Military Diet

bb4886

Hey so ive just been passed the above 'diet' for my opinion as ive been watching and counting my food for 3 years now.

Its around 1100kcal for the 3 days, with a list substitutes for any of the foods to mix it up/incase something isnt liked:

Day 1
Breakfast
1/2 Grapefruit
1 Slice of Toast
2 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter
1 cup Coffee or Tea (with caffeine)

Lunch
1/2 Cup of Tuna
1 Slice of Toast
1 cup Coffee or Tea (with caffeine)

Dinner
3 ounces of any type of meat
1 cup of green beans
1/2 banana
1 small apple
1 cup of vanilla ice cream

DAY 2
Breakfast
1 egg
1 slice of toast
1/2 banana

Lunch
1 cup of cottage cheese
1 hard boiled egg
5 saltine crackers

Dinner
2 hot dogs (without bun)
1 cup of broccoli
1/2 cup of carrots
1/2 banana
1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream

DAY 3
Breakfast
5 saltine crackers
1 slice of cheddar cheese
1 small apple

Lunch
1 hard boiled egg
1 slice of toast

Dinner
1 cup of tuna
1/2 banana
1 cup of vanilla ice cream


Then 1500kcals everyday after that with excersise with a list of suggestions of well balanced meals like:
-Bagel and lox: 1/2 whole-wheat bagel topped with 1 tablespoon cream cheese and 1 oz smoked salmon. Add thin tomato, cucumber and red onion slices.
-Chicken Salad Pita: Mix together 1 cup diced and cooked chicken, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup chopped scallions, 1 stalk of chopped celery and 1 cup of salad greens. Stuff inside a whole wheat pita.
-BBQ Black Bean Burger and Slaw: 1 black bean burger cooked with 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce, served in a whole wheat bun. You can eat the slaw in the burger or on the side. Mix 1.5 cups of shredded cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

But surely the 3 days are not good for you regardless of what the kcal count is?

Has anyone any experience with it or opinions?

brianpperkins

There are dozens of threads about this diet which is, and was, never associated with the military. It doesn't get a good review in any of them.

flabassmcgee

It's just a diet with an extreme deficit. I wouldn't do it... I'd be starving all the time.

bb4886

thats what i had inicially said but she is going ahead with it anyway, its not far off the 1200 i eat daily but i fit a hell of a lot more into my food than this allows - is it not dangerous? - ill do a search for other threads....

RBXChas

Well, it's rather boring and restrictive. I find it funny that a "chicken salad pita" isn't chicken salad (yum) at all but rather chicken and salad in a pita It's like, YAY, chicken salad! Oh, wait.

ndj1979

why can't you just set MFP to one pound per week loss and eat to that number????

kelseyfelts

Military diet? lol.... In the military, we exercise EVERY DAY! So the typical calorie intake is 3000+. Most of the guys can eat 5000 a day and still lose weight. That's definitely not a military diet.

bb4886

i do and am - my diary is open you can see im doing fine, my friend isnt on MFP and is determined to do this, i was looking to put forward my argument that its bad for your body but so far all ive read about is that its low kcals and wont harm you - she wont not do it for that

stevencloser

Sounds more like a first worldwar frontline winter of 1916-17 diet.

mccindy72

My husband was in the Navy. This is how they ate:

bb4886

RBXChas wrote: »

Well, it's rather boring and restrictive. I find it funny that a "chicken salad pita" isn't chicken salad (yum) at all but rather chicken and salad in a pita It's like, YAY, chicken salad! Oh, wait.

Its the oddest thing the 'meal' ideas they give with it, i love chicken salad and would never think to put it in a pita - it makes it far to quick to dissapear - although my mum eats a breadbun with her salads.....

I cut out alot of bread (I could eat a loaf or two a week yum). its surprising me now when im introducing it back into my diet how little difference it makes - although strangly enough i have penut butter on toast quite often sometimes adding a banana too - which is lush.

kelseyfelts

Low calories isn't bad for you. I'm currently on a 1200 daily. But, I eat back whatever I work off with my exercise. As long as she isn't hungry all the time, should be good. She just needs to make sure she's (or he's) getting all the nutrients her body needs. Eating healthy with more calories is better than junk with low calories. Snack on fruits and vegetables. I snack on oatmeal and fruits and protein bars.

bb4886

kelseyfelts wrote: »

Military diet? lol.... In the military, we exercise EVERY DAY! So the typical calorie intake is 3000+. Most of the guys can eat 5000 a day and still lose weight. That's definitely not a military diet.

haha yeah my friend eats 5000kcals a day he is a bulldoser - he is out running at the crack of dawn and at the gym everyday he is home to keep up with it too

Reading other posts on MFP someone said it got a this particular name (its got many) due to a something to do with Army wives loosing weight for partners returning home /after babies etc.

mccindy72

kelseyfelts wrote: »

Low calories isn't bad for you. I'm currently on a 1200 daily. But, I eat back whatever I work off with my exercise. As long as she isn't hungry all the time, should be good. She just needs to make sure she's (or he's) getting all the nutrients her body needs. Eating healthy with more calories is better than junk with low calories. Snack on fruits and vegetables. I snack on oatmeal and fruits and protein bars.

Low calories is bad for you, if it isn't enough to meet your BMR (basal metabolic rate). If you don't eat enough, your body will start to break down your lean muscle mass. Hunger is not the best indicator of whether or not you are eating enough.

bb4886

kelseyfelts wrote: »

Low calories isn't bad for you. I'm currently on a 1200 daily. But, I eat back whatever I work off with my exercise. As long as she isn't hungry all the time, should be good. She just needs to make sure she's (or he's) getting all the nutrients her body needs. Eating healthy with more calories is better than junk with low calories. Snack on fruits and vegetables. I snack on oatmeal and fruits and protein bars.

Im not convinced there is enough nutrients in it - my Kcals are set to 1300kcals and i loose 1-2lbs a week with that - to me she doesnt need to go faster than that. she does binge - or as she calls it has bad days when 8 slices of toast and chocolate are the meal of the day......i think it would be too restrictive.....

There cant be enough in the foods to give her energy to get through the day surely....

jgnatca

Here's two reasons not to do this diet. It's stupid and it's not military. It has a built-in fail-safe, too. It promises extreme weight loss only if the dieter follows the plan to the letter. Hardly anyone can do this, so the dieter will assume they failed to follow the plan closely enough.

Let your friend follow the stupid plan. You do your own thing. The best testament is results.

MelRC117

bb4886 wrote: »

i do and am - my diary is open you can see im doing fine, my friend isnt on MFP and is determined to do this, i was looking to put forward my argument that its bad for your body but so far all ive read about is that its low kcals and wont harm you - she wont not do it for that

I guess I don't understand how this is "bad" for your body? Aside from it possibly being too low of calories for her, maybe it could use another serving or two of veggies and not sure the amount of protein in this. Is that what you're getting at? I don't see this being very "dangerous" though

kelseyfelts

Low calories isn't bad as long as you meet your BMR* I do low calories and I am perfectly fine. Consulted with my doctor to verify everything would be ok. Have her see a health coach or doctor to see what diet would be best for her.

auddii

Eh, if she eats 1100 calories for three days and then 1500 calories, it may not be that bad depending on what her caloric needs actually are. If she were doing it long term, she'd likely miss out on some necessary nutrition. I also don't see it really helping except for some quick water loss, which may help her mentally.

That said, people who do something for quick water loss then get really frustrated because they "stall" really quickly. They want fast results and may not see it because it's overall a slow process and not linear. And if she doesn't track her food, it may be a long road depending on if she's good at estimating portions.

melimomTARDIS

kelseyfelts wrote: »

Military diet? lol.... In the military, we exercise EVERY DAY! So the typical calorie intake is 3000+. Most of the guys can eat 5000 a day and still lose weight. That's definitely not a military diet.

my husband was a "double rat" in bootcamp, and all the way through his military career his low weight was an issue...At one point in his military career he was pouring half and half on his cereal, drinking full sugar soda with every meal, and eating 4 man sized meals a day. he was still 5'7 and barely cracked 120lbs.

After he deployment to iraq, (he went as an infantry guy, back when those dudes were mostly eating MRE's and living in field outposts) he came back a positively skeletal 115lbs.

He also smoked a ton of cigarettes, drowned his MRE's in hot sauce, and didnt sleep much during deployments. How is that for a "military diet"?

PeachyPlum

melimomTARDIS wrote: »

kelseyfelts wrote: »

Military diet? lol.... In the military, we exercise EVERY DAY! So the typical calorie intake is 3000+. Most of the guys can eat 5000 a day and still lose weight. That's definitely not a military diet.

my husband was a "double rat" in bootcamp, and all the way through his military career his low weight was an issue...At one point in his military career he was pouring half and half on his cereal, drinking full sugar soda with every meal, and eating 4 man sized meals a day. he was still 5'7 and barely cracked 120lbs.

After he deployment to iraq, (he went as an infantry guy, back when those dudes were mostly eating MRE's and living in field outposts) he came back a positively skeletal 115lbs.

He also smoked a ton of cigarettes, drowned his MRE's in hot sauce, and didnt sleep much during deployments. How is that for a "military diet"?

My husband is USAF. As far as I can tell, the Military Diet is as follows*:

Breakfast: Two Sonic breakfast burritos. One Red Bull.
Snack: One Red Bull
Lunch: Two Cookout double cheeseburgers with fries. Milkshake or soda.
Snack: One Red Bull
Dinner: One KFC meal (your choice) on the way home to eat whatever the wife cooked.
Dinner #2: Whatever the wife cooked.
Dessert: Ice cream. And beer.

*Add cigarettes as desired throughout the day

ETA: My husband isn't fat, by any stretch of the imagination. Make Chair Force jokes as you will, he has a physical job and stays active. But before we met, he sure did eat like a fat guy.

kelseyfelts

PeachyPlum wrote: »

melimomTARDIS wrote: »

kelseyfelts wrote: »

Military diet? lol.... In the military, we exercise EVERY DAY! So the typical calorie intake is 3000+. Most of the guys can eat 5000 a day and still lose weight. That's definitely not a military diet.

my husband was a "double rat" in bootcamp, and all the way through his military career his low weight was an issue...At one point in his military career he was pouring half and half on his cereal, drinking full sugar soda with every meal, and eating 4 man sized meals a day. he was still 5'7 and barely cracked 120lbs.

After he deployment to iraq, (he went as an infantry guy, back when those dudes were mostly eating MRE's and living in field outposts) he came back a positively skeletal 115lbs.

He also smoked a ton of cigarettes, drowned his MRE's in hot sauce, and didnt sleep much during deployments. How is that for a "military diet"?

My husband is USAF. As far as I can tell, the Military Diet is as follows*:

Breakfast: Two Sonic breakfast burritos. One Red Bull.
Snack: One Red Bull
Lunch: Two Cookout double cheeseburgers with fries. Milkshake or soda.
Snack: One Red Bull
Dinner: One KFC meal (your choice) on the way home to eat whatever the wife cooked.
Dinner #2: Whatever the wife cooked.
Dessert: Ice cream. And beer.

*Add cigarettes as desired throughout the day

ETA: My husband isn't fat, by any stretch of the imagination. Make Chair Force jokes as you will, he has a physical job and stays active. But before we met, he sure did eat like a fat guy.

lol. That sounds more like it. That's the diet of most of the people I know. I ate a lot of sweets, but once I found out that I was about to suffer heart diseases because of my cholesterol, I started eating healthy. Most military people don't eat healthy at all. I'm in a drill sergeant battalion and you would think they all would eat healthy and be super fit. NOPE. They are super fit but don't eat healthy even the slightest bit.

PeachyPlum

kelseyfelts wrote: »

lol. That sounds more like it. That's the diet of most of the people I know. I ate a lot of sweets, but once I found out that I was about to suffer heart diseases because of my cholesterol, I started eating healthy. Most military people don't eat healthy at all. I'm in a drill sergeant battalion and you would think they all would eat healthy and be super fit. NOPE. They are super fit but don't eat healthy even the slightest bit.

You know, it wasn't until we got married that I realized it wasn't just him. My first trip to the commissary was an eye opener - I'm pretty sure I was the only one buying vegetables.

The Totino's Pizza Rolls and Taquitos aisles do a hopping business though!

kelseyfelts

PeachyPlum wrote: »

kelseyfelts wrote: »

lol. That sounds more like it. That's the diet of most of the people I know. I ate a lot of sweets, but once I found out that I was about to suffer heart diseases because of my cholesterol, I started eating healthy. Most military people don't eat healthy at all. I'm in a drill sergeant battalion and you would think they all would eat healthy and be super fit. NOPE. They are super fit but don't eat healthy even the slightest bit.

You know, it wasn't until we got married that I realized it wasn't just him. My first trip to the commissary was an eye opener - I'm pretty sure I was the only one buying vegetables.

The Totino's Pizza Rolls and Taquitos aisles do a hopping business though!

A lot of women these guys marry don't know how to cook. In my generation, hardly anyone knows how to cook period. It's sad. That's why we are one of the unhealthiest and obese countries.

CSARdiver

This is funny - my military diet consisted of pounding through 6 meal shakes and a bloody mary for breakfast...and it all went downhill from there.

melimomTARDIS

kelseyfelts wrote: »

PeachyPlum wrote: »

kelseyfelts wrote: »

lol. That sounds more like it. That's the diet of most of the people I know. I ate a lot of sweets, but once I found out that I was about to suffer heart diseases because of my cholesterol, I started eating healthy. Most military people don't eat healthy at all. I'm in a drill sergeant battalion and you would think they all would eat healthy and be super fit. NOPE. They are super fit but don't eat healthy even the slightest bit.

You know, it wasn't until we got married that I realized it wasn't just him. My first trip to the commissary was an eye opener - I'm pretty sure I was the only one buying vegetables.

The Totino's Pizza Rolls and Taquitos aisles do a hopping business though!

A lot of women these guys marry don't know how to cook. In my generation, hardly anyone knows how to cook period. It's sad. That's why we are one of the unhealthiest and obese countries.

Welp, some of us marry our military hubbies just out of (or while still in) highschool. So its not like we had a lot of time to learn. I certainly made my fair share of taquitos during that first year.

Most of the gals in my housing area were doing take out/frozen foods/boxed foods. My best friend on base made a DELICIOUS chicken pot pie entirely out of canned items from the commissary. Even the crust!

Alatariel75

I genuinely think that this diet was invented in the 70's as a psychology major's final project, to see how many people he/she could convince to try a stupid, arbitrary food plan by giving it a snazzy name.

They just never knew how out of hand it would get and to this day, log into their Pintrest account, see this still flying around and feel slightly guilty for being the small noise that started the avalanche of derp.

landfish

I remember seeing this getting passed around my Guard unit in the mid-90's. I don't remember anyone trying it.

jgnatca

Finally tracked down origins, as best I could. http://www.diet.com/g/3day-diet

LovelyIvy466

It doesn't seem horrible, just pointless. What is the point of a three day diet? You can't lose significant weight in three days, you aren't changing any long term bad habits that might make you healthier or thinner, and as soon as it's done you'll be so hungry that you binge, which can set up a hugely unhealthy eating cycle.

This diet has been making the Pinterest rounds lately, and I find it utterly baffling.