4 + 1 diet: how it works, what to eat and contraindications

The 4 + 1 diet promises not only to make you lose weight in a lasting way but also to promote detox. Let's find out how it works and what we recommend to eat for those who follow this diet.

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La 4+1 diet promises not only to make you lose weight in a lasting way but also to promote detox. Let's find out how it works and what we recommend to eat for those who follow this diet.

Index

Diet 4 + 1, how it works

This diet was conceived by Rosanna Lambertucci, journalist and TV presenter, who explained in detail how it works and how to follow it in her book "The new 4 plus 1 diet".

To ensure that the proposed diet was balanced and combined the foods correctly, Lambertucci made use of the collaboration of Corrado Pierantoni, endocrinologist and clinical nutritionist, while for the part of the recipes she availed herself of the contribution of chef Fabio Campoli .

It is basically a diet based mainly on the intake of foods of plant origin, therefore particularly favors the purification of the organism and it does so thanks to a mainly vegetarian and partly vegan diet.

The idea behind this new diet is to avoid what often happens to those who want to lose weight: fail or fail to maintain a healthy weight after the diet. According to Lambertucci these failures would be due to the fact that the body is too full of toxins, to be able to lose weight more easily it is therefore important first of all to free it from these waste substances.

If you manage to lighten the work of organs such as the liver, kidneys and intestines it will then be easier for the body to lose weight and make this process turn into something stable and lasting.

To obtain the desired results in terms of purification it is important to consume a lot of fruit and vegetables rich in water while limiting proteins.

The 4 + 1 diet must be followed for a month and consists of 3 phases of 10 days each:

depuration (the most restrictive phase that serves to purify and drain)
reintegration
recovery

Each phase consists of two cycles, each of which in turn includes 4 days of vegetarian nutrition and 1 of vegan diet.

Once the 3 phases have been passed, those who want can gradually return to consuming animal proteins (the leanest ones).

There is another very important aspect of this diet to consider which is the fact that the daily menu must be built knowing the difference between alkaline foods and acidifying foods. Simplifying a lot, fruits and vegetables belong to the first category, cereals, eggs, cheeses, etc. to the second.

At each meal, 4 foods to be included must belong to the alkaline category and 1 to that of acids (hence the name of 4 + 1 diet).

4 + 1 diet: how it works, what to eat and contraindications

Diet 4 + 1, what to eat

This diet suggests eating large quantities of fruits and vegetables, at least 5 servings per day. In fact, it is precisely those foods that are largely alkaline that must prevail over the others.

You can then eat:

Pasta (80 grams)
Rice (80 grams)
Pane (50 grams)
Biscuits (20 grams)
Legumes (3 times a week instead of pasta or rice)
Potatoes (twice a week instead of pasta or rice)
Yogurt and milk (125 grams)
Cheeses (up to 4 times a week 50 grams if seasoned, 100 grams if fresh)
eggs

At the end of the whole diet cycle you can then enter:

Fish (maximum 4 times a week)
Meat (maximum 2 times a week)

Drinks allowed, but to be considered acidifying and therefore to be taken in moderation and always in the 4: 1 ratio, are coffee and wine.

Meals should be divided into breakfast, lunch and dinner plus 3 snacks: one mid-morning, one mid-afternoon and the last one after dinner.

Diet and physical activity

It is advisable to combine the 4 + 1 diet with a constant moderate sporting practice, it can also be a simple brisk walk lasting 30-40 minutes. This has the power to help the metabolism work better and has beneficial effects on the psyche and brain, which is also essential for those who are following a diet and want to lose weight.

Diet 4 + 1, contraindications

This diet it has no major contraindications also because it is recommended to follow it for only one month. However, since it is a low-calorie diet that eliminates some foods, it is always good to first ask for the opinion of your doctor or nutritionist, especially in case of pathologies or taking drugs.

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