The Max Planck Diet

**The Max Planck diet, mysteriously named after the German physicist, is a restrictive eating plan that promises to help its participants lose weight at a rapid pace over a period of two weeks 1.

** The Max Planck diet lays out a specific menu for every meal of the day 1. This diet also claims to help you keep the weight off after your two weeks on the diet. The creator of this diet is unknown and there is no specific evidence backing claims made by proponents of the Max Planck diet 1.

Function

The Max Planck diet claims that you can lose 9 kg of weight -- about 20 lbs.-- in a two week period 1.

**This diet also claims that your body will keep this weight off for three years after your two-week diet.

** The reason you will supposedly maintain your weight loss for three years is because your body's metabolic rate will undergo a change during your two weeks on the diet.

The Max Planck diet outlines a very specific menu for you to follow for seven days 1. You then repeat this eating plan for your remaining week on the diet.

Breakfast

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Breakfast on the Max Planck diet starts out with nothing but coffee on Day 1 1. You can drink as much coffee as you like but the diet does not allow you to use milk or sugar with the coffee on day 1 or any other day in the cycle. On days two through four you can once again drink as much coffee as you like, but you also get to eat one bread roll.

On day five your breakfast consists of black coffee once again but this time accompanied with carrots and lemon. Day six returns you to black coffee and one bread roll.

Your day seven breakfast consists of tea with lemon juice. The supposed theory behind all this coffee in your breakfast meals is that caffeine will help to speed up your heart rate, which will raise your metabolic rate.

Lunch

**Lunch on the Max Planck diet offers greater variety than breakfast 1.

** On day one you will eat two boiled eggs and spinach. On day two a large steak with salad or fruit is on the menu.

On day three you will have two boiled eggs, a salad and tomatoes. Lunch on day four consists of one boiled egg, carrots and Swiss cheese.

On day five you will eat steamed fish with tomatoes. Lunch on day six is simply grilled chicken.

On the last day of the cycle you will have a grilled steak and any kind of fruit. Besides the two helpings of fruit your lunches will be high in protein and low in carbohydrates.

Dinner

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Dinner on the Max Planck diet starts with one large steak or three beefsteaks with salad and celery 1. Dinner on day two consists of as much cooked ham as you prefer to eat.

On day three you will have cooked ham and salad.

On day four you will have fruit and plain yogurt. **Dinner on day five includes a steak with salad.

On day six you will eat two boiled eggs and carrots. On the last day of the cycle you can have anything you want for dinner. **

Considerations

The Max Planck diet is most likely a significant departure from your normal diet 1.

This diet has you eating a steak almost every day so if you have any issues with red meat this diet may not be for you. MedlinePlus considers three 8 oz. cups of coffee to be a moderate amount, which you should consider when drinking as much coffee as you like during breakfast.

While the lunch and dinner menus possess more variety than the breakfast menu on the Max Planck diet, this diet has less variety than a normal, well-balanced diet 1.

Critics of the Max Planck diet point out that the lack of variety causes this diet to lack enough vital nutrients 1. It is also unlikely to lead to the long-term weight loss it promises. Consult your physician before you begin this fad diet.