Alex Carson
How would you like to lose 10 lbs in 1 week or 30 lbs in a month?
A lot of people are trying a new diet which claims to do just that. Calling itself the Military Diet, it promises to shed the pounds for weight loss emergencies. It even claims it can be followed on an ongoing basis for continued effect.
Despite the name given the diet, it has nothing in common with any military in the world, or how they eat. Rather, it derived its name from the willpower and discipline needed to stay on the diet.
Let’s repeat this to stop misinformation in its tracks: It was not developed by the military — period.
This is understandable, as this diet is part of a group of diets aptly called “very-low-calorie diets” or VLCDs. These kinds of diets work differently on people in different fitness levels, body fat indexes, and other factors. VLCDs are used for a variety of reasons we’re going to dive into next.
Want to see if the military diet can make your clothes better fitting in a few days to a week? Keep watching.
What Is a Very-Low-Calorie-Diet?
About 20 percent of the energy we eat is reserved for brain metabolism and function. Even when we’re resting, our brains take a lot of energy to stay healthy.
Considering terms of gender and metabolism, the military diet is focused more or less on women. It generally suggests that if you’re male, you can add 100 calories per day.
If you’re a tall woman or a short man, we’ll let you decide how to interpret that suggestion.
This makes a lot of people wonder just how many calories they need to survive comfortably.
The generally agreed-upon minimum calories for an adult to survive on without going into “starvation mode” is 1,200 calories. If 20 percent is supporting your brain, that leaves 960 calories for supporting the rest of your body functions.
Anything less than 1200 calories is considered a VLCD. At 800 calories, you’re inputting only 560 calories for body functions.
Because every body is different, every climate is different, and everyone’s work is different, you’ll have to consider tailoring any diet a slight bit to fit your needs.
This is why the military diet works so well for getting you into that wedding dress or bikini body you need in a hurry.
How the Military Diet Works
Rather than a temporary VLCD to prepare for bariatric surgery, the Military Diet takes a different approach.
The military diet has you follow a low-calorie diet for three days before returning to a more regular diet for four days.
For three days you’ll have 1400, 1200, and 1100 calories on the sample diet we have for you later. So while it is a VLCD, it only barely qualifies for two of the three days and isn’t dangerously low on calories.
The diet has a high protein intake with a lower fat, carbohydrate, and calorie count. Also, it includes specific food combinations in an attempt to boost metabolism and burn fat, not just lose water weight like some other low-calorie diets or VLCDs.
Following this diet, the official website claims that you could lose up to 10 lbs in a week, and 30 lbs in a month.
There are various reviews of the diet with most losing between 5-10 lbs. Those who are already exercising three to four times a week and living a healthy lifestyle with healthy eating habits won’t lose as much weight.
Some Reminders About Health On Low-Calorie Diets
There are ways to feel full that involve reducing calories in day-to-day life, which can be incorporated into the 4 days you eat regularly on the Military Diet. Eat foods that fill you up faster but contain less calories, like fruits and vegetables instead of processed foods.
Consuming between 1200 to 1600 calories per day for men and 1000 to 1200 calories per day for women have interesting benefits beyond losing weight. Stay tuned for those later.
Less extreme diets are easier to follow. They also keep you in better spirits. Extreme diets aren’t good for those over 50 or have obesity, diabetes, heart issues, or other health problems.
Gallstones have been reported in those who’ve been in VLCDs for long periods of time, especially if their weight yo-yos up and down.
So while you’re on for 3 days and doing well, going extreme and eating a lot on the 4 off days are not going to help you and may cause you more problems. This is where the “military” in “military diet” starts to make sense.
You should have discipline even on your days off so that you aren’t eating 2000 or 2500 calories for 4 days and then halving that for 3 days. You won’t be doing any favors for your body.
What to Buy and What to Eat
We have a sample 3-day meal plan from the Military Diet website. There is also a suggested shopping list for people looking to follow this diet.
People can drink water throughout the day, as well as 1–2 cups of black coffee or tea. No sugar, milk, or cream, though you can have stevia.
Before we outline a sample Military Diet meal plan, if you’re enjoying this video — and learning something new — make sure to hit the like button and subscribe!
Day 1
Starting the diet off on day 1 with breakfast, you have half a grapefruit, 1 slice of toast, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. For lunch you get 1/2 cup of tuna, 1 slice of toast. For dinner you get 3 ounces of any meat of your choosing, 1 cup of green beans, half a banana, a small apple, and 1 cup of vanilla ice cream.
Day 2
Day two starts off with 1 egg, 1 slice of toast, and half a banana. For Lunch you get 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 cup of cottage cheese, and 5 saltine crackers. Ending the day with dinner, you can have 2 hotdogs without buns, 1 cup of broccoli, 1/2 cup of carrots, half a banana, and 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream.
Day 3
Breakfast on day three consists of 5 saltine crackers, 1 slice of cheddar cheese, 1 small apple. Lunch is 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 slice of toast. Dinner, is 1 cup of tuna, half a banana, and 1 cup of vanilla ice cream to top it off.
Shopping list
The military diet shopping list should include peanut butter and whole-wheat bread as sources of fiber, oils, fat, and protein.
The following list contains the items of food that people will need to buy for the first 3 days of a week on the military diet:
- caffeinated coffee or tea
- one grapefruit
- two bananas
- two apples
- whole-wheat bread
- peanut butter
- eggs
- three cans of tuna
- hot dogs
- a small piece of meat
- green beans (fresh, frozen, or canned)
- small head of broccoli
- carrots
- saltine crackers
- cottage cheese
- cheddar cheese
- vanilla ice cream
Disadvantages of the Military Diet
Following a 3-day military diet plan can cause several potential problems.
- Limited nutrient intake
- High in added salt, sugar, and saturated fat
- Calories too low to do heavy exercise or work
Advantages of the Military Diet
There is a ton of research on humans and animals regarding calorie-restricted diets.
Losing weight isn’t the only goal. Feeling great and looking great go hand in hand most of the time.
According to a peer-reviewed study published in 2011, caloric restriction in animals including primates are:
- Longer lives
- Higher levels of physical activity
- Lower rates of cancer
- Less age-related degeneration of the brain
- Improved reproductive performance
If you’ve tried fasts or calorie-reduction in the past, you may doubt this.
But, these observations involved regular periods of calorie restriction along with a healthy diet, activity, and socializing.
We know you aren’t an animal — most of the time — but when studies took place with similar caloric restrictions for humans they also had similar findings.
A study published in 2016 included people who were specifically not obese. 218 participants, with an average age of 38 and 70% being female, were followed for two years.
After a random selection for a 25% reduced diet, those that followed the diet had similar results to the animal study.
The people on the reduced-calorie diet lost more weight — almost 17 lbs on average. More interestingly, they had better moods, less daily tension, better sleep quality and duration, and rated their health to be better overall.
Last but hardly least, the calorie-restricted group reported getting their groove on much more frequently with higher sexual arousal, drive, and satisfaction with their sexual relationships.
Final Thoughts About the Military Diet
In conclusion, a short list of what we have gone over about the Military Diet could go like this.
- The Military Diet could be beneficial for short-term or long-term weight loss and management if you’re smart about it
- It is easy to follow with limited foods, simple measurements, and cooking
- Wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and other foods are possible
- Only three days of strict diet with a relaxed four days
- Substitutions available for vegans and diabetics
- The diet focuses on protein, which increases the feeling of fullness, maintains muscle mass, and provides energy for day-to-day activities
The Military Diet has a high focus on processed meats and sugar, but it doesn’t have to. Keeping a focus on natural fruits and vegetables can help you feel full with less sugar, helping to control glucose spikes.
Eating fewer processed meats can keep your sodium and acidity down as well.
We hope you enjoy your 10 less pounds next week on us!
Leave us a comment: Will you try the diet or do you think it’s unsafe? Tell us your thoughts below!
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