To lose weight by 5 kg in a week without feeling hungry, and at the same time improve the condition of the skin and hair, the buckwheat diet for weight loss promises. How true are these promises, what are the essence, features, pros and cons of the buckwheat diet, who can follow it, and who cannot? Let's figure it out.
Under the name "buckwheat diet", several different options are hidden - from the most strict, which allows you to eat only unsalted steamed buckwheat, to quite comfortable ones, including, in addition to cereals, other products.
Diet Varieties
The main requirement of the buckwheat diet for weight loss is that at least two meals a day should contain buckwheat porridge. At the same time, buckwheat is not boiled, but steamed overnight, pouring boiling water over the washed product in the ratio of 2 parts of water to 1 part of the cereal. Usually 1 full glass of dry buckwheat is enough for a day.
In the evening, place the washed buckwheat in a saucepan, pour boiling water over it, cover with a lid and wrap it with something warm. Salt is not necessary. In the morning you will have the main course of the buckwheat diet ready. Depending on your goals, the duration of the diet may be different. Usually it is designed for 3, 7 or 14 days, but you can choose any duration. You should not just sit on buckwheat for more than two weeks, because there is a high risk that this valuable product will disgust you for life.
To lose weight faster, do not neglect physical activity while observing dietary restrictions. The more calories you spend, the higher the effectiveness of the buckwheat diet will be. Of course, you should not go too far and, while dieting, engage in high-intensity interval training or heavy strength exercises. It is better to give preference to brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling.
Also, do not forget to drink 1. 5-2 liters of pure non-carbonated water per day, consuming it 20-30 minutes before meals. When losing weight, the evening meal should be no later than 3-4 hours before bedtime.
Three Day Option
For a three-day buckwheat diet to give a noticeable result, it must be strict. Her rules are:
- You can eat steamed unsalted buckwheat (without butter, sugar, ketchup, etc. ) in any quantity. To improve the taste, it is allowed to use some natural spices (without salt and flavorings).
- Apart from this porridge, nothing else can be eaten.
- Before each meal (half an hour) you need to drink a glass of water.
- Those who cannot imagine their life without caffeine are allowed tea or coffee without milk and sugar.
If you follow a strict buckwheat mono-diet for weight loss, designed for 3 days, you can lose up to 2-3 kg of excess weight. At the same time, most of the discarded mass will be water, which will leave the tissues due to the lack of salt intake.
Weekly option
A buckwheat diet for a week is less severe than a three-day diet, otherwise it would be difficult to withstand it. Yes, and the lack of other substances necessary for the body for such a period will be more noticeable. Therefore, weekly weight loss on buckwheat, in addition to this cereal, includes other products. Buckwheat diet for 7 days is usually carried out according to the following rules:
- Steamed porridge can be eaten in any quantity without oil, ketchup, etc. , it can be slightly salted before eating.
- In addition to porridge, you can drink no more than 2 glasses of kefir 0-1% fat per day. It can be mixed with the main dish or drunk on its own.
- You can add to the menu 200-300 g of low-calorie non-starchy vegetables (cucumbers, sweet peppers, zucchini, cabbage, onions, tomatoes) raw or stewed without oil.
- It is allowed to eat 2 medium unsweetened apples per day.
- Drinking a glass of water half an hour before meals is a must, you can also drink tea, coffee without sugar and milk.
A weekly buckwheat diet allows you to lose 4-5 kg, but only with high physical activity. Your daily mandatory minimum should be 10 thousand steps at a fast pace.
2 week option
Weight loss on buckwheat lasting 14 days is closest to the rules of proper nutrition. And although this diet lacks variety, it is difficult to call it a mono-diet. The buckwheat porridge diet, designed for two weeks, allows the use of the following products:
- Steamed buckwheat porridge, which can be eaten in unlimited quantities at least twice a day without oil and sauces.
- Low-fat kefir (0-1% fat content) - up to 0. 5 liters per day.
- Up to 300 g of raw or stewed low-calorie vegetables, which can be flavored with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil.
- In one of the meals, you can eat a boiled egg, a piece of baked in the oven or boiled lean meat (fish) the size of a palm (without fingers).
- All dishes should be salted to a minimum, you can use natural spices, lemon juice.
- 2-3 sweet and sour apples.
- Also remember to drink water half an hour before meals. Tea, coffee should be drunk without sugar.
With such a diet, only fast carbohydrates and fats are limited, and complex carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins and fiber are supplied in sufficient quantities, so the two-week buckwheat diet is well tolerated. If you lead an active lifestyle, then you can lose 10 kg in 14 days.
Getting out of the diet
Weight loss on a buckwheat diet is quite stable, but only if you get out of it correctly. Gradually, in small portions, introduce foods into the diet, the use of which does not contradict the principles of proper nutrition. If the way out of the buckwheat diet is done correctly, then during its time you can lose a few more kilograms of excess weight.
After losing weight on a buckwheat diet, you should not return to eating high-calorie foods that have low nutritional value. It is advisable to permanently exclude from your menu:
- confectionery;
- baking;
- sausages;
- roast;
- smoked;
- bad fats;
- food containing chemical additives and a lot of salt.
Remember that with every diet you lose not only fat, but also muscle tissue. If you are not engaged in bodybuilding, then when you return to your previous weight, fat reserves are replenished, but muscle mass losses are not restored. As a result, with each new weight loss-gain cycle, the percentage of body fat increases.
Pros and cons of buckwheat diet
Compared to other mono-diets, the buckwheat diet for weight loss has significant advantages, which are due to the remarkable qualities of this cereal. Its advantages:
- Buckwheat porridge contains a lot of vegetable protein, so it is satisfying. Since the buckwheat diet for weight loss does not limit the amount of porridge eaten, it passes with little or no hunger and is easily tolerated.
- The lack of a feeling of hunger contributes to the fact that the stress hormone cortisol, which slows down metabolism, is not produced, and weight loss proceeds at a rapid pace.
- Buckwheat has the richest vitamin and mineral composition among all cereals. Its use has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, hair, immunity, blood composition, the state of the cardiovascular and nervous systems.
But the buckwheat diet also has disadvantages:
- Like any mono-diet, it is not able to provide the body with all the necessary substances. This disadvantage is more pronounced in a strict diet option, in which only buckwheat is allowed.
- When eating almost one buckwheat porridge, it can get bored so that it becomes disgusting for life. As a result, you can lose this useful and inexpensive product in your diet.
- Useful only environmentally friendly buckwheat, grown and stored without the use of chemicals. Groats sold in supermarkets are usually produced in China, there are big doubts about its ecological purity.
Unfortunately, with the constant use of a large amount of the same product, the harmful chemical compounds contained in it can quickly accumulate in the body without having time to be excreted. As a result, their levels may exceed safe allowable limits and adversely affect health. Therefore, in the age of agricultural chemistry, a monotonous diet is very risky. This applies to all mono-diets, including buckwheat.
Contraindications
The following categories of people are not recommended to follow a buckwheat diet:
- those with diabetes, as this can dramatically change blood sugar levels;
- having a depressive disorder, tk. monotonous food and lack of sweets can aggravate depression;
- having problems with the kidneys, since a large amount of proteins, even vegetable ones, are harmful to them;
- pregnant and breastfeeding, tk. under these conditions, it is impossible to limit the diet either in terms of calories or in composition;
- after abdominal surgical interventions;
- suffering from cardiovascular diseases, for whom such "experiments" with health are too dangerous;
- those with gastrointestinal diseases, as they need special dietary nutrition.
It should be noted that following strict diets is not the best way to lose weight. It is much more effective for gaining harmony and healthier than temporary dietary restrictions, but the transition to constant adherence to the principles of proper nutrition and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Conclusion
Buckwheat diet for weight loss is very effective and well tolerated. However, resorting to diets to reduce growing weight from time to time is not worth it. Only by finally turning to proper nutrition and making friends with sports, you can radically solve the problem of excess weight.