It is said to speed up your recovery by encouraging 3 days of caloric restriction, which is achieved by following a fixed low-calorie menu, followed by a period of free eating, all without taking any supplements or paying taxes or subscriptions.
While this can lead to rapid weight loss in the short term, it is very restrictive and the results are unlikely to be sustainable in the long term. Also, crash diets like this can affect your relationship with food due to its restrictive nature.
The military, or 3-day diet, is a food fad not associated with the military, but commonly promoted on social media to help you lose weight fast, up to 10 pounds in a week.
The plan consists of a reduced calorie meal plan for 3 days, followed by 4 days off. Dieters are told to repeat the cycle weekly for up to a month, or until they reach their ideal weight.
Because it follows intermittent calorie restriction, the military diet is a form of intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting diets are characterized by the transition from periods of reduced calorie intake to periods of free eating.
However, while on rest days you can presumably eat as much as you want, the diet encourages you to stick to a less restrictive but set meal plan on those days to continue losing weight.
The Military Diet 3-Day Meal Plan consists of a limited selection of foods—16 in all, to be exact—split between breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Examples of breakfast foods are:
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toast or crackers
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peanut butter
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grapefruit, apples, or bananas
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hard-boiled eggs or cheddar cheese.
Examples of foods for lunch are:
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toast or crackers
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canned tuna, hard-boiled eggs, or cottage cheese
Some options for dinner:
any type of meat, no hot dog buns or canned tuna
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green beans, carrots, or broccoli
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mine a banana
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vanilla ice cream
As you can see, there is not much variety in the first 3 days of the diet. Also, the recommended amounts of these 16 foods are slowly decreasing from day to day. Total calorie intake starts at about 1,400 calories on the first day and drops to about 1,100 calories on the last day.
As for the drinks allowed, the diet favors water or infusions. However, the menu allows you to have caffeinated coffee or tea twice a day, but recommends avoiding creamers and sweeteners.