The cucumber diet is very trendy and shares its premise with the more popular celery juice diet. This diet takes a low-calorie vegetable and turns it into a hero of short-term weight loss diets, which might be why it’s also known as the 7 Kg Cucumber Diet in 7 Days .
While there doesn’t appear to be a single website or entity that owns the Cucumber Diet, it does appear to work the same way as most other fad diets; by severely limiting caloric intake.
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DIET
To lose weight with the cucumber diet, here are the basic principles for 7 days of diet:
- Control what you eat and the portions you eat
- Eat cucumbers at will (salads, smoothies…)
- Consume other healthy and nutritious foods in addition to cucumber
The diet does not specify the list of foods to avoid, but does not set any limits on the consumption of cucumbers and specifies that all meals and snacks must consist of cucumbers. Certain high-protein foods like chicken, fish, eggs, and nuts and other low-calorie fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, spinach, and celery are allowed. Small amounts of good fats are encouraged, and good quality carbohydrates can be included.
Here is a sample menu for one day:
- Breakfast : 2 eggs + cucumber and spinach slices
- Snack : cucumber sticks + 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- Lunch : tomato and cucumber salad with tuna and 1 cup brown rice
- Snack : cucumber sticks +15 almonds
- Dinner : roast chicken with cucumber salad and fresh herbs + squeezed lemon juice
The properties of cucumbers for health
Cucumbers are composed mainly of water ~96g per 100g, so they are very hydrating and very low in calories (~12kcal/100g or a small cucumber). Cucumber is a slimming ally for weight loss. Cucumber has diuretic properties and helps eliminate toxins.
However, cucumbers are rich in fiber, which helps stimulate intestinal transit. The vegetable also contains vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, carbohydrates.
Why choose to do the cucumber diet?
It is important to note that this slimming diet is recommended when it comes to a little fat after a period of vacation and cravings, for example. It eliminates the few extra pounds that you have stored during this period.
At the end of the 7-day cucumber diet, you can resume a balanced diet, accompanied by regular physical activity to maintain your weight and avoid the yoyo effect that this type of restrictive diet can induce.
It is essential to seek advice from your doctor before following a cucumber diet to lose weight, especially under medical treatment.
ADVANTAGES
As the diet is very low in calories, it will likely lead to rapid short-term weight loss , although there are no studies that have proven this effect. Most of the weight loss on the scale would be due to a reduction in glycogen (carbohydrates stored in the muscles and liver) and water in the body.
All vegetables are bulky, and cucumbers are no exception. They need to be chewed, which helps to feel satiety and fills the space of our stomach. Cucumber is a nutritionally good food , it is beneficial for health. Ultimately, there’s no problem eating cucumbers as part of a balanced diet; it is only when they become your main source of nutrition that problems can arise and your body has deficiencies.
DISADVANTAGES
However, by focusing on just one vegetable, the cucumber diet lacks variety and nutrients. It encourages a restrictive diet , which can be detrimental to physical and mental health in the medium and long term.
Restrictive diets that encourage filling up on low-calorie foods are synonymous with disordered eating behaviors. They can, paradoxically, lead to long-term weight gain . Food restriction can leave the body undernourished and lead to feelings of irritability, fatigue, deprivation, and even depression. It is well known that these diets are difficult to follow and bad for your health.
Although cucumbers contain a small amount of nutrients, they are not nutritionally complete and long-term adherence to such a diet could lead to nutritional deficiencies and health problems . Adding protein and other healthy foods to each meal can help, but the lack of variety is the big problem with this diet.
Limiting vegetable intake can have negative effects on the gut microbiota, especially if the diet is reduced to a single vegetable. Recent research on the gut microbiome suggests that including 30 different plant foods per week helps increase the diversity of the gut microbiota (1); and the more diverse the microbiota, the better the optimal health.
REVIEW OF CALCULERSONIMC.FR
The cucumber diet is a private and low-calorie diet. Cucumber is a refreshing food that is easily found and goes very well in a salad, for example. However, a diet based on a single vegetable is not balanced. This diet must absolutely be practiced in the short term, because being restrictive, it leads to nutrient deficiencies.
Explanation of the attribution of the score:
» Nutrition aspect : points – 25 for the harmful effects of the diet
» Corpulence aspect : points – 20 for the expectation of beneficial effects on the corpulence in the long term
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