The 3 day heart diet is a diet that is said to have been developed specifically for heart patients. There are various versions of where the diet is supposed to have come from, with the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic and the American Heart Association all having been credited at one point or another as being the point of origin.
All three of the organizations mentioned have publicly denied being the place where the 3 day heart diet originated, but that has done little to curb its popularity. Despite the name, the diet’s name appeal isn’t to cardiac patients, but to people trying to lose weight as quickly as possible.
The 3 day heart diet is supposed to have been used to prepare heart patients for surgery, allowing them to lose the bloat and water retention that would put extra stress on the heart. This automatically caused weight loss, so the diet, according to the stories, became very popular.
Regardless of the origin of the 3 day heart diet, it will indeed cause you to lose weight quickly. The average person can expect to lose six pounds over the course of the diet, and people that are larger can lose even more, with up to ten pounds being a possibility.
This kind of weight loss is possible because the low calories nature of the diet means that it is also low carb and low bulk. These two things mean that you will lose a substantial amount of water weight as well as clearing out any excess material from your guts. Combined with a likely pound of two of actual fat loss, this accounts for most of the weight lost on the 3 day heart diet.
Generally speaking, there is a set type and amount of food for each meal of the diet, and this changes from day to day. The variety makes it easier to follow, but this is a very low calorie plan, so staying on it for more than the three days allotted is not recommended.
For breakfast, the 3 day heart diet looks like this
Day One
½ of a whole grapefruit or 4 ounces of grapefruit juice, unsweetened
1 slice of toast with a teaspoon of peanut butter
Tea or coffee, if you want it, no dairy
Day Two
1 hard-boiled egg
1 slice of toast
1/2 Banana
Tea or coffee, if you want it, no dairy
Day Three
1 hard-boiled egg
1 slice of toast
Tea or coffee, if you want it, no dairy
For lunch you’ll be eating:
Day One
1/2 cup of water packed tuna
1 slice of toast
Day Two
1 cup of cottage cheese
5 saltine type crackers
Day Three
1 slice of cheddar cheese
5 saltine type crackers
1 small apple
For dinner, the 3 day heart diet menu looks like this:
Day One
A quarter pound of any meat
1 cup of string beans
1 cup of carrots, cooked or raw
1 small apple
1 cup of vanilla ice cream
Day Two
2 hot dogs
1 cup of broccoli
1/2 cup of carrots, cooked or raw.
1/2 banana
1 cup of vanilla ice cream
Day Three
1 cup of water packed tuna
1 cup of beets
1 cup green beans
1 cup cantaloupe
1 cup of vanilla ice cream
On the 3 day heart diet, you are not to use any kind of spice or additive except for salt and pepper. It is not recommended because of the low calories that you stay on it for more than three consecutive days. For best results, alternate the 3 day heart diet with four days of higher calories eating to avoid slowing your metabolism.