Are you looking for a 3 day diet plan for weight loss? Then blog will help you. This plan is not just about cutting calories but boosting your metabolism as well. Losing weight is not easy. You have to follow a strict diet and perform several exercises each day. Achieving the perfect shape needs lots of efforts and time. If you are determined to shed off extra pounds and get in shape, here is a detailed 3 day diet plan for weight loss that can help you to achieve your goal with ease.
The 3 Day Diet
The Promise
We want weight loss now, not later, when even instant cereal isn’t quick enough anymore. Who would object if a heavy laptop were to be dropped over the course of a single long weekend? Just that is what the 3 Day Diet offers.
Here are the specifics you need to be aware of if you’ve been having trouble losing weight and are inclined to give it a try.
The diet promises that if you follow it for three days, you can lose up to 10 pounds. It is intended for people who want to lose a lot of weight.
Three breakfasts, two lunches, and three “dinners” are offered on the menu, assuming you consider a cup of tuna fish or two hot dogs with fruit and veggie sides to be dinner.
The diet is advertised as being “chemically and enzyme balanced,” although this claim is not clarified or backed up by any evidence.
There is no doubt about it: You won’t be eating much. Simply 870 calories are provided on Day 1. Days 2 and 3 don’t differ all that much.
What You Can Eat and What You Can’t
You’ll consume really simple meals for three days that may include ingredients you already have in your kitchen.
As an illustration, breakfast on Day 1 might consist of a cup of black coffee or water, a half-grapefruit, and a slice of toast with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Half a cup of tuna, one more piece of toast, and another cup of black coffee make up lunch (or tea or water).
You won’t find variety or culinary thrills here if you’re looking for them.
For example, lunch on Day 2 consists solely of a cup of cottage cheese, a single hard-boiled egg, and saltine crackers. Even spices are forbidden, along with dressings and sauces. But if you enjoy sweets, you’ll be glad to know that vanilla ice cream is always an option.
Level of Effort: Low
The biggest effort you’ll make on the diet may be stopping yourself from reaching for more food.
Limitations: The menu is what it is, with no room for varied palates or eating preferences, though some web sites say you can swap tuna for cottage cheese and vice versa.
Cooking and shopping: This diet is about as low-effort as it gets, short of having meals delivered to your door. Just about the only cooking involved is steaming the vegetables, unless you choose to eat them raw (either is an option).
Packaged foods or meals? No.
In-person meetings? No.
Exercise: It’s frowned on because, as one website puts it, “you will not be feeling very energetic” while you’re on this diet.
Does It Allow for Dietary Restrictions or Preferences?
Vegetarians and vegans: This menu is not for vegetarians or vegans. It’s not low-salt, low-carb, or low-fat, either — just low-calorie.
Gluten-free: This diet includes toast and crackers, which traditionally include gluten in the wheat. You could buy gluten-free versions if you chose to, but going gluten-free is not a feature of this diet.
What Else You Should Know
Most likely, nutritionists did not create this diet. The following is a disclaimer that can be found on one website that promotes the plan: “Neither the staff nor management of 3 Day Diets are experienced, licensed, or knowledgeable to judge or suggest the validity or safety of this diet. We do not necessarily support this diet and advise that you speak with a doctor or other qualified medical professional before attempting this or any other diet. At your own risk, use.
Two important recommendations from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics should be kept in mind while evaluating any diet, including this one: An important rule to remember is that anything that sounds too wonderful to be true probably is. Second, the diet is not for you if you can’t envision yourself sticking to it for the rest of your life.
Costs: None beyond your shopping.
Support: None. This is a diet you do on your own.
What Dr. Melinda Ratini Says:
Does It Work?
If you eat fewer than 910 calories per day, you will probably lose weight while following any diet. But it’s unlikely and unhealthy to lose 10 pounds in 3 days. You must cut your daily caloric intake by roughly 500 calories every day for a whole week in order to shed just 1 pound of body fat. Over the course of seven days, you would have to forego 3,500 calories. You would have to cut your calorie consumption by 35,000 calories in just 3 days if you wanted to drop 10 pounds in that time. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests losing no more than half to one pound every week. If not, your bones get weaker and you lose water and muscle. You also have a considerably higher chance of getting everything back.
Is It Good for Certain Conditions?
The 3 Day Diet is low calorie, but it certainly is not low-fat, low-salt, or low cholesterol, so it is not a healthy option for most people with certain medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and high cholesterol. If you are overweight, weight loss is key to managing these conditions. But it should be a healthy and sustainable weight loss that includes healthy nutrition and exercise.
The Final Word
The 3 Day Diet is an extremely low-calorie diet that makes use of straightforward, inexpensive, accessible, and simple-to-find and prepare items. A temporary weight loss is most likely. But the good news stops there.
There is a shortage of balanced nourishment for the three days of the diet. Some of the suggested foods have high salt and fat content and shouldn’t be consumed by those who have heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol. While on the diet, you might not be obtaining enough fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It’s crucial to discuss how to modify your medication with your doctor before beginning the 3-day diet if you are currently taking diabetes medication.
Exercise helps manage diabetes and heart disease and is a crucial component of a healthy lifestyle. However, this is not at all addressed by the 3 Day Diet. Additionally, it doesn’t show you how to alter your diet in a way that will promote healthy eating for the rest of your life.
Last but not least, following such a rigorous diet makes eating unpleasant. Eating out or with others may be particularly difficult on the three days a week that you are sticking to the regimen. Boring diets are often very challenging to keep up. On the other four days of the week when you are not dieting, there will probably be a lot of temptation to overeat.
Keep in mind that the phrase “slow and steady wins the race” is true when it comes to losing weight.
3-Day Diet
The “3-day diet” plan claims to help you drop 10 pounds in three days. It’s cheap and simple, but deprives your body of key nutrients.
What is the 3-Day Diet?
The military diet is a low-calorie eating regimen created for rapid weight loss. It is also known as the 3-day diet or the 3-day military diet. According to the military diet, you will lose 10 pounds in one week after starting the program. Following a meal with incredibly few calories during the first three days of the diet is optional; however, you are allowed to eat regularly for the remaining four days.
Contrary to what its name would imply, the military diet was not created by or for the U.S. military. Although its beginnings are obscure, it is evident that social media has contributed to the surge in popularity of this diet. The ultra-low calorie meal plan and restrictive nature of the diet will make it challenging to maintain in the long run in a way that is healthy. Initially, you may lose some water weight on the diet.
Monica Reinagel, a nutritionist, behavior change coach, host of the Nutrition Diva podcast, co-host of the Change Academy podcast, and co-founder of the Weighless program, a program designed to help people lose weight without dieting, says that calorie cycling (alternating high and low calorie days) can be an effective strategy. However, it will only be effective if you generate a long-term calorie deficit. Therefore, seeing days with higher calorie intake as a chance for “unlimited” consumption might quickly backfire.
- Budget friendly. Foods for this diet are easy to find at a typical grocery and don’t require expensive or specialty food items.
- Halal friendly. Recipes can be easily modified and still follow the diet.
- Kosher friendly. Recipes can be easily modified and still follow the diet.
- Low-fat. The diet encourages a moderate consumption of healthy fats, like olive oil, and discourages unhealthy fats, such as saturated fats – with less than about 30% of total calories coming from fat.
How does the 3-Day Diet work?
- This diet is based on cycles of calorie restriction, similar to that used in intermittent fasting.
- The first three days are a period of ultra-restrictive, low-calorie intake. You will consume about 800 to 1,000 calories per day.
- In this initial three-day period, choose one of several different, very specific online three-day plans.
- For the next four days, you’re permitted to eat whatever you would like.
- Some people follow the plan for one week. Others like to repeat this three-day on, four-day off plan for one month, or until reaching their goal weight.
- Substituting meals in the diet is frowned upon, however alternate meal plans exist.
There is no official “3-day diet”; instead, multiple variants can be found online. You choose which one to adhere to, and they all offer a basic daily menu of 800 to 1,000 calories.
The most thorough of all the websites, 3daydiets.net, recommends having black coffee, a half-grapefruit, and some toast with peanut butter for breakfast. Lunch consists of a half-cup of tuna on toast (without mayo), along with additional coffee to wash it down.
Dinner will consist of 3 ounces of steak, 2 cups of vegetables, 1 tiny apple, and 1 cup of vanilla ice cream. Although “radical” food items like hard-boiled eggs, cottage cheese, hot dogs, bananas, and saltine crackers are introduced on the second and third days, the daily calorie limit does not vary. Calorie-free drinks including water, coffee, tea, and diet soda are all acceptable during the program.
Want something not on the menu? Tough. Not even a drop of sauce or dressing is permitted under the diet; neither are substitutions or additions. You may prepare your food as you please: All forms of steaming, including (oil-free) roasting, sautéing, and roasting, are OK as long as they don’t alter your caloric intake.
For the remaining three days of the week, you can resume a “regular” diet. According to 3daydiets.net, you shouldn’t view it as a free pass to binge. The website encourages moderation but offers no advice on what to eat on cheat days, after which dieters are free to begin the cycle all over again.
Pros
- A clearly defined plan with recipes.
Cons
- Recipes, resources lacking.
- Lacks in-depth nutritional guidance.
- Tedious portioning, meal planning or prep.
- Eating out limited.
- You’ll likely get hungry.
- Unsafe for some people.
- Lots of rules to remember.
- Little research to back it up.
- Could fall short nutritionally.
Can I Lose Weight on the 3-Day Diet?
Likely. Even though no research on “3-day diets” have been published, the offered 800 to 1,000 calories are much less than the amount of calories that are recommended for most persons each day. But how long can you maintain the diet’s on-off cycle? Will you simply go back to your old habits and put on weight after you’re off? It’s unclear if you’ll be able to keep the weight off.
A metabolic backlash, in which the body substantially lowers its energy expenditure to make up for decreased calorie intake, is expected to occur in most people who consume this few calories for longer than a few days, according to Reinagel. Rapid weight reduction may also result in a greater loss of lean muscle, which is weight we definitely don’t want to lose. I greatly like to see people lose weight by implementing smaller, more enduring adjustments to their everyday routines because the outcomes will almost certainly last.
Short-Term Weight Loss
There were no studies that supported the claim that the military diet can help you lose pounds quickly — although the severe calorie restriction during the three days makes it likely you will, assuming you don’t binge eat during your four days of the calories restrictions.
- The BMC published a small study on the effects of alternate day calorie restriction, one of the tenets of the military diet. People in this study lost about seven pounds on average after eight weeks; however, they restricted calories much lower than the military diet recommends to restrict, about 400 to 500 calories per day.
Long-Term Weight Loss
There have been no studies conducted specifically on the military diet and long-term weight loss. However, intermittent fasting, which follows a similar cycling structure (but does not count calories) has been extensively studied.
- A systematic review of 40 studies conducted by Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health has found that on average, people lose 7 to 11 pounds over 10 weeks when intermittent fasting.
Weight Maintenance and Management
There have been no studies that reference the military diet specifically.
- A 2018 study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research has found that extremely restrictive and low-calorie diets are difficult and dangerous to follow in the long run, and weight gain is likely to occur when the diet ends.
1 of 3
2 of 3
Do: Have breakfast daily.
A light breakfast can include a grapefruit and a cup of coffee.
(GETTY IMAGES)
Health Benefits of the 3-Day Diet
Since this diet does not restrict what you eat on “off” days, you can certainly incorporate elements of the heart-healthy DASH diet, or the Mediterranean diet, which placed #1 on this year’s Best Diet rankings. However, the food you eat during the restrictive first three days has few health benefits.
Inflammation
There is currently no research on the relationship between the military diet and inflammation.
- A review published in the June 2011 issue of the journal Oral Diseases found that, in general, research points toward the fact that lower caloric intake is associated with lower rates of developing inflammatory disease.
- While there have been no studies specifically on the military diet, biochemist Valter Longo of the University of Southern California followed a group of rodents who ate unrestricted calories for most of the month, and then calorie restricted for five consecutive days. The researchers found that the mice following a calorie-restricted plan followed for two years developed fewer tumors and lived longer than the mice in the control group with completely unrestricted calories, though it is unclear whether or not these results are applicable to humans.
Heart Disease
There’s no research specifically on the military diet. Since the food that’s eaten during the four “off” days can be anything from bacon to broccoli, it’s impossible to state whether the foods eaten on this diet are heart-healthy. However, weight loss typically leads to heart-health benefits – like reduced blood pressure and a decrease in bad LDL cholesterol – but studies have shown that continuously gaining and losing weight, and being on low-calorie diets long term, can stress the heart.
Yo-yo dieting, which the military diet encourages, may be detrimental to heart health.
- A 2019 study found that women who lost and regained as little as 10 pounds within a year were at higher risk of heart disease.
Diabetes
The diet’s ability to prevent diabetes is unknown, and the extended fasting intervals it calls for could be harmful to diabetics.
This diet is possibly risky for those with diabetes or prediabetes and does not follow the advice of the American Diabetes Association. If you adhere to its tight cuisine, you won’t be able to control your blood sugar levels throughout the day, whether they are too high or too low. Furthermore, the fast changes that this diet recommends—alternating three days of extreme calorie restriction with four days of unlimited eating—can further upset your insulin and blood sugar levels.
Brain Health
While there are no peer-reviewed studies published on the impact of the three-day diet on brain health, studies have investigated the impact of a more general “low-calorie diet.”
- A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2009 showed that caloric restriction of 30% (which, importantly, is not as high as the level advocated by the three-day diet) led to increased verbal memory test scores in older adults. The 50 participants in this study had a mean age of 60.5 years, were divided into three groups, and were tested on verbal memory after three months of following the low-calorie diet.
Bone and Joint Health
- A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2009 found that “low-calorie diets that induce rapid weight loss over a short period have the worst outcome for bone. When weight loss exceeds 20 kg within three to four months, bone mass is reduced by 3% to 13%.” Furthermore, this study particularly looked at caloric restriction diets that preserved a recommended calcium intake. The calcium intake of a three-day diet plan is much lower than recommended values, and likely increases the adverse bone health effects of a low-calorie diet.
Health Risks of the 3-Day Diet
Going on a three-day diet once probably won’t hurt you if you’re in relatively good health.
But if you keep changing your diet, you can be at risk for nutrient deficiencies, long-term weight gain, a weakened immune system, and cardiovascular issues.
Additionally, as was already indicated, the diet is potentially risky for people with diabetes or prediabetes and doesn’t follow the advice of the American Diabetes Association.
Additionally, 3daydiets.net provides a serious disclaimer: “Neither the staff nor management of 3daydiets.net are experienced, licensed, or knowledgeable to judge or suggest the validity or safety of this diet.” Just in case you needed a clear warning about the risks associated with this diet.
Key Nutrients to Consider
In addition to the risk of being calorie deficient, the military diet’s restrictive meal plans also put you in danger of falling short on key nutrients.
Calcium
Very little calcium-rich dairy is allowed on this diet. Additionally, calcium-rich non-dairy foods like beans or tofu are not recommended, making it unlikely that you will meet daily calcium requirements on at least the first three days of this diet. Talk to your doctor to see if calcium supplements are right for you. You may be able to meet your calcium in the last four days, depending on what you eat.
Potassium
Though potassium-rich foods like grapefruit and bananas are encouraged, it’s unlikely that you will reach your daily recommended amounts based on how little you eat on this diet during its restrictive phase. You can, however, meet your potassium requirements in the last four days.
Fiber
Fiber-packed fruits and vegetables are encouraged in this diet. Depending on what you eat on the last four days of the diet, you may be okay with fiber.
Vitamin D
Since this diet does not encourage mushrooms, salmon, or fortified-dairy products, it’s unlikely that you will eat enough vitamin D during the first three days of this diet.
Food Components Often Over-Consumed
You shouldn’t have to worry about over-consuming any of the following on this diet.
Added Sugar
Based on the foods in the sample meal plan below, you should not have to worry about consuming too much added sugar.
Saturated Fat
As long as you opt for lean meats over processed meats like hotdogs when picking your meal plan, you will not have to worry about consuming too much saturated fat on this diet.
Sodium
As long as you aren’t adding too much salt to your foods, this diet plan does not put you at risk of consuming excess sodium.
Who Should Not Try the 3-Day Diet?
This diet doesn’t reflect widely accepted guidelines for weight loss or a healthy lifestyle.
“It’s also not a great approach for people with a history or risk of eating disorders, as it can trigger binge eating behaviors,” says Reinegal.
Consult your health care provider before starting this diet, especially if you have a medical condition. They will most certainly steer you elsewhere.
What Does the 3-Day Diet Cost?
It’s cheap – you’re hardly eating anything, after all. The hodgepodge of permitted foods, like coffee, tuna, cottage cheese and a few veggies, are affordable. You can also order free recipes for your off days at www.3daydiets.net.
What Costs Are Related to the 3-Day Diet?
The cost of doing the 3-day diet is just the food itself. Three-day diet plans, including modifications for a vegan three-day diet and vegetarian three-day diet, can be found for free online at several different sources.
Doing 3-Day Diet on a Budget
Given the diet’s strict food list, the cost of this diet will be relatively set. However, the foods that are part of the three-day plan are generally inexpensive, and eating a low-calorie diet will save you money at the grocery store. These few tips may also reduce the cost of the three-day diet.
- Buy frozen or canned green beans instead of fresh.
- Choose water instead of diet soda as your drink.
- Buy chicken or lean meat in bulk and freeze portions for future weeks.
Is 3-Day Diet Easy to Follow?
Sticking to such a restrictive plan may be tough, but you only have to do it for three days.
Finding the ingredients and preparing the meals is a cinch. But alcohol is prohibited and eating out is next to impossible, unless you’ve got the willpower to order only a few cups of veggies and a hot dog.
Recipe and Meal Ideas for the 3-Day Diet
The diet’s stringent food plan must be followed for both breakfast and lunch and dinner. Foods like bread, grapefruit, canned tuna, saltine crackers, hard-boiled eggs, green beans, cauliflower, and even ice cream will provide you with between 800 and 1,000 calories each day. You can add seasonings with no calories to your food and drink as much water, tea, black coffee, and diet soda as you like, but you should avoid toppings and drinks with added calories. Menu alternatives and in-between-meal snacking are also forbidden.
Strong enough? The three-day minimal routine is all there is. Following that, you can eat normally for the next four days before returning to the diet whenever you choose for however long you like. Overindulgence is prohibited on the diet, but there is no other meal advice for cheat days.
Sample Day Menu for the 3-Day Diet
Breakfast
- Black coffee or tea, with one or two packets of artificial sweetener.
- 1/2 grapefruit or juice.
- 1 piece of toast with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter.
Lunch
- 1/2 cup tuna.
- 1 piece of toast.
- Black coffee or tea, with one or two packets of artificial sweetener.
Dinner
- 3 ounces of any lean meat or chicken.
- 1 cup green beans.
- 1 cup carrots.
- 1 apple.
- 1 cup regular vanilla ice cream.
Snack
- Snacking on this diet is prohibited, although you can consume up to 4 cups of water or another no-calorie beverage as a snack.
Eating Out
- You’ll be hard-pressed to find a restaurant that caters to this diet’s regulations during the three-day dieting period. Eating at home is your best bet, or plan your meals out for the four days per week that you aren’t dieting.
Shopping List Ideas for the 3-Day Diet
Planning for the three days of dieting you’ll be doing is relatively straightforward, given how specific the meal plan is. Outside of those three days, themilitarydiet.com provides meal ideas for staying under 1,500 calories per day, which they claim helps most people continue to lose weight on their four days per week “off” of the diet. These pantry items will help you stay on track for your first three days of dieting.
- Apples.
- Bananas.
- Broccoli.
- Carrots.
- Cheddar cheese.
- Chicken or other lean meat.
- Coffee or tea.
- Cottage cheese.
- Eggs.
- Grapefruit.
- Green beans.
- Hot dogs.
- Peanut butter.
- Saltine crackers.
- Tuna.
- Vanilla ice cream.
- Whole-wheat bread.
Support and Resources for the 3-Day Diet
Find out more about the diet here:
- 3daydiets.net and themilitarydiet.com/military-diet-reviews/ have more recipes and meal plans available.
- Meet other people doing the diet through Facebook groups like Military Diet, Military 3 Day Diet or 3 Day Military diet.
How to Get Started on the 3-Day Diet
Make sure you consult with your primary care physician or a nutritionist before beginning this diet, this low-calorie plan isn’t for everyone. Then, clear your fridge or pantry of foods not allowed on the diet.
Print out a copy of the meal plan and take it on your next grocery shopping trip. Make sure to include smart choices for the days you are not on the restrictive part of the plan.
Success Stories for the 3-Day Diet and Tips from Real People
Lauren Zarantonello made the decision to follow the military diet after spending six months traveling and wanting to get her body in shape. She was inspired by other fitness YouTubers to do the same. She used her YouTube channel, Life With Lauren Z, to chronicle her experience with the diet.
Zarantonello admits plainly, “The first day was horrible. Between meals, she experienced migraines, and she felt lightheaded all day. She figures she eats between 800 and 900 calories on the first day.
In her video, Zarantonello states, “I was exhausted, I had no energy, and it was incredibly difficult for me to stay awake.” She also mentions how her sleep quality worsened greatly during this time. She took naps after work, went to bed earlier than normal, and woke up in the middle of the night because she didn’t feel like she had any energy. The second and third days of her diet saw a decrease in these symptoms, and the diet became simpler.
The diet did deliver on its promise of quick weight loss after these three days. “I truly dropped 6.5 pounds. I’m not going to lie… Really, I’m shocked. I didn’t anticipate losing that much, she admits.
Zarantonello advises remaining occupied while on the diet for someone who is trying it for the first time. Give yourself a schedule so you don’t give yourself an opportunity to cheat, she advises to U.S. News.
Zarantonello noticed benefits in the program despite the challenge of these three days, such as understanding portion sizes and getting “back on track” after consuming unhealthy meals.
The last piece of advice Zarantonello offers to those considering the diet is to rise to the occasion. Make it more of a challenge for yourself, she advises, so that you may enjoy it and find it fascinating rather than seeing it as a “diet” that you must adhere to. “I’d also like to emphasize for others to keep in mind the military diet is short term, as 800 calories a day is not sustainable in the long run, but to use the diet anytime you need a push to get back into healthy eating,” the author said.
3 Day Diet: Meal Plans, Substitutions, and Concerns
One of the most well-known short-term fad diets available today is the 3 Day Diet.
Many people start the diet in an effort to lose weight temporarily. Unfortunately, the majority of people just put on the weight back when they resume their regular eating habits.
Simply said, the 3 Day Diet is a low-calorie diet made out of unhealthier items (as can be seen by the meal plan).
Nothing extraordinary occurs; no mysterious chemical reaction takes place. Restricting calories causes weight reduction, some of which may come from fat loss and some from water loss.
3 Day Diet Meal Plan
Note: Calorie amounts are approximate and will vary depending on the exact brand of product chosen.
However you look at it, daily calories are very low. Try using the calorie calculator to find your optimum daily calories for weight loss.
| DAY 1Total Calories: 870 |
| Breakfast 219 Calories |
| Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal)1/2 a Grapefruit or 1/2 cup Grapefruit Juice (41 cal)1 slice toast with 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter (178 cal.) |
| Lunch 183 Calories |
| 1/2 Cup of Tuna (100 cal)1 slice toast (83 cal)Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal) |
| Dinner 468 Calories |
| 3 oz. any lean meat (94 cal)1 cup green beans (34 cal)1 cup carrots (52 cal)1 cup vanilla ice cream (288 cal)1 medium appleBlack coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal) |
| DAY 2Total Calories: 1149 |
| Breakfast 266 Calories |
| Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal)1 egg (any style) (78 cal)1 slice toast (83 cal)1 banana (105 cal) |
| Lunch 273 Calories |
| 1 cup 2% cottage cheese (203 cal)saltine crackers (70 cal)Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal) |
| Dinner 610 Calories |
| 2 beef franks or hot dogs (300 cal)1/2 cup carrots (26 cal)1 banana (105 cal)1 cup broccoli or cabbage (35 cal)1/2 cup vanilla ice cream (144 cal)Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal) |
| DAY 3Total Calories: 859 |
| Breakfast 222 Calories |
| Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal)5 regular saltine crackers (70 cal)1 oz.(slice) cheddar cheese (100 cal)1 small apple (52 cal) |
| Lunch 161 Calories |
| 1 hard boiled egg (78 cal)1 slice toast (83 cal)Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal) |
| Dinner 476 Calories |
| 1 cup tuna (200 cal)1 cup carrots (52 cal)1 cup cauliflower (23 cal)1 cup melon (57 cal)1/2 cup regular vanilla ice cream (144 cal)Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water (0 cal) |
Three Day Diet Additions Allowed
- Lemon (and lots of it, if you like)
- A dash of salt and/or pepper
- Mustard
- Cooking spray
- Lemon Pepper seasoning
- Splenda
- Gum/mints (sugar-free)
Food Substitutions
Some people use the following food substitutions for the 3 day diet:
Instead of Grapefruit?
Any other piece of fruit in its place. i.e. orange or apple and Drink 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in water a half an hour before you eat.
Instead of Banana?
Two apricots, two kiwifruit, or a cup of papaya
Instead of Toast?
5 crackers, 1/8 cup of sunflower seeds (shelled), 1/2 a protein bar, 1/2 cup of whole grain cereal, or 1/2 cup protein shake.
Instead of Hotdogs?
1/2 cup lentils/beans = 1 hotdog. Bratwurst and veggie dogs are fine also.
Instead of Tuna?
The same amount of tofu, cottage cheese, pumpkin seeds, 2 ounces cooked chicken, or 30 whole almonds or peanuts.
Instead of Peanut Butter?
Any nut or seed butter is fine except for Nutella
Instead of Ice cream?
The same amount of flavored milk, frozen yogurt, or fruity yogurt.
Instead of Egg?
2 slices of bacon, 1 chicken wing, a cup of milk, or 1/4 cup of nuts
Instead of Broccoli?
The same amount of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or beetroot.
Instead of Green Beans?
The same amount of lettuce, spinach, or tomatoes
Instead of Carrots?
A small salad or the same amount of beetroot, bell pepper, or spinach
Instead of Apple?
A pear, plum, grapes, peach, or nectarine.
Instead of Cheddar or Cottage Cheese?
These both can be used interchangeably or 2 ounces of ham cold cuts or 2 eggs.