7-day Weight Loss Eating Plan

If you need to lose weight, you want to see results quickly. However, crash dieting can lead to feelings of deprivation. If you are not careful, it is easy to fall back into bad eating habits and regain weight. Instead, choose a diet such as the 7-Day Color Diet, which is based on sound nutritional principles, includes all the major food groups, encourages eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and is easy to follow and maintain.

History

Created by artist Mindy Weisel, the 7-Day Color Diet is an update of a diet she devised in 1980, called the Rainbow Diet. According to "Colorfully Slim: The 7-Day Color Diet," Weisel created the original diet in order to enjoy varied, healthful eating and lose weight without depriving herself. The 7-Day Color diet continues this principle, but it has been updated with information and additional food suggestions from clinical nutritionist Carolyn Weisel Miller.

Diet Plan

The 7-Day Color diet is designed so you eat one main color of fruits and vegetables each day, along with a balanced selection of "beige" -- that is, carbohydrates -- and protein. According to "Colorfully Slim," day one, white, begins with white grapefruit and a honey-and-vanilla milkshake for breakfast, followed by a mushroom and endive salad and egg white omelette for lunch, and mushroom soup, garlic chicken and cauliflower for dinner. The protein and carb composition of the diet remains similar each day, ensuring your energy needs are met, while the wide range of fruits and vegetables you eat in the seven days provide vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Health Claims

The 7-Day Color Diet is supported by nutrition science. According to a report in "Psychology Today" the compounds that give fruits and vegetables their color have unique nutritional properties. Eating a colorful diet ensures you get a range of vitamins and minerals. This protects you against a range of serious health problems including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and vision loss.

Nutrition Balance

Unlike diets that restrict or eliminate carbohydrates, the 7-Day Color Diet recommends eating complex carbohydrates such as whole-grain bread, high-fiber cereal or brown rice at least two meals a day. This is supported by research from the Harvard School of Public Health, which notes that complex carbs are essential for proper organ function and as fuel for physical activity.

Vegetarian Option

Throughout the diet, you can substitute tofu for animal protein. This modification means the diet is suitable for vegetarians or vegans, or anyone who wants to decrease their meat intake. Tofu makes the diet even more nutritious, as tofu is a complete protein, and has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to "Japanese Foods That Heal."