Rice for weight loss: principles and types of diet, reviews

Is it possible to eat rice while losing weight?

Rice is one of the most popular side dishes. Boiled cereal is beneficial for the body, primarily due to the active cleansing of toxins. And few people perceive it as an assistant in the struggle for a slim figure. And in vain!

According to reviews, following a diet for a week will allow you to get rid of 5-6 extra pounds. The effect of such weight loss is long-lasting, especially if you consolidate the result with some recommendations:

1. Drink plenty of fluids.
2. Limit consumption of meat products.
3. During the diet and after its completion (at least a week), eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Nutritionists assure that it is possible to eat rice while losing weight, but with caution and strict adherence to the rules of the diet.

How to eat rice to lose weight

Rice is a complex carbohydrate that gives you a long-lasting feeling of fullness. For this reason, it is better to eat rice for breakfast, which will help you avoid overeating in the afternoon.

Rice cereals for weight loss should be consumed with fresh or boiled vegetables, seafood or lean meat. If rice is chosen as a side dish for dinner, the use of sauces and other fatty additives is not recommended.

Conclusion: rice cereal is suitable for fasting days; it can often be seen as part of weight loss diets. A considerable list of beneficial properties of the product and recommendations from nutritionists prove that rice does not make you fat. Therefore, you can safely cook your own dietary rice (unpolished, without oil and salt), enjoy its natural taste and lose weight to your health!

The benefits and harms of rice for weight loss

Rice is a low-fat diet. Strict restrictions on calorie intake are what promote weight loss. In addition, with its systematic consumption, a high-quality cleansing of the body occurs, as a result of which harmful wastes and toxins are eliminated, cholesterol levels are reduced, the general condition is improved and health is restored.

However, diet can also cause harm. Why you shouldn’t eat rice for a long time when losing weight:

1. Active consumption of cereals leads to a lack of calcium in the body, which is fraught with health problems (brittle nails, skeletal system, deterioration of teeth, general malaise).
2. With a long-term rice diet, the body will begin to experience a lack of fats and proteins.
3. Daily consumption of rice can cause digestive system disorders.

It is extremely important to maintain a competent diet, adhering to a diet plan for every day. To keep the body in good shape, you need, for example, to eat fruits and vegetables every day, thereby enriching it with vitamins and vital microelements.

The danger of dieting is the desire to saturate the stomach with heavy foods based on fats and protein. Often, after finishing the diet menu, women return to their usual diet the next day. This will not only cause instability of the results obtained, but also serious problems with the stomach and intestines.

Many people are worried about whether it’s possible to eat rice when losing weight in the evening and whether it will harm your health? The last portion of the diet menu is allowed no later than 4 hours before bedtime. Grain is digested slowly; if consumed before bed, digestion will be disrupted, since the rice will not have time to digest. This will lead to serious problems with the stomach and intestines.

How to lose weight on rice

All variants of this diet, as its name implies, are based on eating rice. Depending on the specific system, it is allowed to eat fermented milk products, tomato juice, fresh vegetables or fruits. But in general the rules are the same for all types:

• Drink at least two liters of clean drinking water daily. It is important that it is non-carbonated, without added sugar, dyes, or flavors.
• Do not adhere to this diet for more than three days. This is fraught with severe dehydration of the body and leaching of nutrients.
• Do not drink alcohol during the diet.
• Eat often, in small portions, about 5-6 times a day.
• To improve the taste of rice, it is allowed to add various spices and herbs to it. It goes especially well with garlic, turmeric, and dill.

Prolonged stay on such a diet is extremely dangerous for the body, since it can provoke an exacerbation of chronic diseases or cause the development of new ones.

What kind of rice can you eat on a diet?

This diet involves the use of white rice. But, in fact, the brown, unprocessed variety is beneficial for the body, since it is not subjected to grinding, during which most of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients are lost.

Brown rice is often included in proper nutrition systems for weight loss. There are several reasons:

• higher fiber content due to the outer rough shell;
• low glycemic index when compared with the white variety;
• high antioxidant properties.

There are two more varieties that few people know about, but which are no less beneficial for the body. This is wild and red rice. They are low in calories, have a low glycemic index, and are high in vitamins and nutrients.

How to cook rice for a diet

In order for rice to retain as much nutrients, vitamins and minerals as possible during the cooking process, you need to cook it properly. There are two ways. The first is steaming:

• Rinse the cereal in cold running water until it is clean.
• Place in a deep glass plate, add cold boiled water in a 1:1 ratio.
• Leave to infuse for 10 hours. You can pour the cereal overnight, then it will be ready for breakfast.

Although this method is useful, the porridge turns out tough and tasteless.

Another option is less healthy, but tasty. This is a classic method, the usual cooking. You can reduce the starch content by first soaking the cereal in water for 30-40 minutes.

It should also be said that you need to cook porridge without salt and sugar. It is better to add spices and spices closer to the end of cooking.

Authorized Products

As the name suggests, the main component of the diet is rice. It is boiled or steamed, it all depends on personal preferences. But along with it, depending on the type of food, you can also consume:

• unsweetened fruits, particularly citrus fruits or green apples;
• vegetables with low starch content: cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, bell peppers, greens;
• fermented milk products: kefir, low-fat cottage cheese;
• dried fruits: dried apricots, prunes, raisins;
• honey.

More gentle options also allow lean meats: rabbit, chicken, lean pork. In any case, mono-diets, based primarily on one product, often lead to health problems, both physical and psychological. Such changes in diet have a negative impact on a person and lead to breakdowns. That is why experienced experts strongly recommend not to adhere to such diets.

Prohibited Products

The following products are prohibited:

• bread, bakery products, pastries;
• flour of any kind;
• sweets, chocolate, cookies;
• any types of oil;
• fatty meats;
• semi-finished products: sausages, frankfurters, dumplings, etc.;
• starchy vegetables and fruits;
• nuts.

In principle, you cannot eat anything other than rice and permitted foods. That is why this diet is classified as strict.

What kind of rice can you eat while losing weight?

varieties that have a low glycemic index and contain a large amount of nutrients are allowed for the diet Nutritionists do not recommend consuming white short-grain rice during the diet. Preference should be given to long-grain brown.

List of types of rice for dietary nutrition:

1. Brown , wild, brown long grain rice. The healthiest option for the rice diet. Contains a minimum of carbohydrates and a low glycemic index (35).
2. White polished long grain rice. Since brown rice is an expensive and rare product (it can’t be found on the shelves in every grocery store), and also takes quite a long time to prepare, it is allowed to use white polished long grain rice in dietary foods. It has a higher glycemic index (70), so the diet must be supplemented with vegetables, fruits, and protein products (for example, lean boiled meat). This will lower the glycemic index of rice and slow down the absorption of carbohydrates into the blood.

Important! It is prohibited to use white short-grain rice in the diet. It has the highest glycemic index, and this product also belongs to fast carbohydrates. There will be no benefit from it in losing weight.

What types of rice are best to choose for your diet?

3 varieties are best suited for dietary nutrition:

1. Red. It undergoes a peeling procedure, but is not polished, so it is easy to prepare with a relatively small loss of nutrients. However, the red variety takes a long time to cook (80 minutes) and should not be stirred.
2. White. It has a delicate and pleasant taste and soft consistency. You should always add other products to dishes using it. This is due to the fact that the white variety undergoes a grinding procedure, which deprives the grain of beneficial microelements.
3. Black. It is better suited for diet, because... it contains almost no sodium, cereal does not retain salt and moisture in the stomach, and is classified as a complex carbohydrate.

How to choose rice?

When choosing rice, preference should be given to unrefined (unpolished) or steamed. Causes:

1. Unpolished rice retains all microelements and nutrients in maximum concentration. When choosing white rice, a high-quality unpolished product can be identified by its slightly yellowish tint.
2. Steamed rice undergoes special processing, which allows it to retain a sufficient amount of vitamins and microelements necessary for effective weight loss and maintaining the body in good shape.

Important! Regardless of the type of rice, you should choose only long grain rice for your diet.

Diet options

There are several options for the rice diet, from gentle to strict. Another useful way to lose weight is fasting days, which will not cause stress to the body with prolonged consumption of limited foods and will contribute to weight loss.

Fasting rice days

Method of fasting days:

1. Rice water. Pour a couple of tablespoons of cereal into a liter of water, cook until tender, strain. Drink a glass in the morning and evening .
2. Fasting days on apples or pears. Consume 200 grams of boiled cereal and a kilogram of apples/pears throughout the day.
3. Kefir days. Eat a tablespoon of boiled rice and drink half a glass of kefir 5 times a day.
4. The benefits of tomato. A spoonful of rice and a glass of tomato juice 4-5 times a day is an excellent option for unloading; it also saturates the body and satisfies hunger.

Another recommendation from Elena Malysheva is 200 grams of steamed rice, divided into 6 equal portions, consumed throughout the day with a little honey added. With this method of unloading the body, it is important to drink at least 2.5 liters of water per day.

Rice diet for 3 days

The most gentle diet is to eat 2 tablespoons of boiled rice (5 times a day) for 3 days. Be sure to supplement your diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables (fresh, by adding to salads or preparing stews). It is necessary to completely eliminate harmful foods, fatty, fried, sweets.

Rice diet for 5 days

Daily diet to be followed for 5 days:

• for breakfast - rice porridge, to which you can add low-fat milk, fruits, a small amount of honey, nuts, wash down with green or herbal tea;
• for lunch - hot soups based on rice and vegetables (no meat!), vegetable salads with olive oil, stews;
• for dinner - rice with mushrooms, stewed vegetables.

Light hunger can be satisfied with natural yogurt, fresh fruit, and raisins.

Worth paying attention! In the last 2 days of the diet, you can add boiled fish or chicken breast to the menu. Portions should be small; they are allowed to be included in the diet only at lunchtime (not in the evening!).

Rice diet for 7 days

Recommended menu :

If you feel very hungry, apples, oranges, pears, walnuts, and dried fruits are suitable snacks.

Rice diet for 9 days

The diet is similar to the weekly diet. But it is extended for 2 days, menu:

1. 8th day. For breakfast - rice porridge with sour cream and fresh vegetables. For lunch - steamed rice and vegetable stew. For dinner - rice with a piece of boiled fish, greens, vegetable salad.
2. 9th day. Start your morning with green tea, rice porridge with fresh herbs and salad. For lunch, eat vegetable stew, boiled chicken breast and rice. In the evening - rice porridge with milk and raisins.

This diet is considered the most stringent, difficult and long-lasting. It is recommended to monitor the health and functioning of the stomach/intestines while following it.

Rice diet 5 volumes

The essence of the diet is to eat 5 glasses of rice over 5 days, which must be pre-soaked. Divide the one-day serving into 3-4 parts and consume throughout the day.

There are many restrictions on the intake of foods while on a diet. The rice menu is allowed to be diluted with lean fish, chicken breast, eggs, cottage cheese, fruits, and vegetables. Drinks include plenty of water, tea, coffee without sugar.

Can I eat rice for dinner?

Despite the fact that the calorie content of rice cereal is almost 350 Kcal, you can eat it for dinner. It is recommended to soak rice in purified water in advance to get rid of excess starch content in the product. For one serving you should take no more than 30 - 40 grams of raw cereal. The benefits of rice for dinner will be preserved if you do not add salt to the dish and eat it with seafood or chicken breast.

However, rice is recommended to be consumed in the first half of the day for the main meal (breakfast or lunch) in combination with fresh vegetables or protein (poultry, fish, eggs). The serving size depends on the daily caloric intake and on average for women is 150–200 grams.

Contraindications

The diet menu is prohibited if:

• pregnancy;
• breastfeeding;
• diabetes mellitus;
• stomach diseases;
• disorders of the cardiovascular system;
• renal failure;
• liver pathologies.

The diet harmful for those who are often bothered by constipation, flatulence, and bloating.

A rice diet is unacceptable after any surgical interventions or during the rehabilitation period. A weakened body needs careful care and support, a balanced diet, and not strict restrictions on food.

Harm

However, losing weight with rice also has contraindications. Too powerful an impact on the functioning of internal organs can negatively affect their condition.

It is not recommended to choose this cereal for your diet if you have diseases such as:

• diabetes;
• stomach pathologies;
• diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• pregnancy, lactation;
• renal failure;
• liver diseases;
• tendency to constipation, bloating and flatulence;
• rehabilitation period after operations or illnesses.

Nutritionists advise checking your health before trying rice diets. Failure to comply with contraindications ultimately leads to serious complications requiring long-term treatment. Among them are exhaustion of the body, vitamin deficiency and numerous intestinal disorders.

Reviews and results

How effective is losing weight on a rice diet and what results can be achieved, women say:

1. Kristina, 28 years old, Izhevsk: After a week-long rice diet, I lost 6 kilograms, I’m very pleased with the result. The stomach accepted the daily consumption of rice quite well, but of course there was a lack of favorite meat dishes.
2. Anna, 42 years old, Stavropol: I tried many different diets, the principle is approximately the same - a minimum of food and grueling fasting. The rice diet is easier to tolerate, since rice is nutritious, and there was no immediate feeling of painful hunger.

I chose the strictest diet – 9 days. Benefits not only for the figure, but also for the body. I have lost 8.5 kilograms, my overall health has improved, I feel pleasantly light.

The rice diet causes a lot of controversy among women. However, nutritionists assure that you can actually lose weight using this method. To consolidate the results obtained, you need to exit the diet slowly, gradually supplementing the menu with everyday dishes.

Benefits of cereals

In the countries of the East, Asia, and the Mediterranean, rice occupies one of the main places in the diet. Thanks to the combination of grain crops with vegetables and protein foods in the regular menu, the population in general is predominantly slim. Traditionally, an oriental menu necessarily includes seafood. Nutrition is not the only factor contributing to the absence of extra pounds among residents of the region. In addition, the influence is exerted by:

• constant movement throughout the day;
• small portions at lunchtime and evening;
• healthy psyche.

Cereal crops have undeniable advantages:

• low calorie content;
• B vitamins and lecithin strengthen the central nervous system and stimulate brain activity;
• Thanks to the absorbent properties of rice, excess moisture is removed and metabolic processes occur faster.

Attention! Experts recommend consuming dietary rice dishes as a component of a diet for weight loss, but with an individual approach.