Diet is the basis for combating overweight and obesity, and regardless of the type of treatment, the essence is to limit the number of calories consumed. Being on a rice diet we can count on good results in reducing unnecessary body fat, while not ruining the body. However, we can not avoid this risk and the yoyo effect, if we approach the diet too radically. Read about the principles of the rice diet and learn how to make it an effective and permanent tool for eliminating excess weight.
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The most popular types of weight loss diets
Getting rid of overweight and obesity undoubtedly brings a number of benefits to people who decide to fight the excess pounds. Apart from obvious psychological reasons (dreaming of a slim figure means feeling good and having a much better self-esteem), weight reduction leads to an improvement in a number of metabolic processes and the current state of health.
Suffice it to mention the risk of diseases related to obesity, such as hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis, stroke, spinal disorders, and even cancer.
Since any diet requires changes in diet and lifestyle, and adapting to these changes is not easy, it is no wonder that the choice of the right treatment should be well thought out and tailored to individual needs and abilities. The most commonly used diets include:
- low energy diets,
- protein and fat diets,
- diets with a low glycaemic index,
- Mediterranean diet,
- paleo diet,
- single-ingredient diets,
- starvation diets.
They are based on different principles and not every one will be suitable for a given person. It should be noted, however, that starvation is particularly dangerous to health, and even life. Starvation causes cachexia and dysfunction of key organs and organs, heart, liver, kidneys, intestines and water-electrolyte balance disorders.
Rapid weight loss is primarily the result of water deficit, and particularly dangerous in this case is a deficiency of magnesium, potassium and sodium. In extreme cases, starvation can end in death.
Why a rice diet? The most important advantages of the rice diet
The most commonly used monodiets are fruit diets, such as the apple diet or grapefruit diet, vegetable diets, such as the popular cabbage diet, and diets based on other products, the latter of which include the rice treatment.
Usually the main objection against single-ingredient diets is the risk of nutritional deficiencies caused by taking mainly one food. Meanwhile, not every monodiet is based on a strict rule of not eating anything else but the basic ingredient.
The rice diet is one of the exceptions, because it allows the consumption of other, also low-calorie but healthy food products.
It is based on brown rice, which differs from the white one not only in its color but also in the presence of the husk, to which it owes its valuable properties. Because it is less processed and harder, it takes longer to cook and digest but contains more fiber, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive phytosterols than the white variety.
Rich in fiber contributes to regulation of the digestive cycle and reduction of appetite, which facilitates weight loss and helps maintain a healthy weight. Brown rice prevents a rapid rise in blood glucose levels after a meal, lowers cholesterol, and, as indicated by numerous studies, has an antioxidant effect.
Looking for information about rice diet you can come across its two variants – three-day and long-term. The first version is very restrictive and involves eating only brown rice (maximum 1000 kcal per day).
The second variant of the rice diet lasts longer – usually from 2 to 4 weeks, and the menu includes not only whole grain rice, but also other low-calorie, healthy foods. This second, long-term variant, due to its less restrictive character and greater variety of menu which does not cause deficiencies in nutrients, can be an effective and permanent tool for losing excess weight. And it is this variant that we will focus on.
Long-term rice diet is easier to conduct and has more advantages than other weight lossdiets. We don’t go hungry on it, we don’t experience energy depletion, headaches, irritability, we don’t deprive our body of important nutrients, at the same time we systematically notice weight loss. All this is due to brown rice. Thanks to the dietary fiber contained in it our appetite is effectively curbed, and the metabolism gains speed.
Brown rice also has the advantage of containing B vitamins, vitamin E, proteins and carbohydrates, which are important nutrients for our body to function properly. And what about other nutrients that are not present in brown rice (such as vitamin A, D, C)? We can easily supplement them by including in the menu other products allowed in the rice diet, such as:
- lean fish,
- lean meat cooked without fat,
- vegetables,
- fruits,
- grains and nuts,
- small amounts of olive or linseed oil,
- lean cottage cheese,
- eggs,
- skim natural yoghurts, kefirs, buttermilk, skim milk.
I day
- First breakfast: half a glass of brown rice with natural yoghurt and muesli mixture
- Second breakfast: 1 large banana.
- Lunch: a bag of brown rice, a piece of pollock stewed in vegetables
- Tea time: rice wafers, fruit jelly
- Dinner: half a glass of brown rice, hard boiled egg, tomato, cucumber
Second day
- First breakfast: about half a bag of brown rice with stewed apples and a handful of raisins
- Second breakfast: 1 slice of wholemeal bread, slice of ham, salad
- Lunch: approx. 3/4 bag of brown rice mixed with green peas, corn, diced cooked chicken breast, peppers, tomato
- Afternoon snack: fruit and vegetable cocktail, handful of nuts
- Dinner: half a glass of brown rice, approx. 100 g of cottage cheese with chives, tomato, cucumber
Day 3
- First breakfast: 150 grams of cooked beans, 2 slices of bread
- Second breakfast: half a glass of puffed rice with a glass of milk, apple
- Dinner: vegetable casserole with brown rice
- Tea time: fruit salad
- Dinner: grilled fish, green salad, a slice of rice bread
Day IV
- First breakfast: cottage cheese, tomato salad, 2 slices of bread
- Second breakfast: hard boiled egg, radishes, rice wafer
- Lunch: beef cooked with vegetables, loose rice, orange juice
- Tea time: fruit pudding
- Dinner: brown rice baked with apples and cinnamon
Day V
- First breakfast: 2 slices of wholemeal bread with lean ham, green salad, tomato juice
- Second breakfast: cottage cheese with chives, rice wafer, vegetable cocktail
- Lunch: rice cutlets, salad of various vegetables such as peas, corn, peppers, green cucumber, parsley with a little yoghurt
- Afternoon snack: fruit
- Dinner: risotto with mushrooms, onion and garlic
Day VI
- First breakfast: rice wafers with a little butter and honey, apple or kiwi
- Second breakfast: 2 slices of wholemeal bread, lean cold meat, tomato and pepper salad
- Lunch: casserole with brown rice and vegetables, fruit cocktail
- Tea time: rice wafer, cottage cheese with chives
- Dinner: grilled chicken breast, green salad, a slice of dark bread
Day VII
- First breakfast: brown rice with yoghurt and fruit
- Second breakfast: a slice of wholemeal bread, hard boiled egg, tomato
- Dinner: rice dumplings with plum, salsa made of mango, peppers, green cucumber and onion
- Tea time: milk-fruit cocktail
- Dinner: salad with chicken, rice and vinaigrette
Rice diet – effects, how much weight can be lost
Brown rice, which is the basis of the diet, has not only cleansing properties, but also provides a long feeling of satiety, regulates sugar and cholesterol levels, facilitates digestion and bowel movement. All these properties promote weight loss, and with rational use and a more active lifestyle, ensure the maintenance of a slim figure for a long time.
In most sources we can read that the daily rice diet menu should provide us with 1000 kcal. But let’s not be too hard on ourselves. On about 1400 kcal per day we can easily allow ourselves, and still the rate of losing weight will be significant. On average on the rice diet you lose about 1-2 kg per week. In a month you can get rid of 5 to 10 kg.
Rice diet – opinions
Opinions about the rice diet are very positive, especially those from people who for about a month rigidly stick to the allowed products and calorie intake. Often repeated comments that the rice diet is easy, perseverance in it does not require much effort, because it is not monotonous (not limited to a few products and gives great opportunities for creating culinary compositions).
Many times quoted argument for rice diet is also the lack of recurring hunger. At the same time, however, it is important to remember that the above-mentioned positive reactions relate to the long-term variant of the rice diet, which seems to be the most recommendable.
Check out the best dietary supplements on the market that will help you persevere on your diet and accelerate fat burning: Ranking of weight loss pills
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