Liquid Diet for Weight Loss

Learn what foods are allowed and what foods you should avoid on the liquid diet.

Liquid diets are calorie-controlled diets that replace all or some of your meals with fluid consumption. The full liquid diet contains no solid foods so it eliminates all foods that are not normally liquid and do not become liquid at room temperature. The allowed foods include water, tea, coffee, juices, milk, milk shakes, ice-cream, frozen yogurt, butter, margarine, oil, cream, broth, gelatin, honey and syrup. The full liquid diet also includes liquid supplements to meet the daily need for all essential nutrients. The full liquid diet does not allow mashed foods such as mashed avocado or potato.

The liquid diet is commonly used to promote rapid weight loss in obese patients. The diet can be very low in calories (600-800 calories a day). Very-low-calorie diets are safe only when the patients are closely followed by their doctors. The liquid diets are not always so low in calories. Liquid diets commonly aim at 1350-1500 calories, which can provide adequate nutrition for most people.

The liquid diet works as it helps you control your caloric intake. When you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight. To burn more calories, you can take long walks at a medium pace.

You should distinguish between the full liquid diet and the clear liquid diet, which is stricter than the full liquid diet. The clear liquid diet allows only transparent drinkable liquid such as plain water, bullion, plain gelatin. The clear liquid diet is often prescribed before and after certain kinds of surgery on the stomach.

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