3-Day Military Diet Plan: How Effective Is It In Promoting Weight Loss?

The military diet, also known as the “3-day military diet,” is a popular trend among many people who choose to follow it in the hope that they’re going to shed weight very quickly.

One important thing we’d like to mention is that the military diet is not related to the military in any way whatsoever. It has nothing to do with the diet that people who are already in the military have. Being extremely low in calories and nutrients, it’s hard to believe that someone who is in the military or who is planning to join it would follow this type of diet.

For example, a CNN reporter interviewed Patricia Deuster, a nutrition specialist who has worked with the U.S. military for 30 years, and she said that she’d never heard of the military diet. In addition, she said that this diet did not resemble their military diet in any way whatsoever. Well, these aren’t some good military diet reviews.

People who promote this diet claim that it can help you lose up to 10 pounds in one week. But, the two main questions raising here are: Is it possible to lose 10 pounds over such a short period of time? And even if you do manage to shed 10 pounds in a week, is that healthy at all?

So, in this article, we’re going to explain what the military diet is and share a meal plan as well as discuss how effective it is in promoting weight loss and what its risks are. So, without further ado, let’s get to it.

What Is The Military Diet?

The military diet is a highly low-calorie diet that requires you to restrict your intake of calories for 3 days by consuming foods that are low in calories and not taking any supplements, and then take 4 days off and eat normally. You can also repeat this cycle until you reach your goal weight.

Since the military diet involves restricting calorie intake for three days and then going on an unrestricted diet for four days, this diet resembles intermittent fasting diets. The foundation of an intermittent energy restriction diet is shifting between periods of low intake of energy and period of having unrestricted diet. (1)

However, although you’re allowed to eat whatever you want during the four days off, the military diet still requires you to follow a specific meal plan during these days in order to maintain weight loss.

How Does The Three-Day Military Diet For Weight Loss Work?

This diet is divided into 2 stages over a week.

The diet includes a strict meal plan that you’re supposed to follow for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, without eating snacks, for three days.

During the first three days, you’re allowed to consume approximately 1,100 to 1,400 calories a day.

However, it’s worth mentioning that the amount of calories you’re supposed to consume during the first three days is way below the recommended intake of calories by the United States Dietary Guidelines, which is 1,600 to 2,200 and 2,200 to 3,000 calories for women and men aged 31-59 respectively. (2)

In order to ensure that you have an adequate intake of nutrients and that you don’t undermine your health, you should not follow the restricted calorie intake which the three-day military diet demands without consulting your healthcare provider first.

During the remaining four days of the week when you don’t have to restrict your intake of calories, you’re supposed to have a well-balanced diet. But, most people continue to restrict their calorie intake during these days, too, so as to speed up their weight loss.

One interesting thing about the military diet is that it doesn’t require you to exclude certain types of foods. For instance, you’re allowed to eat all grains, meat, and dairy products.

However, when it comes to artificially sweetened drinks, the military diet “forbids” such beverages. But, it’s worth mentioning that there are some studies which associate artificially sweetened drinks with a risk of obesity and there are others which suggest that such drinks do not affect body weight. (3,4,5)

The Three-Day Military Diet Meal Plan

Rather than focusing on burning calories, the military diet focuses on restricting calorie intake by reducing the amount and types of food you consume. For instance, the diet requires you to eat 16 foods in total, which you’re supposed to divide between three meals.

Breakfast:

• Peanut butter
• Cheddar cheese or hard-boiled eggs
• Bananas, apples, or grapefruit
• Saltine crackers or toast

Lunch:

• Cottage cheese, canned tuna, or hard-boiled eggs
• Saltine crackers or toast

Dinner:

• bananas or apples
• canned tuna, hot dogs without a bun, or meat
• vanilla ice cream
• broccoli, green beans, or carrots

The Military Diet Menu Plan

Military Diet Menu Day 1

Breakfast

• 1 slice of toast
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
• Half a grapefruit
• 1 cup of tea or coffee

Lunch

• 1 slice of toast
• Half a cup of tuna
• 1 cup of tea or coffee

Dinner

• 1 apple
• Half a banana
• 1 cup of green beans
• 3 ounces of any kind of meat
• 1 cup of vanilla ice cream

Military Diet Menu Day 2

Breakfast

• 1 slice of toast
• 1 egg
• Half a banana

Lunch

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

Dinner

• Half a banana
• Half a cup of carrots
• 1 cup of broccoli
• 2 hot dogs without a bun
• Half a cup of vanilla ice cream

Military Diet Menu Day 3

Breakfast

• 1 slice of cheddar cheese
• 5 saltine crackers
• 1 apple

Lunch

• 1 slice of toast
• 1 egg

Dinner

• Half a banana
• 1 cup of tuna
• 1 cup of vanilla ice cream

It can be noticed that the calorie intake gradually lowers day by day. For example, on the first day, you’re allowed to eat approximately 1,400 calories and on the third day, you should eat around 1,100 calories.

Three-Day Military Diet List

• 2 apples
• 1 grapefruit
• 2 bananas
• Peanut butter
• Eggs
• Whole-wheat bread
• 3 cans of tuna
• Tea or coffee with caffeine
• Hot dogs
• Green beans
• A small piece of meat
• Broccoli
• Saltine crackers
• Cottage cheese
• Carrots
• Cheddar cheese
• Vanilla ice cream

When it comes to the remaining four days, you’re supposed to have a healthy, balanced diet.

You’re allowed to eat snacks, but in small amounts.

To accelerate your weight loss, you’re encouraged to eat 1,500 calories a day.

However, eating 1,500 calories a day still means that you’ll need to restrict your calorie intake which may not be in accordance with your energy needs, particularly if you’re regularly physically active, which means you expend more energy and therefore you need to increase your calorie intake in order for your body to function properly. (6)

Three-Day Military Diet Substitutions

If you are a vegetarian, vegan, or intolerant to lactose or gluten, you can replace every food on the military diet plan with another food.

For example, you can replace canned tuna with any lean meat, almonds, cottage cheese, tofu, chicken, or grilled sushi grade tuna. Of course, the portion needs to be the same size as one cup of canned tuna. And vegans and vegetarians can eat 2 tablespoons of humus and half an avocado as a substitute for canned tuna.

You can substitute grapefruit for baking soda. Just dilute half a teaspoon of baking soda in 240 milliliters of water and drink it.

And when it comes to cottage cheese, you can substitute it for cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt, eggs, ricotta cheese, tofu, or ham.

In what follows, we’ve presented a vegetarian and vegan three-day military diet plan:

Day 1

Breakfast

• 1 slice of toast
• Half a grapefruit
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 cup of tea or coffee

Lunch

• 2 tablespoons of hummus
• Half an avocado
• 1 slice of whole wheat toast
• 1 cup of tea or coffee

Dinner

• 1 cup of green beans
• Tofu
• 1 apple
• Half a banana
• 1 cup of vanilla ice cream

Day 2 

Breakfast

• 1 slice of whole wheat toast
• Half a cup of baked beans
• Half a banana

Lunch

• Half an avocado
• 2 tablespoons of hummus
• 5 saltine crackers
• 1 cup of almond/hemp/soy milk (unsweetened)

Dinner

• Half a cup of carrots
• Half a banana
• 1 cup of broccoli
• 2 veggie hot dogs
• Half a cup of vanilla ice cream

Day 3

Breakfast

• 5 saltine crackers
• 1 slice of cheddar cheese
• 1 apple

Lunch

• 1 slice of whole wheat bread
• 1 tablespoon of hummus and half an avocado

Dinner

• Half a banana
• Half a cup of canned chickpeas
• 1 cup of vanilla ice cream

Is The Three-Day Military Diet Backed By Science?

There’s currently no research that confirms the effectiveness of this diet in promoting weight loss. However, eating a low-calorie diet is necessary for achieving weight loss. Moreover, successful and healthy weight loss is based on a combination of calorie restriction and diet quality. (1)

That’s the reason why it’s best to eat a balanced diet and shed weight gradually without including severe restriction. And the military diet doesn’t seem to propose the same.

Effective weight loss is achieved by maintaining adequate intake of important nutrients while reducing your intake of calories and being more physically active. (1,7,8)

Moreover, there’s no such diet that works for everyone. Before one is placed on a restricted diet, their fat distribution, body weight, health risks, and health conditions, if they have any, should be assessed medically first, and the diet has to be tailored to suit their needs. (9)

However, the military diet doesn’t appear to design different diet plans that would meet the needs of each person.

And last but not least, those who propose the military diet suggest that this diet helps boost your metabolism and helps you burn body fat, but this has not been scientifically proved yet.

The only component of the military diet that may have the ability to improve your metabolism is the caffeine found in coffee and tea. Caffeine has been suggested to promote weight loss as well as reduction in body fat and body mass index. (10,11)

Is The Claim That You Can Lose 10 Pounds In A Week Real?

Since we are all different, it’s impossible for the diet to have the same effect on all of us.

Moreover, even if you manage to lose 10 pounds in a week, that weight loss will be a result of the loss of water which is stored in your muscles and other parts of your body.

Therefore, you’re very likely to regain any lost pounds quickly once you begin eating normally.

In order to make sure that you burn body fat rather than lose water, you should aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds in a week. You can do this by following a diet that’s healthy, balanced, and rich in nutrients, as well as one that can be sustained for a longer period of time.

How Safe Is The Military Diet?

Taking into consideration the fact that this diet is unbalanced, following this diet for a month or longer can cause nutrient deficiency and other health conditions.

Moreover, following diets that involve dramatic reduction in calories may cause disordered eating as well as deteriorate or lead to unhealthy eating patterns. (12)

Furthermore, diets that include many processed foods have been associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes. (13)

And the military diet incorporates such foods, such as saltine crackers, hot dogs, and ice cream.

When it comes to how sustainable the military diet is, it can be said that some people find it easy to follow since you only have to stick to it for a short period of time. And others find it difficult to follow and report often feeling hungry due to the reduction in calories.

In addition, this diet does not promote long-term weight loss. Those who follow this diet are likely to regain weight once they return to their normal eating pattern.

Long-term maintenance of weight loss is achieved by making changes to one’s lifestyles, such as eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly, and  establishing attainable weight loss goals, rather than just following strict fad diets.

Military Diet Risks

The military diet may pose some risks to your health. It can cause nutrient deficiency – a condition which occurs when there’s lack of minerals and vitamins in your body. This diet can also lead to binge-eating due to the calorie restriction. And it may cause constipation.

Conclusion

• The military diet is a popular diet which can help you lose 10 pounds in a week.
• The three-day military diet is not associated with the military.
• The military diet requires you to restrict your intake of calories for three days. For the remaining four days, you can continue restricting your calorie intake or return to your normal eating pattern.
• The military diet incorporates a strict three-day meal plan. It also includes diet plans for vegans and vegetarians.
• The effectiveness of the military diet has not been supported by science yet.
• Weight loss maintenance is not guaranteed once you stop following the military diet.
• The military diet can pose some risks to your health.