We’ve seen numerous fad diets that concentrate on consuming one particular meals — the cookie weight-reduction plan, the cabbage soup weight-reduction plan, the grapefruit weight-reduction plan. All of them declare that will help you lose a major quantity of weight in a short time, and the cucumber weight-reduction plan is not any totally different.
The cucumber weight-reduction plan is a quick-fix weight-loss weight-reduction plan that’s mentioned to assist folks shed kilos shortly by consuming — you guessed it — a complete lot of cucumbers. However does it work?
Listed here are the foundations, the advantages, and the downsides of the cucumber weight-reduction plan.
What Is the Cucumber Weight-reduction plan?
Cucumbers are naturally low in energy — a complete cucumber has simply 45 energy — so it’s no shock they’d find yourself on the heart of a fad weight-reduction plan.
Whereas there are totally different variations of the cucumber weight-reduction plan, there’s one frequent thread: You eat loads of cucumbers. We’re speaking cucumber shakes, salads, sticks, and slices.
What Are the Guidelines of the Cucumber Weight-reduction plan?
The particular guidelines of the cucumber weight-reduction plan can differ relying on which supply you reference. Whereas there’s a e book aptly titled The Cucumber Weight-reduction plan: The Energy of Aware Consuming, you’ll find a number of variations of the weight-reduction plan on-line.
The principle guideline of the weight-reduction plan is that this: Eat cucumbers if you’re hungry, together with a handful of different “permitted” meals. As a result of cucumbers are so low in energy, the thought is that you just’ll seemingly create a calorie deficit by noshing on principally cucumbers.
What Meals Can You Eat on the Cucumber Weight-reduction plan?
Evidently, you’ll be able to eat cucumbers. Most diets haven’t any limitation on the way you eat them and the way a lot you devour, though some stricter variations of the weight-reduction plan do restrict the quantity of cucumber you’ll be able to have.
Just a few different meals are sometimes included, together with:
- lean proteins like fish, hen, and eggs
- Greek yogurt
- cottage cheese
- olive oil
- brown rice
- low-calorie greens like spinach, celery, and tomatoes
There’s additionally one 10- to 14-day protocol that entails consuming as a lot cucumber salad as you need, together with:
- two boiled eggs or 150 grams of tuna with out oil or 150 grams of hen breast
- two massive boiled potatoes or three slices of whole-grain bread
- 500 grams of natural fruit
What Meals Can’t You Eat on the Cucumber Weight-reduction plan?
One advantage of the cucumber weight-reduction plan: Other than whole-grain bread, which is permitted on some variations of the weight-reduction plan, the weight-reduction plan cuts out most processed meals together with chips, baked items, and sweetened drinks.
However in case you had been to observe the protocol talked about above, you’d additionally omit loads of wholesome fare — like fruits and any non-approved veggies.
Can I Lose Weight With the Cucumber Weight-reduction plan?
Sure, however it should most probably be momentary.
You may reduce weight on any model of the cucumber weight-reduction plan, as a result of there merely aren’t that many non-cucumber meals you’re allowed to eat — and which means you’ll seemingly slash your each day calorie consumption.
By filling up on principally cucumber at each meal, which has a excessive water content material, it might be powerful to eat sufficient of the opposite permitted meals.
“You’re placing a lot bulk into your digestive system that you just’re not going to have loads of room for anything,” says Andrea N. Giancoli, MPH, RD.
However the cucumber weight-reduction plan isn’t designed to be adopted for greater than two weeks — so it’s not a sustainable weight-reduction plan for long-term weight reduction. Any weight you lose on the cucumber weight-reduction plan will seemingly be gained again when you return to consuming usually.
And there are many different, more healthy methods to eat cleaner with out reducing out so many meals teams.
The Downsides of the Cucumber Weight-reduction plan
You don’t want us to let you know that cucumbers are low in energy and may be part of a wholesome, balanced weight-reduction plan.
“There’s no hurt in consuming cucumbers with each meal, so long as it’s a average quantity,” Giancoli says.
However there are a couple of downsides to creating cucumbers your main meals supply. Right here’s why you need to suppose twice earlier than following the cucumber weight-reduction plan:
1. It’s low in vitamins.
If you happen to eat principally cucumbers, you’ll miss out on loads of essential micro and macronutrients. In comparison with different fruit and veggies, Giancoli says, “Cucumbers aren’t precisely swimming in nutritional vitamins and minerals.”
2. You gained’t get the variability you want.
Consuming a wide range of meals helps make sure you’re getting all of the vitamins you want.
“We’re speculated to be consuming all kinds of meals — a range that offers us a stability of macronutrients, fiber, nutritional vitamins, and minerals and all types of different issues that our our bodies want,” Giancoli says.
3. It might gradual your metabolism.
Extreme calorie restriction can really get in the way in which of your weight-loss objectives.
On the cucumber weight-reduction plan, Giancoli says, “It’s going to be very arduous to achieve your calorie wants — and when you go beneath your basal metabolic charge with energy, you’re not giving your physique the energy it wants simply to remain alive at relaxation.”
Which means your metabolism will seemingly decelerate to preserve power.
What’s extra, you most likely gained’t have the power to hit the health club, and understanding commonly goes hand in hand with wholesome weight reduction you’ll be able to keep.
4. You’ll seemingly achieve the burden again.
As is the case with loads of different very low-calorie fad diets, you’re most likely going to place any misplaced weight proper again on.
With extended calorie restriction, the human physique can go into hunger mode: “Your physique’s like, ‘You’re not giving me what I would like; I have to do one thing about that and use much less power and burn fewer energy,’” Giancoli says.
When you go off a restrictive weight-reduction plan, analysis exhibits that physique weight sometimes returns to and even exceeds what it was initially.
The Ultimate Verdict
So does the cucumber weight-reduction plan work? Within the quick time period, perhaps — however it’s not the healthiest strategy to weight reduction, and it’s undoubtedly not sensible or sustainable.
However you’ll be able to nonetheless get pleasure from cucumbers as a part of your wholesome consuming plan — like in a crudités platter or a Greek salad.
