20 Lbs in 10 Days Program

This diet makes the promise of letting you lose 20 pounds in only 10 days. As for the numbers with most diets, I'm assuming if you're not abnormally large, you won't quite lose 20 lbs. But let's check it out shall we?

THE DIET
This diet jumps starts the weight loss process and puts you in the right frame of mind. This diet program is extremely effective and should only be followed for 4 days then the post diet plan should be used then 4 more days on and then once again the post diet plan. Continued use past 4 days may result in too much weight loss too quickly and can deplete important nutrients and vitamins from your body. The basis of this diet is chemistry. The foods you will eat speed up your metabolism and increase the body’s ability to burn fat. This is why it’s very important to follow this program step by step. If you decided not to eat for 4 days you would not loose the same weight. That’s why it’s fundamental to prepare, so eat and drink as described. The great thing about this diet is that there are no special foods or preparations most food’s you may already have or you will easily find at your local grocery store.

Minimum of 8 glasses of water per day 1-2 cups of water in the morning 1 cup of water before each meal 1-2 cups of water before bed
2-3 cups of water throughout the day
The more water the better.

ONLY EAT AND DRINK WHAT IS LISTED WITHIN THE PLAN NOTHING MORE NOTHING LESS! IT IS RECOMMENDED TO TAKE A MULI-VITAMIN DURING ANY DIET PROGRAM & WHILE OFF ANY PROGRAM.

All foods are to be prepared boiled and/or broiled. Do not use oils & salt, only use Vinegar, lemon juice, chili pepper to dress food, etc. No Alcohol.

Please note this diet if for the average, if you are a much larger individual i.e. height wise or extremely active and feel extremely hungry after each meal and throughout the day you can increase portions SLIGHTLY. Please remember changing your eating habits will usually cause excess hunger and take time to get use to, do not mistaken this for a reason to increase portions. Same applies for smaller individuals, if it is felt that each meal is to fulfilling please cut back portions slightly. You should not feel overfull after meals.

The Plan

DAY 1
Breakfast:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1/2 cup Grapefruit or Unsweetened Grapefruit Juice
1 Slice Whole wheat toast
1 tbsps. (16g) Peanut butter

Lunch:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Can Tuna in water
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 Cup Unsweetened Prune Juice

Dinner:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Breast (4.2oz) Grilled or Baked lean Chicken breast
½ Cup Boiled or steamed string beans
Small apple (approx 2 3/4" diam or 3 per lb)

Snack
1/2 Cup fruit cocktail (opt if hungry)
Do not eat late.

DAY 2
Breakfast:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Boiled egg
1 Slice Whole wheat toast
Medium size banana (7"-8")

Lunch:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Cup Celery
1 Cup Boiled or steamed string beans
1 Cup Tomatoes or Low Salt Tomato Juice
1 Cup Cantaloupe

Dinner:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Breast (4.2oz) Grilled or Baked lean Chicken breast
1 Cup Broccoli Broiled/Baked
½ Cup Squash

Snack
1/2 Cup fruit cocktail (optional if very hungry)
Do not eat late or after dinner.

DAY 3
Breakfast:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1/2 or 1/2 cup Grapefruit or Unsweetened Grapefruit Juice
1 Slice Whole wheat toast
1 tbsps. (16g) Peanut butter

Lunch:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Boiled egg
½ Cup Boiled or steamed string beans
½ Cup Squash
½ Cup Tomatoes or Low Salt Tomato Juice
1 Medium size banana (7"-8")

Dinner:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 8oz Lean Steak (broiled, grilled)
1 Cup Tomatoes or Low Salt Tomato Juice
1 Small apple (approx 2 3/4" diam or 3 per lb)

DAY 4
Breakfast:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1/2 or 1/2 cup Grapefruit or Unsweetened Grapefruit Juice
1 Slice Whole wheat toast
1 tbsps. (16g) Peanut butter

Lunch:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Cup Celery
1 Cup Unsweetened Prune Juice
½ Cup Squash
1 Small apple (approx 2 3/4" diam or 3 per lb)

Dinner:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Lean Hamburger Patty (Broiled, grilled)
½ Cup Boiled or steamed string beans
1 Cup Unsweetened Prune Juice
½ Cup Tomatoes or Low Salt Tomato Juice

DAY 5
Refer to Post Diet Meals, do not exceed three meals. Do not overeat or eat until you feel over full.

DAY 6
Breakfast:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1/2 or 1/2 cup Grapefruit or Unsweetened Grapefruit Juice
1 Slice Whole wheat toast
1 tbsps. (16g) Peanut butter

Lunch:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Can Tuna in water
1 Cup Unsweetened Prune Juice
1 Slice Whole wheat toast

Dinner:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Breast (4.2oz) Grilled or Baked lean Chicken breast
½ Cup Boiled or steamed string beans
1 Small apple (approx 2 3/4" diam or 3 per lb)

DAY 7
Breakfast:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Boiled egg
1 Slice Whole wheat toast
1 Medium size banana (7"-8")

Lunch:
Black coffee, tea or more water
½ Cup Celery
½ Cup Boiled or steamed string beans
1 Cup Tomatoes or Low Salt Tomato Juice
1 Cup Cantaloupe

Dinner:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Breast (4.2oz) Grilled or Baked lean Chicken breast
1 Cup Broccoli Broiled/Baked
½ Cup Squash

DAY 8
Breakfast:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1/2 or 1/2 cup Grapefruit or Unsweetened Grapefruit Juice
1 Slice Whole wheat toast
1 tbsps. (16g) Peanut butter

Lunch:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Boiled egg
½ Cup Boiled or steamed string beans
½ Cup Squash
½ Cup Tomatoes or Low Salt Tomato Juice

Dinner:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 8oz Lean Steak (broiled, grilled)
½ Cup Tomatoes or Low Salt Tomato Juice
1 Small apple (approx 2 3/4" diam or 3 per lb)

DAY 9
Breakfast:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1/2 or 1/2 cup Grapefruit or Unsweetened Grapefruit Juice
1 Slice Whole wheat toast
1 tbsp. (16g) Peanut butter

Lunch:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Cup Unsweetened Prune Juice
1 Cup Celery
½ Cup Squash
1 Small apple (approx 2 3/4" diam or 3 per lb)

Dinner:
Black coffee, tea or more water
1 Breast (4.2oz) Grilled or Baked lean Chicken breast
½ Cup Tomatoes or Low Salt Tomato Juice
½ Cup Boiled or steamed string beans
1 Cup Unsweetened Prune Juice

DAY 10
Refer to Post Diet Meals (located on the last page of this program), do not exceed three meals. Do not overeat or eat until you feel over full.

POST DIET NUTRITION
A few points to consider:

1. Ensure you are consuming 3 - 6 small meals which include snacks.
2. To ensure you stay within a good diet routine, ensure you plan and prepare your meals ahead of time.
3. Eating slower avoids overeating and your body from storing foods.
4. Make healthier food selections, go for lower calorie items. Snack on fruits and vegetables, chose diet products instead of the products loaded with sugars and fats.

Now, let’s talk about what you HAVE to try to stay away from, not completely but try to avoid when possible.

Try Avoiding:
-White Bread
-Lots of Pasta
-Sweets,
-Sugar, as minimal as possible, i.e. in coffee.
-Saturated Fats, (all fats from animals, excluding items like fish)
-Fried products
-Salty products
-Pop
-Anything high in sugar such as candy bars, pies, cakes, cookies, etc.
-Butter and high fat margarines

You’re going to have to eat at least 3 - 4 meals a day (plus 2 – 3 healthy snacks) depending on how long and active your days are, to keep your metabolism up. Each meal should consist of 20-25 grams of Protein, 25-35 grams of carbs (Complex carbs, and almost no carbs if possible for your last meal of the day) and about 5-10 grams of fat (good fat, not saturated) Complex carbs consist of almost any form of carbohydrate that does not contain sugar, (excluding breads pasta's white rice, these are hard to digest). This of course is for the average person. If you are larger then increase portions slightly, ensure you never feel to full after a meal you should feel satisfied not full. Same applies for a smaller individual, decrease portions as need be.

EXAMPLES OF CARBS FOR EACH MEAL
Whole Grain Bread, Brown Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Vegetables
Most breakfast cereals that do not contain high amounts of sugar, Rice Cakes, Low fat yogurt cups,
EACH SERVING SHOULD BE APPROX SIZE OF YOUR FIST.

EXAMPLES OF PROTEIN FOR EACH MEAL
Just about any form of LEAN meat, preferably chicken and steak, most types of seafood, all cooked lean without oils or small amounts, tuna is great, beans are also high in protein.

EXAMPLES OF FATS FOR EACH MEAL
Fats from Fish oils, fats from vegetable's, most types of nuts, especially peanuts
If you can't eat 3 - 6 meals a day, a meal replacement can be taken; they contain all of the above. When you’re finished each meal you should never feel full. Drink lots of water throughout the day. Most of your carbs should be eaten in the morning.

Examples of Common Meals
-Whole Wheat chicken sandwich and fruit
-Chicken, Tuna, or Fish Salad, low fat yogurt cup
-Steak, vegetables and a potato
-Egg, whole wheat toast and fruit

Sacred Heart Diet

So, I've seen this diet around for a while, and I've decided to make it into the first one I test for the site. I have seen various recipes that all call for similar ingredients, and have devised my own recipe from the examples noted, but tailored to my own tastes.

Also known as the GM diet, the Sacred Heart diet apparently comes from a hospital by the same name who puts overweight patients through the eating cycle before heart surgery to establish a total weight loss of around 10 or 15 pounds. I highly doubt that this is true. But hey, I'm not here to find out where the diet came from, I'm here to find out if it works.

So, here are the rules of the diet.

1. You must eat the soup (recipe below) along with the assigned complimentary foods for each day.
2. You must drink 6-8 glasses of water per day, and may have any of the other following beverages: black coffee, cranberry juice, skim milk.
3. This diet does not allow alcohol or carbonated beverages (including diet coke, or whatever your usual pop fix is.) and during no point in the diet can you eat bread, sweets, or fried food.

And here is the meal plan.

Day 1: Soup + fruit. Eat as much soup, and as much fruit as you'd like. Any fruit at all, with the exception of bananas.
Day 2: Soup + vegetables. Today you will switch fruits for veggies. The diet notes that this should include one baked potato at dinner time.
Day 3: Soup + fruits + vegetables. Have any fruits and veggies that you'd like today, but no potato, and still no banana.
Day 4: Soup + bananas + milk. Eat as many bananas today as you want, and make sure to drink lots of milk.
Day 5: Soup + beef + tomatoes. Beef calls for 10 - 20 oz of beef. Which is about 1 - 2 steaks, or 2 - 3 hamburgers' worth. Also, a can of tomatoes.
Day 6: Soup + beef + vegetables. Same as Day 5, except you may eat other veggies than tomato. Any veggie with the exception of potato.
Day 7: Soup + brown rice + vegetables. You may also have a different fruit juice today, instead of or in addition to, the cranberry.

Finally, here is the soup recipe.

The original recipe seems to be posted differently on each website that I read. But there are some things which appear in most, or all of the recipes. All of them called for 2 to 4 packets of soup mix. Most websites said onion, but I have seen chicken noodle as well. I went with onion, because noodles are carbs, and this diet doesn't seem to want those included. Onions, green peppers and tomatoes were the other key ingredients that kept popping up. Numbers varied, but 2 - 4 of each seems to be agreed upon. Other than that, a variety of other vegetables (usually "negative-calorie" types, and never starchy types, like potato or dry beans) and in some, an additional method of soup flavoring, such as broths, herbs and spices.

Here's the recipe that I chose:

2 packets onion soup mix
1 can beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can peas
1 can whole baby corn
1 can baby carrots
2 green peppers
2 onions

What I did:
First I filled a big pot with about 6 cups of water. I boiled the fresh veggies (green pepper and onions) until they were soft. Then I added all the canned veggies. After that, when I made sure my water to veggie ratio was okay, and I had enough room left in my pot, I poured in my broth, and the 2 packets of soup flavoring. I boiled it all for a few minutes, and then turned the stove down and let the pot simmer until everything was soft.

Results of this was a nice light vegetable soup. Tastes almost like the store bought kind. It's definitely got more flavor than I had thought. I sprinkled in a very slight amount of chili curry powder to flavor a bit more.

Sources:
http://www.everydiet.org/sacred_heart_diet.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Diet