Don’t fall for the Military Diet hype – it’s dangerous and unsustainable
The Military Diet, which is growing in popularity in the United States, helps with rapid weight loss, but at the cost of good health
Lose up to 4.5 kilograms in a week? Sounds like a dream diet. There are online testimonials – complete with “before” and “after” full-body pictures – that claim the Military Diet really does work, and it’s trending in the US (which means it probably won’t be long before it makes it to Hong Kong), so enough people are buying into it.
But look deeper, and it’s obvious this isn’t as easy as it sounds. The Military Diet is an intermittent-fasting regime, it consists of three days of a calorie-controlled programme and four days off each week. On dieting days, there’s a strict list of approved foods for the three main meals – no snacks are allowed. Even the rest or “off-diet” days, it’s not easy. One is advised to exercise and keep intake to just 1,500 calories. With all that, there will be weight loss.
It’s hard to be a social butterfly while on such a restrictive – and prescriptive – diet, though the approved items are relatively easy to procure and require little or no preparation.
Like every diet, the key to success with the Military Diet is discipline – and dare I say, a certain amount of faith. Nutritionists and dietitians say that it’s little surprise the diet works.