A bottle of white, eggs and steak. It seems like the crash diet is perfect!

What is a crash diet

Extreme nutrition systems are based on the principle of critically reducing the amount of calories consumed, that is, when going on a crash diet, you need to limit your daily diet as much as possible.
It doesn’t matter how the daily calorie intake will be reduced (by consuming one or more food products, portion sizes, or banning certain gastronomic categories), the main thing is that the calorie content of food eaten per day does not exceed 800 kcal. In other words, any of the crash eating plans is a strict diet for quick weight loss. Such techniques include:

• mono-diets;
• vegan and super-vegan eating plans;
• diets that involve eating a minimum set of simple foods (2-3);
• weight loss techniques - based on reducing the number of meals and the size of a single serving (for example, “5 tablespoons”);
• drinking diet, etc.

Lyle McDonald Method

One of the most popular crash diets is considered to be a nutritional system for rapid weight loss, developed by the famous American nutritionist and sports physiologist Lyle McDonald. This is a low-carb extreme diet, the severity and duration of which are calculated using a special table, based on the category to which the overweight person belongs. There are 3 categories in total, depending on the amount of fat on the body. Basic principles of the methodology:

1. Replaceable nutrients are completely excluded from the diet, that is, those that the human body can synthesize itself - these are fast carbohydrates.
2. Essential nutrients must be supplied to the body through food. These are proteins and omega-3 fatty acids.
3. Fast carbohydrates should be replaced with slow carbohydrates (rice, durum wheat pasta, oatmeal) and fiber (non-starchy vegetables, unsweetened fruits, legumes).
4. The amount of protein per day is calculated using a special table based on lean muscle mass.
5. For your daily fat intake, Lyle MacDonald recommends taking 6 grams of fish oil or a tablespoon of flax seed oil daily.
6. 1-2 liters of cold water should be drunk every day to stimulate metabolic processes.
7. Don't forget about electrolytes: sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium salts. They must be constantly obtained from food or as part of mineral supplements.
8. You need to take food 3-6 times a day according to the schedule.

Benefits and harms

If you look at such weight loss techniques from a medical point of view, it becomes obvious that crash diets can do more harm to the body than good. Yes, they will help you lose a large amount of excess fat in an extremely short period of time, but no one knows what such a rush to lose weight might entail. Such nutritional systems severely limit the body in vital microelements, which cannot be replaced by any multivitamin complexes.

How to create a menu

The diet according to the crash weight loss method should be compiled based on the chosen nutritional plan. For example, if you are going to lose weight using a yeast-free system, you will have to give up all flour products. You can eat meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy products. It is better to boil, stew, bake or steam dishes with a minimum amount of oil. If you have chosen, for example, a yogurt diet, the basis of your diet in the next two weeks should be low-fat natural yogurt, vegetables, fruits and some black bread.

Lyle McDonald Method

The developer of the rapid weight loss system is Lyle MacDonald. This is an American sports physiologist, nutritionist and author of many books on recomposition (body restructuring), including reducing body fat and increasing muscle mass.

The crash diet is a low-carbohydrate diet.

The crash diet from Lyle McDonald differs primarily in its scientific approach. Initially, the user of the technique determines the category to which he belongs. The latter depends on the amount of extra pounds. Next, using a special table, the permissible severity of the crash diet is calculated for each specific case.

Basic principles of low-carbohydrate nutrition according to Lyle MacDonald:

1. There are no simple carbohydrates in the diet.
2. Nutrients such as Omega-6, Omega-3, and some types of proteins are supplied to the body in the form of fish oil or sesame oil.
3. The body receives slow carbohydrates from whole grain cereals, durum wheat pasta, vegetables, legumes, and herbs. The latter are an additional source of fiber.
4. You need to drink at least 2 liters of still water per day. This stimulates metabolism and helps cleanse the intestines. Tea, coffee, juices and soups are not taken into account.
5. Additional intake of vitamin complexes solves the problem of deficiency of microelements such as calcium, sodium, magnesium and potassium.
6. The number of meals varies from 3 to 6 times and depends on each case individually.

Comment! The main danger of a crash diet is that, in addition to adipose tissue, muscle mass decreases.

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Dr. Oz Diet

This weight loss system is also based on the exclusion of simple carbohydrates from the diet, and the amount of protein and fat in the diet is reduced to 10% (meat, dairy products, butter). The author advises learning to get enough sleep and only then planning to lose weight using this method, because in a state of constant stress it is very difficult to fight excess weight. Following Dr. Oz's quick method, the diet should be based on the list of allowed foods:

• all kinds of fruits and vegetables;
• legumes;
• dried fruits and nuts;
• whole grains and seeds;
• seaweed.

Cons of crash diets

Perhaps the only advantage of such a nutrition system is the reduction in numbers on your scales. That's all. Therefore, doctors are sounding the alarm: such nutrition has a negative effect on the condition of the body.

The fact is that the fat layer on such a nutrition system is still preserved. Fluid is removed from the body and muscles are “burned” because they are easier to spend on energy than fat.

In addition, on such a diet the body lacks essential minerals and trace elements. And this is fraught with hair loss, dry skin, and problems with the cycle may arise. Also, metabolism slows down.

It is believed that after such a diet the body begins to store fat for future use. That is, the lost kilograms can return with a vengeance. But this doesn't always happen. It all depends on the body.

Lemonade 2 week crash diet

This extreme technique is designed to completely cleanse the intestines and kidneys. It can last up to two weeks, but two-day courses of drinking lemonade should alternate with two-day breaks on vegetable food. The basis of the mono-diet is a special drink, which is prepared from lemon juice, water and maple syrup with the addition of cayenne pepper. You can drink lemonade from 6 to 12 cups a day, the main thing is to carefully monitor your well-being, because such a strict method has many contraindications, the first place among which is diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Types of crash diets

The menu we have given above is approximate, but gives an idea of ​​Lyle McDonald's food system.

Lemon crash diet

This version of the crash diet is known thanks to the singer Beyoncé, who lost a lot of weight on it after giving birth. Since this is a completely fasting version of the crash diet, its duration should not exceed 2-3 days. The lemon crash diet is good to use on the eve of an important event or after a large feast.

The basis of the lemon diet menu is natural lemonade, prepared from 60 milliliters of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 200 milliliters of water, 40 milliliters of maple syrup and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper. In addition to lemonade, you are allowed to drink still water and mint tea.

The lemon crash diet is strictly contraindicated for people suffering from stomach ulcers or high stomach acidity.

Yogurt crash diet

In addition to the main product - natural low-fat yogurt, the yogurt crash diet menu may include fresh vegetables and fruits in the amount of 300-400 grams, as well as greens. It is allowed to consume up to 150 grams of lean meat, fish or poultry as protein food. Drink 2 glasses of freshly squeezed juice and herbal tea daily.

Food should be divided into 5 meals, the last of which should be taken 4 hours before bedtime.

Berry crash diet

This version of the crash diet is especially appropriate in the summer, when there are many seasonal berries in the assortment. In addition to berries, you can eat stewed or fresh vegetables, freshly squeezed juices, low-fat cottage cheese, and brown rice. Green or herbal tea, rosehip infusion or water with lemon are allowed as drinks.

Crash diet for cardio patients

There is a nutrition system using the crash method, developed specifically for cardiac patients who will soon need heart surgery, but cannot yet lie on the operating table due to excess weight. Doctors recommend a special diet plan for such patients: alternating three-day courses of giving up certain foods with four-day periods of normal eating. Every three days you should completely exclude from your diet:

• sugar in all its forms;
• hot spices;
• fats;
• fast carbohydrates.

How to create a menu for a crash diet

The crash diet menu depends on its type and the chosen nutrition plan. For example, if we talk about a yeast-free diet, it means a complete rejection of products that contain yeast.

These include all bakery and flour products. But other products here will need to be consumed in limited quantities.

Let's look at what exactly you can include in your daily diet:

• heat-treated fruits;
• vegetables;
• lean meat;
• unleavened cakes, consisting only of flour and water;
• pita.

After the diet is completed, you should very carefully introduce products with yeast . First of all, you need to start with whole grain bread, which includes several grains.

Berry diet for 7 days

From the name of the method it is clear that nutrition this week should be based on different berries, which can be eaten in unlimited quantities. It is allowed to dilute the berry menu with light vegetable dishes, fruits, and nuts. It is strictly not recommended to consume meat, baked goods, sweets, canned food, and semi-finished products. A prerequisite for successful weight loss with berries is a proper drinking regime. Calculate the amount of liquid based on the formula: 30-35 ml of clean water per 1 kg of weight.

Seafood on the menu

If you like various foods found in the deep sea, you can try sitting on them for a couple of weeks. This technique is also extreme and promises rapid weight loss. You need to eat 5-6 times a day, the volume of a single serving is no more than 100-150 g. Salting and seasoning seafood dishes is prohibited; you can season them only with lemon juice, cook them only by boiling or grilling. When following a seafood crash diet, you should:

• low-fat fish;
• shellfish;
• shrimp;
• mussels;
• crabs;
• kelp or other seaweed.

The dangers of the crash diet: weak immunity and brittle hair

Expert opinion

Irina Khvostenkova

nutritionist, specialist in weight loss psychology

— Some nutritionists sell some special type of diet under the name “crash diet,” although in fact this is the name of a type of diet based on a sharp reduction in calories consumed.

Crash diets are used by those who need to lose weight in record time for some important event or a trip to the sea. But no matter what your diet consists of, with such abrupt weight loss, the extra pounds will inevitably return, unless you decide to take a tight rein on yourself for a long time.

Long-term calorie restrictions, in turn, lead to serious disorders in the body, because by depriving it of food, we take away its main vital resource. Crash diets can lead to consequences such as:

• Metabolic disease . Crash diets slow down your metabolism - this is the body's natural response to a calorie deficit, it will simply burn them as little as possible - so as soon as you switch to a regular diet, the weight will return in double volume.
• Loss of muscle tissue. In conditions of extreme weight loss, the body primarily gives up muscle, not fat. Therefore, at the end you will not get a fit, but rather an emaciated figure.
• Weakening of the immune system . It is very difficult to squeeze in all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body needs into 700 calories a day. Something will have to be sacrificed, and this will inevitably affect the body’s ability to defend itself from external dangers.
• Deterioration in appearance. Hair, skin and nails instantly react to nutritional problems. And it’s not just about sweet and fatty foods, after which some people break out with acne. Cutting your diet also affects your appearance: your nails begin to peel, your hair becomes dull, and your skin takes on a lifeless hue.
• Prostration. Finally, our diet directly affects our performance throughout the day. If you cut down on calories, be prepared for the fact that after a few days you will not have the strength to get out of bed, and for periodic headaches.

The list above is not all of the dangers of a crash diet, but only those that lie on the surface and will not take long to appear. In the long term, you risk developing serious chronic diseases, especially if you have health problems even without dieting.

Yogurt crash diet for 14 days

Doctors consider yoghurt to be one of the most harmless methods for weight loss. It is designed for two weeks and requires the person losing weight to adhere to a strict diet and regimen. The menu for all 14 days is the same and includes:

How much and how quickly can you lose weight on a crash diet?

Gurley Brown said the crash diet was for the weekend. It’s easy to survive just two days, especially when you’re tipsy all the time. And, if you follow the recommendations, you can lose - tadam! – 5 pounds, just over 2 kg. This seems like the perfect diet: eat keto foods, drink some vino, and shed the pounds. I am closing my weight loss course on the keto diet and opening weekend wine courses.

Alcohol on Keto: Pros and Cons