Among the many diets, it is so difficult to choose one that does not require large financial costs and at the same time allows the body to maintain a balance of nutrients even with a limited diet. That is why the buckwheat diet is so popular. In terms of usefulness, meal replaces a whole range of foods, acts quickly and is inexpensive.
The whole secret lies in the proper preparation of oatmeal, which as the main dish of the diet will switch the body into a mode of release of fat, excess fluid and other ballast.
The benefits of buckwheat for the human body
In terms of nutritional value, buckwheat is one of the leading cereals among cereals. The protein in it is almost like meat, which it successfully replaces in the diet of vegetarians. And carbohydrates, unlike most grains, are very low, which is important for diabetics and those who are losing weight. At the same time, buckwheat is rich in fiber, which means that it can cleanse the liver and the entire digestive tract.
The content of vitamins and microelements in this cereal is a separate topic. B vitamins are essential for the heart and brain, provide good vision and water-salt balance, and vitamin P is good for blood vessels.
Folic acid, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc and a whole list of other trace elements and useful acids make buckwheat indispensable for restoring vitality, cellular and lipid metabolism.
That is why buckwheat porridge is a must in the menu of pregnant women, children and everyone who cares about their health. And, of course, in the diet of those who monitor their weight. Indeed, with such valuable qualities, buckwheat has a low calorie content and the ability to remove excess cholesterol and other unnecessary substances from the body. Such a successful combination is the basis of the buckwheat diet.
Possible damage to cereals
Due to its easy tolerability, buckwheat has no contraindications for use. But it is recommended in limited quantities for people with chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, with a tendency to spasms and diarrhea, as well as in inflammatory processes in the digestive system.
Duration of the buckwheat diet and possible weight loss
With all the usefulness of buckwheat, the maximum allowable duration of a diet based on it, without significant harm to the body, is 14 days. In addition, the most pronounced weight loss occurs in the first week. Therefore, nutritionists have developed options for different durations - for three, five, seven days and two weeks. After all, not everyone can withstand a long time on a monodiet, in which case you can choose a gentler option.
How many pounds will go for a certain period of time, it is impossible to say for sure. It all depends on the "initial" weight and mass of other individual characteristics. On average for a week it is possible to lose from 1, 5 to 3 kg, and for two - from 3 to 6 kg. This process is all the more obvious the more extra pounds there are in the body. You can repeat the course of weight loss with buckwheat no earlier than a month and a half after the previous one.
The right way to prepare a diet porridge
Buckwheat for weight loss is prepared in a special way: it should be steamed, not boiled. That is why it is more convenient to immediately prepare the necessary volume for the day. 500 g of buckwheat from buckwheat in the evening should be flooded with boiling water in a volume of 1, 5 liters, cover with a lid and put in a warm place or wrap with a blanket. In the morning, the crumbly diet porridge will be ready to eat.
A faster option is obtained with the help of a thermos. Pour a glass of cereal into its flask and pour two cups of boiling water over it, then close it with a lid. A 45-minute infusion is enough to make the porridge ready.
In this form, the cereal retains its value as much as possible. Dietary porridge excludes additives in the form of salt, sugar, oil, spices and sauces.
Varieties of buckwheat diet
The variety of buckwheat-based diets is quite extensive. The most famous options:
- strict buckwheat;
- sparing (healing);
- buckwheat kefir;
- buckwheat and apple;
- buckwheat and vegetables;
- buckwheat with dried fruits;
- with low-calorie dairy products;
- with vegetables, lean fish and lean meat.
The strict diet involves the use of extremely stewed buckwheat and water, occasionally a small amount of kefir, but this option is a real test of willpower. The most popular is buckwheat-kefir, which allows in addition to oatmeal, up to one liter of kefir per day.
A gentle buckwheat diet for weight loss is also used as a therapeutic relief for the body. It allows you to add a little cottage cheese to a buckwheat breakfast, a piece of lean meat for dinner, and one breakfast a day in the form of an apple or a glass of kefir or yogurt without additives.
Including dried fruit (no more than five to six pieces a day) or a teaspoon of honey will help those who do not feel well without sugar in their diet.
In each case, you can drink plain still water or green tea without restrictions, eating four to six times a day, the last 4-6 hours before bedtime.
Mono diet for 3 days
The three-day version is more likely not a diet, but a useful unloading course or a trial option for those who want to test their strength before prolonging food restriction. But even in such a short time, many people manage to lose about two kilograms and feel pleasant changes in the condition of their skin.
It is optimal to stay on a strict diet of buckwheat or buckwheat-kefir (up to 1 liter of kefir per day) for all three days. If it is too difficult or there is a feeling of weakness from lack of sugar, it is allowed to eat an apple, orange or some dried fruit.
Diet for 5 days
The longer diet course allows a greater variety of low-calorie dietary supplements for cooked porridge.
| Breakfast | Dinner | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st day | Buckwheat porridge, a glass of low-fat yogurt, apple | 200 g porridge, 200 g vegetable salad with olive oil | Buckwheat soaked in kefir, unsweetened tea |
| 2nd day | Buckwheat, drizzled with kefir, apple, tea | Buckwheat, drizzled with kefir, 200 g of fresh vegetables | Buckwheat soaked in kefir, unsweetened tea |
| 3rd day | During the day, eat five servings of buckwheat soaked in kefir, drink more water | ||
| 4th day | Buckwheat porridge, 100 g of low-fat cottage cheese, 0, 5 cups of yogurt | Buckwheat porridge, a piece of cooked lean meat, stewed vegetables | 100 g of buckwheat porridge, a glass of kefir |
| 5th day | Alternate buckwheat with kefir every two hours + lots of water and green tea |
Diet for 7 days
For tangible weight loss, it is recommended to stick to a diet with kefir and buckwheat throughout the week or to follow the following scheme.
| Breakfast | Dinner | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st day | Porridge, half a cup of kefir | Steamed buckwheat cutlets without butter | Buckwheat porridge or casserole, a glass of kefir |
| 2nd day | Buckwheat pancakes, a glass of kefir | Porridge, dried fruits | A glass of kefir |
| 3rd day | Porridge, dried fruits | Porridge, lettuce | Porridge, a glass of kefir |
| 4th day | Buckwheat bread, buckwheat pancakes | Mess | Porridge, apple |
| 5th day | Porridge, a glass of kefir | Cabbage salad, stewed buckwheat cutlets | A glass of kefir, orange or apple |
| Day 6 | A glass of kefir | Stewed buckwheat cutlets | Porridge or casserole, a glass of kefir |
| 7th day | Buckwheat pancakes, a glass of kefir | Porridge, dried fruits | A glass of kefir |
Diet for 14 days
| Breakfast | Dinner | Dinner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st day | Porridge, unsweetened coffee | Vegetable soup | Buckwheat with roasted vegetables |
| 2nd day | Porridge with vegetables, unsweetened tea | Buckwheat milk soup without sugar | Buckwheat, boiled egg, greens |
| 3rd day | During the day - buckwheat porridge, more water | ||
| 4th day | |||
| 5th day | During the day - buckwheat with dried fruit, rosehip decoction | ||
| Day 6 | Buckwheat, tea | Chicken broth with herbs | Buckwheat with cauliflower in batter |
| 7th day | Porridge with vegetables | Okroshka with egg | Elda, egg |
| 8th day | Porridge, cottage cheese, tea | 200 g low-fat boiled beef | Porridge with vegetables |
| 9th day | Within three days - buckwheat in water, kefir, unsweetened tea | ||
| Day 10 | |||
| 11th day | |||
| 12th day | Porridge, tea | Light vegetable soup | Buckwheat, a handful of nuts |
| 13th day | Porridge with dried fruits | Light soup with lentils | Porridge with vegetables and mushrooms |
| 14th day | Porridge, low-fat cottage cheese | Egg broth | Steamed chicken breast porridge |
The diet can be delicious
Below are recipes that you can use to diversify your buckwheat diet and get the most out of it.
Buckwheat soup
For three liters of water we take a glass of buckwheat, as well as:
- onions;
- carrots;
- pepper;
- 2 tomatoes;
- a few pieces of cauliflower;
- some greenery.
Onions, carrots and tomatoes are finely chopped and stewed with a minimum amount of vegetable oil. Put them in boiling water with buckwheat and other vegetables and cook for about 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, add herbs and a little salt.
The less strict option allows the addition of potatoes and a little ghee or beaten egg.
Porridge with vegetables
For a cup of buckwheat you will need a medium-sized zucchini, 1 pepper, 2 stalks of celery, fresh tomato (or a teaspoon of dried tomatoes), fresh herbs or dried herbs to taste, 40 ml of vegetable oil.
Fill the meal with two glasses of boiling water and set aside. Meanwhile, peel and cut the vegetables into cubes and the peppers into strips and fry in hot oil. Before that, the oil can be calcined with cumin puree or other favorite spices, as well as with dried tomatoes.
Combine the prepared vegetables with buckwheat, add half a glass of water, pepper and salt, bring the whole mass to a boil under the lid and then cook on low heat for another 15 minutes. Then remove from the heat, add the chopped herbs and serve.
Buckwheat cutlets
For 200 g of cereals take 1 egg and 1 onion. You will also need breadcrumbs, fresh herbs and salt, as well as vegetable oil for frying.
However, diet chops are best steamed or baked.
Boil the buckwheat in salted water until soft and cool. Cut the onion into cubes and add to the buckwheat together with the raw egg. Use a meat grinder to turn the mixture into ground buckwheat. Add breadcrumbs to the minced meat in such an amount that it becomes thick enough to form cutlets.
We sculpt them with wet hands, fry them or send them to a double boiler or oven.
Buckwheat pancakes
Diet pancakes are baked in the oven. According to this recipe, they are lush and tender. 300 g of buckwheat and a packet of cottage cheese should be passed through a meat grinder, gradually add 4 tablespoons of flour, a tablespoon of sugar and 0, 5 teaspoons of salt and in the process of further kneading add 1 cup of low-fat cream.
Pour the mixture onto a baking tray to form pancakes and bake until golden brown.
Buckwheat cabbage rolls
You need to remove the upper leaves from the cabbage fork, then lower the head of cabbage into boiling water, cook until semi-finished, cool slightly and disassemble the leaves. The thickening of the handles should be slightly beaten.
It is better to cook minced meat in advance. To do this, about 300 g of boiled buckwheat should be mixed with fried onions and egg. Wrap the minced meat in leaves, forming envelopes or cylinders and place on a greased pan.
Bake for about 10 minutes, then fill with sour cream with salt and pepper and send in the oven for another half hour. Instead of sour cream, you can use sour cream sauce by adding a small amount of flour fried in butter and vegetable broth. Serve cabbage rolls sprinkled with chopped herbs.
Prohibited foods during the diet
The real diet with buckwheat completely excludes the use of salt and sugar, oil, mayonnaise, ketchup and any other sauces, spices and condiments. Meat and fish, if included in the diet during this period, should be lean. Dairy products should also be low in fat and exclude the presence of flavorings.
Of course, under total ban any flour and sweet, spicy and salty, starchy vegetables like potatoes and super sweet fruits like bananas or dates.
Getting out of the diet
This is a very thorough moment, on which depends the safety of the result achieved with the help of diet, as well as minimizing the stress on the organs and systems when returning to a normal diet.
In order not to regain the lost weight in a short time, you need to gradually exit the restriction mode. During the first week it is advisable not to remember about flour, sweet and fatty foods.
Little by little you can introduce high-quality butter and every day or two add two or three new products - different, moderately fatty varieties of meat and fish, offal, cheese, nuts. Drink enough plain water and green tea and most importantly - do not overeat.
However, many who go through the unloading course do not feel the need for previous unhealthy eating habits and consciously adhere to a balanced diet, minimizing or completely eliminating industrial confectionery, sauces with trans fats and high amounts of salt, fatty and fried foods.
Contraindications
Any diet is a powerful stress for the body, even if it is based on such a useful product as buckwheat. Weakness, fatigue and headaches are possible during this period, so it is better not to plan this event during severe physical or psycho-emotional overload - exams, work emergencies, etc.
In any case, even a person who considers himself completely healthy should consult a doctor before starting a long unloading.
Strict contraindications are:
- pregnancy and lactation;
- any form of diabetes;
- hypertension;
- high physical activity;
- stress period;
- nervous diseases;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in the acute phase;
- heart or kidney failure;
- underwent abdominal surgery;
- the recovery period after each operation, serious injury or infection.
Opinions of nutritionists on the effectiveness of buckwheat diets
Practical experience in weight loss allows nutritionists to claim that buckwheat-based diets are effective in terms of weight loss and stability of the result, provided that the limitations are properly overcome. The body receives enough protein and fiber, vitamins and minerals so that the damage is minimized.
However, the monotony of the taste can be quite difficult to tolerate, especially by people who no longer have a passion for buckwheat porridge. To find out how acceptable this option is for a particular organism, experts advise you to first spend a day unloading buckwheat a week.
Conclusion
Even if the result of the diet seems insufficient, exceeding the established threshold of 14 days is highly undesirable - it can lead to vitamin deficiency and exacerbation of chronic diseases. It is permissible to repeat the weight loss of buckwheat not earlier than a month and a half.
If you feel unwell during the diet or experience symptoms of exacerbation of existing diseases, as well as previously unknown unpleasant sensations, you should carefully get out of the restrictions and consult a doctor. Listen and love your body and it will definitely support your wellness activities with its internal reserves.