting days once a week to lose weight, of which there are many options. There are recipes that help you lose up to 3 kg in a short time.
Fasting days can be called a short-term mono-diet.
A wonderful way to cleanse the body, lose excess weight, and improve well-being is a fasting day.
They help the body take a break from the abundance of food, remove waste and toxins and are practiced in the following cases:
- after a period of holidays and feasts;
- at the end of long-term diets;
- as a regular weight self-monitoring practice.
But you need to understand that getting rid of extra pounds does not come from burning fat deposits, but in the process of removing excess fluid and accumulated waste.
It is necessary to adhere to generally accepted rules:
- Unload no more often and no less than once every 7 days.
- Decrease physical exercise, the body simply will not have enough energy for this and it will work for wear and tear.
- Choose days with a busy schedule for deloading. The abundance of things to do distracts you from constant thoughts about food, which cannot be said about those cases when you have to sit at home all day.
- The volume of the daily diet should not exceed 700 g if we are talking about proteins, and 1.8-2 kg if we are talking about vegetables and fruits.
- Drink at least 2 liters of water a day, and most of it should be consumed before lunch.
After unloading, you should not immediately pounce on food.
The body will not be able to quickly adapt to the new diet, so digestive problems will be guaranteed.
The most effective fasting days for weight loss
When choosing a product for a fasting day, you need to focus not only on your food preferences, but also on the potential effect. Buckwheat, beloved by many, can give weight loss no more than 1.2-1.5 kg, but cucumbers in the best cases even up to 3.5 kg.
To adjust the body to the desired mode in the evening, you can eat light dish. You need to prepare for unloading in advance. If you eat well the day before, then the next day a person will experience a strong feeling of hunger. In the evening you need to eat lightly low calorie dish to adjust the body to a new regime.
Fruit and vegetable fasting days
The easiest way to unload is on vegetables or fruits. The most popular vegetable is cucumber. It contains a record low amount of calories and a lot of tartronic acid, which slows down the process of converting carbohydrates into fats. The daily calorie intake when consuming cucumbers alone barely exceeds 300 units. You need to eat 1.5 kg of cucumbers per day without salt and oil. If it’s difficult, you can add 2 boiled eggs to your diet.
If you eat only fruits during fasting days, you can achieve excellent results in a short time! Fruit days are suitable for those with a sweet tooth. It is best to carry out this unloading in the summer or early autumn, when seasonal fruits are abundant and available.
Most often used for weight loss:
- apples;
- melon;
- watermelon;
- plums;
- peaches;
- pineapples.
Kefir option
Fasting days on kefir are quite easy to endure, since the product is quite filling. This good preparation to mono-diets. Kefir suppresses putrefaction processes, removes metabolic end products, improves intestinal microflora, removes heaviness in the stomach and is absorbed within an hour. But for people who do not tolerate fermented milk products well, it is better to abandon this method, as they will suffer from increased gas formation and an unpleasant feeling in the stomach.
Fasting days on kefir allow you to quickly get rid of excess fat. You need to drink 6-7 glasses of kefir per day. It is important to choose the right product - fresh kefir can cause flatulence and diarrhea, and if it has stood for more than 3 days, it can cause constipation.
Unloading with buckwheat or rice
Fasting days on buckwheat do not lead to an imbalance or lack of nutrients, since each grain contains a considerable amount of vitamins and elements. Buckwheat contains slow carbohydrates, so the feeling of fullness persists for a long time. The disadvantage is not too much weight loss.
A fasting day based on buckwheat alone allows you to lose up to 1 kg excess weight. It is necessary to give preference to the kernel, the work is not suitable. The cereal does not need to be cooked, just pour boiling water over it and leave for a while to swell. They say that you can eat such porridge as much as you want. But since it is forbidden to add salt, milk and butter to cereals, you won’t be able to eat a lot of it. You need to eat in small portions, but often.
Don't forget about your drinking regime - you need to drink at least 2 liters of water.
You can also arrange fasting days on rice. You won’t lose much weight on them, but you can get rid of 0.6-1 kg.
- Rice removes toxins.
- Removes swelling.
- Removes excess liquid.
- Coats the walls of the stomach, which makes it useful for people with digestive problems.
It is best to use a brown variety rather than a white one. For a glass of cereal you need to take 500-600 ml of water. There is no need to add sugar, salt, seasonings or butter. The volume of rice should be divided into 5 parts and eaten every 3 hours. During breaks, you can drink water or green tea sugarless.
Fasting days on the water
For the first time, it is difficult to survive the whole day without food, drinking only water. However, this is one of the most effective ways getting rid of excess weight. Therefore, it is worth making an effort and trying this method - the result is visible on the scale the next morning.
Fasting days for weight loss on the water will require maximum will and patience. In order not to drink only water, you can add lemon to it (juice of one fruit per 1 liter of water). You need to drink at least 2.5 liters of this drink per day. You should drink in small portions throughout the day.
With cottage cheese or milk
Cottage cheese days are quite popular among those losing weight all over the world. This protein product eliminates the feeling of hunger and gives a long-lasting feeling of fullness. The main thing is not to consume a low-fat product, as this disrupts metabolism. The optimal fat content is from 1.5 to 1.8 percent.
The principle is the same as for a fasting day on kefir. 400-500 g of cottage cheese should be divided into 5-6 parts, approximately 80-85 g each, and consumed every 2.5-3 hours with several slices of apple. To actively cleanse the body, it is useful to drink 300-400 ml 25 minutes before meals. clean water.
If your body digests dairy products well, you can try drinking milk alone. During the day you need to consume 2 liters of milk, dividing it into 7 doses. If you are hungry, you can eat an orange or a little cottage cheese in between.
Apple fasting days
Regular consumption of apples can significantly improve your well-being. They contain a lot of fiber, organic acids, vitamins and microelements. They stimulate metabolism, so apples are one of the best products for weight loss.
One of the best is considered a fasting day on apples. Microbiologists have proven that regular consumption of apples contributes to a significant increase in bacteria responsible for the process of food digestion. But people with stomach diseases need to be careful - sour fruits can only aggravate the situation with gastritis with increased acidity.
The menu is very simple: you need to eat 1400-1500 g of fresh or baked fruits throughout the day. This amount must be divided into 5-6 doses. It is better to eat 2/3 of this amount raw, and 1/3 – baked. Baked apples contain more pectin, an effective adsorbent. You can drink water and Apple juice or compote without sweeteners.
Apples enrich the body of a person losing weight with iron and essential vitamins, remove excess bad cholesterol, and protect against the development of cancer.
Unloading with oatmeal
This method will help those who do not like to starve lose weight. Oatmeal is a low glycemic index product, so you will feel full for a long time. It has a lot of fiber, which is very good for the intestines. You should not take cereal, you need to give preference to whole grains.
One of the most gentle ways. The classic unloading method looks like this:
- Boil 200 g of porridge in water or milk diluted with water. There is no need to add salt and sugar.
- Divide the resulting volume into 5 small parts.
- Eat everything throughout the day at regular intervals.
If the porridge is very bland, you can add berries, apples or dried fruits to it.
This unloading helps remove several hundred grams, remove excess fluid, improve complexion and skin condition.
Fasting days according to Malysheva’s method
Nutritionist Malysheva has helped a large number of people get in shape and switch to a healthy diet.
Fasting days from Elena Malysheva are aimed not only at losing weight, but also at giving the body a break from the amount of food consumed. - Vegetable. Make a salad of carrots, beets and celery. Divide into 6 servings and eat throughout the day.
- Bitter. A day you can eat 5 grapefruits, drink 1 liter of green tea and 2 liters of plain water.
- Protein. During the day you can eat 5-6 small servings of boiled chicken. Add salt to minimum quantity and, if desired, sprinkle the meat with lemon juice.
The first two methods make it possible to lose more than 1 kg. The latter option is more satisfying and weight loss will be much less.
How to end a fasting day
The exit from unloading must also be correct. The variety and quantity of food consumed should be increased gradually. In the morning after unloading, you must drink 1 tbsp. l. sunflower or vegetable oil. This disperses bile stagnation. The next day, you should give preference to vegetable salads and liquid foods - light vegetarian soups. You need to concentrate your attention on the feeling of lightness in the body, and not on the desire to eat.
You can drink vegetable and fruit juices, compotes, juices, rosehip decoction, green tea and water. Based on these recommendations, you can create a menu at your discretion.
Benefits, harms and contraindications
The benefits of fasting days are undeniable. This is a real relaxation for the digestive system. They stimulate intracellular metabolic processes, remove waste and toxins, relieve the cardiovascular system, normalize the acid-base balance.
Fasting days should be carried out for every person. Unloading during pregnancy or breastfeeding is strictly prohibited. Any ailment or illness is also a serious contraindication.
Fasting days are a good addition to healthy eating. But noticeable benefits from them can only be felt with regular use.
Few women manage to maintain a slim figure and light gait for a long time, especially after children appear. Often, while walking with children on the street, we notice young slender girls, and sadly remember that not so long ago we could wear the same stylish short skirt, open top or fashionable tight jeans, and look great in these clothes.
How to return this feeling of lightness and youth? After all, there is absolutely no time, and not everyone can go to fitness clubs, and it’s hard to think about fashionable diets without shuddering.
Perhaps many of us are still trying to start following a diet, wanting to lose weight and become beautiful at all costs, but more often than not, patience lasts no more than one day.
Well, so what - you can use one day so that this will be quite enough. At the same time, you won’t have to suffer and suffer, looking with hungry eyes at your family and friends eating their usual delicious dishes, and there will be no harm to health either. We are talking about fasting days, the same ones that can be arranged twice a week, although in most cases one is enough.
How are they useful?
How are fasting days useful and why should they help us? Nutritionists believe that regularly observing low-calorie fasting days can really help with weight loss, but you shouldn’t expect quick results. If you carry out fasting days for 3-4 months, at least once a week, then the excess weight will gradually begin to disappear until it returns to normal.
How to achieve efficiency
However, there is one important condition, without which fasting days are unlikely to bring much benefit: you need to review your entire diet and make physical activity optimal. Otherwise, you'll just be pushing your weight around and not getting any health benefits from it.
It is best to spend fasting days at the same time: for example, on Wednesday or Friday - this way the body will tune in to them and you can feel light and calm.
Who needs fasting days
But here another logical question arises: who needs fasting days? With a balanced and nutritious diet, there is hardly any point in upsetting the balance, especially if you are not in danger of being overweight.
But for those who have a tendency towards obesity or have already developed overweight, fasting days will be beneficial. On such days, the body gets a shake-up, and this leads to the fact that fats under the skin begin to burn quickly, and excess water leaves. In this way you can get rid of 500-600 g of excess weight per day.
Some women, noticing this, tend to unload for several days in a row in order to lose 3-4 kg at once. This is unacceptable, since the body, deprived of varied, complete and necessary nutrition, receives stress, under the influence of which it begins to store fats and deposit them in different parts of the body.
At the same time, fat cells do not disappear: they decrease in size and wait quietly, and then, when we return to a normal diet, they begin to accumulate fat more actively - they “think” that the hunger strike may happen again, and want to meet it this time fully armed.
Only health benefits
So what are the benefits of fasting days for our body? So, fasting days not only help you lose weight, but also give your whole body “rest.” digestive system. As a result, the intestines begin to empty and cleanse themselves better, toxins are eliminated, the risk of developing liver and kidney diseases is reduced, allergies disappear, and skin condition improves. So you can arrange fasting days even if you are prone to certain diseases - you just need to consult a doctor.
You can carry out fasting days even during the period breastfeeding– this does not affect milk production, because there are always enough vitamins, minerals and liquids in the menu on such days. In addition, there are fasting days, which are called “well-fed” - they are suitable for nursing mothers.
The advantage of fasting days is that you don’t need to spend a lot of time preparing dishes: not only our stomach, but also we ourselves rest. By learning to regularly repeat fasting days, we will be able to maintain a healthy weight for a long time, which for many women is the most difficult task once they have achieved it.
The effect of fasting days will be enhanced if, the day before, you refuse dinner - you can simply drink freshly squeezed juice or kefir. During the fasting day, you need to drink a sufficient amount of liquid: green or herbal tea without sugar, mineral water without gas - this will help the body burn fat and maintain salt (mineral) balance.
How to spend fasting days correctly
So that fasting days bring maximum benefit our health, there are certain rules for their implementation. Before deciding to carry out fasting days, you should, preferably with the help of a specialist, assess your condition: the number of extra pounds, age, health and other aspects.
Perhaps some food products are contraindicated for you, some of them you do not like yourself, or in the place where you live, it is difficult to buy the necessary products. Fortunately, the times of total shortages are long gone, so it only takes a little effort to find the right products for yourself and enjoy eating them.
You should not combine fasting days with hard and complex work - both physical and mental. Rather, you should do what you always wanted - to think less about food, or to walk in the fresh air as much as possible.
For those who cannot stand the whole day at once, you can start with a “lighter” option: limit your diet not for the whole day, but only up to 15 hours - the effect will still be there. In the afternoon you should eat little, light, low-calorie foods.
Before a fasting day, you shouldn’t overeat in the evening, “in reserve,” and in the morning, after fasting, reward yourself for yesterday’s patience. Otherwise, there is no point in spending fasting days at all: you will not lose weight, but gain additional kilograms.
Types of fasting: well-fed and hungry days
You can find many variety of options unloading, but nutritionists divide them into “hungry” and “fed”. “Hungry” fasting days are not such in the literal sense of the word, because you can eat enough, but just one thing: fruits or vegetables of the same type, dairy products.
This will allow the digestive system and other organs to rest, and will force the body to actively burn calories and stored fats. Such days are sometimes called mono-fasting.
“Fed” unloading is suitable for those who are not ready for sudden changes, as well as for nursing mothers, as mentioned above. Such fasting days are much easier to tolerate and can prepare the body for “hungry” options.
We will not list here the types of these and other fasting days - there are a lot of them. Small examples are enough: for example, on a “hungry” day you can eat up to 1.5 kg of apples and drink up to 2 liters of liquid - tea without sugar or water. The apples can be baked and sprinkled with cinnamon if desired.
For a “well-fed” fasting day, you can take several types of products. For example, you can arrange a fasting day with stewed vegetables, mushrooms and seafood. You can eat up to 800 g of stewed non-starchy vegetables: cabbage, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans. You can stew mushrooms along with vegetables, and boil or bake seafood (up to 500 g).
You need to cook without salt, and it’s better to take no more than two types of vegetables and the same amount of seafood - this way you can achieve a greater effect. As in the “hungry” version, you need to drink water or weakly brewed tea.
It is considered especially useful that it would be better to alternate the types of fasting days, replacing one type with another every week. One fasting day a week is unlikely to cause harm to health, even if it is carried out incorrectly, however, if carried out more than two days a week, irreversible muscle dystrophy may develop. A passion for unloading can also cause metabolic disorders, hypovitaminosis, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and jumps in hemoglobin in the blood.
If you approach fasting days correctly, you can find many healthy foods for yourself that help maintain a healthy weight, and gradually give up refined foods - harmful and unnecessary. In addition, fasting days are much easier and more fun than long-term diets, which often make us irritable and conflicted.
Diets are not something that can truly bring your weight back to normal and keep it off. You need to eat right and wisely all the time, and not with dietary bursts. Only a well-thought-out system of rational nutrition will help maintain the desired volumes and good health. However, sometimes the body needs a shake-up or unloading in order to continue to exist calmly on proper nutrition.
A shake-up may be necessary after festive feasts or after an illness with the use of medications, or simply when there is a feeling of heaviness and bulkiness instead of the usual active lightness. Then it would be rational to spend a fasting day (or several such days).
Days of light dietary nutrition not only allow, they are also suitable for those who are satisfied with their kilograms and their distribution on the body, but simply want to give the body the opportunity to rest and. Such days are introduced once a month, every two weeks, or one or two days a week.
The psychological mood is very important for a fasting day. There is no need to unload “too much” or because colleagues at work are obsessed with unloading. A day without a positive emotional mood will not be effective. All the benefits of unloading will be “eaten up” by a bad mood. A day without overeating should be a joy - this is half the success. You should feel not like a martyr, but like a beauty flitting around all day. You and your body should wish to give yourself some rest, then the benefits will be maximum.
Who are contraindicated for unloading?
If, after a day without binge eating, you eat twice as much as usual, then the previous abstinence will be useless. A refrigerator slave remains a slave forever. It is necessary to correct and only after that introduce unloading into health-improving practice, otherwise you will get more harm from them than good.
Acute stressful conditions, some chronic diseases at the time of exacerbation, pregnancy and lactation may also be contraindications to unloading.
How often can you spend fasting days?
In order for the fasting day to be psychologically comfortable and with the greatest health benefits, it should be carried out no more than twice a week. It is better to choose your favorite ones from the healthiest foods: you are unlikely to be delighted with the day if you cannot stand sour milk, but unloading on cereals or fruits may suit you. Experiment and choose the most suitable product options for you.
Think ahead of 4 or 5 meals for the whole day and stick to the chosen menu.
When selecting products, chronic diseases and body characteristics should be taken into account.
For example, for many people, apples only stimulate the appetite and can turn a day of mono-diet into torture. In addition, red and sour apples are contraindicated for certain diseases. And sweets and sour cream are prohibited for diseases of the gallbladder and liver. All this must be taken into account when choosing products according to your taste and body capabilities.
The best products for unloading
- Usually fasting days are spent on:
- kefir;
- apples;
- cottage cheese;
- watermelon;
- cucumbers;
- vegetable soup;
What cannot be used for a fasting mono-diet
Since the body will eat only one product throughout the day, the effectiveness of the day without overeating and the benefits of such physiological rest depend on its quality. Despite the wide list of permitted products, not everything can be consumed on fasting days.
- Prohibited foods include:
- everything fatty, smoked and salted;
- pickled salads, canned food and expired foods;
- sugar, soda, chips and other snacks with preservatives.
How to organize fasting days
- It is better to schedule mono-diet days during busy periods, when thoughts will be far from food.
- It is better to carry out fasting regularly on the same day - then the body will “expect” a day of light nutrition, and such a day will be easier to bear.
- Or it’s better to postpone the session - you shouldn’t burden yourself with physical work.
- But a visit will help detoxify and activate metabolism.
- You cannot interfere with the natural process of unloading - forget about laxatives and diuretics if you do not want to harm yourself.
- For greater efficiency you need to alternate different types fasting days.
- To prevent bile stagnation, it is better to drink a tablespoon of vegetable oil on an empty stomach.
- Drink 2-3 liters of water per day, most of this amount in the morning.
- You can spend a single day, or you can have a combined day, combining several types of products.
Examples of fasting days
On kefir
This is truly the perfect product for decompressing! It contains a symbiosis of beneficial bacteria, yeast, vitamins and acids, has immunostimulating properties, serves as a prevention of cancer, and neutralizes the effects of antibiotics. 
On a kefir day, you can consume kefir alone or in combination with other healthy foods. Kefir produced no more than three days ago is suitable. We stock up on 1.5 liters, divide into 5 servings and drink throughout the day.
On cottage cheese and kefir
You will need low-fat milk, a little honey and five servings of kefir, to which cottage cheese (three spoons each) and honey are added. At lunch, a portion of cottage cheese is mixed with a spoonful of berries (any) and honey.
On rice
This gluten-free grain is an excellent candidate for fasting. Rice improves the condition of hair, nails and skin, restores the nervous system, cleanses joints, improves brain function thanks to lecithin, and stabilizes intestinal functions with polysaccharides.
Take wild (unpolished, unprocessed) rice, pour in the cereal in the evening cold water, in the morning we wash and cook. You can eat up to a kilogram of rice porridge per day. In between - water and unsweetened tea.
On buckwheat
Buckwheat generally has a unique composition: it contains vitamins, metals, amino acids and many useful substances that the body cannot do without. Buckwheat is a fairly filling product, and days on buckwheat pass easily. A glass of buckwheat is boiled without salt and eaten throughout the day. You can combine kefir with buckwheat (it will be light laxative effect) or three green apples. 
on apples
Apple day is very gentle on the body and is well suited for those who need to lose weight. The body receives many vitamins, so fat does not accumulate on apple days, and the effect after apple cleansing lasts for a long time. For apple day, we take one and a half kilograms of apples, two liters of still mineral water and green tea.
On oatmeal
For an oatmeal day, we take whole grains, not ready-made flakes. A glass of cereal is boiled and eaten in 4-5 servings at regular intervals. Tea and water are drunk in between.
On cucumbers
During the season, you should not neglect this useful way of healing. You can take as many as two kilograms of cucumbers, however, you cannot add bread or salt to them. Only greens and water are allowed.
On vegetables and fruits
Two kilograms of different fruits and vegetables will make up the menu for such a day. Plus a liter of freshly squeezed juice, for which additional vegetables and fruits are taken. Everything can be consumed separately and in the form of salads, seasoned with lemon juice, kefir or unrefined oil.
On vegetable soup
One and a half to two liters vegetable soup without harmful additives in the form of cubes and seasoning mixtures. Only vegetables (cabbage should be the main component), natural seasonings and spices. 
On a watermelon
You will need 7 or 8 kilograms of watermelon - and eat it as much as you want. Just watermelon and water all day. Cleans perfectly.
On milk tea
One and a half tablespoons of green tea are brewed for two liters of milk. The resulting decoction – milk tea – is drunk throughout the day. Plus two liters of water.
On the water
A day without food at all gives tremendous rest to all systems of the body. If you think that making do with water during the day is incredible torture, it is better not to consider such a cleanse, leave it to more advanced dieters. But if you normally accept the idea of drinking only water during the day, enter such a day into the system (no more than one per week). Of course, there should be no contraindications to fasting.
What to eat on a fasting day
Of course, a fasting day should not be followed by a “loading” day. Both before and after unloading, you should adhere to a balanced diet. Porridge or vegetable salad will be the best breakfast, portions
should exclude overeating. Immediately after a fasting day, it is recommended to refrain from heavy meat dishes.
So, the benefits of properly conducted fasting days are undeniable. Days without overeating give the body rest, ridding it of unnecessary ballast in the form of toxins and waste, stimulate metabolism, launching a weight loss program, train willpower and reorganize consciousness to new way, provide an opportunity to “reboot” our nutrition system and move to a healthier lifestyle.
Fasting days for weight loss are usually practiced in three cases:
- after a period of abundant gluttony, when the effect of gluttony is physically felt;
- as the final stage of a long-term diet or detox program;
- and finally - as a regular practice of self-control of weight, that is, a kind of prevention of excess weight.
It cannot be said that this or that type of fasting day is more suitable for any one of these goals and less suitable for all the others. Rather, when choosing a method, you should be guided solely by your food preferences - you don’t like kefir, “sit down” on buckwheat, you can’t live a day without vegetables - choose a fasting day on cucumbers, etc.
In addition, you can proceed from the result - if, for example, you need to lose the maximum possible number of kilos gained, then it is better to choose unloading on cucumbers or apples.
However, it is very important to understand that losing weight with the help of a fasting day does not occur due to fat loss, but almost 95% - due to the removal of excess fluid and accumulated “food waste” (decomposition products, toxins, undigested food accumulated in the intestines and etc.).
Fasting day for weight loss on cucumbers – minus 3.5 kg
The popularity of all cucumber diets, as well as the fasting day on cucumbers itself, is based on two unique qualities of this vegetable - firstly, it contains a tiny amount of calories. But what is most valuable for those who want to lose weight is that cucumbers contain tartronic acid, a substance that significantly slows down the process of converting carbohydrates into fats. Considering that you can lose up to 3.5 kg on cucumbers, this type of fasting and detox can be safely called the most effective fasting day.
Peculiarities. A cucumber fasting day is the least in terms of calories, often the daily amount of calories in this regime barely reaches 300. Therefore, it is better if you spend this day at home, without much physical and mental stress.
Advantages and disadvantages. The most obvious and desirable advantage of a fasting day on cucumbers is its high efficiency; in some cases you can lose up to 3.5 kg of excess weight.
Menu for the day. Divide 1.5 kg of fresh strong cucumbers into 5-6 meals. Consume without salt, sauces and spices, but you can add 1-2 tbsp. bran and 2 eggs per day.
Fasting day on apples – minus 3 kg
European microbiologists have proven that frequent consumption of apples increases the growth of a special type of bacteria in the intestines, which prevents the process of rotting and promotes better absorption of food. Accordingly, the formation of so-called “food waste” does not occur, which is a direct prevention of excess weight. And American fellow scientists, in the course of experiments, came to the conclusion that those women who eat 3 apples a day (in addition to their diet) lose weight faster than those who ignore this fruit in their daily diet.
Peculiarities. Many professional nutritionists advise, in addition to fresh fruits, to also consume baked apples as part of an apple fasting day.
Advantages and disadvantages. Apples not only enrich the body with iron and vitamins, but also help reduce the level of “bad” cholesterol. In addition, the flavonoids quercetin and naringin, which are found in abundance in apples, help protect lung cells from the development of malignant tumors. The disadvantages of apple fasting include the ability of apples to stimulate appetite.
Menu for the day. For a fasting day, stock up on 1.5 kg of apples of sour or neutral varieties (but not sweet!).
Throughout the day, use the well-known formula: if you are hungry, eat an apple, and if you don’t want an apple, then you are not hungry. In addition to fruits, you should also drink 1.5 liters of clean, still water per day.
Fasting day on kefir – minus 2 kg
This type of unloading and detox is one of the most popular; every woman has “sat” on kefir for a day or two at least once in her life. The fermented milk product allows you to lose an average of 2 kg of excess weight and normalizes intestinal function (including having a slight laxative effect).
Peculiarities. Since kefir itself is a liquid, during a fasting day on this product it is not necessary to drink the “cherished” and so mandatory 8 glasses of water in every diet. It is quite possible to limit yourself to 0.5 liters of mineral water without gas.
Advantages and disadvantages. Kefir is very useful product, and not only in terms of weight loss, but also health. It normalizes blood pressure, improves intestinal microflora, is a good prevention of caries, and is also often recommended by doctors as a prevention of breast cancer. The disadvantages of a fasting day on kefir include only the laxative properties of this product - it is best not to plan business meetings and long trips on this day.
Menu for the day. Drink 1-1.5 liters of low-fat kefir (no more than 1%) in 5-6 approaches during the day. It happens approximately every 2-3 hours.
Fasting day on buckwheat – minus 1.5 kg
Each grain of buckwheat contains a mass useful vitamins and microelements. So a fasting day on buckwheat is a pleasant exception to the rule that any mono-meal, even one day, is always a terrible imbalance necessary for the body substances. In the case of buckwheat, the imbalance is not so bad.
Peculiarities. main feature buckwheat unloading - in the method of preparing this product. Under no circumstances should cereals be cooked. Just steam! For example, in the evening you pour one part of buckwheat with two parts of boiling water and leave it to swell until the morning. And no “problems”! For dietary nutrition and fasting days on buckwheat, only whole grains – “kernels” – are suitable.
Advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of a buckwheat fasting day include, first of all, the high benefits of the product itself. In addition, buckwheat for weight loss, being “ slow carbohydrate» saturates perfectly, but does not increase blood sugar levels - that is, you will feel full for a long time. This, by the way, is one of the reasons for the high popularity of buckwheat diets. The disadvantages include perhaps not the most impressive losses in kilograms - more than 1.5 kg per day is unlikely to go away.
Menu for the day. Theoretically, you can eat as much buckwheat as you can fit. But since it should be without salt, butter, milk, sauces and any other seasonings, rest assured, you are unlikely to fit much. It is advisable to eat 1 cup of steamed buckwheat every 2-3 hours. In addition, you need to drink about 2 liters of clean water without gas per day.
Are fasting days necessary, what do they give and how are they carried out? There are many articles on the Internet about the fact that they come in a variety of varieties: kefir, protein, apple, carbohydrate. At the same time, the benefits of such a “shake-up” of metabolism are extolled to the skies, and the negative consequences of a poor and monotonous diet are rarely talked about or they prefer to be prudently silent. In this article we will talk about what supporters of such “unloading” of the body from everything unnecessary do not talk about - what this method of weight loss can lead to. Let’s also answer the pressing question: is there an alternative?
What is it: all about the fasting day
This is the name given to a day during which you consume much fewer calories than usual, but spend several times more energy. Proponents of this approach believe that it is incredibly convenient: for example, you eat only apples all day - for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is no need to calculate the energy value of dishes, there is nothing complicated or impossible - we just completely change the menu, make it leaner, but... more effective!
Those who believe that fasting days can lead to achieving their dream figure forget that the results of such sudden fasting will be short-lived. We will talk about this in more detail later, but for now we will continue the story about miraculous nutrition - as a rule, meager and monotonous. At the same time, it must be low-calorie, which turns the day of struggle for thin waist a real torment for those who decided to take extreme measures.
What happens during a fasting day
We reduce the number of incoming calories - we eat little or practically not - we only drink (for example, kefir).
By such actions we force the body to take the missing nutrients from the reserves that it made several days before.
The “bins” are emptying, and we are getting rid of the “cargo” that could turn into new kilograms.
Effective? You shouldn't make hasty conclusions. There is another word for a more precise description of such days - “hungry”. After all, lovers of emergency measures and dubious methods advise reducing the daily calorie intake to 800 kcal and below - they say, only then the result will not be long in coming.
How risky this is can be judged by the fact that for most people losing weight, their daily caloric intake with proper nutrition ranges from 950 to 1250 kcal - this is exactly the energy supply that is enough for comfortable weight loss. If you lower the value without consulting a specialist, the body will be forced to cope with real stress - a lack of nutrients, regarded as a state close to starvation.
Find out more about our weight loss programs:
Why do you need a fasting day?
In order for us to get rid of that “stock” that we saved for later. This method was invented by the domestic nutritionist Pevzner - this is how he treated his patients for obesity. The body should be unloaded several times a week during a hypocaloric diet - a strong reduction in calories and a strict limitation of fats and carbohydrates in the diet. Only a doctor could prescribe it, and it was not recommended to lose excess weight in this way over a long period of time.
Dr. Pevzner also created several recipes, the names of which refer us to what can be eaten on a given fasting day:
Apple – only apples (no more than 1.5 kg of fruit). They don't have to be sweet. The ideal option is varieties with sourness (Antonovka, White Naliv, Granny Smith).
Vegetable - everything is clear from the name of the day: we eat only vegetables (no more than two kilograms). The exception is potatoes. It is advisable to consume foods raw – for example, in salads.
Meat - the menu includes only dietary meats (turkey, beef, chicken) - up to 500 g. Cooking method - boiling.
Curd - among the products available to us, only curd with minimal fat content (or low-fat). You can eat up to 800 g per day.
Kefir is probably the most difficult option, because you can’t eat, you can only drink. You should drink six to seven glasses of light kefir per day.
Sour cream is another way to relieve the body. Take 400-500 g of sour cream (maximum fat content - 15%). You can also drink mineral water or tea without adding honey or other sweetener.
Here are the products you may need for a fasting day. The main thing is to withstand it, because for most people who want to lose weight, there is a sharp transition from everything at once to dry chicken breast or a few glasses of kefir can turn into a real disaster. Such a reduction in diet often leads to breakdowns - from dizziness, weakness, the desire to satisfy hunger with something tasty and the uterine rumbling of an empty stomach.
What else can you eat on a fasting day? By analogy with the presented options, alternative ones were developed - based on dried fruits, juice, citrus fruits and bananas. This is far from full list. Diversity is good, but if it serves monotony, it is difficult to talk about benefits. Why? Because among the numerous recipes you will not find one that would suit everyone and be truly effective.
Before and after: how not to ruin all your efforts
We found out what is best to eat on a fasting day, and all that remains is to find out what happens after it - is it really the same meager menu?
You cannot immediately pounce on high-calorie foods: buns, cakes, fatty meats, chips and fast food - that is, everything that was prohibited.
After day X has passed, nutritionists advise creating a menu based on foods that have a high water content - it will flush the intestines and cleanse the body. These are melon, watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables and fruits.
Alas, it will not be possible to throw a feast for the whole world. And you probably won’t want to go hungry again.
We have already talked about what they eat on fasting days and what the nutritional features are for each of the recipes. We warn you: a meager and monotonous menu is stressful for you and your body. In addition, it is during such a “hungry” time that the intake of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, fats and carbohydrates from food is minimal, which can lead to a deficiency of valuable nutrients. We have already written in one of the articles about the consequences of such separation from the essential and vital.
Which fasting days are the most effective, why are they needed and how are they useful?
It seems that everything is extremely simple - you cut calories to a minimum, while you spend much more energy than you receive. The result should be the same - accelerating the process of getting rid of extra pounds, cleansing the body, in a word, another step towards your dream figure.
However, in reality everything is not so rosy. Half-starved days, which are necessary in order to “unload” and forget about the extra calories that threaten to turn into fat, actually turn into real torture, and there is zero benefit from them.
You will object: but supporters of this approach write that during the day they feel a surge of energy and vigor. Everyone can't lie, can they?
Let's just say: each case is individual. Where one has vigorous activity and pride in oneself, the other has a less positive scenario - weakness, dizziness, despair, irritation, and even the so-called nutritional insanity caused by a lack of nutrients. This state is characterized by the inability to solve even the simplest problem, because strength is running out and there is simply no energy supply. The consequences of such a fasting day are a breakdown, gaining kilograms, returning to previous volumes, overeating and self-hatred.
So is there any point in such extreme measures? No, because the result of such a test of strength is increasingly the opposite - regression instead of progress.
Advantages of this method
There are only two of them:
First, it is extremely simple. All you need to do is buy a few packs of kefir or weigh 1.5 kg of apples - and you are ready to lose weight.
Secondly, the body receives very few calories, which should lead to the consumption of fat.
However, we should not forget that fasting days are not as universal as we thought, and not as effective. Why? Let's explain further.
There is more harm than good: why restrictions don’t help
- Poor tolerance
Few people can boast that they can sit on juice or cottage cheese for days on end. Most people who want to try this method on themselves experience a deterioration in their health: lethargy, drowsiness, fatigue for no reason, dizziness, tremors, a strong desire to eat something forbidden. The result of such a half-starved existence is a breakdown.
- Health Hazard
And primarily for the stomach and intestines. For example, during an apple fasting day, the secretion of gastric juice with increased acidity increases, which can lead to inflammation of the mucous membrane, exacerbation of gastritis, and ulcers. Such extremes are contraindicated in diabetes, the risk of heart attack or stroke, and cholelithiasis.
- Imaginary weight loss
The effect that we can notice after unloading is associated with the loss of water, not fat. Why does this happen? We deliberately deprive ourselves of both salt and carbohydrates, and the body begins to take both from its reserves. As a result, the associated liquid is also consumed. Therefore, after all the torment, we note that we have lost weight - a kilogram, or even more. But this result does not last long - as soon as the balance of salts and carbohydrates is restored in the body, the previous volumes return to us. So apple and kefir days are simply useless.
- The breakdown is approaching
This is exactly what you do when you are trying to get rid of excess weight by cutting down your daily caloric intake, eating monotonously and sparingly. After this, most people have a completely understandable desire to give up prohibitions and start eating everything they can and cannot eat.
- Metabolic slowdown
This is fraught with a decrease in the speed of the weight loss process. As a result, you will achieve a plateau effect or another increase, but not what you expected - stable slimness.
This is what a fasting day in a diet means, how it works, what you need to eat and how dangerous it is to try to get rid of excess weight by any means necessary. We hope that we have convinced you that this path is fundamentally wrong, since there are only prohibitions on it. And they, as we well know, do not lead to any good.
Is there an alternative?
Yes, and this proper nutrition. Only it will help you lose weight, maintaining the result for many years and without causing harm to your own health. Decide for yourself what is more important to you: a momentary whim or good health, a stable effect or a quick return to the start, a nutritious diet or monotony that leads to a breakdown.
Our experts are sure that restrictions cannot lead to harmony. We create individual programs that take into account the characteristics of your body, give valuable advice, support you on the way to your goal and make the weight loss process as comfortable as possible. Open new page your life - change yourself with us.
