Japanese diet. Is it really good and for whom it is contraindicated? - Let's get ready for summer before it's too late
The main advantages of the Japanese diet for residents of our country are its relative availability and duration. No complicated and expensive ingredients, just two weeks of restrictions - and now you're showing off in jeans that have never been buttoned before. But to be a beautiful geisha, you must strictly follow the menu.
Briefly about the main thing
The duration of the diet is 14 days. This is a low-calorie protein menu, you can apply this diet no more than 2 times a year. The average result from the Japanese diet is 5-8 kg in 2 weeks. This menu is not suitable for pregnant women, nursing mothers, people with gastritis and ulcers, as well as people with liver, kidney and heart diseases. You should consult your doctor before starting a diet.
Original or speculation?
There will be nothing exotic - all foods allowed in the Japanese diet have long been familiar to us. This is a certain plus, because the risk of allergies is minimized, and the necessary ingredients for cooking can be purchased in any supermarket.
It is not known exactly why this diet is called Japanese. According to some sources, it was invented in a Tokyo clinic, according to others, the name was inspired by the simplicity and clear diet plan, which gives the expected inspiring result (very Japanese way: follow the rules, do your best and you will be rewarded).
The Japanese diet is popular all over the world, distinguished by moderation in the composition of allowed foods and caloric content, which makes it similar to the traditional Far Eastern diet. Japanese nutritionist Naomi Moriyama is convinced that the youth and longevity of her compatriots allows them to keep a relatively small amount of carbohydrates and small portion sizes in the daily menu.
Moriyama estimates that the Japanese consume an average of 25% fewer calories than people in any other country. For example, in Japan it is not customary to eat potato chips, chocolate or confectionery, and the Japanese only learned about butter from Europeans at the beginning of the twentieth century and are still suspicious of it. In other words, choosing healthy foods in moderation is a national characteristic of Japanese culture. And the Japanese diet for 14 days fully meets this requirement, despite the official differences with the usual diet of ordinary residents of the Pacific state.
"Samurai" rules of the Japanese diet
The main satiating substance in the diet is protein obtained from chicken eggs, chicken, beef, fish and dairy products. Carbohydrates are found in crackers and some permitted vegetables, oils for cooking and salad dressings, and olive oil, which can be used on meat and fish.
Fiber is abundant in vegetables and fruits, their amount is not regulated even on some days of the diet, so the stomach will probably do its job well. Not only do coffee and green tea help save your life, they also contain healthy antioxidants (so it's important to choose high-quality tea and coffee that is always natural, flavored or unflavored).
However, such a diet still cannot be called balanced, and following it for more than two weeks is dangerous for health. But even during these 14 days, your body may react poorly to reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the menu: in this case, you will feel body aches, weakness and headaches. Then you should gradually abandon the strict menu and consult a doctor.
The drinking regime is especially important in the Japanese diet. Drinking plenty of clean, still water at room temperature not only helps the stomach feel full, but also helps flush out animal protein waste.
The main condition for the success of the Japanese diet is strict adherence to its plan. You cannot mix days and replace some products with others, or even with similar ones. The only exception can be morning coffee - a cup without sugar can be replaced with green tea. It is advisable to avoid salt throughout the diet, but if this restriction is critical for your taste buds, add minimal salt to your food.
Small meals a day (only three instead of the healthy 5-6) and lack of snacks can also be difficult on a Japanese diet, so be prepared for that. Eat dinner at least a few hours before going to bed and start the morning with a glass of water on an empty stomach - this is good for metabolism and allows you to better tolerate the lack of breakfast.
Since the Japanese diet is strict, it is extremely undesirable to rush into it. If you decide to lose weight on such a menu, prepare yourself psychologically and prepare your body at least a few days before starting the diet by giving up sweets and fast food and reducing the usual portion size.
Shopping list for the Japanese diet for 14 days
- Coffee beans or ground - 1 package
- Green tea of your favorite variety (with or without flavoring) - 1 package
- Fresh chicken eggs - 2 pcs
- sea fish fillet - 2 kg
- Lean beef, fillet - 1 kg
- Chicken fillet - 1 kg
- olive oil - 500 ml
- White cabbage - 2 medium-sized forks
- Fresh carrots - 2-3 kg
- Zucchini, eggplant - only 1 kg
- Fruits (except bananas and grapes) - only 1 kg
- Tomato juice - 1 l
- kefir - 1 l
- Lemons - 2 pcs.
Menu for the tough
The composition of the Japanese diet is often compared to the "chemical diet, " a meal plan invented by American physician Osama Hamdiy to treat obesity in diabetics. Like the Hamdia diet, the Japanese diet uses a drastic reduction in carbohydrate intake while increasing the amount of protein. As a result, the chemistry of metabolic processes in the body is rebuilt, accumulated fats are quickly burned, and new ones are prevented from forming thanks to strengthened muscles.
No changes in schedule or diet are allowed in the Japanese diet. If you want to get results, you must strictly follow the diet schedule.
The first day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar and milk.
Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, boiled cabbage with vegetable oil and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200 g of boiled or fried fish.
The second day
Breakfast: a piece of rye bread and coffee without sugar.
Dinner: 200 g of boiled or fried fish with boiled cabbage and vegetable oil.
Dinner: 100 g of boiled beef and a glass of kefir.
Wednesday
Breakfast: a piece of rye bread toasted in a toaster or unleavened cookies without additives, coffee without sugar.
Lunch: zucchini or eggplant, fried in vegetable oil, in any quantity.
Dinner: 200 g of unsalted boiled beef, raw cabbage in vegetable oil and 2 boiled eggs.
The fourth day
Breakfast: a small fresh carrot with the juice of one lemon.
Lunch: 200 g of boiled or fried fish and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200 g of any fruit.
Friday
Breakfast: a small fresh carrot with the juice of one lemon.
Lunch: boiled fish and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200 g of any fruit.
Saturday
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: unsalted boiled chicken (500 g), fresh cabbage and carrot salad in vegetable oil.
Dinner: small fresh carrots and 2 boiled eggs.
The seventh day
Breakfast: green tea.
Lunch: 200 g of boiled beef without salt.
Dinner: 200 g of fruit or 200 g of boiled or fried fish or 2 eggs or boiled beef with fresh carrots in vegetable oil and 1 glass of kefir.
The eighth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: 500 g of unsalted boiled chicken and carrot and cabbage salad in vegetable oil.
Dinner: fresh small carrots with vegetable oil and 2 boiled eggs.
The ninth day
Breakfast: medium carrot with lemon juice.
Lunch: 200 g of boiled or fried fish and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200 g of any fruit.
The tenth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: 50 g of cheese, 3 small carrots in vegetable oil and 1 boiled egg.
Dinner: 200 g of any fruit.
The eleventh day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar and a slice of rye bread.
Lunch: zucchini or eggplant, fried in vegetable oil, in any quantity.
Dinner: 200 g boiled beef without salt, 2 boiled eggs and fresh cabbage in vegetable oil.
Twelfth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar and a slice of rye bread.
Dinner: 200 g of boiled or fried fish with fresh cabbage in vegetable oil.
Dinner: 100 g of boiled unsalted beef and a glass of kefir.
The thirteenth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, cabbage boiled in vegetable oil and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200 g of boiled or fried fish in vegetable oil.
The fourteenth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: boiled or fried fish (200 g), fresh cabbage with olive oil.
Dinner: 200 g of boiled beef, a glass of kefir.
There is an opinion that such a diet is one of the most long-lasting, and the results obtained with it can last up to three years. But if you start overeating after the restrictions are over, of course the dream will remain out of reach.
Speed does not mean high quality
It should be noted that there is also an opinion among experts that diets with names often do not work or are even harmful. Endocrinologist and nutritionist Irina Tatarnikova says that weight loss should be gradual, and acute hypocaloric nutrition itself leads to disorders and can even cause depression. The fact is that a person begins to scold himself for weakness, but in fact his diet was simply unbalanced.
—Here they use extremely low-calorie diets and fasting that a person is not ready for. Therefore, extreme methods are effective only at the initial stage, but then the breakdown will occur and the weight will return with interest, " says the expert.
The nutritionist also clarifies that for most people, long breaks between main meals, such as skipping breakfast, will lead to overeating at dinner.
- Do not try to lose weight - you should completely forget this phrase, because trying comes from the word "torture", and losing weight comes from the word "bad". By saying this, we are not preparing ourselves for positive weight loss, " concludes the nutritionist. Irina advises us to think that by limiting ourselves without fanaticism, we are primarily making ourselves healthier. Especially for the editors, she named 10 popular habits that prevent you from losing weight.