Do fasting days help to lose weight and how does it 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 themselves in shape without making any special efforts or to get back "in line" after the winter. Unloading days for weight loss do not bring as impressive results as we would like, but if you do them regularly, and then do not pounce on food, the effect will certainly please.

What are fasting days for?

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 appears due to bowel cleansing;
• Stress brings the body into tone;
• It helps to overcome the "plateau effect" known to many to the pain. In other words, it is stagnation during the diet. The weight drops to a certain point, and then stops, not wanting to budge. A hunger strike can serve as a mild stress for the body and a kind of catalyst for fat burning processes.
• And of course, one cannot fail to mention the "strength test" and the development of willpower.

Types and features of food unloading

Unloading days are conditionally divided into two types:

• "hungry"
• "satiated".

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

The essence and principles of "hungry" days

The simplest and most rigorous option is a day on the water. Unloading at which proteins, fats and easily digestible carbohydrates are excluded are also called "cleansing". In other cases, in addition to liquid, 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 allowable bar. For example, the calorie content of 100 grams of a 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 or more liters of water. Ordinary non-carbonated water will be supplemented with green tea or a decoction of herbs.

"Full" unloading: types and rules

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

• 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 has nothing to do with sweets. In this case, we are talking about foods rich in slow carbohydrates. Usually it is buckwheat, rice, dried fruits.

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

Product group name		Meat, fish, poultry	Legumes	Vegetable oil	cereals	Sour	semi-sweet	Sweet and dried fruits	Vegetables	Dairy products	Eggs
							Fruit
Meat, fish, poultry		/	-	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	-
Legumes		-	/	+	0	-	-	-	+	-	-
Vegetable oil		-	+	/	+	+	0	0	+	-	-
cereals		0	-	+	/	-	-	-	+	-	-
	Sour	-	-	+	-	/	+	0	+	0	-
Fruit	semi-sweet	-	-	0	-	+	/	+	+	+	-
	Sweet and dried fruits	-	-	0	-	0	+	/	+	+	-
Vegetables		+	+	+	+	+	+	+	/	+	+
Dairy products		-	-	-	-	0	+	+	+	/	-
Eggs		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	/

Benefits and contraindications

Fasting days will help in the unequal struggle with excess weight. They will help 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 diseases, it is recommended to spend "watermelon" days, heart and blood vessels - "potato", and for problems with the joints - "cucumber". Only without initiative, after consulting a doctor. Without fail, unloading should be carried out by those who constantly follow various fitness diets, are fond of protein foods, artificial proteins and other "heavy foods".

It is impossible to unload patients with diabetes mellitus, pregnant and lactating women. People exhausted by a long illness and suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (only "full" discharges are shown after consultation with a gastroenterologist). It is undesirable to arrange unloading during menstruation.

Advice!You should not get carried away with "hungry" unloading, they are carried out no more than once a week, while "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: comply with the conditions

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

Rule 2: choosing 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 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 no less important. Nutritionists advise not to take your legal days off, but to choose Monday. This option is not suitable if the work involves physical labor. Unloading is best arranged weekly on the same day.

Rule 4: rest

On the day of unloading, 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 excluded per day. And for those who have poor tolerance to alcohol, in 2 or even 3 days. In the list of recommended activities: a visit to the bath or sauna. Bath procedures calm the body, help to cope with stress, improve lung ventilation and promote the elimination of toxins. Also shown are leisurely walks in the park.

Lots of time to sleep. Ideally: at least 9 hours. Do not miss the opportunity to relax instead of lunch. Prolonged sleep will strengthen the body, and at the same time it will help to transfer the feeling of hunger more easily.

Rule 5: no contrasts

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

Smooth entry and exit: why is it important?

Any diet, even a one-day one, 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 as suddenly, he finally gets a portion of high-calorie food, and assimilates it to the maximum. That is why after long diets, the lost weight quickly returns.

How to start a fasting day

Proper preparation of the body will help to get the maximum effect from unloading. On the eve of lunch, they refuse heavy food. Dinner is replaced with 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 smoothly complete unloading

Naturally, 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 fruits will help the body switch 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, the best option for yourself can only be chosen empirically. Judging by the reviews of "users", as well as listening to the opinion of nutritionists, the most noticeable results can be obtained by adhering to the diets described below. You can stop at one type of unloading or alternate different ones. So, we present to your attention the most effective fasting days for weight loss.

Unloading day on the water

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

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

Advice!It is very difficult, but you need to keep a positive attitude and stick to the end. Of course, listening to well-being. If weakness, dizziness or other bad symptoms appear, the experiment should be terminated.

You need to be very careful when getting 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

The vegetable, which is 95% water, is adored by nutritionists, 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 yet encountered the face-to-face cucumber diet should know that this vegetable is a strong diuretic.

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

For "green" unloading, 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 is allowed 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 the salad. At lunchtime, the diet is allowed to be supplemented with a boiled egg. It's just a pity it won't save you from hunger.

Kefir unloading day

Kefir can compete with cucumbers in popularity. A lot has been written about the beneficial properties of the product, the most important thing 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.

The mono-diet on fat-free kefir will be the most effective. The unloading mode is extremely simple: every 2-3 hours you need to drink 1-2 glasses of kefir. By the middle of the day, the product is getting fed up with the order. For taste, you can crumble dill or parsley into it, 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, an unsweetened vegetable or fruit will help to kill it.

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

Apple unloading day

An apple is a slow-digesting, low-calorie fruit. It contains 85% water, and the remaining 15% is a valuable storehouse of vitamins and minerals, it is not for nothing that it is called "rejuvenating". Apples are affordable and healthy, they increase immunity, contain antioxidants, regulate intestinal microflora and promote fat burning. A one-day apple diet is also called a fasting day for losing weight in the abdomen. But every medal has two sides. Apples can swell, and a strict apple diet is absolutely 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 by describing the simplest version of apple unloading, which will require a couple of kilograms of apples.

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

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

If it is difficult to hold out on 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.

Unloading day on buckwheat

Probably, you should not say again that buckwheat is incredibly healthy, 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 cleanse the intestines. Like many other cereals, buckwheat belongs to foods with a low glycemic index, and therefore dulls the feeling of hunger for a long time.

It is better to prepare for buckwheat unloading 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 aggravated, 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 practically no contraindications. The main 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 cereal must be soaked in water for several hours. The grains are boiled until half cooked. All porridge (up to 1 kg) is distributed into portions. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, you can water, green tea, herbal decoctions.

Comparative review of popular fasting days

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

Type 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 rast. 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 + 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 unloadings" at all. According to nutritionists, 1-2 cups of the drink will only benefit. In this case, the coffee cup should not be equal to the soup bowl. The recommended volume is 90-120 ml. Naturally, coffee should be natural without sugar or cream, but you can add a sweetener or skim 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 after one such day they lost up to 3 kg. 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. Just the weight of the lost water is basically what the scales show. But the big problem is that an already stressful situation for the body is exacerbated by a strong load on the heart and kidneys.

The conclusion follows from this is simple: it is undesirable and even dangerous to arrange coffee fasting days, but it will be useful to supplement 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 well suited for any type of unloading.

• Days of hunger strike 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 teas for weight loss. As a rule, they have a complex effect, they have a laxative, fat-burning, cleansing, appetite-reducing, diuretic and choleretic effect.
• No need to try to do everything at once and combine diet with physical activity in one day. But breathing exercises will be just the way.
• 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 for weight loss bring different results. In reviews, they often write that they lose up to 2 kg of weight per day. Those who are attracted by this figure should understand that it is not 2 kg of body fat that is lost! Excess fluid with toxins and "food debris", semi-digested food that accumulates on the walls of the intestine, leaves. It is impossible to lose weight even by 1 kg per day. On the most strict water discharge, you can get rid of a maximum of 100-200 grams of fat.