Not only are cucumbers delicious and rich in vitamins and minerals, they can also help you shed those extra pounds. Cucumbers can help you lose weight, improve your digestion and tighten your skin. We’ll tell you how to lose weight on the cucumber diet and the pros and cons.
If you want to lose a few pounds and eat healthily in the long term, you should eat cucumbers more often. Cucumbers are green all-rounders: They are more than 95 per cent water, which means they are low in calories. The green vegetable has just 14 kilo calories per 100 grams. However, cucumbers fill you up quickly because of their high water content.
Not only that, but cucumbers are rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and trace elements, and help with digestion. A real power vegetable. In addition, the bitter substances it contains stimulate fat burning.
The cucumber diet involves replacing one or two meals a day with a cucumber dish, such as a cucumber salad. You can lose up to several kilos in a week. However, make sure you supplement your diet with protein-rich foods such as fish, meat, eggs or nuts to avoid nutrient deficiencies and the unwanted yo-yo effect.
Our tip: When buying cucumbers, make sure they are organic. Then you can eat the cucumber with the skin on, without having to peel it. The skin contains valuable fibre and minerals.
3 ways to eat cucumber
This diet is based on eating lots of fresh cucumbers and consists of three different methods:
Method 1: This method involves incorporating as many cucumbers as possible into your diet. You can also replace one meal a day with a pickle recipe.
Method 2: Eat a large piece of cucumber before each meal. The water in the cucumber will fill your stomach, so you will feel full sooner.
Method 3: A cucumber juice cure is the third option. Squeeze the cucumber and drink it every morning. At lunchtime and in the evening, combine the cucumber juice with any balanced meal. Drinking cucumber juice as a side dish will help you eat less and feel fuller more quickly. You can also mix cucumber juice with other juices.
Below are two sample cucumber diet meal plans that will help you lose weight successfully.
Meal Plan
As mentioned above, you can adjust the amount of cucumbers and basically eat as much as you want. So the amount of cucumber in the meal plan is only a recommendation. Of course, this does not apply to the other foods. You should also drink 2-3 liters of water per day. For best results, you should also exercise at least 30 minutes a day.
Cucumber Diet: 3 Day Meal Plan
Day 1
Breakfast: Cinnamon porridge with banana and berries
Snack: 1 cucumber sliced with a pinch of salt.
Lunch: Cucumber Salad (see recipe below)
Snack: 1 cucumber sliced with a pinch of salt.
Dinner: Approx. 250g low-fat yoghurt and a kiwi.
Day 2
Breakfast: Peach and orange bowls with ginger oatmeal
Snack: cucumber smoothie (see recipe below)
Lunch: 50g cheese of your choice, an orange and a cucumber.
Snack: 1 cucumber sliced with a pinch of salt.
Dinner: Cucumber salad (see recipe below).
Day 3
Breakfast: superfood porridge to lose weight
Snack: 1 cucumber sliced with a pinch of salt.
Lunch: cucumber salad with peppers and tomatoes.
Snack: 1 cucumber sliced with a pinch of salt.
Dinner: One carrot and about 250g of cottage cheese.
Cucumber Diet: 7 Day Meal Plan
DAY 1
Breakfast: Oatmeal with raspberries and almonds, oat milk or skimmed cow’s milk
Snack: Cucumber, celery and spinach juice
Lunchtime: Cucumber salad
Snack: Half a sliced cucumber. You can season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil to taste.
Dinner: Tomato soup with one or two slices of wholemeal bread
DAY 2
Breakfast: Two slices of wholemeal bread with low-fat cheese or low-fat chicken breast and five slices of cucumber.
Snack: Half a sliced cucumber. Season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil for flavor.
Lunch: Tomato and cucumber salad
Snack: An apple
Dinner: Low-fat yogurt with blueberries
Day 3
Breakfast: Oatmeal with apple and berries and low-fat plain yogurt.
Snack: Half a sliced cucumber. You can season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil to taste.
Lunch: Couscous, feta and cucumber salad
Snack: Half a cucumber cut into slices. Season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil to taste.
Dinner: Cucumber salad with baked feta and yogurt-dill dressing
Day 4
Breakfast: Greek yogurt with blueberries and oatmeal
Snack: A banana
Lunch: Chicken fricassee with cucumber salad
Snack: Half a sliced cucumber. You can season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil to taste.
Dinner: Seared salmon with quinoa cucumber salad
Day 5
Breakfast: Oatmeal with banana and oat milk or low-fat cow’s milk
Snack: Half a cucumber, sliced. You can season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil to taste.
Lunch: Cucumber salad with feta cheese and yogurt-dill dressing
Snack: Cucumber-celery-pineapple juice
Dinner: Oven vegetables with peppers, onions, broccoli, courgettes and tomatoes
Day 6
Breakfast: Spinach, cucumber and ginger smoothie
Snack: Half a sliced cucumber. You can season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil to taste.
Lunch: Mixed salad with tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and turkey breast
Snack: Half a sliced cucumber. You can season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil to taste.
Dinner: Tomato soup with whole grain bread
Day 7
Breakfast: Oatmeal with raspberries and oat milk or skimmed cow’s milk
Snack: Half a cucumber, sliced. You can season the cucumber with salt/pepper and basil to taste.
Lunch: Greek salad
Snack: Cucumber Celery Pineapple juice
Dinner: Broccoli soup with a slice of wholemeal bread
Recipe cucumber salad
Ingredients:
1 cucumber, 1 onion, 250 g yoghurt, salt to taste.
Preparation:
- Peel and slice the cucumber.
- Add finely chopped onion.
- Add yogurt
- Add a pinch of salt
Cucumber smoothie recipe
Ingredients:
1 cucumber, 1 apple, a handful of spinach, 1 small piece of ginger.
Preparation:
- Peel the cucumber and cut into medium-sized pieces.
- Cut the apple into medium-sized pieces.
- Place all ingredients in a blender along with water.
- Mix until desired consistency is reached.
Pros and cons of cucumber diet
The cucumber diet can help you lose a lot of weight in a short time. Cucumbers are full of vitamins. The skin in particular is rich in vitamins C, B and E, which are good for your health, making your skin and hair shiny and your connective tissue firm. Cucumbers are also easy to prepare and include in your diet.
This diet also has its drawbacks. If you eat too much of it, it can cause deficiencies in your body. This is because even cucumbers only provide a small number of nutrients such as potassium, vitamin C and vitamin K. Cucumbers are lacking in protein, fat, fibre, calcium, iron and many other nutrients needed for good health. That’s why it’s important to eat a balanced diet when on a diet.
Keep reading: 7 Day Oatmeal Diet Plan To Lose up 10 Pounds In A Week
