The three-apple-a-day diet may help you lose weight, along with providing fiber and nutrients that promote good health. However, the diet also may be hard to follow. It can feel repetitive to some dieters, and it discourages individuals from indulging in certain foods.
Origin
Tammi Flynn, a registered dietitian and Gold's Gym group training instructor, created the three-apple-a-day diet. She came up with the idea after noticing that her clients lost weight by eating an apple before each meal. Flynn thought apples could be a key to promoting weight loss by controlling hunger and sweet cravings.
Three-Apple Diet
The three-apple-a-day diet requires you to eat an apple before each of the three main meals. The diet consists of low amounts of carbohydrates and a limited intake of saturated fats. You also must completely eliminate refined sugar and get your carbohydrates from sources low on the glycemic index -- carbohydrates that do not have a significant effect on your blood-sugar levels.
Small Meals
Rather than eating the traditional three meals a day, the three-apple-a-day diet requires four to five smaller meals per day. Each meal should include low-fat, healthy foods and lean protein. Lean protein is important to the diet because, along with the apples, it can help control your appetite while speeding up metabolism.
Suggested Foods
Apples are not the only fruits suggested in the three-apple-a-day diet. Flynn also recommends eating six servings of other fruits and vegetables. Recommended foods include low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat yogurt, eggs, chicken breast, turkey, lean beef, salmon, oatmeal, brown rice, broccoli and lettuce.
Benefits
One of the main reasons apples may help control your appetite is because they are a source of fiber that can help you feel fuller longer. Fiber also can help control blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Flavonoids in apples add the benefits of helping to prevent various diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.
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