The Warrior diet was introduced in 2001 by Ori Hofmekler, who was a former member of Israeli-Special-Forces. Who changed into the field of nutrition and fitness.
This diet is a type of seasonal fasting. It is an umbrella term for consuming patterns that contain times of low-calorie consumption over a specific time.
The Warrior diet has eating patterns of traditional warriors, who require to eat little during the day time and eat a large meal at night.
According to the founder of the warrior diet, it is created to improve the way of eating, look, and performance by putting stress on the body to lower the food intake and induce survival instincts.
Ori Hofmekler acknowledged that the warrior diet has his own observations and beliefs and not scientifically strict.
This diet requires the dieter to eat less for 20 hours per day and after that, consume as much as the food they wish in the night.
During the twenty hours of fasting time, the dieters required to eat a small number of dairy foods, raw fruits, vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs, and non-calorie fluids.
After completing twenty hours, people can eat anything they like in four hours.
However, like every diet, you have to eat healthy, organic, and unprocessed foods. Beginners are recommended to follow three weeks plan with different phases.
Why Should You Prefer the Warrior Diet?
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Many women get disappointed for not losing weight fast even after having a balanced diet plan. Everyone has a different type of health, that is the reason the diet works differently for a different person.
The Warrior diet plan allows your body to burn calories by using intermittent fasting. This diet let you consume energy level in the day time.
According to Hofmekler, nutritional stress is essential to exercise. When you combine exercise and nutrition, it helps to lose excess weight and promote fitness.
During the fasting time, you need to stay active and hydrated to prevent fat build-up and assist in fat mobilization. The warrior diet was introduced with the concept of ancient warriors. Ancient warriors were eating less in the morning, do the exercise over the empty stomach and eat anything in the night. This balance of exercise and fasting helped the warrior to stay active and fit without getting body fat.
Guidelines for Warrior Diet
Hydrate yourself
The first step toward the warrior diet is to keep yourself hydrated. Drink at least 8-hours or as your health requirement every day. During fasting time, you can drink 9-10 glasses of water. You can also drink fortify water by adding mint, cucumber, cinnamon, lemon in the water. Drinking water makes you full and runs body functions smoothly.
Consume Protein Food
During the warrior diet, you can eat substantial foods full of protein in the dinner. It helps to decrease carb intake and restore the torn muscles. You can also consume protein powder with milk to provide an additional boost to your body.
Consume One Main Meal
Not like conventional diets, the warrior diet needs the person to consume only one main meal as dinner. During breakfast and lunch, the dieters are allowed to consume only low-calorie foods such as yogurt, eggs, veggies, fruits, and legumes.
Control Your Hunger
Easting after every 3-4 hours helps in weight loss. But warrior diet will not allow that. You have to control your hunger even after 3-4 hours. It will train your brain to manage hunger. After a few days, your body will learn to keep away the frequent eating habit.
Skip Processed Foods
Like every diet, the warrior diet also not allowed processed foods. Processed foods comprise of more sugar, artificial flavors, salt, colors, taste enhancers, and food preservatives. These ingredients are unhealthy for weight loss. You are recommended to consume natural products from your local groceries. If you are ordering food from outside, then avoid sausages, fried chicken, burgers, pizza, ketchup, and fries.
Exercise Regularly
Warriors put a lot of effort into hunting or fighting, which help them to increase energy. Similar way, when you are following the Warrior diet, you need to do exercise regularly to increase your energy level and toned body. You can perform a mix of strength training, cardio, weights, and yoga workout routine with fun exercises.
Warrior: Diet Plan
Early Morning:
Time: (7:00- 7:45 am)
- Consume warm water mixed with half lemon juice and 1-tsp honey.
Breakfast:
Time: (8:30 – 9:00 am)
- Consume 1-boiled egg white and almonds (4), grapefruit juice (1-cup),
- OR 4-almonds, chia seeds,1-cup green tea.
Lunch:
Time: (12:30 – 1:00 p.m)
- Eat Average bowl of fruits
- Yogurt-1-cup
- Half bowl Raw vegetable salad containing cucumber, bell pepper, Chinese cabbage.
Dinner
Times: (7:00 p.m)
- Mashed potato, Grilled chicken, 1-small piece of dark chocolate, veggies, and 1-cup warm milk.
- Kidney bean, 2-pita bread, grilled veggies, dark chocolate (1-small piece), drink warm milk one cup.
- Pasta, a portion of tiramisu (1 small)
- Broccoli, potato casserole, carrot, 2-tbsp fruit custard
How does it work?
You are allowed to consume three times a day during the warrior diet plan. Staring your morning with one glass of warm water containing honey and lime juice helps to remove toxins, treat bowel movement, and promote immunity.
Having breakfast with rich protein, dietary fiber, and healthy fat boost immunity. Eating less but nutritious lunch with veggies and fruits provide minerals, vitamins, and complex carbs.
Consuming yogurt promotes good bacteria in the gut. During dinner, you can have rich protein, dessert, complex carbs to satisfy your taste buds.
Here is the substitute foods list if you are allergic to any of the given food.
Warrior Diet: Food Substitutes
- Honey – Ceylon cinnamon powder (½ teaspoon)
- Lime juice – Apple cider vinegar
- Egg – Sprouts (¼th cup)
- Almonds – Macadamia nuts
- Chia seeds – Flax seeds
- Green tea – Oolong tea
- Yogurt – Vegetable or Fruit juice
- Cucumber – Carrot
- Chinese cabbage – Lettuce
- Grapefruit juice – Garcinia cambogia (powder)
- Bell pepper – tomato or Red cabbage
- Chicken – Tofu/Salmon/tuna/mushroom
- Potato – Sweet potato or Squash
- Dark chocolate – Ripe mango (Medium piece)
- Milk – Almond milk/Soy milk
- Pita bread – Wheat flatbread
- Kidney bean – Peas/Garbanzo bean
- Buttermilk – Ginger juice/Grape
- Pasta – Brown rice
- Tiramisu – Brownie
- Carrot – Tomato
- Broccoli – Cauliflower
- Custard – Vanilla ice cream (1 scoop)
Warrior Diet: Exercise Plan
Warrior diet allows some specific foods as well as exercise. Doing warm-up is important before starting any exercise. It is important to perform the one-hour exercise for six days a week. Begin by doing three hours of exercise every week and slowly increase to six hours.
Perform how you feel comfortable, and there are no strict rules. You can also play sports.
Here is the exercise to follow during the warrior diet.
Neck tilt
Neck tilt exercise is important while the warrior diet. Stand straight to perform this exercise. Keep your feet to your hip width. Let your armrest on your sides.
Gently twist your head right side of your shoulder and perform a counterclockwise move of your head.
Do this activity for the left side also.
Complete one set of 10-sets.
Neck rotations
Neck rotations are another exercise to do on the warrior diet. Do it clockwise and anticlockwise. It helps to maintain a smooth neck and prevent injuries.
Do neck rotations of one set of 10 reps.
Arm rotations
Arm rotation is also an important exercise of the warrior diet. Do it clockwise and anticlockwise. Perform one set of 10 reps.
Stand straight by keep your feet at shoulder width and stretch your arms in parallel to the ground.
Circle your arms front by doing small controlled movements, slowly make the circles bigger until you get the stretch in the triceps.
Again, reverse the direction of circles for 10 seconds.
Wrist rotations
Perform wrist rotations during the warrior diet to get effective activeness. Do it by holding lightweight dumbbells and rotate your wrist clockwise and anticlockwise. Perform a 1-set of 10 reps.
Ankle rotation
The ankle rotation is an ability to bend your ankle muscles in different directions. However, most of the people ignore it to use in day-to-day lives. Running and walking helps to bend your ankles in a backward and forward direction. Ankles are an important part of the body to balance. Doing ankle rotation helps to strengthen muscles and make them flexible. Perform it clockwise and anticlockwise with one set of 10-reps.
Standing side crunches
Doing standing side crunches helps to strengthen oblique muscles and tighten your side abs. It also helps to promote your balance and stability by burning more calories. Perform it right and left side with one set of 10-reps.
Side lunges
Include side lunges in your warrior diet exercise schedule. It will help to increase groin tightness, ankle, and hip. These movements help to open up tight groins and hips and strengthen inner glutes and thighs.
Perform side lunges on your right and left side with one set of 10-reps.
Bend over and touch your toes
Bending over to touch your toes is another exercise to include in the warrior diet. Perform this exercise in one set of 10-sets.
Jumping jacks
Jumping jacks is an easy and simple exercise. It is the best way to perform cardio anytime and anywhere. It will help to boost metabolism and cardiovascular health. Increasing heart rate is more effective for burning fat. You can complete one set of 10-reps.
Burpees
Burpees is another good workout to perform full bodyweight exercise. It helps to burn fat and strengthen muscles. Perform two sets of 10-reps.
Jumping squat
Include a jumping squat that helps to strengthen the legs and thighs. This exercise target calves and quads and tone your whole body. Perform one set of 10-reps.
Forward lunges
Perform forward lunges exercise using one kg weight. Do one set of 10-set. Lunges help to build endurance and lower body strength. Make sure to perform it properly to get effective results and prevent strain over joints.
Jumping forward lunges
Jumping forward lunges is a good exercise for weight loss. Do it one set of 10-reps. It is a good cardiovascular exercise and develops lower body strength. It targets muscles of quadriceps, glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, and calves.
Bicycle crunches
You can perform regular crunches for abs workout. Doing bicycle crunches are the best way to give work to obliques, rectus abdominal. Perform two sets of 10-reps.
Crunches
The crunch is one of the most well-known stomachs that works out. It includes the whole abs, however fundamentally it works the rectus abdominal muscle and furthermore works the obliques. It permits both structures well-defined abs and fixing the stomach. Perform two sets of 10-reps.
Forward plank
The plank exercise is an extremely prevalent core strengthening workout done by ladies in rec centers and exercise classes around the world.
If you are suffering from pelvic prolapse, you probably need to know the Plank workout is safe for restoring your pelvic floor muscles.
It develops the core strength and stops from worsening prolapse. Do it two sets of 20-seconds.
Side plank
The side plank is an incredible exercise for reinforcing the abdominal muscular strength, which doesn’t get controlled during abdominal muscle activities, for example, crunches. You will have your body on your side in straight position supported just by one arm and the side of one foot.
Scissor kicks
The scissor kick is one of a few activities you can do to build and maintain your core strength. It likewise focuses on your lower body, which means you draw in diverse muscles to finish the move. Perform two sets of 10 reps.
Push-ups
They work on the triceps, shoulders, and pectoral muscles. When done properly, they benefit from to lower back and core by pulling in the abdominal muscles. Push-ups are a quick and compelling activity for building quality. Perform one set of 10-reps.
Triceps dips
The triceps dip workout is an extraordinary bodyweight practice that builds arm and shoulder strength. It is a good upper body workout. Perform two sets of 5-reps.
Apart from the above exercises, you can do swimming, dancing, sports, yoga, and meditation for 30-45 minutes.
Warrior Diet Benefits
Warrior diet is not only a diet, but it is a lifestyle change. Some people can successfully lose extra pounds with this diet. Whereas other people may choose this diet temporarily without many efforts as it gives quick weight loss results. It can be more suitable for photos or wedding shoots. You can expect effective results with this diet within your eating window.
During the warrior diet, you will be swapping over favorite foods to get effective results. Many people get a lot of benefits while on this diet.
Here are some benefits of the Warrior Diet.
Promote weight loss
Weight loss is the most important benefit of the warrior diet. Most of the people do not prefer to alter their lifestyle for losing weight. But in this diet, you will need to adjust your lifestyle.
Intermittent fasting is an excellent way to lose weight. It will limit toxic snacking. Eating poorly and processed snacks and foods hinder the weight loss capacity of the body. Even you cannot see it. Changing with healthy snacks can work positively to lose weight.
This diet offers only four hours for eating, and the rest of the twenty hours will work to remove excess fat from your body.
According to studies, fasting 20 hours helps to provide more weight loss than consuming the same number of calories for the whole day.
If you are strictly following your diet, then watch out for your eating and learn intermittent fasting.
Improve Blood Sugar Control
According to studies, fasting helps to improve blood sugar in people with type-2 diabetes. Not eating for 18-20 hours a day result in a reduction in post-meal blood sugar and weight of the body.
Weight loss and dietary habit change affect blood sugar.
However, if you have diabetes, then take your doctor’s advice before doing intermittent fasting in the warrior diet.
Lower Blood Pressure
Losing weight often causes to drop in blood pressure, which is high in overweight people. People who follow the warrior diet may get better outcomes. It happens because this diet has natural products and organic foods in place of fast food and processed. It only means that you need to restrict fast food but can have some on cheat day.
Prevent Inflammation in The Brain
The warrior diet helps to benefit brain health by reducing inflammation. Fasting for more time lower the inflammation and improve the functions of the brain. Make sure to eat healthy foods to have healthy fasting.
Easier than other diets
Intermittent fasting gets you the best result in the starting time of adjustment. You do not require to alter your calories. You can still treat yourself occasionally.
Most of the people face the same problem by giving up the diet suddenly and run behind the food they love. In the warrior diet, this will not happen. While you make the choice of a healthy lifestyle and stick with your plans, you can still notice weight loss. Remember that it will be considerably less than the changed lifestyle.
The result of the Warrior diet completely depends on the person. You can make a small goal and follow it easily and gradually increase the fasting with a healthier lifestyle.
Reduced-fat
The warrior diet plan helps to reduce fat and assist in the growth of muscle mass. It is prominent for people who eat one meal every day.
While with a warrior diet, you are allowed to consume more than once in a day, it is similar to the famous variation of intermittent fasting known as One Meal A Day – OMAD. Therefore, it will have similar benefits.
Exercise windows
Exercise is a vital part of any weight loss plan. Without doing a workout, it cannot adequate to reach a weight loss goal. Exercise helps to strengthen muscle mass and decrease the loose skin. In the warrior diet, you are allowed to exercise in the eating window.
Two main reasons for the benefits
Your time, similar to the eating window, you can alter this with your workday, and you will not miss on a busy schedule. It is advised that like ancient warriors, you can eat in the evening but choose the exact hours according to your needs.
You will not feel hungry after workout. Feeling hungry after a workout is the biggest killer to limit the success of your goal. It will make your body to crave for snacks after a workout. During the warrior diet, you can adjust to a meal after your gym.
Risk of The Warrior Diet
Be Careful While Doing Exercise on The Warrior Diet
Some people may perform the exercise with an empty stomach, but for others, it can be difficult. Fasting for more time may contribute to negative side effects such as dizziness, dehydration, fatigue, and lack of focus.
Some people may experience hypoglycemia episodes or low blood sugar and create a risk
You Do Not Get All the Essential Nutrients
It can be difficult to have all the essential nutrients in one meal to stay healthy. It is extremely difficult to satisfy all nutrient needs. Most people require to consume many meals every day to get essential minerals and vitamins.
Warrior Diet May Not Suit for Blood Sugar Patients
These days many people get diabetes at any age. Therefore, people with a problem of diabetes need to be extra careful before choosing a warrior diet. This diet may cause blood sugar fluctuation drastically in fasting time and after night time meals. Later the blood sugar may fall down majorly.
May Cause Weight Gain
Fasting for more than 8-10 hours may affect the ability of the body to use fuel. Having extreme low calories may reduce metabolism. It means if you stop the diet restrictions, it may contribute to fat gain by forming lean tissues and fat.
Not for everyone
Intermittent fasting is not for everyone. However, moderate forms like 16:8 are easier to follow and less stress over the body.
Everyone can not follow the warrior diet, so, the following people should avoid it.
- For children, it is advised to consult the doctor.
- Individuals with diseases, including diabetes, and heart problems, require to talk with the doctor.
- Individuals with eating disorders should be careful in suffering from eating problems.
- Athletes require to watch out caloric intakes as it is a different diet.
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women also need to skip this diet.
To what extent Should You Follow the Warrior Diet?
A person requires to follow the Warrior diet for one month to get effective results. As you complete one-month, intermittent fasting will become your habit.
How You Will Feel After Following the Plan of The Warrior Diet?
You may feel difficult to control your hunger at the beginning of the warrior diet plan. After 3rd day, you will see the loss of water weight, which will quickly provide a slimmer appearance.
It will make you feel slightly bloated and more active. Doing regular workout also helps to mobilize fat and grow muscle mass. Therefore, the body fat % will decrease. Remember, while lowering fat and increase muscles, your weight should not decrease. You need to manage a healthy weight. It means that you will not have weight loss with loose skin, flappy arms, and lose muscle. You should build a firm and toned body that is a real weight loss.