Weight loss is never easy. There are many fad diets doing the rounds. But if you are not careful, following some of them may actually do you more harm than good. What if there is a diet that helps you lose a significant amount of weight while also boosting heart health? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, such a diet really exists. We are talking about the cardiac diet. It is also known as the Birmingham diet because, according to rumours, it originated at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Just follow this for three days and you will notice a difference. And, the best thing is that you will also be boosting your heart health at the same time. It is a simple diet though some people do complain that it is quite restrictive. If you go on this diet, you will need to load up on fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean poultry and fish and avoid saturated fats, trans fats and excess sodium and sugar. Here, let us see what this diet is all about.

How to follow this diet

This is a simple diet that can help you lose as much as 4 kilos in just 3 days. You need to eat only certain foods for 3 consecutive days of a week. For the remaining 4 days, you can eat whatever you like. You need to repeat the cycle each week till you attain your perfect weight. There are rules about what foods to each at each meal and there is a restriction on the amount that you can consume. You cannot make any exceptions. The calorie count per day is 800 to 1000 calories per day during the 3 days.

Foods that are allowed on the 3 diet days

If you decide to go on the 3-day cardiac diet, protein forms the main food in your meals. You will have to pair this with fruits, vegetables, toast or crackers. For seasoning, you can use only salt and pepper. No other spice is allowed. But for those with a sweet tooth, there is good news. You may have vanilla ice cream once per day and after dinner. You cannot try out variations and deviations. Here is a list of foods that you are allowed in this diet. You cannot add anything to it.

Proteins: Tuna, eggs, skinless poultry, peanut butter

Grains: Toast and saltine crackers

Fruits: Grapefruit, melons, bananas and apples

Vegetables: Turnip greens, carrots, string beans, cauliflower, cabbage, beets and broccoli

Dairy: Vanilla ice cream, cottage cheese and cheddar cheese

Beverages: Black coffee, tea and water

Disadvantages of this diet

This is a restrictive diet with strict portion control. It may be difficult to sustain it over a long period of time. You lose weight because of the calorie restriction. Some common side effects may be hunger, nausea, headaches and fatigue. Once you go back to normal diet, you may gain back all the weight you lost. Though this diet is said to boost heart health, it actually eliminates many heart friendly foods like whole grains, legumes and many fruits and veggies. It can also lead to nutritional deficiencies if you follow it for a long time.

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