The Liquid diet It consists of liquids or foods that become liquid when they are at room temperature, such as ice cream.
The advantage - so to speak - of this diet is that it is easier to digest than one that includes solid foods.
Consuming a complete liquid diet can cause the following shortcomings in our body:
- Lack of energy.
- Lack of protein.
- Lack of fat.
- Lack of fiber.
- Lack of vitamins and minerals.
Therefore, your doctor may recommend certain vitamins and supplements to supplement it. This diet is safe for people with diabetes , But only when the doctor closely follows them.
Most of us know the liquid diet detox because it has been recommended by the doctor to treat some digestive problem, or because specialized magazines are offered as an alternative to lose weight quickly.
Like all diets, it has its advantages and disadvantages, and it has to be done with great care since it is not suitable for anyone.
If you have an illness, are undergoing a surgical procedure or medical test, or are recovering from surgery, your doctor may prescribe a liquid diet.
The fundamental medical goal of a liquid diet is to eliminate all food and its residues from your digestive system .
Unlike solid foods, liquid foods move easily through the digestive system and leave no unwanted residues in the intestinal transit.
If you are told to follow a liquid diet, it is important that you make sure you consume only the liquids and foods allowed by the doctor.
The liquid diet therefore has a clear curative purpose, and is not designed to lose weight. This remedy should only be used by a person who is in perfect health.
Why is the liquid diet used?
For those busy adults trying to lead a healthy life or trying to lose a few pounds, these liquid diets offer a quick and easy solution through calorie accounting and ready-to-drink bottles.
To discuss the benefits and risks of liquid diets, the founding dietitian of Nourish Family Nutrition and Vertical Drop Nutrition , Diana Sugiuchi, gives some keys.
The nutritionist believes that the fashion of liquid diets is a phenomenon that has been seen for many years, and gives a couple of reasons to explain:
- First, people are getting more and more hours of work, losing more time on commuting, and having more obligations. Then, faced with this situation, It is more complicated to make healthy meals at home.
- Second, people want to get the right mix of nutrients and achieve a healthy weight.
Due to the exaggerated number of information about the healthy or not that circulates through the Internet, people no longer know what is true and opts for the fast track.
People buy ready-made drinks because they rely on the accuracy of measurements and nutrients from production brands.
The fact that they are manufactured by companies gives them the Feeling that their benefit is guaranteed to be healthy and they can not be lying to them.
The liquid diets marketed
Believe it or not, leaders in artificial weight loss preparations are not the classics like Slim-Fast and Herbalife.
Some liquid supplements that used to be used mostly in hospitals to help people gain or maintain weight in the event of illness (such as Ensure) are marketing their products while continuing their initial work Medical help.
Shakeology, is another of these preparations that are performing well. Other of the most sounded lately is Soylent, which is marketed as a liquid diet that can be used instead of food.
For Sugiuchi, what most people are looking for when starting a liquid diet is something easy that will help you stay healthy or lose weight.
People want the assurance that what they are taking benefits health, and these liquid diets are insuring those guarantees, whether it is demonstrated or not.
Types of liquid diets
Some liquid diets are limited to fruit or vegetable juices, or substitute shakes for all your meals. These shakes are usually taken three to four times a day.
Other types of liquid diets are less aggressive so to speak. They replace only one or two meals (breakfast and lunch usually) with drinks, and for dinner, they allow solid foods. Some liquid diets also allow snacks between hours.
How do they work?
Liquid diets can provide the same benefits as any other diet that restricts calorie intake.
However, it is very likely that the weight lost will be recovered after this solution is abandoned.
Some liquid diets that combine full liquid meals with liquid and solid foods work better in the long run than others.
Diets that include both solid and liquid foods can help overweight people control the number of calories they eat, and can help maintain weight in the long run.
Clarifications on the liquid diet
After dates marked as Christmas or special celebrations that stretch more than the count (and in which we eat a lot more than usual), following this plan can be worth to detoxify the body.
It would be good that within a period of not more than two days you consume fruit and vegetable juices, jello, and water.
In addition, foods such as honey, infusions, and broths are always welcome as long as they are natural and contain no fats.
This way you will get your body to recompose its operation or finish digesting the food without adding too much load.
It is understandable by a logical reasoning that by ingesting only liquids will lose weight, but really what will happen is that nutrients will be lost, and an excess of fluid and body swelling caused by poor nutrition.
In addition, sooner or later it will return to normal eating, and therefore, to the initial state at best (if it does not cause you a health problem earlier).
Liquid diets are very low in calories, about 1,000 per day. Normally, they may lack all the nutrients necessary for our health, and should only be used under medical supervision.
This loss of essential nutrients can lead to side effects like fatigue, dizziness, hair loss, and heart damage.
Also, if you do not get enough fiber - since you do not eat whole fruits and vegetables - it can cause constipation.
Another possible consequence is muscle loss if you do not get enough protein in your diet.
The liquid diets are used for medical purposes -common- for people with obesity problems and who have to reduce their weight before undergoing any surgery.
Reduce physical activity
When you follow a liquid diet, you can not consume too many calories or other nutrients that are needed to support physical activity.
Therefore, the frequency and intensity of exercise that is done while you are following a diet of these characteristics should be lowered.
In the case of someone who is preparing for a test or surgery, if you practice physical activity, you should limit it to low intensity exercise and short duration since this diet does not provide enough energy to sustain a training along with daily activities.
After the procedure, you can resume your usual exercise once your doctor thinks it is safe.
Tips on physical activity in case of liquid diet:
- If you normally run 45 minutes, you could walk for 30 minutes.
- Even if you follow a liquid diet, you can continue to do light activities such as walking and other activities of daily living.
- If you feel too tired, nauseous, or dizzy during or after physical activity, you should park it until you recover completely.
Example of complete liquid diet
- Breakfast A glass of fruit juice without pulp, a bowl of gelatin, and a cup of coffee or tea (without dairy products) with honey or sugar if desired.
- Midmorning A glass of fruit juice without pulp and a bowl of gelatin.
- lunch A glass of fruit juice without pulp, a glass of water, a cup of broth, and a bowl of gelatin.
- Snack Hazy orange pulp, a cup of coffee or tea (no dairy products) or a soda.
- Dinner A cup of juice without pulp or water, a cup of broth, a bowl of gelatin, a cup of coffee or tea (without dairy products).
We hope this post has helped you and understand that the liquid diet is not a recommended solution for weight loss, if not for the cure of a health problem.