Fasting day after a feast or breakdown: what to choose and how to spend it?

Any memorable events, holidays, important dates are always accompanied by abundant feasts. Well, how can you refuse something delicious at such moments? And no restrictions can save you from overeating, which the next morning inevitably makes itself felt with heaviness in the stomach and extra pounds. How to eliminate the consequences of a wonderful and very tasty feast?

A fasting day after overeating will save you. This is an excellent opportunity to quickly restore the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, speed up metabolism and cleanse the intestines of toxins. Regular unloading will allow you to spend much more relaxed evenings at the family and friendly table and make your figure thinner and more beautiful.

What is a fasting day

A fasting day is a calorie restriction for one day. On this day, the diet includes a limited number of simple foods (from 1 to 3). In general, the energy value of food consumed should not exceed 600 calories.

To increase the effectiveness of fasting days, some people spend them without food at all, that is, they “stay” only on water. But this is a rather extreme method of losing weight; you can resort to it only after consulting a doctor.

Nutritionists distinguish between the concepts of “hungry” and “fed” fasting day. In the first case, a mono-diet is maintained throughout the day, in which the diet includes only one product. In the second, the menu consists of two or three products. In both cases, drink plenty of water (on average, 30 milliliters per 1 kilogram of weight).

Options for fasting for weight loss and appetite reduction

Overeating has overtaken you due to an exorbitant desire to eat all sorts of goodies to your heart's content and collapse with a blissful smile on your face? This is also called a weight loss failure. This is where fasting days come to the rescue, helping to control appetite:

• Curd-fruit and, of course, very tasty. You will need 400 grams of cottage cheese and half a kilo of fruit (remember the taboos on bananas, grapes, figs). Each method combines cottage cheese and one fruit. You can eat them separately, or you can mix them in a blender to get a delicious mass. Naturally, we take cottage cheese low-fat or with a minimum percentage of fat content.
• Kefir-fruit . 1 liter of low-fat kefir, 1 kilogram of fruit. Mix as you please. Can be consumed at different meals. In general, kefir fasting day for weight loss is held in high regard by lovers of healthy eating for its accessibility and simplicity. Use it!

So, we found out that after hectic holidays and cases of mild gluttony, fasting days are just what the doctor ordered. Have you ever heard about “loading” days or, in other words, cheating?

Oooh, these are magical days of significant reductions in the diet, the time of permitted cake and chocolate. Did you like it? Let's take a closer look!

What is the difference with diet

A diet is a certain unbalanced diet that is followed for a limited time. It is necessary when you need to treat a disease or quickly lose a large number of kilograms. The diet must be very carefully selected with the help of a specialist in order to achieve weight loss without leading the body to a deficiency of certain nutrients. Fasting days are more suitable for people who urgently need to lose several kilograms of weight. These days, unlike the diet, are easier to bear: both physically and psychologically. By limiting oneself in food for just one day, a person does not become depressed (as happens with diets). And, if the body weakens during the fasting day, it will recover the very next day. Diet can lead to a sustainable decrease in performance.

Fasting days: pros and cons

The idea of ​​fasting days belongs to the first Soviet nutritionist, Professor Manuil Pevzner. Initially, fasting days were only part of a comprehensive dietary program for those suffering from obesity. All week they had to eat a variety of low-calorie foods, and spend one day on a certain product: 1.5 kg of apples, or 2 kg of vegetables, or 1.5 liters of kefir, or 800 g of cottage cheese, or a glass of sour cream - the main thing is that the energy value daily diet did not exceed 500–600 kcal.

Over the past 80 years, many approaches to dietetics have changed, but fasting days are firmly rooted.

4 arguments for

1. Express method

A fasting day is the best way to get rid of the feeling of heaviness after a feast for the whole world. You can easily lose 0.5–1.5 kg per day. True, this is not excess fat, but mainly liquid stuck inside with an excess of salty, spicy, sweet: 10 g of salt or sugar holds a whole liter of water. 2. Weekend belly

4 rules for success

* Don't overeat the day before.

* The next day, do not pounce on high-calorie foods early in the morning.

* It is advisable to exclude serious physical and intellectual stress.

* A positive attitude is required.

What is commonly called a holiday for the belly is, in fact, on the contrary, harsh everyday life and overtime work for the stomach and intestines. When overeating, all internal systems are forced to work in increased mode, almost all the energy is spent on digesting food. Have you noticed that when you often snack on something high-calorie while running, you suddenly start to feel cold? A fasting day gives the digestive system a little rest, but on the condition that such fasting is a joy and not a punishment. It is important to choose a product that is not a burden to sit on all day. 3. Unloading according to prescription

For certain diseases, fasting days work as a prevention of exacerbations. For example, for arthrosis, cucumber days are recommended, for hypertension - potato days (baked potatoes in skins without salt), for diabetes - vegetable days (5-6 different salads a day with a teaspoon of vegetable oil), watermelon days are good for the kidneys. And, of course, any fasting day is useful for obesity. Most often, cottage cheese is recommended, since protein products give a longer feeling of fullness. 4. Fitness for the stomach and mind

Regular fasting days (once every 1–2 weeks) train the body. When the volume of food is reduced, the stomach also shrinks slightly. The tendency to overeat gradually disappears. Many people find fasting days very comfortable because they do not interfere with their eating habits: everything is still possible, but only tomorrow. A person discovers that he can get by with significantly less food without any problems and often develops a taste for moderate, healthy eating.

4 arguments against

1. The effect is immediate in all respects

That kilogram or even two that goes away during a fasting day usually returns a day later. Because, as already mentioned, this is not excess fat, but liquid. To burn 1 kg of fat, you need to spend 7000 kcal - such a result cannot be achieved with a one-day dietary restriction. In addition, during the fasting day, both excess fluid and non-excess fluid are lost, which soon returns. To minimize illusory weight loss, it is very important to drink at least 1.5 liters of water on a fasting day (as, indeed, on any other day). 2. It doesn’t get any more sour.

The most popular fasting foods are apples and kefir, but they stimulate the production of gastric juice and increase its acidity. As a result, there is a risk of getting an attack of gastritis or peptic ulcer instead of a healing effect. According to various statistics, gastritis affects from 25% to 75% of the adult population, which means the risk is quite high. 3. I really want to eat

You might think that the law of meanness is at work: as soon as you arrange a fasting day, your appetite wakes up like a beast. But it’s not just a matter of psychological attitude, although that certainly plays a role. Fruits or vegetables, which are limited to the fasting diet, in the normal situation are nothing more than a snack, something to whet the appetite. They stimulate the production of gastric juice so that you can fully enjoy the subsequent main courses with appetite. If the main courses are not followed, the person walks around all day with a painful readiness to finally eat something else. Therefore, for many it is easier to fast than to endure a fasting day. 4. Stress and breakdown

The consolation that tomorrow everything will return to normal and again you can not deny yourself anything does not work for everyone. Moreover, the concentration of desperate thoughts (“damn it all to ruin!”) increases precisely in the evening, and the matter often ends in a breakdown - a person eats much more than he would eat in a whole day in a calm mode. This is the standard result of a strict ban in any area. In addition, a malfunction may occur in a starved body. Man is created in such a way that in the morning he is tuned to expending energy, and in the evening - to accumulating it. But if you are hungry, then the accumulation mode will be launched much earlier, which means that all the torment and self-restraint may be in vain.

What's the result?

As an element of diet therapy for various diseases, fasting days are perhaps interesting. Especially on the eve of summer with a variety of fruits and berries and a decrease in appetite. Such one-day mono-diets are even useful - no more than once a week and in the absence of contraindications. But relying on them as the main way to lose weight is pointless. They can only be a supporting, additional measure.

Although fasting days are a kind of compromise between fasting and a complete lack of restrictions, it is still a fairly tough approach. According to nutritionist, Doctor of Medical Sciences Mikhail Ginzburg, this is similar to the medieval method of treating a stutterer: with a club to the head. There is a chance to get rid of the defect, but the likelihood of side effects is even higher.

5 fasting day options

Published: April 14, 2021

Why do they unload?

Modern people live in a world overflowing with delicious food. In supermarkets we see all kinds of beautifully packaged products in a huge assortment. There are advertisements everywhere encouraging people to eat something. In addition, city streets are filled with all kinds of restaurants for every taste and budget. In such a situation, people often succumb to temptations and eat much more than the body needs, that is, they overeat.

The harm of overeating is not only that it leads to an unpleasant feeling of heaviness in the stomach, but also in the formation of new extra pounds of weight. A stomach filled with excess food cannot function properly. This is especially felt after long holidays. When a fasting day arrives, the body has the opportunity to get rid of everything unnecessary and restore the normal rhythm of work. At the same time, excess weight is lost.

Basic Rules

It is more difficult to harm the body with a system of fasting days than with a strict diet. However, the risk of getting not only a positive, but also a negative effect exists even with one-day unloading. To avoid harm, you need to follow certain rules. And the first of them is a preliminary consultation with a doctor. Further, if the specialist gave the go-ahead to your initiative:

1. The right choice of products. It is very important to consider the option of unloading so that the days of strict restriction proceed without excessive physical and psychological stress.
2. Periodicity. It is necessary to decide on the frequency of fasting days. The most intense frequency is once a week, no more often. For people who find it quite difficult to unload, it is recommended to do them once every 2 or 3 weeks. You need to start with one fasting day per month, only after 3-4 months can you switch to a more intense regime.
3. Preparation. The day before unloading, it is recommended to switch to a light diet. That is, portions should become slightly smaller than usual, and it is better to avoid fatty, high-calorie foods during the preparatory period. It will be much easier to endure such a one-day “unloading” diet, and it will be more effective than an unprepared one.
4. Load limitation. On a day with a limited diet, you should not burden yourself with excessive physical or emotional stress. If the “cleaning” falls on a day on which heavy loads are inevitable, then it is better to arrange it later.
5. Water mode. During unloading, you must not forget about water. You need to drink it as much as your body requires. It is recommended to drink at least 2 liters of clean water. Drinking plenty of water not only increases the effectiveness of “cleansing”, but also alleviates the feeling of hunger.
6. The right way out. The next day you should eat the same way as during preparation - avoid high-calorie junk food, stick to small portions, drink a lot. You can't pounce on any food. Meals should be frequent and not too filling.

How to decompress after overeating

I would like to note right away that it is important to drink a lot of water (after heavy meals there is almost always dehydration, plus water cleanses the body of everything unnecessary best of all).

It is best to unload on vegetables or fruits, since they contain vitamins, minerals, valuable (as we have already found out) moisture after a feast, and one of the most important elements - fiber. It will allow you to gently cleanse the body of accumulated toxins.

We do approaches once or twice a week (just not in a row).

Vegetables and fruits are unrivaled in their cleansing properties. In addition, they are low in calories and give rest to our liver and entire digestive system.

Health benefits, harms and contraindications

The benefits of fasting days are not obvious to everyone. On the one hand, they allow the body to cleanse itself, switch to the correct mode of operation, and rest a little. The consequence of this is the normalization of the metabolic process, weight loss, improved skin and hair condition, and improved well-being. In addition, regular fasting creates discipline: a person automatically begins to adhere to the principles of proper nutrition the rest of the time.

On the other hand, unloading can be accompanied by headaches; an incorrectly chosen “diet” can provoke an exacerbation of chronic diseases. Another problem is that sometimes after fasting days people begin to overeat heavily. This happens for two reasons. The first is that a stressed body requires food in reserve (and the reserve is subcutaneous fat). The second is that a person believes that after unloading he has lost so much excess weight that he can now pamper himself for a day. In any case, you need to stop in time to exit the diet correctly. Cleaning the digestive system using fasting days is contraindicated for people suffering from metabolic disorders, diabetes, chronic diseases of the digestive system, hypotension and hypertension. It is impossible to limit the diet even for one day for people who are exhausted by long-term illnesses, who have undergone operations, as well as those who perform hard physical work or play sports professionally.

Is it possible to arrange cleaning and unloading for pregnant and lactating women?

If a pregnant woman has gained excess weight by the third trimester, then after consultation with a doctor she can use fasting days with a diet of several simple foods. In the first two trimesters, fasting days are contraindicated.

After giving birth, a woman needs to recover and get in shape. This can be done by regular unloading. They are not contraindicated if the young mother has enough breast milk and feels well. Its cleaning should be carried out with a diet that includes at least one product containing protein.

Options for fasting days for weight loss

Diets must be prescribed by a doctor. Fasting days, ideally, too, but here everything is not so strict. For example, the following lightweight menu options are possible.

Apple

This is a fairly effective mono-diet option. For people in good health, it is recommended to eat ordinary, not very sour apples (no more than 1.5 kilograms). To protect yourself from excessive acidity, you can bake them. Maintaining a completely apple diet is not easy - these fruits can increase the feeling of hunger. Therefore, the first few times you can add a little kefir or cottage cheese to them. It is necessary to maintain the correct water balance at all times.

On fruit

Instead of active apple peeling, you can use other options for fruit diets. For example, some people losing weight add 2-3 bananas to apples. Banana satisfies hunger well and allows you to endure a fasting day without much suffering. You can eat bananas, persimmons, tangerines, grapefruits, melons, and pineapples separately. For the beginning of autumn, a watermelon fasting day would be ideal. In all cases, you need to prepare about one and a half kilograms of product. A lighter version of the fruit diet is based on dried fruits and tea.

Kefir

For a one-day kefir mono-diet you need 1.5 liters of low-fat fermented milk drink plus 2 liters of water. Drink in small portions throughout the day. Can be used together with apples: 1 liter of kefir and 1 kilogram of apples, plus the same 2 liters of water. In summer, instead of apples, you can eat fresh cucumbers. There is such a way to unload: use 1 liter of kefir, 1 kilogram of cucumbers and a bunch of greens as ingredients for summer cucumber soup. You can add a little salt. If there is an urgent need for protein, sometimes a diet on kefir and eggs is arranged.

On yogurt

For such unloading, you need completely natural yogurt with beneficial bacteria, without dyes, flavors, or flavoring additives. It's best to do it yourself. For a fasting day, you need about 500 grams of thick product, and if you use drinking yogurt, you will need about a liter. You can add 200-300 grams of berries or fruits to it according to the season. This is a very healthy, but at the same time pleasant, “tasty” mini-diet, which is its advantage. We remind you: real diets must be prescribed by a doctor!

Curd

You need low-fat cottage cheese - from 1.5 to 1 kilogram, depending on your goals and health status. You can supplement it with fermented milk drinks, which help diversify your diet, but don’t forget about water. Fresh fruits and berries are added to the cottage cheese. The most effective option is to combine cottage cheese with apples, low-fat kefir or green tea. This diet option - provided that the person loves cottage cheese - is practically not accompanied by a feeling of hunger, as well as discomfort in the abdominal area. Suitable for pregnant and lactating women.

Meat

It is very difficult for people who cannot do without meat to maintain fasting on fruits or kefir. But they also need to lose weight and unload the body without heavy long-term diets. The sure way out for “meat eaters” is on fasting days on a protein “diet”, which includes boiled dietary meat products. Chicken breast, turkey breast or beef will do. For a mono-diet, 400 grams of boiled meat is supplemented with strained broth. You can dilute the meat with other products: for example, raw or sauerkraut, boiled vegetables (except potatoes), unsweetened tea, tomato juice. Some do protein fasting not with meat, but with boiled fish, which allows them to lose excess weight faster.

Buckwheat

Buckwheat is a very useful product that removes toxins from the body, contains many useful substances, and improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. When cleaning buckwheat, you should not boil it, but soak it in water for several hours. As a result, it swells and becomes soft, as if boiled. Approximately 250 grams of cereal should be poured per day. The buckwheat diet is supplemented with low-fat kefir (1 liter), fermented baked milk (0.5 liters), apples (3 pieces) or boiled chicken (500 grams). Similar diets are made with oatmeal.

Rice

For cleaning you need rice that has undergone minimal processing. It is best to use wild or brown rice. It also needs to be cooked properly so that the starch comes out of it. For example, you can soak the grain in water a day or two before unloading, rinsing it every few hours and adding clean water. Then cook, cover with a lid until it cools completely. Another option is to first boil the rice for several minutes in a large amount of water, then drain it, pour in clean water, and cook until done. To unload you need a little cereal: 1 cup. There will be much more of it when finished. Since rice is a rather tasteless product, it is supplemented with apples (3 pieces), kiwi (1 piece), pumpkin (300 grams), compotes or decoctions.

On milk tea

Milk tea is a drink that includes green tea and milk. With its help, you can arrange very effective fasting days without solid food, without experiencing an acute feeling of hunger. This drink can be prepared in different ways. For example, first pour 1 tablespoon of tea with 1 liter of boiling water and leave for about 10 minutes. After this, add 1 glass of milk. Or you can combine a liter of milk and the same amount of water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, add 2 tablespoons of tea. The fat content of milk depends on how easily a person tolerates mono-diets. To increase calorie content, use a small amount of dried fruits - dried apricots or prunes.

On cucumbers

For a quick mono-diet, you need to prepare one and a half kilograms of fresh cucumbers, and eat them in 5-6 meals throughout the day. Can be supplemented with tea. As with all other options, you need to drink a lot of clean water. An addition of 0.5 liters of low-fat kefir is allowed. There is a “blitz diet” option with a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes (3 pieces) and herbs. You can season with a spoon of olive or flaxseed oil.

Salad

A very common type of one-day diet is the salad diet called “Brush”. According to reviews, its advantage is that it contains a minimum of calories, so it can be consumed even late in the evening. At the same time, it passes through the gastrointestinal tract like a brush, cleaning out everything unnecessary. The simplest recipe for “Brush” salad is to chop 400 grams of carrots, cabbage and beets, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Another “Brush” recipe is to chop 100 grams of dried fruits, 1 beet, 1 onion, 3 carrots and 2 apples and pour in low-calorie natural yogurt. There is another option for cabbage lovers: 400 grams of cabbage, 200 beets, 200 carrots, half a glass of pine nuts, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

Chocolate

Unloading for those with a sweet tooth. You need a bar of 100 grams of chocolate and 2 liters of water. It is better to take dark chocolate, or at least milk chocolate. In no case should you use white chocolate or a bar with fillings, including nuts and raisins, for your diet. The bar should be divided into 5 equal parts and eaten in 5 doses at equal intervals. In addition to water, you can also drink unsweetened green tea. But if suddenly during the chocolate fasting day dizziness and nausea begin, you need to drink sweet tea and smoothly switch to a regular diet.

Coffee on fasting days

If a person is used to drinking coffee in everyday life - especially if it is necessary to improve tone - you can drink one or two cups on fasting days. It is advisable to drink black coffee. If it doesn’t work, add milk or sweetener.

Recipes for facilitating unloading

Here are some suitable options for fasting days:

• Vegetable : 1 total kilogram of tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, radishes, green salad - whatever your heart desires, just not starchy (we exclude potatoes, yes). We divide into portions, prepare salads, absorb and feel how our liver says “thank you”.
• Fruit : 1 kilogram, necessarily including apples (unsweetened), as well as pears, oranges, lemons, peaches to taste. Avoid high-calorie bananas, figs, and grapes. We also divide all this splendor into portions and eat it. By the way, it’s a good day to “rest” after celebrating the New Year; the refrigerator is full of such gifts of nature.
• Rice : “How did rice get in here?” - you ask. Don’t underestimate the porridge familiar to everyone since childhood: rice is an excellent absorbent, helps to “collect” all the harmful substances and safely and gently rids the body of them. Plus is good for the stomach due to its starch content: it coats its walls and soothes it. So, for a fasting day, cereals (100 grams) should be soaked in cold water (at least 10 hours before consumption), and then boiled without salt. Divide into portions and eat throughout the day.

Expert opinion

Many mono-diets - and a fasting day can be equated to this concept - provoke cholelithiasis. The fact is that sooner or later, unclaimed masses of bile and enzymes that the body produces to break down various nutrients will harm the digestive system. For example, one enzyme digests protein, and the other two, which are allocated to work with fats and carbohydrates, are inactive, accumulating in organs and affecting their walls. Therefore, any “unloading” cannot in any way be called healthy eating behavior, even if it becomes habitual for someone. And why try to lose weight (let alone maintain weight) in such an unnatural, unnatural way? But by developing correct eating behavior and making it one of your many habits, you will get rid of the very need to “unload” in any way, remaining well-fed, healthy, and beautiful!

Help yourself dear

So, let’s say that overeating happened and the stomach is now round like the globe, and the scales treacherously wink at two or three (or even five, depending on how hard you tried) extra pounds. Don't panic!

First, stop beating yourself up. There is a wonderful phrase: “we are all people.” Don't forget to repeat it to yourself from time to time. Especially if you are a perfectionist and squeeze all the juice out of yourself on the path to perfection.

You are human! You have the right to make mistakes and eat a pancake with condensed milk. You can even overdo it with alcohol, it happens. There are no ideal people, treat yourself with understanding.

Secondly, there are no unsolvable situations; in our case, you just need to carry out a cycle of effective fasting days, that’s all!