About the 7 Day Diet

The Seven Day Diet is a plan that features a different food group each day for a week. It has been said to help followers lose up to 10 pounds in a week, but truly is a short-term solution, as most people gain the weight back as soon as they quit the diet. That's because it is very low in calories -- and considered to be not nearly balanced enough.

Day 1

The first day of the Seven Day Diet consists of nothing but fruits. In other words, you can eat as many fruits and drink as many fruit juices as you like. There is no limit (although the "official" diet forbids bananas). While this will make you feel more energetic, you will be severely lacking protein on the first day.

Day 2

The second day of the Seven Day Diet follows the same principles as the first -- except you replace the fruits with vegetables. That means all the veggies your heart and stomach desires, including vegetable juice and vegetable soup.

Day 3

Take the first two days, combine them, and you have day three of the Seven Day Diet. This is perhaps the healthiest day of the plan -- as no one would argue about a menu that allows you to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible. If you decide to follow this plan, you can increase the nutritional value of the first three days by eating only fresh fruits and veggies and avoiding canned or frozen.

Day 4

The fourth day of the Seven Day Diet is the oddest of them all. The menu calls for eight bananas and four glasses of whole milk -- which is interesting, considering both bananas and milk were outlawed during the first three days. At any rate, this is the one day on the diet in which most followers feel terribly hungry, as eight bananas fall far short of the suggested daily caloric (at least 1,500 calories).

Days 5-7

The final three days of the Seven Day Diet consist of the same menu: Four 3-oz. pieces of meat (either lean beef, or broiled or baked chicken or fish) and unlimited green vegetables (broccoli, zucchini, celery, to name a few) each day. Like the third day, the final three days of the plan are relatively healthy. The key is to completely avoid fried or breaded meats, poultry or fish, and to not inundate your food with high-calorie condiments and dressing.

Seven Day Synopsis

For the most part, the Seven Day Diet does not adhere to the theory that the best way to maintain a healthy lifestyle is to eat four or five small, but balanced, meals throughout the day. Again, the end result is typically the return of lost weight shortly after the seven days end. That said, it can be a quick way to drop a few pounds without entirely starving yourself, and it does promote only healthy choices.