The problem of being overweight has long worried the minds of a huge number of people around the world. In some countries it received national status, and therefore it is not surprising that today there is an impressive selection of weight loss diets for every taste. Finding the one that is perfect for you is not an easy task. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with such a method of finding harmony as the petal diet - perhaps this method of getting rid of hated pounds will be the most effective in your case.
History and features of the weight loss system
The method discussed in our article is the brainchild of Swedish nutritionist Anna Johansson. It is also known by other names: "flower diet", "chamomile diet", "6 (7) petals diet". The original name of the author's nutritional system, aimed at burning fat deposits, is due to the fact that Anna presented its development in the form of a flower with seven petals. The number of the latter is equal to the number of days for which the unusual diet was designed. However, very often people who use this weight loss technique in practice fail to observe the seventh dietary day.
The essence of the "6 petals" diet is that you can only eat a certain product every day. In this sense, each petal of an improvised flower - which, in fact, for convenience, would be good to draw on a sheet of paper - should contain the name or image of the type of food recommended for consumption on a given day. . It is very important to follow the order in which the treats allowed by the diet are consumed:
- on the first day you must satisfy your hunger exclusively with fish (which one is up to you);
- on the second day you can eat only vegetables;
- on the third day you can eat nothing but chicken fillet;
- the fourth day prescribes eating only cereal porridge;
- food for the fifth dietary day - natural cottage cheese;
- the sixth day is dedicated to the consumption of a variety of fruits;
- on the seventh day you can only drink water (that's why many people ignore it).
Anna Johansson did not specify the amount allowed for consumption of each of the above products. This deficiency has been corrected by other nutritionists: they recommend consuming a maximum of 500 g of chicken meat, fish and cottage cheese per day; up to 1. 5 kg of ripe vegetables and fruits, maximum 300 g of cereals.
Rules of the Swedish weight loss method
- Products included in the petal diet should not be mixed with each other. If this principle is violated, the process of reducing body weight will not be complete, and therefore it will be difficult to obtain decent results.
- You need to eat 4-5 times a day. It is advisable to maintain equal time intervals between meals.
- Food must be chewed very well.
- A variety of culinary dishes can be prepared from one product.
- The preferred types of food cooking are boiling, stewing, oven roasting, steaming and grilling. It is strictly prohibited to eat fried foods.
- Sweets and foods containing them should be completely excluded from the diet.
- The petal diet allows you to replace chicken fillet with turkey or quail meat. In any case, it is necessary to remove the skin from the carcass.
- When choosing a product for a fishing day, preference should be given to pink salmon, salmon, hake, cod, pike, trout and pike. It is allowed to diversify the fish menu with seafood (squid, shrimp, mussels) and seaweed, but their participation in the diet on the first dietary day should be minimal.
- A cereal day will be ideal if you eat buckwheat porridge, brown rice, corn and wheat groats, as well as oatmeal. Side dishes of white rice and semolina are strictly prohibited. In addition to cereal dishes, you can taste various flour products (not rich), but without fanaticism.
- Low-fat, low-fat cottage cheese is ideal for the petal diet. This dish can be supplemented with a glass of natural unsweetened yogurt with fruit and berry additives and 1% kefir. All other fermented dairy products cannot be included in the diet of this weight loss method.
- For vegetables, it is best to eat several types of cabbage, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and various greens. The inclusion of corn, legumes, potato and eggplant dishes in the daily vegetable diet of the "6 petals" diet should be abandoned. Plant foods can be eaten raw, roasted, boiled, steamed, slow-cooked or stewed. It is not forbidden to prepare vegetable soups; drinking freshly squeezed vegetable juices is also welcome.
- It is allowed to taste absolutely any fruit, with the exception of those particularly rich in carbohydrates, namely banana, mango, melon, figs and grapes.
- If someday's petal diet menu seems too monotonous to you, add a few boiled mushrooms, a few boiled chicken eggs (as an option - an omelet).
- It is allowed to water food with decoctions of herbs, flowers and green tea and rosehip infusion. Drinking soft drinks (especially sweet ones), alcohol, coffee and even regular black tea is out of the question.
- Throughout the diet, drink plenty of clean table water or mineral water, without gas. The optimal volume of liquid drunk by a person losing weight during the day is 1. 5-2 liters.
- The maximum duration of the feeding system is seven days.
- Repeated use of the services of a weight loss method should not occur earlier than one month after completing the Swedish weight loss system.
Attention: under no circumstances practice the "6 petals" diet immediately after contracting an illness, as this represents a great burden on a weakened body.
Petal diet: pros and cons
The advantages of the Swedish weight loss method include:
- high performance - allows you to lose weight in a short time;
- ease and speed of cooking;
- availability of food products prescribed by the petal diet;
- lack of hunger;
- sufficient amount of protein and fiber in the diet;
- high-quality cleansing of the body from waste and toxins;
- eliminating constipation;
- normalization of the digestive process;
- there is no need to count calories consumed daily and eat according to a strict schedule;
- variety of diet, if we consider it in general - in this regard, each product prescribed in the diet does not have time to become boring for those who are losing weight;
- low-calorie diet on carbohydrate days (vegetables, fruits and cereals).
The main advantage of the "6 petals" diet is the absence of harm to health with reasonable and correct practice of the nutritional system.
We cannot ignore the disadvantages of a weight loss program. That:
- the need for additional intake of multivitamins;
- the occurrence of general weakness, constant fatigue and, consequently, a decrease in performance due to the low energy value of products included in the diet of cereals, fruits and vegetables;
- quick return of lost kilos in case of non-compliance with the petal diet;
- quite impressive cost of the portion of products prescribed by the method;
- many contraindications (diabetes mellitus, kidney and liver pathologies, stomach and duodenal ulcers, cardiovascular diseases, hormonal imbalances, pregnancy and breastfeeding in women; children, adolescents and old age).
Sample menu for the "6 petals" diet
Fish Day Petal Diet
Option one:
- Morning meal - 200 g of steamed salmon.
- Second breakfast - a glass of unsweetened green tea.
- In the middle of the day, have a cup of fish broth.
- Dine with 2-3 pieces of cooked salmon.
Option two:
- For breakfast, eat some boiled pollock (about 150 g).
- For lunch, they consume a cup of red fruit broth, prepared without added sugar.
- They have lunch with 200 ml of fish soup made from hake fillet.
- Dinner consists of 250 g of oven-baked pink salmon.
Ideally, limit portion size so that the total amount of fish consumed per day does not exceed 500 g.
Vegetable day of the "6 petals" diet
Option one:
- Breakfast is carrot and cabbage salad (use fresh vegetables) sprinkled with lemon juice.
- Cooked green beans are used as a snack.
- For lunch, they eat boiled vegetables, namely grated carrots and cauliflower (about 330 g).
- At night they eat a salad whose ingredients are arugula leaves, fresh tomatoes and peppers.
Option two:
- Morning meal - chopped vegetables (200 g) and an unlimited amount of chopped greens.
- Second breakfast - grated beetroot cooked with a few chopped garlic cloves.
- Lunch is a portion of broccoli soup.
- For an afternoon snack, eat 1 fresh cucumber.
- The last meal is zucchini cooked in vegetable oil with carrots and onions.
Chicken Day Petal Diet
Option one:
- In the morning, eat boiled chicken breast (150 g), whose mild flavor can be improved with your favorite seasonings.
- After a few hours, they eat chicken baked in the oven (no more than 100 g).
- Lunch is a cup of chicken broth with chopped herbs.
- In the evening, eat skinless chicken fillet cooked on the grill (200 g).
Option two:
- In the morning, they gain strength by eating two chicken cutlets.
- As part of lunch, drink a cup of green or herbal tea.
- For lunch they eat soup cooked in chicken broth with pieces of chicken meat, but without vegetables.
- At the end of the day they eat roast chicken.
Cereal day of the "6 petals" diet
- Breakfast - oatmeal boiled in water (150 g).
- Second breakfast - brown rice cooked in a slow cooker (same quantity).
- After 2 hours, satisfy your hunger with buckwheat steamed with boiling water (no more than 200 g).
- For afternoon tea, drink a glass of rosehip infusion.
- Dinner is a portion of quinoa cooked with dried herbs.
Petal Diet: Curd Day
We offer two menu options for you to choose from:
First option
- Have breakfast with oven-baked cheesecakes (150 g). It's best to eat them without sour cream.
- As part of your second breakfast, enjoy the flavor of Greek yogurt without additives (½ cup).
- The next meal is low-fat cottage cheese (200 g) and a glass of 1% kefir.
- During dinner, drink 250 ml of fermented milk.
Second option
- In the morning, eat low-fat cottage cheese (150 g) with a pinch of ground cinnamon.
- At lunch they also drink skimmed milk (one glass is enough).
- At lunch they taste various cream cheeses without filling and covered in chocolate.
- Dinner consists of a mixture of natural cottage cheese and unsweetened yogurt.
Fruit day of the "6 petals" diet
It is important to note that in addition to ripe fruits, it also involves the use of any wild fruits that do not have a particularly sweet taste.
There are also two sample menu options:
First option
- Morning - orange and pear salad with strawberries and 1 tsp. honey
- During your second breakfast, eat 1 large green apple.
- Lunch consists of a portion of apple and peach salad and several kiwis.
- For an afternoon snack, eat 1 orange or drink 200 ml of fresh orange juice.
- In the evening, recharge your batteries by drinking a fruit and berry smoothie and a cup of herbal tea.
Second option
- At the beginning of the day, you get rid of the feeling of hunger thanks to a puree of two grated apples and five apricots.
- Some tangerines serve as a snack.
- The lunch meal is a combination of two oven-baked apples with cinnamon and fresh pineapple (200 g).
- At the end of the day, they are allowed to taste just ½ grapefruit and a handful of plums.
The seventh day of the diet is followed by those who prefer the "7-petal" weight loss system to the six-petal weight loss method. Throughout the day it is mandatory to drink plenty of fluids and any food is prohibited. To maintain optimal hydrobalance in the body, you can absorb not only ordinary and mineral water without gas, but also fruit juice and compotes from dried fruits and fruits without added sugar, fruit and berry infusions; green, herbal and hibiscus tea.
Petal diet: a smart solution
The more responsible the attitude towards this event, the greater the probability of stabilizing the result obtained through the weight loss technique. Here you should focus on several points:
- During the first two to three days after completion of the nutritional system, the diet should include the foods prescribed by the diet.
- Then you need to gradually dilute the menu with other foods, following the principle of introducing 1 to 2 new treats daily.
- The energy value of the food consumed must also be increased very slowly. In general, the daily calorie content of the menu should remain relatively low for a few weeks. At the end of this period, this value must be increased to 1600-1800 kcal.
- Sweets, fatty and fried, smoked and spicy foods can be included 14 days after the end of the petal diet. However, they should be consumed occasionally and in small quantities, as this will not affect body weight in any way.
- They practice moderate exercise every day, giving preference to gymnastics, aerobics, walking and swimming.
Petal diet: results and reviews
The author of the petal weight loss method guarantees that those who lose weight will lose 2. 5 to 5 kg of excess weight in 1 cycle (6 or 7 days). So, in 3-4 eating cycles, practiced intermittently, you can actually get rid of 8-12 kg of unnecessary calories.
Those who decided to try this nutrition system confirm the veracity of these statements. Most people like the fact that the petal diet is not rigid, satisfying, gives quick results and does not take a lot of time to prepare dishes. But many do not like the monotony and imbalance of food, and even more so the side effect in the form of upset stools and the presence of a hungry day (when choosing the "7 petals" variation).
Nutritionist reviews about this weight loss program are also mixed. Some experts approve of this short-term method of solving problems with excess weight, arguing that it simply does not have time to negatively affect a person's health. Others warn about the numerous contraindications of the petal diet and the possible negative consequences of the weight loss method for the body.
Taking all this into consideration, we recommend using this system only after consulting a doctor. This way you avoid wasting time and health problems.