Have you ever imagine to be able to lose weight while just using a fork for eating? The authors of the French bestseller “Dinner with a fork” Sophie Troff and Ivan Gavriloff propagated not a diet, but a way of life that allows you to lose weight with delicious, healthy and proper nutrition.
They took their inspiration from an old saying “Eat your breakfast like a king, share lunch with friends and dine like a pauper.” This is the principle all nutritionists agree with. They assure us that avoidance of calorie intake after 5 p.m. leads to weight loss, even if during the day we exaggerate with the amount of food. For dinner is allowed only what you can eat with a fork.
The main principles:
- Regular and plentiful breakfast
- Avoidance of lunch is not allowed
- Lighter meals in the evening
- Consuming carbs and legumes even when trying to lose weight
WHY IS FORK DIET EFFECTIVE?
Diverse and healthy
In this diet you can eat all: no food is excluded. In this way, your body can provide all the necessary nutrients. However, it should be significantly reduced intake of saturated fats, such as butter, cheese and sauce. Because these food is rich in calories and at the same time you keep the heart and blood vessels. In the case of legumes and cereals, no restrictions.
During the day, one should not exaggerate with the consumption of alcohol, sweets and salt. But there is another rule: every day on the menu you have five servings of fruits and vegetables (choice is your option). This diet is quite similar to the so-called Mediterranean diet, which is also based on cereals, legumes, fish and vegetables.
Practical and simple
Fork diet is not restrictive: you can eat what you like and want, but one must be moderate. Even people who mainly eat out, can easily implement it. In addition, it is not necessary to weigh the food (even for dinner) or count calories.
FOR WHOM IS SUITABLE FORK DIET?
This diet is recommended to everyone, but it’s always safest to previously consult the specialist (the rule that you should hold every time you change eating habits for a period longer than a week).
In any case, with this diet, the greatest success will achieve people who have previously eaten irregularly and unhealthy, and consumed a lot of fat.
FOODS THAT YOU CAN EAT
During the day you can eat everything you want, but be careful not to overdo it with the spices (never consume more than 3 teaspoons of olive oil per day) and the amount of food. Breakfast and afternoon snack are not only desirable, but should be mandatory.
In the evening, forget the knife and spoon, and eat only what can be eaten with a fork (do not try to spread melting cheese on bread with a fork). For dinner, therefore, is allowed the following foods: legumes (lentils, beans, peas …), cereals (pasta, rice, wheat …), fish, salads, and eggs.
FOODS THAT YOU SHOULDN’T EAT
This diet is called fork diet because it is the only piece of cutlery that you can use for dinner.
In other words, in the evening on your desk should not be the following foods: these which normally you eat with your fingers: olives, bread, grissini and crackers, fruits like grapes or citrus fruits. Dishes which you eat with a spoon, like a pudding, ice cream, soup or yogurt.
Foods that you smear with a knife on the bread: pate, butter, cream cheese, jam, honey and all kinds of sauces. Dishes for which you normally use the knife: white or red meat, venison, aged cheeses, pizza, fruits like apples, pears, kiwi, pineapple, etc.
HOW TO SUCCEED?
If before sleeping feel the need for something sweet, drink tea sweetened with a teaspoon of honey. When you dine out, eat only half of what you have on the plate. Selection the dishes that you can eat with a fork.
Avoid the desert! If you find yourself in a situation that offered a cold or warm buffet, or just meals that are eaten with your fingers, eat what you want without feeling guilty. The next day, the rules that normally apply for dinner use for lunch also.
Weigh yourself once a week (in the morning and on an empty stomach) and record any progress. It will be an incentive to persevere with diet. Never sit at the table hungry! Try to evenly distribute the food throughout the day and do not deprive yourself of what you love most.
FORK DIET – 7 DAYS MENU
Breakfast (every day)
- freshly squeezed orange juice or a fruit;
- cereal with milk (or yogurt) or
- whole wheat bread with jam (no need to weigh the ingredients).
Monday
Lunch: baked cauliflower in the oven, grilled steak, one fruit
Snack: boiled pear
Dinner: rice with lentils
Tuesday
Lunch: salad with mushrooms, broccoli and cheese, a fruit
Snack: pudding with a taste of your choice
Dinner: pasta with tuna
Wednesday
Lunch: salad of boiled kale, roast veal ribs, a fruit
Snack: a slice of apple pie
Dinner: couscous with legumes
Thursday
Lunch: vegetable soup with toast, some Parmesan cheese, seasonal fruit or a glass of fruit yogurt
Snack: a bowl of strawberries
Dinner: salad of chickpeas with tuna
Friday
Lunch: pasta with ragout baked in the oven, cauliflower, fruit salad
Snack: yogurt with pieces of fruit
Dinner: salmon baked in the oven, steamed broccoli
Saturday
Lunch: 2 poached eggs, mashed potatoes, and a fruit
Snack: centrifuged carrot juice
Dinner: salad of cucumbers, olives and cheese Feta
Sunday
Lunch: roast turkey, grilled vegetables, 2 slices of pineapple
Snack: tea and 3 biscuits
Dinner: rice salad with shrimps
RECIPES FOR FORK DIET – TWO SUGGESTIONS
GREEK SALAD
Ingredients (for 2 persons): 1 lb. Feta cheese, 1 cucumber, 2-3 tomatoes, 1 head lettuce, 6 black olives, mint leaves; dressing: juice of one lemon, a teaspoon of cream of olives, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper.
Preparation: In a bowl mix lemon juice, cream of olives, olive oil, salt and pepper. Wash and cut into small pieces cucumbers and tomatoes. Wash, drain and chop lettuce leaves and mix them in a bowl with the other vegetables. Cut into cubes Feta and olives. Once again mix all the ingredients and garnish the salad with mint leaves.
PASTA WITH SARDINES
Ingredients (for 2 persons): 1 oz. spaghetti, 1 oz. of fresh sardines, 2/3 fennel, onion, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 3 salted anchovies, 1 tbsp. raisins and pine nuts, a pack. of saffron, 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, salt and pepper.
Preparation: Cook the fennel 5 minutes and then drain. Clean the fish. In a pan with oil, fry the onion, add the anchovies, sardines, raisins and pine nuts, salt and pepper.
After 5 minutes, add the chopped fennel and saffron powder, dissolved in a cup of hot water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then cook the spaghetti, drain them, move into the pan with the anchovies, stir and sprinkle with fried bread crumbs. Enjoy!