Bone broth diets are a favorite among celebrities for good reason. Here’s everything you need to know about it!
Related: These Diet Meal Plans Are Both Delicious And Guilt-Free
When it comes to losing weight, liquid diets are popular. Juice cleanses and water detox are some of the top choices, but one that many have been raving over—including Heart Evangelista-Escudero—is the Bone Broth Diet. Not only does it help with weight loss but it’s also supposed to boost youthful-looking skin.
Popularized by author and naturopathic doctor Dr. Kellyann Petrucci, the diet claims that one can “lose up to 15 pounds, 4 inches, and your wrinkles—in just 21 days.” Is it easy? For many, the diet basically marries the Paleo lifestyle with intermittent fasting.
Following the Paleo diet cuts out many food items that are usually attributed to weight gain—grains, refined sugar, legumes—and replacing them with high-quality animal proteins and vegetables, as well as small amounts of fruits and healthy fats from nuts and seeds. By adding in intermittent fasting and consuming a large amount of bone broth each day, one takes the results to another level.
What Is Bone Broth?
Bone broth is made by simmering the bones and connective tissue of animals for an extended time to extract the amino acids, minerals, and collagen. The collagen and gelatin it gives are known to help with aging skin and it acts as an immune system booster. While its gelatin “heals and seals” the gut and does wonders for the hair, nails, and joints.
You can make homemade bone broth from just about any animal—pork, beef, veal, turkey, lamb, bison, buffalo, venison, chicken, or fish. But there are ready-made packs in the market that you can store and heat up for consumption.
How Does It Work?
Its 21-day plan consists of five days eating only Paleo foods followed by two days of fasting with only three to six cups of bone broth to drink.
To follow the Bone Broth Diet, pick two non-consecutive days per week for fasting, as the other five days are non-fasting days.
For fasting days:
- Option # 1: Drink six 1-cup (237-ml or 8-ounce) portions of bone broth.
- Option # 2: Five portions of bone broth, then end the day with a snack containing protein, non-starchy vegetables, and healthy fat.
For non-fasting days:
On non-fasting days, you choose from lists of allowed foods that fit into categories of a Paleo diet.
- Breakfast: one portion protein, one portion fat, one portion fruit
- Lunch: one portion protein, two portions vegetables, one portion fat
- Dinner: one portion protein, two portions vegetables, one portion fat
- Snacks: a one-cup portion of bone broth twice a day
On both non-fasting and mini-fast days, you should eat your last meal or snack by 7 p.m.
An 80/20 maintenance plan is then recommended to follow after the 21-day plan if you have reached your goal weight in order to maintain it. This means you eat approved foods 80% of the time. The remaining 20% of the time you are free from the diet.
The Bone Broth Diet Plan Heart Evangelista Follows
Heart’s favorite bone broth lifestyle plan comes from Kim King’s Kitchen, which offers customized meal plotting to its clients that want to try the bone broth diet.
Her favorite bone broth plan comes with two meals and a daily serving of 200 ml broth that can serve as a snack or replacement for dinner.
Evangelista admitted that she struggled with the diet during the first few days but with patience and practice she was able to feel the results. “On the fourth day—like magic—I felt so good, my skin was glowing and I lost three pounds right away. I felt great, I didn’t feel sleepy,” she said in an interview with Kim, the owner of the brand. “I’m back to my weight when I was 21 years old! I’m doing my body a favor by doing something good for me.”
