Most diets come with rules such as “you can’t eat the following ingredients,” or they include specific meal plans for each day. The Swiss Diet has a different take on these rules. You get a list of several ingredients that you are allowed to eat throughout the day. It may seem somewhat limited, but the key to this diet is using your imagination since you can cook and combine them differently every day. Also, do not get confused by the diet’s name: it’s not what Swiss people usually eat, but a group of Swiss nutritionists developed it.
The Swiss diet is not very restrictive on calories, but it can help you lose up to 11 pounds over two weeks. Also, if you have any illness, it’s not recommended to follow it. This diet is safe, but it is intended for healthy people.
The allowed foods are intended to offer all the essential nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fats), vitamins, and minerals while maintaining a low to moderate caloric intake to ensure steady weight loss.
Foods allowed by the Swiss diet
There are the foods that you’re allowed to eat daily:
– 200-300g of lean meat or fish. You can cook them any way you want if you don’t add extra fat.
– 2 eggs. Just like above, don’t add any fat.
– 0.5 l of low-fat milk.
– 1 slice of whole-wheat bread. You cannot have any white bread during the diet.
– 100 g potatoes (boiled, baked, mashed).
– 50 g of fat (try using vegetable fats and switching between multiple kinds during the diet).
– at least 2 l of water.
– fresh fruits (you can eat as many as you want).
This diet is more effective if you choose your meal times and stick to them. They can be anywhere from 3 to 5 meals daily, and the last should be at least 3 hours before bedtime. Also, fruits can be eaten at any meal except the last one.
The Swiss diet has only simple and accessible foods, so it’s not too hard to follow. Physical exercise is not mandatory but it is recommended, like in any diet, to promote faster weight loss. The only problem with this diet, and probably the reason why it’s not recommended to follow it for more than 2 weeks, is its lack of vegetables in the allowed list of foods. Nevertheless, fruits are allowed, so it does include a source of vitamins.
