Nutrition

 

Lactose. Lactose is a sugar found in milk. People with lactose sensitivity or intolerance may need to limit or avoid milk products.

Gluten. Gluten is a protein found in cereal grains like wheat, oats, rye, and barley. People with gluten intolerance or celiac disease may need to avoid all gluten-containing products, as well as foods processed in facilities that handle gluten.

Food allergies

Unlike intolerances and sensitivities, a food allergy is an immune reaction and may be life threatening. More than 160 foods have been known to cause allergenic reactions. Of those, here are some of the major allergens (73Trusted Source):

milk

tree nuts

eggs

peanuts

fish

wheat

shellfish

soybeans

Someone who is allergic to any of these foods can still follow the military diet plan if they carefully swap foods.

Health conditions and medicinal interactions

Managing a medical condition sometimes involves following a certain diet. For example, people with diabetes may be advised to limit their carb intake, while those with heart disease may need to limit foods high in sodium or cholesterol.

Certain medications may also negatively react with foods. For instance, grapefruit — which the military diet prescribes — is known to interact with numerous drugs, such as cholesterol-lowering, anti-anxiety, and blood pressure medications (74Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

There are a number of reasons you may be looking to swap certain items out on the military diet, including food aversion, allergies, complementary diets, or restrictions related to health conditions.

The bottom line

For all its easy instructions and simple menu planning, the military diet is an unbalanced eating pattern that encourages a regular intake of ice cream, saltine crackers, canned tuna, and toast. It’s also particularly low in fruits and vegetables and high in processed foods.

While certain substitutes, such as lean meat or tofu for tuna, rice cakes for saltines, and yogurt for ice cream, may be equal in terms of calories and even slightly more nutritious, this isn’t true for every swap.

In fact, some of the swaps that this fad diet recommends have no nutritional value. For instance, baking soda mixed with water isn’t a viable swap for grapefruit.

Given that the military diet’s approved food substitutes aren’t in line with nutritional science, you’re better off following an eating pattern that’s rich in nutrient-dense, whole foods.

Just one thing

Try this today: If you need to look for swaps for foods on the military diet, you’re better off simply switching diets. Look no further than these healthy eating patterns if you need the structure and accountability of a planned diet.

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Last medically reviewed on July 27, 2021

NUTRITION

The Military Diet: A Beginner’s Guide (With a Meal Plan)

Written by Joe Leech, MS on June 17, 2017

The military diet is currently one of the world’s most popular “diets.” It is claimed to help you lose weight quickly, up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a single week.

The military diet is also free. There is no book, expensive food or supplement you need to buy.

But does this diet actually work, and is it something you should try? This article explains everything you need to know about the military diet.

What Is the Military Diet?

The military diet, also called the 3-day diet, is a weight loss diet that can help you lose up to 10 pounds in a week.

The military diet plan involves a 3-day meal plan followed by 4 days off, and the weekly cycle is repeated again and again until you reach your goal weight.

Proponents of the diet claim that it was designed by nutritionists in the US military in order to get soldiers into top shape quickly.

However, the truth is that the diet isn’t affiliated with any military or governmental institution.

The military diet goes by several other names as well, including the navy diet, the army diet and even the ice cream diet.

BOTTOM LINE:

The military diet is a low-calorie weight loss diet that is claimed to promote significant weight loss in just one week.

How Does the Military Diet Work?

The 3-day military diet is actually split into 2 phases over a 7-day period.

For the first 3 days, you must follow a set low-calorie meal plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are no snacks between meals.

Total calorie intake during this phase is roughly 1,100–1,400 calories per day.

This is much lower than the average adult’s intake, but you can check your own calorie requirements using this calculator.

For the remaining 4 days of the week, you are encouraged to eat healthy and continue to keep your calorie intake low.

Proponents of the diet claim that you can repeat the diet several times until you reach your goal weight.

BOTTOM LINE:

The first 3 days of the military diet have a set meal plan and involve calorie restriction. The remaining 4 days have fewer restrictions.

The Meal Plan

This is the 3-day meal plan on the military diet.

Day 1

This is the meal plan for day 1. It amounts to around 1,400 calories.

Breakfast:

A slice of toast with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.

Half a grapefruit.

A cup of coffee or tea (optional).

Lunch:

A slice of toast.

Half a cup of tuna.

A cup of coffee or tea (optional).

Dinner:

A 3-oz (85 grams) serving of meat with a cup of green beans.

A small apple.

Half a banana.

One cup vanilla ice cream.

Day 2

These are the meals for day 2, amounting to around 1,200 calories.

Breakfast:

A slice of toast.

One hard-boiled egg.

Half a banana.

A cup of coffee or tea (optional).

Lunch:

One hard-boiled egg.

A cup of cottage cheese.

5 saltine crackers.

A cup of coffee or tea (optional).

Dinner:

Two hot dogs, with no bun.

Half a cup of carrots and half a cup of broccoli.

Half a banana.

Half a cup of vanilla ice cream.

Day 3

Here is the plan for day 3, which amounts to around 1,100 calories.

Breakfast:

A 1-ounce slice of cheddar cheese.

5 saltine crackers.

A small apple.

A cup of coffee or tea (optional).

Lunch:

A slice of toast.

One egg, cooked however you like.

A cup of coffee or tea (optional).

Dinner:

A cup of tuna.

Half a banana.

1 cup of vanilla ice cream.

Feel free to drink as much coffee or tea as you want, as long as you don’t add any calories from sugar or cream. Drink plenty of water too.

The Remaining 4 Days

The remainder of the week also involves dieting.

Snacks are permitted and there are no food group restrictions. However, you are encouraged to limit portion sizes and keep total calorie intake under 1,500 per day.

You can find a list of websites and apps to track your calorie intake in this article.

There are no other rules for the remaining 4 days of the diet.

BOTTOM LINE:

The first 3 days of the diet have a set menu, while the other 4 are less restricted. You are still encouraged to eat healthy and restrict calories for the remaining 4 days.

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Additional Foods Permitted

Substitutions are allowed during the 3-day phase for those with dietary restrictions, but portions should contain the same number of calories.

For example, if you have a peanut allergy, you can swap peanut butter for almond butter.

You can also swap 1 cup of tuna for some almonds if you are vegetarian.

All that matters is that the calories remain the same. If you change the meal plan in any way, you need to be counting calories.

Proponents of the military diet encourage drinking hot lemon water, but recommend against artificially sweetened beverages. However, there is no scientific reason why this would be a good idea.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you have dietary restrictions, then you are allowed to substitute foods of equal calories.

Is the Military Diet Based on Evidence?

There have been no studies on the military diet. However, the average person is very likely to lose a few pounds due to the week-long calorie restriction.

If fewer calories enter your fat tissue than leave it, you lose fat. Period.

However, proponents of the diet claim that it has a certain weight loss advantage due to the “food combinations” in the meal plan. These combinations are said to increase your metabolism and burn fat, but there is no truth behind these claims.

Coffee and green tea do contain compounds that can slightly increase metabolism, but there are no known combinations of food able to do this (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).

And, if you look at the overall foods included in the meal plan, it simply doesn’t seem like a fat-burning diet.

Foods high in protein boost metabolism more than other foods (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source). But most of the meals in the military diet are low in protein and high in carbs, which is a bad combination for weight loss.

Some people also claim this diet has similar health benefits to intermittent fasting. However, there is no fasting involved in the diet, so this is false.

BOTTOM LINE:

The military diet can help you lose weight because it is very low in calories. However, it has no special advantage that makes it more effective than other calorie-restricted diets.

Is the Military Diet Safe and Sustainable?

The military diet is likely safe for the average person because it’s too short to do lasting harm.

However, if you were to follow this diet for months at a time, the strict limit on calories could put you at risk of nutrient deficiencies.

This is especially true if you do not regularly eat vegetables and other quality foods on your days off.

Additionally, eating hot dogs, crackers and ice cream every week has the potential to cause metabolic issues. Junk food should not be a regular part of your diet.

In terms of sustainability, this diet is fairly easy to do. It doesn’t rely on long-term habit changes and only requires willpower for a short amount of time.

That being said, it probably won’t help you keep the weight off for very long because it doesn’t help you change your habits.

BOTTOM LINE:

The military diet is likely safe for healthy people, but it shouldn’t be done for extended periods of time. It probably does not lead to lasting weight loss.

Can You Really Lose 10 Pounds In a Week?

This diet became popular because it claims you can lose 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a week.

Theoretically, this rate of weight loss is possible for overweight people who severely restrict calories. However, most of the weight loss will be due to loss of water, not fat.

Water weight drops rapidly as the body’s glycogen stores decline, which happens when you restrict carbs and calories (7Trusted Source).

This looks good on the scales, but that weight will be regained when you begin eating normally again.

BOTTOM LINE:

It is possible to lose 10 pounds in a week. However, most of this will be water weight, which is regained when you start eating normally.

It Can Work, But Not For Long

If you want to lose a few pounds quickly, then the military diet can help.

But you are likely to regain the weight back very fast too. This is simply not a good diet for lasting weight loss.

If you’re serious about losing weight and keeping it off, then there are many weight loss methods that are much better than the military diet.