Thread: The Rice Diet

The Rice Diet is a designed to treat obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease. It is a medically supervised and live in program that offers fast weight loss for a period of 2-4 weeks. This diet consist of a low-sodium, low-sugar, low-fat, low-protein, high-complex carbohydrate, whole-foods diet designed to detoxify and prevent diseases.

In this program, dieters starts with 800 calories then increases to 1200 per day on the final phase and then follow the 1200 calorie-limit for the rest of their life.

Dieters could lose 20-30 pounds the first month and 2.5-3.5 pounds per week in the later phases. Exercise is also recommended so dieters could lose even more weight.

In this program, dieters starts with 800 calories then increases to 1200 per day on the final phase and then follow the 1200 calorie-limit for the rest of their life.

That's really hard.. Calorie limit should depend on you age, height, gender, activity level and current weight right? So 1200 might be too little for most people.

I agree viktoria.. The first phase is also below 1200 calories.. It's not advisable for any diet to be that low.. 1200 calories for life? This diet is not for everyone.

I'm wondering..why is it called rice diet? The meal plan is not mostly rice is it?

Good question kathy.. I think they have other food varieties as well but rice might be their staple food.

You're right viktoria.. It's not all rice. Here's one sample menu:

Day One: Basic Rice Diet

* Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner: 2 Starches, 2 Fruits

Days Two through Seven: Lacto-Vegetarian Rice Diet

* Breakfast: 1 Starch, 1 Non-fat Dairy, 1 Fruit
* Lunch and Dinner: 3 Starches, 3 Vegetables, 1 Fruit

Basic rules of thumb on serving sizes:

* 1 Starch = 1 slice bread, 1/3 cup cooked rice or beans, or 1/2 cup cooked pasta
* 1 Fruit = 1 medium sized fruit, 1/2 banana, or 1 cup cut fruit
* 1 Vegetable = 1 cup uncooked or 1/2 cup cooked
* 1 Dairy = 1 cup milk, 1 cup yogurt, or 1/2 cup cottage cheese.


Source: Everyday Diet

Breakfast: 1 Starch, 1 Non-fat Dairy, 1 Fruit

Now if 1 starch is equal to 1 slice bread, 1/3 cup cooked rice or beans, or 1/2 cup cooked pasta... That would meal you only have to eat that... no other dishes to go with it...

yeah, but then it will only be for a few days.. Once you move to the next phase, the calorie intake will increase and I'm sure the menu will change as well.

That's right but still.. the final and maintenance phase only has 1200 calories and you will have to follow that limit for the rest of your life.. It's very hard to live with that.

I lost 200 pounds doing the Rice Diet and have maintained that loss for 3 years. It sounds like a fad diet, but it is not and there are far more choices than just rice. It is a low sodium, low fat, controlled calorie diet that is mainly vegetarian. I am a psychologist with a very busy practice and rarely have time to cook so I took a very simple approach. I ate brown rice with unsweetened almond milk and fruit for my breakfast. For lunch and dinner, I had a simple bean pot that I made up on the weekend and lasted me the whole week. The bean and rice pot contained equal quantities of brown rice and several different types of beans seasoned with a variety of herbs and spices depending on whether I wanted something that was "mexican", "spanish", etc. One cup of this mixture plus my fruits or vegies was a meal. I was never hungry. Within a month of starting this diet, my high cholesterols all came down to normal. My A1C went from 8 to 5 over a 4 month period.

Please understand that the diet is far more varied than this. This was just my choice to keep it this simple. Rice and beans make a complete protein and does provide *plenty* of protein without adding meat.

Also, you are not limited to 1200 calories for life...just as you are not limited to 1200 calories on any diet when you reach your goal weight. For my height, age and activity level, I need 2100 calories to maintain my current weight of 130 lbs. It's very easy to live with that.

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