3 Day Military Diet: Does This Diet Plan Really Work?
[toggle title=’Click to show/hide spoiler’]
The 3 Day Military Diet has now reached “fad diet” territory. If you’re here reading this, chances are you’ve heard of this diet plan. But like many fad diets, they gain popularity quickly but don’t stick around because they either ultimately don’t work or something new and improved comes along. The 3 Day Military diet plan claims that those who follow can lose up to 10 pounds in one weeks’ time.
Today we’re going to take a closer look at the 3 Day Military Diet and see if the hype is worth a try, if you’re considering trying this diet.
3 Day Military Diet Basics
It’s worth noting that the 3 Day Military Diet, actually has nothing at all to do with the military itself.
Some call it by this name because of the discipline required to follow its strict guidelines for losing weight.
The 3 Day Military Diet is simply a very low-calorie diet plan. You will be on a severely restricted calorie intake for three consecutive days, followed four days that are not structured.
However, the 3 Day Military diet menu still recommends eating healthy for these four days following the 3 days of calorie restriction.
How restricted? Very. Most plans call for 3 days of around 1100 to 1400 calories intake per day. That’s it. No snacks in between meals, nothing.
Those who are proponents claim those on the 3 Day Military Diet lose 10 pounds in one week and that you can repeat this 3 day/4-day routine until meeting your weight loss goal.
Most 3 Day Military Diet menus are the same and recommend the same foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner for each of the 3 days.
The food you eat will of course be low calories, because you aren’t eating much per meal. It will be low protein and higher on fat and carbohydrates.
The diet claims that the food combinations are meant to boost metabolism and aide in fat loss (more on this later).
The cornerstone of the diet is the fact that you are eating a very small number of calories each day, remember, we said between 1,100 to 1,400 calories per day. We do know that in order to lose one pound of fat, you need to burn 3500 calories.
Depending on how active a person is and what their total daily calorie expenditure is, theoretically, there is an opportunity to lose fat during the diet.
But, is this sustainable and how will it affect a person’s metabolism going forward?
Sample 3 Day Military Diet Menu
As we said earlier, anywhere you look for information on the 3 Day Military Diet, the meal plans are all basically the same. Here is what is recommended for the 3-day portion of the diet:
Day 1:
Breakfast
½ Grapefruit
1 Slice if toast
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 Cup of coffee or tea
Lunch
½ Cup of tuna
1 Slice of toast
1 Cup coffee or tea
Dinner
3 Ounces of any type of meat
1 Cup of green beans
½ Banana
1 Small apple
1 Cup of vanilla ice cream
Day 2:
Breakfast
1 Egg
1 Slice of toast
½ Banana
Lunch
1 Cup of cottage cheese
1 Hard-boiled egg
5 Saltine crackers
Dinner
2 Hot dogs (without bun)
1 Cup broccoli
½ Cup carrots
½ Banana
½ Cup of vanilla ice cream
Day 3:
Breakfast
5 Saltine crackers
1 Slice of cheddar cheese
1 Small apple
Lunch
1 Hard-boiled egg
1 Slice of toast
Dinner
1 Cup of tuna
½ Banana
1 Cup of vanilla ice cream
Not much here. Personally, I wonder why a hot dog? I was puzzled by that choice of food for this diet. However, still staying impartial, I’m pressing on to see if this is legit.
Curiously, I could not find macronutrient or calorie breakdowns of each meal and day on any source of information for the 3 Day Military Diet.
I decided to plug everything into the MyFitnessPal app and see where it came out, for a full calorie and macro breakdown of my own.
3 Day Military Diet Macro and Calorie Breakdown
Day 1 Breakfast
Total Calories–269
Protein—9.9 grams
Carbs—29 grams
Fat—12.6 grams
Day 1 Lunch
Total Calories—75
Protein—7.5 grams
Carbs—9 grams
Fat—1 gram
Day 1 Dinner
Total Calories—609
Protein—26.1 grams
Carbs—75.5 grams
Fat—22.6 grams
Day 1 Totals
Total Calories—954
Total Protein—43.5 grams, 18.2% of total calorie intake
Total Carbs—113.5 grams, 47.6% of total calorie intake
Total Fats—36.2 grams, 34.2% of total calorie intake
Day 2 Breakfast
Total Calories—178
Protein—9.1 grams
Carbs—22.5 grams
Fat—5.7 grams
Day 2 Lunch
Total Calories—278
Protein— 28.1 grams
Carbs— 21.3 grams
Fat— 8.9 grams
Day 2 Dinner
Total Calories—584
Protein—20.8 grams
Carbs—42.6 grams
Fat—36.7 grams
Day 2 Totals
Total Calories—1040
Total Protein—58 grams, 22% of total calorie intake
Total Carbs—86.4 grams, 33% of total calorie intake
Total Fats—51.3 grams, 44% of total calorie intake
Day 3 Breakfast
Total Calories—276
Protein—8 grams
Carbs—35.9 grams
Fat—11.2 grams
Day 3 Lunch
Total Calories—117
Protein—8 grams
Carbs— 9.5 grams
Fat— 5.2 grams
Day 3 Dinner
Total Calories—407
Protein—11.6 grams
Carbs—43.5 grams
Fat—20.7 grams
Day 3 Totals
Total Calories—800
Total Protein—27.6 grams, 14% of total calorie intake
Total Carbs—88.9 grams, 44% of total calorie intake
Total Fats—37.1 grams, 42% of total calorie intake
As you can see, the diet is high in carbohydrates and fats, and protein is not emphasized as much in the diet.