The quest for effective weight loss diets is unending, with many individuals seeking plans endorsed by reputable organizations. The "military diet" is one such plan that sounds official, but it actually has no affiliation with the military. This diet plan is a regimented way of eating for a few days, making big promises about weight loss by limiting calorie intake.
What is the Military Diet?
The military diet, also known as the 3-day diet, is a short-term weight loss plan that claims to help you lose up to 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) in 1 week. Despite its name, this diet is not associated with the military. It is a three-day eating plan that promotes weight loss. Its claim to fame is its potential ability to help followers lose 10 pounds in one week when they adhere to a strict diet plan for three days followed by eating within a caloric limit for the remainder of the week.
The military diet limits followers to between 1,100 and 1,400 calories daily during the initial three days. While some followers adhere to the military diet intermittently, others take more drastic measures and may adhere to the pattern for an entire month. This approach is said to result in weight loss of up to 30 pounds.
How the Military Diet Works
The 3-day military diet is split into two phases over 7 days.
Phase 1: The 3-Day Meal Plan
During the first phase of 3 days, the total calorie intake is roughly 1,100-1,400 calories per day. This makes it a low calorie diet, defined as a dietary pattern that provides 800-1,200 calories per day. The military diet provides a set meal plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the first 3 days, without snacks between meals. The 3-day meal plan on the military diet consists of 16 foods to be divided between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The recommended amounts of these 16 foods decrease day by day. Your total calorie intake starts at 1,400 calories on the first day and falls to 1,100 calories on the third day. The diet permits drinking water, herbal teas, and caffeinated coffee or tea twice per day with no sugar or creamers.
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Phase 2: The Remaining 4 Days
For the remaining 4 days of the week, the military diet simply encourages people to follow a healthy eating pattern. However, a 1,500-calorie menu is provided for those who hope to speed up their weight loss even further. For instance, snacks are permitted during these days, but you’re encouraged to limit your portion sizes.
Foods Allowed and Substitutions
Essentially, the diet is low in fat and relies on calorie restriction to facilitate rapid weight loss. Even during the four days off, individuals are encouraged to adhere to a low-calorie regimen of 1,500 calories or less.
Below are some examples of foods listed in the military diet:
- Grapefruit
- Bananas
- Apples
- Whole wheat bread
- Peanut butter
- Hot dogs
- Tuna
- Eggs
- Green beans
- Meat
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Saltine crackers
- Cottage cheese
- Cheddar cheese (in small amounts)
- Vanilla ice cream
The military diet allows substitutions during the 3-day phase, as long as portions match the calorie count. These substitutions may be:
- gluten-free
- lactose-free
- vegetarian
- vegan
- allergy-free
The military diet emphasizes not substituting grapefruits for oranges. Instead, it advises replacing grapefruit with a glass of water with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. This is purported to help alkalinize your body and reduce body fat.
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Foods to Avoid
Many fast foods, fried food, whole dairy products, sweets, and sugary drinks are avoided on the military diet. Alcohol is also discouraged, as it provides empty calories and can slow down the body’s metabolic processes. Starchy veggies and white bread are also avoided.
Sample Meal Plans for the Remaining Four Days
While the military diet has a suggested list of foods for the first three days, you can technically have whatever you want on the remaining four days of the diet. However, followers are encouraged to limit themselves to 1,500 calories a day. The plan provides a sample menu, just in case you’re having trouble thinking of what to have during those four days.
Breakfast ideas include:
- Yogurt parfait with berries, granola, and almonds
- Milk, banana, and Cheerios
- A scrambled egg on toast with ¼ sliced avocado
- ½ whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and lox
For lunch, the diet plan suggests:
- A mixture of ½ can of tuna and white beans in a pita
- Pita with hummus, olives, spinach, feta, and tomatoes
- Whole wheat quesadilla with cheddar, black beans, peppers, and mushrooms
- Black beans, ¼ avocado, romaine lettuce, and salsa inside whole wheat tortillas
Dinner options include:
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- A black bean burger cooked with BBQ sauce and served on a whole wheat bun
- Shrimp and zucchini pasta
- Miso soup and one tuna sushi roll
- Tortilla and cheese chili
- Cajun chicken with rice
The diet plan says you can have two snacks per day, which can include:
- A fruit and nut bar
- 1 cup of snap peas with ¼ cup of hummus
- 1 apple and 22 pistachios
- 1 banana with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
- 1 ounce string cheese and four whole grain crackers
Research on the Military Diet
There are currently no studies on the military diet. Although a calorie deficit is generally required to achieve weight loss, the military diet doesn’t consider other factors that could affect weight loss, such as:
- lifestyle habits
- underlying health conditions
- taking certain medications
- genetics
- sleeping habits
A 2018 review suggests that a calorie deficit of 500-600 calories is a sustainable way to lose 0.5 kilograms (kg) (1.1 lbs) per week. For adults, this is around 1,500-1,800 daily calories for males and 1,200-1,500 for females. These moderate calorie restrictions are the opposite of the military diet’s heavy restrictions. What’s more, a 2017 review found that moderate and continuous calorie restriction is just as effective for weight loss as intermittent extreme energy restrictions, such as 3 days on and 4 days off. This means you shouldn’t starve yourself to lose weight.
Lastly, proponents of the military diet claim that the specific food combinations in the meal plan increase your metabolism and burn fat. However, there’s no research to support these claims. Caffeine may be the one component of the military diet that could help promote body weight and fat loss.
Does the Military Diet Really Work?
Like most fad diets for weight loss, the military diet may help followers lose weight at first, however, due to its restrictive nature, the pounds are likely to return (and potentially even spike higher) when participants revert to their normal, everyday diets. This weight cycling, commonly known as yo-yo dieting, can have adverse effects on metabolism and body composition, making it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight in the long run. As a result, the military diet’s effectiveness in the long term is questionable. Therefore, it is advisable to seek guidance from a weight loss registered dietitian to explore more balanced and sustainable dietary approaches for long-term health and weight management goals.
The military diet relies solely on having a calorie deficit, which has shown to be effective for weight loss. However, it doesn’t focus on making sustainable changes to lose weight and keep it off. While a calorie deficit may help you lose weight, research finds that it needs to be continuous in order to keep weight off. Meaning, taking drastic measures to try to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time is unlikely to help you keep the weight off.
Is the Military Diet Safe?
The safety of the military diet is a topic of debate among health professionals. While it may result in short-term weight loss, the restrictive nature of the diet and limited calorie intake may not be sustainable or healthy over an extended period. It can potentially lead to nutrient deficiencies and does not foster long-term healthy eating habits.
The military diet is unbalanced. Repeating the cycle multiple times could lead to health issues, such as nutrient deficiencies. A 2014 review also suggests that dramatic calorie reductions - even for short periods, such as in the case of the military diet - may create or worsen unhealthy eating patterns, poor relationships with food, or disordered eating.
What’s more, regularly eating processed foods like hot dogs, crackers, and ice cream has been associated with several health conditions, such as:
- obesity
- cardio-metabolic risks
- cancer
- type 2 diabetes
- cardiovascular diseases
- irritable bowel syndrome
- depression
Military Diet Benefits
If you’re looking to lose weight, then the military diet should help you see results. But, it doesn’t come without risk. In fact, the dietitians recommend against trying the diet. There are no meetings to attend or packaged meals to buy. The food is easy to find in the grocery store, and there’s very little cooking or food prep needed. You may not want to eat out when you’re on the program, though, because the food choices are very strict, and you probably won’t find them on a normal menu. With some tweaks, most adults can follow the diet.
Military Diet Risks
Andrews says that the nutrient deficiencies associated with the restrictive diet can lead to health complications like fatigue, weakness, and impaired immune function, as well as mental and emotional drawbacks. Individuals may experience heightened feelings of irritability, mood swings, and increased stress due to the physical strain and deprivation associated with severe calorie deficits. It’s important to consult with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian before starting any new diet plan, especially one as restrictive as the military diet, to ensure it is suitable for your individual health and nutritional needs.
The military diet doesn’t promote positive, long-term habit changes. That means any weight that’s lost can be quickly regained once you return to your habitual eating pattern. Setting realistic weight loss goals and aiming for lifestyle changes rather than short-term fad diets is essential for successful weight loss, weight maintenance, and the prevention of weight regain.
Also, because a restrictive calorie diet isn’t sustainable, eventually you will go back to eating normally. And when your body has been in a “scarcity” mode, it will hang on to any energy it gets, leading to weight gain -- what you lost on the diet and often even more.
Success Stories and Testimonials
Kassia Parliament had amazing success on the 3 day Military Diet, shedding seven pounds of stubborn baby weight. She did the diet with her grandmother who lost ten pounds. Michelle lost three pounds but her husband stuck with the diet and lost 9 pounds! Whitaker’s Way lost 3 pounds on the Military Diet. Miss Yanyi’s Military Diet results were a loss of only 2 pounds. Yanyi’s sister joined her on the diet and lost 5 pounds.