To lose 5 kg in a week without feeling hungry and at the same time improving the condition of the skin and hair, the buckwheat diet for weight loss promises. How true are these promises, what are the essence, features, advantages and disadvantages of the buckwheat diet, who can follow it and who cannot? Let's find out.
Various options are hidden under the name "buckwheat diet" - from the strictest, in which you can eat only unsalted stewed buckwheat, to quite convenient ones, including other products in addition to muesli.
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 a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part grain. Usually 1 full glass of dry buckwheat is enough for a day.
In the evening, put the washed buckwheat in a saucepan, pour boiling water over it, cover with a lid and wrap 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 vary. Usually it is designed for 3, 7 or 14 days, but you can choose any duration. You should not just sit on buckwheat for longer 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 consume, the higher the effectiveness of the buckwheat diet. Of course, you shouldn't go too far and engage in high-intensity interval training or heavy-duty strength training while dieting. 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, 20-30 minutes before meals. When losing weight, dinner should be no later than 3-4 hours before bedtime.
Three day option
In order for a three-day buckwheat diet to give a noticeable result, it must be strict. Your 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 may be eaten.
- Before each meal (half an hour) you need to drink a glass of water.
- If you cannot imagine your life without caffeine, you can drink tea or coffee without milk and sugar.
Following 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, leaving the tissues due to the lack of salt absorption.
Weekly option
A week-long buckwheat diet is less strict than a three-day diet, otherwise it would be difficult to withstand it. Yes, and the lack of other substances that the body needs for such a period will be more noticeable. Therefore, in addition to this grain, the weekly weight loss on buckwheat includes other products. The 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 with 0-1% fat per day. It can be mixed with the main course or drunk on its own.
- You can add 200-300 g of low-calorie, non-starchy vegetables (cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, cabbage, onions, tomatoes) to the menu, raw or stewed without oil.
- It is permissible to eat 2 medium unsweetened apples per day.
- Drink a glass of water half an hour before meals, 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, 000 steps at a fast pace.
2 week option
14-day buckwheat weight loss is the closest to the rules of proper nutrition. And while this diet lacks variety, it's 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 without oil and sauces in unlimited quantities at least twice a day.
- Low-fat kefir (0-1% fat content) - up to 0. 5 liters per day.
- Up to 300g raw or steamed low-calorie vegetables, which can be flavored with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil.
- In one of the meals you can eat a boiled egg, a piece 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.
Such a diet limits only fast carbohydrates and fats, and provides sufficient amounts of complex carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins and fiber, so that the two-week buckwheat diet is well tolerated. If you lead an active lifestyle, you can lose 10 kg in 14 days.
Get off the diet
Weight loss on a buckwheat diet is pretty stable, but only if you get away with it the right way. Gradually introduce into the diet, in small portions, foods whose use 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 resume eating high-calorie foods with low nutritional value. It is advisable to permanently exclude from your menu:
- Confectionery;
- Bake;
- sausages;
- roast meat;
- smoked;
- bad fats;
- Foods with chemical additives and lots of salt.
Remember that with any diet you not only lose fat but also muscle tissue. Unless you're bodybuilding, fat stores will replenish when you return to your previous weight, but muscle mass losses will not be restored. As a result, with each new weight gain cycle, the percentage of body fat increases.
Pros and cons of the buckwheat diet
Compared to other mono-diets, the buckwheat diet for weight loss has significant advantages that are due to the remarkable properties of this grain. Its advantages:
- Buckwheat porridge contains a lot of vegetable protein and is therefore filling. Since the buckwheat diet for weight loss does not limit the amount of porridge eaten, it passes with little to no hunger and is well tolerated.
- The lack of feeling of hunger contributes to the fact that the stress hormone cortisol, which slows down the metabolism, is not produced and weight loss progresses at a rapid pace.
- Buckwheat has the richest vitamin and mineral composition among all grains. Its use has a positive 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 with a strict diet option, where only buckwheat is allowed.
- Eating almost a buckwheat porridge can get boring, so it becomes disgusting for life. As a result, you can lose this useful and inexpensive product in your diet.
- Only environmentally friendly buckwheat, which is grown and stored without the use of chemicals, is useful. Groats sold in supermarkets are usually made in China, there are big doubts about their 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, not having time for elimination. As a result, their concentrations can exceed safe allowable limits and adversely affect health. Therefore, in the age of agrochemicals, a monotonous diet is very risky. This applies to all mono diets, including buckwheat.
contraindications
A buckwheat diet is not recommended for the following groups of people:
- People with diabetes, as this can dramatically change blood sugar levels;
- have a depressive disorder, tk. monotonous eating and lack of sweets can worsen depression;
- have problems with the kidneys, since a large amount of proteins, including vegetable ones, are harmful to them;
- pregnant and lactating, tk. In these conditions, it is impossible to limit the diet both in terms of calories and composition.
- after abdominal surgical interventions;
- Cardiovascular patients for whom such health "experiments" are too dangerous;
- People with gastrointestinal diseases, as they require special dietary needs.
It should be noted that following strict diets is not the best way to lose weight. It is much more effective for achieving harmony and health than temporary dietary restrictions, but the transition to constant observance of 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 from time to time to reduce the growing weight is not worth it. Only those who finally turn to proper nutrition and make friends with sports can radically solve the problem of overweight.