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Green diet: the essence, reviews and results

Medical expert of the article

Gastroenterologist
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 03.07.2025

Among the many different diets for weight loss, the green diet is very popular. This is the name of the nutrition system, which includes only raw vegetables and green fruits. This option is suitable for those who do not want to change their figure too radically, but only to correct, lose a little weight, lose a few kilograms.

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General information green diet

A special feature of the green diet is that the main meals, in addition to other dietary products, should include salads of green vegetables or whole berries and fruits of the same color.

For example, sweet peppers or apples come in different colors, but we choose one. This is explained by several factors: many of them contain tartaric acid, which slows down lipogenesis - the conversion of carbohydrates into fats, and the psychological aspect is also important - bright colors are more appetite-inducing.

Japanese Diet with Green Tea

One of the extreme diets is the Japanese diet with green tea. This is the case when you need to "sew your mouth shut", because the daily caloric content of food reaches 500 kcal, with a daily requirement of 1800-2400, depending on age, gender and type of activity. The promised "reward" is minus 8-10 kg in 2 weeks of deprivation.

Its main essence is that it must be performed in a clear sequence with recommendations: do not change products for others, do not add salt, do not consume sugar, drink a lot of water and green tea.

Green tea is rich in antioxidants, vitamins and microelements. It helps break down fat cells and remove them from the body. Drink it between main meals.

Properly brewed teas have a health value. You will need 2 teaspoons of raw materials per glass of water. It is brewed not with boiling water, but with water of 80 0. You can drink it both hot and cold.

Acceptable foods include lean fish, dietary meat, various vegetable salads, preferably cabbage, carrot, tomatoes and their juice, cooked zucchini, and boiled eggs.

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Geisha Diet on Rice and Green Tea

Not only geishas, of whom there are very few left in Japan, but all Japanese women have a slender, toned figure, a good complexion, and their hair shines. The secret of such appearance is attributed to the peculiarities of the national cuisine, and it arouses the increased interest of nutritionists around the world.

The basis of their diet is rice, fish and seafood, and also traditional tea drinking. The geisha diet on rice and green tea consists of frequent meals in small portions, consisting of only a few components: brown unpolished rice, seafood, fruits, vegetables, tea and milk.

It is quite strict, so it is recommended only for 5 days. Rice contains 8 amino acids, it effectively cleanses the gastrointestinal tract, seafood will provide the body with many micro- and macroelements, milk - calcium. It can be drunk both separately and with tea.

The weight loss program is accompanied by massage, various cosmetic procedures, and water treatments.

Yogi Bhajan's Green Diet

The goal of yoga is to achieve harmony between the body and soul. This is accomplished, among other things, by cleansing the body of human waste products, losing weight, and acquiring lightness in the body.

The duration of the green diet of Yoga Bhajan is 40 days. For those who are using this weight loss system for the first time, it is better to start with 10 days. Already 2 weeks before its start, you need to change your usual diet, excluding meat, spicy dishes, milk, various pastries, alcohol.

The diet involves three meals a day, based on nuts, fruits, seeds, green vegetables. Eating should be done in a good mood, and practicing yoga on an empty stomach.

Green Apple Diet

The apple diet attracts many people with its budget, accessibility, it allows you to lose up to 7 kg in just a week. The menu for each day includes only apples, water and green tea. The first 2 days - 1.5 kg, the next 2 - 2 kg, then 1 day - 1.5 kg, the last - 1 kg. For those who cannot withstand such restrictions, it is allowed to eat a piece of rye bread per day.

To prevent the weight from returning, it is necessary to continue to eat a healthy diet.

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Green Coffee Diet

A drink made from green coffee beans, drunk on an empty stomach half an hour before a meal, can reduce appetite. It is prepared as follows: the beans are ground, first passing through a meat grinder, then a coffee grinder. A teaspoon of coffee is poured with a glass of water, removed from the heat, and brought to a boil. The diet itself can be based on any chosen nutrition system. If coffee before dinner leads to sleep disorders, then you need to give it up in the evening.

Green buckwheat diet

Green buckwheat grains are often used to achieve weight loss. We are more accustomed to heat-treated brown buckwheat, but this fact reduces its nutritional value. Slow carbohydrates in its composition, due to the large amount of fiber, are slowly converted into other fractions, so the cereal saturates well, gives energy and vitality, improves digestion.

Green buckwheat is used in sprouted form. For this, the grains are washed well, the bottom of the colander is covered with gauze, the cereal is laid out on it, and another layer of gauze is placed on top. The "construction" is poured with water and placed in a warm place for 9-10 hours. Then the buckwheat is again dipped in water for 6 hours. During this time, it sprouts.

It is recommended to eat a tablespoon of such grains on an empty stomach before breakfast every day, drinking plenty of water. This way, metabolic processes are started. One spoon will not make you lose weight, you also need to follow a diet and exercise. You can also add sprouted grains to foods you consume, such as salads and soups.

There is a separate mono-diet that includes buckwheat and kefir. Such a diet for 5 days is very effective in reducing weight. With the help of these two components, you can simply arrange fasting days.

Green Smoothie Diet

Smoothie in English means homogeneous, soft. By grinding various green vegetables, fruits, berries in a blender, adding other useful ingredients, you get a composition that can charge you with energy without accumulating fat.

The optimal ratio of fruits and vegetables is 60% and 40% respectively. As useful additives, you can use a small amount of vegetable fats (olive, coconut, avocado), proteins, bran, oatmeal, nuts.

For smoothies, it is best to take vegetables such as cucumber, cabbage, leaf lettuce, arugula, spinach, celery, parsley, basil. Bananas, honey, dates will add sweetness. Fruits and berries can be both fresh and frozen.

The green smoothie diet involves consuming other low-calorie foods: meat, fish, grains, prepared in a dietary way. You need to start the morning with a smoothie, and also consume it as a snack.

Green Kiwi Diet

As a rule, the main component of mono-diets is a product rich in many nutrients and with fat-burning properties. In the case of kiwi, it is also very tasty.

This exotic fruit has appeared in our retail chains not so long ago, but has already won well-deserved love. It tastes like strawberries and is not inferior to them in quality. It contains vitamins A, C, K, E, group B, including folic acid, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, flavonoids, fiber.

It is very useful to arrange fasting days on kiwi and water, there is a diet for 3 days, for a week. The food of the three-day diet consists of the fruit itself, green tea and water. The weekly diet also includes other products. The daily diet is 1 kg of kiwi and half a kilo of such food as low-fat cottage cheese, lean meats or fish, vegetables with low starch content.

Green Vegetable Diet

Many diets have been developed with various green vegetables that bring real results in weight loss. Among them are:

  • on green canned peas - saturates well, cleanses the intestines, speeds up metabolism, has a low calorie content (53 kcal). It is good to use as a side dish for dietary meat;
  • on green beans - green beans are used, 100g of which contains only 23 kcal. Allows you to maneuver with dishes, as it can be used as a salad, side dish, or soup ingredient;
  • on green onions - practically the first greenery after winter - onion feathers. We like to add them to salads, soups and borscht when serving, we can just eat them with something. And not in vain, because this is a good means of combating vitamin deficiency, to improve immunity, to strengthen the walls of blood vessels. In addition to many vitamins and microelements, it contains flavonoids, essential oils and phytoncides. Although a mono-diet on it is impossible, but adding it in raw chopped form to food will bring its fruits;
  • green radish on a diet - the word "radish" is associated with a bitter poisonous taste, but in the case of green radish this is not so at all. Soft, juicy, a little tart will pleasantly surprise many with a feeling of freshness. It has unique cleansing properties, it will cleanse the intestines, kidneys, liver, remove bad cholesterol. Potassium, magnesium in its composition will strengthen the heart muscle, blood vessels, and numerous vitamins will have a positive effect on health in general. It finds its application in diets in the form of a separate salad, lightly seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, as well as in others.

Detailed menu for every day

How to organize your diet if green ingredients are not the main product of your diet, but only complement it? Let's consider the example of a green tea diet for 14 days. In addition to increased consumption of the drink (1.5 liters), on these days you need to think through a balanced menu with healthy and wholesome food, the daily caloric content of which would not exceed 700-800 kcal. It can be like this:

1st days of each week.

  • Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese (150g).
  • Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, vegetable stew with vegetable oil.
  • Dinner: steamed fish with a side dish of fresh vegetables.

2nd days.

  • Breakfast: 2 toasts with hard cheese.
  • Lunch: baked fish with a salad of fresh white cabbage, carrots, and bell peppers.
  • Dinner: boiled chicken breast, broccoli as a side dish.

3 days.

  • Breakfast: a few pieces of biscuits, tea.
  • Lunch: stewed vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, onions, carrots, cabbage).
  • Dinner: boiled beef, 2 eggs, salad greens.

4th days.

  • Breakfast: cottage cheese.
  • Lunch: egg, grated carrots, seasoned with sour cream.
  • Dinner: Fruit salad topped with plain low-fat yogurt.

5th days.

  • Breakfast: 2 diet breads with honey.
  • Lunch: boiled fish with fresh vegetables.
  • Dinner: vegetable salad.

6th days.

  • Breakfast: a few rusks, made from a loaf of bread.
  • Lunch: chicken, boiled vegetables.
  • Dinner: 2 eggs, boiled green bean salad.

7th days.

  • Breakfast: hard cheese, green apple.
  • Lunch: boiled meat, green peas.
  • Dinner: grapefruit.

To reduce the periods of time without food, you can drink tea, distribute the daily volume of food into more frequent meals, eat a low-calorie vegetable or fruit, such as a cucumber or apple.

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Recipes

Since vegetables and fruits are in favor of the green diet, let's fantasize about dishes from them. Here are some recipes for green salads:

  • lettuce leaves are torn into smaller pieces by hand, cucumber, tomato, and sweet pepper are cut, lightly seasoned with oil, and sprinkled with sesame seeds;
  • white cabbage is shredded, rubbed with hands with a handful of salt, carrots, green apple, lots of chopped dill, parsley are grated there. Everything is mixed, lemon juice and vegetable oil are added for sourness;
  • Wash and dry the arugula and place it on a plate, add 2 pieces of cut cherry tomatoes, olives, pieces of feta cheese, sprinkle with lemon juice and vegetable oil;
  • The green beans are boiled, thrown into a colander and cooled under cold water or placed in a bowl with ice to preserve the color. After that, they need to be laid out on a plate, topped with sliced and seeded tomatoes, poured with dressing (pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, a clove of garlic, a spoon of olive oil are ground in a blender) and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds dried in a dry frying pan.

Benefits

All green products are low in calories, but at the same time contain many vitamins and minerals. Our body requires constant cleansing from waste and toxins, failure in this leads to disruption of metabolic processes, accumulation of waste products, development of diseases, obesity.

Many of the listed functions are taken on by a very important organ of ours - the liver. Every day throughout our lives it has to cope with the consequences of our gastronomic preferences - fatty, spicy, sweet, salty food, alcohol, coffee, medications.

The benefit of a green diet, first of all, is to cleanse the liver, because these products are rich in fiber, which, when it gets into the digestive tract, acts like a brush, sweeping out all unnecessary things. Thus, metabolism is adjusted, saturation occurs, hunger and the need for snacks are not felt, weight goes away.

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What can and what can not?

You already have an idea of what you can eat while on a green diet, but what you can't eat? These are the same products that are prohibited on any other diet: fatty, spicy, smoked, pickled, fast carbohydrates, sweet carbonated drinks.

Contraindications

Most of the listed diets are contraindicated for people engaged in heavy physical labor, pregnant women, during lactation. They cannot be used by those with various chronic diseases, especially pathologies of the cardiovascular system, kidneys, liver, cancer patients.

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Possible risks

Doctors warn that the safe calorie limit for men is 1800, for women - 1200. Otherwise, the body will become exhausted, muscle mass will be lost, and immunity will decrease.

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Complications

Strict diets can only be applied to healthy people, otherwise dangerous complications associated with exacerbation of chronic diseases are possible. The digestive organs, pancreas, liver, kidneys can be especially affected.

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