i saw military diet today it's like intermitten fasting take three days and four days off my queation is can u build muscle with this diet?

and if u have training program can u work in these three days?

tell me your thoughts

I'm slightly confused @rayyan454...how exactly does this eating regime work? Is it three days of eating, then four days without eating??

Can you clarify how this military diet works? Do you eat loads of food on those three days, or just an average amount? (3000 calories for example)

Jordan

Hello there,

because you did not state which exact form of the diet, i have looked a bit around and i assume you mean this one:
http://themilitarydiet.com/military-diet-plan/ Where you basically eat on 3 days of the week only 1500 calories with 3 small meals per day. And then have 4 normal days.

To be honest my toe nails curl in their beddings when i read this.

- Dinner day 2... i'd rather exchange that "1 cup" (!!) of icecream for an orderly meal in the evening lol.

- Dinner day 3, a can of thuna a banana, and a cup of icecream ? really? are they serious? lol not only would i feel like vomitting when eating this combination, but this is the third time they ask you to eat a high sugary product in all of your "diet" days ?

On top of that hot dogs..

But fun aside, it claims it is a combination of low calorie, chemically compatible foods designed to work together and jump start your weight loss. And because the diet is 3 days on and 4 days off, the Military Diet doesn’t slow down your metabolism like other diets.

Okay so far makes sense, and of course in general the whole caloric intake of a week makes an impact on your bodyweight. So if you eat 3 days low calories, you will loose some pounds.. BUT..

yes here comes the "but" it leaves you 4 days back to regular habbits. And if you feel starved from the 3 days you might eat more the other days. even if you maybe do not notice it.
(unless you count your calories exactly - but those diets are rather made for people who don't want to do math. Someone who has their caloric intake exactly mapped out, mostly doesn't need any special diet setups like this :))

The meals are too small, and i would feel starved. Plus these are not even real meals. its like single products you eat.

And i think this is also a bit wrong with the assumption that if you get your body into "emergency" state "only" at 3 days a week - your metabolism wouldn't slow down. It will always slow down, even if on a slower rate, to adjust to those 'emergency' days. Your body is made to adapt. Or it will simply learn to pull more energy from the the food on the other 4 days and you won't see much difference in weight once it adjusted. All crash / drastic diets are bad, due to these facts.

And all "short term" diets have a relapse rate. As people will go back to eating normally after being done with it. And science has tought us that you need to eat 5 days according to a new weight- for every pound you lost - in order to set your new bodyweight store point. So if you loose 5 pounds, you'd need to eat 25 further days the exact caloric intake of that 'new' bodyweight to actually store it. If you start eating normal again your body will just bounce back to its old weight.

I don't know, but i believe eating 7 days a week in a "slight" ´defficit, is still the best option all together. your body can adjust, you will not have the negative bouncing back effect of any crash diet. And eating on 3 days in such a drastic calorie minus, with quite questionable food items, doesn't seem to be the way to go.

PS: it also doesn't really have anything to do with Intermitted Fasting. As IF is completely just about eating all your regular calories within a certain time window per day.

I couldn't agree more @crood!

@rayyan454 could you give us some more insight as to why you are looking at this diet? What is your goal and what do you seem to need help with?

Um i am not in diet i just keep healthy options around i just was wondering why the solidiers are so mascular?!

As a nutritional science major, I believe that there are better options than intermittent fasting. A consistent calorie deficit when dieting down is best. Then gradually increasing the deficit over time.

Personally, I know a lot of people in the military who are on or have taken steroids. It comes with the do or die lifestyle. Obviously, as a natural athlete, I do not recommend them.

Thanks!

-Eric

Eric,

As someone who has been doing daily intermittent fasting for almost a year now (and also with a solid understanding of human physiology, anatomy, and nutrition), I can say it has been the only thing that has helped me get very lean for my age while maintaing the muscle mass I have. I agree it may not be for everyone and it takes some time re-training the brain to recognize true physical hunger versus "mental" hunger. However, the science behind it is sound and it is the only eating protocol I know of that effectively manipulates insulin and growth hormone in line with how your body operates and uses these hormones metabolically. Just sayin' not hatin' :-)

John

No Worries!

Whatever works for the individual! As long as you are getting the appropriate amount of calories and macronutrient profile, it works!

well that article you read doesnt mean those soldier were on that exact diet!

Hey Guys,

The Military diet is actually not affiliated with the U.S. Military at all. Here is an article on the 3-Day Military Diet that explains the origin and the diet in great detail with the meal plan.

I think the entire idea behind the "military diet" is to have easily available options that don't require much assembly/preparation. hotdogs, ice cream, canned tuna, etc. All products that you can buy and just eat without prep. The whole idea is to make it "simple" to go on a diet. It's sometimes a hassle to cook or prepare food (especially chicken/meats).

I don't doubt that it works because it does decrease the average intake you're getting. However, I think a simple flexible diet with actual macro counting works just as well (maybe with some more effort like counting your calories and prep as opposed to readily available products). Plus, I know I couldn't work out as well (during strength building phases) when in such a high calorie deficit, but I'm also used to ~3000 - 3500 cals/day so there's that.