When I heard about a diet that would help me loose up to 10 pounds in 3 days, I was intrigued and had to give it a try. Today I’m sharing what I learned from following the 3-day Military Diet and why I would definitely do it again!
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What is the military diet?
Have you seen some of the articles floating around the internet about the 3-day Military Diet? The one where you can lose up to 10 pounds after only 3 days? Yeah, sounds crazy, right?
Essentially, you follow a strict 3 day eating plan that is low calorie and supposedly jump starts your metabolism. The diet has nothing to do with the actual military, so don’t go thinking that our military eats like this!
According to the Military Diet website,
“The food combinations on the 3 day Military Diet are designed to burn fat, kick start your metabolism and lose weight fast. The Military Diet is one of the best diets out there for fast weight loss without supplements or pills. The diet is a combination of low calorie, chemically compatible foods designed to work together and jump start your weight loss.”
If you are considering it, then definitely check out the website – it has all the info you would need to get started, including a printable plan of the diet so you know exactly what you need to eat on which days.
{Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist, health expert, or doctor, so please consider consulting a professional before you start any weight loss program. I’m just a mom who tried the diet and wants to share what I learned from it.}
Why did I try it?
When I saw an article about the Military Diet on Facebook this past spring, I was immediately intrigued. At that point in time, my youngest was 2.5 years old and I was still holding onto over 10 pounds of pregnancy weight. I was discouraged about my weight and really wanted to shock my system and jump start some weight loss.
I did a little research for myself and decided to give it a try. The results seemed too good to be true, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt anything. And I can endure most anything for 3 days.
As it turns out, I only lost 3 pounds but I learned a ton in the process!
My experience with the Military Diet
My experience with the military diet was really positive. Day 1 and 2 went fine, although I don’t know that I’ll ever like to drink black coffee or cottage cheese. Maybe my taste buds would eventually grow to like them, but that didn’t happen during the 3 days.
I also appreciated that they allow you to eat ice cream on the diet. It was a nice treat at the end of the day that kept me motivated to keep going, despite depriving myself in other ways.
One thing I noticed while on the diet was the difference between eating to not feel hungry versus eating to feel full. I didn’t feel famished or starved during the diet, yet I never found myself feeling full. That was an interesting observation I made throughout the experience. If I did begin to feel hungry in between meals, I was usually able to drink water.
I didn’t have any negative withdrawals or headaches during the diet. I’m thankful for that!
What I Learned
1. Go big or go home
I have to get drastic in order to break bad habits. When there is too much subjectivity and I’m supposed to “eat better” or “eat healthy,” I don’t have success. This diet provided a very specific meal plan, which helped me make drastic changes in the right direction. It was mindless and took the guess work out of it as I was breaking my habits.
If you are stuck in a rut, then perhaps this diet would help you too. I feel like this approach is good for me and why this diet and others like Weight Watchers has worked for me in the past. This approach worked when I gave up Diet Coke too!
2. Why eat?
Since I didn’t eat as much during the 3-day Military Diet, it gave me an opportunity to think about my reasons for eating. I learned that I often eat when I am stressed or bored, and not necessarily in order to eliminate hunger.
I learned that I don’t need to eat as much food as I thought. When I eat the right kinds of foods, I feel satisfied for longer. Also, drinking water is a great way to take away hunger.
3. Taste buds can be retrained
In the book Made to Crave, Lysa Terkeurst said something to the effect of “you crave what you eat.” That concept stuck with me and I found it to be true with this diet. I knew that I ate more carbs and sugar than I probably should, but I wasn’t able to just “eat less” of them on my own.
By drastically altering my diet for 3 days, I was able to curb some of my cravings for carbs and sugar. I ate dramatically less carbs and sugar, so I didn’t crave them as much.
Again, this was true when I gave up Diet Coke. It’s been so long since I drastically eliminated them from my consumption, that now I can drink one on occasion and be fine.
4. Results are motivation
I only lost 3 pounds on the Military Diet, but those results were motivating. Beyond the weight loss, I felt better. I had more energy and I felt less bloated and gassy. Even though results don’t often come fast, seeing or feeling results are a motivation to keep going!
A Jump Start to My Weight Loss
After I completed the 3 days, I wanted to keep going! After learning so much about my eating habits, I determined to make better choices so I could finally get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.
The Military Diet website recommends a 1500 calorie diet if you want to keep continue weight loss after the 3 days. They provide some recommended meal ideas, which I found helpful but didn’t follow strictly. I used the meal ideas for inspiration, rather than a strict eating plan.
Slowly but surely, the weight came off. I didn’t have a ton of weight to lose, so I knew it wouldn’t melt away all at once. And I’ve dieted enough to know that quick weight loss usually isn’t maintainable. I was okay with slow and steady progress, and that’s essentially what happened.
It’s been 9 months since I started the military diet and I’m really excited that I’ve lost all my pregnancy weight (I hesitate to post actual numbers)! I was a little nervous about how things would go over the holiday season, but I was able to keep the weight off.
Would I Do It Again?
I learned a lot while I was on the Military Diet! I really credit this diet for helping me jump start some long overdue weight loss.
This diet is a great way to do a quick detox and start breaking bad habits that could slowly creep back in. I would most definitely do it again if the need arose!
If you need some other health related inspiration, you can check out some of these posts:
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Would you ever consider doing the Military Diet?
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