The liquid diet is the current craze for people who want to have quicker weight loss. It is an extreme diet that is not generally recommended unless your doctor has advised you to. It can help flush toxins out of your body and boost metabolism. Interested to know more about this diet? Scroll down to understand its detailed benefits, side effects and a 7 day liquid diet menu.
What is a Liquid Diet?
This diet is also known as a clear liquid diet and contains food options that are liquid at room temperature. This diet is prescribed to those who wish to lose weight or those with digestive problems. You can replace all your meals with liquid foods, or you may take this diet only for 1 or 2 meals. This diet includes fruit and vegetable juice, smoothies, clear soups, etc. But how effective is it for weight loss?
Liquid Diet Foods
There are many liquid diet options for foods that you can include in the juiced form. Some of these are:
- Juice of fruits and vegetables
- Water
- Ice cream
- Flavoured water
- Broth
- Soup
- Sorbet
- Herbs
- Tea/coffee
- Popsicles
- Scrambled eggs
Liquid Diet Benefits for Weight Loss
It is one of the go-to options for many dieters to improve their metabolism and detoxify the body. There are many liquid diet weight loss benefits, as discussed below:
Reduces Calorie Intake
Since this clear liquid diet is mainly water-based, it does not carry many calories. As a matter of fact, the clear liquid foods used in this diet mostly have calories ranging from 1,350 to 1,500 calories per day but may vary as per personalised requirements. This explains how this diet may help restrict calorie intake and make your body utilise the glycogen stored in the body, thus promoting weight loss.
Detoxifies the Body
The clear broths, juices, and smoothies used in this diet are loaded with minerals and vitamins that have an antioxidant effect that helps balance the oxidative stress in the cells. These juices also cleanse the body, eliminate toxins, and support healthy weight loss.
Easy to Digest
Liquid meal replacements are often prescribed to those with digestive problems such as IBS (Irritable Bowel Movement). A liquid-based diet does not trigger digestive issues and can allow the gastrointestinal tract to heal. Moreover, it improves digestion and absorption of nutrients and eases excretion. This diet can also help fix slow metabolism and promote weight loss.
Provides Nutrition
A liquid-based diet is rich in nutrients that are important for balancing hormonal health. A healthy balance of leptin and ghrelin hormones prevents a lack of appetite or overeating. Thus, a short-term clear diet may improve your body’s metabolic processes and aid in weight loss.
Liquid Diet Plan for Weight Loss
With all the liquid diet weight loss benefits mentioned in the previous section, it is clear that this diet can effectively help people shed weight. Let’s see some liquid diet ideas for meals to facilitate weight loss:
| Timing | Meal |
| Early Morning (6:00 a.m.) | 1 cup water with the juice lemon juice |
| Breakfast (7:00 a.m.) | Blueberry, oatmeal, dates, 2 almonds, and milk smoothie/meal replacement low-calorie shake |
| Mid-Morning Snack (10:00 a.m.) | 1 glass egg nog + 1 cup green tea |
| Lunch (12:30 p.m.) | Mushroom or lentil soup + 1 glass of vegetable juice (with pulp) |
| Evening (3:30 p.m.) | Buttermilk with nut powder |
| Dinner (7:00 p.m.) | Vegetable broth with grilled fish/chicken/meal replacement low-calorie shake |
Possible Side Effects of Taking a Liquid Diet
Although this diet contains a lot of nutrients, it is still devoid of fibres and carbs, making it not so fulfilling from a daily nutrition point of view. This is why it should only be continued for a short period of time. Some side effects of a long-term liquid-based diet are:
- It can cause weakness.
- May lead to severe hunger pangs.
- May lead to muscle loss and weak bones.
- It may make you prone to disease, cold and cough.
- It may cause nausea.
Due to these side effects, it is best to follow this 7 day liquid diet menu under the guidance of a certified nutritionist.
Conclusion
A liquid diet is made of water-based foods, such as juices, broth, soups, water, etc. This diet is considered to be the best for weight loss as it lowers control calorie intake, improves metabolism, and helps with detoxification. While it can have various benefits in the short term, consuming it for a long time can lead to weakness and deficiency. So, consume it in moderation only after a doctor’s advice.
