The problem of overweight has long troubled the minds of a huge number of people around the world. In some countries, it has received national status, and therefore it is not at all surprising that today there is an impressive selection of weight loss diets for every taste. Finding the one that is perfect for you is no easy task. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with such a method of achieving harmony as the petal diet - perhaps this method of getting rid of the 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) petal diet". Such an original name for the author's food system aimed at burning fat deposits is due to the fact thatAnna presented her 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 is intended. However, often people who use this technique to lose weight in practice neglect to observe the seventh dietary day.
The essence of the "6 petals" diet is that you can eat only a certain product every day. In this regard, each petal of an improvised flower - which, by the way, for convenience, it would be good to draw on a piece of paper - should contain the name or image of the speciesfood listed for consumption on a given day It is very important to stick to the order in which you eat the treats allowed by the diet:
- on the first day you must satisfy your hunger exclusively with fish (which one depends on 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 to eat only cereals;
- food on the fifth diet day - natural cottage cheese;
- the sixth day is dedicated to eating various fruits;
- on the seventh day you can drink only water (that's why many people ignore it).
Anna Johansson does not specify the permitted consumption amount of each of the above products. This shortcoming has been corrected by other nutritionists: they recommend eating no more than 500 g of chicken meat, fish and cottage cheese per day; up to 1. 5 kg of vegetables and ripe fruits, a maximum of 300 g of cereals.
Rules of the Swedish method of weight loss
- 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 completed, and therefore it will be difficult to achieve decent results.
- You should eat 4-5 times a day. It is recommended to observe equal time intervals between meals.
- Food should be chewed very thoroughly.
- Different culinary dishes can be prepared from one product.
- The preferred methods of cooking food are boiling, stewing, baking, steaming and grilling. It is strictly forbidden to eat fried foods.
- Sweets and foods containing them should be completely excluded from the diet.
- 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 fish day, you should give preference 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 share in the diet on the first diet day should be minimal.
- Cereal day will be ideal if you eat buckwheat porridge, brown rice, corn and wheat semolina, as well as oatmeal. Garnishes made of white rice and semolina are strictly prohibited. In addition to cereal dishes, you can enjoy various flour products (not rich), but without fanaticism.
- Low-fat and low-fat cottage cheese is ideal for the petal diet. This dish can be supplemented with a glass of natural yogurt without sugar with fruit and berry supplements and 1% kefir. All other fermented milk products cannot be included in the diet of this weight loss method.
- From vegetables, it is better to eat different types of cabbage, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and various vegetables. The inclusion of dishes from corn, legumes, potatoes and eggplants in the diet of the vegetable day of the "6 Petals" diet should be abandoned. Plant foods can be eaten raw, roasted, boiled, steamed, slow-cooked or stewed. It is notit is forbidden to make soups from vegetables, drinking freshly squeezed vegetable juices is also welcome.
- It is allowed to consume absolutely any fruits, except especially carbohydrates, namely bananas, mangoes, melons, figs and grapes.
- If the menu of each day of the petal diet seems too monotonous to you, add some stewed mushrooms, a few soft-boiled chicken eggs (as an option - an omelet).
- It is allowed to wash down food with herbal decoctions, flowers and green tea, infusion of rose hips. Drinking carbonated drinks (especially sweet), alcohol, coffee and even plain black tea is excluded.
- During the entire diet, do not forget to drink plenty of pure table water or mineral water without gas. The optimal volume of liquid taken by a person who loses weight during the day is 1. 5-2 liters.
- The maximum duration of the power system is seven days.
- Re-use of the services of a weight loss method should occur no earlier than one month after completing the Swedish weight loss system.
Attention: in no case do not practice the "6 Petals" diet immediately after an illness, because this is a great burden for the weakened organism.
Diet with petals: 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;
- presence of food products prescribed by the petal diet;
- lack of hunger;
- sufficient amount of protein and fiber in the diet;
- high-quality cleaning of the body from slags and toxins;
- eliminate constipation;
- normalization of the digestive process;
- no need to count calories consumed daily and eat according to a strict schedule;
- a variety of diet, if we consider it as a whole - in this regard, any product prescribed by the diet does not have time to become boring to the slimmer;
- low-calorie diet on carbohydrate days (vegetables, fruits and cereals).
The main advantage of the "6 Petals" diet is the lack of harm to health with reasonable and correct practice of the food system.
We cannot ignore the disadvantages of the weight loss program. This:
- the need for additional intake of multivitamins;
- the appearance of general weakness, constant fatigue and, as a result, a decrease in efficiency due to the low energy value of products included in grain, fruit and vegetable diets;
- quick return of lost kilograms in case of non-compliance with the petal diet;
- quite impressive price of the share of products prescribed by the method;
- many contraindications (diabetes, kidney and liver pathologies, stomach and duodenal ulcers, cardiovascular diseases, hormonal imbalance, pregnancy and breastfeeding in women; children, adolescents and the elderly).
Sample menu for the "6 Petals" diet.
Diet with petals for a fish day
Option one:
- Morning - 200 g of steamed salmon.
- Second breakfast - a cup of unsweetened green tea.
- In the middle of the day, eat a glass of fish broth.
- Have dinner with 2-3 pieces of cooked salmon.
Option two:
- For breakfast, eat some boiled pollock (about 150 g).
- As part of their lunch, they consume a cup of berry broth made with no added sugar.
- They have lunch with 200 ml of hake fillet fish soup.
- Dinner consists of 250 g of pink salmon baked in the oven.
Ideally, you should stick to a portion size so that the total amount of fish consumed per day does not exceed 500g.
Vegetable day from the "6 Petals" diet.
Option one:
- Breakfast is carrot and cabbage salad (fresh vegetables are used) sprinkled with lemon juice.
- Boiled green beans are used as a snack.
- For lunch, boiled vegetables are eaten, namely grated carrots and cauliflower (about 330 g).
- In the evening they eat a salad, the ingredients of which are arugula leaves, fresh tomato and sweet pepper.
Option two:
- In the morning - chopped vegetables (200 g) and an unlimited amount of chopped vegetables.
- Second breakfast - boiled grated beets with a few cloves of chopped garlic.
- Lunch is a serving of broccoli soup.
- For an afternoon snack, eat 1 fresh cucumber.
- The last meal is zucchini stewed in vegetable oil with carrots and onions.
Petal Chicken Diet
Option one:
- In the morning, eat cooked chicken breast (150 g), whose mild taste you can improve with your favorite spices.
- After a few hours, they are fed 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 grilled chicken fillet (200 g).
Option two:
- In the morning they get strength by eating two chicken cutlets.
- Drink a cup of green or herbal tea as part of your lunch.
- For lunch, they eat soup cooked in chicken broth with pieces of chicken, but no vegetables.
- At the end of the day, they enjoy 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 (the same amount).
- After 2 hours, satisfy your hunger with buckwheat steamed with boiling water (no more than 200 g).
- For afternoon tea, drink a cup of rosehip infusion.
- Dinner is a portion of cooked quinoa with dried herbs.
Diet with petals: cottage cheese day
We offer two menu options to choose from:
First option
- Have breakfast with an oven-baked cheesecake (150 g). It is better to eat them without sour cream.
- As part of the second breakfast, enjoy the taste of Greek yogurt without any 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 baked milk.
Second option
- In the morning, eat low-fat cottage cheese (150 g) with a pinch of ground cinnamon.
- For lunch, they also drink low-fat milk (one glass is enough).
- For lunch, they enjoy some cottage cheese without filling and chocolate glaze.
- Dinner consists of a mixture of natural cottage cheese and unsweetened yogurt.
Fruitful day of the "6 Petals" diet.
It is worth noting that in addition to ripe fruits, this also includes the use of any fruits that do not have a particularly sweet taste.
There are also two sample menu options:
First option
- Morning - orange-pear salad with strawberries and 1 teaspoon of honey
- During the second breakfast, eat 1 large green apple.
- Lunch consists of a portion of apple and peach salad and some kiwi fruit.
- 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, get rid of the feeling of hunger thanks to a puree of two grated apples and five apricots.
- A few tangerines serve for breakfast.
- The lunch meal is a combination of two baked apples with cinnamon and fresh pineapple (200 g).
- At the end of the day, they only allow themselves to taste ½ grapefruit and a handful of plums.
The seventh day of the diet is followed by those who prefer the "7 Petals" weight loss system to the six petal weight loss method. Throughout the day, you need to drink plenty of fluids and any food is prohibited. To maintain optimal water balance in the body, you canyou take not only plain and mineral still water, but also fruit juice and compote from dried fruits and fruits without added sugar, fruit and forest infusions; green, herbal and hibiscus tea.
Petal diet: a smart decision
The more responsible the attitude towards this event, the greater the probability of stabilizing the result obtained through the weight loss technique. Here you need to focus on several points:
- For the first two to three days after completing the nutritional system, the diet should include foods prescribed by the diet.
- After that, you should gradually dilute the menu with other foods, adhering to the principle of introducing 1-2 new treats per day.
- The energy value of the food consumed should also increase very slowly. In general, the daily calorie content of the menu should remain relatively low for several weeks. At the end of this period, this figure should increase to 1600-1800 kcal.
- Sweets, fatty and fried foods, smoked and spicy foods can be included 14 days after the end of the petal diet. However, they should be consumed from time to time and in small quantities, then it will not affect body weight in any way.
- They exercise moderately every day, preferring gymnastics, aerobics, walking and swimming.
Petal diet: results and reviews
The author of the petal weight loss method guarantees that dieters will lose 2. 5 to 5 kg of excess weight in 1 cycle (6 or 7 days). Thus, for 3-4 diet cycles practiced intermittently, you can actually get rid of 8-12 kg of unnecessary calories.
Those who have decided to try this nutritional system for themselves confirm the truth of these statements. Most people like the fact that the petal diet is not rigid, filling, gives quick results and does not take much time to prepare meals. But many do not like the monotony and imbalance of the diet, and even more so the side effect in the form of upset stool and the presence of a hungry day (when choosing the "7 petals" option).
Nutritionists' reviews of this weight loss program are also mixed. Some experts approve such a 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 many contraindications of the petal diet and the possible negative consequences of the weight loss method for the body.
With all this in mind, we recommend using this system only after consulting a doctor. This way you can avoid wasting time and health problems.