Fasting days will not help you lose 10-15 kg per month before summer. They are more suitable for those who need to keep in shape without special efforts or to get back "in order" after winter. Fasting days for weight loss do not bring as impressive results as we would like, but if you do them regularly and then do not rush into food, the effect will certainly satisfy.
What are fasting days for?
It would seem what can happen after one day of fasting, but it is only at first glance. The benefits of fasting days have long been proven, tested and checked once again. A consists of the following:
- After a short hunger strike, there is a feeling of lightness due to bowel cleansing;
- Stress tones the body;
- It helps overcome the "plateau effect" known to many as pain. In other words, it is stagnation during the diet. The weight falls to a certain point and then stops, not wanting to move. A hunger strike can serve as a mild stress for the body and a kind of catalyst for the fat burning process.
- And of course, one cannot fail to mention the "test of strength" and the development of willpower.
Types and characteristics of food unloading
Unloading days are conditionally divided into two types:
- "hungry"
- "are you".
These two options differ in the caloric content of the daily menu and the number of ingredients allowed for use.
The essence and principles of "hungry" days
The simplest and most rigorous option is a day on the water. Deloading, which excludes proteins, fats and easily digestible carbohydrates, is also called "cleansing". In other cases, in addition to liquid, one product is also included in the diet. The maximum daily calorie content is 500 calories. Given that you can eat low-fat kefir, cucumbers, apples, cabbage or citrus fruits, in general, low-calorie foods, you will easily not exceed the allowed limit. For example, the calorie content of 100 grams of ordinary cucumber is 15. 5 calories. With these restrictions, you can eat 3. 2 kg of fresh green cucumbers per day.
Important!Regardless of the type of food you consume, you need to drink 2 or more liters of water. Plain still water will be supplemented with green tea or herbal decoction.
"Full" unloading: types and rules
A more benign option. They allow 2-3 products that can be combined: meat, vegetables, eggs, legumes, fruit, dairy products. The calorie requirement changes slightly, you cannot exceed the 800 calorie limit. According to the type of products used, "full" fasting days for weight loss are protein and carbohydrate.
- Skipping protein is the best option if more restrictive diets cause weakness, dizziness or are not suitable for health reasons. You can eat: lean meat; shellfish, crustaceans and fish; vegetable proteins. If desired, the menu can be diversified with low-calorie vegetables. Chinese cabbage, green salad, cucumber, tomato, greens are successfully combined with proteins. According to the method of preparation, it is better to give preference to boiling or steaming. There is no strong feeling of hunger during the day.
- Cutting out carbs - sounds tempting, but it has nothing to do with sweets. In this case, we are talking about foods rich in slow carbohydrates. Usually it is buckwheat, rice, dried fruit.
When compiling the menu of a "full" fasting day, it is important to take into account the compatibility of products.
| Product group name | Meat, fish, poultry | Legumes | Vegetable oil | cereals | Sour | semi sweet | Sweet and dried fruit | Vegetables | Milk products | Eggs | |
| Fruits | |||||||||||
| Meat, fish, poultry | / | - | - | - | - | - | - | + | - | - | |
| Legumes | - | / | + | 0 | - | - | - | + | - | - | |
| Vegetable oil | - | + | / | + | + | 0 | 0 | + | - | - | |
| cereals | 0 | - | + | / | - | - | - | + | - | - | |
| Sour | - | - | + | - | / | + | 0 | + | 0 | - | |
| Fruits | semi sweet | - | - | 0 | - | + | / | + | + | + | - |
| Sweet and dried fruit | - | - | 0 | - | 0 | + | / | + | + | - | |
| Vegetables | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | / | + | + | |
| Milk products | - | - | - | - | 0 | + | + | + | / | - | |
| Eggs | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | + | - | / |
Benefits and contraindications
Fasting days will help in an unequal fight with extra pounds. They will help you get rid of weight after a hard rest, contributing to the gentle cleansing of the intestines from toxins. Indicated for certain diseases. So, for example, "watermelon" days are recommended for kidney diseases, "potatoes" for heart and blood vessels, and "cucumber" for joint problems. Only without initiative, after consultation with a doctor. Without fail, unloading should be carried out by those who constantly follow various fitness diets, love protein foods, artificial proteins and other "heavy foods".
It is impossible to disembark patients with diabetes, pregnant women and nursing mothers. People exhausted by a long illness and suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (only "full" discharges are shown after consultation with a gastroenterologist). It is undesirable to organize discharge during menstruation.
Advice!You should not get carried away with "hungry" unloading, they are carried out no more than once a week, while "full" can be done 2-3 times.
5 unloading rules
In order for fasting days to give the expected result, it is necessary to follow five simple rules.
Rule 1: abide by the terms
Most days of fasting are built on the principle of a mono-diet, that is, you can eat one product, but you must do it as often as possible. Of course, in small portions. In addition, the chosen product should be to your liking, it will help alleviate an already stressful situation for the body. The total energy value of the product must not exceed 800 cal.
Rule 2: choosing the optimal product
Usually, unloading is done on low-calorie food, with a minimum content of fat and carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, kefir). For a carbohydrate diet, you can stop at one type of cereal with a low glycemic index (buckwheat, rice, oatmeal). Lean meat and lean fish are allowed in protein unloading. The most effective are the "liquid" fasting days, when the teeth are resting, but one can only drink.
Rule 3: the right day
Many do not attach importance to this moment, but choosing the day is no less important. Nutritionists advise not to take legal days off, but to choose Monday. This option is not suitable if the job involves manual labor. Unloading is best arranged weekly, on the same day.
Rule 4: rest
On the day of unloading, not only the digestive tract should rest, but also the whole organism as a whole. It is important to exclude any physical activity, especially training. Alcohol is excluded per day. And for those who cannot tolerate alcohol, in 2 or even 3 days. On the list of recommended activities: a visit to the bathhouse or sauna. Sauna procedures calm the body, help cope with stress, improve lung ventilation and promote the elimination of toxins. Easy walks in the park are also shown.
Lots of time to sleep. Ideally: at least 9 hours. Don't miss the chance to relax instead of lunch. Prolonged sleep will strengthen the body, and at the same time, it will help to transfer the feeling of hunger more easily.
Rule 5: no contrast
It is very important to enter the fasting day smoothly, to survive it calmly and to come out of it smoothly.
Easy entry and exit: why is it important?
Any diet, even a one-day one, represents a strong stress for the body. At one point, without explaining the reason, they suddenly stopped feeding him. When will it end, or will it end at all? Just as suddenly, he finally gets a portion of high-calorie food and assimilates it to the maximum. That is why after long diets the lost weight is quickly returned.
How to start a fasting day
Proper preparation of the body will help to achieve the maximum effect from the relief. Before lunch, they refuse heavy food. Dinner is replaced by a light salad, fruit, kefir. Before going to bed, it is recommended to do a cleansing enema. You can drink herbal tea, which has a laxative effect, but without fanaticism.
How to finish unloading smoothly
Of course, you shouldn't start the next morning with fried potatoes. It is better to drink 200 ml of water on an empty stomach and eat some stewed vegetables or a spoonful of rice, and then refrain from eating for 2-3 hours. Cereals, vegetables and fruits will help the body to switch to stable work. It is better to give up meat, legumes, eggs or fish. Due to the production of cortisol (stress hormone), appetite increases, and food is maximally absorbed.
The most efficient way of unloading
The effectiveness of a particular diet is a relative concept. Each organism is individual, reacts differently to stress, perceives and assimilates products. Therefore, the best option for yourself can only be chosen empirically. Judging by the reviews of "users", as well as listening to the opinion of nutritionists, the most noticeable results can be achieved by following the diets described below. You can stop at one type of unloading or switch between different ones. So, we present to you the most effective fasting days for weight loss.
Unloading day on the water
The most difficult and effective are called "liquid" unloading, only if they are performed correctly. Many people start "unloading" the day after the feast or right after the holiday, but nutritionists recommend at least a day before "X" day to exclude lactic acid, meat, flour dishes and switch to light food. Of course, everything is greasy, fried, salted and smoked. It is better to prepare the water in advance. It can be non-carbonated mineral or ordinary purified, but not boiled.
Really effective fasting days for weight loss are maximally "strict". Eliminate food completely. It is necessary to drink every hour, so that you get at least 3 liters a day. Due to the fact that the stomach is constantly filled with liquid, there should not be a very strong feeling of hunger. The strictest version of the unloading says that on this day you cannot drink tea, coffee or juices, but only water.
Advice!It's very difficult, but you have to keep a positive attitude and stick with it until the end. Of course, listening to the well-being. If weakness, dizziness or other bad symptoms appear, the experiment should be stopped.
You have to be very careful when you get out of the water. In the morning after fasting, they drink a glass of water and eat steamed or stewed vegetables. The whole next day you can eat only grains, vegetables and fruits.
Unloading day on cucumbers
The vegetable, which consists of 95% water, is loved by nutritionists, and the cucumber fasting day for weight loss is so popular that it does not need advertising. Cucumbers are a product with a negative calorie content (the body spends more on digestion than it receives), and it is much easier to get them (albeit for a short time) than water.
Those who have not yet come face to face with the cucumber diet should know that this vegetable is a strong diuretic.
That's why it's better to be near the toilet during the day. Active social life will have to be postponed, weakness may appear after dinner, especially in the legs. Some have an enlarged stool. One-day cucumber relief is indicated for uric acid diathesis, obesity, hypertension, gout, arthrosis and atherosclerosis.
For "green" unloading you will need 1. 5-2 kg of fresh cucumbers. This amount is divided into 5-6 doses. Unlimited drinking. For a change, you can prepare a cucumber salad with herbs, which is allowed to be filled with a spoonful of vegetable oil. Salt, of course, is not allowed. Cucumbers remove excess water, and this will interfere with this process, but you can add lemon juice to the salad. At lunch time, it is allowed to supplement the diet with a boiled egg. Too bad it won't save you from starvation.
Kefir unloading day
Kefir can compete with cucumbers in terms of popularity. A lot has been written about the beneficial properties of the product, the most important thing is that it is available all year round, helps to normalize blood pressure, is effective in preventing atherosclerosis and, of course, normalizes the digestive tract.
The most effective will be a mono-diet on fat-free kefir. The emptying regime is extremely simple: every 2-3 hours you need to drink 1-2 glasses of kefir. By mid-day, the product is saturated with orders. For taste, you can crumble dill or parsley into it, and for a change, don't drink it, but eat it with a spoon. If you want to eat between meals (you definitely want to), you can drink a glass of water. And if the feeling of hunger is very strong, a spoonful of wheat bran, unsweetened vegetables or fruit will help kill it.
There are many options for unloading kefir. Kefir is often combined with vegetables, lean meat or honey. Days of "full" relief for weight loss on kefir are perfect for people with a weak will and those dictated by certain health conditions.
Apple unloading day
Apple is a slow-digesting, low-calorie fruit. It contains 85% water, and the remaining 15% is a valuable storehouse of vitamins and minerals, it is not called "rejuvenation" for nothing. Apples are affordable and healthy, strengthen immunity, contain antioxidants, regulate intestinal microflora and promote fat burning. A one-day diet with apples is also called a fasting day for losing weight in the stomach. But every medal has two sides. Apples can cause swelling, and a strict apple diet is absolutely contraindicated in diseases of the digestive tract (gastritis, ulcers, hyperacidity, biliary dyskinesia). In these cases, the use of baked apples is allowed.
Let's start with the description of the simplest version of unloading apples, which will require several kilograms of apples.
The procedure is as follows: 2 kg of green, unsweetened apples are divided into 5-6 doses or eaten one at a time approximately every hour.
You can eat fruit fresh or baked, as well as a combination. It is better to use pickled apples, but they can increase appetite.
If it is difficult to survive on apples alone, you can try malolactic unloading. It is allowed to eat 1. 5 kg of apples and 500 g of fat-free cheese per day or drink 1. 5 liters of kefir.
Buckwheat unloading day
It probably doesn't need to be repeated that buckwheat is incredibly healthy, it contains trace elements, vitamins and amino acids. In this case, it is more important that cereals are rich in dietary fibers, which improve digestion, help restore normal work and clean the intestines. Like many other cereals, buckwheat belongs to foods with a low glycemic index, and therefore dulls the feeling of hunger for a long time.
It is better to prepare for unloading buckwheat the day before. A cup of cereal (about 250 g) is poured into a small pot, poured with boiling water (0. 5 liters), covered with a lid and left overnight. Of course without salt, but you can add greens as spices. In the morning, the porridge is divided into 4-5 portions. Otherwise, it is better to use green buckwheat, not roasted brown. According to experts, all nutrients are preserved in it. If the feeling of hunger worsens, it is allowed to snack on a green apple, but it is better to drink water.
Unloading day on rice
One of the most effective is the rice fasting day. It is good because it has practically no contraindications. The main problem is the likelihood of constipation. Therefore, it is better not to burden yourself with rice for those who suffer from hemorrhoids or irregular stools. After eating, it is recommended to drink teas with a laxative effect, and start the next morning with kefir and fresh vegetables. In the intestines, cereals work as a sorbent, absorbing water and toxins, which are then removed from the body.
To prepare real rice porridge, take 350-400 grams of low-calorie brown rice and 0. 5 liters of water. Before that, the grains must be soaked in water for several hours. The grains are cooked until half. All porridge (up to 1 kg) is divided into portions. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, you can use water, green tea, herbal decoctions.
Comparative overview of popular fasting days
The table shows an example menu for each of the fasting days described above ("full" option).
| Type of unloading day | cucumber | Apple | Kefir | Buckwheat | Rice | |
| 8-00 | Breakfast | 2 cucumbers + 50 gr. cooked meat | 2-3 apples + a glass of kefir | 1-2 cups of kefir | 100 g of steamed buckwheat + cucumber or tomato | 200 g of rice + a cup of green tea |
| 11-00 | A snack | 2 cucumbers + green tea or juice | 2-3 apples + 100 g of any porridge | 200 g of any vegetable | 100 g of steamed buckwheat | 200 g of rice + 50 g of fish or meat |
| 14-00 | Dinner | 2 cucumbers + boiled egg or 100 g of rice porridge | 2 baked apples + salad of fresh cucumbers with a spoonful of rast. oils | 1-2 cups of kefir + 50 g of lean meat | 100 g of buckwheat + 50 g of meat | 200 g of rice + 1 fresh carrot |
| 17-00 | A snack | Cucumber and apple smoothie with lemon juice | 2-3 apples + 1 banana | 1 glass of kefir + banana | 100 g buckwheat + apple or ½ grapefruit | 200 g of rice + a glass of juice |
| 20-00 | Dinner | 2 cucumbers + a glass of kefir | 2-3 apples + 100 g fresh cheese | 1-2 cups of kefir | 100 g of steamed buckwheat | 200 g of rice + 1 glass of kefir |
Coffee on fasting days
Coffee lovers are probably interested in the question: is it possible to drink coffee these days, or organize "coffee unloading" at all. According to nutritionists, 1-2 cups of the drink will only be beneficial. In that case, the coffee cup should not be equal to the soup bowl. The recommended volume is 90-120 ml. Of course, coffee should be natural without sugar or cream, but you can add sweetener or skim milk.
Coffee lovers didn't want to limit themselves in any way and came up with their own version of the diet. The menu of fasting days for weight loss is extremely simple - 5-6 cups of coffee at regular intervals. You can also eat fresh fruits and vegetables. The amount of other liquids must be limited. Many reviews write that after one such day they lost up to 3 kg. The only shame is that this "weight loss" is deceptive. Coffee is a diuretic. During the day, instead of the prescribed 2 liters, about a liter is drunk, and much more is excreted from the body. Only the weight of water lost is basically what the scale shows. But the big problem is that the already stressful situation for the body worsens with a heavy load on the heart and kidneys.
The conclusion from this is simple: it is undesirable and even dangerous to organize fasting days for coffee, but it will be useful to supplement the relief with 1-2 cups of natural coffee. The key is to drink plenty of fluids.
Useful tips
Tips collected from numerous reviews, but equally well suited for any type of unloading.
- Hunger strike days will be much easier if you spend them on your favorite foods (but not on cookies and candy).
- During fasting days, it is recommended to supplement the diet with decoctions of medicinal plants. You can use ready-made herbal teas for weight loss. As a rule, they have a complex effect, act as a laxative, burn fat, purify, reduce appetite, diuretic and choleretic.
- There is no need to try to do everything at once and combine diet with physical activity in one day. But breathing exercises will be the right way.
- If it is difficult to maintain five meals a day, the daily portion can be divided into several meals.
- Avoid sugar, salt and spices completely.
Fast days for weight loss bring different results. Reviews often say that they lose up to 2 kg of weight per day. Those who are attracted by this figure should understand that 2 kg of body fat is not lost! The excess fluid with toxins and "food residues", half-digested food that accumulates on the walls of the intestines, goes away. It is impossible to lose weight even by 1 kg per day. On the strictest water release, you can get rid of a maximum of 100-200 grams of fat.