How Does the 13 Day Diet Work

The 13 day diet was conceived by NASA to physically prepare astronauts for the extreme conditions lived in space missions. It is a calorie controlled diet requiring you to consume between 500 kcal 700 kcal per day, a figure that is far away from the amount of recommended calories: in adults 3000 kcal for men and 2200 kcal for women. In OneHowTo we explain how many calories you should eat according to your age.

Following the guidelines of the 13 days diet you can lose weight very fast and effectively; it promises to help you loose between 5 and 7 kilos (11 lbs to 15.5 lbs) in only 13 days. However, the short amount of calories makes the weight loss unpleasant and many people need appetite inhibitors to reduce the feeling of hunger.

The 13 day diet has a number of important rules that you must strictly follow to lose the mentioned weight. If you skip any of these recommendations it is likely that the method will not function correctly, so your efforts will be in vain. So, note the rules of the 13 day diet:

• One of the main premises of this diet is that you should not take any fat or sugars during the course of the 13 days. But you can sweeten your dishes using artificial sweeteners; in OneHowTo we show you how to replace sugar with sweetener.

• You should not do the diet for more than 13 days because it can lead to malnutrition and anemia. If you want to repeat it it is recommended for at least 1 month to have elapsed, but it is more recommended to simply do it once per year.

• It is essential to drink 2 liters of water a day to lose the weight specified.

• The consumption of sweet foods like chocolate, confectionery, etc., is totally forbidden. Even if they are 'light' or diet specific products, you should not take them when on the 13 day diet.

• You can use 2 tablespoons of olive oil per day, both for cooking and for your salad dressing. You can replace the oil with lemon juice that will dress your dishes without adding calories.

• The vinegar allowed to condiment your dishes or salads is only apple cider vinegar. Forget traditional vinegar and, above all, ban balsamic vinegar from your kitchen because it is very high in calories

• It is imperative that you combine the diet with the practice of daily physical exercise : at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity every day.

• Nor can you take alcohol or soft drinks in the course of the diet: no wine, diet cola, not even a beer.

• The menu of the diet should be followed exactly how it's described and in the order in which we propose below. It is not possible to exchange dishes or the order of intake of the food.

• It is advisable that before and during the diet you be advised by a nutritionist to control your vital signs.

As we have mentioned, it is imperative that you follow this menu exactly; remember you cannot exchange lunches for dinners or foods from one day to another.

Day 1:

• Breakfast: Tea or coffee without sugar
• Lunch: 2 boiled eggs + plate of spinach, raw or steamed
• Dinner: 150 grams of grilled lean meat + lettuce salad

Day 2:

• Breakfast: 1 tea + 1 slice whole wheat bread toast
• Lunch: 150 grams of a grilled white meat (chicken or turkey) + tomatoes and lettuce salad seasonal fruit or fruit salad
• Dinner: 150 grams of cooked ham + lettuce salad

Day 3:

• Breakfast: 1 tea or coffee + 1 whole wheat bread toast
• Lunch: 2 boiled eggs + pea with tomato salad
• Dinner: 150 grams of cooked ham + lettuce salad

Day 4:

• Breakfast: 1 tea or coffee + 1 whole wheat bread toast
• Lunch: 1 hard boiled egg + grated carrot + gruyere cheese
• Dinner: fruit salad without sweeteners + skimmed fat yogurt

Day 5:

• Breakfast: 1 tea or coffee, unsweetened + 1 whole wheat bread toast
• Lunch: 150 grams of grilled chicken breast + tomato and oregano salad
• Dinner: 150 grams of grilled lean meat + lettuce salad

Day 6:

• Breakfast: 1 tea + 1 whole wheat bread toast
• Lunch: Chicken without skin on the grid
• Dinner: 2 hard boiled egg + grated carrot

Day 7:

• Breakfast: 1 tea + 1 slice whole wheat bread toast
• Lunch: 150 grams of grilled red or white meat + fruit salad
• Dinner: Choose the dinner that you most enjoyed of the other days

When the 7 days have elapsed you must repeat this menu cycle until you reach day 13. Once the 13 days are over, the next day you must do a detox day, taking only liquids or soft foods before returning to eating normally. In this article we give you ideas for detox juice which you can take after doing the diet.

To avoid the rebound effect it is imperative that after doing the 13 day diet, you take on another kind of balanced diet and not return to the old dietary habits that made you put on weight. It is advisable that you visit a nutritionist to advise you in your slimming and maintenance plan.

If you want to read similar articles to How Does the 13 Day Diet Work, we recommend you visit our Weight & image category.