What Is the 3 Day Diet Plan?
The 3 day military diet is a strictly restrictive low-calorie meal plan that promises dieters to lose 10 pounds in a week. The diet is one of the most popular weight loss short-term fad diets around today.
The plan is low in calories, totaling up to 1 400 calories a day. The meal plan for the first three days consists of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The menu items include but not limited to coffee, eggs, green beans, saltine crackers, cottage cheese, and steak. On some days, you’ll even be eating vanilla ice cream and banana. If you love peanut butter, you’ll be happy with this meal plan too.
How Does the 3 Day Military Diet Work?
The 3 day military diet is split into 2 phases: 3 days of dieting, followed by 4-days off. During the first 3 days, you eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner per the low-calorie meal plan. You’ll be eating roughly a total of 1,000 to 1,400 calories per day.
There are no snacks between meals, but there are food item substitutions available if you can’t eat certain foods on the menu.
This diet plan keeps the amount of calorie intake low by incorporating a lot of low-calorie foods. You’d find an abundance of black coffee or tea, fiber-rich veggies like broccoli and green beans. But it also offsets the macro imbalance by adding fat sources like cheddar cheese, peanut butter, and vanilla ice cream. For protein, you have foods like canned tuna, steak, and eggs on the menu.
After the strictly enforced first 3 days of dieting is over, you have a 4-day off period, where you get to choose what to eat.There is no specific instructions for your eating during this period, healthy, however, healthy, low-carb eating is recommended.
Does the 3 Day Diet Work?
Yes, the 3-day military diet works.
More precisely, many cases show it can, and the reasoning is simple.
Anytime you reduce your calorie intake, you’ll lose weight. It does not matter which diet plan you are on. It could be intermittent fasting, Paleo or the ketogenic diet.
And the military diet is no exception.
With that in mind, let’s dive into the meal plan for the first 3 days.
Day 1: 857 to 1,300 total calories.
Day 1: Military Diet plan
Breakfast: roughly 222 calories
1 slice of whole-grain toast
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1/2 Grapefruit
1 cup of coffee or tea *no milk or sugar
Lunch: roughly 172 calories
1 slice of whole-grain toast
1/2 cup of Tuna
1 cup of coffee or tea
Dinner: roughly 463 calories
3-oz of any meat
1 cup of green beans.
1 small apple.
1/2 banana.
1 cup of vanilla ice cream.
Day 2: 973 to 1,100 total calories
Day-2 Military Diet Plan
Breakfast: roughly 206 calories
1 slice of whole-grain toast
1 hard-boiled egg
1/2 banana
Lunch: roughly 305 calories
1 hard-boiled egg
1 cup of cottage cheese
5 saltine crackers
Dinner: roughly 462 Calories
2 hot dogs without a bun
1/2 cup of carrots
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 banana
1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream
Day 3: 719 to 1,000 total calories
Day 3: Military Diet plan
Breakfast: roughly 253 calories
1 slice of cheddar cheese
5 saltine crackers
1 small apple
Lunch: roughly 153 calories
1 slice of toast
1 hard-boiled egg
Dinner: roughly 313 calories
1 cup of canned tuna
1/2 banana
1 cup of vanilla ice cream
Coffee or tea is okay as long as it’s free of sugar and milk. Any other sugary or calorie-added drinks are not allowed.
The Remaining 4 Days
The remaining 4 days are off-days with far less dietary restrictions.
But it’s not to say you can be diet free.
The military diet encourages you to keep your calories under 1,500 a day by managing portions.
Other than that, you are free to eat what you want to eat.
Once you complete your 4 days, you can either repeat the 3-day meal plan or continue your off-day diet.
