Apple Diet For A Month? Read My Review Before You Try

Would you try an apple diet for a month? You already know that apples are good for you. You’ve been told as a kid that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” right? But, are apples the key to long-term weight loss?

It turns out that the answer is a big “Yes!” Apples are great for weight loss, BUT…you cannot be soo restrictive long-term. 

So, let’s find out how an apple diet can help you lose 10 kg or maybe more.

What is the Apple Diet?

As the name implies, the apple diet requires that, for five days, you eat apples as the main component of your meals. The idea is pretty simple:

Day 1 – You eat nothing else but apples for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 2 – You eat apples for breakfast and dinner. For lunch, you can have veggies together with an apple.

Day 3 to 5 – Your breakfast, lunch, and dinner may include fruits, veggies, dairy, and lean meat along with apples

Can You Lose Weight by Eating Only Apples?

You probably already know that apples are a good source of dietary fiber, which can prevent metabolic syndrome. You see, metabolic syndrome is a bunch of health issues related to obesity. These health conditions include high blood sugar, excess belly fat, abnormal cholesterol levels, and increased blood pressure.

What makes apples great for weight loss is that apart from its high fiber content, it also has phenolics and proanthocyanidins. These bioactive compounds showed help in the production of butyric acid, which supports your digestive health.

How Many Apples a Day to Lose Weight?

When it comes to healthy eating and losing weight, mindset makes a whole lot of difference. Instead of thinking that you need to avoid certain foods, it’s best to think that you’re choosing to eat better alternatives. That way, you won’t feel like you’re depriving yourself of something.

This is the same principle behind the apple diet. Instead of eating processed foods, it’s better to eat something natural and nutritious, like an apple.

You see, most Americans don’t meet the required daily fiber intake. The required daily fiber intake for women is 25 grams per day on a 2,000-calorie diet. In men, it’s 38 grams. The average American consumes a mere 15 grams of fiber each day.

A single medium-sized apple can give you about 20% of your daily need. So, before you give in to your cravings, it’s best to have an apple first. Doing so fills your belly, so you don’t overeat. Plus, starting your meal with a high-fiber food like an apple helps you digest your food better. This is how an apple can help you lose weight.

However, there’s a study that says you need to consume three apples a day if you want to lose weight.

The study involved about 411 women who were recruited at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. One group ate apples thrice a day while the others had either oat cookies or pears.

After 12 weeks, the results showed that both the apple and the pear group lost 1.22 kgs while the oat group lost only about 0.88 kgs.

Benefits of a 7-Day Apple Diet

The main reason apples are great for losing weight is its nutrient content. As mentioned earlier, it’s a good source of fiber and bioactive compounds.

Let’s take a closer look at apple’s health benefits, shall we?

Apples Can Be Your Daily Source of Multivitamins

You can get most of your daily vitamins and minerals from apples. For instance, you can get 14% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C in merely one medium-sized apple. Other than that, you can also get vitamin A, niacin, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin K, riboflavin, and thiamin, although at smaller amounts.

Apples Can Help You Against the Inflammatory Effects of a High-Fat Diet

Apples are a rich source of pectin. This soluble dietary fiber binds to cholesterol and inhibits glucose absorption.

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that soluble fiber turns pro-inflammatory cells to anti-inflammatory cells. Meaning, a diet rich in apples and fruits rich in pectin can help you fight infection and inflammatory diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

In fact, the same study found that soluble fiber from apples can reduce the adverse effects of a high-fat diet, such as high blood glucose and high triglycerides.

Another study from the Norwich BioScience Institutes found another feather to pectin’s cap. Researchers suggest that pectin can protect you from cancer by inhibiting galectin 3, a protein that’s linked to cancer progression.

Apples May Lower Your Risk of Stroke

In a 10-year study of 233 cases of stroke, researchers found that those who consumed apples and pears had 9% lower risk of stroke compared to those who ate green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, and red vegetables.

According to the research paper, apple’s dietary fiber and flavonol content make it effective at reducing stroke risk.

Risks Associated with Apple Diet Detox

Apples may be a nutritional powerhouse. Eating them every day won’t cause serious health issues. But, as you probably already know, too much of a good thing can be harmful.

Apples eaten in excess may lead to some health issues such as:

•       Tooth Damage – Apples are acidic. Eating too many acidic fruits can lead to dental erosion.
•       Exposure to Pathogens – A group of bacteria called Escherichia-Shigella, which are known pathogens, can be found in most conventional apples. Members of this genus may cause diarrhea, especially among children. If you want to enjoy the health benefits of apples without being exposed to these disease-causing elements, it’s best to choose organic produce.
•       Lack of Necessary Nutrients – The apple diet is too restrictive. While it’s packed with nutrients, it can’t provide everything that your body needs. Apples aren’t an adequate source of zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein, for instance.

What Happens If You Eat Apples Every Day?

As mentioned earlier, the apple diet has its own risks and benefits. In general, a fruitarian diet could lead to serious health issues.

You know Steve Jobs, right?

He’s the more famous half of the Apple duo, the other one being Steve Wozniak. It was revealed in his biography written by Walter Isaacson, that Steve had some strange eating habits. According to the book, Steve would sometimes eat only one or two types of food – like apples or carrots – for weeks at a time.

Steve also flirted with fruitarianism. In fact, his fascination with the fruitarian diet is what inspired his company’s name.

If there’s anything that can tell you how damaging a restrictive diet such as fruitarianism can be, it’s an incident involving Ashton Kutcher.

In his preparation for his role as Steve Jobs in a biopic entitled jOBS, Ashton adopted Steve’s fruitarian diet for a month.

The result?

He was taken to the hospital a couple of days before the shooting of the movie started. Ashton told reporters, “I was like doubled over in pain. My pancreas levels were completely out of whack. It was really terrifying … considering everything.“

As the world knows, Steve Jobs died in late 2011 after long years of battle against pancreatic cancer.

What Others Say About the Apple Diet

Some people have documented and blogged about their experience with the apple diet.

One guy named Michael Jarosky tried eating only seven apples for a week and nothing else aside from water. To keep it short, he found working out to be more difficult on day five and he says he won’t recommend a 7-day apple diet to his readers.

 If anything, the experience taught him that his body doesn’t want food, but nutrients. After trying the apple diet, his first food purchases were healthy and tasty foods like avocado, salmon, lamb, and quinoa.

A Better Alternative

You can enjoy the benefits of apples better if you pair it with other healthy foods.

Here is an example of what you can eat in a day if you want to incorporate apples in your diet:

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
1 medium-sized apple + 1 slice whole meal bread + scrambled eggs	A medium-sized apple + Charred Shrimp and Avocado Salad	1 medium-sized apple + Tex-Mex Stuffed Chicken

 

This meal plan is healthy and can help you lose weight for various reasons.

•       Eggs, shrimp, and chicken provide you with protein, which is more satiating compared to carbs and fat. In fact, weight loss studies have found that protein intake led to improved body composition. Meaning, protein can not only help you lose weight; it can help you become lean since your body will have healthier body fat, bone, water, and muscle percentages.
•       Avocado has been proven to improve BMI and waist circumference. It also reduces your risk of metabolic syndrome by a stunning 50%. It could be because avocado consumption improved diet quality by promoting the intake of vegetables and fruit while lowering intake of added sugars.
•       Also, of course, apples, especially the Granny Smith variety, have high dietary fiber and polyphenol content which promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in your gut. By balancing your gut bacteria, apples minimize inflammation and help you feel satiated.

The problem with today’s world is that you’re bombarded by different kinds of process foods and misguided, restrictive diets. Your environment makes it nearly impossible for you to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle.

The world has become overweight, and many so-called health experts are taking advantage of the situation by shoving all kinds of diet to your face.

Many people are struggling with weight loss. They blame themselves for not exercising enough or for lacking determination when, in fact, losing weight these days is indeed a Herculean task. That is if you try to lose weight by following a restrictive diet or an intense workout regimen.

These methods are not sustainable because temptations are everywhere. There’s a McDonald’s in every corner and life gets too busy at times that you don’t have time to go to the gym.

To truly lose weight, you just have to realize that there are three fundamental rules when it comes to losing fat the healthy way.

1.   There are food combinations that can help you burn fat faster and healthier. Different food types also perform better at different times of the day.
2.   Varying your nutrient sources can help you avoid metabolic slowdown. This is precisely why doing the apple diet for a month can be detrimental. You need to introduce new foods into your system.
3.   Some foods are an effective metabolism booster. Using them in your cooking can help you burn calories so you won’t have to deprive yourself of your favorite meals.

 

Summary

Apples, which are readily available in the United States, come in different varieties. There are thousands of different kinds of apples, believe it or not. It’s arguably the most popular fruit, and it’s packed with nutrients and is tasty. It’s also super versatile. You can eat it as is, use it in cooking savory dishes or turn it into a sweet apple pie.

It’s no wonder it’s become the star of yet another fad diet – the apple diet.

While apples are truly nutrient-dense, apples alone can’t give you all the nutrients that your body needs to function well. Its high fiber content can help you lose weight, but there’s no need to do the extreme. You can make apples your daily source of fiber, but you have to pair it with filling dishes such as eggs or chicken.

Rather than choosing a restrictive diet that deprives you of your favorite meals, keep these three things in mind:

1.   Know at which times of the day you should eat specific foods to help you burn fat faster.
2.   Get your nutrients from various food sources.
3.   Use cooking ingredients that boost your metabolism.

My Solution

I have recently been trying metabolic cooking and its really been working so far! – I feel great, love the meals and have lost 3 kg in the past 2 weeks!

I’ve tried severe calorie restricting in the past and it has never worked for me. If your like me and actually want to enjoy the process of weight loss, I couldn’t recommend metabolic cooking enough.

Remember, always think long-term when it comes to weight loss. Do things that are sustainable and you will see the success!