Is broccoli good for weight loss and in what form and quantity should it be included in the diet?
Broccoli is a popular product in the diet. Green cabbage is nutritious and tasty; a variety of low-calorie dishes are prepared from it - that is, you lose weight without feeling hungry. You can eat broccoli for weight loss in almost any quantity, the main thing is to prepare it correctly and combine it with other foods.
Is it possible to lose weight by eating broccoli?
The broccoli diet is very effective. In 5-6 days they lose up to 8 kg of excess weight. If you do not break the diet and endure all 10 days, you can lose 10-12 kg.
What causes this weight loss? Green cabbage when consumed daily:
- removes excess salts, due to which unnecessary water leaves and swelling disappears;
- due to the content of phytohormones, it stabilizes hormonal levels;
- accelerates metabolism, improves digestion;
- normalizes liver function;
- cleanses the body of parasites.
Is it possible to eat broccoli at night?
If there is no gastritis, severe gastrointestinal diseases, pancreatitis or a rare allergy to cabbage, broccoli is eaten during the day, in the evening, and at night.
If an excessive appetite wakes up in the evening, have a baked or boiled vegetable, cook the cabbage in a double boiler, adding a few slices of boiled carrots, zucchini or a bunch of fresh green lettuce leaves.
In case of acute hunger, which is not interrupted by low-calorie plant foods, salad or cabbage soup add chopped avocado.Such a dinner will not only kick-start your metabolism and help you lose weight, but will also improve the condition of your skin and hair.
Important! The only trouble that may arise when eating cabbage at night is increased gas formation. To ease bowel movements, steam or bake broccoli for an evening meal. Cabbage is eaten raw during the day or in the morning.
Is it possible to gain weight from broccoli?
Calorie content of broccoli, cooked any way recipe, does not exceed 40 kcal. Even if you add it to lunch or dinner "green diet"“a little cheese or cottage cheese, weight loss will continue.
It is almost impossible to gain weight on such a diet unless you eat soup or salad with a piece of cake or a roll with butter.
Composition and nutritional value of the vegetable
The product is rich in vitamins, microelements, vegetable protein and fiber, valuable during a diet, which starts metabolism and helps the intestines to cleanse themselves of toxins and undigested food residues. Green cabbage contains:
- 6% proteins;
- 1% fat;
- 2% carbohydrates.
Young curly cabbage contains manganese, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, selenium, and sodium.
Broccoli contains zinc, copper and iron. During pregnancy, women are advised to include cabbage in their diet, as it contains folic acid.
Glycemic index of broccoli - only 32 units, so it serves as the basis of nutrition not only on a diet, but also for liver diseases and diabetes.
Reference. The calorie content of broccoli is only 40 kcal.
Kale greens contain isothiocyanates and sulforaphane.They are antioxidants and remove toxins and heavy metals from the body.
Benefits for weight loss
In addition to obvious weight loss, broccoli has other advantages over vegetables that are usually chosen as the basis of a diet:
- improves the condition of cartilage tissue;
- increases skin elasticity;
- makes teeth stronger and whiter, protects against caries;
- has an antiparasitic effect.
Benefits of broccoli for women with a diet for more than 10 days: hormonal levels are stabilized, the skin is cleansed, and the general condition improves.
Example of a broccoli diet
Curly cabbage in a short diet is the basis of nutrition. Supplements include beans, rye bread, oatmeal, some fruit, any green vegetables and fish.
An example of a diet with a combination of different foods from five meals:
- Breakfast: salad from 100 g of boiled beans and the same amount of cabbage. Season with olive or linseed oil. Salt is not recommended. As an addition – a piece of whole grain bread. The next day, the bread is replaced with 100 g of steamed oatmeal in water with a piece of butter.
- Lunch: not too sweet fruits or berries, about 200 g. Bananas are not recommended, but if the diet is difficult to bear and you feel dizzy, eat half a banana and 1-2 tangerines.
- Dinner: fish or vegetable broth soup with broccoli, beans, green beans or summer vegetables plus a piece of chicken with green salad.
- Afternoon snack: a glass of kefir, fermented baked milk or other fermented milk product without sugar.
- PP dinner with broccoli: necessarily a protein component (fish, a piece of chicken, beans or lentils), boiled broccoli and green beans.
By alternating foods, you can lose weight for two weeks on such a diet without harm to your health or feelings of hunger.
What can you eat with and in what form?
Cabbage is prepared:
- steamed;
- boiled;
- baked;
- stewed with other vegetables or cereals.
Eat no more than 70 g of broccoli per day raw, finely chopped into a salad.
This cabbage is combined with beans, boiled or baked fish and chicken breast. Any vegetables except potatoes are allowed as an addition to the menu.
If desired, broccoli soup can be seasoned with a small amount of low-fat cream or sour cream.
Fasting day
Once a week, the diet involves a fasting day - liquid food consisting exclusively of broccoli and carrot soup, plus green salad in any quantity and a lot of clean water (at least 2 liters per day).
Recipes
There are many recipes for cooking broccoli, as it can be combined with any vegetables, meat and cheese.
The most popular dishes for those who want to lose weight quickly are smoothies, vegetable soup and salad.
Smoothie
To prepare a breakfast replacement smoothie, you will need:
- 70 g cabbage;
- 50 g spinach;
- 100 g fresh cucumbers;
- 200 ml mineral water;
- a pinch of ground ginger.
Finely chop cucumbers, spinach and broccoli, place in a blender bowl, pour in mineral water and add ginger. Beat at high speed until smooth. Drink for breakfast, lunch or as an evening snack.
Soup
Vegetable spring soup consists of:
- 70 g broccoli;
- 50 g carrots;
- 30 g pumpkin;
- 20 g low-fat cream;
- salt and pepper.
Boil the vegetables until soft, puree them with a blender, dilute with boiling water to the desired consistency, carefully pour in warm cream and beat with a blender again. Before serving, decorate with herbs - parsley, dill or cilantro.
Salad
For a fresh green salad you will need:
- 100 g boiled broccoli;
- 100 g green lettuce leaves;
- 1 large fresh cucumber;
- 50 g boiled beans.
Cucumber and salad are cut, all ingredients are mixed, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and a little salt. Salad can be lunch or dinner, as a separate dish or in combination with a piece of boiled fish.
Reviews and results
Reviews about the broccoli diet are almost always positive, but there are some nuances that are worth considering.
Fadeeva Alexandra, 21 years old: “In a week on the standard menu of broccoli plus beans, greens and apples, I lost 5 kg. I’m satisfied, but I won’t repeat it - it’s hard, the product is apparently not mine. I’ll try other diets.”
Gubarva Veronica, 32 years old: “I really love all types of cabbage, so the broccoli diet was easy for me. 10 days – minus 6 kg. I steamed it, stewed it and baked it. Combined with fermented milk products.”
Marshova Yesenia, 28 years old: “In ten days of the diet, the weight decreased significantly - by 7 kg. I cooked mostly soups and smoothies, and for dinner I always had a salad with fish or beans, otherwise it was hard to sleep hungry. Overall, I really liked the diet and it’s effective.”
Conclusion
If there are no contraindications for eating green cabbage, a diet based on it will not only bring the desired weight loss, but will also add strength, improve the condition of the skin and nails, and relieve swelling. The main thing is to combine foods correctly and not use a reduced diet for more than two weeks in a row.