Weight-Loss Wednesday: 3-Day Diet

I recently found the 3-Day diet on Pinterest.  At first, I was really excited.  Then I was really frightened.  There is no way I can do this, I told myself.  The more I looked at it, the more I realized that it's very, very little food.  Much less than I eat in a day.  Then I thought about how I feel physically ill when I'm hungry, and that made me think that I couldn't do it even more so.  But then again I thought, it's only 3 days.  I was really skeptical, mostly because of my past history with diets.  But I decided to bite the bullet and try it.  I kept a diary of my experience and I also took pictures of all of the meals, which you will find below.

According to the original link, this diet is based on chemical breakdown.  You must eat exactly what is listed.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It was created by a military person in order to lose pounds/get in shape quickly.  Personally, I don't really have a reason to have to lose pounds quickly, other than the fact that I have been dieting and exercising religiously for the past year and a half with little to no results and I'm desperate to find something that works.  Anyway, the diet is safe and can be repeated after a 4-day break.  It doesn't say that exercise is required, but I am sure it doesn't hurt.  I exercised each day of the diet, but I just made sure not to overdo it.  I walked on my treadmill for 30 minutes each day at a medium-fast pace.  With the small amount of food you will be eating, you may not have a whole lot of energy to exercise.
A note about water: it is the only thing you are allowed to drink on this diet (other than coffee or tea on day one if desired).  I recommend drinking at least a gallon of water each day.  It helps somewhat with the hunger.  Not to mention it's very good for you.

Any other questions, please REFER TO THE ORIGINAL LINK.  Thanks!

THE RULES:
No eating between meals
No substitutions
No seasonings other than salt and pepper

THE DIET:
Day 1:
BREAKFAST--1/2 GRAPEFRUIT, 1 SLICE TOAST,
2 TBS. PEANUT BUTTER, COFFEE OR TEA

LUNCH--1/2 CUP TUNA, 1 SLICE TOAST, COFFEE OR TEA

DINNER--2 SLICES ANY TYPE OF MEAT (ABOUT 3
OZ), 1 CUP GREEN BEANS, 1/2 BANANA, 1 SMALL
APPLE, 1 CUP VANILLA ICE CREAM

Day 2:
BREAKFAST--1 EGG, 1 SLICE TOAST, 1/2 BANANA

LUNCH--1 CUP COTTAGE CHEESE (OR 1 SLICE
CHEDDAR CHEESE), 1 HARD BOILED EGG, 5
SALTINE CRACKERS

DINNER--2 HOT DOGS, (no buns), 1 CUP BROCCOLI,
1/2 CUP CARROTS, 1/2 BANANA, 1/2 CUP VANILLA ICE CREAM

Day 3:
BREAKFAST--5 SALTINE CRACKERS, 1 SLICE CHEDDAR
CHEESE, 1 SMALL APPLE

LUNCH--1 HARD BOILED EGG, 1 SLICE TOAST

DINNER--1 CUP TUNA, 1/2 BANANA, 1 CUP VANILLA ICE CREAM

My Experience on the 3-Day Diet
Day 1:
I put off eating breakfast for as long as possible.  I ate my breakfast at 11:00.  It was actually a fairly satisfying breakfast.  Half of a grapefruit... this was the first time I had ever eaten grapefruit without any kind of sweetener on top, but hey, it wasn't bad.  2 tbsp of peanut butter was actually too much for one piece of toast though.  But I still slathered it on there and ate it since the diet says to eat everything on the list exactly as it's written.

Then 2:00 rolled around and it was lunchtime... ok, that was disappointing.  A piece of toast with tuna on top.  Yes, it's edible, but really, is that all?



Then came the most challenging part of the day.  The 5 hours between lunch and dinner.  I did manage to exercise for 30 minutes during my lunch break...since I didn't have to spend a lot of time eating anyway.  I was EXTREMELY hungry the entire time.  Then I started feeling very weak, shaky, and lightheaded.  But I just kept telling myself that eating was not an option.  Nope, not until dinner time.  Ahhhhh... dinner.  Even though it was almost all healthy food, I was sooooo happy to eat it.  And look at that plate of food, it's actually quite a bit of food to eat for being on such a strict diet.  I guess they're making up for the agonizing afternoon of nothing.  And you get to eat ice cream too!  Honestly, I felt pretty guilty about the ice cream.  But hey, the diet says you have to eat it, and who am I to disobey the diet?  Okay, okay, I'm lying a little bit here.  As you can see, that is broccoli on my plate, not green beans like the diet says.  I am sure that just about everyone will have at least one thing on the list that they absolutely cannot tolerate.  For me, that thing was green beans.  Surprisingly, I liked everything else on the list (except for coffee and tea, but luckily that was optional).

 



Oh, and another note about today: I had no problem whatsoever drinking the gallon of water that I put in the fridge the night before.  I just drank the water whenever I felt hungry (which was pretty much constantly).  I really don't know whether or not it helped because I was still extremely hungry, but maybe I would have felt worse if I didn't drink it, who knows.  If I could describe the first day of this diet in one word, it would be KILLER.

Day 2:
I woke up feeling okay today.  I really wasn't going to weigh myself, but I saw the scale sitting there and I just did it.  Boy, was I glad I did.  I lost SIX, count them, SIX pounds in that first day.  When I first read about this diet and it said you can lose up to 10 pounds in 3 days, I was very skeptical.  I thought, if normal people can lose 10 pounds, maybe I could lose 2 or 3.  It's better than nothing.  Because diets normally don't have the same effect on me that they do on others.  But it was very refreshing and encouraging to know that all of the agony I went through yesterday paid off.  I am still skeptical about how the rest of this diet is going to go... will I continue to lose more weight?  And will I be able to keep it off?  I guess we will see.  You have to understand my past history with diets and why I don't trust them. 
Anywho... breakfast this morning was okay.  It was about the same amount of food as yesterday. 

Lunch was actually a little more food than yesterday.  And since it was a high-protien lunch, it made it a little easier to make it to dinner time.  (I said a little easier... still not easy though).  I do like cottage cheese... I know not everyone does, but I like it.  I don't usually eat a whole cup of it at a time though.  It's one of those foods that I can only take in small amounts.  So one cup was a bit difficult to choke down, but I did it. 



I again walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes today.  I made it to dinner... to be honest, I was a bit irritable by dinner time due to the lack of food.  But I made it.  And dinner actually wasn't too bad tonight.  Plenty of fruits and vegetables, hot dogs and ice cream, yum!

Day 3:
I went ahead and weighed myself this morning since I had such good results yesterday.  Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.  I weighed one pound more than I did yesterday morning.  Even after starving myself all day.  I have no idea how that happened.  Even if you take into account the "water weight" from drinking a whole gallon of water in one day, it seems like I should not have weighed one pound more first thing in the morning.  But oh well... we will see what the final results are tomorrow morning.  I have to say today was easier than Day 1 but harder than Day 2.  Because the allowed food today, well, it stinks.  It is much less quantity than the first 2 days.  And in my opinion, it was less quality too.  The only meal I actually enjoyed today was breakfast.

 Lunch was kind of a joke... one hard boiled egg and one dry piece of toast?  Are you kidding me? 

But guess what... I did it.  I managed to eat only the food that was allowed today (not to mention ALL THREE DAYS of the diet).  I almost gave in at dinner time tonight.  I started to think... I made it this far, eating a regular dinner isn't going to make a difference now.  Plus I wasn't looking forward to eating all of that dry tuna.  I love tuna, but this diet was the first time I have ever eaten it plain with nothing else mixed it.  Let's just say I like it better as casserole or salad.

The bottom line is... I really did not think I was going to be able to do this diet.  BUT I DID!!  And if I can do it, believe me, ANYONE can.  I still don't know how I managed to do this for 3 days, let alone 3 hours.  I endured extreme hunger pains, weakness, shakiness, diziness, and a persistent headache due to food withdrawal.  I honestly felt like I was going to die that first day.  I knew I would feel better if I ate, but I reached deep inside myself and found willpower and strength that I didn't know I had.  I decided that I wasn't going to give in.  Because I realized something... hunger is a bully.  It tells me to eat, or else it's going to beat me up and make me feel crappy.  And I have been giving into that bully for years and years now.  I finally realized that I don't have to give into my bully.  I can stand up to it and say NO.  I know more than anyone, it's much easier said than done.  This was one of the toughest things I have had to do.  But it is possible.
Now I know what I am capable of.  I was able to complete the 3-day diet successfully.  And by the end of 3 days, I LOST 9 POUNDS.  How satisfying is that?  I plan to keep repeating the diet as directed (3 days on, 4 days off) to keep losing weight.  Hopefully it will continue to work, as I have a lot more weight to lose.  But I am very happy with the results of this diet.  It gave me hope that there is something that will work for me.  It gave me a boost of confidence and self esteem.  And it left me 9 pounds lighter. ;)