The 3-day detox diet is a type of fad diet that a person follows for just three days. Proponents of this diet assert that it stimulates rapid weight loss and also helps to free the body of toxins, allowing the dieter's liver to recover from their effects. Interestingly, there are a few diet plans that are called the 3-day detox diet. They all have rapid weight loss and toxin removal as their goals, but they are slightly different from each other. No matter which of these diets a person selects, he can usually count on eating very little each day.
One type of 3-day detox diet requires the dieter to eat very light meals each day. For example, a dieter may make his meals out of steamed vegetables or organic fruit. Brown rice is also an acceptable addition to this diet, though the dieter is supposed to eat small amounts of it. An individual on the 3-day detox diet is only supposed to drink water, and nothing else, for the duration of the diet. After being on this diet, a person is supposed to slowly work back up to eating more calories by consuming mostly fruits and vegetables, soups, water, and other light foods.
Another form of 3-day detox diet has dieters consuming very low calorie foods for three days, eating normally for a few days after that, and then going back to following the 3-day detox diet once more. On this diet, a person can consume black tea or coffee, fruits and vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates, and a very small amount of fat, but the calorie intake is scant. For example, a person on this form of the diet may drink black coffee and eat a half of a grapefruit and a slice of toast with peanut butter spread on it for breakfast. For lunch he may consume a small amount of tuna, a slice of toast, and more black coffee. Dinner may consist of a small amount of lean meat, two to four servings of vegetables, and an apple; a small amount of ice cream may be allowed as well.
Opponents of this diet assert that it is unlikely to produce sustainable weight loss. Often, people who follow the 3-day detox diet manage to lose mostly water weight and regain the pounds once they begin to eat normally again. Additionally, failure to eat enough calories on a daily basis can have negative health consequences.