Low-or no-carbohydrate diets should be "strongly discouraged" says the Royal College of Physicians in its 1983 report, Obesity, even if you only want to follow them for a short period of time.
To lose weight rapidly, choose a diet high in starchy carbohydrates (wholewheat bread, wholegrain cereals and pasta, lentils and pulses) and low in fats instead, like the meal diets given here.
Short sharp diets can be great for getting into shape for a holiday or special occasion, but they must be followed by several weeks of moderate eating if you want to keep the weight off for any length of time.
Weight that is lost very quickly tends to be regained very quickly too, partly because the loss is largely glycogen instead of fat and partly because of a long-term drop in basal metabolic rate.
5 Day Diet Plan, Healthy Meal Ideas
DAY 1
Breakfast:
None
Light Meals:
Milk: 600 ml/1 pint (2 1/2 cups) whole milk, Fruit: 3 oranges (100g/3 1/3oz each) and 2 apples (125g/4oz each)
Main Meals:
None
DAY 2
Breakfast:
Breakfast allowance from day 2: 25g/1oz Shredded Wheat, Weetabix, Weetaflakes or Puffed Wheat, with 10g/ 1/3 oz bran
Light Meals:
Tomato sandwich: 100g/3 1/2 oz tomatoes, 1 tsp low calorie mayonnaise and 50g/2oz wholewheat bread, Fruit: 120g/4 oz apple
Main Meals:
Fillet steak: 125g/4oz fillet (tenderloin), grilled (broiled), using no oil. Season well and remove all fat. Vegetable: 100g/3 1/2 oz broccoli. Strawberry ice: blend together 150g/5oz freh or frozen strawberries, 6tbsp water, and 10g/ 1/3oz dried skimmed milk until smooth. Freeze for about 3 to 4 hours until firm.
DAY 3
Breakfast:
As Day 2
Light Meals:
Cheese and pepper sandwich: 50g/2oz chopped green pepper, 100g/ 3 1/2 oz cottage cheese and 50g/2oz wholewheat bread, Fruit: 100g/ 3 1/2 oz orange
Main Meals:
Fillet of plaice (flounder): 150g/ 5oz fillet, grilled(broiled) with a sprinkling of freshly chopped herbs. Serve with slices of lemon. Vegetable: 100g/3 1/2 oz carrots. Stewed apples: 150g/5oz apples cooked with 15g/ 1/2 oz raisins (no sugar)
DAY 4
Breakfast:
As Day 2
Light Meals:
Cucumber and egg sandwich: 50g/2oz chopped cucumber, 50g/2oz hard-boiled egg, 1tsp low calorie mayonnaise and 50g/2oz wholewheat bread, Fruit: 150g/5oz pear
Main Meals:
Paprika chicken: remove the skin from 100g/ 3 1/2 oz chicken breast and coat with French (Dijon-style) mustard and paprika to taste. Grill (broil) under a gentle heat until thoroughly cooked. Vegetable: 100g/ 3 1/2 oz cabbage. Fruit: 100g/ 3 1/2 oz cherries or grapes
DAY 5
Breakfast:
As Day 2
Light Meals:
Smoked salmon and watercress sandwich: 60 g/ 2 1/2 oz smoked salmon, 50g/ 2 oz chopped juice and 50g/ 2 oz wholewheat bread, Fruit: 125g/ 4oz apple.
Main Meals:
Eggs and spinach: 2 medium eggs poached and served with 100g/ 3 1/2 oz boiled and chopped spinach. Season well. Vegetable: 50g/ 2 oz grilled (broiled) tomato. Fruit: 1 banana
It is a well known and accepted fact that dieting depresses the
metabolism. Not so well known or accepted is the fact that it may remain
depressed once the diet is over - even if all the weight that was lost
has been regained. If metabolic rate does not recover to 100 per cent
each time, it is not surprising that it gets more and more difficult to
lose weight with each successive diet.
In one Scottish
experiment, set up to assess the effects of yo-yoing weight levels on
metabolic rate, volunteers were over-fed one month and under-fed the
next so that their weight gains and losses would reflect the typical
pattern of on/of dieters. After 18 months, when the results were
analysed, every one of the volunteers showed a measurable drop in
metabolic rate - one by as much as 15 per cent - even though they were
back at the weight at which they had started.
A rapid loss of glycogen is not a good idea. It interferes with
concentration and makes you feel listless, lethargic, depressed,
headachy and hungry. Keep some carbohydrate in your diet and you will
feel much better.
Diets of less than 750 calories a day are
nearly always self-defeating because glycogen levels become so depleted
that most of the lost weight is regained almost immediately. People who
fast or go on very stringent diets may, on breaking them. step up their
intake to as little as 1.000 calories and still find themselves
regaining weight over the next day or days.
5 Day Diet Plan, Healthy Meal Ideas Source :
Vogue Diet Programme, Deborah Hutton, Octopus Books London
