Is the 3-Day Military Diet Safe and Effective for Weight Loss?

Eggs are one of the few foods you can eat in the restrictive Military Diet, a plan proponents claim can help you lose 10 pounds in only seven days.

Experts say the popular diet can help you drop weight fast, but keeping it off might be harder. In fact, fad diets like the Military Diet may even lead you to gain even more weight than you initially lost.

The Military Diet is an extremely low-calorie diet designed to help you lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time. In a nutshell, Julie Rothenberg, RD, a licensed dietician-nutritionist and owner of JuliENERGYnutrition in Miami, explains, “The three-day military diet markets itself to lose 10 pounds (lbs) in one week.”

Still, the Military Diet isn’t associated with the military at all. It also doesn’t follow the principles used in the actual military. In fact, as one review published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences that examined of nutrition in the military stated, “Nutrition and the military are fundamentally entwined.” Historically, a lack of a balanced diet has led to poor military performance.

Instead of military-based nutritional practices, the Military Diet requires persistence when the going gets tough. There are numerous risks associated with such restrictive diets, including gaining all the weight back — and then some — once you’re finally done with the program.

  What Is the Military Diet Exactly, and How Does the Weight-Loss Program Work?

The Military Diet is a strict, short-term plan that requires drastically reducing your caloric intake. The restrictions work over a three-day period, and then you take four days off from the diet. Some users participate in the Military Diet on an occasional basis, while others might do three days on and four days off for a month at a time. In fact, the Military Diet website touts that people who follow the plan for 30 days could “lose up to 30 lbs,” though registered dietitians strongly advise against doing so. (More on that later.)

When you think of the word “military,” you might think of a strict regimen that involves both mental and physical strength, but there’s no boot camp required with this type of diet. Surprisingly, there’s no exercise requirement whatsoever. Proponents do encourage daily walks, though.

Rather than calories burned, the Military Diet focuses on significant calorie deficits by cutting out the amount and types of food that you eat. The website for the plan recommends consuming between 1,100 and 1,400 calories each day for the first three days of the plan.

“This diet is also low in fat and really just relies on the lack of calories to help people to shed weight quickly,” Rothenberg says. During the four days off, you’re still encouraged to eat a low-calorie plan of 1,500 calories or less.

Proponents of the Military Diet claim that the three-days-on-four-days-off method is effective enough to help you lose weight without interfering with your metabolism like longer-term, very restrictive diets. Still, this is no guarantee that you won’t succumb to food cravings at some point during the three days you’re on the diet.

  Who Should Try the Military Diet and Who Should Avoid It?

The Military Diet recommends this eating plan for “emergency situations” where people “need to shed unwanted pounds quickly.” It only seems to work for people who are able to stick with few calories and fight the hunger and low energy that comes with it.

On the plus side, the Military Diet is relatively affordable because you’re eating real foods. You don’t have to buy any processed foods, beverages, or supplements.

But once the low-calorie period is over, the effects of eating more calories are likely to come back with a vengeance. “Personally, a low-calorie diet is nothing new, and also is just not realistic or sustainable,” Rothenberg argues. For most people, adhering to the diet is extremely difficult.

Plus, if you’re over the age of 50, extremely low calorie diets could be dangerous, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

An Acceptable Food List for the Military Diet Plan

Here are some of the foods you can eat on the Military Diet:

·         Bananas

·         Bread (whole-wheat), in small amounts

·         Carrots

·         Coffee

·         Eggs

·         Grapefruit

·         Hot dogs

·         Ice cream

·         Meat

·         Saltine crackers

·         Tea

·         Tuna

These are some of the foods you can’t eat on the Military Diet:

·         Artificial sweeteners (except for stevia)

·         Creamers

·         Fruit juices

·         Milk

·         Oranges

·         Sugar

More on Eating Vegan or Vegetarian

You can also follow the Military Diet if you’re a vegetarian or vegan by substituting meats with beans or tofu.

It’s important to note that many of the recommended foods are low in fiber. That goes against most standard advice for weight loss. For example, the American Heart Association says to include high-fiber foods to help keep you full without extra calories.  

The Potential Risks and Benefits of Trying the Military Diet for Weight Loss

The greatest short-term risks associated with the Military Diet are binge-eating (because of over-restricting) and constipation. “This one is on the lower end of fiber, and mainly consists of sources of soluble fiber, like bananas, that will stop up bowel movements,” Rothenberg says.

When restricting certain foods, you also put yourself at risk for losing out on nutrients, which is something a multivitamin can’t fully replace, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of this type of diet is the potential for weight loss, given that currently over 70 percent of the United States population is either overweight or obese, according to the NIDDK. The NIDDK reports that people who initially lost 15 to 25 percent of their body weight within six months might be able to maintain a 5 percent weight loss over a period of four years. (2) The catch here is that exercise and permanent lifestyle changes must be made for such effects to stick — and there’s no evidence the military diet leads to sustainable healthy habits that result in maintainable weight loss.

Another study published in January 2012 in the journal Oral Diseases reviewed possible associations between a low-calorie diet and reduced chronic inflammatory diseases, such as periodontal disease (gum disease) in primates. But no human studies to date have proven that restricted calories are beneficial for reducing inflammation.

A 3-Day Sample Meal Plan for the Military Diet

The following is a sample meal plan from the Military Diet:

Day 1

Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with up to 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 cup of black coffee or tea with caffeine, and ½ grapefruit

Lunch: 1 slice of toast with up to ½ cup of white tuna fish, 1 cup of caffeinated coffee or tea

Dinner: 3 ounces meat (any type you prefer), 1 small apple, ½ banana, and 1 cup green beans

Dessert: 1 cup vanilla ice cream

Day 2

Breakfast: 1 slice of toast with 1 egg and ½ banana

Lunch: 5 saltine crackers, 1 egg (hardboiled or however you prefer it), and 1 cup cottage cheese

Dinner: 2 hot dogs (no buns), 1 cup broccoli, ½ cup carrots, and the other half of the banana

“The middle day does include 1 cup of broccoli — which is a source of insoluble fiber — but likely not enough,” Rothenberg adds.

Day 3

Breakfast: 5 saltine crackers, 1 apple, and 1 slice of cheddar cheese

Lunch: 1 piece of toast and 1 egg

Dinner: ½ banana and 1 cup of tuna

Dessert: 1 cup vanilla ice cream

Strict adherence to the diet is recommended to achieve the optimal results. It’s important to note that you can’t have snacks — instead, you may “borrow” a food from one of your meals during snack time, but then eat less at that particular meal.

Extra Precautions to Take When Following the Military Diet

As with other types of extremely low-calorie diets, regaining the weight is almost guaranteed as soon as you stop the diet. “My own advice,” says Rothenberg: “Don't compromise for a big event! That often leads to weight gain and binge eating. If you want to change your diet, change your lifestyle. Studies actually show that ‘safe weight loss’ results in 1 to 2 lbs per week only,” citing recommendations from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.” And that still is hard work,” she adds. Fad diets like the Military Diet put you at risk for regaining weight that is lost from muscle and water in particular.

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Good and Bad Carbs?

Rothenberg offers a more realistic approach to weight loss by recommending a balance of healthy carbs, lean protein, and healthy fat for every meal. Finally, she suggests, “Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. I personally am an intuitive eater. I eat when I am hungry and I stop when I am full, and I eat foods that make me feel good. When I try to feel good, I end up making healthier food choices as opposed to when I am in ‘diet mode.’”