Health

 by: Helen Laxton

The 3 Day Diet is a 'crash diet', designed specifically for people who want to lose large amounts of weight very fast. Exponents say the 3 Day Diet is chemically and enzyme balanced, and if followed to the letter, you can allegedly lose 10 pounds in 3 days, hence the name.

While we here at www.supadiet.com have not tried this diet, we would point out that medical opinion generally believes that 'crash' diets, including the 3 day diet, can be dangerous. Typically, research suggests that these 'faddy' diets encourage a starve / binge cycle, which is not good for your general health. Any diet offering more than 1 or 2 pounds a week loss should generally be undertaken only under medical supervision, because of the inherent dangers of rapid weight loss.

Another consideration is the need to keep the weight off once you have lost it. Many followers of 'crash diets' find that although they shed the pounds fast, they then pile even more than they lost back on, because the fad diet is not sustainable over long time periods. For steady weight control, you need a regular balanced diet with all the essential vitamins, minerals and proteins.

Anyway, having said that, the basis of the 3 Day Diet is simple, ordinary foods commonly found in the kitchen. You don't have to buy special diet meals, or eat foodstuffs you normally wouldn't find tasty. No special expensive recipes or ingredients are required. As the diet name suggests, used for only 3 days at a time, the 3 Day Diet is very short term, and lasts only 3 days. After that, you are supposed to return to your normal diet (but without 'overeating' of course!) for 4 days. This completes a full week, and then you start again.

Unlike some crash diets, the 3 day Diet does not involve starving yourself - you eat at normal times, and the meals are 'normal' too. The theory behind the 3 day diet is that by combining certain foods you can create a digestive reaction that boosts your metabolism and helps you burn fat far faster than normal. There is not really any scientific evidence for this, although followers of the diet are adamant this is what happens.

So lets take a look at some sample meals eaten on a 3 day diet, courtesy of www.supadiet.com. Day 1, Breakfast. Start with coffee (no sugar), 1 egg, half a grapefruit, and a piece of toast. Lunch is a cup of tuna, together with a slice of toast. Dinner consists of 3 ounces of chicken, a cup of green beans or broccoli, half a cup of carrots and half a banana. If you have a sweet tooth, you can treat yourself to half a cup of regular vanilla ice cream. So, not too extreme, is it? The downside is that such low amounts of food may leave you feeling tired and listless.

On the second day, the menu is pretty similar. Breakfast, an Egg (boiled, scrambled, omlette), half a banana, 1 piece of toast. Lunch, 1 cup of cottage cheese, 8 regular crackers (or 1 slice toast if you prefer). Dinner, 3 oz lean red meat, 1 cup of cabbage, half a cup of carrots, half a banana, and half a cup of plain ice cream as a treat.

On the 3rd day, breakfast is 5 regular crackers with 1 oz of cheddar cheese and an apple. For lunch, you can have a boiled egg with a slice of toast and tea or coffee (no sugar). The main meal of the evening is a cup of cottage cheese, half a cup of carrots, half a cup of cauliflower, and half a melon. As usual, you can treat yourself to half a cup of vanilla ice-cream if you like.

You are probably getting an idea now for the ingredients and recipes you should be working with, and you don't need much imagination to construct your own 3 day menus. Good luck with it!