Diet with the beautiful name "6 petals" is an express weight loss method developed by the Swiss nutritionist Anna Johansson and included in the list of the officially recognized European Association of Nutritionists. The peculiarity of the 6 petal diet is that, according to its developers, it allows you to get quick results in a relatively short time. Let's find out what the "6 Petal Diet" is, is it really that effective and what to do to lose those extra pounds?
Lose Weight in Six Days: The Six Petal Diet
The popular Six Petal Diet was developed by Anna Johansson, a Swedish nutritionist. It is based on the principles of separate nutrition and consists of six mono-diets, that is, the menu should only contain one type of food each day. The diet is designed so that the so-called protein days alternate with the carbohydrate days, which, according to nutritionists, helps to get rid of unnecessary pounds as quickly as possible. The main condition is that with this method of losing weight it is impossible to change the menu for each day, as well as the order of mono diets.
Why the 6 Petal Diet? Everything is very simple: before starting to observe it, the author suggests we draw 6 petals, mark each stage of the diet, make a flower out of it, and then tear it down every day as we get closer to the cherished goal. According to the author, this will help to support the motivation of a losing person: if he gets rid of the next petal every day, he will clearly see which section of the path has already been passed and how much is still ahead of him.
Basic rules of the petal diet
Each weight loss technique has its own set of rules. The six petal diet is no exception:
- Meals may not be less than four hours, with breaks not exceeding four hours. The best option is two breakfasts (after a certain time), lunch, afternoon tea and dinner (preferably no later than six in the evening);
- Food that is being consumed must be chewed thoroughly. This will help enrich it with enzymes and improve the digestive process.
- Pay attention to the drinking regime. You can drink plain water (at least one and a half liters per day) and unsweetened green tea. It is forbidden to drink while eating, it is better to do it half an hour before or after eating;
- On a day of the menu, the volume of salt consumed should not exceed 5 g, this corresponds to about two thirds of a teaspoon. You can use fresh or dried herbs as spices.
In compliance with the diet, it is necessary to abandon six petals:
- all types of baked goods with the exception of a few slices of whole wheat bread per day;
- all kinds of sweets, the list of which includes shop and homemade sweets, canned goods and jams, chocolate and all other products that contain large amounts of sugar;
- Butter and vegetable oils;
- Canned foods, smoked and fried foods, finished semi-finished products, fast food products;
- All kinds of coffee, sweet carbonated drinks, compotes, jellies, packaged juices. On the last day of the diet (fruit) you can indulge yourself with some freshly squeezed juice.
And the last rule: on each day of losing weight, the menu must not contain products that are not in the specified group.
Pros and cons of losing weight by the separate diet method
The advantage of the petal diet is that:
- it will help you lose a few pounds in just a week;
- Switching from mono diets is easier to transfer than, for example, one that has to be observed for several days.
- Frequent meals will help a person who is losing weight not feel hungry.
This technique is not free from disadvantages, namely:
- Such a rigid diet, like any other mono diet, is stressful for the entire organism. He receives some products in excess while others are clearly insufficient, in other words - the nutritional balance is disturbed;
- Disregard of personal taste preferences. For example, some people don't like fish and have to eat it all day. This is a kind of psychological stress;
- The effectiveness of separate feeding has not been fully established. It's like the placebo effect: if a person believes that diet will help them get leaner, it can work. He does not believe - he runs the risk of joining the ranks of participants in the experiments who did not help lose weight separately. Incidentally, scientists from the Israeli Weizmann Institute conducted a study that found that different people's organisms can react differently to different foods. Accordingly, the outcome of a diet can be different;
A study of the direct effects of food components on the human body was carried out in 2016 by scientists from the University of Colorado.
However, the main disadvantage of the express diet is that such a technique cannot change a person's attitude towards food. It can help you lose pounds, but it won't eliminate the cause of their occurrence.
Daily menu with 6 petals
If you start losing weight on Monday, it could look like this:
- Monday: fish menu
On the first day, the diet should be exclusively fish. Seafood can be boiled, baked in the oven, or steamed. A small amount of herbs or natural spices may be added to improve the taste. A pleasant moment - the use of oily fish is allowed.
The menu for each day of the diet should consist of the first and second breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner (hereinafter they are denoted by numbers).
So Monday:
- Boiled fish;
- fish cooked in the oven;
- Fish soup without vegetables with a little green;
- steamed fish;
- boiled crabs or seafood (squid, shrimp).
- Tuesday: vegetables
Vegetables, like fish, can be cooked and steamed in the oven as well as boiled. Do all of this without butter, cream and other products that make the dish more tasty.
Menu:
- Boiled potatoes and shredded white cabbage.
- Broccoli or cauliflower from a double boiler (you can combine both types of cabbage in one bowl). Vegetable stew cooked without oil. You can put greens.
- Baked pumpkin slices or celery root puree. You can add fresh vegetables - carrots, cucumbers, peppers.
- Backed vegetables. The dish can be varied with fresh vegetables such as cabbage or carrots.
- Wednesday: chicken
The middle of the diet is often the most difficult, both physically and mentally. Protein helps prevent apathy from interfering with a person's plans to lose weight.
Sample menu for this day:
- Boiled breast fillet.
- Skinless drumstick baked in the oven.
- Chicken soup (drain the first broth) without adding any vegetables with meat and herbs.
- Steamed skinless chicken thighs.
- Boiled breast on the bone (remove skin).
- Thursday: cereal
On this day, all types of cereals without oil boiled in water are allowed.
Menu for the fourth day:
- Steamed buckwheat, pre-cooked in the evening.
- Congee.
- Millet porridge.
- Oatmeal.
- Buckwheat porridge.
- Friday: Quark
That day's diet should only include cottage cheese and a glass of low-fat milk.
Recommended menu:
- Low-fat cottage cheese without any kind of additives.
- Salted cottage cheese.
- Cottage cheese and half a glass of low-fat milk.
- Pure cottage cheese.
- Cottage cheese and leftover milk.
- Saturday: fruit day
Only fruit is allowed on this day, ideally raw.
Menu:
- One banana (large).
- Apple and citrus fruits.
- Bananas or kiwi.
- All fruits (preferably seasonal and in appropriate quantities).
- Grapefruit.
On this day, in addition to water and unsweetened green tea, you can also indulge in fresh fruit juice.