How does the rice diet work for fast weight loss

The rice diet is excellent for quickly losing weight and purifying the body. Let’s see how it works and an example of a menu!

If you are looking for a simple diet to lose weight, but above all it works, then perhaps the rice diet is for you . This cereal, which lends itself to many recipes and preparations, really has many advantages: it can be eaten without problems by those who are intolerant to gluten, it contains fiber, minerals and vitamins, it is easy to digest and is low in calories.

The German doctor Walter Kempner, who was looking for a diet suitable for diabetic, hypertensive and obese patients, conceived this diet for fast weight loss. Today this diet is increasingly widespread: let’s see how it works and what foods are allowed !

How the rice-based diet works: the variants

The rice diet exploits four fundamental properties of this food: it is satiated, low in calories, stimulates diuresis and is rich in fiber. There are two different variations of the diet, one structured in two phases and the other in nine days, but also other different diets that we will analyze one at a time.

The white rice diet

The two-phase one is divided into a first phase, called detoxification , in which you consume only 800 calories a day. This phase lasts a maximum of two weeks, during which it is allowed to eat only boiled rice seasoned with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, vegetables and fruit (but in moderation). Simply put, almost all the calories that are consumed come from rice.

During this first cycle, the most restrictive safe, tends to lose more weight and belly deflates and becomes flatter.

We then move on to the second phase, where instead we consume approximately 1200 calories per day, adding legumes, chicken, fish, low-fat cheeses, cooked and raw vegetables, fresh and dried fruit and other cereals to the rice. So this is a more varied cycle, where’s the alternate more foods. There is also the possibility of alternating rice with different cereals, such as quinoa or spelled.

In general, in both phases, it is important to use few condiments and not to overdo it with salt: rather, use spices and aromatic herbs .

The rice diet in 9 days

The nine-day diet is certainly a much shorter diet, because it only lasts twelve days (nine of the actual diet, preceded by three days of detox). In the first three days of detox, you are only allowed to eat rice and other rice-based diet products, such as biscuits. Over the next nine days, lean proteins are added, such as chicken and cottage cheese, fruits and vegetables.

Even if you opt for this, you can alternate rice with other similar cereals .

The chicken and rice diet

This declination of the diet, decidedly more extreme , indicates a menu consisting of rice and chicken, which for 9 days must be consumed alternating between lunch and dinner and without ever eating them together. Fresh fruit for breakfast and yogurt or dried fruit for snacks are the only exception.

The advantage? That with a little imagination you can create many dishes, perhaps combining the two key elements with seasonal vegetables , light condiments and spices.

Rice and tuna diet

Also in this case two foods are placed at the center of the diet, but this time alongside the rice we find tuna, fish rich in mineral salts such as iron, iodine and selenium and vitamins, in particular of the A, B, D groups. a source of Omega 3.

Here too the advice is to create delicious recipes by alternating the two foods without ever eating them together. Ah, and for those who did not understand, eat tuna fresh and not canned!

Rice diet menu: what to eat

As we have anticipated, in this dietary regime it is not allowed to eat only boiled rice, at least not in the phases following the detoxification phase.

In addition to eating rice every day, the permitted foods are vegetables, cereals and pseudocereals (millet, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth), legumes, low-fat cheeses, lean fish, chicken and olive oil.

Moreover, rice is also inserted in other forms of it, such as yogurt or biscuits .

They are however prohibited other vegetable oils, butter and various fats, sugar, sweets, carbonated drinks and alcohol. Along with these foods, make sure you also drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day!

So let’s see an example of the complete weekly menu:

Monday

– Breakfast: three rice cakes, coffee or tea
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150g)
– Lunch: two rice cakes, steamed fish, vegetables
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150 g)
– Dinner: light risotto (80 g), two fruits

Tuesday

– Breakfast: three rice cakes, coffee or tea
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150g)
– Lunch: grilled meat, vegetables and two rice cakes
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150 g)
– Dinner: 40 g of rice with boiled or steamed vegetables, two hard-boiled eggs and 1 rice yogurt

Wednesday

– Breakfast: three rice cakes, coffee or tea
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150g)
– Lunch: fresh cheese, vegetables, 1 fruit
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150 g)
– Dinner: light risotto (80 g), 1 fruit and 1 rice yogurt

Thursday

– Breakfast: three rice cakes, coffee or tea
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150g)
– Lunch: Mixed salad with fish or meat and 2 rice cakes
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150 g)
– Dinner: boiled rice (80 g) with cherry tomatoes, oil and basil, cooked ham (2 slices)

Friday

– Breakfast: three rice cakes, coffee or tea
– Snack: 150 grams of fresh fruit
– Lunch: 100 g of white meat or fish, vegetables, 2 rice cakes
– Snack: 150 grams of fresh fruit
– Dinner: 70 gr of mushroom risotto, two fruits, 1 rice yogurt

Saturday

– Breakfast: three rice cakes, coffee or tea
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150g)
– Lunch: 130 g of bresaola with rocket and cherry tomatoes and 2 rice cakes
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150 g)
– Dinner: 60 g light risotto, steamed vegetables, 1 rice yogurt.

Sunday

– Breakfast: three rice cakes, coffee or tea
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150g)
– Lunch: light risotto (60 g), boiled vegetables
– Snack: fresh fruit (no more than 150 g)
– Dinner: 150 g of grilled fish, mixed vegetables

Does the rice diet work?

Many think that rice makes you fat, yet this diet promises results in no time. In short, the question is legitimate: does this diet work? It is a low-calorie diet based on rice, a carbohydrate also rich in vitamins and useful for detoxifying our body, but at the same time it is a high-protein diet, which could therefore tire the kidneys in the long run .

In short, like all extreme diets, the first thing to do is make sure you can do it: avoid it if you have particular intolerances , diseases, in particular low blood pressure, kidney problems or if you are pregnant . Then consult a nutritionist, which we always recommend for any diet.

In general, then, if slavishly followed this diet can lead to good results, although the downside is that, relying almost all on a single food, is likely to simmer in a hurry and make it easier transgression.

Find out all about the protein diet too .