NTUC is National Trades Union Congress, a labour union that has a bunch of services under its wing in Singapore. A couple of years back, NTUC Fairprice, the Supermarket chain, introduced the NTUC 3-day diet program. It was a detox-cum-weight-loss aimed diet that listed out the exact food you can have during a period of 3 days.
Since this was a trend a few years back, I hadn't heard of it until a Singaporean colleague told me about it at lunch one day. She forwarded me the list of stuff we can eat and three things caught my attention, making me want to try it - peanut butter, vanilla ice cream and average weight loss of 2kg in 3 days.
I am sharing the list here in case any of you want to try it.
Disclaimer: Diet police and people who feel this is unhealthy/shouldn't be shared/is polluting minds of healthy people, may choose not to read the rest of the post. Its each person's personal choice whether they want to try it or not. I am not for or against this, just sharing something I came across and tried myself.
Here's the shopping list, stuff you'll need to buy the day before you start.
1 grapefruit2 bananas2 small appleslong beans200 gms beetroot100 gms broccoli50 gms carrot100 gms cauliflower3 chicken sausages200 gms tuna100 gms cottage cheese10 Ritz biscuits300 gms vanilla ice creamCheddar cheese slices¼ honeydew
The total list cost me about 28 SGD. These items are very easily available in Singapore and I am hoping its not an issue in India. The diet is not very substitution-friendly so you may see varying results if you do too much swapping. Note that cottage cheese here doesn't mean paneer but if you can make your own paneer from low fat milk, then that should work too.
Here's the meal schedule.
Black tea/coffee1 grapefruit1 slice toast2 tsps peanut butterDay1-LUNCHBlack tea/coffee
4 oz (100g) tuna1 slice toastDay1-DINNER1 chicken sausage1 cup (50g) long beans4 oz (100g) beetroot4 oz (100g) ice-cream1 small appleDay2-BREAKFASTBlack tea/coffee1 slice toastHalf a bananaDay2-LUNCHBlack tea/coffee4 oz (100g) cottage cheese5 Ritz biscuitsDay2-DINNER2 chicken sausages4 oz (100g) broccoli2 oz (50g) carrotsHalf a banana4 oz (100g) ice-creamDay3-BREAKFASTBlack tea/coffee1 egg hard boiled1 slice toastDay3-LUNCHBlack tea/coffee1 slice cheddar cheese5 Ritz biscuits1 small appleDay3-DINNER4 oz (100g) tuna4 oz (100g) beetroot4 oz (100g) cauliflower¼ honeydew4 oz (100g) ice-cream
Important Notes:
Do not vary or substitute any of the above foods. Salt and pepper to be used and not other seasoning. Where no quantity is given, there are no restrictions other than common sense. Toast is to be dry - no butter or margarine. Tuna, string beans and beetroot can be frozen. Ice-cream is to be vanilla flavour only.
This diet is to be used for 3 days at a time. In the three days you will lose 2 kg* (avg weight). After 3 days of dieting you can eat normally. Remember, not to overdo it. You can try this program up to twice a month.
My Notes:
Any kind of diet is a torture for me, simply because I hate restrictions in food. I like to eat what I please, when I please and I trust myself to practise some restraint and not go overboard on most days. I tried this because it was just 3 days and I had immense curiosity to see if I would lose the promised 2kg. I actually lost 2.5 kg in three days and gained back the .5kg in the next 3 days. The 2kg weight loss stuck even though I have returned to my normal food habits now.
The long gap between lunch and dinner is hard. I did this Monday - Wednesday since being at work makes it easier for me to control food and forget hunger to a large extend. Some prefer weekends so its up to you.
The smell of canned tuna was obnoxious, so I simply skipped it without substituting with anything else.
There are no vegetarian alternatives to the diet and I may not be the best person to come up with one. If you have any thoughts on that, please do share in the comments section.
Will I do this again? I am not sure. As of now, the answer is no. I can't take that level of hunger. I get cranky. Its not hard, its just hard for me 🙂
If you try it, I'd love to hear from you.
Mahimaa's kitchen
wish this program had vegetarian meals. i would love to lose 2 kg in 3 days.
prasukitchen.blogspot.com
Intresting Post Nags
Varsha Vipins
That sounds interesting Nags..good that u found it successful..!:)
My comfort food network
Hmm! I hate dieting. I think self control is the best thing but also the hardest. I can't stand sausages, will have to think of something else to substitute. But loosing 2.5 kgs in 3 days is not bad at all. Hopefully I won't pig out after I loose it/if I loose it! 😉
Kalyani
sound great nags ... but no way to me............
veggie belly
2 kilos in 3 days is really good (especially since you havent gained it back)! i suppose one could use tofu and whey protein powder instead of the meat dishes..
Nags
Sara - I found the name pucks so cute 😀
Veggie Belly - thank you so much for the tip. If anyone tries it, do let me know 🙂
Pavithra
mmmmmmm list sounds cool.. missing NTUC after leaving singapore..
Sprouted Kitchen / Sara
ha, yes, I named them pucks because they are so dense. With no sugar, butter or flour, I couldn't justify calling them a cookie! NEat post, I want to try this!
Parita
No way for me!