3 Day Diet Review: The Good and the Bad

The 3 day diet is a very low calorie diet that claims you will lose anywhere between 3 and 10 pounds (1.4 – 4.5Kg) in just three days (depending on the writer). If you are considering going on the 3 day diet, reviews are hard to come by. So we decided to test it ourselves and give you our honest opinion of the program.

3 Day Diet Review

3 Day Diet

3 Day Diet Review

The Good

This diet is very low in calories. Some versions of the diet include a grapefruit at every meal which means the diet has 900 calories. Others feature it at just one meal which takes the diet down to 750 calories. Obviously, these calorie levels are not sustainable, but remember this is just a 3 day diet. You can fast for that long, so having some food to keep you going shouldn’t harm you.

Secondly, there is no fancy cooking required to sustain this diet. If you can boil an egg and cook vegetables in the microwave, you can go on this diet. The foods required are pretty basic, for example cottage cheese, saltine crackers, carrots, apples, etc.

The third positive aspect of this diet is that the food you are asked to eat, in no way harms you. You’ll be eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats, etc. In many ways, you are better off with this program than you would be eating a couple of meals at a fast food joint. There’s no “trick” to the 3 day diet, it’s simply just very low in calories.

The Bad

But there are some downsides to the diet unfortunately. For instance, you may only lose a couple of pounds for all of your starving, not the 10 pounds some proponents claim.

Also, we would be remiss in not mentioning that extended use of this diet program would surely lead to anorexia. The name of the diet is “The 3 Day Diet” for a reason, so it should really only be used for three days.

Another point 3 day diet reviews should make clear, is that you are probably going to be very hungry on this program. The meals are quite small. Breakfast and lunch are about 200 calories a piece and dinner is about 350 calories. If you are used to the 2000 to 3000 calorie diets that most Americans eat, you are going to be famished. If you can suck it up and say “it’s only 3 days”, you’ll survive. But, if you are not mentally prepared for the hunger challenges on the 3 day diet, you are likely to give in to your urge to eat more.

In short, the 3 day diet does work, but you will probably only lose between 3 to 6 pounds (1.4 – 2.7Kg). The 10 pound claims are for very large people who try it. Most of the pounds lost will be from water mass, and you can’t go on the diet for an extended period of time.

So to sum up this review, in our opinion, if you want to lose weight for a specific purpose in the very near future, such as for a wedding next weekend or an upcoming high school reunion, it’s worth doing. However, as an extended diet plan, it won’t work. You should instead look at making long term holistic changes to your diet and lifestyle.

If you have tried the 3 day diet, we’d love to hear how it went in the comments below.

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10 Responses to “3 Day Diet Review: The Good and the Bad”

  1. Michelle says:

    I’ve read a number of reviews of the 3 day diet, and this is by far the most helpful one I’ve come across. Thank you!

  2. Mphoe says:

    I was on this diet few weeks ago,and i agree with you,you cant loose 5kg in 3days.I ws already on a diet,all the water out of my system,I got to loose 1.8kg.So yes it does work but the results arent so high.Im trying it again tomorrow.

    • Hi Mphoe,

      Thanks for sharing your own personal experience with us. Congratulations on shedding the 1.8kg’s. Just to be clear, was this with the 3 day diet plan, or a different diet? Either way, I hope your diet starting tomorrow goes well and that you manage to knock off another 2 kg. Smaller weight loss increments are better than larger ones anyway, so keep up the good work. The most important aspect to maintaining the weight loss is changing your lifestyle and eating habits overall.

      Best of luck, and feel free to keep us posted on your progress.

  3. Cory Lyn says:

    I am currently on my 3rd go around on the 3 day diet. 1st time I lost 5 lbs (and surprisingly have kept it off), 2nd time I got interrupted part way through but still managed to lose 3 lbs. This is the 3rd time – so far so good. I agree that it definitely is not a long term fix – by the end of day 3 I’m starving!! (I try to go to bed early this night so I don’t have to sit around thinking about how hungry I am!!). My only tip – drink LOTS of water. You will be hungry between meals (and even after some meals as they are very small), but I found tricking myself by drinking a big glass of water several times a day helped a lot.
    Good luck to anyone who tries it!

    • Wow Cory, you sound like a real pro at this diet already… congratulations on managing to keep the weight off each time, which is usually the hardest part for people.

      The best thing you could probably do for yourself once you get through this round, is to proactively work towards changing your diet and lifestyle holistically so that you no longer need to do the 3 day diet anymore, and just slowly but surely keep losing weight or maintaining your ideal weight. A healthy and balanced diet combined with a healthy lifestyle will do your body and mind the world of good.

      Best of luck going forward and keep us posted on your progress.

  4. Holly says:

    Thanks for the review! As a personal experience I can vouch that this diet really does vary from person to person. My niece did this with me even though shes extremely small, to support me, and while I lost 11 lbs she ended up gaining 6 lbs.! She could use it ( lol) but I just wanted to let every one know that if youre already tiny it could have an opposite effect.

    • Holly, this is very interesting, and great to know. Who would have thought it could go the wrong way so drastically… Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

  5. Susan Karsten says:

    I have maintained a 30 lb weight loss for ten years now – I went from a tight size 12, to a size 4-6 🙂 I used the low-carb plan, known at Atkins. I love it. It gives you a new way of eating, no hunger, no cravings and it works long term. I have never been healthier and I can’t say enough of how well it works. I have friends who finally gave in and tried it after seeing me thin year after year. It worked for them too and now they enjoy the slim life like I do. All it “costs” is reading the book, and being determined.

    • Wow, congratulations Susan on maintaining your 30lb weight loss for so long. It sure sounds like the Atkins diet has worked well for you. Thanks for your input.


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