Apple Diet: Can You Lose Weight Quickly with It?

With the apple diet there are only apples on the menu – is that healthy? And are there moderate alternatives? What makes the apple so valuable when losing weight?

What is the apple diet?

The apple diet is one of the so-called mono diets and focuses on the positive properties of the apple in the fight against obesity. The reason: apples are not only the perfect supplier of vitamins, but are also full of pectin, which keeps you full for a long time, and potassium, which is a dehydrating agent. People who follow the apple diet are said to be able to lose up to six kilos in a week.

How does the apple diet work?

In general, there are two different forms of the apple diet: an extreme variant in which only apples are eaten and a moderate one in which one apple is eaten additionally before each meal:

The extreme apple diet

In the extreme variant of the diet, there are about five to six apples a day on the menu, plus plenty of calorie-free liquids such as water and fruit or herbal tea, preferably three litres a day! The apple diet in this form promises a rapid weight loss of up to six kilograms in one week – but be careful: the enormous weight loss here is mainly due to the greatly reduced calorie intake!

Those who follow the strict apple diet eat only 500 calories a day, which is considerably less than the daily amount recommended by the DGE. Despite an enormous calorie deficit, advocates of the apple diet recommend a period of two days up to two weeks. As with any crash diet, the yoyo effect is virtually pre-programmed here: as soon as you eat normally again, the lost kilos come back immediately. In addition, the strict diet threatens a deficient supply of nutrients. If at all, the diet should only be followed for a few days at most if you want to lose a few kilos quickly.

The moderate version of the apple diet

In the moderate version of the apple diet we eat one or two apples before each meal. This has several advantages:

• The feeling of hunger is satisfied and we eat less afterwards.
• Up to 200 kcal can be saved per meal.
• Those who also rely on a balanced diet can lose weight in the long term in a healthy way.
• The pectin contained in the apples keeps you full for a long time.
• Vitamin C accelerates the burning of fat.
• Enzymes boost the metabolism.
• Digestion is properly stimulated thanks to the dietary fibres.

Of course, it is not enough to eat just one or two apples before each meal and not change anything else. Those who continue to reach for the frozen pizza or cream cake after the apple are far from a diet and will not see any success. This does not mean that one can never eat such snacks or sweets again, but they should be an exception.

Instead, the emphasis should be on a balanced, wholefood diet, which should consist of many dietary fibres (for example in fruit and vegetables and wholemeal products) and lean dairy, fish and meat products. In general, calorie intake is reduced by about 200 to 500 calories at best – and not reduced to a minimum, as mono or crash diets generally do. In this way, one can lose weight in the long term and in a healthy way, albeit at a slower rate.

Tips for the apple diet

Do you want to try the apple diet? Then the following tips can help:

• Go for organic apples – they contain less pesticides.
• Leave the peel on the apple and eat it with you, because it contains healthy polyphenols.
• Apples from regional cultivation have a shorter transport route and therefore usually lose less nutrients.
• Old apple varieties contain less fructose, which is good for the liver and speeds up fat metabolism.

Maybe it helps to ask yourself consciously more often: What is good for my body now? That can (and must!) of course be a piece of chocolate or Franzbrötchen in between, but also a fresh salad instead of the next frozen finished product. If you want to lose weight in the long term, there’s no getting around exercise: exercising three times a week for thirty minutes is already very beneficial.