What is 3 Day Detox Diet
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What is the 3-Day Detox Diet?
The words detox and diet probably sound like music to the ears for those who wish to lose weight and that too quickly. From fitness enthusiasts to people who want to shed extra pounds, detox has been one of the most enticing options that promise to provide quick results in a short time period. The idea of a detox diet mainly refers to cleansing the body of unnecessary toxins while helping with weight loss at the same time. The market out there is loaded with detox diets that claim to target a certain group of people, mainly those who are on a lookout for a fast yet inexpensive weight loss solution.
The 3-Day detox diet is one of those diets that promise you a great kickstart to your weight loss journey. Therefore, in this article, we have decided to gather all that we can regarding the 3-day detox diet and see if it really is worth the hype or just a sham out of many.
What is the 3-Day Detox Diet?
The main idea behind the 3-day detox diet is to flush out toxins from your body, train you to discipline yourself and help you lose weight. There are certain indications that your body gives when it is time for you to go on a detox diet. For example, if you feel bloated or gassy frequently, it shows that a detox will help you manage the unpleasant condition. Similarly, lack of concentration, headaches, sluggishness, acne and dull skin tone are some other symptoms that point to the need for a body detox.
According to the proponents of the 3-day detox diet, the diet has multiple benefits that include increased energy, better sleep, healthier skin, improved mood, reduced bloating and inflammation etc. Apart from that, the 3-day detox diet gets you started on your weight loss journey provided that you do the detox properly by getting rid of items such as sugar, caffeine, alcohol, drugs, dairy, processed foods and junk items. Once you allow your body to cleanse of the toxins that these foods produce, it is easier to get on with the detox and lose weight in the long run. There is a large variety of detox diets that are popular among the masses and 3-day detox diet is one of them. Let’s move on to how the 3-day detox diet works and the best way to begin your detox.
How Does the 3-Day Detox Diet Work?
Before you begin your 3-day detox diet, the first thing you need to do is remove all the unnecessary food from your fridge. By doing that, you rid yourself of all the food items that are likely to tempt you. The next important step is to buy a detox friendly grocery, which depends on what you are required to eat during your 3-day detox.
Now that you are fully equipped to start your detox diet, it is essential to prepare a night before you begin so that you know exactly how the next day is going to go in terms of eating. In order to prepare for the detox diet, make sure you have a small meal around the time of sunset. It is advisable to include salads and light meals that are easy to digest. The next day which is the day when you begin your 3-day detox diet, start with a glass of warm water before taking breakfast and then proceed on with the first meal of the day.
It is important to mention here that the detox diet entails foods that mainly include juices, smoothies and soups. By allowing yourself to consume foods in liquid form, the body goes into the process of detox that leads to an overall cleansing of the body. As a result, it becomes easier for you to kickstart the process of weight loss, which determines the success of your 3-day detox diet.
Since the detox diet requires you to cut down on your usual amount of calorie and recommends taking liquids such as soups, smoothies and juices, it is evident that you are going to lose weight no matter what. However, we still need to determine whether that really is the ideal way to go about a weight loss program.
What to Eat on a 3-Day Detox Diet?
Your 3-day detox diet is more likely to include fresh and natural foods that mainly include vegetables, herbs and fruits in some cases. Although there is no hard and fast rule as to what you are supposed to eat on a 3-day detox diet, here is a list of generic food items that you can incorporate into your diet in the form of soups, juices, smoothies or a combination of all three, however you like it:
- Carrot
- Celery
- Broccoli
- Parsley
- Tomato
- Beetroot
- Radishes
- Cucumber
- Spinach
- Chives
- Coriander
- Alfalfa
- Lettuce
- Fennel
These are some of the ingredients that could help you make a large variety of smoothies, juices and even soups according to your taste and preference. The best thing about having so many options to pick from is that you are not bound to a single meal or ingredient, which ultimately helps in sticking to the detox for the required time period.
Foods to Avoid on a 3-Day Detox Diet
A prerequisite for the 3-day detox diet is to avoid certain foods that could totally hinder your detox process and ruin the whole experience for you. Just as we do in regular diets, a 3-day detox diet demands that you cut off your sugar intake, junk foods, processed foods, fried foods, alcohol, drugs, and high carb foods such as wheat products. By cutting these foods for the time during the detox, your body does crave them but the detox is going to have effective results only if you refrain from the above-mentioned food groups. Once the detox is over, you can incorporate some food items into your daily diet to a certain limit that your health care provider suggests.
Sample Meal Plan for a 3-Day Detox Diet
Many dieticians and detox experts have come up with a whole host of detox recipes and meal plans that can be alternatively used in order to avoid redundancy in the diet plan. Here is a simple yet fulfilling sample meal plan for your 3-day detox diet that will help you kickstart your weight loss process.
- Breakfast for your breakfast, you may start with a cup of warm water and then have cooked quinoa with nuts, fruit/vegetable smoothie, a bowl of fresh fruit with seeds or yogurt. It is totally up to you to choose between all the options however, a nice tip would be to keep shuffling so that you do not get bored or tired of having the same meal over and over again.
- Lunch as for the lunch, the options include mixed greens salad along with raw vegetables dressed in flax oil, vinegar or tahini. You could also have sweet potatoes, carrot soup, grated vegetables dressed with tahini, flax oil or vinegar. You can also pair your lunch with a cup of detox tea made with herbs of your choice.
- Dinner for a 3-day detox dinner, you can choose from a bowl of mixed fruits, chickpeas with vegetables sauteed in olive oil, steamed greens or soup, herbal tea and brown rice. Another great healthy option would be stir-fry vegetables with brown rice.
The idea behind the 3-day detox diet is not to starve you of anything but to limit the consumption of foods that hinder the process of weight loss and increase in foods that detoxify the body. However, the effectiveness of a detox that lasts for 3 days only is yet to be determined.
The 3-Day Detox Diet: Healthy or Not?
Despite the hype that the 3-day detox diet has gotten over the years, there is quite limited evidence that proves its effectiveness in providing the body with essential nutrition while helping in detoxification. Nutritionists and dieticians agree that the 3-day detox diet can only be utilized to kickstart the weight loss journey. It is in no way appropriate for a long-term weight loss, which can only be achieved through a well-balanced diet that contains all food groups provided that the quantity and portions are properly defined according to bodily needs.
Final Word
From what we have gathered with the help of various studies and researches, the 3-day detox diet is one of those diets that offer a quick-fix solution to your weight loss issue. The effectiveness of this diet however is still a bone of contention among the experts in the field of diet and nutrition. A vast majority believes that this diet and its counterparts only help to kickstart the weight loss process; they do not make you lose weight the way it is supposed to be shed. For a healthy weight loss, a diet that contains all food groups in specified portions according to your body’s needs is most recommended by dieticians and nutritionists alike.
References
https://shefit.com/blogs/shefit-blog/3-day-easy-detox-diet-for-weight-loss
https://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/3-day-diet
https://www.coachmag.co.uk/diet-plans/7321/the-women-s-fitness-3-day-detox-diet