Shock diet to lose 6 kilos in 3 weeks

The de-escalation has caught us with the good weather and the summer clothes seem to have “shrunk”. We need to get rid of it now! Those kilos that we have taken during the quarantine.

For this, Dr. M.ª Isabel Beltrán, CLARA's physician-nutritionist, proposes a diet that helps us lose weight quickly but safely. It is effective even for those who find it difficult to lose weight because their metabolism works slower for whatever reason (age, sedentary lifestyle …).

Next, we will tell you why it works, how to do it, its secrets and, at the end of it all, you can download the weekly menus to make it much easier for you to follow it.

The de-escalation has caught us with the good weather and the summer clothes seem to have “shrunk”. We need to get rid of it now! Those kilos that we have taken during the quarantine.

Next, we will tell you why it works, how to do it, its secrets and, at the end of it all, you can download the weekly menus to make it much easier for you to follow it.

Express diet is not the same as a "miracle" diet

Yes, we want to see results in a short time but not put health at risk or suffer a rebound effect when leaving it. Because this is what happens with many miracle diets, which cause a very significant loss of water during the first days and only eliminate a small amount of fat.

Just the opposite of what Dr. Beltrán's express diet offers you, which will make you lose fat, which is the important thing to lose weight, instead of water or muscle mass, or vitamins and minerals.

Why this diet works and how long to do it

It is a very effective diet because it makes our metabolism burn more calories for a sustained time, without stagnating, which makes us lose weight more quickly than with other diets.

It is easy to follow. It is because we are not hungry. In addition, we give you the menus to make it even easier to do it.
How long to follow it. Until you reach your ideal weight. Then you can use the shock days on time if you start to gain weight.
Who can do it. Anyone in good health and no more than 8 kilos to lose.

The secret of the diet: do two days of shock

A day of shock is eating fruit, yogurt, broth and vegetable cream for a day, distributed according to the menu you have in the following image. In a day of shock you consume around 650-750 kcal.

Why do this for two days? Because the calories you consume throughout the week drop a lot but –and this is the key– without the metabolism slowing down and stopping burning, as happens in traditional low-calorie diets, which make the body think that it is it will run out of reserves and avoid “wasting” energy.
But on shock days you eat little, how come your metabolism doesn't slow down? Because they are only two specific days, separated from each other by at least two other days in which you eat around 1,500 kcal. Thus, the body has no reason to go into "savings mode."
And do you burn calories in shock? Even more. As Dr. Beltrán explains, by taking few calories in a timely manner, “the combustion of the reserves is started, as in any hypocaloric diet, but by providing the vitamins and minerals necessary for a day, the metabolism has the necessary resources to start the combustion of the reserves ”.

The menu and broth of the day of shock

Here you have the menu of around 650-750 kcal and the broth that you can drink throughout the day.

Shock menu of the day

Breakfast: 1 fruit + 1 yogurt
Mid-morning: 1 piece of fruit
Food: 1 fruit + 1 yogurt
Snack: 1 yogurt
Dinner: Homemade vegetable cream
Throughout the day: 1.5 l of homemade vegetable broth or 1 l of low-salt broth reduced with 1/2 l of water

Broth for the day of shock

Put vegetables for broth (cabbage, celery, carrot, onion) in cold water, so that the flavor and nutrients remain in the liquid.
When it boils, lower the heat and cook for 45 min.

Do not add salt, but spices or aromatic herbs to taste.

Tips to follow the shock day

Choose fruit that is not acidic. Dr. Beltrán advises that the fruit is not acidic. For example, she recommends apple, pear or banana … "because it seems to be somewhat more satiating than acidic (kiwi, citrus, berries …) and better tolerated in a semi-empty stomach".
The broth and the cream. You can make the vegetable broth that we have proposed before or you can also choose one made if it is low in salt and you dilute it in water. You can take advantage of the vegetables in the broth to make the cream for dinner or opt for another, but that is only vegetables and without fat (it should not include cream, cheese …).
Is it difficult for you to drink broth? You can add a teaspoon of miso (fermented soybean paste). It is a probiotic food rich in protein, which helps satiety and intestinal transit, and gives the broth a good flavor.
Hot is better. This forces you to drink it in small sips and takes away the feeling of hunger for longer.
The yogurt, whole. It does not have to be skimmed, but it does have to be natural and unsweetened. You can substitute it for the same amount of kefir.

How should the rest of the express diet be?

The menus that are not shock provide about 1,500 kcal a day. In them you will see that Dr. Beltrán slightly increases the amount of protein to preserve muscle mass, achieve greater satiety and burn more.

Five meals a day. In addition to breakfast, lunch, dinner, two snacks are made. The mid-morning is a yogurt and a fruit and the mid-afternoon is a mini sandwich (natural tuna, fresh cheese, turkey …).
Listen to your body. Only you know if when you wake up you are not usually hungry and prefer to have the mid-morning (fruit and yogurt) at that time and not what the menu says for breakfast. Do it, the diet must adapt to you and not you to the diet.
Protein-rich breakfasts. Taking protein first thing in the morning makes us feel more satiated and eat less at subsequent meals. This does not mean having cold cuts for breakfast every day. For example, oatmeal and banana pancakes (we give you the recipe in the following image), are a healthy protein option, since both this cereal and the egg white are rich in protein.
Less flours. You will see that the cereal - the flours - is limited to breakfast and a snack. There are two moments in which this food helps to eliminate hunger, but then at lunch and dinner, it is eliminated to reduce the calories in the diet. And there is no nutritional deficit because fruit and vegetables also provide carbohydrates.
Yogurt, the dessert for dinner. Dr. Beltrán is not in favor of taking fruit at night "so as not to provide rapidly absorbed sugars at a time when they are not needed, since we are going to spend a few hours resting."

The recipe for oatmeal and banana pancakes

How they are made. Beat 3 egg whites, 4-5 tbsp. of ground rolled oats and 1/2 ripe banana.
Variations. You can add grated coconut to the dough and sweet spices, such as cinnamon, vanilla, ginger … Or change the banana for apple cooked in the microwave.
If you prefer them salty. Dispense with the banana and make them only with one egg, two whites and 5 tbsp. ground oats.

The other "essentials" of the express diet

Do not stop doing sports. Aim for 3-5 weekly exercise sessions of at least 30 minutes. On days of shock, do not do intense sports, better stretching, hypopressive gymnastics …
Rest well. It is important to sleep well for 7 to 8 hours a day and wake up rested. If you are tired, you will be hungrier and it will cost you more to follow the diet.
Weigh yourself once a week. Sometimes we want to see results so fast that we think that after a day of shock we must have already lost a kilo, but we may see the result in two or three days for hormonal reasons, etc. Also, keep in mind that most experts are against the practice of weighing yourself every day.

Shock diet menus to lose 6 kilos in 3 weeks

To make it easy for you to apply everything we have told you, here are two downloadable menus of the shock diet to lose 6 kilos in three weeks. You can do one the first week, the other the next, and the third repeat the first, for example.

In addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you have to eat two snacks to get to five meals a day. The one for mid-morning is a yogurt and fruit and the one for mid-afternoon is a mini sandwich (natural tuna, fresh cheese, turkey …).

The shock diet is designed for anyone who is in good health and has no more than 8 kilos to lose. On shock days, you consume around 650-750 kcal a day based on fruit, yogurt, broth and vegetable cream. And on normal days you consume about 1,500 kcal a day based on proposals rich in proteins to preserve muscle mass, achieve greater satiety and burn more.