Do fasting days help with weight loss and how do they work?

Fasting days will not help you lose 10-15 kg a month before summer. They are more suitable for those who need to keep in shape without making a special effort or to return to "queuing up" after winter. Unpacking the day to lose weight does not bring as impressive results as we would like, but if you do it regularly, and then do not pounce on food, the effect will certainly be pleasant.

What are fasting days for?

It seems what can happen after a day of fasting, but this is only a glimpse. The efficacy of fasting today has long been proven, tested and tested. And consists of the following:

• After a short hunger strike, a feeling of lightness arises due to the cleansing of the intestines;
• Stress brings the body into tone;
• This helps to overcome the "plateau effect" known to many as pain. In other words, it is stagnation during the diet. The weight dropped to a certain point, and then stopped, unwilling to budge. A hunger strike can serve as a mild stressor to the body and a kind of catalyst for the fat burning process.
• And of course, one cannot but mention the "test of strength" and the development of willpower.

Food disassembly types and features

Unloading days are conditionally divided into two types:

• "hungry"
• "satiated".

These two options are distinguished based on the calorie content of the daily menu and the number of ingredients that are allowed to be used.

The essence and principle of the "hungry" day

The simplest and most stringent option is a day on the water. The disassembly in which protein, fat and easily digestible carbohydrates are removed is also called "cleansing". In other cases, in addition to liquids, one product is included in the diet. The maximum daily calorie content is 500 calories. Considering that you can eat low-fat kefir, cucumbers, apples, cabbage or citrus fruits, in general, low-calorie foods, it will be easy not to exceed the permissible bar. For example, the calorie content of 100 grams of ordinary cucumber is 15. 5 calories. With this restriction, you can eat 3. 2 kg of fresh green cucumbers per day.

Important!Regardless of the type of food consumed, you need to drink 2 liters of water or more. Regular non-carbonated water will be complemented by green tea or herbal concoctions.

Unload "Full": types and rules

A more benign option. They allow 2-3 products that can be combined: meat, vegetables, eggs, nuts, fruits, dairy products. Calorie conditions change slightly, you can not exceed the 800 calorie limit. According to the type of product used, the "full" fasting day for weight loss is protein and carbohydrates.

• Protein breakdown is the best option if a more restrictive diet causes weakness, dizziness or is unsuitable for health reasons. You can eat: lean meat; shellfish, crustaceans and fish; vegetable protein. If desired, the menu can be diversified with low-calorie vegetables. Chinese cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, greens are successfully combined with protein. According to the method of preparation, it is better to give preference to cooking or steaming. During the day, there is no strong feeling of hunger.
• Carbohydrate breakdown - sounds tempting, but it has nothing to do with candy. In this case, we are talking about foods rich in slow carbohydrates. Usually buckwheat, rice, dried fruits.

When compiling a "full" fasting day menu, it is important to consider product compatibility.

Product group name		Meat, fish, poultry	Nuts	Vegetable oil	cereals	wry	semi sweet	Sweet and dry fruits	Vegetables	Dairy products	Egg
							Fruit
Meat, fish, poultry		/	-	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	-
Nuts		-	/	+	0	-	-	-	+	-	-
Vegetable oil		-	+	/	+	+	0	0	+	-	-
cereals		0	-	+	/	-	-	-	+	-	-
	wry	-	-	+	-	/	+	0	+	0	-
Fruit	semi sweet	-	-	0	-	+	/	+	+	+	-
	Sweet and dry fruits	-	-	0	-	0	+	/	+	+	-
Vegetables		+	+	+	+	+	+	+	/	+	+
Dairy products		-	-	-	-	0	+	+	+	/	-
Egg		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	/

Benefits and contraindications

Fasting days will help in the unbalanced struggle with excess weight. They will help to get rid of the load after a busy holiday, contribute to the gentle cleansing of the intestines of toxins. Indicated for certain diseases. So, for example, in case of kidney disease, it is recommended to spend the day "watermelon", heart and blood vessels - "potato", and for joint problems - "cucumber". Only without initiative, after consulting a doctor. Without fail, the dismantling should be carried out by those who constantly follow various fitness diets, love protein foods, artificial proteins and other "heavy foods".

It is impossible to lower patients with diabetes mellitus, pregnant and lactating women. People who are exhausted from prolonged illness and suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (only "full" discharge is indicated after consulting a gastroenterologist). It is undesirable to organize unloading during menstruation.

Advice!You should not get carried away with "hungry" disassembly, they are carried out no more than once a week, while "full" can be done 2-3 times.

5 rules of loading and unloading

In order for fasting days to bring the expected results, five simple rules must be followed.

Rule 1: obey the conditions

Most fasting days are built on the principle of a single diet, that is, you can eat one product, but you have to do it as often as possible. Naturally, in small portions. In addition, the selected product should be liked, this will help relieve an already stressful situation for the body. The total energy value of the product should not exceed 800 cal.

Rule 2: choose the optimal product

Usually, unloading is carried out on low-calorie foods, with a minimum content of fats and carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, kefir). For a carbohydrate diet, you can stop at one type of cereal with a low glycemic index (buckwheat, rice, oatmeal). Low-fat meat and lean fish are allowed in the breakdown of protein. The most effective are "liquid" fasting days, when the teeth are at rest, but you can only drink.

Rule 3: proper day

Many do not attach importance to this moment, but choosing the day is no less important. Nutritionists advise not to take your official day off, but to choose Monday. This option is not suitable if the work involves physical labor. The loading and unloading is best arranged every week on the same day.

Rule 4: rest

On the day of disassembly, not only the digestive tract should rest, but the whole organism as a whole. It is important to exclude any physical activity, especially training. Alcohol is not included per day. And for those who have poor tolerance for alcohol, within 2 or even 3 days. On the list of recommended activities: a visit to a bath or sauna. The sauna procedure relaxes the body, helps to cope with stress, improves lung ventilation and increases the elimination of toxins. Also featured are leisurely walks in the park.

Plenty of time to sleep. Ideally: at least 9 hours. Don't miss the chance to relax instead of having lunch. A long sleep will strengthen the body, and at the same time will help move hunger more easily.

Rule 5: no contrast

It is very important to smoothly enter the fasting day, live it calmly and also go out smoothly.

In and out smoothly: why is it important?

Any diet, even a one-day diet, is a strong stressor to the body. At one point, without explaining the reason, they suddenly stopped feeding him. When will it end, or will it end at all? Suddenly, he finally got a serving of high-calorie food, and assimilated it to the fullest. That's why after a long diet, the lost weight quickly returns.

How to start fasting day

Proper preparation of the body will help to get the maximum effect from loading and unloading. On the eve of lunch, they refuse heavy meals. Dinner is replaced with a light salad, fruit, kefir. Before going to bed, it is recommended to perform a cleansing enema. You can drink herbal teas, which have a laxative effect, but without fanaticism.

How to finish disassembly smoothly

Naturally, the next morning you should not start with french fries. It is better to drink 200 ml of water on an empty stomach and eat a few boiled vegetables or a spoonful of rice, and then refrain from eating for 2-3 hours. Cereals, vegetables and fruits will help the body shift to a stable job. It is better to abandon meat, beans, eggs or fish. Due to the production of cortisol (stress hormone), appetite increases, and food is maximally absorbed.

The most efficient way to disassemble

The effectiveness of a particular diet is a relative concept. Each organism is individual, reacts differently to stress, perceives and assimilate products. Therefore, the best choice for oneself can only be chosen empirically. Judging by the reviews of "users", as well as listening to the opinions of nutritionists, the most noticeable results can be obtained by following the diet described below. You can stop at one type of unloading or take a different turn. So, we present to your attention the most effective fasting days for weight loss.

Unload the day on the water

The most difficult and most effective is called "liquid" disassembly, if only done correctly. Many start "unloading" the day after the feast or immediately after the holiday, but nutritionists recommend at least the day before the "X" day to exclude lactic acid, meat, starchy dishes and switch to snacks. Naturally, everything is fatty, fried, salted and smoked too. It is better to prepare the water in advance. It can be ordinary non-carbonated or pure minerals, but not boiled.

Fasting days that are really effective for weight loss are as "strict" as possible. Eliminate food completely. It is necessary to drink every hour, so that at least 3 liters per day are obtained. Since the stomach is constantly filled with liquid, there should not be a very bright feeling of hunger. The strictest version of the disassembly says that on this day you can not drink tea, coffee or juice, only water.

Advice!It's very difficult, but you have to keep a positive attitude and persevere until the end. Of course, listen to welfare. If weakness, dizziness or other adverse symptoms appear, the experiment should be discontinued.

You have to be very careful when you get out of the water. In the morning after fasting, they drink a glass of water and eat steamed or boiled vegetables. Throughout the next day you can eat only cereals, vegetables and fruits.

Cucumber unloading day

Vegetables, which are 95% water, are adored by nutritionists, and cucumber fasting days for weight loss are so popular they need not be advertised. Cucumbers are a product with negative calories (the body spends more on their digestion than it takes in), and it is much easier to get enough of them (even for a short time) than water.

Those who have never experienced the cucumber diet face to face should know that this vegetable is a powerful diuretic.

So during the day it's better to be close to the toilet. Active social life should be postponed, weakness may appear after dinner, especially in the legs. Some have increased stools. One-day disassembly of cucumbers is indicated for gout diathesis, obesity, hypertension, gout, arthrosis and atherosclerosis.

For "green" disassembly, you will need 1. 5-2 kg of fresh cucumbers. This amount is divided into 5-6 doses. Drink without restrictions. Instead, you can prepare a cucumber salad with herbs, which are left to fill with a spoonful of vegetable oil. Salt, of course, is not allowed. Cucumbers remove excess water, and it will interfere with this process, but you can add lemon juice to salads. At lunch, the diet is allowed to be supplemented with boiled eggs. Too bad it won't save you from starvation.

Kefir unloading day

Kefir can compete with cucumbers in popularity. Much has been written about the useful properties of the product, the most important of which is that it is available all year round, helps to normalize pressure, is effective for the prevention of atherosclerosis and, of course, normalizes the digestive tract.

A single diet on fat-free kefir will be the most effective. The unloading mode is very simple: every 2-3 hours you need to drink 1-2 glasses of kefir. By midday, the products were getting fed up with orders. For taste, you can crush dill or parsley into it, and instead, do not drink, but eat with a spoon. If you want to eat between meals (you'll want to), you can drink a glass of water. And if hunger is intense, a tablespoon of wheat bran, unsweetened vegetables or fruit will help kill it.

There are many options for disassembling kefir. Kefir is often combined with vegetables, lean meat, or honey. Days of "full" disassembly for weight loss on kefir are perfect for people with weak willpower and those dictated by certain health conditions.

Apple unloading day

Apples are slow to digest and low in calories. It contains 85% water, and the remaining 15% is a storehouse of valuable vitamins and minerals, not without reason it is called "rejuvenating". Apples are affordable and healthy, they increase immunity, contain antioxidants, regulate the intestinal microflora and promote fat burning. One day apple diet is also called fasting day to lose weight in the stomach. But every medal has two sides. Apples can swell, and a strict apple diet is absolutely contraindicated in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, ulcers, hyperacidity, biliary dyskinesia). In this case, the use of baked apples is allowed.

Let's start by describing the simplest version of disassembling apples, which will require several kilograms of apples.

The procedure is as follows: 2 kg of unsweetened green apples are divided into 5-6 doses or eaten one at a time approximately every hour.

You can eat fresh or baked fruits, as well as combine. It is better to use sour apples, but they can increase appetite.

If it's hard to stick to apples alone, you can try malolactic unloading. It is allowed to eat 1. 5 kg of apples and 500 g of fat-free cottage cheese per day or drink 1. 5 liters of kefir.

Unpacking the day with buckwheat

Perhaps, you should not say again that buckwheat is very healthy, contains trace elements, vitamins and amino acids. In this case, it is more important that cereals are rich in dietary fiber, which improves digestion, helps restore normal function and cleanses the intestines. Like many other cereals, buckwheat belongs to foods with a low glycemic index, and therefore dulls hunger for a long time.

It is better to prepare for unloading buckwheat the day before. A cup of cereal (about 250 g) is poured into a small saucepan, poured with boiling water (0, 5 liters), covered with a lid and left overnight. Naturally without salt, but you can add greens for seasoning. In the morning, the porridge is divided into 4-5 portions. By the way, it is better to use green buckwheat instead of baked chocolate. In it, according to experts, all the nutrients are preserved. If your hunger is getting worse, it's okay to have a snack with green apples, but it's better to drink water.

Rice unloading day

One of the most effective is the rice fasting day. This is good because it has practically no contraindications. The main problem is the possibility of constipation. Therefore, it is better not to lower rice for those who suffer from hemorrhoids or irregular bowel movements. After eating, it is recommended to drink tea with a laxative effect, and start the next morning with kefir and fresh greens. In the intestine, grains work as sorbents, they absorb water and toxins, which are then excreted from the body.

To prepare proper rice porridge, take 350-400 grams of low-calorie brown rice and 0. 5 liters of water. Previously, the cereal should be soaked in water for several hours. The grains are boiled until half cooked. All porridge (up to 1 kg) is divided into portions. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, you can drink water, green tea, herbal concoctions.

Popular fasting days comparison review

The table shows an exemplary menu for each of the fasting days described above (the "full" option).

Disassembly day type		cucumber	Apple	kefir	Buckwheat	Rice
8-00	Breakfast	2 cucumbers + 50 gr. boiled meat	2-3 apples + a glass of kefir	1-2 cups of kefir	100 g steamed buckwheat + cucumber or tomato	200 gr rice + cup of green tea
11-00	Snack	2 cucumbers + green tea or juice	2-3 apples + 100 g any pulp	200 g any vegetables	100 gr steamed buckwheat	200 g rice + 50 g fish or meat
14-00	Dinner	2 cucumbers + boiled egg or 100 gr rice porridge	2 baked apples + fresh cucumber salad with a spoonful of rast. oil	1-2 cups kefir + 50 g lean meat	100 g buckwheat + 50 g meat	200 gr rice + 1 fresh carrot
17-00	Snack	Cucumber and Apple Smoothie with Lemon Juice	2-3 apples + 1 banana	1 cup kefir + banana	100 g buckwheat + apple or grapefruit	200 gr rice + a glass of juice
20-00	Dinner	2 cucumbers + a glass of kefir	2-3 apples + 100 g cottage cheese	1-2 cups of kefir	100 gr steamed buckwheat	200 gr rice + 1 cup kefir

Coffee on fasting day

Coffee lovers may be interested in the question: is it possible to drink coffee these days, or even organize a "coffee unloading" at all. According to nutritionists, 1-2 cups of the drink will only be useful. In this case, the coffee cup should not be the same as the soup bowl. The recommended volume is 90-120 ml. Naturally, coffee should be natural without sugar or cream, but you can add sweetener or skim milk.

Coffee lovers don't want to limit themselves in any particular way and come up with their own version of the diet. The fasting day menu for weight loss is very simple - 5-6 cups of coffee at regular intervals. You can also eat fresh fruit and vegetables. The amount of other fluids should be limited. Many reviews write that after one day they lose up to 3 kg. The only unfortunate thing is that this "weight loss" is deceptive. Coffee is a diuretic. During the day, instead of the prescribed 2 liters, about a liter is drunk, and much more is excreted from the body. Only the weight of the water lost is basically what the scales show. But the big problem is that an already stressful situation for the body is exacerbated by a heavy burden on the heart and kidneys.

The conclusion is simple: it is undesirable and even dangerous to organize coffee fasting days, but it will be useful to supplement the disassembly with 1-2 cups of natural coffee. The key is to drink plenty of fluids.

Helpful Hints

Tips compiled from many reviews, but equally suitable for all types of disassembly.

• Hunger days are much easier if you spend them on your favorite foods (but not on cakes and sweets).
• During fasting days, it is recommended to supplement the diet with decoctions of medicinal herbs. You can use ready-made herbal teas for weight loss. As a rule, they have a complex effect, they have a laxative, fat burning, cleansing, appetite reduction, diuretic and choleretic effect.
• There is no need to try to do everything at once and combine diet with physical activity in one day. But breathing exercises will be the way to go.
• If it is difficult to maintain five meals a day, the daily portion can be divided into more meals.
• Avoid sugar, salt and spices altogether.

Unloading days to lose weight brings different results. In reviews, they often write that they lose up to 2 kg of body weight per day. Those who are interested in this figure should understand that not 2 kg of body fat is lost! Excess fluid with toxins and "food waste", semi-digested food that accumulates on the walls of the intestines, leaves. It is impossible to lose weight even 1 kg per day. At the tightest water discharge, you can remove a maximum of 100-200 grams of fat.