What Is the Three-Day Military Plan?
The three-day military diet also called the "3-day diet," is known to be the recently introduced quick weight-loss program that has gained some popularity in the dieting field. It is a diet plan known to cause short-term weight loss by limiting calorie intake. However, there are multiple nutritional drawbacks of this diet plan as it does not allow an individual to stay completely satiated and it can be very restrictive as it focuses on limiting calorie consumption for seven whole days with three on days and four off days.
This diet plan includes a three-day specific chart of certain foods that are adapted to give you a low-calorie intake that promotes weight loss. This short-term weight loss eating plan is basically to reduce the calorie intake overall. The diet plan after implementation for three days is further subsequently executed by four days of additional or less restrictive, low-calorie eating plan. The military diet mainly comprises a three-day plan with usually the individuals sticking to at least three meals a day with the exception of all snacks.
The rule in three-day military plan is that there is no snacking allowed in between the meals during the three-day course and then eventually it would be followed by a less restrictive four-day eating pattern where snacks can be eventually included in your diet. For the main three days of the diet plan, individuals consume specific foods given as a strict list that are classified under the "on" days. The probability or range of your calorie consumption should be only from within a total of 1,100 to 1,400 kilocalories per day during the course.
What Are the Foods That Can Be Consumed in a Three-Day Military Plan?
Foods to eat in this diet plan include the following:
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Peanut butter and toast.
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Hard-boiled eggs.
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Grapefruit.
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Coffee.
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Ice cream.
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Tuna.
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Meat.
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Hot dogs (no bun).
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Saltine crackers.
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Bananas.
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Apples.
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Broccoli.
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Cottage cheese.
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Green beans.
The rationale of the diet to promote weight loss is in the eating cycles that are scheduled for three days or the "on days" followed by the four "off days" that switch over to a higher calorie consumption gradually. For instance, while the on days include a 1000 to 1400 kilocalorie diet chart, the off days allow for a slightly higher intake of up to 1500 kilocalories but it should not exceed this range.
The three-day diet or the three-day military diet is hence known to be an extremely restrictive diet in terms of not only the diversity of food but may also be exhausting for individuals who are not used to sudden drops in calorie or low-calorie intake. This can certainly be physically exhausting for many individuals.
What Is the Eating Schedule for a Three-Day Military Plan?
The eating schedule for a three-day military plan would look like the following foods listed on the chart below:
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Day 1, On Day: Toast with a dash of peanut butter; tuna, broccoli veggie, grapefruit; hot dogs and ice cream are allowed.
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Day 2, On Day: Cottage cheese, bananas, green beans, apples; hot dogs and steaks are allowed.
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Day 3, On Day: Grapefruit, hard-boiled eggs, saltines, green beans, cottage cheese, and hotdogs are allowed.
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Day 4, Off Day: Yogurt or yogurt parfait, salads that are protein-rich or protein-topped, shrimp fish, zucchini pasta.
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Day 5, Off Day: Oatmeals comprising of nuts and berries, chicken stir-fries or chicken with brown rice, green beans, beef chili; ice cream is allowed.
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Day 6, Off Day: Veggie omelets, tomato soups, whole grain bread with low-fat cheese, salmon fish, quinoa, kale veggie.
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Day 7, Off Day: Whole-grain toast accompanied by nut butter and fresh fruits, spinach salads, pork, chicken, and starchy root vegetables.
As you can see the rationale behind this diet plan, the followers first stop consuming more than 1000 to 1400 kilocalories in a day and this can be extremely restrictive given that the food varieties are not diverse groups. Also, the next four days, or the off days include healthier food in comparison to letting go of the extreme restrictions. The rationale for weight loss is more in the off days with slightly extended calorie intake when you eventually switch over to healthier whole foods than choosing processed foods.
What Are the Nutrition Drawbacks of a Three-Day Military Plan?
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Point to Note for followers of this diet is that only limited substitutions are allowed on the plan as long as your meals are restricted to the strict calorie guidelines for the first three days. This can certainly limit or restrict your daily nutrient intake.
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According to nutrition science, the goal of any diet plan is to plan your meals in a nutrient-dense fashion and support sustained or healthy weight over the long term. As this diet plan does not allow scope for either purpose, it can be ruled out to be a fad diet (a diet that promises rapid weight loss but lacks scientific backup) only.
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The foods listed on the chart are quite limited, and not diverse and this can be of possible potential to induce temporarily a state of nutritional deficiency in the individuals following it.
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The additional drawback of the diet plan is that it encourages the consumption of processed foods heavily like hotdogs and caffeine, ice cream is included in the diet but is not exactly of use in weight loss or lowering your calorie intake in any way. For some individuals, this can create a pattern of unhealthy eating and lead even possibly to disordered eating post the plan implementation.
What Does the USDA Recommend for a Healthy Diet?
According to the current global recommendations by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), a nutrient-dense and balanced diet should ideally comprise for all age groups a variety of healthy foods ranging from fruits, vegetables, plant proteins, dairy, whole grains, lean meats or proteins, legumes and beans, seeds, unsaturated oils, and nuts. The calorie range for adults recommended in the case of men is around 2200 to 3000 kilocalories per day and for women, it is around 1600 to 2200 kilocalories per day.
Conclusion:
Though the military diet claims to be a low-calorie plan, scientific research regarding its benefit or calorie consumption is so far limited and hence, there are currently no proven benefits as such for this eating plan. Furthermore, nutrition experts now regard this diet to be just like any other fad form of dieting. This is because even if you lose a few pounds of weight over the on and off days of this plan, it is only likely to be water weight and is not natural in the sense that it cannot be continued for a long-term basis. This diet plan hence further does not fit at all under the recommendations of the USDA and hence may do more systemic harm and create disordered eating patterns instead of any weight loss.
