The 13-day diet, otherwise known as The Danish Diet or The Copenhagen Diet, is not a traditional diet. This is not a crash diet that relies on starving you, making you lose all of your glycogen, and making you literally poop out your weight.
While this is a very calorie-restricted diet, this diet plays on your metabolism and is designed to actually give you results that stick afterwards. You have to follow this diet for the whole 13 days and you could lose anywhere from 10 to 40 pounds.
This diet can be harsh on your body. It is lacking in the dairy, whole grains, and fruits that are vital to a healthy body, but don’t fret. A simple multivitamin will help you stay healthy.
There are a few rules you must stick to if you want this to work, so let’s check those out first.
13-Day Diet Rules
- No beer, wine, sweets, chewing gum, or extra food – Your body’s chemistry changes during the diet, don’t screw it up by eating any of this.
- Do not use salt – You can use garlic, oregano, Ms Dash, or pepper.
- Supplement beef, lamb, or salmon with 250g of chicken breast, if desired.
- Use this time to take off from the gym. Your calorie intake is very low, so refrain from I physical activity.
- If you break this diet or successfully run it, do not follow this diet again for another two years. You could cause damage to your metabolic system.
- After you complete the diet, you can eat regularly again… just be sensible.
13-Day Diet Menu
You really need to follow this diet exactly. Adding in something that “shouldn’t hurt anything” can mess with your hormones, so please try to stick to the diet exactly.
Day 1
- Breakfast
- (1) large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- Lunch
- (1) hard boiled egg
- (1) pack frozen spinach (200g) boiled in water
- (1) tomato
- Dinner
- 100g grilled beef – no extra butter or fat
- Lettuce with lemon dressing
Day 2
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- Lunch
- 150g ham
- (1) natural fat-free yogurt
- Dinner
- 100g grilled beef – no extra butter or fat
- Lettuce with lemon dressing
- (1) piece of fruit
Day 3
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- (1) slice dry toast
- Lunch
- (2) hard boiled eggs
- (1) slice of ham
- spinach and tomato
- Dinner
- Boiled celery – can make a soup
- (1) piece of fruit
Day 4
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- (1) slice dry toast
- Lunch
- 200mL orange juice, or (1) apple
- (1) natural fat-free yogurt
- Dinner
- (1) hard boiled egg
- 1 large grated carrot
- 100mL cottage cheese
Day 5
- Breakfast
- No tea or coffee
- Lunch
- 150g salmon with lemon – can add up to 1tbsp butter to cook in
- Dinner
- 100g grilled beef
- lettuce with celery
Day 6
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- (1) slice dry toast
- Lunch
- (1) hard boiled egg
- (1) grated carrot
- Dinner
- 150g grilled breast – grilled or boiled
- lettuce with lemon dressing
Day 7
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee – no sugar
- Lunch
- Nothing – Drink plenty of water
- Dinner
- 200g grilled lamb cutlets
- (1) apple
Day 8
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- Lunch
- (2) hard boiled eggs
- 200g frozen spinach boiled in water
- (1) tomato
- Dinner
- 200g grilled beef
- lettuce with lemon dressing
Day 9
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- Lunch
- (1) slice of ham
- (1) natural fat-free yogurt
- Dinner
- 200g grilled beef
- lettuce with lemon dressing
Day 10
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- (1) slice dry toast
- Lunch
- (2) hard boiled eggs
- (1) slice of ham
- lettuce with lemon dressing
- Dinner
- Boiled celery – can make a soup
- (1) tomato
- (1) piece of fruit
Day 11
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- (1) slice dry toast
- Lunch
- 200mL orange juice or (1) apple
- (1) natural fat-free yogurt
- Dinner
- 200g grilled beef
- lettuce and celery – no dressing
Day 12
- Breakfast
- No tea or coffee
- (1) grated carrot with lemon
- Lunch
- 200g salmon – boiled with lemon or grilled with 1 tbsp butter
- Dinner
- 200g grilled beef
- lettuce and celery – no dressing
Day 13
- Breakfast
- (1) Large cup black tea or coffee
- (1) spoonful sugar
- (1) slice dry toast
- Lunch
- (2) hard boiled eggs
- 1 grated carrot with lemon
- Dinner
- 250g chicken breast – grilled or boiled
- lettuce with lemon dressing
Tips To Get The Most From This Diet
- This diet will work and it can really jump-start your fitness goals if followed properly. This diet is not considered a crash diet, although you are going to be working on low calories.
- No cheating – Please stick to the diet if you want to try it, otherwise don’t risk metabolism damage.
- Use this time for reflection – There will be days you question why you’re doing this. The decreased calories will allow your chemistry to change and start really burning fat.
- Eat sensibly after the diet – Eating sensibly and making better nutritional choices post-diet will allow you to keep losing weight and get healthier.
- Curb your appetite with water – You need to stay hydrated so drink plenty of water. Drink extra water when your belly feels empty to help curb appetite.
You could also add a fat burner in the mix to help with appetite suppression, increased calorie burn and better energy levels.
Wrapping It Up
This diet is pretty intense, but it is guaranteed to make you drop some weight if you stick to it. There’s no magical formula to becoming fit overnight, but there are some tricks you can use to get you there quicker.
