In the summer, when vegetables on the market become more accessible, a vegetable diet becomes one of the most effective ways to lose extra pounds and relieve the body. In one week you can lose from 3 to 7 km of excess weight.
However, even eating only root vegetables, which are beneficial for the digestive tract in all respects, can be harmful to health. To know how to lose weight on vegetables and not get gastritis and all kinds of vitamin deficiencies, you need to know the pros, cons and safe period for this method of fighting extra pounds.
The essence of the diet
The vegetable diet is designed to quickly burn calories by eliminating fast carbohydrates, fats and proteins from the diet. In fact, a person eats only allowed vegetables for a week, not receiving the usual amount of calories, and due to this he loses weight. By consuming 1.5 kg of vegetables per day, the daily calorie intake is only 1300 kcal.
This method of reducing body weight is quite effective, but the results are short-lived. It is suitable if you urgently need to lose 5-7 kg before the weekend in order to fit into an evening dress or, without hesitation, relax on the beach. After stopping the diet, the lost kilograms return within a month.
List of low-calorie vegetables for weight loss
The list of vegetables suitable for dietary nutrition should include:
- bell pepper;
- carrot;
- sauerkraut or fresh cabbage;
- cucumbers;
- broccoli;
- artichoke;
- parsnip;
- eggplant;
- radish;
- green onions;
- chilli;
- asparagus;
- beets;
- zucchini.
The list of dietary vegetables does not include potatoes , although they are relatively low in calories. It contains a lot of refined starch, and it contains few nutrients. In the body it is transformed into sugars, namely glucose and glycogen. The best vegetable diets, divided into 5, 6, 7, 10, 14 days, will help you quickly and effectively lose weight.
Advantages and disadvantages
Nutritionists recommend sticking to a vegetable diet for no more than 7 days. Despite the fact that vegetables are considered to be the healthiest product, they have their drawbacks and cannot provide all the necessary vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
Pros:
- Vegetables contain a huge amount of fiber, which helps reduce cholesterol by up to 35%. Fiber takes a long time to digest in the body and keeps you feeling full.
- Watery vegetables can replenish the water balance in the body. In addition, the stomach is quickly filled with vegetable water, and satiety comes faster.
- Vegetables are quickly digested and easily eliminated from the body, completely eliminating constipation.
- Two green apples eaten after training can restore carbohydrates lost from the liver.
- Vegetables (except starchy ones) contain a minimum of calories. The body begins to take energy from the body's reserves, and the person quickly loses weight.
Minuses:
- Vegetables for weight loss can be safely used only in summer and autumn, when the body does not yet need fats and proteins.
- Fruits do not contain healthy fats such as Omega-3 and Omega-6, which are necessary for the normal functioning of the body.
- With a long-term diet on vegetables, a lack of chromium, zinc, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, as well as vitamins B2, B5, B6, B9, B12, D, H, PP occurs.
- Some root vegetables cause strong fermentation in the intestines, which provokes flatulence more than from legumes.
- Vegetables are quickly digested, and you will have to eat 7-8 times a day, which is quite expensive, especially if you are on such a diet in winter, when the cost of fruits in the store doubles.
- Losing weight on vegetables occurs due to a decrease in muscle mass. Fat is not burned by the body, since the fruits completely replace the amount of carbohydrates from which the body takes energy. When proteins and fats are returned to the diet, muscle mass is restored.
Reviews and weight loss results with Before and After photos
Alina, 31 years old: I decided to go on this diet in the middle of summer. At the end of summer I was going to the seaside and really wanted to lose at least 5 kilograms. I don’t like very strict diets, which put the body under a lot of stress. In addition, I liked the diet because of the abundance of fruits and vegetables, because many diets limit these foods. And I really love vegetable salads, freshly squeezed juices, fruits, and I’m looking forward to the start of the vegetable season. I was on a diet for about 3 weeks. Sometimes I could eat only vegetable salads all day, or, for example, I could eat 1 melon in a whole day. The weight came off well, I felt light, and at the same time I practically did not feel hungry. I lost 4 kg and went to the sea happy. So this is an ideal summer diet for those who want to slightly correct their figure.
I have been on this diet about once a year for 1 month for several years now. The diet is very easy and quite simple. I never cook complex dishes with fancy names, which, as a rule, are written on the menu for a vegetable diet. Most often I give him raw fruits and vegetables, sometimes I make juices or milkshakes. I often make myself vegetable soups from vegetables I have frozen for the winter, if I don’t have time to go to the market or it’s no longer the season for some products. I consistently lose 5-6 kg in a month. In the summer I don’t really feel like eating because of the heat, so I eat little by little and I manage to lose weight well.
Natalya, 49 years old: A vegetable diet is ideal for the summer-autumn period. During the heat, you want to drink more than eat. Fruits and vegetables perfectly satiate and quench your thirst, and they are also inexpensive and healthy. I really like stewed vegetables and grilled vegetables. When I go to a restaurant with my husband, I always know what to order – grilled vegetables and freshly squeezed juices. This is the most delicious diet I have ever tried. It sheds kilos wonderfully. Sometimes I can eat a piece of boiled meat or baked fish for variety. But that doesn't stop me from losing weight. My result: 7 kg in 4 weeks.
Types of vegetable diet
There are several types of vegetable diet for losing weight by 10 kg. It should be emphasized that the number of kilograms that can be lost depends on the metabolism of a particular person. People with an accelerated metabolism lose 10 kg in a week without difficulty, and those who have a slower metabolism can get the same result in, say, a month. Lastly, in order not to harm your health, you should stick to a lighter version of the vegetable diet.
The strictest diet involves eating vegetables and fruits. No other products are allowed to be eaten, with the exception of fermented milk. You can sit on it for no more than a week. Only people in good health who have no contraindications can afford a strict diet.
The second option, a lighter one, includes in the diet, in addition to vegetables from the list of permitted ones, bread, sour cream and vegetable or olive (linseed, corn) oil for dressing salads. Sour cream replenishes the missing proteins, and vegetable oil replenishes the missing fats. But these products should not be abused. The calorie content of even the most low-fat sour cream is 116 kcal per 100 g, and the energy value of butter is even higher - 884 kcal per 100 g.
And the lightest version of the vegetable diet also includes the consumption of proteins in the form of low-fat fish and chicken breast. In this case, you can also consume kefir and fruit. In addition to fish and white meat, it is allowed to include nuts, seeds and boiled beef in the diet. Low-fat fish include hake, pollock, pike perch, pollock, cod, blue whiting, flounder, pike, as well as all crustaceans and molluscs.
Opinions of those who have lost weight
Reviews about the vegetable diet are different.
One group of women is completely satisfied with the weight loss method and the results obtained. They enjoyed eating all kinds of vegetable dishes during the week. After all, you can use them to prepare not only salads, but also soups, stews and caviar.
The second group of women could not withstand such a diet. It was very difficult for them to eat only vegetables. Therefore, they could not maintain such a diet for seven days. At the same time, according to reviews, it was not difficult for women to follow a protein-vegetable diet. As a result, they manage to lose three to four kilograms of weight.
A vegetable diet is an effective technique that can help you lose excess weight in a short period. If you follow all the rules, achieving a positive result is not difficult. However, it is achieved most quickly by people who are vegetable lovers.
Before starting a diet, you should consult a specialist to prevent negative effects on the body.
Japanese vegetable diet
There is another type of vegetable diet, which was developed by Japanese specialists. It is more rigid, unlike the Russian one, so it is quite difficult to adhere to it. But, as Japanese nutritionists promise, in 14 days (the period for which the diet is designed) you can lose 7-8 kg. In addition, there is an opinion that this option normalizes digestion.
As a rule, no food is taken for breakfast in the morning, except a cup of black coffee and a slice of whole grain bread. For lunch, fish from 200 to 500 g or boiled eggs are served, and always a salad of green vegetables, seasoned with vegetable oil.
For dinner, which is present only 4 days a week, the Japanese eat either 200 g of beef with cabbage salad, or just a vegetable salad of carrots and apples. There is no second breakfast or afternoon snack in this diet. For a “snack” it is recommended to drink just warm water in unlimited quantities.
As you can see, this is a rather extreme type of vegetable diet that only a person in good health can withstand. However, it is worth noting that it is designed for Japanese citizens, who, in principle, are smaller in height and weight than Europeans. For a Russian person, all of the above products should be doubled in quantity.
Allowed and prohibited foods for a fruit diet
The list of permitted fruits is quite extensive, it includes: pears and apples, plums and cherries, watermelons, tangerines and oranges, peaches, apricots and nectarines, kiwi and pineapples, persimmons, grapefruit and avocados. These fruits can be eaten individually or combined with each other.
The fruits are allowed to be baked, you can also eat them fresh, it is not prohibited to prepare juices from the listed fruits. If you wish, you can include exotic fruits in the menu, such as passion fruit, feijoa, guava, lychee, etc.
As for the prohibitions, they are imposed on all other food products except fruits. Moreover, not all fruits can be eaten without restriction. Grapes, papaya, melon, bananas and mangoes should be removed from the menu. Carbonated and alcoholic drinks are excluded during the diet.
Contraindications
A vegetable diet for weight loss, despite all the obvious advantages, has a number of contraindications. Even with one hundred percent health, you should postpone sports and other heavy physical activities that require large amounts of energy during the diet. Since weight loss occurs due to a decrease in muscle fibers, a vegetable diet in the gym can make you more dry than necessary.
A vegetable diet is contraindicated for pregnant and breastfeeding women. You cannot prescribe a diet for children - a growing body needs proteins and fats for full development. Only if the child is obese, a vegetable diet may be useful as a start to weight loss in other ways. It is contraindicated for a child to adhere to such a diet for more than a week.
If a person suffers from any form of gastritis, has a stomach and/or duodenal ulcer, flatulence, colitis and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, this diet is not suitable for him. The reason is the presence of fiber in fruits, which irritates the walls of the stomach. In addition, the acids contained in some vegetables and almost all fruits further increase the acidity of the stomach, which is strictly contraindicated for people with ulcers.
If you have liver and kidney diseases, you should also choose another method of losing weight. A vegetable diet negatively affects these organs even in a healthy person if he sits on it longer than necessary. This item also includes people suffering from allergies, since this disease is also the result of improper liver function.
People diagnosed with group I and II diabetes mellitus should not be on a vegetable diet. Despite the low amount of sugar in fruits, diabetics should receive adequate nutrition. For them, such a diet can only be useful as a fasting day 1-2 times a week.
Cooking conditions
The vegetable diet is not a raw food diet, so it is not necessary to consume all the fruits raw. Root vegetables can be boiled over a fire, steamed, baked in the oven or over a fire, and stewed. You can't just fry it. You can eat them in the form of salads, vegetable stews, juliennes, you can bite them hard, or you can grind them to a puree. Vegetable smoothies add variety to your diet. You can prepare lean soups or puree soups; you can eat dry and pickled vegetables and fruits.
Additional Products
Since a diet based on vegetables cannot replace a good diet, which can cause various diseases, it should be diluted with some foods. For example, in order to replenish the missing amino acids in the body that are responsible for building tissue, you need to consume various fermented milk products. This can be kefir, yogurt, whey, sour cottage cheese - everything with a fat content of 1% or less.
Salt should be kept to a minimum. If you cannot eliminate it altogether, you can replace it with pickled vegetables, for example, pickles, which are added to dishes. Salads are allowed to be seasoned with olive, corn or flaxseed oil, no more than 1 teaspoon per plate.
Twice a week you are allowed to eat a couple of slices of bread made from rye flour or bran. Along with vegetables, you can eat fruits and various greens. It is advisable to choose unsweetened and watery fruits; bananas, for example, are a very high-calorie product, and a green apple is the best option. However, it should be remembered that if you eat sour, citrus fruits constantly, this can provoke gastritis.
Recommendations from nutritionists for losing weight on vegetables
In order to lose as much weight as possible during the diet, follow the following rules:
- 5-6 meals a day. But the portion for one meal should not be more than 200 g. The total weight of food consumed per day should not exceed 1200 grams. This will saturate the body, but at the same time not overeat.
- You cannot eat after 18:00. Metabolic processes in the body slow down in the evening, which leads to the deposition of fat cells. Nutritionists recommend having a larger breakfast than dinner.
- Absorb 2 liters of clean water per day. Pure water stimulates metabolic processes.
- Healthy sleep. Otherwise, immunity decreases and metabolism deteriorates.
- Small but regular physical activity. Daily walking or light jogging is suitable. Just half an hour of exercise a day will make weight loss more effective.
- Diet restrictions. For some time after the diet, you should give up fresh white bread, sweets, sausages, mayonnaise and other high-calorie foods.
- Entering additional products . Nutritionists advise that when following a long-term diet on vegetables, add lean meat, fish, cereals or low-fat dairy products to your diet.
- Stewing, steaming, baking instead of frying will allow you to reduce calorie content
Nutritionists advise paying attention to vegetable diets.
Not only long-term diets are effective, but also short ones. They will help you lose weight if you need to lose weight quickly.
Menu for the week
The table shows a sample menu for the week. Some foods can be changed at your discretion by checking the calorie table for vegetables and fruits.
| Breakfast | Dinner | Dinner | Snacks | |
| Monday | Green vegetable salad seasoned with lemon juice, green tea with a piece of ginger. | Soup from permitted vegetables, 2-egg omelet, fresh carrot juice. | Cauliflower, arugula and tomato salad, kefir 1%. | Green apples. |
| Tuesday | Baked pumpkin with apples, green tea with cinnamon. | Stewed vegetables (tomato, bell pepper, cauliflower), tomato juice. | Sauerkraut, seasoned with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, a glass of kefir 1%. | Plums or apricots. |
| Wednesday | Salad of grated fresh carrots, seasoned with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 2-3 prunes, green tea with a slice of lemon. | Broccoli puree soup with the addition of 1 pickled cucumber instead of salt, carrot and apple juice. | Vegetable salad of cucumber, tomato and bell pepper, washed down with mint tea. | Fruit juices. |
| Thursday | Cabbage, cucumber and asparagus salad, seasoned with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, green tea with honey. | Mushroom soup and 1 potato, a piece of boiled chicken breast, multifruit juice. | A few slices of watermelon, vinaigrette without potatoes, 1 glass of kefir 1% with dill. | Raspberry or cabbage-celery juice. |
| Friday | Curd cheese pancakes with semolina instead of flour, green tea with a piece of ginger. | Green borscht with 1 potato, cabbage, tomato and cucumber salad, dressed with olive oil. | Small boiled beets with green or onions, pomegranate, 1 grapefruit. | Apples of red varieties. |
| Saturday | Strawberry, apple and kiwi smoothie. Green tea with added cinnamon. | Korean carrots, celery soup, steamed hake, pumpkin juice. | Beetroot puree, cabbage and apple salad, a glass of 1% kefir with dill. | Oranges (no more than 2 at a time) |
| Sunday | Fruit salad (kiwi, tangerine, pineapple, apple), sprinkled with liquid honey, tomato juice without salt. | Stewed vegetables (zucchini, tomato, bell pepper), radish salad with green onions, seasoned with vegetable oil, green tea with lemon. | Seaweed salad, 2-3 hard pears, a glass of 1% kefir with dill. | Tomato juice. |
Delicious recipes for a fruit diet
Salad “Pink Delight”
In order to prepare the dish, you will need the following products:
- 3 oranges and grapefruit.
- 3 lemons.
- A teaspoon of lemon zest and the same amount of orange zest.
- A pinch of cloves.
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
- 0.1 l of water.
- 2 tbsp. l. honey
Mix orange and lemon zest with cloves and cinnamon, add water to them. Boil this mixture for a quarter of an hour. When it starts to cool, you need to add honey, stirring constantly. The fruits are cut and poured over them with the prepared sauce (it should be cooled first).
Fruit salad
To prepare the dish, you need to purchase the following products:
- Orange.
- Lemon.
- Grapefruit.
- Cinnamon and cloves.
- Honey – 2 tbsp. l.
Mix lemon and orange zest, add cloves, cinnamon and honey, boil for 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, boil the fruit (cut into pieces) in syrup for 3 minutes, then drain the syrup. Salad ready.
Berry smoothie
To prepare it you will need:
- Strawberries – 0.2 kg.
- Raspberries – 0.15 kg.
- Kiwi – 3 pcs.
- Liquid honey – 3 tbsp. l.
Each fruit should be blended separately and laid out in layers. First, add a tablespoon of honey to each type of fruit mass. You can add ice to your smoothie.
Quitting the diet
This diet can be conditionally classified as a mono-diet, because it places special emphasis on the consumption of complex carbohydrates and the exclusion of proteins and fats. If immediately after abstaining from these elements you start consuming them in unlimited quantities, as before, then all your efforts will come to nothing. In addition, various stomach upsets and pressure on the liver may occur.
Thus, upon completion of the vegetable diet, you should gradually add white low-fat meat to your diet, which is so needed by muscle fibers and light fats in the form of fish and nuts. Next, you need to start adding porridge to your diet, you can start with buckwheat - it is the lowest in calories.
The percentage of fat content of kefir and sour cream should be gradually increased. When going off a diet, vegetables and fruits should also be consumed, gradually reducing their quantity. You need to eat in this mode for at least a week before switching to full nutrition.
Attention! This article is for informational purposes only; all data contained in it requires verification by a nutritionist. Before you start following a vegetable diet, it is recommended to undergo examination for contraindications.
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