The rice diet: perfecting the way to beat obesity and overweight

Over one-third of the American adult population is obese according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC). The same staggering figures are recorded all over the world. Lack of proper diet and physical activity can be blamed for that. But did you know that the rice diet has the potential to clean all this out and give everyone a new start?

Yes, being on a rice diet plan can be one of the few ways left to deal with unhealthy weight gain and the increasing poor lifestyle that shake the very existence of human beings. Unfortunately not many know the existence of this diet and out of ignorance they have tried many ways to no avail. If you are reading this post, your weight loss problems will be solved by answering all the pertinent questions and giving detailed information on the rice diet.

Rice diet, what is?

This diet is based on a strict approach on the reduction of calories, sugar, fat and salt all at once in your meals. It bears its origin from a clinical experimentation where hypertension and diabetes inpatients were put under rice diet. This was a long time ago but its success made it to be tried by the masses and today remains one of the top weight loss diets. The diet plan advocates for taking only 1200 calories per day (which is a critically low level and would require you to consult your doctor before you begin on it). So for starters, this is a very strict diet on the amount of calories you should take hence not many can bear with it.

Does this mean only rice for diet?

Of course the name says rice but this diet is not all about rice. Actually this diet is multi-pronged approach to weight loss and leading healthy lifestyles. It champions for the intake reduction of proteins, calories, sugar, sodium and fats.

Rice diet menu

The rice diet is restrictive and aggressive with the aims of healthy living and loss of weight. Sugar, processed foods, salt and fat are sternly prohibited since they are noted to be enemies to healthy weight and general good lifestyles. Additionally, there is limitation on calories and protein intake to severe low portions that have led to concerns from health and diet professionals. So, what foods should you eat?

· Fat-free dairy products

· Low-sodium beans (there are varieties that qualify this)

· Quinoa and brown rice (anything from the whole grain starches will be perfect for you)

· Lean proteins but they have to be in limited quantities

· Selected greens and fruits in limited intake

The diet menu is divided into phases, each with a crucial goal to bolster your body for what will be coming in the next phase. Each phase has a specific purpose as discussed below (you will not be successful if you do not follow them as they are)

Phase 1

It is also called the detox stage and helps in transitioning from your normal diet into a restricted eating zone. It lasts for about 2 weeks and typically allows for 800-1,000 calories in a single day (way below the recommended daily intake). For all three meals you are allowed to eat from a group of 2 approved starch sources and 2 selected fruits.

Phase 2

This is the main stage and is fully dedicated to weight loss. For how long it will last it will depend on the amount of weight one is aiming to lose. As such for those who want to lose more weight the phase will last longer than those intending to lose a few pounds.

The first day will be all about elementary rice diet. This is simply taking 2 pre-approved starches and 2 set of selected fruits for breakfast, lunch and supper. It is then followed by 5 days of lacto-vegetarian dieting. For breakfast it will be fat-free dairy, one helping from each of the 2 starches and a fruit. Lunch and supper will be composed of 3 helpings from each of the approved starches, loads of vegetables and a fruit.

Phase 3

This is the last stage of rice diet. By the time you get here you have shed most of the weight you intended to lose. You are allowed to consume 200 more calories than in phase 2 until such a time your weight loss stops. The phase last for a week and here is your menu plan;

First day: you will eat basic rice diet

4 days following the first: you go back to lacto-vegetarian dieting (just like discussed in phase 2)

Last 2 days: both basic rice diet plus vegetarian dieting

But the rice diet is not all about what you should eat and what shouldn’t. You will be expected to do some physical exercise. A simple walk would be enough to give all that this diet asks for. You will also have to keep a journal of what you eat. To top that up you have to find ways to manage stress. Suggestively, meditation is one of the best and highly recommended ways to positively deal with stress.

Rice diet plan

If you have decided that this is the way you will be eating, here is a 7-day rice diet plan that can be a starting point;

Day one

Breakfast: brown rice half cup, one cup of green tea, an apple (medium size)

Lunch: brown rice half cup, greens soup, half serve of salad

Supper: steamed vegetables served with brown rice

Day two

Breakfast: brown rice and a fruit of your choosing (avoid grapes and bananas)

Lunch: brown rice, loads of veggies, bake or broil your fish, top up with veggies soup

Supper: brown rice treated with a layer of butter and cooked in coconut oil

Day three

Breakfast: couple of raisins, an apple and brown rice

Lunch: cucumber salad taken down with veggies soup

Supper: big helping of salad and baked mushrooms

Day four

Breakfast: sugar-free yoghurt (plain type is the best) and brown rice

Lunch: lean meat (just a portion 2 oz), salad and veggies soup

Supper: brown rice served with a lot of vegetables

Day 5

Breakfast: a fruit and brown rice

Lunch: brown rice, steamed veggies (go for salad if you prefer), veggies soup and fish

Supper: generous salad serving and brown rice

Day 6

Breakfast: walnuts (just a few), an apple and brown rice

Lunch: a small piece of lean meat, salad, brown rice and veggies soup

Supper: brown rice cooked in virgin coconut oil and touched with butter

Day 7

Breakfast: a fruit and brown rice

Lunch: brown rice and either beans or fish. Take it down with vegetable soup

Supper: big serve of salad, brown rice. For fruits choose zucchini and olives

Tips to succeed with rice diet

· Avoid fruits such as bananas and grapes

· For your rice, soak it overnight. It becomes tender and easy to cook

· For brown rice go for the unbleached kind

· Water is very crucial. Take at least 8 glasses daily. It will help with digestion and removing of toxins

· Coffee and black tea should not be at any day included in your meals

· For best results bake, broil, boil and steam your foods. Keep away from fried, canned and smoked foods.

Rice diet results

The promise of losing weight with this diet is real (as you will get to know from the review section). But there is one thing you have to understand: you are unique from the next person and your chances of success will be unique as well. There are those who will lose multiple pounds in a short duration while others will have to sweat it all out to drop a single pound. For those who are extremely fat, the weight drop will be more noticeable than those who only need to lose a couple of pounds.

So, what average weight will you lose once you begin on this diet? According to credible books and those who have tried the rice diet, women can lose up to 20 pounds while men have the potential to lose 30 pounds during the first month.

Another result you should be looking forward to is to seem young. The diet is believed to detoxify the body leaving it free from pathogens. This leaves your skin healthy and glowing.

Rice diet reviews

There is always a question that will linger in everyone’s mind: does the rice diet work? It would be an uphill task to answer such a question without proof that actually the rice diet plan has worked and is still working on people who try it. That is why this section is dedicated to rice diet reviews for the reader to hear for themselves from authoritative sources and people who have tried the diet and whether it delivered results;

1. Kathleen Zelman is a decorated nutritionist and has wide knowledge about weight loss diets and rice diet plan is just one of the a few. She begins by saying that 1200 calories per day is good enough to deal with stress, and effectively fight unhealthy weight gain. She applauds the advice given in this diet on the change of lifestyles to support healthy eating and exercising habits.

However, she is not all praise about the rice diet. She notes that the extremely low-carb formulation is not easy for anyone to keep up with the rice diet. Nutritional deficiencies are going to be common for those who rely on this diet and such is not recommendable for your health. A good pointer of how the diet fails to make a nutritionally mathematical sense is when you are required to cut down protein intake to mere half of the daily recommended portion. Still, the detoxification claims from this diet are highly doubtable since all the known detoxifying diets do not remove any toxins from the body.

2. Regina Allen is one individual who had a successful run with the rice diet plan. She is so excited to share her experience with others who may be in the same situation as she was. Before hitting success, she had tried all diets she stumbled upon with the hope of shedding her 310 pounds. Unfortunately she was not so lucky. But someone introduced her to rice diet and she has been a loyal member up to date. She admits that it was not easy sticking to the diet and often found her cheating. But that did not put her down. She went all the way and lost at least 170 pounds. She has chosen the diet as her life plan and has never gained a single pound since the 90s. To achieve this she accompanied her strict dieting with exercise. She says that a leisure walk would be adequate to give you desirable results. She not only lost weight but also looks younger at 56 and rarely seeks medication.

3. Gayle Anderson had been trying to lose 60 pounds for ten years but his addiction to junk food would not let him make any progress. Thanks to his wife who kept pushing him to lose weight, he turned to low sodium and sugar-free diet. In two months he had lost 30 pounds. Since then he has never looked back. He has achieved his optimum weight, saves a lot and inspires other people to follow his lead. He insists that exercise has been crucial to his success. He had to ditch his car and instead turned to walking and public transport.

The final word

From the rice diet reviews it is obvious that you will lose weight. The price you have to pay is sacrificing the pleasure of eating what you want and stick to what is provided for in the rice diet. Food choices are less and there are rules you have to adhere to.

But what is better between sitting on unhealthy pounds and the rice diet solution that will give you results faster? The latter is what everyone wants. The rice diet is worth your try for there is nothing much to lose. However, you should not remain on it for the long term for there are deep reaching nutritional consequences. If you decide this is the way to go ensure you consult your doctor to get the green light. Best of luck to your new rice diet plan!