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How to Do the Artichoke Diet

Mary Smith
By Mary Smith. Updated: July 11, 2017
How to Do the Artichoke Diet

If you have put on a few pounds and you want to lose some weight in a short period of time we recommend that you do the artichoke diet which will help you lose weight and achieve good results in about a week. However, the artichoke diet is only recommended for people who have put on 3 or 4 kilos (7 or 8 pounds), not for people with obesity problems. In order to achieve excellent results it is recommended you accompany the artichoke diet with exercises. After completion of the diet you should keep healthy food habits and carry on doing the exercise, this way you will avoid a rebound effect.In this OneHowTo article we explain how to do the artichoke diet.

You may also be interested in: How to Do the Yogurt Diet

Properties of artichoke to lose weight

It's possible to lose weight with artichokes, basically, due to the fact that it contains certain properties that are perfect to burn fat and regulate our organism. However, you shouldn't eat it as if it were a magical vegetable, you should combine it with a healthy lifestyle (healthy diet and exercise), or you will not see any results. Here are some of artichoke's most useful properties:

  • High in Fiber: What fiber does is reduce the amount of glucose in blood, therefore this component will not be turned into saturated fat. Moreover, it also makes us feel fuller with less amount of food and contributes to regular intestinal transit.
  • Rich in Cynarine: This component allows the fat we take to be naturally digested and eliminated through urine. As it's a diuretic food, artichoke also helps us to get rid of toxins in our body and reduce water retention and cellulite.
  • Low in Calories: Artichoke is a powerful source of nutrients that has a very low calorie intake (22 calories per 100 grams). Thanks to its fiber it also makes you feel full and avoids us feeling hungry in between meals.

This is why its a great vegetable to include in our diet and thus have an optimal healthy without taking too many calories or fats.

How to Do the Artichoke Diet - Properties of artichoke to lose weight

3 Day artichoke diet

Like most diets, there are healthy alternatives and others considered "miraculous", also known as crash diet. This is the case we're going to explain now. Several years ago the 3 day artichoke diet became popular. This consisted in a diet with which you could lose up to 4 kilos (18lb) by only going on a diet for 3 days. The reason the period is so short is because following this diet for longer can cause a lack of nutrients.

This express diet is basically eating artichokes for lunch and dinner, combining these meals with plenty of water to cleanse your organism. During these days you can include the following:

  • Non-fat dairy products
  • Other fruit and vegetables
  • Turkey
  • Wholewheat bread (in small portions)
  • Wholewheat rice (in small portions)

This increase in fiber intake is what will make you lose weight considerably in this small amount of time. However, as with many diets, when you go back to your usual diet you may experience the "rebound effect" and put this weight back on.

An example of a menu would be the following:

Breakfast

A cup of: coffee with milk, tea with milk, tea or fruit juice. 1 slice of bread with cheese or 3 biscuits.

Morning snack

A skimmed yogurt

Lunch

  • Option 1: Raw artichokes shake, a grilled piece of fat-free meat or fish with a green salad and an apple for desert.
  • Option 2: Artichokes and wholegrain rice and a fruit for desert.

Afternoon snack

2 artichoke capsules. 1 Glass of skimmed milk, 1 fat-free yogurt or coffee with milk. You should buy the artichokes capsules in a natural products herbalist shop.

Dinner

  • Option 1: 3 grilled artichokes, a slice of whole wheat bread, 50 grams of cheese.
  • Option 2: artichoke salad, 1 fat-free yogurt.
How to Do the Artichoke Diet - 3 Day artichoke diet

Healthy artichoke diet

At OneHowTo we advocate for healthy eating habits that will allow you to change your eating habits and go for healthier recipes that will benefit your health. This is why we recommend you choose this other option instead of the 3 day diet, which combines artichoke with a healthy and balanced diet.

The artichoke diet can be followed during 1 month and you'll lose between 2 and 4 kilos, depending on the excess weight you have. It's an alternative that adds this vegetable to boost its slimming properties. Therefore you will need to avoid the following:

  • White flour carbohydrates: Refined products have lost all its nutritional value which is why we are only taking empty calories when eating them. This is why bread, pasta or white rice should be avoided during this diet and go for wholegrain instead (as they are rich in fiber).
  • Fatty foods: Within forbidden protein in this diet we'd like to highlight cold meat and pork and beef meat; blue fish is not recommended either as it contains lots of fats. Sauces, fried foods and batter is also prohibited.
  • Sugared foods: Buns, chocolate, soda drinks and this type of products with high added sugar contents must also be banished from your diet if you want to lose weight as they hardly contain any nutrients and lots of sugar that will transform into saturated fats.
  • Alcohol: As with many weight loss diets, alcoholic drinks are also forbidden as they are a big source of calories and hardly contain any nutrients our body can take advantage of.
How to Do the Artichoke Diet - Healthy artichoke diet

What to eat on the artichoke diet

To do the artichoke diet you only need to follow one rule: include this vegetables as many times as you can in your menu. For example, you can start the day with an artichoke juice or a vegetable smoothie that includes this ingredient, thus taking advantage of the properties of other vegetables. it's also recommendable to add some artichoke if you eat wholewheat rice. The trick is simple: cook with artichokes as much as you can throughout the day.

But, how to design a menu? Essentially, you'll eat fruit, vegetables and healthy protein, as well as adding wholewheat pasta & rice or pulses (never at night). Thus you'll lose weight without putting your health at risk, as you'll lead a balanced diet that is just low in fat.

Next, we give you ideas for a menu so you can have an idea of what to eat on the artichoke diet:

Breakfast

  • Option 1: Coffee with skimmed milk + wholewheat toast with turkey
  • Option 2: Vegetable juice(with artichoke) + wholewheat biscuits

Mid morning snack

  • Option 1: Fat-free yogurt
  • Option 2: Seasonal fruit

Lunch

  • Option 1: Grilled chicken with sautéed artichoke
  • Option 2: Salad + artichoke omelet

Afternoon snack

  • Option 1: Fat-free yogurt
  • Option 2: Seasonal fruit

Dinner

  • Option 1: Baked hake with vegetables (add artichoke)
  • Option 2: Salad + artichoke omelet

Artichoke diet pills

You may have also heard of artichoke diet pills. These are a supplement that can help you lose weight and contain artichoke extract and are rich in Vitamin C. They are also very useful to lower cholesterol levels.

However, there is no scientific proof that these pills are fat-burners, so it is advisable to stick with the actual vegetable and take these pills in moderation.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Do the Artichoke Diet, we recommend you visit our Weight & image category.

Tips
  • Before the start of a diet we recommend you visit your doctor or dietitian so he or she can advise you.

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