Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Facts About The 3 Day Diet Fad

By Ron George

The 3 Day Diet dates back to 1985 and today can be found all over the Internet and on book store shelves. The three day diet and its variants claim quick weight loss, a cleansing of the system, lower cholesterol and increased energy all through a specific metabolic reaction that no version of the diet has ever explained.

The diet is to be followed for only 3 days, with an off period of generally 5 days in between diet times. All the versions of this diet share in common difficult steps that must be followed and foods that must be eaten in order for the diet to work. What better way to blame the dieter when it doesn't work than you botched the formula.

First day breakfast includes coffee (no sugar), one half a grapefruit, and a piece of toast with one tablespoon peanut butter. For lunch, you are to eat a can of tuna, a slice of toast, and black coffee. Dinner consists of 3 ounces of chicken or lean meat, one cup of green beans, one cup of carrots, one apple, and one cup of regular vanilla ice cream.

The other two days of the three day diet are pretty similar in meal quantity, though the specifics change, for example Day 2 recommends two beef franks for dinner in place of three ounces of lean meat. The diet crows that weight loss of 10 pounds is achievable over the 3 days that the diet lasts.

Hogwash is the answer. The inquiry is what is a specific reaction to that claim? As stated the metabolic reaction has never been examined much less proven. Any weight loss would be mostly water loss due to a lack of carbs which help the body hold water. That could lead to dehydration.

Because of binge eating after such starvation and because most of the weight lost is from water, the weight will rapidly return after only the three days. Furthermore, this amount of water loss could result in some serious medical problems one being dehydration. This is when the diet might be useful, then you'd lose some real weight in the hospital.

The 3 day diet should really be treated as a no day diet. In other words, don't do it. - 15438

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