What Is the Menu for the Rice Diet?

The rice diet was developed by German physician Walter Kempner in 1934. Kempner, a physician at Duke University's Department of Medicine, studied how diet affected people with health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. After noting that people who ate white rice each day seemed to suffer from these conditions less, he created a diet that consisted of rice, fruit, juices, sugar, and vitamin and mineral supplements. Kempner's diet was implemented in a 1939 program in which people suffering from obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and kidney disease checked into a facility in Durham, North Carolina, for a stringent "boot camp" in which the diet was employed---purportedly, with good results.

In 2005, dietitian Kitty Rosati and her husband, cardiologist Robert Rosati, wrote "The Rice Diet Solution," based on Kempner's program, so people could use it to lose weight. The book guarantees dieters rapid weight loss from 20 to 30 pounds the first month. But like any fad diet, the rice diet is rigid and includes a limited selection of low-sodium, low-fat foods.

The Rice Diet: A Primer

The rice diet includes various "sub-diets" during the first 3 phases (weeks). These include the Basic Rice Diet (800 calories daily), which consists of 2 starches and 2 fruits for all 3 daily meals. The Lacto Vegetarian Diet (1,000 calories daily) consists of 1 starch, 1 fruit and 1 serving of nonfat dairy for breakfast; and 3 starches, 3 vegetables and 1 fruit for lunch and dinner. Finally, there is the Vegetarian Plus Rice Diet (1,200 calories daily), which includes 2 starches and 1 fruit for breakfast; 3 starches, 3 vegetables and 1 fruit for lunch; and 3 starches, 3 servings of protein (or dairy), 3 vegetables and 1 fruit for dinner. Dieters who choose to remain on the rice diet for a long period of time are limited to 30 food items.

Week 1

During the first week of the Rice Diet, dieters eat the Basic Rice Diet on the first day. The next 6 days, they eat the Lacto Vegetarian Rice Diet.

Week 2

During the second week of the Rice Diet, dieters eat the Basic Rice Diet on the first day. For the next 5 days, they eat the Lacto Vegetarian Rice Diet. On the seventh day, they eat the Vegetarian Plus Rice Diet.

After Week 2

During the third week of the rice diet and for the maintenance phase of the diet, dieters eat the Basic Rice Diet on the first day. For the next 4 days, they eat the Lacto Vegetarian Rice Diet. The next 2 days, dieters eat the Vegetarian Plus Rice Diet. Dieters who get to this phase consume only 1,200 calories daily.

Additional Aspects

There's something else on the rice diet menu: Exercise. For the diet to be effective, dieters must incorporate physical activity into their daily agenda. This exercise requirement differentiates the rice diet from other fad diets that promise weight loss without physical activity. Additionally, because the rice diet is so limited in what foods dieters can eat, they must take calcium supplements, vitamin D and a daily multivitamin.

Effectiveness

According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), fad diets such as the rice diet, grapefruit diet and cabbage soup diet share one thing in common: They all claim that a single food can help fat melt away and stay away. The ADA points out that any such diet will work in the short term because of the limited number of calories involved, but diets such as the rice diet are largely ineffective in the long run. The diet lacks variety, and dieters become bored and stray from the diet. Additionally, the rice diet doesn't provide the requisite amount of nutrients that people need to remain healthy. Finally, the ADA dispels the myth that one "superfood" such as rice results in weight loss. Weight loss is largely due to physical exercise and simply eating right.