The Copenhagen diet, or Swedish diet, is one of the strictest alternative diets. The promise of reducing a dozen or so kilograms in a few days is promising, and this is why some people are so eager to go on the Copenhagen diet. Unfortunately, the Copenhagen diet also has its drawbacks, and for some, following it can be a health risk. Is the Copenhagen diet healthy? What are its rules? Read the article below and judge for yourself!
Copenhagen diet – rules of the 13-day diet
What is the Copenhagen diet? The menu of the Copenhagen diet consists of three low-calorie meals. According to the menu, breakfast should be eaten between 8:00 and 9:00, lunch between 12:00 and 14:00, and dinner before 18:00. Snacking between meals is prohibited. The Copenhagen diet lasts 13 days. The order of individual 13 days of the diet cannot be changed. 30-minute deviations between meal times are allowed in exceptional situations, but they can only apply to breakfast and lunch. Any other modifications to the rules and menu are prohibited.
The Copenhagen diet – the most important contraindications
The Copenhagen diet can only be used by healthy people. If you have any health problems, you should consult your doctor before starting the diet.
The Copenhagen diet should be absolutely abandoned in the case of:
Diabetes;
cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis;
kidney disease;
Constipation;
Osteoporosis;
pregnancy and lactation.
Effects of the Copenhagen diet after 13 days. How much weight can you lose?
The effects of the Copenhagen diet are to be visible after 13 days of its use. According to the authors, the diet should contribute to the effects of losing from 7 to 20 kg.
This is a very difficult weight loss to achieve in such a short time. After completing the 13-day diet, you can gradually return to your normal eating habit. You should slowly increase the size and calorie content of your meals. According to the authors, this will prevent the yo-yo effect from occurring, however, it is almost impossible because any restrictive diet increases its risk.
The authors of the Copenhagen diet assure that returning to the diet before the diet should not cause weight gain again and will not nullify the achieved effect. However, this is not scientifically confirmed in any way.
The Copenhagen diet – the yo-yo effect
It might seem that an effective diet is one that results in losing as many kilograms as possible in the shortest possible time. Unfortunately, this is not true. Often, consecutive slimming treatments become less effective, weaken the body and increase susceptibility to metabolic diseases. During the use of restrictive diets, which the Copenhagen diet undoubtedly is, deficiencies of both vitamins and minerals appear. The use of restrictive diets is not only harmful to humans, but is also ineffective, because drastic calorie restriction causes the loss of muscle mass in a short time, not body fat. This reduces the metabolic rate and physical performance, and after stopping the diet, the body weight reaches a higher level than the initial one, i.e. the “yo-yo effect” occurs. Therefore, it is worth remembering that healthy weight loss is in the range of 0.5-1.0 kg/week, and rapid weight loss only leads to a slowdown in metabolism.
Is it worth following the Copenhagen diet?
To sum up, the Copenhagen diet is characterized by very restrictive rules. Certainly, most people who switch to it feel tired, headache and generally unwell. The health effects it brings cannot be overlooked either.
It is also questionable to lose 20 kg in such a short time. A healthy weight reduction that prevents the yo-yo effect is a loss of 0.5 to 1 kg per week. According to the principles of dietetics, meals in a healthy diet should be balanced, so it would certainly be much healthier to eat a slice of wholemeal bread with ham and tomato for breakfast than to drink coffee alone with added sugar…
It is worth considering whether we care more about healthy reduction and maintenance of normal body weight or rapid loss of excess kilograms with negative health effects.