Trying to lose weight? Eat some grapefruit!
Among the many virtues of this citrus fruit composed of more than 90% water, it has the power to boost our metabolism and help us lose weight (just like lemon).
Combining grapefruit with a balanced, low-calorie diet as part of a slimming plan, will ensure a quick and lasting weight loss.
Grapefruit is an Excellent Natural Fat Burner.
In addition to being rich in vitamins (A, B, C, D, E), antioxidants, and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron), grapefruit is indeed a fat-burning food.
Drinking natural grapefruit juice will have a draining effect and will facilitate the elimination of accumulated fat.
Another important fact is that is low in salt and calories (about 75 calories per fruit), which makes it an ideal ally in a diet to lose weight naturally.
The consumption of this fresh fruit is therefore recommended if you are looking to get rid of some extra pounds.
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Where and How Does the Fat-Burning Effect of Grapefruit Work?
First of all, it is the naringin contained in the fruit that eliminates free radicals in the body, it even has a preventive effect on diabetes and overweight. It acts as an antioxidant by cleaning up excess glucose.
Its bitter and unpleasant taste for some people is due to its high content of flavonoid naringin, which is another organic compound that gives grapefruit, along with vitamin C (in large quantities), its slimming, and appetite-suppressing power.
The body, when it lacks vitamin C, demands more food. This same vitamin produces a secrete hormone that helps to lose fat and increase the feeling of satiety.
The potassium and various enzymes consumed in large quantities, in the grapefruit, also promote the burning of fat, regulate the feeling of hunger, and will thus help to lose weight quickly and well.
The citrus fruit acts as a natural appetite suppressant that gives the stomach a feeling of satiety, which allows it to eat less.
These slimming properties are similar to those of cider vinegar.
Other Benefits of Grapefruit.
In addition to its slimming properties, did you know that grapefruit is full of other benefits that help maintain the balance of our body?
Detox effect, immune system reinforcement, cholesterol regulation, cell preservation, and skincare are among the reasons why we should all increase our consumption of grapefruit!
Find out more about all the benefits of eating grapefruit in the section below dedicated to this precious citrus fruit.
How to Benefit from the Slimming Powers of Grapefruit?
To help you in your grapefruit diet, here are some ideas to take advantage of the slimming power of this fruit.
Grapefruit Juice.
Squeezed grapefruit juice will help with digestion and boost the metabolism in the burning of assimilated fats.
It is ideal to consume the grapefruit juice half an hour after the first meal to benefit from its healthy properties.
It is a very easy method especially since the grapefruit juice is delicious and simple to make. All you have to do is extract the juice by squeezing the fruit, or take the pulp of the juice and put it in a blender (or a centrifuge).
If the taste of grapefruit seems too bitter, you can add a spoonful of honey or mint.
For extra medical information, grapefruit juice is also recommended to eat to prevent high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.
Eat Grapefruit Three Times a Day with Each Meal.
This method consists in consuming half a grapefruit before breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
In fact, eating grapefruit before the main meals helps activate the metabolism and provides a feeling of satiety by the fiber that the fruit contains reduces the appetite.
Be careful if you are taking antihistamines, analgesics, or immunosuppressive drugs: grapefruit is not recommended due to its drug interactions.
The consumption of grapefruit is not recommended in this situation, because the fruit cancels the effects of the treatment or multiplies them, which can have a harmful effect.
If you decide to follow a grapefruit-based diet, it is best to consult your doctor.
For people who are sensitive to stomach acid, eating too much of this fruit is also not recommended.
An Example of a Grapefruit Diet.
This three-week grapefruit diet is very famous for stimulating the metabolism to burn fat and thus lose weight.
This diet consists of having half a grapefruit for breakfast, followed by two hard-boiled eggs, a slice of ham, all accompanied by a cup of tea
At lunch, eat half a grapefruit as a starter, then a salad with meat.
At dinner, a grapefruit starter, vegetables, and a different animal protein than the one eaten at lunch.
If you feel hungry between meals, you can have a hot drink and a piece of fruit as a snack (and since we’re talking about a grapefruit diet…).
The Mayo Diet: Hard-Boiled Eggs and Grapefruit, Does it Really Work?
This slimming diet was known during the 80s. It consists of a sharp reduction in calorie intake to 1000 calories per day for two weeks, which allows you to lose up to 4 kilos in one week.
Grapefruit but also Eggs, Vegetables and … Meat!
It consists mainly of :
- grapefruit and eggs
- vegetables and hot drinks as much as you want
- fruits in limited quantity
- Meat, allowed up to 100 grams per day
However, a certain number of foods are forbidden in this diet. These are mainly :
- sugars
- added fats
- alcohol
- starchy foods and legumes
- dairy products
Please note that it is not advisable to follow this diet for more than two weeks, as the list of elements is very limited.
Here is the Typical Menu Proposed by This Mayo Diet.
In the morning, for breakfast, you should eat half a grapefruit, two hard-boiled eggs, and a hot drink (tea or black coffee), without sugar. During the second week, a biscuit is included in the breakfast.
Lunch consists of two eggs cooked without fat or 100 grams of meat, vegetables, or raw vegetables (salads, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, celery, spinach, zucchini …), followed by half a grapefruit, all accompanied by your hot drink without sugar.
For dinner, take two eggs, vegetables, toasted bread or biscuit, all without fat, and your half grapefruit. Always accompanied with the hot drink, always unsweetened.
In This Diet, NO Snacks are Allowed.
This diet has the advantage of being rather simple to follow, rather than elaborated to do it at home. Since there are many restrictions, it is very difficult to find the required menu by eating out.
To succeed in this diet, it is better to do it at home, during vacations for example, or to take advantage of the confinement to do it. Or you can prepare and bring your meals to the office.
This diet has the advantage of providing a lot of dietary fiber and a sufficient amount of protein to achieve a satisfying feeling.
However, since legumes and dairy products are part of the forbidden list, the body may experience a drop in energy that will result in an episode of fatigue and lack of concentration between meals.
To compensate for the drop in energy, eat fruits rich in vitamin C such as lemons or superfoods such as Goji berries.
Remember that no snacks are allowed on this diet, and deviations are fatal!
Another downside of this diet is that the daily consumption of eggs and grapefruit in every meal can quickly become boring and make meals rather unpleasant. During this diet, you will definitely consume about twenty grapefruits and thirty eggs!
To counteract boredom, try to vary the vegetables and their cooking (steamed, baked…) as much as possible, but also the preparation of your eggs: omelet with vegetables, fried, scrambled with herbs… Also, spices/herbs will become your best friends to spice up your meals.
Effectiveness and Dangers of This Diet Based on Grapefruit.
Sometimes, we ask ourselves… is the diet working? is it having the effect it promise?
If it certainly allows you to lose weight in a limited time, it does so by providing the body with a lower caloric quantity than those recommended from a nutritional point of view, especially in vitamins (C, E, D…) and minerals.
Moreover, following this diet, it will limit the intake of calcium, carbohydrates, magnesium, and other nutrients important for the balance of our body.
These nutrients are mainly found in the foods prohibited by this diet. We expect to suffer from deficiencies, by being an unbalanced diet and the weight loss it will primarily be in muscular and in water, rather than in fat.
Finally, it is not personalized to the needs of each person and is concentrated just for two weeks, which may lead one to believe that the weight loss will not be healthy.
This diet is not ideal for effective and healthy weight loss, it targets a particular need for rapid melting, with a risk of nutrient and vitamin deficiencies that should not be overlooked.
Additional Tips on Grapefruit Diets.
Contrary to popular belief, it is necessary to monitor citrus diets because although they are very effective, the acidity they contain can be dangerous in the long run.
Grapefruit and Diabetes
Here is a video showing the risks of diabetes related to grapefruit.
Beware of Extreme Diets.
Adding grapefruit to your diet every day, in the form of juice or by consuming half the fruit, will already help your body to eliminate excess fat by boosting the metabolism, especially if you do so as part of balanced meals.
That’s why I think it’s better to integrate grapefruit into a balanced diet rather than an express diet, based on grapefruit alone, which will not guarantee weight loss and could lead to certain shortages.
In addition, depriving the body of a certain number of foods and eating the same meals repeatedly will quickly lead you to get bored.
Accompany a Diet Based on Grapefruit By a Change in Your Eating Habits.
Like any diet, it is important to adopt healthy habits to accompany it.
Walking instead of taking the bus, avoiding sugars and fats, adopting a regular sport activity, drinking a lot of water… all this will help you to lose weight and eliminate fat in the long run.
Recipes for light dishes with Grapefruit.
And as a bonus, here are some recipes for balanced salads based on grapefruit, perfect for a balanced diet.
Slimming Salad with Carrot, Grapefruit, and Cucumber.
This fresh recipe starts out simple: fresh arugula for its base, low-fat fresh cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and grilled chicken, all in buckwheat flour bread!
This salad brings together three water-rich foods that are good for slimming.
- Very Easy
- 12 minutes
- 0 minutes
- for 4 people
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber
- 2 nice carrots
- 1 nice pink grapefruit
- 1 white onion
- 1 spoonful of balsamic vinegar
- 1 spoonful of olive oil
- Pepper, fleur de sel
Steps of preparation:
- Peel the grapefruit well and remove the quarters, taking off the membrane
- Wash and cut the cucumber into small pieces
- Wash, peel, and grate the carrots
- Place carrots and cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with grapefruit juice
- Peel the onion, chop it and add it to the carrot-cucumber mixture
- In a bowl, mix oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper
- Divide the carrot-cucumber mixture among the plates, place a few grapefruit segments on top, and drizzle with the sauce.
Fresh Salad with Avocado, Crab, and Grapefruit.
The combination of crab and avocado is wonderful, especially since crab provides protein for very few calories.
- Easy
- 15 minutes
- 0 minutes
- for 4 people
Ingredients:
- 200 grams of baby greens
- 3 avocados
- 2 pink grapefruits
- 1 small lemon
- 1 can of flaked crab
- 1 spoonful of mustard
- 10 cl of low-fat plain yogurt
- A few mint leaves
- salt and pepper
Preparation steps:
- Rinse the greens
- Cut the avocados and slice them in cubes.
- Peel the grapefruit, remove the membrane, and detach the quarters. Cut them into pieces.
- Wash and chop the mint leaves
- Mix the diced avocado, grapefruit pieces, and baby greens in a bowl
- Add the crab crumbs and mint
- Mix well without crushing and chill for a few minutes
- Mix the mustard, yogurt, salt and pepper, and lemon juice in a bowl
- Take the salad out of the container, pour the dressing over it and mix
- Put the salad back in the fridge for about an hour
- Serve chilled
Quinoa, Grapefruit, and Shrimp Salad.
Using quinoa instead of rice or pasta will make this meal even healthier, ideal as an evening meal.
- Very Easy
- 20 minutes
- 2 0 minutes
- for 4 people
Ingredients:
- 100 grams of quinoa
- 1 grapefruit
- 200 grams of peeled prawns
- A few lettuce leaves
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 small lemon
- salt and pepper
Preparation steps:
- Bring a saucepan with one liter of water to a boil and cook the quinoa for about 20 minutes.
- While the quinoa is cooking, wash the salad leaves.
- Peel the grapefruit, cut off the segments and remove the white membrane. Cut the quarters into cubes.
- In a salad bowl, mix mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper
- Add the cooked and cooled quinoa, shrimp, salad, and grapefruit
- Mix without crushing and serve
