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English diet for weight loss: the essence, reviews and results
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 03.07.2025

The pragmatic English traditionally prefer healthy food. It is no coincidence that the phrase "English diet" is associated with oatmeal. The phrase "Oatmeal, sir!" immediately comes to mind, made famous by the performance of talented actors. Is the English diet really based on oatmeal, and if not, then on what?
Indications
The basis of the English diet is to eat only healthy food, nothing harmful or unnecessary. Eating this way, you do not need to resort to exotic ingredients and surf the Internet in a feverish search for all sorts of diets. Health and ease will be with you every day.
Indications for the English diet:
- for weight loss;
- for purification from slags and radionuclides;
- after prolonged use of antibiotics;
- rejuvenation;
- restoration of digestion;
- to get used to a constant healthy diet.
For weight loss
Most diets are used for weight loss, the English diet is no exception. But it can also become a permanent way of eating - for people who want to eat healthy food in moderation.
The method consists of repeating protein and plant foods. For many people, this is easier to endure than monotonous mono-diets, which are very exhausting for those wishing to lose weight. The rules are simple, but before you accept them, consult a specialist about possible contraindications.
- Start your day with a cup of clean water, maybe salted.
- Drink up to 2 liters of water per day.
- Eat four times a day, the last time before 7 p.m.
- Take a sip of olive oil at night.
- During the autumn and winter, don't forget about multivitamins.
The English method pleases with variety: cereals, vegetables, fruits, greens – enough choice for a full diet. The scheme is as follows: the first 2 days are hungry, then in turn 2 days are protein, 2 days are vegetable. For the first days, the following set of products is suitable: a liter of milk, a glass of tomato juice, 2 slices of bread. After six days, the days alternate.
It is important to eat on time, regardless of where you are - at home, at work, visiting. Make a menu of dishes that you will eat throughout the diet period. There are enough recipes on the Internet so that you do not suffer from malnutrition or tasteless food.
Good news for those with a sweet tooth and coffee lovers: a serving of black drink with honey is allowed on all protein days, and tea with honey is allowed on vegetable days.
General information of the English diet
It is based on the principle of alternation and calorie restriction. There are several versions of the English diet, all of them are popular, and differ in the time frame and rate of achieving the desired indicators.
The diet consists of traditional products grown on farms and private farms. Nothing foreign or exotic is required: the ingredients are milk, eggs, beans, bread. And oatmeal - you can't do without it. The essence of the diet is that protein dishes alternate with plant-based ones, rich in fiber, which can eliminate all harmful components from the body.
- An important place in the diet is occupied by high-quality water, it is drunk up to 2 liters. To prevent it from remaining in the body, table salt in food is replaced with sea salt, and even better - with spicy plants, which actively promotes weight loss.
The cooking method also changes: instead of frying, they use stewing. It is known that the English have late lunch. The English method takes this tradition into account: breakfast is light, and a late lunch is quite substantial, because it replaces dinner.
English diet for 12, 14 days
If the weekly English diet is called the royal diet, then the other options are called more simply. They are similar, but not identical. Perhaps, in terms of effect, they are inferior to some diets, but such a diet can become a new way of eating, bringing maximum benefit. Let's consider the English diet for 12, 14 days.
Diets of such duration are based on monotonous fasting days. Experts consider the method to be strict and do not recommend using it without special need. However, adherents cite convincing weight loss figures: up to 10 kg for the specified period. However, the results directly depend on the number of extra pounds: the more there are, the sooner they go away. The question is whether it will last for a long time.
- Those on a diet should start the day with a glass of hot water or green tea with lemon.
The quantity is not limited, but only healthy and wholesome food. Use onions, spices, garlic, parsley, herbs for teas, seasonal vegetables for salads. And give up sugar, sweet pastries, alcohol, potatoes, bananas.
The first five days you should strictly follow the menu and regimen, then there are options, i.e. replacing apples with other fruits, kefir with fermented baked milk, eggs with fish or omelette. Vegetable salads are always healthy.
Particularly strict is the 12-day kefir diet, when during the entire period it is suggested to consume only kefir, tomato juice, apples. To reliably maintain weight in the future, it is necessary to make healthy nutrition permanent. At first, low-calorie food is consumed in small quantities, adding one of the following dishes: light broth, liquid vegetable soup, boiled chicken, low-fat fermented milk products.
When coming out of strict diets, you need to remember not only about the caloric content, but also about the structure of the products: a stomach that is not used to solid food will receive unwanted stress if it is fed incorrectly. Therefore, apples should be baked, carrots should be boiled or chopped, cucumbers should be peeled.
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English diet for 5, 7 days
They say that the English diet for 5, 7 days was successfully used in boarding schools for women, when young ladies returned from vacation, plump on home-cooked meals. It was used three times, after each vacation, that is, three times a year. Modern nutritionists also recommend the English diet, but only once a year.
The effect is provided by the stress that the body is exposed to in such a regime. The reduced diet consists of small portions, divided into four times. Food with a minimum of fats and carbohydrates is cooked in a steamer or in water.
In the morning of each of the five days - traditional oatmeal and tea. It is better if it is a black drink, naturally, without sugar. In the afternoon they also drink tea: on Tuesday and Thursday - with milk, on the other days - without milk and sugar (if you start losing weight on Monday). In addition to tea, in two afternoon snacks they eat 1 fruit.
The following dishes are recommended for lunch:
- Monday – unsalted broth, bread.
- Tuesday – chicken breast, cucumber, tea.
- Wednesday – broth with vegetables, bread.
- Thursday – chicken drumstick, tomato.
- Friday - breast.
For dinner they serve (by day): a cheese sandwich, tea; vegetable salad with flax seeds; pear and apple; boiled potato and cucumber; 2 apples. At night you can drink a spoonful of olive oil.
This program is considered strict, since the daily caloric intake is within 800-900 kcal. A five-day diet will help you lose 5-6 kg. You should return to your usual menu gradually and then never get carried away with food that is difficult to digest.
The seven-day option is easier to tolerate – due to the fact that the caloric content increases to 1000 kcal. Under loads – even up to 1200. The weekly menu is compiled, guided by caloric tables. Such nutrition is indicated for the treatment of heart patients, for a sharp weight loss before important events, competitions.
Read also about the 21-day English diet in this article.
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Benefits
It is possible to sum up and draw conclusions only after completing the English diet. What benefits of the diet are visible to the naked eye?
Dietary nutrition helps to activate metabolism and remove toxins. Due to this, many people practicing the diet are distinguished by a positive worldview, openness, and a constant good mood.
- A person feels double lightness: both due to weight loss and due to the positive changes that occur in the body.
After going through a three-week dietary path, a slimmer woman becomes more self-confident, and therefore more attractive, experiences moral satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. If carried out correctly, the dietary period also has a positive effect on the skin, hair, and nails.
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What can and what can not?
The list of permitted products for the English diet is quite extensive. What can you eat? Almost everything! Eggs, fish, champignons, cheese, chicken fillet, various cereals, natural dairy products, pasta, fruits, broths and borscht. Drink - water, coffee, tea, milk, fermented milk drinks.
From such ingredients, based on calorie tables, it is easy to make a meal plan in English, including food to your taste. It is important to use many plant ingredients: vegetables, fruits, rich in fiber and vitamins. Whole grain products, sour and simple milk products are necessary, as well as water - tasty, high-quality and in sufficient quantity: up to two liters daily. Greens will make up for the lack of vitamins. A little honey is allowed.
- The variety of products allows you not to torment yourself with hunger or bland tasteless food, but to cook tasty but low-calorie dishes. Exercise is not necessary. But walking or simple exercises are welcome, as they speed up weight loss.
Both during and after the diet, you should remember the main rule of satiety: the feeling of satiety is delayed on the way to the brain by about 20 minutes. In order not to overeat, that is, not to overload the body with unnecessary food, you need to eat slowly, enjoying the taste and the process. Then the signal of satiety will get to the brain on time.
Do not return to your normal diet immediately after finishing the diet, but gradually, introducing two products per week. Such caution is completely justified: it will help to consolidate and maintain the result.
During the English diet, all harmful products are prohibited. What can't you eat? As with other diets, there is a taboo on flour, sweet, fried, salty dishes. Alcohol, tobacco, soda, black tea and coffee, salt and sugar are unacceptable. Dried fruits, melons, grapes, figs are undesirable. Potatoes are limited.
- These are not as strict prohibitions as they may seem. Many harmful components can be easily replaced, for example, use aromatic spices instead of salt, and replace black tea with green tea.
One of the important advantages is the balanced diet and the schedule, which allows you not to go hungry until the next meal. You do not need to stand at the stove for hours and chase exotic ingredients. This saves time and nerves. The English diet also does not require mandatory physical exercise.
Possible risks
Due to the ban on favorite sweets or other delicacies, those losing weight on the English diet may experience a decline in mood, weakness and discomfort. Those accustomed to frequent snacks may initially miss these snacks.
Due to the deficiency of some components in food, diet-related risks arise; in particular, a shortage of fats, vitamins, and chromium occurs. Because of this, the complexion and skin of the face deteriorate, and the nail plates weaken.
Complications
A properly organized English diet should not cause fatigue, weakness, nausea, vomiting, or attention deficit. If this is observed, then either something is being done wrong, or the English diet is not suitable for your body.
Possible complications include sagging skin and flatulence.
The doctors' diet causes severe discomfort and poor health. It can aggravate the patient's chronic diseases.
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