You will likely lose weight on any diet if you eat less than 910 calories a day. But losing 10 pounds in 3 days is both unlikely and unhealthy.
To lose just 1 pound of body fat, you need to reduce your daily calories by about 500 a day for a whole week.
That’s giving up 3,500 calories over the course of 7 days. To lose 10 pounds in 3 days would mean decreasing your calorie intake by 35,000 calories in just 3 days! The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends a slow and steady weight loss of no more than 1/2 to 1 pound a week.
Otherwise, you are losing muscle and water, as well as weakening your bones. You also are much more likely to gain it all back.
Is It Good for Certain Conditions?
The 3 Day Diet is low calorie, but it certainly is not low-fat, low-salt, or low cholesterol, so it is not a healthy option for most people with certain medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and high cholesterol. If you are overweight, weight loss is key to managing these conditions. But it should be a healthy and sustainable weight loss that includes healthy nutrition and exercise.
The Final Word
The 3 Day Diet is a very low-calorie diet that uses simple foods that are low cost and easy to find and prepare. Short-Term weight loss is likely. But that is where the good news ends.
During the 3 days of the diet, balanced nutrition is lacking. Some of the foods that are recommended are high in salt and fat and would not be appropriate for people with certain medical problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol. You may not be getting enough vitamins, minerals, and fiber while you are on the diet. If you are taking medicine for your diabetes and want to try the 3-day diet, it’s important to talk with your doctor first about how to adjust your medicine.
Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and helps prevent and treat heart disease and diabetes. But the 3 Day Diet does not address this at all. Nor does it teach you how to make changes in your diet that will allow for a lifetime of healthy eating.
Finally, such a restrictive diet takes the enjoyment out of eating. During the 3 days, a week that you are following the plan, eating out or with others could be very tough. Also, boring diets are very hard to maintain. The temptation to overeat on the other 4 days of the week when you are not dieting will likely be high.
Remember, when it comes to weight loss, slow and steady really does win the race.
