Petal diet for weight loss

The problem of excess weight has long worried the minds of a huge number of people around the world. In some countries it has received national status, and therefore it is not at all surprising that today there is an impressive selection of slimming diets for every taste. Finding the perfect one for you is not an easy task. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with such a method of achieving harmony as the petal diet - perhaps this method of getting rid of the hated kilograms will be the most effective in your case.

History and features of the weight loss system

The method discussed in our article is the brainchild of Swedish nutritionist Anna Johansson. It is also known by other names: "flower diet", "chamomile diet", "6 (7) petal diet". Such an original name of the author's nutritional system, aimed at burning fat deposits, is due to the fact that Anna presented its development in the form of a flower with seven petals. The number of the latter is equal to the number of days for which the unusual diet is planned. However, often people using this weight loss technique in practice neglect to observe the seventh dietary day.

The essence of the "6 petals" diet is that you can eat only a certain product every day. In this regard, each petal of an improvised flower – which by the way, for convenience, would be good to draw on a sheet of paper – should contain the name or image of the type of food indicated for consumption on a particular day. It is very important to respect the order in which you consume the snacks allowed by the diet:

• on the first day you should satisfy your hunger exclusively with fish (which one depends on you);
• on the second day you can eat only vegetables;
• on the third day you can not eat anything but chicken fillet;
• on the fourth day prescribes eating only cereal porridge;
• fifth day diet food: natural cottage cheese;
• the sixth day is dedicated to the consumption of a variety of fruits;
• on the seventh day you can only drink water (that's why many people ignore it).

Anna Johansson did not specify the amount allowed for consumption of each of the above products. This defect has been corrected by other nutritionists: they recommend consuming no more than 500 g of chicken meat, fish and cottage cheese per day; up to 1. 5 kg of vegetables and ripe fruit, maximum 300 g of cereals.

Rules of the Swedish method for losing weight

1. The products included in the petal diet should not be mixed with each other. If this principle is violated, the process of reducing body weight will not be complete and, therefore, it will be difficult to achieve decent results.
2. You need to eat 4-5 times a day. It is recommended to maintain equal time intervals between meals.
3. Food must be chewed very thoroughly.
4. From one product it is possible to prepare a variety of culinary dishes.
5. Preferred cooking methods are boiling, stewing, baking, steaming and grilling. It is strictly forbidden to eat fried foods.
6. Sweets and foods containing them should be completely excluded from the diet.
7. The petal diet allows you to replace chicken fillet with turkey or quail meat. In any case it is necessary to remove the skin from the carcass.
8. When choosing a product for a fish day, preference should be given to pink salmon, salmon, hake, cod, pike perch, trout and pike. It is allowed to diversify the fish menu with seafood (squid, shrimp, mussels) and seaweed, but their share in the diet of the first dietary day should be minimal.
9. A cereal day will be ideal if you eat buckwheat, brown rice, corn and wheat porridge, as well as oatmeal. Side dishes of white rice and semolina are strictly prohibited. In addition to cereal dishes, you can enjoy various flour products (not rich), but without fanaticism.
10. Low-fat and lean cottage cheese is ideal for the petal diet. This dish can be complemented with a glass of natural sugar-free yogurt with fruit and berry additives and 1% kefir. All other fermented milk products cannot be included in the diet with this slimming method.
11. For vegetables it is best to eat various types of cabbage, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and various greens. The inclusion of dishes from corn, legumes, potatoes and eggplants in the daily diet of vegetables of the "6 petals" diet should be abandoned. Plant foods can be eaten raw, baked, boiled, steamed, slow cooked or stewed. It is not forbidden to prepare vegetable soups, it is also welcome to drink freshly squeezed vegetable juices.
12. It is allowed to taste absolutely any fruit, with the exception of those that are particularly rich in carbohydrates, namely bananas, mangoes, melons, figs and grapes.
13. If the menu of any day of the petal diet seems too monotonous to you, add some stewed mushrooms, a couple of soft-boiled chicken eggs (as an option - an omelette).
14. It is allowed to water food with herbal decoctions, flowers and green tea and rosehip infusion. It is out of the question to drink carbonated drinks (especially sweets), alcohol, coffee and even ordinary black tea.
15. During the entire diet, be sure to drink plenty of clean table water or mineral water, free of gas. The optimal volume of liquid taken by a person losing weight during the day is 1. 5-2 liters.
16. The maximum life of the power system is seven days.
17. Repeated use of the services of a weight loss method should occur no earlier than one month after completing the Swedish weight loss system.

Warning: do not under any circumstances practice the "6 petals" diet immediately after suffering an illness, because it places a great burden on a weakened organism.

Petal diet: pros and cons

The benefits of the Swedish method for weight loss include:

• high performance: allows you to lose weight in a short time;
• ease and speed of cooking;
• availability of food products prescribed by the petal diet;
• lack of hunger;
• sufficient amount of protein and fiber in the diet;
• high-quality cleansing of the body from waste and toxins;
• eliminate constipation;
• normalization of the digestive process;
• there is no need to count calories consumed daily and eat according to a strict schedule;
• variety of diet, if we consider it in general - in connection with this, each product prescribed by the diet does not have time to become boring for the person losing weight;
• low-calorie diet on carbohydrate days (vegetables, fruit and cereals).

The main advantage of the "6 petals" diet is the absence of harm to health with reasonable and correct practice of the nutritional system.

We cannot ignore the disadvantages of a weight loss program. This:

• the need for an additional intake of multivitamins;
• the occurrence of general weakness, constant fatigue and, as a consequence, a decrease in performance due to the low energy value of products included in cereal, fruit and vegetable diets;
• rapid return of lost kilograms in case of non-compliance with the petal diet;
• rather impressive cost of the share of products prescribed by the method;
• numerous contraindications (diabetes mellitus, kidney and liver diseases, gastric and duodenal ulcers, cardiovascular diseases, hormonal imbalances, pregnancy and breastfeeding in women; children, adolescents and the elderly).

Example of menu for the "6 petals" diet.

Fish day petal diet

Option one:

• Morning meal: 200 g of steamed salmon.
• Second breakfast: a glass of unsweetened green tea.
• In the middle of the day, eat a cup of fish broth.
• Dine with 2-3 pieces of boiled salmon.

Option two:

• For breakfast eat a little boiled pollock (about 150 g).
• As part of lunch they consume a cup of berry broth, prepared without added sugar.
• They have lunch with 200 ml of fish soup based on hake fillet.
• Dinner consists of 250 g of pink salmon, cooked in the oven.

Ideally, the portion size should be such that the total amount of fish consumed per day does not exceed 500 g.

Vegetable day of the "6 petals" diet.

Option one:

• Breakfast consists of a carrot and cabbage salad (fresh vegetables are used) sprinkled with lemon juice.
• Boiled green beans are used as a snack.
• For lunch you eat boiled vegetables, namely grated carrots and cauliflower (about 330 g).
• In the evening they eat a salad, the ingredients of which are rocket leaves, fresh tomato and sweet pepper.

Option two:

• Morning meal: chopped vegetables (200 g) and an unlimited amount of chopped vegetables.
• Second breakfast: boiled grated beets with a couple of chopped garlic cloves.
• Lunch is a portion of broccoli soup.
• For an afternoon snack, eat 1 fresh cucumber.
• The last meal is zucchini stewed in vegetable oil with carrots and onions.

Chicken petal day diet

Option one:

• In the morning, eat boiled chicken breast (150 g), the bland flavor of which can be improved by using your favorite spices.
• After a couple of hours you feast on baked chicken (no more than 100 g).
• Lunch is a cup of chicken broth with chopped herbs.
• In the evening, eat grilled skinless chicken fillet (200 g).

Option two:

• In the morning they gain strength by eating two chicken cutlets.
• As part of your lunch, drink a cup of green or herbal tea.
• For lunch they eat soup cooked in chicken broth with pieces of chicken meat, but without vegetables.
• At the end of the day they enjoy baked chicken.

Cereal day of the "6 petals" diet.

• Breakfast: oatmeal, boiled in water (150 g).
• Second breakfast: brown rice cooked in a slow cooker (same amount).
• After 2 hours, satisfy your hunger with steamed buckwheat with boiling water (no more than 200 g).
• For afternoon tea, drink a glass of rosehip infusion.
• Dinner consists of a portion of quinoa boiled with dried herbs.

Petal diet: curd day

We offer two menu options to choose from:

First option

• Have breakfast with baked cheesecake (150 g). It is better to eat them without sour cream.
• As part of your second breakfast, enjoy the taste of Greek yogurt without additives (½ cup).
• The next meal is low-fat cottage cheese (200 g) and a glass of 1% kefir.
• During dinner, drink 250 ml of fermented cooked milk.

Second option

• In the morning eat low-fat ricotta (150 g) with a pinch of ground cinnamon.
• At lunch they also drink low-fat milk (a glass is enough).
• At lunch you enjoy various soft cheeses without fillings and chocolate icing.
• The evening meal consists of a mixture of natural cottage cheese and unsweetened yogurt.

The day of the fruit of the "6 petals" diet.

It is worth noting that in addition to ripe fruits, it also involves the use of berries that do not have a particularly sweet taste.

There are also two sample menu options:

First option

• Morning: pear salad with strawberries and 1 tsp. Honey
• During your second breakfast, eat 1 large green apple.
• Lunch consists of a portion of apple and peach salad and several kiwis.
• For an afternoon snack, eat 1 orange or drink 200 ml of fresh orange juice.
• In the evening, recharge your batteries by drinking a fruit and berry smoothie and a cup of herbal tea.

Second option

• At the beginning of the day you get rid of the feeling of hunger thanks to a puree of two grated apples and five apricots.
• Some tangerines serve as a snack.
• Lunch is a combination of two baked apples with cinnamon and fresh pineapple (200 g).
• At the end of the day they only allow themselves ½ grapefruit and a handful of plums.

The seventh day of the diet is followed by those who prefer the "7-petal" slimming system to the six-petal slimming method. During the day it is necessary to drink plenty of liquids, and any food is prohibited. To maintain optimal water balance in the body, you can absorb not only plain and mineral water, but also fruit juices and compote from dried berries and fruits without added sugar, fruit and berry infusions; green, herbal and hibiscus tea.

Petal diet: a smart solution

The more responsible the attitude towards this event, the greater the probability of stabilizing the result obtained through the weight loss technique. Here you should focus on several points:

• During the first two to three days after completing the nutritional system, the diet should include the foods prescribed by the diet.
• Then it is necessary to gradually dilute the menu with other products, adhering to the principle of introducing 1-2 new delicacies per day.
• The energy value of the food consumed must also be increased very slowly. In general, the daily calorie content of the menu should remain relatively low for a couple of weeks. At the end of this period, this figure must be increased to 1600-1800 kcal.
• Sweets, fatty and fried foods, smoked and spicy foods can be included 14 days after the end of the petal diet. However, they should be consumed occasionally and in small quantities, so this will not affect body weight in any way.
• They do moderate physical exercise every day, favoring gymnastics, aerobics, walking and swimming.

Petal diet: results and reviews

The author of the Petal slimming method guarantees that weight losers will lose 2. 5 to 5 kg of excess weight in 1 cycle (6 or 7 days). Thus, in 3-4 food cycles, practiced intermittently, you can effectively eliminate 8-12 kg of useless calories.

Those who have decided to personally try this nutritional system confirm the veracity of these statements. Most people like the fact that the petal diet is not strict, satisfying, gives quick results and does not require a lot of time to prepare dishes. But many do not like the monotony and imbalance of the diet, and even more so the side effect in the form of upset stools and the presence of a day of hunger (when choosing the "7 petals" variation).

Reviews from nutritionists about this weight loss program are also mixed. Some experts approve of such a short-term method of solving problems with excess weight, arguing that it simply does not have time to negatively affect a person's health. Others warn about the numerous contraindications of the petal diet and the possible negative consequences of the weight loss method for the body.

Taking all this into account, we recommend using this system only after consulting a doctor. This way you will avoid wasting time and health problems.