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Military Diet Substitutions: What Can You Eat?

· diet

The military diet in recent years has become one of the most popular diets online. This diet claims that you can lose up to 10 pounds in one week. The military diet is very strict for 3 days and the following four days are more lenient. One good thing about the military diet that differs from other diets is that the military diet is free. Many of the foods on this diet are not popular and we will show some great military diet substitutions on this article.

Before getting into some of the military diet substitutions list, lets first explain what the diet is and how it works. One of the advantages of the military diet is that, it’s very simple, straightforward, and easy to follow. This diet is not always the first choice when it comes to diets because its very restrictive.

What is the military diet?

The 3-day military diet can help you lose 10 pounds in just on one week. In this diet you follow a strict 3-day meal plan and then a less restrictive diet for four days. The diet allows you to repeat this diet every week until your results are achieved. The diet is said to have started by the US military branch to help soldiers get in shape quick. The Military diet has other names such as the army diet, ice cream diet and Navy diet.

How does the diet work?

The military diet is expected to last for 7 days. The diet is split in to two phases. The first phase called the 3-day military diet is with a strict meal plan. The second phase is the rest period where it is less restrictive. In the 3-day military diet phase you follow a very strict meal plan that low on calories. The total calories you can have for breakfast, lunch and dinner combined is between 1000 to 1400 calories. It is less calories than your recommended calorie intake per day.

Although the diet is fairly restrictive, they are other ways to turn the diet into a gluten free, lactose free or even a vegetarian diet. This all depends on the individual in finding the right military diet substitution that is comfortable for them. The only thing that one must remember is to maintain the same calorie intake of 1000 to 1400 calories each day.

Here are some of the great options for your military diet substitutes

  • You can substitute coffee and tea in the morning for breakfast for a sugar free cup of hot chocolate. Avoid using dairy in the chocolate.
  • You can substitute to lower carbs and low sugar fruits that are low in calories to help stay full. Avoid high calorie fruits that are rich in sugar.
  • Your military diet substitute can also include almond butter instead of using peanut butter. Others that can be substituted include pumpkin, sunflower, or soy butter.
  • For protein instead of tuna, you can replace it with Lean beef or lean chicken breakfast in your military diet substitute.  When it comes to vegetables, cottage cheese, almonds, peanuts and tofu are great options to include into your military diet.
  • Protein such as meats can be substituted for high protein vegetables such as beans in your military diet.
  • You can replace eggs, bacon, and chicken wings with a cup of milk or nuts or seeds.
  • On the military diet you can substitute bread with whole grain foods such as whole cereals, protein bars and yogurts.
  • Bananas can be substituted with apricots, kiwis, papayas or plums.
  • Celery, squash, beets or bell peppers can be replaced with carrots.
  • Leafy greens such as spinach and broccoli can replace green beans.