Diet on celery: menu for each day, recipes for dishes

When the cold weather goes away and the gentle spring sun forces us to take off mountains of clothes, we understand that it will be increasingly difficult to hide the fat reserves accumulated over the winter. Most of us realize the need to take active steps to correct our figure when there is no time left to get going. Working out in the gym in combination with a balanced diet, as well as limiting the consumption of fats and carbohydrates do not give quick results. The only way out of the situation is strict diets that allow you to unload the body, losing about 1 kg of weight per day. And one of such effective and healthy unloading diets is the celery diet.

Indications

Gone are the days when plump shapes were considered cute and attractive. After all, excess weight, no matter how much we would like it to be, has never been an indicator of good health. Rather, on the contrary, it is a manifestation of metabolic disorders in the body, which leads to the deposition of fat reserves on certain parts of the body.

But if mild and moderate obesity can be considered more of a cosmetic problem, because of which short skirts and revealing swimsuits are banned, then obesity is already a medical problem, because excess weight creates additional stress on various organs and systems of the human body, which as a result begin to fail.

People diagnosed with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, problems with blood vessels and leg joints have to actively fight excess weight. With all the above pathologies, losing weight helps to avoid relapses of the disease and all sorts of complications associated with the fact that organs are constantly under great stress, which means they wear out faster.

Thus, excess weight is a risk factor for increased blood pressure and chest pain (angina attack), the development of type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer, gallbladder disease, joint disease, gout, sleep apnea. Weight loss and weight normalization is the prevention of such diseases. But some types of diets can be included in the complex therapy of diseases.

Celery, on the course use of which the celery diet is based, is used in therapeutic nutrition for:

• diabetes (due to the ability of this low-calorie product with a low glycemic index to restore water-salt balance and reduce blood glucose levels),
• oncological diseases (helps reduce weight and the risk of developing cancer of the uterus, ovaries, gallbladder, prostate, intestines, and also inhibits the growth and development of tumor processes),
• heart disease (helps normalize blood pressure),
• atherosclerosis of blood vessels (helps reduce the level of harmful cholesterol in the body),
• some pathologies of the digestive system (normalizes the digestion process, stimulates intestinal motility, promotes its natural cleansing),
• kidney diseases (due to good diuretic properties and the ability to fight edema).

This list can be continued further. It is difficult to even say for what diseases such a valuable vitamin product would not be useful (although such pathologies exist, and we will talk about them a little later). After all, such a diet, although considered strict, has nothing in common with starvation, which causes a shortage of the vitamins and minerals the body needs. Celery is simply a storehouse of useful substances.

The celery diet can be considered as an option to quickly lose weight on the eve of an upcoming operation or examination, for which a large fat layer is an undesirable obstacle. The requirement to bring your body weight and shape back to normal may also come from potential employers. Usually, in such circumstances, there is very little time left to correct the situation, and a celery-based diet allows you to quickly and safely solve this problem

And yet, this diet is most often resorted to by those who want to quickly, deliciously and without much effort lose a few extra pounds in order to look more attractive in the eyes of the opposite sex. After all, there are not so many diets with quick results without harm to health, and everyone wants to have a beautiful figure.

The celery diet for weight loss is the best option, because it not only helps to lose weight due to the low calorie content of the dishes consumed, but also improves the processes in the body that allow you to normalize digestion and metabolism. And this can already be considered as a prevention of repeated weight gain.

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General information celery diet

We have seen that celery is a unique plant that gives people youth and beauty. But in nature there are many other useful plants with a diverse nutritional composition, many of them are included in various diets. Why is the celery diet so popular and has such impressive results?

The reason lies in the chemical and nutritional composition of celery. Even if you consume only this root vegetable (its various parts) for several days, a person will not feel hungry and depressed, as happens when following strict mono-diets. The rich vitamin and mineral composition of celery gives the body almost everything it needs for satiety and normal functioning, and the high fiber content allows you to maintain a feeling of satiety for a long time.

This allows you to limit the consumption of other energy-giving and strength-giving products, which, with a high content of fats and carbohydrates and a deficiency of plant fibers, often turn out to be the cause of excess weight. And sometimes you can completely refuse them if you need to urgently lose 3-4 kilograms, which is possible with a short-term strict celery diet.

The choice of celery as a basis for the diet was also due to the low caloric content of different parts of the plant. In its fresh form, the energy value of the root vegetable does not exceed 16 kcal, and the caloric content of most dietary dishes based on it is within 23-35 kcal per 100 g.

It turns out that celery can be consumed virtually in unlimited quantities during a diet. At the same time, weight loss will only increase, which is not surprising at all. The content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in celery is quite low, while it contains almost 95% water and a lot of plant fibers.

Water has a diuretic effect, removing excess fluid from the body, accumulating in tissues and increasing the volume of subcutaneous fat (after all, fat cells are 12% water). And fiber is a universal cleanser for the intestines, the digestion of which requires colossal energy expenditure from the body. And since the energy value of celery is low, the body uses its available energy reserves in the form of fat to process it. This explains the rapid weight loss on the celery diet.

Having carefully examined the composition of the plant, we can conclude that it is most useful in fresh form, because heat treatment destroys some valuable substances. But the celery diet for weight loss is not limited to salads and fresh juices. It also includes dishes in which the plant is subjected to heat treatment: boiling, stewing, baking.

Currently, several different forms of celery-based diets have been developed, ranging from fasting days to a two-week course. If desired, everyone can choose a suitable diet option, which differs in both duration and composition of products. Those who have not previously practiced dietary nutrition or have not included celery dishes in their menu are recommended to start with a one-day diet.

Celery diet for 1 day (fasting days)

This type of fasting involves drinking freshly squeezed celery juice throughout the day. The stalks and leaves of the plant are best suited for its preparation. Celery juice and fresh juices during a fasting day are both the main meal and a snack, and during the day the body receives such a supply of useful substances that it does not always have with a full, varied diet.

Fasting days can be improved. For example, include apples in the diet. For example, add 1-2 apples to celery juice for breakfast and lunch, and during the second breakfast (lunch), afternoon snack and dinner, give preference to celery juices and fresh juices, alternating them. Before going to bed, a little juice is recommended, which will help remove the feeling of hunger, which prevents falling asleep and a full night's rest.

You can unload by including only celery and low-calorie vegetables in your diet. In this case, you need to eat about 300-400 g of celery in any form, and no more than 2 kg of vegetables (except potatoes). These can be juices, salads, fresh juices, soups, okroshka on kefir or whey, baked vegetables.

During the fasting day, in addition to celery juice, you need to drink a lot of liquid. However, the choice of drinks is small: apple juice, boiled, purified or mineral water (preferably still), herbal teas without added sugar. The volume of liquid drunk per day should be within 2.5 liters.

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Celery diet for 3 days

If the body reacted positively to fasting days, you can try a 3-day mono-diet. However, you shouldn't resort to it without special need, because it will be a certain stress for the body, it is not for nothing that up to 4-5 kg of weight is lost in such a short period.

The three-day mono-diet involves eating celery in any form during the day: fresh, baked, boiled, in the form of juices and fresh juices, soup-puree. This is a rather strict version of dietary nutrition, since the body prefers a variety of food.

But there are other, more interesting options for a 3-day diet, which, in addition to celery, also include other low-calorie foods:

• Stimulating the work of the intestines and gall bladder. The main component of the diet is fresh celery juice obtained from the root and petiole parts of the plant. With three meals a day, it should be consumed 30-40 minutes before the main meal in the amount of 20 ml (4 teaspoons). There is no need to wash down the juice with water.

In this case, the juice will activate the production of digestive enzymes, improve digestion of food, and stimulate the excretory system (urination, bowel cleansing).

The food consumed during the diet should be extremely low-calorie, so that the daily calorie intake does not exceed 1200 kcal. This can be lean meats and fish, seafood, vegetables (potatoes and beets are undesirable), low-calorie fruits and berries (bananas and grapes are not included), dairy and fermented milk products, the fat content of which is within 0-1%.

You need to drink a lot during the 3-day celery diet. Any drinks without sugar are suitable, including coffee, tea, and still mineral water. However, you should not abuse coffee-containing drinks, because they can increase appetite and cause a feeling of hunger, which is undesirable in this situation.

• Salad option. This involves eating celery-based salads for three days. Any vegetable oils (preferably olive or sesame), low-fat yogurt, kefir, balsamic and wine vinegar are suitable as dressings. Salads can also include protein products, the amount of which should not exceed 25% of the total composition of the products.
• Soup option. For 3 days, you are allowed to consume unlimited amounts of celery soup (we will give recipes for its preparation below) and various parts of the plant in fresh form (in salads, smoothies, fresh juices). The drinking regime consists of drinking large amounts of clean water. You can also include 1-2 small cups of green tea in the diet, but you cannot add sugar to the drink.

All the above diet options are not recommended to be practiced for more than 3 days. And they can be repeated no earlier than in 2-3 weeks, when the digestive system has rested from stress. Diets designed for a longer period should have a more varied diet and include food of different consistencies, which is necessary to maintain stable functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Celery diet for 4 days

This diet option is not particularly popular, although the dishes in it are more nutritious and their overall caloric content is higher. The results of such a diet will be correspondingly more modest (minus 2-3 kg).

The main condition of the 4-day diet is the inclusion of celery in salads, which must be present in the menu planned for afternoon tea. At the same time, the content of various parts of the plant in them should be at least 50%. The remaining meals should contain lean meat (for example, steamed cutlets, baked pollock fillet, boiled chicken without skin), low-fat dairy and fermented milk products, fruits.

Celery can be added to dishes in any form, but it should be present on the table at least once a day.

Celery diet for 7 days

The basis of the weekly diet option is celery soup, which must be present in the menu for all seven days. The original version of this soup was developed by American doctors who were concerned about the problem of the impossibility of performing urgent cardiac operations due to the excess weight of patients. But this country is the leader in the number of people suffering from obesity.

The soup recipe below is the brainchild of professionals who know all the secrets of rapid weight loss. To prepare it, we will need the following ingredients:

• Celery root – 100 g
• Celery stalks – 150 g
• Cabbage (Chinese, white) – 300 g
• Fresh tomatoes – 300-350 g
• Bell pepper – 1-2 pcs.
• Asparagus or green beans – 150 g
• Onions – 250 g
• Carrots – 100-150 g
• Water – 700-800 g

First, boil chopped celery root, carrots and slightly less than half of the onion used (a couple of bulbs) in water for a quarter of an hour. After that, add chopped pepper, celery stalks and asparagus to the soup. Blend the tomatoes into tomato juice and add to the soup 15 minutes before the end of cooking along with the cabbage.

Vegetable soup should be cooked over low heat without adding salt. When eating, it is allowed to lightly season it with soy sauce. In general, during any version of the celery diet, the amount of salt consumed should be reduced to a minimum.

In addition to celery soup, the weekly diet implies the inclusion of other healthy foods in the diet: vegetables, fruits, lean meat, low-fat dairy products, which will be added to the celery soup. In this case, the menu will be more balanced, so during all 7 days a person does not experience hunger and some nervousness observed during the consumption of monotonous food.

Again, there are no restrictions on the amount of celery soup you can eat, but you need to know when to stop. Stretching your stomach has never done anyone any good. It is better to eat your usual amount and wait 20 minutes, during which time you usually feel full, than to stretch your stomach and thereby increase this amount, putting a serious obstacle on the path to losing weight.

During the diet, you need to eat regularly, not allowing the feeling of hunger to appear. There should be at least three main meals. This is necessary to maintain the stable functioning of the digestive system. Food should be as varied as possible. Vegetables, including celery, can be eaten raw, boiled or baked. But it should be taken into account that after 6 pm, preference should be given to fresh celery, juices, fresh juices and smoothies made from it.

Let's look at an approximate menu for a celery diet for a week:

Day one. Celery soup and favorite fruits, with the exception of bananas and grapes, which are high in calories, with a total weight of about 1 kilogram.

Day two. Celery soup and vegetables that can be eaten in any form, even canned, but in this case you need to remember that canned food contains salt. You can eat about half a kilo of vegetables per day, but legumes are not included in this list. On this day, even baked potatoes are allowed (a couple of small potatoes), but it is advisable to bake them without oil. Vegetable oil can be added to vegetable dishes, but in limited quantities, but it is better to do without it, because the effectiveness of weight loss depends on such moments.

Day three. In addition to celery soup in unlimited quantities, you can eat half a kilo of vegetables and fruits per day that are not high in calories.

Day 4. The menu includes the same products and in the same quantities that were recommended on the 3rd day of the diet, but you can add a glass of low-fat milk, kefir or yogurt.

Day five. On this day, along with celery soup, you can include in your diet about 1 kg of non-starchy vegetables (tomatoes in any form, except fried, are a good option) and about 300-350 g of beef or veal (boiled, steamed or baked in the oven without adding fat).

Day six. The diet is identical to the fifth day and includes vegetable and beef dishes. Don't forget about celery soup, which should be on the menu every day.

Day seven. On this day, along with celery soup, you can add 3 spoons of boiled brown (unpolished) rice and freshly squeezed juices from different fruits to the menu.

Celery soup itself is a dish that is easily digested and absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. The other dishes should also be light and low-calorie if possible, after all, the diet is designed to reduce weight. You can drink any drinks during the diet: teas, juices, coffee, fruit drinks, but you cannot add sugar to them. You can drink coffee, but only without milk or cream. During the week, you need to drink a lot of water (about 2 liters per day), which will contribute to intensive cleansing of the body.

Celery Diet for Weight Loss 14 Days

This two-week diet is a variant of the 7-day diet. To implement it, you can take the weekly menu described above as an example and use it for another 7 days. In this case, the menu of the eighth day will coincide with the first, the ninth - with the second, etc. Or you can stick to this option:

Days one and eight: Celery soup plus low-starch fruit, juice or coffee without added sugar.

Day two and nine. Soup and boiled vegetables, including a couple of boiled or baked potatoes. Vegetables can be seasoned with vegetable oil.

Day three and ten. 1 medium-sized potato baked in the skin, unlimited celery soup, green or herbal tea.

Day 4 and 11. Celery soup, during 3 main meals you can eat 1 small piece of banana, low-fat kefir up to 1 liter.

Day five and twelve. Add protein foods to the celery soup: lean fish, turkey, chicken or boiled beef (300-350 g). Among vegetables, give preference to tomatoes (5-6 pieces).

Day six and thirteen. The diet is identical to the previous day, but the amount of vegetables can be increased to 2 kg. Any vegetables can be used, except potatoes and legumes.

Days seven and fourteen. Celery soup, 2-3 spoons of boiled unpolished rice and about 1 kg of different vegetables (no more than 1 potato). In addition to water, you can drink about 300 g of fruit juices and fresh juices per day.

It is very important to drink at least 2 liters of water a day during the two-week diet, and preferably 2.5-3 liters. In this way, you can not only lose excess weight (and usually 0.5 to 1 kg goes away per day of the celery diet), but also cleanse and heal your body, which will not experience stress and strain. And this is very important if the diet does not harm your health, but on the contrary, strengthens it.

Celery Diet Recipes

We can talk for a long time about the benefits of a celery-based diet, about permitted and prohibited products, about the delicate and rather pleasant taste of celery soup, but this will not give an idea of what dishes this diet can be. Let's try to give several options for dishes that can be prepared and consumed during the use of this weight loss method.

Let's start with various options for making celery soup, which have been improved and modernized by fans of diets with a well-developed imagination. They may differ slightly from the recipe developed by American doctors, but are quite suitable for diversifying the diet during a diet.

Option 1.

• White cabbage – about 400-450 g
• Red onion – 6 pcs.
• Bell pepper – 1 medium sized piece
• Tomatoes – 2 pcs.
• Celery petioles – 250-300 g

Finely chop the cabbage, also finely chop the onion. Cut the pepper, peeled tomatoes and celery stalks into small cubes. Pour 1 liter of water over the vegetables, put on high heat and keep on the stove for no more than 2-3 minutes after boiling. Bring to readiness under a closed lid, removing from the stove.

Option 2.

• White cabbage – 1.5 kg
• Medium onion – 6 pieces
• Two-color bell peppers – 2 pcs.
• Tomatoes – 6 pieces
• Celery (root or leaf) – about 300 g

Cut all the vegetables into small pieces at your discretion, add water so that it is 1.5-2 cm above the level of the products in the pan, quickly bring to a boil and cook on low heat for no more than 25 minutes, covering the pan with a lid.

Option 3.

• Celery root – 200-250 g
• Cabbage – 500-600 g
• Carrots, tomatoes and onions – 6 each.
• Bell pepper – 2 pcs.
• Green beans – 400 g
• Tomato juice – 1.5 l
• Dill and parsley to taste

Finely chop all the ingredients, pour them into a saucepan and add tomato juice (dilute it with water if necessary). Bring our soup to a boil and keep it at a strong boil for 10 minutes, then another 10 minutes on low heat.

Option 4

• Celery root – 1 medium
• Celery stalks or leaves – 200-300 g
• White cabbage – 300-350 g
• Bell peppers and carrots – 2 each.
• Onions – 5 pcs.
• Garlic - 3 medium cloves
• Tomato paste – 200-220 ml
• Olive oil – 2 tbsp.
• Dill, parsley, bay leaf to taste

Chop all the vegetables except for 1 onion, pour in 3 liters of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and cook the soup for another quarter of an hour. At this time, lightly fry the chopped onion in oil in a frying pan, pour in a small amount of water, and simmer for a couple of minutes. Then add tomato paste to the frying pan and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

After frying, chopped herbs, and finely chopped garlic, add them to the pot with the soup, cook it for another 5 minutes and turn off the heat.

There are many ways to make celery soup, but none of them involve the use of salt. You can add a little sea salt or soy sauce to the finished dish during the meal, but it is better to try to feel the real taste of vegetables and love it. It is quite possible that after the diet you will no longer want to spoil the taste of food with salt, which is sometimes called white poison.

So far we have talked about the main dish of our celery weight loss program. But the diet also includes other healthy dishes based on the valuable root vegetable. Various salads, where celery is one of the ingredients, are especially popular among those losing weight.

Fruit and vegetable salad 1

• Sweet and sour apple – 1 pc.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Chinese cabbage – 150-200 g
• Celery (root) – 100-200 g

Grate the apple and vegetables on a fine grater and season with lemon juice to taste.

Fruit and vegetable salad 2

• Celery (root) – 400 g
• Carrot and sour apple – 1 each.
• Garlic – 1 clove

Use celery fresh or boiled. Grate it together with carrots and apples, sprinkle with finely chopped garlic, black pepper and dill, mix and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Vegetable salad 1

• Celery root or stalks – 150-200 g
• Turnip – 1 pc (medium or large, can be replaced with radish)
• Carrots – 1 pc.

Grate the vegetables on a medium or large grater, season them with a small amount of vegetable oil and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Vegetable salad 2

• Cherry tomatoes – 0.5 kg
• Celery petioles – 1 bunch
• Bell pepper – 1 pc.
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Cilantro - a small bunch

Cut the tomatoes in half, the celery into small pieces across the grain, and the pepper into pieces or strips. Mix the vegetables, add chopped garlic, pour over the dressing of olive oil and lemon juice, and garnish with cilantro.

Vegetable salad with yogurt

• Diced celery stalks – 2 cups
• Cucumber in cubes and carrots on a coarse grater - ½ cup each
• Garlic – 1-2 cloves
• Onion - a small piece.

Mix the vegetables, sprinkle with chopped garlic and grated onion. Add finely chopped parsley. Mix everything and season with yogurt. You can use a mixture of yogurt and low-fat cream (buttermilk).

Meat salad with celery

• Celery root – 1 pc.
• Celery stalks – 2 pcs.
• Boiled chicken breast fillet – 1 pc.
• Bell pepper – 1 pc.

Grate the root celery, and finely chop the stalk and other vegetables. Add the chicken fillet cut into pieces, season with chopped green onions, pour in low-fat yogurt, mix and place on the green leaves of your favorite salad.

You can add any vegetables, greens, boiled chicken or beef, hard-boiled and finely chopped eggs to celery salads. As a dressing, you can use lean, olive, sesame oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, yogurt, sour milk, add your favorite natural spices and experiment with flavors. So the diet will not be a burdensome task, but a creative process, useful for the mind and health.

Benefits

No matter how much we would like to always look slim and attractive, in pursuit of a beautiful figure we must not forget about our health. This means that when choosing methods and means of combating extra pounds, we must always pay attention to what benefits a change in diet can bring to the body, and whether it will harm the body.

Diets come in different forms. For example, fasting can also be considered as a low-calorie diet option, but unlike the now popular fasting days, it may not always be beneficial. The celery diet does not imply anything like that. This is one of the strict low-calorie diets, the basis of which is celery dishes. It is in the composition of this unusual plant that its value for the body lies, and therefore the benefits of the diet, in which it plays the main role.

But what is so useful for humans about celery – a plant that we are used to adding to various dishes to give them a certain piquancy in taste? Because it is an amazing source of substances useful for our body, which also has an unusually low calorie content (only 13-16 kcal per 100 g of raw product). The plant, regardless of its type (and you can eat root, petiole and leaf varieties of celery), is distinguished by a high content of vitamins A, K and beta-carotene. In its composition we find vitamins C, E, PP, as well as many vitamins of group B.

The mineral composition of the product is represented by: potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium. Celery pulp contains smaller amounts of iron, zinc, manganese. These are all the vitamins and minerals without which our body cannot function normally.

An important feature of the plant is that every person, regardless of gender and age, can eat dishes based on it, while receiving great benefits for their body, because celery:

• contains amino acids that stimulate tissue regeneration processes in the body (rejuvenating effect and inhibition of aging processes),
• includes many vitamins and minerals necessary for the body, so during the diet you don’t have to worry about getting vitamin deficiency along with a slim figure,
• has a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system, due to which stress resistance increases and night sleep is normalized,
• regulates water-electrolyte balance, which allows you to successfully combat hypertension, prevents complications of diabetes, normalizes the functioning of the thyroid gland,
• helps the digestive system to work clearly and smoothly: improves appetite, but at the same time controls the feeling of hunger, due to the high content of water and dietary fiber, prevents constipation and excessive accumulation of gases in the intestines caused by fermentation processes in the slow-working gastrointestinal tract, promotes the digestion of heavy dishes and protein foods,
• helps to increase the body's tone, so the diet does not cause a loss of strength and general weakness,
• is considered an effective aphrodisiac, which means that we are talking not only about a surge of strength and vigor, but also about an increase in libido, especially in the stronger sex (there is information that celery acts similarly to the popular drug "Viagra").
• is considered an anti-allergenic plant, i.e. intolerance to celery is considered an extremely rare phenomenon, and in addition, in folk medicine it is used as a remedy for allergies,
• thanks to its diuretic effect, it effectively combats swelling, removes toxins from the body, cleanses the kidneys and bladder, preventing stagnation in them,
• increases immunity and hemoglobin levels in the blood,
• helps women suffering from menopause and PMS, reduces painful periods,
• improves the condition of skin, hair, nails,
• strengthens blood vessels (in this case, it is useful to drink fresh celery juice),
• prevents the accumulation and deposition of bad cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels,
• Due to the content of the antiulcer component, it reduces painful symptoms in inflammatory diseases of the stomach (gastritis and ulcers).

But the most important thing in losing weight is the fact that celery helps effectively fight extra pounds, because our body spends much more energy on digesting it than it receives from the product itself, which has a very low calorie content.

What can and what can not?

The very concept of a diet implies some restrictions in nutrition. But if there are none, then you will not have to wait for a positive result. But to follow a diet, it is not enough to know that restrictions exist, it is important to understand what they are, because any diet has its own permitted and prohibited products. In this case, prohibited products are those products, food additives and dishes, the use of which should be limited as much as possible, and better yet, excluded altogether.

But we will talk about combined versions of the celery diet, where in addition to the plant itself and soup made from it, other multi-component dishes are also included in the diet.

Let's start with the main question: what can you eat? These will be the above-mentioned permitted products:

• any kind of vegetables, except potatoes, which contain a lot of starch and are high in calories (this vegetable is usually excluded from all weight loss diets),
• almost all your favorite sour and sweet and sour fruits,
• lean meats (beef, veal, chicken and turkey without skin),
• lean fish (sea or river fish with white meat),
• low-fat dairy products (low-fat dairy products can be included in limited quantities),
• rice and rice groats (the only cereal allowed, but it is better to take unpolished rice),
• eggs (preferably hard-boiled, no more than 2 per day or 3 whites),
• herbal aromatic seasonings: dill, green onions, basil, parsley, etc.,
• tea, coffee without milk, herbal infusions, still mineral water, fruit juices without added sugar, vegetable juices and fresh juices,
• spices: lemon juice, soy sauce, wine and balsamic vinegar, paprika, black and hot red pepper, sea salt (salt in limited quantities).

It is on the basis of these products and food additives that the celery diet is based. They can be combined in different combinations to make the menu more varied and the diet more enjoyable.

But it is important to understand not only what foods are allowed during weight loss. Attention should also be paid to the methods of cooking vegetables, fruits, cereals and meat. Vegetables are recommended to be eaten fresh, baked or boiled, mashed, included in salads and soups, made from them healthy juices, smoothies, fresh juices. Fruits are best eaten fresh, in the form of salads, juices and fresh juices. Vegetables and fruits can be combined with fermented milk products: yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese. Meat can be boiled or baked.

What can't you eat on the celery diet, and what should you simply limit in quantity? Let's start with the prohibited products:

• vegetables prepared by frying,
• fatty meats and lean fried meats,
• high-calorie fruits and berries, especially grapes and bananas (the latter can be included in the diet once a week in small quantities, especially if a person has symptoms of glucose deficiency),
• any nuts and sunflower seeds that are high in calories,
• all types of flour products, cereals, with the exception of brown rice,
• boiled dough dishes (pelmeni, vareniki, pasta, dumplings, galushki, etc.),
• sweets and confectionery, including sweet desserts, ice cream, chocolate, mousses, jelly, puddings,
• fatty dairy products (fat cottage cheese, sour cream, cheese, cream),
• fatty, salty meat and sausage products (sausages, hot dogs, head cheese, lard, smoked meats, etc.),
• fatty and red fish,
• butter, mayonnaise (store-bought or homemade),
• animal fats and margarine,
• store-bought food additives with salt and flavor enhancers,
• any alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks, beer (including non-alcoholic) and kvass,
• sweet and unsweetened carbonated drinks, compotes prepared with sugar, store-bought juices.

Salt can be added to dishes only in minimal quantities, if the food does not fit into the mouth without it. Sugar is prohibited in dishes. Canned vegetables can be consumed once a week in limited quantities, since they contain salt and help increase appetite. To prepare salads, you can use a small amount of any vegetable oil and your favorite natural seasonings.

As we can see from the composition of the permitted products, the celery diet for 7 and 14 days can hardly be called too strict. It allows you to make your menu quite varied and complete, so the body will react to it quite normally, and extra pounds will go away naturally even without physical activity. By the way, the latter is not prohibited during the diet, but you should not overdo it, because the diet is low in calories, and large energy costs can negatively affect your well-being.

Contraindications

Despite all the declared benefits of using the celery diet for the figure and overall health of the body, not everyone can use the method of rapid weight loss. The fact is that there are a number of diseases in which the beneficial properties of celery can turn into harm, provoking severe exacerbations.

Such diseases include:

• gastric and duodenal ulcers, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), and gastritis with increased acidity of gastric juice (active stimulation of the secretion of digestive enzymes creates a load on organs weakened by the disease and increases the content of components in the gastric juice that irritate the mucous membrane),
• cholecystitis and gallstone disease (celery has a choleretic effect and the movement of stones can lead to blockage of the bile ducts),
• kidney and urolithiasis (here the diuretic effect of the plant will be harmful).

In case of vascular diseases caused by their blockage or increased permeability, the possibility of following a celery diet should be discussed with the attending physician. The same should be done by those who suffer from epilepsy and other serious diseases. The fact is that diets for weight loss differ from diets prescribed for various health disorders, and only specialists can judge how safe they can be.

Celery juice is considered unhealthy for urticaria and various skin diseases, thyroid pathologies, liver diseases, epileptic status, etc. But the possibility of eating boiled, stewed and baked celery for these pathologies should be clarified with your doctor, however, the effectiveness of a diet without drinking juice and fresh root vegetables will be noticeably lower and there will be less benefit from it.

Expectant mothers should not resort to the celery diet either. And it's not even that the diet of a pregnant woman should be as complete as possible. It's just that celery contains substances that increase blood flow to the uterus. Which puts it in a state of combat readiness. Increased blood supply and active contractions of the uterine muscles, so necessary during childbirth, can play a bad joke on a woman who is too early to give birth. The expectant mother, therefore, along with excess weight, can lose her baby.

An experienced obstetrician-gynecologist or nutritionist will never suggest a celery-based diet to an overweight pregnant woman. Moreover, in their opinion, during this period it is better to forget about the existence of such a root vegetable with such an ambiguous effect on the body of a young mother. If we are not talking about obesity, which is a certain problem during this period, a pregnant woman remains beautiful without any diets, and she will have plenty of time to take care of her figure after giving birth.

The benefits of celery during breastfeeding are also questionable. The fact is that such a product in the mother's diet can cause digestive problems in the baby (bloating and intestinal colic) and food allergies (diathesis). It can be introduced into the diet no earlier than 4-5 months after childbirth, and then very carefully, gradually, in small portions. And what can we say about the celery diet, in which all the emphasis is on eating this root vegetable.

True, after the baby has been transferred to another food, the woman may well start correcting her figure, which has changed so much during pregnancy and lactation. And the celery diet will help her to regain her former attractiveness in a short time.

Possible risks

It must be said that any diet is a kind of violence against the body, which is accustomed to a completely different regime and diet. The celery diet, by the way, does not impose strict restrictions on the number of main meals per day and snacks, the volume of consumed products and dishes, and even the options for their preparation (the same celery soup has several variations). However, for many people this is a different, perhaps even unusual diet, the basis of which is a plant with an unusual, pronounced taste and smell.

The fact is that celery with its characteristic spicy aroma is not to everyone's taste. And even those who periodically added it to traditional dishes cannot always withstand the daily consumption of this unusual vegetable. If it is just a fasting day, you can endure it. But strict 3-day diets with 50-100% inclusion of celery in the diet are not so easy to tolerate, which becomes the reason for looking for other options to quickly lose weight.

Due to intolerance to the smell and taste of celery, nausea may appear, which does not allow you to continue the diet further.

Another reason for the difficult tolerability of a weekly and especially two-week diet may be hypoglycemia developing against the background of limited sugar consumption. Celery itself also helps to reduce blood glucose levels. But if this property is considered useful for a sugar diet, but in a person with normal blood glucose levels it can provoke the appearance of symptoms such as weakness, dizziness, and increased fatigue.

True, such symptoms may appear on the 2-3 day of a strict diet. 1-2 sweet fruits will be the salvation. But if the symptoms do not go away or are repeated regularly, it is better to finish the diet where it has been achieved.

The risks associated with the diet mainly concern the pathologies listed in the contraindications to this method of rapid weight loss. It is in these cases that complications of existing diseases can be observed against the background of the celery diet, although the development of new health pathologies in this case is not discussed. Most likely, pain in the epigastric region and lower abdomen may appear, associated with increased acidity of the stomach and increased inflammation, as well as with obstruction of the bile and urinary tract.

However, if you are on a diet for more than a week, even if you are in perfect health, you need to understand that the chemical composition of celery, although rich, does not include all the vitamins and microelements necessary for the body. In addition, some of them are destroyed during heat treatment. To avoid hypovitaminosis, it is recommended to start taking vitamin and mineral complexes in parallel with the diet.

Women should not risk starting a diet the day before or during their period. Menstrual bleeding and a low-calorie diet can cause dizziness and a drop in blood pressure. The same situation is observed during active sports.

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