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The Maggi diet has remained on the list of the most popular weight loss plans for several years. Pills with this name appeared on the market, an enterprising American composed a children’s “Maggi Diet”, even absurd attempts to create an instant product of the same name were discussed. In fact, the diet is named in honor of one of the most famous women of the XNUMXth century – Margaret Thatcher, whose name “in the people” is familiarly reduced to unrecognizable four letters. But whether the Prime Minister of Great Britain lost weight on the now famous Maggi diet is still a question …
Margaret Thatcher
Legendary British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher went down in history as a determined reformer and thoughtful strategist. As she prepared to take over as prime minister, she was given a personalized plan for a strict but effective diet, the main ingredients of which were eggs and grapefruit. It is not known how often the Baroness used the “Maggi diet”, but her plan was kept in her archives all her life.
The Maggi Diet: In General
Duration: 2 of the week;
Features: an extremely low carbohydrate protein diet;
Cost: average;
Result: minus 8-10 kg;
Recommended frequency: no more than once a year;
Additional effect: a diet with a long-lasting effect (subject to a competent exit);
The Maggi diet menu is not suitable: pregnant women, lactating women, with allergies to citrus fruits and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, with the use of pressure-reducing medications. Before starting a diet, you should consult your doctor!
From the Mayo diet to the Maggi diet
The meal plan known as the Maggi Diet (although it would be more correct, of course, to pronounce “Meiji”, that is, the diminutive of “Margaret”), has an intriguing story.
During the life of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (she died in 2013), historians began to dismantle her archive left at Westminster Palace. And, among other documents, a typewritten sheet with a certain menu was found in a diary dated 1979. Judging by the note, it was compiled for the “iron lady” individually by the specialists of the Mayo Clinic from the USA. This diet became known overnight as the “Maggi Diet”.
In addition to the meal plan itself, the leaflet contained a warning in large letters, “Do not stay on this diet for more than two weeks.”
The Mayo Clinic of North America has gained worldwide fame for developing the universal two-week “Mayo Diet”. The correct proportions of food were presented in the form of a pyramid, prescribing to consume a lot of fiber from fresh vegetables and fruits, a little less slow carbohydrates and protein, very little fat (mostly unsaturated vegetable) and a minimum of sweets.
The original Mayo diet involves replacing five unhealthy eating habits (adding sugar, snacking on sweet and fatty foods, eating large portions, eating junk food in restaurants, eating in front of the TV) with five healthy ones (eating breakfast, eating at least four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit a day , eat whole grains, eat healthy fats, exercise for 30 minutes daily).
However, when passed on by word of mouth, the Mayo diet has transformed beyond recognition: today, under the guise of this meal plan, a variety of dietary tips can be found.
For Margaret Thatcher, nutritionists at the Mayo Clinic (by the way, she opened in the United States in 1889, but began to specialize in nutrition closer to the middle of the twentieth century, when there was an increased demand for these services) developed a meal plan that can be called one of the first protein diets.
Today, such diets are not uncommon – protein diets for weight loss in different variations are very popular, including due to their long-lasting effect. However, the peculiarity of the Maggi diet for 2 weeks is that grapefruit is responsible for the fruit component in it – a fruit with which those who lose weight associate special hopes.
Until recently, it was believed that the grapefruit diet works because these citrus fruits contain substances that interfere with the absorption of fat. Later studies found that the flavonoid naringin, which controls insulin production, and therefore suppresses hunger, is responsible for the effect of grapefruit on weight loss.
Therefore, the Maggi diet can be recommended for very busy women who, however, strive to improve their figure: the combination of protein and grapefruit allows you to even out blood sugar levels and keep appetite in check.
By the way, the same effect is used in the nutrition plan known as the chemical diet of Osama Hamdiy – the combination of protein, naringin, vegetable fiber and an extremely small amount of carbohydrates alters metabolism at a chemical level, which is beneficial, for example, in diabetes, when disturbances in insulin production lead to obesity.
Osama Hamdiy’s chemical diet: what the doctor ordered
The meal plan, predicted by the developers to lose about 20 pounds (9 kg) over the entire period, was scheduled by the Mayo Clinic for Margaret Thatcher for seven days – after that, the menu should be repeated. In addition to the prescribed drinks, you can drink non-carbonated plain water without restrictions on the Maggi diet. In cases where the amount of food is not specified accurately, the portion size of the losing weight is determined independently.
Breakfast
(same all 14 days): 2 eggs, 1 grapefruit, a cup of plain coffee or tea
Monday
Lunch: 2 eggs, grapefruit
Dinner: 2 eggs, mixed vegetable salad, 1 well toasted toast, 1 grapefruit
Tuesday
Lunch: 2 eggs, any amount of fresh tomatoes, unflavored coffee
Dinner: grilled beef steak, vegetable salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, olives), coffee
Wednesday
Lunch: 2 eggs, stewed spinach, coffee
Dinner: grilled lean lamb steak, celery, cucumber and tomato salad, tea without additives
Thursday
Lunch: 2 eggs, stewed spinach, coffee
Dinner: 2 eggs, some cottage cheese, 1 well-toasted toast, shredded cabbage
Friday
Lunch: 2 eggs, stewed spinach, coffee
Dinner: vegetable salad with fish, 1 well-toasted toast, 1 grapefruit
Saturday
Lunch: any amount of fruit salad without dressing
Dinner: any number of steaks, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, coffee
Sunday
Lunch: grilled chicken fillet, tomato, carrot and cabbage salad, grapefruit, coffee
Dinner:cold boiled skinless chicken, fresh tomatoes, grapefruit.
If you decide to stick to the Maggi diet for more than one week, but 2 or even 4 weeks, just repeat the menu from Mon to Sun.
Did Margaret Thatcher eat the Maggie diet?
There is no reliable evidence that the legendary prime minister of the United Kingdom was on the Maggi diet. Those close to her during her political ascent cautiously suggest that Baroness Thatcher was preparing for her appointment as prime minister with her usual thoroughness and turned to the Mayo Clinic for help, just in case, in order to have a “up my sleeve” a tool that allows you to quickly come in the form.
Thatcher herself, who was reluctant to talk about herself, when asked about the secret of her harmony, in interviews invariably answered that she did not follow any diets. Probably, the secret of her invariably fit appearance was the organization and habit of discipline and restraint not only in work, but also in matters of personal care – we remember that Margaret Thatcher until old age was faithful to the same elegant image and changed little in the course of life. Maybe the traditional British oat diet helped her? Now we can only guess …
Oatmeal, ma’am! Oatmeal diet, leisurely, with a British accent
The Maggi Diet: A Scandalous Book for Chubby Teens
The popularity of the Maggi diet “backfired” from an unexpected side. The problem of childhood obesity has become a real misfortune for the United States and some European countries: the spread of semi-finished products and fast food, as well as the increasing employment of parents, are doing their job.
Overseas, government programs are being created to combat obesity in children and adolescents, the food industry and even culture are not lagging behind: in 2011, American Paul Kramer creatively used the popularity of the Maggi diet, releasing a volume entitled Maggie Goes on a Diet. “).
This is a fictional story of a fourteen-year-old girl who eats mainly bread and cheese, but dreams of becoming slender like a fashion model. Tired of teasing, the schoolgirl begins her journey to weight loss: Maggi’s new diet consists of vegetables, fruits and oatmeal. The revised menu, coupled with sports, helps Maggie lose weight and become popular with her classmates.
Such a delicate topic could not but cause a scandal in the United States: many parents boycotted the book, claiming that The Maggi Diet is stepping on a sore corn and can hurt the feelings of overweight children and even provoke anorexia in them. The author did not agree with the accusations against him, parrying that he was pursuing good goals, seeking to create a motivating work.
Now this book can be considered a real rarity: it has not been republished and, according to the global bibliographic catalog WorldCat, is kept in only twenty-two libraries.
The “Maggi Diet” for children did not take root among the people, but instead it became a hunt for second-hand booksellers and library collectors …
Interview
What results have you achieved using the Maggi diet for weight loss?
The diet is very strict, I could not stand it.
I easily lost a few extra pounds.
Every time I need to lose weight, I use the Maggi diet.
This is the first time I hear about this diet.