newsprompt.coLIQUID DIET PLAN
What Are Liquid Diets?
Like the name suggests, liquid diets mean you’re getting all, or at least most, of your calories from drinks.
Some liquid diets are limited to fruit or vegetable juices, or shakes, that replace all of your meals, taken three or four times a day. You do some of these diets on your own. Others need clinical supervision.
Other types of liquid diets replace just one or two meals (usually breakfast and lunch) with drinks, and then you eat a healthy dinner. You may also get snacks on some of these plans.
Do Liquid Diets Work?
Liquid diets can work, like any diet that gives you fewer calories than you use. These diets also can help by taking the guesswork out of portion control.
But the results may not last. When you drastically cut calories, your metabolism slows to save energy. Unless you change your eating habits, you’re likely to regain the weight you lost after you go off the liquid diet.
Some liquid diets work better over the long term than others. Diets that include both solid food and liquids can be an effective and convenient way for overweight people to control the number of calories they eat.
How Safe Are Liquid Diets?
Ideally, liquid diet drinks should give you a balance of nutrients you need throughout the day, but that isn’t always the case.
Very low-calorie diets (400-800 calories per day) in particular can be lacking in a balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals you need and should only be used under clinical supervision.
Missing out on essential nutrients can lead to side effects such as fatigue, dizziness, hair reduction, gallstones, and heart damage.
Also, if you don’t get enough fiber, because you’re not eating whole grains, fruits and vegetables, you can get constipated.
You also can lose muscle if you don’t get enough protein calories in your diet.
Are Liquid Diets Used for Clinical Purposes?
Physician sometimes recommend liquid diets before certain clinical procedures, or for people who are obese and need to get to a safer weight before having an operation, including weight reduction operation.
Those liquid diets are clinically supervised.
Liquid Diet Plan Basics and Rules
A full liquid diet involves eating or drinking things that are liquid at room temperature. For example, ice cream is included on the list of foods you can eat because if you left it sitting out on the counter, it would melt into a liquid.
What you can eat on the liquid diet
- Water
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Tea
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Juice
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Strained cream soups
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Soup broth
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Milkshakes (no solids)
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Pudding
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Jello
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Popsicles
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Butter
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Oil
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Margarine
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Cream
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Coffee (with cream, milk, sugar or honey)
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Liquid supplements such as Ensure
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Soda (ginger ale, etc)
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Honey, syrup and sugar
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Frozen yogurt
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Sherbet
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Plain ice cream (no toppings)
In some cases, you are allowed to eat pureed foods, oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits, or cream of rice. It’s up to you if you are doing this diet on your own, or up to your physician if you are going on a liquid diet for clinical reasons. It’s easy to see why some people may choose to use the liquid diet for weight reduction honestly, who wouldn’t want to eat milk shakes and frozen yogurt to lose weight.
What you can not eat on a liquid diet
Raw or cooked vegetables
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Cheeses
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Fruit (frozen, canned, etc.)
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Any kind of ice cream toppings
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Mashed foods (no mashed potatoes or mashed avocado)
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Any solid food that requires chewing
You should ideally try to aim for somewhere around 1,500 calories and anywhere between 45 and 50 grams of protein while on a liquid diet. But the most important rule to follow is to consume when you are hungry. If you need more nutrition and you currently are not getting enough, your body will let you know.
Most importantly, while on a liquid diet, drink constantly. Staying hydrated is absolutely essential. Drink as much water as you can between meals and snacks, enjoy a cup or two of tea, or make yourself another milkshake.
Liquid Diet Review
A liquid diet plan is not traditionally used as a weight reduction diet however, some people do opt to use a liquid diet for weight reduction
. Usually, a physician will order that you follow a liquid diet especially in preparation for or during recovery from a clinical operation. Because this diet will not provide enough fiber to sustain you in the long term, it is not recommended that you follow this diet for longer than your physician orders you to, even if you are hoping to achieve liquid diet weight reduction as a bonus.
Technically, nutrition-wise, you can live off a full liquid diet for awhile. But it is not recommended that you do so for a long period of time without professional supervision.
If you consume the right amount of liquids, you can consume enough calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat to fulfill your body’s basic energy requirements while still experiencing liquid diet results. However, if you plan on staying on a liquid diet plan for longer than a few days, you will probably need to take vitamins or other supplements to replace the nutrients you may lose while on a liquid diet.
There are two types of liquid diets: a clear liquid diet, and a full liquid diet. A clear liquid diet is extremely restrictive, and is usually only sustainable for a day or two prior to an invasive clinical procedure. For the remainder of this article, when we refer to “liquid diet,” it pertains to a full liquid diet plan, which offers a greater variety of options for you to choose from when creating and following meal plans and shopping.
Generally, a full liquid diet is used in between a clear liquid diet and a regular diet to help make the transition between the two easier. This pertains to fasting, certain clinical procedures, and recovering from major operation where returning to a normal diet post operation is either not recommended or dangerous. A liquid diet for weight reduction is generally adopted whenever someone feels it may be the only option to achieve weight reduction results.
