The Minestrone diet Was born in the Sacred Memorial Hospital of Sant Louis (United States) in order to treat obese patients with cardiopathies that required surgery, and therefore had to lose several kilos in a few days.
This is not a common diet of weight reduction, this is prescribed by the doctor in cases of seriousness, and therefore is considered as a"severe"diet.
The monitoring of this diet should be done whenever and when we are in a good state of health, because due to the aggressiveness of this, not all bodies are prepared for it.
The duration period Should not exceed the week . Subsequently, it must go to the maintenance phase, which must be defined by a specialist.
The use of the Minestrone diet has many advantages, such as its reduced number of calories that helps to lose weight fast, it has a lot of essential nutrients, and if you are one of those you like vegetables better than better.
If you prefer, you can propose to the nutritionist that is composed of your favorite vegetables, so you do not get too heavy.
Research has shown that soups such as Minestrone have a satiating effect. People who drink soup are said to be less likely to want to snack in the afternoon than those who take chicken or vegetables with a glass of water during lunch.
Basic Functions of the Minestrone Diet
As we have said, it is a highly drastic diet in its approach. Some days completely eliminates the intake of fats and starches, which are the most important source of calories consumed by humans. Faced with this situation, the body will be forced in those days to take energy from the fats accumulated in the body. This causes you to lose both weight and fat.
In case it has not been clear, this is not a diet for those who want to take away a kilo of more, but for people with health problems, that is, people with an amount of overweight over 8 kilos.
As its function is the reduction of weight, the basis of this diet is based on the use of vegetables, which can cause some discomfort in the stomach. These side effects have easy solution with bifidus yogurts, or fiber rich foods.
This diet does not reduce the consumption of food, but the choice that is made of them. Although that, the abundance of liquid foods and the lack of meats can at some point be hungry.
In 1999, scientists discovered a hormone called"ghrelin,"which is produced by the walls of the stomach when it is empty. Ghrelin is a fat storage hormone that is responsible for our desire to eat.
When soup has been eaten, the stomach empties more slowly, unlike a solid meal. Generally, people who have eaten soup feel full up to an hour and a half longer than those who eat solid foods.
Minestrone soup
The Minestrone diet consists essentially in the daily use of a vegetable soup, which is generally lower in calories than chicken soup or fish, and becomes more consistent in our stomach.
The Minestrone diet was designed to treat obese patients with heart disease at the Sacred Memorial Hospital in Sant Louis, USA. It was created because of a surgical need, since these patients needed to lose weight urgently in a few days.
Due to this, being a hard diet, it has to be authorized and followed closely by a professional dietitian or nutritionist, and carry it out in full physical condition.
Of course, remember that you should not follow the Minestrone diet for more than a week.
Ingredients Needed to Make a Minestrone Soup:
- 1 chopped tomato
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 chopped leek
- 3 chopped celery stalks
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 small diced zucchini
- ½ head cabbage grated
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil cut into pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan cheese
This is an example of ingredients that we can use to make our Minestrone soup, but we can modify it by replacing some ingredients with others if we prefer.
Contraindications
Contrary to what some may think, it has no contraindications. The use of this diet is not restricted to only once a year, it can be repeated on several occasions. Although considering that it is recommended for those with more than 8 kilos of overweight, it would be strange to have to repeat it several times in the same year.
Recommendations for monitoring the Minestrone diet
It will be the 2 or 3 first days of the diet that are most costly to carry due to the clash with our eating habits, but they are also the most important.
It is during these days, consuming fruit and vegetables exclusively, when we can purify the body and eliminate those toxins that hinder slimming.
This detoxifying process sometimes causes discomfort of varying intensity that does not have to disconcert or be rethought if you follow the plan like urine and frequent bowel movements.
They are common symptoms that you should not miss or worry about in case they happen to you, they are frequent in any process of similar type.
A very useful recommendation is to start the regime during the weekend, which as a rule we have more free time, and thus be more calm in the possible case of effects such as those mentioned above.
The fact that you limit the selection of food does not mean that you have to go hungry, you can take any of the"allowed"foods when you get hungry.
How to optimize diet results
For obvious reasons, do not take rest days during the diet, you should do it for 7 days, and then the maintenance phase.
Make sure you're doing well by checking the results from day four on waking up in the morning.
If on the fourth day you have lost 2 to 3 kilos, it will be appropriate to modify the plan by adding a little carbohydrate (adding 3-4 whole biscotti at breakfast and 120-140 grams of pasta or cooked rice at lunch) to reduce the speed In the results.
Example of preparation of Minestrone soup
- Ingredients for soup 6 leeks or 6 onions, a large chopped cabbage, 2 green peppers, 4 or 5 turnips, 1 whole celery, 1 or 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes, a vegetable broth, spices, and flavoring to taste.
- Preparation Cut the vegetables into small pieces, place in a pot with the vegetable broth and cover with water.
Let it boil for 10 minutes, then lower the intensity so that it is cooked slowly for about half an hour.
Rectify with salt, and then pass through the blender to obtain a homogenous preparation.
Data of interest
If the specialist does not specify the amount we should take in food, they can be consumed without limitation.
When the amount to be followed is specified, it should be clarified that it refers to the food in raw, and not cooked.
It is essential to drink water regularly, especially during the fifth and sixth day at least a liter and a half of water.
Once the first seven days have passed, the maintenance phase must be carried out.
This maintenance phase will be based on the same foods that have been used for the first phase, but the quantities will be determined by the specialist depending on each case.
Approximate nutritional value per dish (on days allowed for some carbs and fat):
- 169 calories; 5 g of fat (1 g saturated, 3 g monosaturated), cholesterol 4 mg, carbohydrate 25 g, added sugars, 7 g protein, 8 g fiber, 641 mg sodium, and 718 mg of potassium.
- 123% of the daily value of vitamin A
- 87% of the daily value of vitamin C
- 23% of the daily value of folic acid
- 21% of the daily value of potassium
- 16% of the daily value of calcium
Weekly diet plan Minestrone
Monday
- Breakfast: Coffee or tea, apple and pear
- Half morning: Fruit juice without sugar.
- Lunch: Minestrone and apple soup.
- Snack: Fruit juice without sugar.
- Dinner: Minestrone soup and pear.
Tuesday
- Coffe breakfast
- Middle morning tea
- Lunch: Minestrone soup and beet salad, endive, broccoli and lettuce.
- Snack: Tea or coffee.
- Dinner: Minestrone soup and 200 g of roasted potatoes with 10 g of butter.
- Wednesday:
- Breakfast: Tea or coffee, pear and pineapple.
- Half morning: Fruit juice without sugar.
- Lunch: Minestrone soup and steamed carrots and artichokes.
- Snack: Fruit juice without sugar.
- Dinner: Minestrone; And eggplant, peppers and roasted zucchini.
Thursday
- Breakfast: Cappuccino (with 200 cc of skim milk), and banana.
- Half morning: Tea or coffee
- Lunch: 200 g of skimmed yogurt, and a banana.
- Snack: Tea
- Dinner: Minestrone, and a milkshake prepared with 200cc of milk and a banana.
- Friday:
- Coffe breakfast
- Middle morning tea
- Lunch: 300 g of baked fish (hake or sole), and fresh tomatoes.
- Snack: Tea
- Dinner: Minestrone soup and 200 g of baked fish (dorado, sea bass or hake)
Saturday
- Coffe breakfast
- Middle morning tea
- Lunch: 1 or 2 steaks of grilled veal, and zucchini and steamed fennel.
- Snack: Tea
- Dinner: Minestrone soup, and 300 g of roasted chicken without skin.
- Sunday:
- Coffe breakfast
- Half morning: Fruit juice without sugar.
- Lunch: 150 g of brown rice with vegetables and onions, asparagus and steamed carrots.
- Snack: Fruit juice without sugar.
- Dinner: Minestrone soup and beet and cucumber salad.
Finally, it is good to make it clear that - although we have talked about detoxification process - it should not be compared with other diets that are focused solely and exclusively on it as may be the case of liquid diet, or pineapple diet.
The Minestrone diet is a totally different process, and for another purpose, as it is the drastic reduction of weight in a short time in sight of near surgical operations.