“Destructive” crash diet: maximum effect or harm to health?

One of the most popular and sought after methods of losing weight is diet. There are many different methods of weight loss, which are based on manipulation of the diet. The crash diet stands out among them for its speed and effectiveness. However, this power system has its own nuances that you need to know about before you begin to implement it.

The English word “crash” translated from English means “destruction” or “destruction”. This name conveys the essence of the crash diet - a total change in the usual diet and nutritional principles and, as a consequence, weight loss.

The variability of the diet comes complete with a critical reduction in daily caloric intake (up to 700 kcal). The result of such cutting is maximum weight loss in the shortest possible time. This is the main advantage of the crash diet.

Its advantages also include:

• menu variability;
• many ready-made recommendations that take into account calorie limits;
• absence of expensive and unusual foods in the diet;
• a minimum number of difficult-to-prepare dishes.

Opinions among nutritionists and doctors regarding the crash diet are divided. Some believe that this is a great way to lose weight and cleanse the body in a short time, others say that this method of losing weight is too stressful and dangerous.

Among the disadvantages of this technique, the most often mentioned are:

• unbalanced diet;
• monotony of products;
• general nutrient deficiency;
• too low calorie content;
• risks of exacerbation of diseases associated with severe dietary restrictions.

Important! Scientists believe that a crash diet increases the risk of gallstones by 8-10 times.

This method of weight loss is unacceptable during active physical and mental stress, as it leads to a sharp deterioration in overall well-being. You should not go on a crash diet during the period of rehabilitation after illness, when the body is weakened and the immune system is just being restored.

On the other hand, this extreme short-term method of losing weight can be used before the holidays, an important event, or after a vacation to get in shape as quickly as possible.

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.

What is the diet?

The English word crash is translated as “to destroy, to break.” Diet helps a person lose weight significantly. It “destroys” the fat in the body, allowing you to lose weight extremely quickly. A characteristic feature is a reduced daily caloric intake, not exceeding 1000 kcal. Meals are designed for three to seven days. If you want to achieve your goal, you will need motivation and willpower because you will constantly feel hungry.

You can reduce calories in any way: eat one product or several, exclude certain culinary categories, limit portions. Crash nutrition refers to any low-calorie weight loss method. But there are nuances. With insufficient nutrition, metabolism accelerates, which affects the rate of fat burning. Fast carbohydrates that enter the body immediately begin to act, but since the portions are small, they are not enough to fully supply the body with energy, which has begun to actively waste fat reserves.

It is forbidden to completely deprive the diet of fats. You need to lose a little weight and at the same time not harm your health. The situation is similar with proteins. Drink plenty of water to maintain your weight loss rate and cleanse your body.

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.

What to remember

Strict diets are the stupidity of humanity. Based on numerous reviews (both from doctors and those losing weight), it becomes clear that diets do not work.

Do you want to torment yourself and torment your body? Decide for yourself. Remember that the weight you lose in a short period of time is not fat, but your muscles and water, which often comes back.

Before you choose another diet, think carefully: is it necessary? Weigh the pros and cons, and don’t forget about the side effects.

Only a balanced diet and regular exercise will help you in the fight against excess weight. I wish you to find your way to the right lifestyle, and my blog will help you with this with the information collected.

That's all I have. See you again on the expanses of my blog! Don't forget to subscribe for updates.

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.

Menu for 3 days

The main principles of forming a dietary table will be:

• low calorie content;
• sufficient amount of fiber, vitamins and microelements;
• maximum taste.

It makes no sense to create a different menu for each day, because... During this time, the menu will not become boring, and its variety will not bring practical benefit. Here are some general guidelines:

• exclude salt from your diet - it retains a lot of excess water and toxins in the body;
• Of course, give up alcohol;
• drink at least 1.5 liters of water per day. Tea and soups do not count.

Breakfast

• boiled shrimp - 200 grams;
• Salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and sour cream - 200 grams.

Morning snack

• Apple - 1 pc.

Dinner

• Boiled chicken breast - 150 gr.

Afternoon snack

• Green leaf salad - 150 gr.

Dinner

• Ukha - 300 gr.;

Total: 714 kcal and -200 g.

Menu according to the table for 3 days

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.

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.

Extreme and maximum?

Crash from English. crash “destroy”, “break”. Therefore, a crash diet can be defined as a nutrition system that destroys fat deposits in the shortest possible time - extremely quickly. I already wrote about fast diets in my article “How to lose weight quickly and effectively”

The essence

The crash diet is based on the principles of a critical reduction in daily caloric intake. The point is to cut calories as much as possible: the daily diet should not exceed 700 kcal.

The single goal is to survive for several days on a low-calorie diet. Thus, the “crash” nutrition system is a strict diet for rapid weight loss. But due to what – I think you already understand.

Types of diet

Monocomponent nutrition. Throughout the entire period, you can only consume one product (for example, cottage cheese or poultry, or fish, or buckwheat, etc.).

Vegan diets. Eating food only of plant origin and preferably raw.

Diets with a minimum set of products. It is allowed to consume 2-3 types of products (for example, only fermented milk products or only meat).

Drinking days. A liquid-based diet is prepared (for example, freshly squeezed juices, vegetable and meat broths, fermented milk, etc.). Read more about the liquid diet here.

Harm

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.

Contraindications

Doctors do not recommend that anyone adhere to such a nutritional system. However, if you decide to torture your body with such a strict diet, pay attention to the list of absolute contraindications to diets:

• chronic diseases of the stomach, liver and intestines;
• kidney and urinary system diseases;
• diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• pregnancy and breastfeeding;
• children and adolescents under 18 years of age.

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:

Diet options

Any diet according to the crash system is a strict food restriction that promotes rapid weight loss. The technique is presented in the following options:

• monocomponent table - one product is allowed. Fermented milk cheese, fish, rice;
• super-vegan, vegan methods - raw plant cultures are allowed;
• diets that involve the use of no more than three simple ingredients;
• drinking ration - preparing liquid dishes: meat, vegetable broths, freshly squeezed juices, fermented milk drinks;
• reducing the number of meals and portion sizes.

It is difficult to endure any of the diets, so prepare yourself mentally for the “test” and find a positive aspect in it.

Lemonade

The lemonade crash diet is designed to thoroughly cleanse the kidneys and intestines. Lasts about 14 days. The basis of the mono-diet is a delicious drink consisting of the following ingredients:

• one liter of clean water;
• 0.5 tsp ground cayenne pepper;
• eight tbsp each maple syrup, lemon juice.

For preparation, stock up on good spring or distilled water. Store-bought bottled liquid will do. It is allowed to pass ordinary water through the filter three times, freeze it, and then thaw it.

Prepare thoroughly before you start a crash diet. Three days before the start, do not eat processed foods, bread, legumes, fish, or meat. Consume fresh juices, fruits, and vegetables.

Carefully exit the “fasting”: for the first four days, enrich the menu with first courses, tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini.

During the lemonade method, prepare a fresh drink every day, drink five sips - one glass, as soon as you feel hungry. 6-12 cups of lemonade are allowed per day. Listen carefully to how you are feeling. In ten days of eating, about nine kg are lost.

Yagodnaya

It is recommended to use a berry food system in the summer, when there are many seasonal fruits. They contain many necessary elements that replenish the lack of vitamins, promote metabolism, and cleanse the body. Due to this, weight is reduced.

The crash diet lasts a week. All kinds of berries are allowed for consumption in unlimited portions. In addition to raspberries and gooseberries, light vegetable dishes, nuts, and apples are allowed. Meat products, buns, canned food, sweets, and semi-finished products are strictly prohibited. Drink plenty of water, using 30-35 milliliters of fluid for every kilogram of weight.

This diet allows you to lose weight by four kilograms in one week. In addition to gaining harmony, it has the following advantages:

• rejuvenates the skin;
• normalizes kidney function;
• removes free radicals and waste from the intestines.

By day, the berry course looks approximately like this:

• Monday:

Eight o'clock in the morning: fresh blackcurrant, oatmeal with seasonal berries.

Twelve o'clock in the afternoon: berry and fruit soup, pumpkin puree with rice, gooseberry or black currant juice.

Six o'clock in the evening: natural yogurt containing raspberries, fresh grapes.

Eight o'clock in the evening: berry milkshake.

• Tuesday:

Breakfast: low-fat strawberry yogurt, rosehip infusion.

Lunch: vegetable stew, salad, gooseberry drink.

Afternoon snack: cereal with blueberries, cranberries, fresh watermelon.

Dinner: strawberry juice.

• Wednesday:

In the morning: protein-berry smoothie, low-fat milk.

Noon: buckwheat with milk, pumpkin cutlets, grape and gooseberry juice.

Lunch: spaghetti with berry sauce, freshly squeezed strawberry nectar.

In the evening: black currants, raspberries, gooseberries.

• Thursday:

Start of the day: similar to the previous dinner, plus bread with cereals, natural yogurt with blueberries, raspberries.

Mid-day: vegetable soup, herbs, berry salad, cranberry nectar.

Evening: low-fat sour cream and curd mixture with currants, strawberries, blueberries, fresh strawberry juice.

Two hours before bed: skim milk.

• Friday:

Breakfast: brown boiled rice, cherries, red currants, rosehip broth.

Lunch: vegetable soup with herbs, fruit and berry pudding, fresh grape juice.

Afternoon snack: berry salad, grape drink.

Dinner: low-fat yogurt.

• Saturday:

Take food at eight in the morning, 12.00, six in the evening, 20.00.

First time: oatmeal with blackberries, cherries, fresh cranberry juice.

Second meal: vegetable soup, rye croutons, fruit and berry salad, cranberry juice.

Third time: buckwheat with cloudberries, lingonberries, strawberry milkshake.

Fourth time: blackcurrant nectar.

• Sunday:

Morning: grape juice, berries.

Mid-day: boiled rice with blueberries, carrots, berry salad with honey, fresh grapes.

Afternoon snack: boiled brown rice with grapes, pumpkin puree, gooseberry drink.

Before bed: rosehip decoction.

Frozen berries should not be consumed; only fresh products are allowed.

Yogurt

Nutritionists call yogurt the most harmless diet. Lasts 14 days, requiring a person to adhere to a clearly established diet and eating regimen. The menu is based on natural, unsweetened yogurt. It’s better to make it yourself in a thermos or yogurt maker.

A person losing weight should eat five times every day on average. The last meal is four hours before bedtime.

The two-week daily food is the same. In the morning, drink a cup of kefir, eat one banana or a handful of muesli.

Lunch: a choice of three pieces of dark chocolate, seven walnuts, five pieces of dried apricots.

Lunch: green vegetable salad with a spoon of yogurt, a slice of black bread. Instead of the latter, three inflorescences of broccoli or cauliflower are allowed.

Afternoon snack: yogurt, rye bread.

Dinner: light vegetable soup, seasoned with one spoon of yogurt.

Lyle MacDonald Method

Lyle MacDonald is a sports physiologist, nutritionist, and writer. Advocate of low-carbohydrate diet. The bottom line is to eat protein foods for at least one month. Carbohydrates are practically eliminated from the menu.

For a whole month or longer, a person should eat baked, fresh vegetables every day in addition to potatoes, one green apple. It is important to do exercises that train different muscle groups.

You are allowed to create a menu based on personal tastes. Basic principles:

• five meals throughout the day;
• serving weight 250 grams;
• a couple of Omega-3 tablets, 1 tbsp. unrefined linseed oil;
• proteins allowed for daily intake are calculated according to the table, taking into account lean muscle mass.

According to the method, you can lose 12 kg of excess weight. The doctor advises drinking about two liters of water every day.

Dr. Oz Diet

The system was developed in 2012 by American Mehmet Oz. Fast carbohydrates are excluded, the consumption of meat and dairy products is minimized.

A balanced diet is based on vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes, seaweed, and nuts.

Duration – at least one month. The system is being built weekly. During the first week, eat fermented foods: garlic, sauerkraut, oats, sprouted grains, asparagus, onions, herbs, soy. If desired, drink a glass of kefir a day.

In the second week, fruit and vegetable nectars are introduced. With the start of the third, diversify your food with green vegetables and grains.

The diet ends with the introduction of fatty fish, avocados, olives, and other dishes enriched with fats into the menu. Within a month, up to ten kg are lost.

For cardio patients

A separate crash diet has been created for people suffering from cardiac diseases. It is required if the patient is undergoing surgery, but completeness does not allow it to be performed. To lose weight faster, you need to alternate four-day courses of normal nutrition with three-day periods of giving up certain foods. Every three days, fast carbohydrates, sugar, fats, and hot spices are prohibited.

With seafood

Weight loss based on seafood lasts two weeks. Shellfish, low-fat fish, mussels, shrimp, and crabs are steamed and grilled. Eat seaweed. Divide the daily norm into four to five hundred-gram snacks. Instead of pepper and salt, use lemon juice and drink plenty of water.