This best 3 military day diet is based on chemical
breakdown. You must eat exactly what is listed. Nothing more, nothing
less. It was created by a military person in order to lose pounds/get
in shape quickly. Personally, I don't really have a reason to have to
lose pounds quickly, other than the fact that I have been dieting and
exercising religiously for the past year and a half with little to no
results and I'm desperate to find something that works.
Anyway, the diet is safe and can be repeated after a 4-day break. It doesn't say that exercise is required, but I am sure it doesn't hurt. I exercised each day of the diet, but I just made sure not to overdo it. I walked on my treadmill for 30 minutes each day at a medium-fast pace. With the small amount of food you will be eating, you may not have a whole lot of energy to exercise.
A note about water: it is the only thing you are allowed to drink on
this diet (other than coffee or tea on day one if desired). I recommend
drinking at least a gallon of water each day. It helps somewhat with
the hunger. Not to mention it's very good for you.
THE RULES:
No eating between meals
No substitutions
No seasonings other than salt and pepper
My Experience on the Best 3 Day Military Diet
Day 1:
BREAKFAST--1/2 GRAPEFRUIT, 1 SLICE TOAST,
2 TBS. PEANUT BUTTER, COFFEE OR TEA
LUNCH--1/2 CUP TUNA, 1 SLICE TOAST, COFFEE OR TEA
DINNER--2 SLICES ANY TYPE OF MEAT (ABOUT 3
OZ), 1 CUP GREEN BEANS, 1/2 BANANA, 1 SMALL
APPLE, 1 CUP VANILLA ICE CREAM
I put off eating breakfast for as long as possible. I ate my breakfast at 11:00. It was actually a fairly satisfying breakfast. Half of a grapefruit... this was the first time I had ever eaten grapefruit without any kind of sweetener on top, but hey, it wasn't bad. 2 tbsp of peanut butter was actually too much for one piece of toast though. But I still slathered it on there and ate it since the diet says to eat everything on the list exactly as it's written.
Then 2:00 rolled around and it was lunchtime... ok, that was
disappointing. A piece of toast with tuna on top. Yes, it's edible,
but really, is that all?
Then came the most challenging part of the day. The 5 hours between
lunch and dinner. I did manage to exercise for 30 minutes during my
lunch break...since I didn't have to spend a lot of time eating anyway.
I was EXTREMELY hungry the entire time. Then I started feeling very
weak, shaky, and lightheaded. But I just kept telling myself that
eating was not an option. Nope, not until dinner time.
Ahhh...
dinner. Even though it was almost all healthy food, I was sooo happy
to eat it. And look at that plate of food, it's actually quite a bit of
food to eat for being on such a strict diet.
I guess they're making up for the agonizing afternoon of nothing. And you get to eat ice cream too! Honestly, I felt pretty guilty about the ice cream. But hey, the diet says you have to eat it, and who am I to disobey the diet?
I guess they're making up for the agonizing afternoon of nothing. And you get to eat ice cream too! Honestly, I felt pretty guilty about the ice cream. But hey, the diet says you have to eat it, and who am I to disobey the diet?
Okay,
okay, I'm lying a little bit here. As you can see, that is broccoli on
my plate, not green beans like the diet says. I am sure that just about
everyone will have at least one thing on the list that they absolutely
cannot tolerate. For me, that thing was green beans. Surprisingly, I
liked everything else on the list (except for coffee and tea, but
luckily that was optional).
Oh, and another note about today: I had no problem whatsoever drinking
the gallon of water that I put in the fridge the night before. I just
drank the water whenever I felt hungry (which was pretty much
constantly). I really don't know whether or not it helped because I was
still extremely hungry, but maybe I would have felt worse if I didn't
drink it, who knows. If I could describe the first day of this diet in
one word, it would be KILLER.
Day 2:
BREAKFAST--1 EGG, 1 SLICE TOAST, 1/2 BANANA
LUNCH--1 CUP COTTAGE CHEESE (OR 1 SLICE
CHEDDAR CHEESE), 1 HARD BOILED EGG, 5
SALTINE CRACKERS
DINNER--2 HOT DOGS, (no buns), 1 CUP BROCCOLI,
1/2 CUP CARROTS, 1/2 BANANA, 1/2 CUP VANILLA ICE CREAM
It's better than nothing.
Because diets normally don't have the same effect on me that they do on
others. But it was very refreshing and encouraging to know that all of
the agony I went through yesterday paid off. I am still skeptical
about how the rest of this diet is going to go... will I continue to
lose more weight? And will I be able to keep it off? I guess we will
see. You have to understand my past history with diets and why I don't trust them.
Any who... breakfast this morning was okay. It was about the same amount of food as yesterday.
Lunch was actually a little more food than yesterday. And since it was a
high-protien lunch, it made it a little easier to make it to dinner
time. (I said a little easier... still not easy though). I do
like cottage cheese... I know not everyone does, but I like it. I
don't usually eat a whole cup of it at a time though. It's one of those
foods that I can only take in small amounts. So one cup was a bit
difficult to choke down, but I did it.
I again walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes today. I made it to
dinner... to be honest, I was a bit irritable by dinner time due to the
lack of food. But I made it. And dinner actually wasn't too bad
tonight. Plenty of fruits and vegetables, hot dogs and ice cream, yum!
Day 3:
BREAKFAST--5 SALTINE CRACKERS, 1 SLICE CHEDDAR
CHEESE, 1 SMALL APPLE
LUNCH--1 HARD BOILED EGG, 1 SLICE TOAST
DINNER--1 CUP TUNA, 1/2 BANANA, 1 CUP VANILLA ICE CREAM
I went ahead and weighed myself this morning since I had such good results yesterday. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I weighed one pound more than I did yesterday morning. Even after starving myself all day. I have no idea how that happened. Even if you take into account the "water weight" from drinking a whole gallon of water in one day, it seems like I should not have weighed one pound more first thing in the morning. But oh well... we will see what the final results are tomorrow morning. I have to say today was easier than Day 1 but harder than Day 2. Because the allowed food today, well, it stinks. It is much less quantity than the first 2 days. And in my opinion, it was less quality too. The only meal I actually enjoyed today was breakfast.
Lunch was kind of a joke... one hard boiled egg and one dry piece of toast? Are you kidding me?
But guess what... I did it. I managed to eat only the food that was
allowed today (not to mention ALL THREE DAYS of the diet). I almost
gave in at dinner time tonight. I started to think... I made it this
far, eating a regular dinner isn't going to make a difference now. Plus
I wasn't looking forward to eating all of that dry tuna. I love tuna,
but this diet was the first time I have ever eaten it plain with nothing
else mixed it. Let's just say I like it better as casserole or salad.
The bottom line is... I really did not think I was going to be able to do this diet. BUT I DID!! And if I can do it, believe
me, ANYONE can. I still don't know how I managed to do this for 3
days, let alone 3 hours. I endured extreme hunger pains, weakness,
shakiness, diziness, and a persistent headache due to food withdrawal. I
honestly felt like I was going to die that first day.
I knew I would
feel better if I ate, but I reached deep inside myself and found
willpower and strength that I didn't know I had. I decided that I
wasn't going to give in. Because I realized something... hunger is a
bully. It tells me to eat, or else it's going to beat me up and make me
feel crappy. And I have been giving into that bully for years and
years now. I finally realized that I don't have to give into my bully.
I can stand up to it and say NO. I know more than anyone, it's much
easier said than done. This was one of the toughest things I have had
to do. But it is possible.
Now I know what I am capable of. I was able to complete the best 3 day diet successfully. And by the end of 3 days, I LOST 9 POUNDS.
How satisfying is that? I plan to keep repeating the diet as directed
(3 days on, 4 days off) to keep losing weight. Hopefully it will
continue to work, as I have a lot more weight to lose. But I am very
happy with the results of this diet. It gave me hope that there is something that will work for me. It gave me a boost of confidence and self esteem. And it left me 9 pounds lighter. ;)