Principles of the Danish diet and sample menu for 13 days

General rules

The Danish diet is fast because it guarantees weight loss in just a couple of weeks.
This nutritional system was developed by scientists at the Royal Danish Hospital. The first national hospital in Denmark was built in Copenhagen by order of Frederick V to provide free medicine and care to poor citizens, and it also carried out research activities as an independent institute. The diet of the Danish Royal Hospital is very simple in terms of dietetics, because it is based on a basic restriction of calorie intake per day. This happens due to the consumption of dietary products and only two meals a day. The diet should last at least 13 days, then Danish scientists suggest switching to healthy foods, which should be taken in small portions. The Danish diet menu promises stunning results - approximately 10 kg in just 14 days.

Authorized Products

Scientists at the Royal Danish Hospital believed that a person eats in order to live - 200 calories + fruit is the norm. The menu usually includes only such essential products as:

• fruit juices;
• green vegetables and leafy greens;
• beef and lean ham;
• various salads;
• fish;
• yoghurts;
• Drinks include water, tea, and most often coffee in the morning.

It is recommended to repeat the Danish weight loss system no earlier than after 1 year.

Table of permitted products

Cooking and eating

Food is prepared chopped and pureed, boiled in water or steamed, served hot or cool. It is good to add wheat bran to dishes to prevent constipation, and use more vegetables. Diet: 5-6 times a day in small portions.

Allowed

Bread and flour products: wheat bread made from premium or 1st grade flour, dried or crackers, dry biscuits and sponge cakes

Soups: weak low-fat meat and fish broths with egg flakes, quenelles, pureed meat soup, slimy decoctions of cereals with broth, broths or vegetable decoctions with semolina, rice and oatmeal, noodles, pureed vegetables

Meat and poultry: lean varieties, finely chopped or pureed, cutlets, meatballs, puree, soufflé

Fish: low-fat varieties (skin removed) in pieces or in the form of minced meat, cutlets

Dairy products: kefir, fermented milk products, fresh cottage cheese and products made from it, low-fat sour cream, grated mild cheese. Milk and cream can be added to dishes Eggs: soft-boiled, steam and egg white omelettes

Cereals: pureed, well-cooked semi-liquid and semi-viscous porridge with the addition of milk, broth, and also in the form of puddings, soufflés, semolina, ground buckwheat, rice, rolled oats. Boiled vermicelli

Vegetables: potatoes, carrots, beets, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, ripe tomatoes. Can be used in the form of mashed potatoes, potato zrazas, soufflés, puddings

Appetizers: jellied meat and fish, caviar

Fruits, berries, sweet dishes: raw ripe soft fruits, berries, sweet or sour-sweet, preferably pureed, baked apples, mousses, jelly, compotes, jelly, milk jelly. Sugar, honey, jam, jam, pastille, marmalade

Drinks: tea with lemon, weak tea and coffee with milk, juices of fruits and berries and vegetables diluted with water, rosehip and wheat bran decoction, fruit drinks

Fats: butter, up to 10 g of refined vegetable oil in dishes

Fully or partially limited products

The Danish diet says no to fried foods first and foremost. In addition, it prohibits any modern products that scientists of the 18th century could not include in the diet:

• carbonated drinks;
• canned food and semi-finished products;
• street fast food;
• unnatural packaged juices and sauces.

Table of prohibited products

Another option: Scandinavian Danish 4 Palms by Susie Wengel

Nutritionist Susie Wengel from Denmark came up with her own version of the palm diet, which may seem simpler to you (although much simpler). Eating healthy with the Scandinavian diet is so easy! This woman became famous among residents of the Scandinavian countries thanks to the book The Scandi Sense Diet. In it, she told how, with the help of minimal changes in diet, she was able to lose as much as 38 kg in a year.

After giving birth to 5 children, Susie weighed more than 100 kg, but now she is at her most comfortable weight of 60 kg. and even looked younger:

Here's what Susan has to say about her know-how:

“When your diet is wrong, you can also lose weight, but at the same time you feel bad: your skin color, hair condition worsens, and your head hurts. After the birth of my second child, I gained weight that I could not lose. I weighed almost 100 kg (that's a lot, you'll agree) and tried dozens of diets to lose weight. The problem was that I lost 20-25 kg three times, but after a couple of months I gained weight again, and even more. I realized that strict restrictions provoke overeating, and I created my own nutrition plan. In 10 months of the diet, I lost almost 40 kg. Now I weigh 60 kg. My weight has been stable for 6 years.”

What's the point

So, what is the Four Palms Diet based on? Each main meal (usually 3 times a day) should consist of 4 fist-sized servings of food: 1 serving of protein + 1 serving of carbohydrates + 2 servings of vegetables + 1 tbsp. l. fat Let's take a closer look!

• 1st and 2nd palms - vegetables, greens, salad . This is the norm, although the nutritionist says that one handful is enough if you feel full. This includes almost all vegetables and greens, except potatoes, sweet potatoes and legumes.
• 3rd palm - carbohydrates . Complex carbohydrates are placed in this palm, namely bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, fruits, berries. If you want to cut out carbs periodically, you can replace them with a handful of vegetables or half a handful of protein. But we don’t advise - If you want to lose weight, don’t eat carbohydrates
• 4th palm - whites . This includes meat, fish, seafood, eggs, cheese and legumes. Protein does not have to be present in all three meals - you can add the 4th palm only twice a day.
• 1 tbsp. - one serving of fat . You get fats from nuts, seeds, oils or sauces.
• Treats should be consumed in the same way!

And again, the biggest plus: you don’t need any special, strict weekly menu for losing weight in the Scandinavian diet!

The menu is clear

Let's see what menu options look like for every day using the Scandinavian food system:

Menu (Meal Schedule)

First week

Mon

W

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

King Frederick the 5th Hospital, 1757

Second week

Mon

W

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Repeat the menu of any day that you liked the most.

Metabolic diet for 13 days: menu for every day

Day 1

Breakfast: black coffee (always without sugar or milk) Lunch: two boiled eggs and cooked spinach (unlimited amount of spinach) Dinner: grilled lean steak

Day 2

Breakfast: black coffee with a piece of whole grain bread spread with butter Lunch: ham (200 grams) Dinner: grilled lean steak, salad (required with cucumber and lettuce), any quality fruit

Day 3

Breakfast: black coffee and whole grain bread with butter Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, tomato and green bean salad Dinner: 1 slice of ham and green salad (with cucumber and lettuce)

Day 4

Breakfast: black coffee and whole grain bread with butter Lunch: boiled or raw carrots with cheese Dinner: fruit salad (any fruit of your choice) and natural (regular) yogurt

Day 5

Breakfast: carrots (cooked or raw) with lemon and black coffee Lunch: grilled white fish with raw tomatoes Dinner: grilled steak and salad with greens

Day 6

Breakfast: black coffee and bread with butter Lunch: 200 grams of grilled chicken Dinner: 2 boiled eggs with carrots

Day 7

Breakfast: tea with lemon Lunch: grilled steak and fruit Dinner: any product not found in prohibited foods

Day 8

Breakfast: black coffee with as much sugar as you like!!! Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, boiled spinach Dinner: grilled lean steak 200 grams

Day 9

Breakfast: black coffee and bread with butter Lunch: grilled steak and salad with herbs Dinner: 200g ham

Day 10

Breakfast: black coffee and whole grain bread with butter Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, tomato and green bean salad Dinner: ham and salad with greens (cucumber and lettuce only)

Day 11

Breakfast: black coffee and whole grain bread with butter Lunch: boiled or raw carrots, with cheese Dinner: fruit salad and natural yogurt

Day 12 and 13

Breakfast: black coffee and whole grain bread with butter Lunch: tomato and grilled chicken Dinner: 2 boiled eggs with carrots

As we can see, there are no supernatural products on this menu for every day. And we all understand, for example, that a grilled steak can replace a lean piece of meat, steamed or in the oven. And so on. The most important thing is the principle. And this was one of the variations of the Danish Royal Hospital diet, built on the principles of accelerating metabolism and burning fat.

Advantages and disadvantages

Results and reviews of the Danish Royal Hospital Diet

The Danish diet is a rather specific weight loss system and reviews about it can be found very rarely. Everyone is interested in this technique, developed by Danish doctors, because it allows you to lose 6-13 kg in just 13 days. Her strict diet and national menu frightens many, because the likelihood of a breakdown is very high. But those who managed to survive on the menu of the poor in Denmark say:

• “... The diet is difficult, but you can endure it, the main thing is that there are plenty of vegetables and fruits!”;
• “... Despite the presence of sugar in coffee, sweets and calories are sorely lacking!“;
• “... Toasts, juices, fresh meat - this is only for Europeans who are accustomed to such a menu since childhood.”

Simple Scandinavian diet

Servings 1 and 2: vegetables

© Natalia Lisovskaya

This can include vegetables and green salad. You can choose 2 servings of vegetables, but you can leave one.

Serving 3: Protein

© olenayeromenkophotos

Choose meat, fish, poultry, seafood, eggs, cheese or legumes.

You should eat protein with at least three meals, but limit your intake of processed meats (ham, sausage, bacon).

If you're working out, it's a good idea to include protein in every 3 meals.

Serving 4: carbohydrates

© DAPA Images

They can be in the form of bread, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruits and berries.

A serving of carbohydrates can sometimes be replaced with a large serving of vegetables or half a serving of protein if you are limiting your carbohydrate intake.

Fats

© vvoevale

You can eat 1-3 tablespoons of fat with each meal. This includes olive oil, nuts, seeds, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, avocado, pesto, butter, sour cream, cream, full-fat cheese and dark chocolate.

Avocados, nuts and seeds are fatty foods with fiber. It is better to eat no more than 1 tablespoon of concentrated fats, such as butter or mayonnaise.

Diet price

Since the menu is low-calorie and a simple diet allows you to save your budget, but taking into account the fact that the products must be of high quality and natural, you will have to work hard when searching and preparing them. For 2 weeks of the Danish diet you will need:

• 1.5 dozen chicken table eggs;
• 8 skims of rye bread for making toast;
• 800 g spinach, 700-1000 g tomato, 0.5 kg cucumbers, 0.5 kg salad green pepper, 250 g assorted greens, incl. lettuce, 500 g celery, 1 kg carrots;
• vegetable oils: olive, pumpkin, sesame, 100 g butter;
• 400 g low-fat natural ham, 800 g beef tenderloin, 400 g chicken fillet or any other dietary bird, 200 g young lamb;
• 4-5 favorite ripe fruits, 0.5 kg of oranges, apples, other fresh fruits/vegetables, a couple of lemons or limes;
• 400 g sea fish;
• 200 g cottage cheese;
• Tea coffee;
• cane sugar.

On average, 2 weeks of diet costs up to 4 thousand rubles.

Day 13

Breakfast : coffee, sugar and a piece of toasted bread. Lunch : 2 hard-boiled eggs, grated carrots and 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice. Dinner : 250 g boiled chicken, 150 g green leaf salad with olive oil and lemon juice.

Throughout the diet, be sure to drink a lot of clean water - at least 2–2.5 liters per day. To make it as easy as possible to get out of the diet and maintain the results, gradually increase the size of your portions and then switch to a regular diet. According to reviews, the result can last up to two years.

All dishes are allowed to be prepared by any means except frying. And the refined sugar offered on the menu should never be dissolved in coffee - it is only eaten as a bite. Also, when making coffee, use only ground beans, not instant coffee or chicory.