Japanese diet. Is it really so good and to whom is it contraindicated? - Let's get ready for summer before it's too late
The main advantages of the Japanese diet for the inhabitants of our country are its relative accessibility and duration. The absence of complex and expensive materials, only two weeks of restrictions and now you are showing off in jeans that have never been unbuttoned before. However, in order to become a beautiful geisha, you must strictly follow the menu.
Briefly about the main thing
The duration of the diet is 14 days. This is a low-calorie protein menu, you can follow this diet no more than 2 times a year. The average result of the Japanese diet is 5-8 kg in 2 weeks. This menu is not suitable for pregnant women, nursing mothers, people with gastritis and ulcers, people with liver disease, kidney disease and heart disease. You should consult your doctor before starting the diet.
Original or speculation?
It will not be exotic - all foods allowed in the Japanese diet have long been familiar to us. This is a definite plus, because the risk of allergies is minimized and the necessary ingredients for cooking can be purchased at any supermarket.
It is not known exactly why this diet is called Japanese. According to some sources, it was invented in a clinic in Tokyo, according to others, the name was inspired by a simple and clear diet plan that gave the expected inspiring result (a truly Japanese method: follow the rules, do your best and you will be rewarded).
The Japanese diet is popular all over the world; It is distinguished by moderation in the composition and calorie content of allowed foods, which makes it similar to the traditional Far Eastern diet. Japanese nutritionist Naomi Moriyama is confident that the youth and longevity of her compatriots allow them to maintain a relatively small amount of carbohydrates and small portion sizes in the daily menu.
Moriyama estimates that Japanese people consume, on average, 25% fewer calories than people in other countries. For example, in Japan it is not customary to eat potato chips, chocolate or confectionery pastries, and the Japanese learned about butter only from Europeans at the beginning of the twentieth century and are still skeptical about it. So, choosing healthy foods in moderation is a national feature of Japanese culture. And the 14-day Japanese diet fully complies with this requirement, despite the formal differences with the usual diet of ordinary residents of the Pacific state.
"Samurai" rules of the Japanese diet
The main satiating ingredient in the diet is protein from chicken eggs, chicken, beef, fish and dairy products. Carbohydrates are found in crackers and some allowed vegetables; Fats are found in meat and fish, as well as in olive oil, which can be used for cooking and as a salad dressing.
Fiber is abundant in vegetables and fruits, and on some days of the diet its amount is not even regulated, so the stomach will most likely do its job well. Coffee and green tea not only help revitalize you, but they also contain healthy antioxidants (which is why it's important to always choose high-quality tea and coffee that is natural and free of sweeteners or additives).
But such a diet still cannot be called balanced, and following it for more than two weeks is dangerous to health. But even during these 14 days, your body may respond inadequately to reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the menu: in this case, you will feel body aches, weakness and headache. Then you need to gradually abandon the strict menu and consult a doctor.
Drinking regime is especially important in the Japanese diet. Drink plenty of clean, still water at room temperature to not only help your stomach feel full, but also to ensure the elimination of animal protein waste products.
The main condition for the success of the Japanese diet is strict adherence to its plan. You cannot mix up the days and replace some products with others or even similar ones as you wish. The only exception may be morning coffee - it can be replaced with a cup of green tea without sugar. It is recommended to avoid salt throughout the diet, but if this prohibition is critical for your taste buds, add a minimum amount of salt to your food.
The small number of meals a day (only three meals instead of the healthy 5-6) and lack of snacks can also be difficult on the Japanese diet, so be prepared for this. Eat dinner at least a few hours before bedtime and start the morning with a glass of water on an empty stomach - this is good for metabolism and allows you to better tolerate the absence of breakfast.
Since the Japanese diet is strict, it is highly undesirable to rush into it. If you decide to lose weight with such a menu, prepare yourself psychologically and prepare your body by giving up sweets and fast food and reducing the amount of portions you are used to, at least a few days before starting the diet.
14-day shopping list for the Japanese diet
- Coffee beans or ground - 1 pack
- Green tea of your favorite variety (without additives or sweeteners) - 1 pack
- Fresh chicken eggs - 2 dozen
- Sea fish fillet – 2 kg
- Lean beef, fillet – 1 kg
- Chicken fillet – 1 kg
- Extra virgin olive oil – 500 ml
- White cabbage – 2 medium sized forks
- Fresh carrots – 2–3 kg
- Zucchini, eggplant - total 1 kg
- Fruits (except bananas and grapes) - 1 kg total
- Tomato juice - 1 l
- Kefir - 1 liter
- Lemons - 2 pcs.
Menu for the brave
The composition of the Japanese diet is often compared to the "chemical diet", an eating plan invented by American physician Osama Hamdiy to treat obesity in diabetics. Like the Hamdia diet, the Japanese diet uses the effect of a sharp reduction in carbohydrate nutrition while increasing the amount of protein. As a result, the chemistry of the body's metabolic processes is rearranged, accumulated fats are burned rapidly and new ones are prevented from forming thanks to the strengthened muscles.
No changes in schedule or diet are allowed in the Japanese diet. If you want to get results, you must follow the diet program strictly.
First day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar and milk.
Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, boiled cabbage with vegetable oil and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200 g of boiled or fried fish.
The second day
Breakfast: A piece of rye bread and unsweetened coffee.
Lunch: 200 g of boiled or fried fish with boiled cabbage and vegetable oil.
Dinner: 100 g of boiled beef and a glass of kefir.
The third day
Breakfast: A piece of rye bread toasted in the toaster or yeast-free biscuits without additives, coffee without sugar.
Lunch: Zucchini or eggplant fried in any amount of vegetable oil.
Dinner: 200 g of unsalted boiled beef, raw cabbage in vegetable oil and 2 boiled eggs.
Fourth day
Breakfast: A small fresh carrot with the juice of one lemon.
Lunch: 200 g of boiled or fried fish and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200g of any fruit.
Fifth day
Breakfast: A small fresh carrot with the juice of one lemon.
Lunch: boiled fish and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200g of any fruit.
Sixth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: unsalted boiled chicken (500 g) with a salad of fresh cabbage and carrots in vegetable oil.
Dinner: small fresh carrots and 2 boiled eggs.
Seventh Day
Breakfast: green tea.
Lunch: 200 g boiled veal without salt.
Dinner: 200 g of fruit or 200 g of boiled or fried fish or 2 eggs with fresh carrots in vegetable oil or boiled beef and 1 glass of kefir.
eighth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: 500 g unsalted boiled chicken and carrot and cabbage salad in vegetable oil.
Dinner: Fresh baby carrots with vegetable oil and 2 boiled eggs.
ninth day
Breakfast: medium carrots with lemon juice.
Lunch: 200 g of boiled or fried fish and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200g of any fruit.
tenth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: 50 g cheese, 3 small carrots in vegetable oil and 1 boiled egg.
Dinner: 200g of any fruit.
eleventh day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee and a slice of rye bread.
Lunch: Zucchini or eggplant fried in any amount of vegetable oil.
Dinner: 200 g of unsalted boiled beef, 2 boiled eggs and fresh cabbage in vegetable oil.
twelfth day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee and a slice of rye bread.
Lunch: 200 g of boiled or fried fish with fresh cabbage in vegetable oil.
Dinner: 100 g of boiled unsalted beef and a glass of kefir.
thirteenth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, cabbage boiled in vegetable oil and a glass of tomato juice.
Dinner: 200 g of boiled or fried fish in vegetable oil.
fourteenth day
Breakfast: coffee without sugar.
Lunch: boiled or fried fish (200 g), fresh cabbage with olive oil.
Dinner: 200 g of boiled beef, a glass of kefir.
There is an opinion that such a diet is one of the longest-lasting diets, and the results achieved can last up to three years. But of course, the dream will remain unattainable if you start overeating after the end of the restrictions.
Fast does not mean high quality
It is also worth noting that there is an opinion among experts that most of the time the mentioned diets do not work and are even harmful. Weight loss should be gradual, and severe hypocaloric nutrition itself leads to breakdowns and can even cause depression, says endocrinologist and nutritionist Irina Tatarnikova. The fact is that a person begins to scold himself for his thinness, but in fact his diet was unbalanced.
—Extremely low-calorie diets and fasting for which the person is not ready are used here. Therefore, extreme methods are effective only at the initial stage, but then there will be a breakdown and the weight will return with interest, the expert says.
The nutritionist also explains that for most people, long pauses between main meals, such as skipping breakfast, will lead to overeating at dinner.
- Do not try to lose weight - you should completely forget this expression, because trying comes from the word "torture", and losing weight comes from the word "bad". Saying this, we do not set ourselves up for positive weight loss, " concludes the nutritionist. Irina advises us to think that by limiting ourselves without fanaticism, we will first of all make ourselves healthier. Especially for the editors, she listed 10 popular habits that prevent you from losing weight.