A Beginner's Guide to the Military Diet and Sample Menus
[Article updated: May 2020]
The military diet is currently one of the most popular weight loss diets in the world. It is believed to help you lose up to 4.5kg in a single week.
This diet is also free. In other words, there are no costs to plan, no books, no expensive food or extras to buy.
What is military rule?
The military diet, also called the 3-day diet, is a diet that promises weight loss that can reach 4.5 pounds in a week.
It's a diet plan that helps you lose weight fast.
Her diet plan involves set meals for the 3 days followed by 4 days off.
This weekly cycle can be repeated as many times as needed until you reach your target weight.
Proponents of this diet claim it was designed by US Army nutritionists to get soldiers into top shape quickly.
However, the truth is that the military regime is not affiliated with any institution, neither military nor government.
The military diet is known by several other names, such as the Marine Diet, the Army Diet, and even the Ice Cream Diet.
How does the military regime work?
The military regime is divided into two phases which extend over a period of seven days.
The first phase lasts for 3 days. During this phase, you should follow a low calorie meal plan for the 3 main meals of the day. No snacks between meals are allowed.
The total daily calorie intake during this phase should be between 1,100 and 1,400 calories.
This very low caloric intake compared to that normally recommended for an average adult, explains the weight loss caused by this diet.
During the 2nd phase of the military diet and which covers the remaining 4 days of the week, you are encouraged to eat healthy, but you should continue to keep your calorie intake low.
Proponents of the diet claim that you could repeat the diet several times until you achieve your desired weight loss.
The Military Diet Meal Plan
Here is the meal plan for the first 3 days of the military diet.
1st day of military rule
It consists of:
- 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 serving of 85 grams of meat with a cup of green beans;
- A small apple;
- Half a banana;
- A cup of vanilla ice cream.
2nd day of the military regime
Meals on Day 2 are around 1,200 calories and include:
- Breakfast
- A slice of toast;
- A hard-boiled egg;
- Half a banana;
- A cup of coffee or tea (optional).
- A hard-boiled egg;
- A cup of cottage cheese;
- 5 salted crackers;
- A cup of coffee or tea (optional).
- Dinner
- Two hot dogs, no bun;
- Half a cup of carrots and half a cup of broccoli;
- Half a banana;
- Half a cup of vanilla ice cream.
3rd day of the military regime
- Breakfast
- A 25-30g slice of cheddar cheese;
- 5 salted crackers;
- A small apple;
- A cup of coffee or tea (optional).
- Lunch
- A slice of toast;
- One egg, cooked as desired;
- A cup of coffee or tea (optional).
- Dinner
- A cup of tuna;
- Half a banana;
- 1 cup of vanilla ice cream.
During these 3 days, you are free to drink as much coffee or tea as you wish, as long as you respect the imposed calorie limit.
It is also recommended to drink plenty of water.
The 4 remaining days of the military regime
The rest of the week also involves a diet, but light as snacks are allowed and there are no food group restrictions.
However, you should limit portion sizes and keep your total calorie intake below 1,500 per day.
These are the only rules to follow during the remaining 4 days of the diet.
Additional foods allowed
Substitutions are allowed during the first phase for people with dietary restrictions, but portions should always 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 the cup of tuna for almonds if you're a vegetarian.
The golden rule is to always keep the same number of calories.
In other words, if you change the meal plan in any way, you should always count calories.
It is also recommended to consume hot lemon water and avoid artificially sweetened drinks.
However, there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of this practice.
Is the military regime based on evidence?
The military regime has not been the subject of dedicated scientific studies.
However, it is clear that any normal person will be able to lose a few pounds due to the calorie restriction imposed by this diet.
A restricted calorie intake leads to weight loss.
On the other hand, proponents of the diet claim that the food combinations in the meal plan have a real weight loss benefit.
They claim that these combinations increase metabolism and burn fat.
Again, there is no scientific evidence to support these claims.
Both coffee and green tea are known to contain compounds that can slightly increase metabolism, but there is no known food combination that can do this [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ].
And generally speaking, the foods included in the meal plan just don't seem to match those found in a fat burning diet.
It is true that high protein foods stimulate the metabolism more compared to other food groups [ 5 , 6 ].
But most of the meals in the military diet are low in protein and high in carbohydrates, which is a bad combination for weight loss.
Some people also claim that this diet has similar health benefits to intermittent fasting.
However, there is no fasting in the military regime!
Is the military diet safe and sustainable?
Military diet is probably safe for a normal person in large part because it has a very short duration (1 week), which is unlikely to cause lasting damage.
However, if you followed this diet for months, the hard limit on calories could increase your risk of nutrient deficiencies.
This is especially true if on off days you do not regularly eat vegetables and other nutritious foods.
Plus, eating hot dogs, crackers, and ice cream every week could cause metabolic issues.
Junk food shouldn't be part of your diet.
In terms of durability, this diet is quite easy to follow. It does not involve major long-term habit changes and only requires willpower for a short period of time.
That said, it is unlikely to help you maintain a healthy weight for the long term since no change in - bad - habits is required.
Can you really lose 4.5kg 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 water loss, not fat loss.
When you limit carbohydrates and calories, glycogen stores decrease, therefore the weight of water in the body decreases rapidly [ 7 ].
The weight loss result looks good once on the scale, but that weight will be regained when you go back to eating normally.
This diet may work in the short term, but not in the long term. If you want to lose a few pounds quickly, then the military diet can help.
But keep in mind that you are likely to regain the weight you lost very quickly too. It's just not a good diet for lasting weight loss.
If you are serious about losing weight and keeping it off, then there are a lot of weight loss methods that are much better than military diet.