Green striped fruits, which ripen depending on the region in late July - mid-August, have long become a kind of symbol of summer. Contrary to popular misconception, watermelon is not a fruit at all, but a berry... But this does not in any way negate its positive qualities and beneficial effects on the body.
- How can a watermelon diet be beneficial?
- What are the calories in watermelon?
- What vitamins are in watermelon
- When can you buy watermelons?
- What are the secrets to choosing a tasty and ripe watermelon?
The history of watermelon dates back to Ancient Egypt, where people were already familiar with this crop and actively cultivated it. Historians claim that there is evidence of the use of watermelons as food back in the 20th century BC. Thus, watermelon seeds were found in the buildings of the dynasty of pharaohs who ruled in the 20-18 centuries BC. As you know, the Egyptians believed in an afterlife and placed everything that could be useful to them in the tombs of their rulers. This included food, in particular watermelons. Watermelon seeds were even found in the tomb of the legendary Tutankhamun. In addition, watermelons were also often depicted on the walls of tombs and in ancient medical treatises. According to the mythology of Ancient Egypt, watermelon grew from the male seed of the god Set.
How the watermelon diet works - is it possible to lose weight on watermelons?
A watermelon diet without careful calorie calculations, with a simple determination of the daily dose of watermelon, with low-calorie pulp (only about 30 kilocalories) with the right approach, can give good weight loss results .
There are several options for the watermelon diet. This could be a strict mono-diet or fasting days based on just watermelons and water.
A light diet with the addition of small portions of low-calorie breakfast, lunch and dinner. In a light diet, watermelon pulp is introduced as a snack, saving you from starvation. And you can also accompany every meal with watermelon.
Diet watermelon week involves losing three to five kilograms.
Positive properties of watermelon - a valuable dietary product:
- It has diuretic and choleretic properties.
- Watermelon is one of the foods that helps lower blood cholesterol levels.
- Iron in watermelon is 1.0 mg, it is organic and easily digestible. To prevent anemia, you can sometimes use watermelons as a treatment.
- The fiber in watermelon improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Folic acid - 150 g of watermelon pulp will cover the daily need for folic acid.
- Magnesium in watermelon is a good antidepressant; it reduces the frequency of migraine attacks and helps restore damaged cells.
- Consumption of watermelons to remove salts and oxalates from the kidneys (prevention of the formation of urates and oxalates).
- The balanced composition of watermelon juice helps restore the acid-base balance.
Choosing the right watermelon
Only ripe berries are suitable for the watermelon diet. The ripening season for watermelons is the end of August – the second half of September.
The most natural and delicious watermelons will appear on sale only at the beginning of the season. Berries that appear on shelves early in the season are most likely grown with the help of growth enhancers and genetically modified additives.
- Ripe watermelon matte color.
- If you squeeze a watermelon, you will hear a cracking sound, but when you tap, there should be a dull sound.
- You should not choose a watermelon weighing more than eight kilograms. Watermelons that are too heavy may contain chemicals, and light ones are most often not yet ripe.
- When purchasing a watermelon, you need to ask the sellers for documents confirming the quality of the product and its safety.
Before eating watermelon, be sure to wash it under running water and soap.
Watermelon fasting days
It is advisable to introduce fasting days during the ripening season of melons. We choose juicy, ripe watermelons, without nitrates.
Now let's calculate how much we should eat. Divide your current body weight by 10 , the resulting number is the amount of watermelon that you need to eat during the day. Or for every 10 kilograms of body weight, one kilogram of watermelon (weight 70 kilograms - we eat 7 kg of watermelon).
- The resulting figure is the mass of watermelon pulp that you will eat during the day, dividing it into 5 - 6 meals.
- You are allowed to drink water or green tea.
- It is not easy to endure a mono-diet on watermelons alone. The basis of a proper and healthy diet consists of a variety of foods. Therefore, it is recommended to stick to the diet for no more than 3 to 5 days.
- During this period, you can lose up to 4 kilograms of weight. During the first two days, fluid is removed from the body, but not accumulated fat.
- You can make a strict diet easier by adding to the main food ingredient a slice of bread of your choice: grain or rye. Then one meal will consist of watermelon with a slice of bread.
Reviews
Reviews from people losing weight are very varied. Some women easily tolerate this type of weight loss without feeling hungry, while others find it difficult. There are cases when the body reacts to the berry with bloating and flatulence. Those who ate only pulp during the fasting days felt a loss of strength.
This is a very difficult diet. My stomach seems full, but I still want to eat. On the 3rd day I started feeling dizzy and stopped eating watermelon. In 3 days I lost 2 kg.
Olga
I stuck to the diet for a week. I felt pretty good while losing weight. True, she often ran to the toilet. I lost about 5 kg. Now from time to time I do a fasting day to maintain weight.
Irina
My favorite diet. I spent 3 watermelon days a month during the season (3 months). The rest of the time I adhered to proper nutrition, swam and ran. My result is minus 8 kg. I'm quite happy.
Victoria
Show patience and willpower, you will love the watermelon weight loss system! Minus 10 kg. in a week - the maximum unloading effect of a complex, even grueling, struggle with excess weight and oneself.
5-day watermelon menu for weight loss
Those who want to use a five-day weight loss program on watermelons need to lighten it slightly by adding low-calorie breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
The menu for one day includes:
- Breakfast consisting of 150 - 200 grams of low-fat cottage cheese, tea.
- For lunch : boil 200 - 250 grams of buckwheat (you can use another cereal - rice).
- For an afternoon snack , eat low-fat cottage cheese or a piece of low-fat cheese.
- For dinner - rice.
For snacks - watermelon, and accompany every meal with watermelon. If you are tired of watermelon in the form of pulp, drink fresh watermelon. Only about 5 kilograms per day.
Fresh watermelon. Cut the seeded watermelon slices and mint sprigs and place them in a blender, add 2 tablespoons of honey for 3 to 4 watermelon slices.
Follow this menu for five days; during this period it is expected to reduce from 3 to 5 kilograms of weight.
7-day watermelon menu - eat and lose weight
A watermelon diet plan for a week involves losing weight up to 5 kilograms. But the approach to diet and monitoring the permissible daily calorie intake from food is individual. The diet can be diversified by consuming dietary foods and their possible combinations.
Monday:
Breakfast. 100 g rice cooked in water, 200 g watermelon, green tea. Dinner. 200 g boiled lean meat, 200 g watermelon. Afternoon snack. 100 g low-fat cottage cheese. Dinner. 700 g watermelon.
Tuesday:
Breakfast. 100 g oatmeal with water, 200 g watermelon, green tea. Lunch : 200 g of baked lean fish, vegetable salad. Afternoon snack . A piece of hard cheese, 1 egg. Dinner . 700 g watermelon.
Wednesday:
Breakfast : 300 g of watermelon, green tea. Dinner. 100 g of oatmeal, vegetable salad, seasoned with olive oil or lemon juice. Afternoon snack. 100 g low-fat yoghurt. Dinner. 700 g watermelon.
Thursday:
Breakfast. 100 g buckwheat porridge, 200 g watermelon, green tea. Dinner. 200 g baked chicken fillet, vegetable salad. Afternoon snack. A piece of hard cheese, 1 egg. Dinner. 600 g watermelon.
Friday:
Breakfast. 100 g of rice, a piece of wholemeal bread, green tea. Dinner. 200 g of boiled fish, 100 g of buckwheat porridge. Afternoon snack. 100 g low-calorie cottage cheese. Dinner. 700 g watermelon.
Saturday:
Breakfast. 100 g oatmeal, green tea. Dinner. 200 g of boiled lean meat, vegetable salad. Afternoon snack. 200 g low-calorie yoghurt. Dinner. 700 g watermelon.
Sunday:
Breakfast. 300 g of watermelon, a piece of bran bread, green tea. Dinner. 200 g of boiled lean fish, 100 g of oatmeal. Afternoon snack. 200 ml low-calorie kefir. Dinner : 500 g watermelon.
Note: Given the diuretic properties of watermelon, it is better to eat it no later than 2-3 hours before you are going to bed. The diuretic effect of watermelon will simply prevent you from falling asleep if you eat it before bed or half an hour to an hour before bedtime.
The right way out of the watermelon diet
You have achieved visible results - you have lost extra pounds. How to maintain the results obtained through difficult days of dieting?
There is an exit!
Don't start eating everything. Eliminate smoked, fatty, flour, and fried foods from your diet. Eat right, play sports or jog every day, give up bad habits.
With an active, healthy lifestyle, adhering to the principle of a rational, balanced diet, the results of weight loss will continue to please you in the future.
Is the weekly meal plan suitable for everyone?
This is the best option for those who are overweight and want to lose 7-10 kg at once. Thanks to the large volume of water entering the body, toxins are eliminated and previously accumulated fat deposits are burned.
But there are also contraindications. A weekly watermelon diet is not suitable in the following cases :
- If you are allergic to them.
- For diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
- For pathologies of the genitourinary system.
- In case of metabolic disorders.
- For gout.
- If you have diabetes, watermelons contain a lot of sugar.
- Also, the diet is not suitable for pregnant and nursing mothers.
Pros and cons of the watermelon diet
Pros of the watermelon diet
- It is easy to calculate the amount of watermelon consumed depending on body weight (does not require constant counting of watermelon calories).
- Removes salts, toxins, and waste from the body.
- Small cash outlay.
- The valuable composition of watermelon (easily digestible sugars, B vitamins, fiber, microelements: iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium).
Cons of the watermelon diet
- Great load on the kidneys. Not used for impaired renal function (excretory system).
- Not used for gastritis, diabetes.
- The rigidity of the mono-diet (only watermelons in the diet).
- Lack of balanced nutrition.
- In the first days, the fat layer does not decrease, but fluid is removed.
- With a long-term diet, substances beneficial to the body (sodium and potassium salts) are washed out.
Benefits of berries
Watermelon is a very healthy product:
- Unlike other methods of losing weight, in which there is a lack of nutrients, the diet will enrich the body with essential potassium and vitamins C, A, PP, B1, B2, B6. If you eat at least 150 grams of watermelon per day, you will receive your daily dose of magnesium.
- Dietary restrictions are observed very easily even by those who have a hard time refusing food. It gives a feeling of satiety, and the loss of extra pounds occurs due to the removal of fluid from the body, plus the fat layer decreases. The fruit has a good effect on kidney diseases.
- Its pulp is rich in fiber, which is so beneficial for the intestines; it normalizes digestion.
- Even the seeds will be beneficial; they can get rid of helminths.
- For acute and chronic liver diseases, berry juice will help remove toxins from cells.
This is one of the most dietary products. Calorie content per 100 grams is only 38 kcal.
Watermelon is often used to treat cystitis, as it flushes out the pathogenic E-coli bacterium from the bladder. It is advised to include the fruit in the menu for gout. The magnesium and iron contained in the berry are effective against anemia, and folic acid has a good effect on health in atherosclerosis.
Doctors' recommendations for a watermelon diet
It is recommended to visit a doctor before starting the watermelon diet. Consult to rule out diseases of the endocrine system and gastrointestinal tract. Is this type of diet right for you, compare the benefits and harms of the diet, will there be any results?
There cannot be unambiguous reviews, because everything related to diet is individual. But if you feel discomfort, it is better to give up the diet in time.
Dietitians agree that eating only one type of food ingredient will in any case have some disadvantages.
Consider the beneficial properties of watermelon. During the watermelon season in August - September, eat watermelons for health benefits.
Contraindications
A fasting day on striped berries, like a diet, has contraindications:
- decreased immunity after illness;
- high blood sugar;
- tendency to edema;
- pregnancy;
- stones in the kidneys.
People who are losing weight often ask whether it is possible to include watermelon in the menu of various methods. We answer: the protein, Keto, Maggi and Dukan systems allow you to eat berries, but in moderation.
Is it possible for the night
Many people choose this product for weight loss. Of course, because it is not only rich in antioxidants, but also removes excess fluid, toxins and waste well. Watermelon on a diet is not the worst option because it prevents the appearance of cancerous tumors, slows down the aging of the body and improves the condition of hair and nails.
There are no specific rules for choosing the time of day to eat the sweet fruit. It can also be consumed at night, of course, in moderation. Some nutritionists believe that evening is the right time for a watermelon meal, since the body, and in particular the excretory system, is renewed at night.
