The grapefruit diet is one of many that promise rapid weight loss. But in this case it is nothing new, it has been in circulation for quite some time. Its creation usually dates back to the middle of the last century.
Find out if it is true that grapefruit makes you lose weight and the pros and cons of this popular weight loss diet based on this healthy fruit.
How It Works
There are several versions of the grapefruit diet. It usually lasts 10-12 days, a period of time during which the promised weight loss is 4-5 kilos. Although there are people who claim to have lost even more weight thanks to this diet.
Both proponents of the diet and their detractors seem to agree that eating grapefruit helps you lose weight. There is research that suggests this. The key may be enzymes that help burn fat when eaten before other foods.
Others detract from the supposedly unique qualities of grapefruit, ensuring that this fruit does not magically burn fat. What this fruit would actually do is satiate people's appetites thanks to something as simple as its water content.
And in this aspect it would not differ too much from other fruits that can be bought in the market, including apple or orange. In the grapefruit diet this circumstance (which leads to eating less) is added to a low calorie diet, two decisive factors for losing weight. Therefore, its good results are mainly due to this.
What can and cannot be eaten
The fundamental part of this diet to lose weight is eat half a grapefruit (or a cup of unsweetened grapefruit juice) before each meal. Specifically before breakfast, lunch and dinner. So before filling your shopping cart with grapefruits, it's a good idea to make sure they don't taste unpleasant to you.
The rest of the requirements depend on which version you choose. Some are quite strict. They propose to greatly reduce carbohydrates and increase high-fat meats, in addition a drastic cut in the number of daily calories, until leaving them in 800 and even less.
In this way, grapefruit is usually eaten with eggs and bacon during breakfast; and with meat and salad for both lunch and dinner. What's more, you are encouraged to drink plenty of water and eat until you feel full so as not to snack between meals. Coffee, tea, and skim milk are also allowed.
In contrast, the level of exertion in other versions of the grapefruit diet is lower. Those that allow eating almost anything (or what is commonly eaten) are not uncommon, as long as the grapefruit ration is maintained before each meal.
Do you have any drawbacks?
Detractors of the grapefruit diet strongly emphasize that it is not a long-term eating plan. That means there is a high risk of regaining the lost weight by returning to the previous diet.
On the other hand, there are experts who assure that the grapefruit diet is not recommended or healthy. The reason is that trying to lose too much weight is a very short period of time, especially in its most extreme versions.
In addition, it proposes reducing the intake of numerous healthy foods and increasing the intake of foods rich in fat. The grapefruit diet encourages eating more meat, such as bacon. This rule can have the opposite effect: gaining weight instead of losing it.
Finally, if you suffer from any disease, it is very important that you consult your doctor before starting the grapefruit diet, as well as any weight loss diet in general. The reason in this case is that, taken in large quantities under certain conditions or combined with certain medications, this fruit can cause adverse effects.
Final word
There is no doubt that grapefruit is a healthy food. It is a low-calorie fruit that provides a good amount of nutrients. Figure among the foods rich in vitamin C. It also provides vitamin A, folate and magnesium. It is also very easy to add it to food.
From that point of view it will always be an excellent idea to include it in the diet. Especially when you need to lose weight, since there are many reasons to think that it can help you lose weight.
However, it is best that grapefruit is part of a varied diet, and as you may have seen, this is not the case with the grapefruit diet. A good diet is one that provides a wide variety of nutrients. On the other hand, in this type of short-term plans, it is encouraged to reduce the diet to only a few meals, which in the diet in question this time would be grapefruit and a few other foods.