Do fasting days help to lose weight and how does it work?

Fasting days will not help you lose 10-15 kg in the month before summer. They are more suitable for those who need to keep themselves in shape without making any special efforts or to get back "in line" after the winter. Unloading days for weight loss do not give as impressive results as we would like, but if you do them regularly, and then do not force food, the effect will definitely please you.

What are fasting days?

It would seem that what can happen after one day of fasting, but this is only at first glance. The benefits of fasting days have long been proven, tested and double checked. And it consists of the following:

• After a short hunger strike, a feeling of lightness is seen due to bowel cleansing;
• Stress tones the body;
• It helps overcome the "plateau effect" known to many for pain. In other words, it is stagnation during the diet. The weight falls to a certain point, and then it stops, not wanting to budge. A hunger strike can act as a mild stress for the body and a catalyst for fat burning processes.
• And of course, one cannot fail to mention the "test of strength" and the development of will power.

Types and features of food unloading

Unloading days are conditionally divided into two types:

• "hunger"
• "saturated".

These two options are distinguished by the calorie content of the daily menu and the number of ingredients allowed for their use.

The basis and principles of "hunger" days.

The simplest and most intense option is a day on the water. Deloading is also called "cleansing" in which easily digestible proteins, fats and carbohydrates are excluded. In other cases, in addition to liquid, one product is included in the diet. The maximum daily calorie content is 500 calories. Since 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 regular cucumber is 15. 5 calories. With these restrictions, 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. Plain non-carbonated water will be supplemented with green tea or a decoction of herbs.

"Full" discharge: types and rules

A more benign option. They allow 2-3 products that can be combined: meat, vegetables, eggs, legumes, fruit, dairy products. The calorie condition varies slightly, you cannot exceed the 800 calorie limit. According to the types of products used, protein and carbohydrate are "full" fasting days for weight loss.

• Protein unloading is the best option if more restrictive diets cause weakness, dizziness or are not suitable for health reasons. You can eat: lean meat; shellfish, crustaceans and fish; vegetable proteins. If desired, the menu can be diversified with low-calorie vegetables. Chinese cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, greens are successfully combined with proteins. 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 unloading - sounds tempting, but it has nothing to do with sweets. In this case, we are talking about foods rich in slow carbohydrates. It is usually buckwheat, rice, dried fruit.

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

The name of the product group		Meat, fish, poultry	legumes	Vegetable oil	cereals	Bitter	semi-sweet	Sweet and dried fruits	Vegetables	Dairy products	Eggs
							Results
Meat, fish, poultry		/	-	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	-
legumes		-	/	+	0	-	-	-	+	-	-
Vegetable oil		-	+	/	+	+	0	0	+	-	-
cereals		0	-	+	/	-	-	-	+	-	-
	Bitter	-	-	+	-	/	+	0	+	0	-
Results	semi-sweet	-	-	0	-	+	/	+	+	+	-
	Sweet and dried fruits	-	-	0	-	0	+	/	+	+	-
Vegetables		+	+	+	+	+	+	+	/	+	+
Dairy products		-	-	-	-	0	+	+	+	/	-
Eggs		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	/

Benefits and contraindications

Fasting days will help in the uneven struggle with excess weight. They will help to get rid of heaviness after busy holidays, contributing to the gentle cleansing of the intestines from toxins. Indicated for certain diseases. So, for example, in case of kidney disease, it is recommended to spend "watermelon" days, heart and blood vessels - "potatoes", and for joint problems - "cucumber". Except without initiative, after consulting a doctor. Without fail, those people who constantly follow various exercise diets, who appreciate protein foods, artificial proteins and other "heavy foods" should do the unloading.

It is impossible to discharge patients with diabetes mellitus, pregnant and lactating women. People exhausted by long illness and suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (only a "full" discharge is shown after consulting a gastroenterologist). It is not desirable to fix discharge during menstruation.

Advice!You should not do "hungry" unloading, they are done no more than once a week, and "full" can be done 2-3 times.

5 unloading rules

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

Rule 1: abide by the conditions

Most of the fasting days are built on the principle of mono-diet, that is, you can eat one product, but you must do this as often as possible. Of course, in small portions. In addition, the chosen product should be liked, this will help to alleviate the already stressful situation for the body. The total energy value of the products should not exceed 800 cal.

Rule 2: choosing the best product

As a rule, unloading is done on low-calorie foods, which contain a minimum amount of fats and carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, kefir). For a carbohydrate diet, you can stop one type of cereal with a low glycemic index (buckwheat, rice, oatmeal). Lean meat and lean fish are allowed in protein unloading. The most effective are "liquid" fasting days, when the teeth are resting, but you can only drink.

Rule 3: the right day

Many do not attach importance to this moment, but choosing a day is not so important. Nutritionists advise not to take your legal days off, but to choose Monday. This option is not suitable if the work involves physical labour. It is best to arrange the unloading weekly on the same day.

Rule 4: rest

On the day of unloading, not only the digestive tract should rest, but the entire organism as a whole. It is important to exclude any physical activity, especially training. Alcohol is excluded per day. And for those who have a poor tolerance to alcohol, in 2 or even 3 days. In the list of recommended activities: a visit to the bath or sauna. Sauna procedures relax the body, help combat stress, improve lung ventilation and promote the elimination of toxins. Relaxing walks in the park are also shown.

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

Rule 5: no opposites

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

Smooth entry and exit: why is it important?

Any diet, even for one day, is a strong stress for the body. At one point, without explaining the reason, they suddenly stopped feeding him. When will it end, or will it end at all? Just because suddenly, he finally finds some high-calorie food, and assimilates it to the maximum. That is why after long diets, the lost weight returns quickly.

How to start a fasting day

Proper preparation of the body will help to obtain the maximum effect from unloading. On the night before lunch, they refuse heavy food. Dinner is replaced by a light salad, fruit, kefir. Before going to bed, it is recommended to do a cleansing enema. You can drink herbal tea, which has a laxative effect, but without fanaticism.

How to finish unloading smoothly

Of course, the next morning you should not start with fried potatoes. It is better to drink 200 ml of water on an empty stomach and eat some stewed vegetables or a spoonful of rice, and then refrain from eating for 2-3 hours. Cereals, vegetables and fruit will help the body transition to stable work. It is better to give up meat, legumes, eggs or fish. Due to the production of cortisol (stress hormone), appetite increases, and food is absorbed to the maximum.

The most efficient way to unload

The effectiveness of a particular diet is a relative concept. Each organism is individual, reacts differently to stress, perceives and assimilates products. Therefore, choosing the best option for yourself can only be done empirically. Judging from the reviews of "users", as well as listening to the opinion of nutritionists, the most significant results can be obtained by adhering to the diets described below. You can stop one type of unloading or other types of unloading. Therefore, we present to your attention the most effective fasting days for weight loss.

Unloading day on the water

The most difficult and effective ones, if not done correctly, are called "liquid" unloading. Many begin to "unload" the day after the festival or immediately after the holidays, but nutritionists recommend at least a day before the "X" day to exclude lactic acid, meat, flour dishes and switch to light food. Of course, everything is fatty, fried, salty and smoked too. It is best to prepare water in advance. It can be non-carbonated mineral or ordinary purified, but not boiled.

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

Advice!It is very difficult, but you have to keep a positive attitude and stick to the end. Of course, listen to good mood. If weakness, dizziness or other adverse symptoms appear, the experiment should be stopped.

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

Unloading day on cucumbers

Nutritionists love the vegetable, which is 95% water, and the cucumber fasting day for weight loss is so popular that it does not need advertising. Cucumbers are a product with a negative calorie content (the body spends more on their digestion than it receives), and it is much easier to get enough of them (albeit for a short time) than water.

Those who have not found the face cucumber diet should know yet that this vegetable is a strong diuretic.

Therefore, during the day it is better to be near the toilet. An active social life will need to be postponed, weakness may appear after dinner, especially in the legs. Some have enlarged stool. One-day cucumber unloading is indicated for uric acid diathesis, obesity, hypertension, gout, arthrosis and atherosclerosis.

For unloading "green", you will need 1. 5-2 kg of fresh cucumbers. This amount is divided into 5-6 doses. Drinking without restrictions. For a change, you can prepare a salad of cucumbers with herbs, which are allowed to be filled with a spoon 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 the salad. At lunchtime, it is allowed to supplement the diet with a boiled egg. 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 beneficial properties of the product, the most important thing is that it is available all year round, it helps to normalize pressure, it is effective in preventing atherosclerosis and, of course, it normalizes the digestive tract.

The mono-diet on fat-free kefir will be the most effective. The unloading method is very simple: every 2-3 hours you need to drink 1-2 glasses of kefir. By the middle of the day, the product is getting tired of the order. For taste, you can finely crush dill or parsley, and for a change, do not drink, but eat with a spoon. If you want to eat between meals (you definitely want to), you can drink a glass of water. And if the feeling of hunger is very strong, a tablespoon of wheat bran, vegetables or unsweetened fruit will help to kill it.

There are many options for unloading kefir. Kefir is often combined with vegetables, lean meat, or honey. "Full" unloading days for weight loss on kefir are perfect for people with weak willpower and those who are subject to certain health conditions.

Apple unloading day

An apple is a slow-digesting, low-calorie fruit. It is 85% water, and the remaining 15% is a valuable storehouse of vitamins and minerals, not something called "rejuvenating". Apples are affordable and healthy, they increase immunity, contain antioxidants, regulate intestinal microflora and promote fat burning. One day apple diet is also called fasting day to lose belly weight. But every coin has two sides. Apples can swell, and a strict apple diet is completely contraindicated in diseases of the digestive tract (gastritis, ulcers, hyperacidity, biliary dyskinesia). In these cases, the use of baked apples is allowed.

Let's start with a description of the simplest version of apple unloading, which will require a few 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 fruit fresh or baked, as well as together. It is better to use sour apples, but they can increase appetite.

If it is difficult to keep out of 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 to drink 1. 5 liters of kefir.

Unloading day on buckwheat

Probably, you should not say again that buckwheat is extremely healthy, it contains trace elements, vitamins and amino acids. In this case, it is more important that the cereal is rich in dietary fiber, which improves digestion, helps restore normal functioning and clean the intestines. Like many other cereals, buckwheat belongs to foods with a low glycemic index, so it suppresses the feeling of 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 as spices. In the morning, the porridge is divided into 4-5 servings. By the way, it is better to use green buckwheat, not roasted brown. In it, according to experts, all the nutrients are preserved. If the feeling of hunger has worsened, it is allowed to have a snack with a green apple, but it is better to drink water.

Unloading day on rice

One of the most effective is the rice fasting day. It is good because it has almost no contraindications. The biggest problem is the likelihood of constipation. Therefore, it is better not to unload on rice for those who suffer from hemorrhoids or irregular stools. After eating, it is advisable to drink teas with a laxative effect, and start the next morning with kefir and fresh vegetables. In the intestines, the grains work as a sorbent, they absorb water and toxins, which are then removed from the body.

To prepare the right rice porridge, take 350-400 grams of low-calorie brown rice and 0. 5 liters of water. Beforehand, the grain must be soaked in water for several hours. The grains are cooked until half cooked. Each porridge (up to 1 kg) is distributed in portions. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, you can water, green tea, herbal decoctions.

A comparative review of common fasting days

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

A kind of unloading day		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 g rice + a cup of green tea
11-00	Snack	2 cucumbers + green tea or juice	2-3 apples + 100 g of any porridge	200 g of any vegetables	100 g 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 rasta. oils	1-2 cups of kefir + 50 g of lean meat	100 g buckwheat + 50 g meat	200 g rice + 1 fresh carrot
17-00	Snack	Cucumber and Apple Smoothie with Lemon Juice	2-3 apples + 1 banana	1 glass of kefir + banana	100 g buckwheat + apple or ½ grapefruit	200 g 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 g steamed buckwheat	200 g rice + 1 glass of kefir

Coffee on fasting days

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

Coffee lovers did not want to limit themselves in some way and came up with their own version of the diet. The fasting day menu for weight loss is extremely simple - 5-6 cups of coffee at regular intervals. You can also eat fresh fruits and vegetables. The amount of other liquid must be limited. Many reviews write that they lost up to 3 kg after one such day. The only pity 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. The weight of water lost is basically what the scales show. But the big problem is that an already stressful situation for the body is made worse by a heavy load on the heart and kidneys.

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

Helpful Hints

Tips compiled from numerous reviews, but equally suitable for any type of unloading.

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

Unloading days for weight loss give different results. In reviews, they often write that they lose up to 2 kg of weight per day. Those who are attracted to this figure should understand that it is not 2 kg of body fat that is lost! Excess fluid leaves with toxins and "food debris", half-digested food that accumulates on the walls of the intestine. It is impossible to lose weight even by 1 kg per day. On the most intense water discharge, you can get rid of 100-200 grams of fat at most.