Single course diet: what it is, typical menu, how it works and contraindications

The one-course diet is a diet that can be followed for a few days and that promises a quick and effortless weight loss. Let's find out how it works and the possible contraindications.

Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

La single dish diet it is a diet that can be followed for a few days and which promises rapid weight loss without major efforts. Let's find out how it works and the possible contraindications.

It is a diet recommended above all for those who need to lose weight in a short time (for example before an important event) but which in reality, looking at its foundations, proposes a balanced and complete diet.

There are those who believe that with this diet they are able to knock about 5 kg in 5 daysi, a weight loss that is far too rapid to be lasting (we will talk about it in the contraindications).

Index

Single dish diet: what it is

As the name implies, this diet is based on having a meal in a single dish for both lunch and dinner. This, especially for those who work and dine outside the home, can be convenient and practical both by bringing food from home and by attending bars and cafeterias that offer lunch.

In essence, this is a light diet that is easy to follow and also healthy unless you limit calories too much and make it too low-calorie.

The Healthy Eating Plate diet was conceived by nutritionists at the Harvard School of Public Health who studied and designed this diet to promote rapid weight loss without negative consequences for the body.

Single dish diet: how it works

The diet is based on the intake of a single dish that contains all the useful nutrients:

carbohydrates
protein
fibers
fat (few and good)

Naturally, these nutrients must be well balanced inside them so that the dish is able to satiate at best (avoiding hunger before arriving for dinner) but also to give satisfaction to those who take it (the benefit is therefore also of a psychological nature for those who follow it).

Furthermore, a well-balanced dish allows the metabolism to function at its best and therefore to lose weight without great effort.

In this diet you can insert different types of foods that belong to all categories and, very interesting, is that there is no need to weigh anything, everything must fit on the plate (obviously without exaggerating).

The day at the food level is divided into 3 main meals plus 2 snacks for a total of about 1000 kcal.

Single dish diet, what to eat

The one-course diet recommends eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, including in the form of centrifuges and extracts or dried, yogurt, spices such as ginger, whole grains such as barley, quinoa, oats, rice and wheat, white meat, fish and legumes.

The dish for lunch and dinner must be composed by dividing it into 4 parts according to the following scheme:

half seasonal fruit and vegetables
half whole grains and proteins

Single course diet: what it is, typical menu, how it works and contraindications

Harvard nutritionists suggest hanging a copy of this infographic on your refrigerator as a daily reminder to create healthy, balanced meals.

A typical dish to be used in this diet could be composed, for example, of brown rice combined with lentils and a mixed salad with avocado. As a condiment you can choose a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.

As for breakfast, however, it is always advisable to start the day with a nice cup of green tea that stimulates the metabolism and a yogurt accompanied by seasonal fruit or red fruits, useful for draining liquids.

For snacks, on the other hand, extracts and centrifuges of fruit and vegetables or dried fruit are recommended.

Nutritionists suggest varying fruits and vegetables also based on color, remembering, however, that potatoes do not count as a vegetable due to their negative impact on blood sugar.

The diet must always be associated with plenty of water, at least 2 liters per day, and moderate, daily physical activity which is important for weight control. It is also good to avoid smoking.

Absolutely to avoid while following this diet are:

refined flours
Red meat
cold cuts
desserts
sugary drinks
alcohol

Instead, to be limited to one or two servings a day there are milk and dairy products.

Single dish diet: typical menu

An example of a daily typical single-course diet menu could be:

Breakfast: green tea, white yogurt with the addition of red fruits or fresh seasonal fruit
Mid-morning snack: apple, cucumber and ginger centrifuge
Lunch: brown rice with lentils, courgettes and fruit
Mid-afternoon snack: a handful of nuts such as almonds or walnuts
Price: chicken salad, rye bread, choice of vegetables and fruit

Depending on the season, fruit and vegetables can be varied every day and in the same way it would be good to consume different whole grains and different types of proteins every day.

Single course diet: contraindications

Conceived by Harvard nutritionists, this certainly cannot be an unbalanced diet. However, used for the purpose of weight loss is a low-calorie diet that should be followed for a short time in order to lose weight quickly, better if followed by a specialist. By increasing the calories a little according to your constitution, gender, age, etc., it could instead become a healthy daily habit to eat mainly fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and good fats.

The biggest contraindication of the single-course diet can certainly be that of finding yourself struggling with a yo-yo effect once you stop this diet. It is therefore possible that the lost pounds will be regained very quickly if you do not continue to follow a healthy and balanced diet and return to your previous eating habits.

Read also: