7 Day Liquid Diet Weight Loss

Description: Where did the liquid diet come from, and why is it good for you? How long can you stick to the liquid diet to lose weight and not ruin your health? This article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this extreme way to lose weight.

What’s Behind the Liquid Diet

The very name of the “liquid diet” already speaks for itself — it’s a way to diet where foods in solid form or in the form of small pieces are entirely eliminated. Likewise, any form of food other than liquid is discarded. Besides, the fluid can have different consistency: watery or creamy.

Ideally, when a person plans to follow a liquid diet, one should maintain a balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and micronutrients so as not to harm the body. A liquid diet allows eating jellies, yogurts, stretched ice cream, and puddings. Sometimes the source of food can be specialized ready-made mixes for liquid dieting.

Initially, a liquid diet was prescribed by doctors to patients who had to undergo surgery on the stomach and intestines and before some types of surgical treatment. In addition, a patient can need it due to oral inflammation, sore throat, and other conditions where eating solid foods is difficult. Therefore, a liquid diet usually transitions from clear liquids to solid foods.

One of the liquid diet advocates is the infamous surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan. He specializes in the treatment of morbid obesity. His diet is based on frequent drinking and eating only food that has been boiled or steamed and then mashed into a smooth purée or soup. The point of this diet is that hunger has no time to occur because the body receives liquid every hour.

Why You Can’t Keep a Liquid Diet for a Long Time

Though some people can stay on this diet for a month, sticking to this scheme for more than 7–14 days is not recommended because intestinal problems can start.

Excretory system organs work in a particularly intense mode during the whole course, and excessive duration of the period, as a result, can be frustrating and even harmful.

Following a liquid diet without the supervision of a nutritionist or doctor more often becomes unbalanced. The body uses up its internal reserves when weight loss occurs quickly without proper food intake. The most significant resource is muscle tissue. Accordingly, a person’s muscles become flabby, thin, saggy, and depleted. With such a diet, a person decreases in mass and visually. They lose not only fatty tissue but also muscle tissue.

Benefits of the Liquid Diet

It is difficult to call the liquid food-eating system a diet, unlike when people consciously track calories. It is more about detoxification and cleansing the body, and weight loss is a bonus. The main effects of following a liquid diet are:

• Ease in the stomach
• Fresh breath
• Clear skin
• Easy defecation
• No shortness of breath
• Weight loss
• Loss of centimeters
  It is not recommended to physically overstrain your body while on this diet. Instead, avoiding active workouts, physical exercises, and hard work is better. Then a person will be able to lose weight painlessly and effectively.

Disadvantages of the Liquid Diet

The main task of the liquid diet is its main disadvantage when it is used solely to lose weight. As we have already said, such a diet’s purpose is to cleanse the body. Most often, in a medical sense, everything else is an additional effect.

It’s no secret that any diet must be entered and completed competently. It is necessary to prevent the body from going into a state of shock from the sudden desire to give up the usual intake of food and not to take revenge with something like this:

• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Hair loss and weakened nails
• Constant fatigue and sleepiness
• Loss of muscle mass
• An impaired sense of taste
• Anemia
• Disruption of the menstrual cycle
• Facial rashes
• Breakdowns and gluttony
• Chronic illnesses
  Mistakes of the Liquid Diet

The mistakes of the liquid diet can include a misunderstanding of its nature. People mistakenly perceive any liquid product as acceptable, and over time begin consuming sugary carbonated drinks and store juices containing preservatives, coloring agents, and a lot of sugar. Considering that the body is already under some stress during the transition to a new diet, frequent consumption of liquids with “chemicals” will not be a plus, and the amount of sugar in sugary drinks can, on the contrary, prompt weight gain.

Another mistake is not preparing for the diet and quitting it. When eating any liquid substance, the food begins to transit fast out of the intestines. Over time, the intestines adapt to new conditions and become less active. Suffering from nutrient deficiencies, the body also does not receive essential substances such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium, which are involved in the peristaltic wave, supporting muscle contraction and relaxation. Accordingly, the intestines may react severely to the sudden onset of a liquid diet and respond traumatically to the sudden withdrawal and consumption of solid food.

Using the Calorie Calculator for a Liquid Diet

Many people wonder if they should count calories on a liquid diet. In this situation, it is individual. However, if one feels that he or she is consuming too much or too little, it may make sense to use a calorie calculator.

When counting calories in liquid foods, one should consider the weight of all foods, their calories, and the calories of additives such as seeds or nuts. Also, remember that all additives should be as ground as possible.

Balanced Liquid Diet Menu

Here are examples of a balanced menu for the day, considering a meal every hour:

1. Oat or buckwheat porridge with milk, mashed to a liquid consistency.
2. Vegetable broth.
3. Sugar-free broth made from fresh or dried fruit.
4. Vegetable juice, diluted with water.
5. A glass of milk.
6. Water.
7. Sugar-free drink made from fresh or dried fruit.
8. Bone or lean meat broth.
9. Water.
10. Freshly squeezed juice diluted with water.
11. Vegetable soup puree.
12. Low-fat yogurt.

As we can see, the menu completely excludes sugar, salt, and flour products. The diet includes vegetables, fruits, or berries, which help to cleanse the body as much as possible. Meat broths are healthy. For example, chicken broth contains magnesium, calcium, iron, selenium, and copper, and beef broth is rich in potassium, sodium, magnesium, and B vitamins.

It is an example of what an average liquid diet looks like. Still, consultation with a specialist, examination by doctors, and a conscious attitude toward your health and the state of your body are strictly recommended.