Why Can't I Lose My Belly Fat ?

 Good Question!! I wrestled with this very thing for years. I didn't realize that the body has to burn calories to create energy for all body functions. The body has choices on what to burn and it always picks the easiest material in the body. Why you might ask. 

Part because the body wants to burn the most calories with the least amount of calories. In other words, the body doesn't want to burn more than necessary to give you the energy you need. The body's main job is to preserve life. So it uses precious calories to burn calories for your energy. Say it has to burn 100 calories because you are walking. It doesn't want to use 20 calories more to create the energy to burn 100 calories. So it picks the easiest way and the best material to burn.

In the case of the average American, the easiest material to burn is sugar. Almost everything we eat contains sugar. Your body will simply wait until you eat something and then take that sugar and burn those calories for energy. The problem is that this type of energy doesn't last very long. In a couple hours, you run out of energy and you become tied.

I had to train my body to burn stored fat. The fat you have in your fat cells. I had to stop eating and drinking sugar. That's not easy, almost everything we eat or drink contains sugar or some form of sugar. Most food or drinks today have food labels and the label tells you what's in the food or drink. But natural sugars are also in fruits and vegetables. You can't avoid all-natural sugars but you can avoid things with a high level of sugar such as apples.

By avoiding as much sugar as possible you will force the body to burn body fat. It will take about 2 weeks for your body to make the change. After that, you will be burning body fat to create energy. You will feel much better and have more energy and you will lose the cravings. 

Another tip, I eat two meals a day about 6 or 7 hours apart, and nothing else all day long. It's called intermittent eating. The 16 or so hours you aren't eating the body keeps burning fat.

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

What Is Your Macro?

I know it seems like every day there are new terms for everything we do. Ever since weight loss has become a science, your doctor would tell you to lose some weight. You need to eat less and exercise more. Most of the time that would go in one ear and out the other. Only to give you temporary results. But now there is more science around losing weight and there are results to prove it. 

Believe this or not, those people who order their food online claim they buy less food, eat better, save money, and lose weight. It's kind of like the woman who sends her husband with a list to do the shopping. He buys everything on the list and comes home. Most men don't browse the alies. 

Losing body fat is not about eating less, it's about eating the right foods. Macro is one of those new words that pertain to your eating habits.

What’s a “macro”? In this case, it means getting all the nutrition you can in the least amount of calories. Maximize your meals. It's the whole idea behind losing weight. 

We always hear that we need to eat 3 well-rounded meals per day; breakfast, lunch & dinner. But what our bodies and metabolisms tell us, is that we need to be eating 5 – 6 small meals per day, essentially making each meal a “snack.” Also, be sure to be eating every 2 – 3 hours to keep your metabolism boosted throughout the day! Now I have my breakfast foods at breakfast time (within 45 minutes of waking up) and I have my dinner foods at dinner time (chicken, rice, vegetables), but I also eat less of them at one time and spread them out throughout the day. I’ve recently seen an article that states you should not eat more than 400 – 500 calories in one sitting. This makes sense if you’re eating 6 times per day!

My Calorie Intake (estimate) Breakdown

Breakfast: 194 calories + Green Tea

Snack: 202 calories

Lunch: 325 calories + Green Tea

Snack: 156 calories

Dinner: 358 calories + Green Tea

Dessert: 169 calories

Daily Calorie Intake = 1,404 calories

If you need help calculating what you should be eating, there are a lot of macro calculators out on the internet. The problem is they give different numbers. In fact, I got different numbers for TDEE, BMR, and Macros from almost every calculator. This makes it difficult to understand what exactly you are supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer or solution to this problem right now, except to use a few different calculators and find values that make sense based on all the given values. Here are a few calculators I used to find my current macros.

The Healthy Eater

IIFYM

KatyHearnFit

BodyBuilding.com

FBG Girls

MuscleForLife

Keep in mind, that just because 2 calculators say the same thing, does not mean you should automatically use that count. It could simply mean they used the same formulas.

Now It’s important to stick as close as possible to your calorie goals to see the results that you want, but it’s also really important to eat when your body tells you it’s hungry (when it needs more nutrients). It’s also important to know when you are hungry and when you need water! If I’m between meals/snacks then I’ll drink half of my CamelBak water bottle and eat up to 5 almonds. That will usually tell me if I’m actually hungry. On the other hand, don’t stuff yourself sick. If you’re not hungry but you have more calories for the day than you are supposed to consume, it’s okay. If this happens repeatedly re-evaluate when you are eating throughout the day, maybe you are eating too little calories in the morning? It’s also smart to recalculate your macros every once in a while. Your intake needs to change as your body and goals change!

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

Skipping Meals Promotes Belly Fat

 Skipping Meals Promotes Belly Fat Storage, Increases Risk For Insulin Resistance

I want to reblog this article because this is a common mistake that everyone makes when they first think about losing weight. I was the same way. When I first began my weight loss journey, I thought If I skipped Lunch I could save all those calories. I will certainly lose weight. Wrong!! I ended up snacking more and eating more at dinner. Dinner is the worst time to eat a big meal. I learned the hard way to eat most of my calories at breakfast and lunch and then skimp on calories at dinner. I had to allow enough time for all my food to digest before nighttime when the body goes into hibernation mode.

The author Justin Caba writes for MedicalDaily.com where you can always find valuable information.

Skipping meals leads to abdominal weight gain. Beginners have a hard time grasping that concept. It’s not usually the amount of food you eat that puts fat on your body. It’s the kind of food you eat. Eating less of a bad diet is still a bad diet and you won’t lose fat. You can lose weight without losing fat, but that’s why people gain the weight back. Too much body fat is different for everyone. Your “body mass” is about 80% of your total weight. The rest is bones and organs and the contents of the digestive system. Your body retains about three days of food. Anyway, if too much of your body mass is stored fat, if the percentage of fat is too high, then losing weight will only cause you to increase the percentage of body fat.

The trick is to forget the scale and find a diet of fresh foods, eat frequently but in small amounts about every three hours 5 or 6 times a day. Get all your meals in before 6:00 and then stop eating. Don’t drink calories and in 3 months you’ll see a difference. When you can reward yourself with a new pair of smaller jeans you’ll start to smile again.

Anyone looking to lose weight knows they have to restrict the amount of calories they consume, but how much and when they restrict those calories can make all the difference. A recent study conducted at Ohio State University has revealed that skipping meals not only leads to abdominal weight gain but can also lead to the development of insulin resistance in the liver. That means the next step for you is diabetes.

“This does support the notion that small meals throughout the day can be helpful for weight loss, though that may not be practical for many people,” said Martha Belury, professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University. “But you definitely don’t want to skip meals to save calories because it sets your body up for larger fluctuations in insulin and glucose and could be setting you up for more fat gain instead of fat loss.”

So, no matter the reason, skipping meals is depriving the body of essential nutrients.

Source: Kliewer K, Ke J, Belury M, et al.

The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

New Healthier Foods Coming To A Store Near You

 In the blog section of WebMd I found this post about the new food trends you’ll see coming soon. I think it’s about time we see more variety in healthy foods. This post is worth a read. I'm sure that you have heard of these and read about these foods before but now and maybe this year you'll be these in grocery stores near you. When a food becomes popular like for instants Susi it will become a mainstay in Grocery stores.  

 It’s time to usher in the latest food trends that will soon hit restaurants and grocery store shelves. With more of us paying attention to the environment and our health, food manufacturers are responding by offering more innovative, plant-forward foods that are better for people and the planet. Get ready for seaweed, algae, fungi and other plant-based edibles that will delight your taste buds. 

Here’s a sneak peek at the healthy trendsetters:

Seaweed

Tired of kale? Seaweed is here to help … and dazzle your palate with rich flavors and nutrients. Seaweed is low in calories and fat and provides several essential nutrients including vitamins A and C, B vitamins, fiber, iron, iodine, zinc and magnesium. A fixture in Asian cuisine for centuries, seaweed has been growing in popularity in the U.S. and is now poised to be the next trendy superfood. In fact, some estimates project that seaweed will surpass kale-based snacks. I saw seaweed in my grocery.

Wondering how to infuse seaweed into your diet? This new year, ditch the greasy potato chips and opt instead for a tasty seaweed snack. Annie Chun’s Organic Roasted Nori Snacks have 25 to 30 calories per serving compared to 150 to 160 calories in most fried chips. As a bonus, preliminary research suggests compounds in seaweed may even quell hunger.

Blended Burgers

A good burger is always on trend, but with more emphasis on healthier, sustainable eating, top chefs are reinventing the burger to be more eco-friendly … and delicious!

The James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project calls for chefs across the country to blend at least 25% fresh chopped mushrooms into a burger patty. Blended burgers combine finely chopped mushrooms with meat, creating a burger that’s tastier, healthier, and more sustainable than all-meat burgers. So far, the blended burger has been adopted by some of nation’s most creative and adventurous chefs and the food service industry, according to Kristopher Moon, vice president of the James Beard Foundation. In addition to restaurants, many leading universities and public schools offer blended burgers on their menus too. This might be something you can do at home.

Algae

To create a healthier and greener food system, innovative companies have developed plant-based protein and fats to replace resource-intensive dairy and meat ingredients. Nutrient-rich algae, made from a resource-efficient fermentation process, is the hot new plant-based ingredient that is being used to replace animal-based ingredients. For instance, TerraVia’s lipid-rich whole algae, which is high in beneficial monounsaturated fat and low in saturated fat, can replace eggs, cream, and butter in baked goods, sauces, dressings, and ice cream without affecting the taste or texture. Algae-based foods are now in every aisle of the supermarket — from baked goods and snacks to salad dressings and smoothies.

Pasta

After years of slipping sales during the height of the low-carb craze, pasta is back on the plate – and it’s better than ever. Based on Google data search trends, more consumers are buying, preparing, or ordering pasta in all its forms, including rigatoni, tortellini, penne, fusilli, and linguine. Pasta can be a healthy and earth-friendly choice because it’s a key component of the Mediterranean diet, which is considered the gold standard for healthy eating, and it has a small environmental footprint. Since pasta is made from semolina, a protein-packed wheat variety, a 200-calorie cup of cooked pasta has 6 grams of protein and a low glycemic index to help keep you fuller, longer.

Looking to make a satisfying, health-conscious meal in minutes? Add this Angel Hair with Tomato Basil and Peppers to your menu this summer.

Also, you probably haven’t heard much about it but bug, worms are other insects will be next. Other countries that have experimented with these tiny critters and found they are loaded with nutrients. In Africa and the Far East they are a major supply of protein for the masses. I think we will see more and more bugs and worms in our stores as they become more popular.

Follow me on Twitter or X @ray0369

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want to Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want to Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Resting Heart Rate

 That means your pulse after sitting and relaxing for a few months.

The normal resting heart rate varies by age. In adults, a resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm) is generally considered normal.1 Babies and young children have higher resting heart rates than older kids, teens, and adults.

Resting heart rate is your heart rate while at rest. It serves as an indication of your general fitness. A lower resting heart rate generally indicates a higher degree of fitness. Even so, certain medical conditions can cause an abnormally low or high resting heart rate.

This article explains what the resting heart rate should be for different age groups, how it is measured, and what low or high resting heart rates say about your health.

Normal Resting Heart Rate by Age

From birth to adulthood, the resting heart rate varies. In babies and children, the rate is generally higher, mainly because their hearts are smaller. The rate will gradually decrease until age 10 when the expected range of values will stabilize through adulthood.

The resting heart rate range, measured in bpm, is the expected range of values seen in 95% of people in that age group.2

 Age Resting Heart Rate Range 

0–1 month 70-190 bpm

1–11 months 80-160 bpm

1-2 years 80-130 bpm

3–4 years 80-120 bpm

5–6 years 75-115 bpm

7–9 years 70-110 bpm

10 years and older 60-100 bpm

Well-trained athlete 40-60 bpm

How to Measure Your Heart Rate

Though there are smartwatches and heart rate monitors able to measure your heart rate automatically, all you really need is a watch with a second hand. To get an accurate resting heart rate reading, you need to be at rest.

To measure your heart rate, place a finger over your radial artery or carotid artery. The radial artery is found at the base of the wrist on the side of the thumb. The carotid artery is found on the neck to the side of the windpipe, just under the jaw.

Once you have located the artery, place your index and middle fingers over it and count the number of pulses you feel in one minute. (A quicker method is to count the number of beats over 15 seconds and multiply this by four to determine beats per minute.)1

Common Mistakes

Certain things can increase your resting heart rate and throw off your reading, including:

Having just exercised

Walking or doing physical activity

Smoking a cigarette

Eating a big meal

Drinking a lot of caffeine

Feeling stressed

If you're doing or feeling any of these things, it is best to wait an hour or two before measuring your heart rate to get the most accurate reading.

What Causes a Low Resting Heart Rate?

A lower-than-normal resting heart rate is called bradycardia. Having a low heart rate is not necessarily a bad thing. Performance athletes like long-distance runners, for example, can have a resting heart rate in the low 40s and still be considered healthy.

However, for most people, a low heart rate may be a sign of a problem, especially when accompanied by Lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting

Weakness

Fatigue

Shortness of breath

Confusion

There are many different causes of bradycardia, including:3

A congenital heart defect

Heart block (caused by problems with the heart's electrical system)

Heart damage caused by a heart attack or heart disease

Hypercalcemia (abnormally high blood calcium)

Hyperkalemia (abnormally high blood potassium)

Hyperparathyroidism (overactive parathyroid gland)

Hyponatremia (low blood sodium)

Hypothermia (low body temperature due to exposure to cold)

Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)

Intracranial pressure (increased pressure under the skull)

Lupus (an inflammatory autoimmune disease)

Myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation)

Obstructive sleep apnea (gaps in breathing during sleep)

Sick sinus syndrome (a heart rhythm problem common in adults over 70)

Certain medications like sedatives, opioid drugs, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers

What Causes a High Resting Heart Rate?

A heart rate higher than 100 bpm is called tachycardia. Aside from recent exercise, many medical conditions are associated with tachycardia, including:

Anemia (low red blood cells)

Being overweight or having obesity

Dehydration

Fever

Heavy alcohol use or alcohol withdrawal

Heart failure (where the heart is less able to pump blood)

High levels of anxiety

Hypocalcemia (abnormally low blood calcium)

Hypokalemia (abnormally low blood potassium)

Hypoparathyroidism (underactive parathyroid gland)

Hypotension (low blood pressure)

Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)

Smoking tobacco

Stimulations like caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and crystal methamphetamine

Serious Causes of Tachycardia

Some potentially life-threatening conditions can also cause a high resting heart rate, including:

Pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in an artery of the lung)

Sepsis (a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection)

Ventricular tachycardia (rapid heartbeat in the lower chamber of the heart)

Seek immediate medical help if you have rapid heartbeats accompanied by chest pain, difficulty breathing, dizziness, or fainting.

How to Lower Your Resting Heart Rate

You can lower your resting heart rate by improving your physical fitness and making some lifestyle changes. Regular cardio exercise (like running, swimming, or biking) trains the heart to become more efficient over time.

In addition to exercise, other lifestyle modifications may improve your resting heart rate, including:

Quitting cigarettes

Cutting back on alcohol

Reducing your caffeine intake

Getting plenty of sleep

Losing weight if you are obese

Managing stress with meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises

The aim is to improve what is known as your target heart rate zone. This is your heart rate during moderate-intensity activities (defined as 50% to 85% of your maximum heart rate).

The target heart rate zone and maximum heart rate vary by a person's age.

 Age (years) Target Heart Rate Zone (50-85%) Maximum Heart Rate (100%) 

20 100-170 bpm 200 bpm

30 95-162 bpm 190 bpm

35 93-157 bpm 185 bpm

40 90-153 bpm 180 bpm

45 88-149 bpm 175 bpm

50 85-145 bpm 170 bpm

55 83-140 bpm 165 bpm

60 80-136 bpm 160 bpm

65 78-132 bpm 155 bpm

70 75-128 bmp 150 bpm

 How to Lower Your Heart Rate

Summary

Your resting heart rate is an indicator of your general fitness, with lower values associated with better health outcomes. For most adults, the normal resting heart rate is 60–100 bpm. It can be even lower in athletes or people who regularly engage in strenuous physical activity.

People can improve their resting heart rate by routinely exercising, quitting smoking, reducing alcohol and caffeine intake, and managing stress.

By Angela Ryan Lee, MD

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

What About Those Snacks

 I know it’s hard to get into a new routine. I talked about eating 5 or 6 times a day. It’s a great idea for losing weight if you can make the change. Your eating very small quantities every time you eat, the idea is that you never get full. You only eat enough to get to the next meal.  So you have to eat about every 3 or 3 1/2 hours, no longer or you’ll start to get hungry.

You start by eating a good breakfast, not big but filling. I eat oatmeal. Remember, eat healthy, let’s say about 7 a.m. Then about 10 am you eat again, maybe fruit and yogurt. Take lunch about 1 p.m., but not a big lunch, remember you ate at 10. So you bag something from home, a half sandwich and a piece of fruit. Around 4 pm. you eat again, maybe the other half of that sandwich. Now you get home so about 7 you eat again, something small like half a breast of chicken and some vegetable like broccoli. And about 10 or later eat something small, preferably a cup of plain Greek yogurt. The secret is to eat healthy food all day and only small portions.

I idea is that a small amount of solid food can be digested in 3 hours. A large meal or the normal dinner size might take twice as long to digest and if you eat before your last meal is digested your body will store undigested foods in fat cells never to be seen again, except around your waist. Your body can't digest two meals at the same time, so anything leftover from the first meals goes into storage when the next meals goes into the stomach.

If you noticed out of the foods I recommend there’s only meat mentioned once a day. Sandwiches should be made with Avocado, cheese,  or peanut butter, something with nutrition but not meat. Some people will need to eat that meat and vegetable either at 1,4,or7. Only 4 oz. of meat all day, and avoid red meat. Lean pork, chicken breast, turkey breast or fish. An try to eat fish 3 times a week, but avoid the fish high in Mercury.

Yes, reducing calories can will help you lose weight, but the calories you do eat must be fortified with nutrition. You have to keep up your strength. Look for ways to put more protein in your diet, like eating dairy products, beans and vegetables like broccoli. Now more than ever you have to start eating what’s right for you and not what you like. Eating 1000 calories a day of the wrong food won’t help you. You won’t get rid of the cravings.

Cravings are a subconscious state of mind. It’s your body telling you that your missing nutrition that you should have ate. So you keep eating not knowing what your missing. It’s all subconscious thoughts. When you stop eating the food you like and start to eat the food your body needs your body fat will begin to shrink. You’ll start to lose weight and you’ll start to feel better.

Follow me on Twitter or X @ray0369

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want to Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want to Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

If You Want To Try A New Diet

The Military Diet, All You Need To Know

If you want to lose weight quickly, you may think about the Military Diet (which has no real link to the branches of the military). Before you do, learn more about this diet.

No research has proven that it can help you lose weight. The diet may make you feel hungry, tired, and grumpy because it’s a low-calorie plan, but that's only temporary until your body adjusts.

The Promise

The plan claims that you may lose up to 10 pounds in a week if you follow it. It’s a very strict, low-calorie diet with some foods that seem healthy and others that don’t. There are set foods to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but that’s it. There are no snacks, and there’s no wiggle room about food choices based on your tastes.

The diet itself only lasts for 3 days. After that, switch to a normal, healthy diet for at least 4 days. If you’d like to lose more weight, you can repeat the program as often as you’d like, as long as you take 4-day breaks every time after you do it.

Never follow the diet longer than 3 days in a row.

What You Can Eat and What You Can’t

Every morsel you’ll eat on this diet has been chosen for you ahead of time. You’ll need to follow the plan completely to get the best results.

It doesn’t include superfoods like salmon, almonds, or quinoa. Instead, you’ll find normal choices, like canned tuna, hard-boiled eggs, and cheddar cheese. Some meals have breads, but they aren’t the healthy whole grains you’d expect. At least one meal includes saltine crackers.

There’s a 3-day menu to follow, with a total of nine different meals. 

Military Diet Plan

3 Day Military Diet Menu Plan

The 3 Day Military Diet is a three day weight loss diet that can help you lose 10 pounds in a week. You follow the Military Diet Plan for 3 days per week and then take 4 days off per week. You can do the diet over and over every week again until you reach your weight loss goal.

Can you substitute on the Military Diet?

You can substitute every item on the Military Diet with something else in case you are vegan, vegetarian, lactose intolerant, gluten free or you can’t stomach any of the menu items.

What to drink on the Military Diet:

Water is the best thing you can drink on the Military Diet, so drink as much as you can! You can also drink coffee on the Military Diet as long as you don’t add extra calories with creamer and sugar. Artificial sweeteners aren’t good for your blood sugar and can cause weight gain, so try to avoid them. The only artificial sweetener we recommend on the Military Diet is Stevia (in your coffee). You can also drink as much caffeine free herbal tea as you want on the diet.

In case there’s something below you just can’t stomach, check out our Military Diet substitutions page.

Download a PDF of the Military Diet and shopping list

We also have a vegetarian and vegan version of the Military Diet.

If you want to keep losing weight on your days off too, here’s a menu plan to help you plan your 4 days OFF the Military diet: 1500 calorie diet plan.

DAY 1:

Breakfast

1/2 Grapefruit
1 Slice of Toast
2 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter
1 cup Coffee or Tea (with caffeine)

Lunch

1/2 Cup of Tuna
1 Slice of Toast
1 cup Coffee or Tea (with caffeine)

Dinner

3 ounces of any type of meat
1 cup of green beans
1/2 banana
1 small apple
1 cup of vanilla ice cream

DAY 2

Breakfast

1 egg
1 slice of toast
1/2 banana

Lunch

1 cup of cottage cheese
1 hard boiled egg
5 saltine crackers

Dinner

2 hot dogs (without bun)
1 cup of broccoli
1/2 cup of carrots
1/2 banana
1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream

DAY 3

Breakfast

5 saltine crackers
1 slice of cheddar cheese
1 small apple

Lunch

1 hard boiled egg (or cooked however you like)
1 slice of toast

Dinner

1 cup of tuna
1/2 banana
1 cup of vanilla ice cream

Military Diet Shopping List

The following list contains the food items to buy for the 3 Day Military Diet:

• caffeinated coffee or tea
• one grapefruit
• two bananas
• two apples
• whole-wheat bread
• peanut butter
• eggs
• three cans of tuna
• hot dogs
• a small piece of meat
• green beans (fresh, frozen, or canned)
• small head of broccoli
• carrots
• saltine crackers
• cottage cheese
• a small amount of cheddar cheese
• vanilla ice cream

You can drink water and black coffee or tea, but no soda, milk, juice, or alcohol. Stick to the menu as much as you can. You’re allowed to switch out some foods if you have food allergies or other dietary needs. But only make swaps that the diet approves. For example, you can have sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter or a tofu dog instead of a hot dog. But don’t switch the grapefruit to an orange or the vanilla ice cream to a scoop of mint chip or cookie dough. 

I'll give you some important info before you get too excited. You can only eat the foods they recommend and you can't cheat or this play won't work. Also, it does recommend that you diet for 3 days and then eat normally for 4 days, then return to the diet for 3 more days. It's a type of "fasting" diet and if it's working for you you can continue to diet 3 days a week.

Level of Effort: Medium

There are no meetings to attend or packaged meals to buy. The food is easy to find in the grocery store, and there’s very little cooking or food prep needed. But you may feel very hungry on the diet so you may need willpower to get through 3 days without cheating. You’ll only be eating about 1,500 calories daily so you may feel more sluggish than usual. If you choose to exercise, it may make you even more tired.

The Military Diet doesn’t ask you to avoid carbs, dairy, or other food groups. You may not want to eat out when you’re on the program, though, because the food choices are very strict, and you probably won’t find them on a normal menu.

While it’s a good idea to exercise every day, don’t exert yourself by running or lifting heavy weights during the 3 days you’re on this low-calorie diet. Light exercise is best, like walking or gentle yoga.

 Another thing is that this diet has nothing to do with the military. The only similarity is that you only get 3 meals a day.

I prefer a meal plan that lets you pick from a large variety of fresh foods and will give you tips on preparing meals. Healthy eating from this day forward is the way to lose body fat. Your body will burn your fat if you eat the right foods.

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.