This content has been Fact-Checked by a Certified Nutritionist in our Publishing Team. Learn more here. Always consult a medical professional before commencing any diet.
The Brazilian Diet is not very popular but it is known to be very effective and sustainable too.
There are a lot of facts we know about Brazil, but they normally involve soccer (futebol) and carnival.
When it comes to food, Brazil is famous for a dish called feijoada, which is made of black beans. In fact, most Brazilians eat beans everyday, which are super healthy because they are quite rich in fibre and protein.
Also, we all know Brazilian girls normally have a pretty nice body, let’s learn their secret!
What is the Brazilian Diet?
We all grew up learning about the food pyramid at school – nutritional guidelines that can at times be confusing.
Brazil, however, kept its focus simple: eat homemade whole foods native to your area and avoid ultra-processed foods.
Much easier than weighing your food and obsessing over calories, isn’t it?
According to American food scholar Marion Nestle, the premise of eat this, avoid that, is based on marketing and not health.
Basically, food is removed from being shared with family and friends and placed in a laboratory.
Not in Brazil . . .
Carlos Monteiro, listed as the mastermind behind the country’s nutritional guidelines, believes eating is a natural part of social life.
In his speech during the 2015 Dietary Guidelines, said:
“Prefer eating with family, friends or colleagues, at home, at work, or when eating out. Share in acquiring, preparing and cooking meals, and clearing up afterwards.”
This is one of the key concepts of the Brazilian Diet.
Brazilian Diet Benefits
It’s already clear to see that the Brazilian Diet is a cut above the rest. But let’s explore it further . . .
Well, while on other diets, going out to dinner with friends is an absolute nightmare. Selecting a place where you can pick something of the menu is a sweat-inducing task.
The Brazilian Diet, however, wants you to eat surrounded by family and friends. And, sticking to healthy, unprocessed meals consisting of veggies and chicken or fish is an easy ask at most restaurants.
Moreover, you’ll lose weight in a healthy, sustainable manner.
There’s no weighing of food, dividing plates into food groups, or using your palm to measure the sizes of what you’re allowed to eat. This means this diet is easier to stick to in the long run.
Of course, this does not mean you can go crazy and gorge yourself. Counting calories is always a good idea, but when following the Brazilian Diet, obsessing over it is not necessary.
Another amazing advantage of this diet is that by cutting out all the processed and unhealthy gunk from your diet will reduce your risk of developing nasty diseases. To know more about the health risk of these foods check this link.
Ten Steps to a Healthy Diet
Here are the ten steps mentioned in the guidelines to ensure success:
- Natural and unprocessed foods should be the basis of your diet.
- Oils, fats, salt, and sugar should be used in small amounts to flavor and prepare food.
- The consumption of processed foods should be limited.
- Don’t use ultra-processed products.
- Eat-in a company of other people in an appropriate environment.
- Buy a variety of natural or minimally processed foods.
- Learn to cook, practice what you learn, and share it with friends and family.
- Cooking and eating should be an important part of your life.
- When eating out, find places that serve freshly made meals.
- Don’t take food advertising and marketing seriously, as its purpose is to make sales, not to educate you.
What Can You Eat?
People eat food that is available locally. That means human diets across the world are vastly different.
The golden rule is to always choose freshly made natural or minimally processed meals over ultra-processed foods.
The Brazilian Diet consists of grains, nuts, legumes, vegetables, fruit, meat, chicken and fish. Refer below for our Brazilian diet meal plan to get an idea of types of vegetables, fruits, and ingredients.
There is no restriction on how much you can eat because if you really stick to eating natural whole foods, you will be avoiding a lot of sugar and fat from processed food. This will positively affect your health, body, and weight straight away!
7-Day Brazilian Diet Meal Plan
Day 1
Breakfast
Coffee with milk
1 Brazilian cheese bread (pao de queijo)
1 Papaya
Lunch
Rice and beans
Baked chicken leg
Small side salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onion)
Salad dressing: Salt, vinegar, olive oil, and oregano
Dinner
Rice and beans
Bovine liver
Sautéed zucchini and carrots
1 Orange for dessert
Day 2
Breakfast
Coffee with milk
Piece of Cassava cake
Small piece of yellow cheese
1/2 Papaya
Lunch
Rice and beans
Omelet
Sautéed Gilo
Tomato salad (1 medium tomato – same dressing)
Dinner
Green leaf salad
Rice and beans
Fried Egg
Apple for Dessert
Day 3
Breakfast
Black Coffee
1 Cup Fresh Ricotta
1/2 Mango
Lunch
Feijoada (Brazilian black bean, beef and pork stew)
Rice
Onion and tomato vinaigrette
Cassava (boiled)
Sautéed spinach and orange
Dinner
Chicken and Vegetable soup
1/2 French Bread Roll
1 Mandarim for dessert
Day 4
Breakfast
Orange juice
French bread roll with butter
1 Papaya
Lunch
Rice and beans
Grilled beef
Tomato salad
Fruit salad
Dinner
Pasta with Meatballs
Green leaf salad (watercress and rocket)
Day 5
Breakfast
Freshly squeezed orange juice
Boiled sweet potato
1 Papaya
Lunch
Rice with Lentils
Ham
Sauteed Potatoes
Cabbage Salad
Pineapple for dessert
Dinner
Rice and beans
Grilled chicken breast
Sauteed Spinach
Couscous
Day 6
Breakfast
Black Coffee
Tapioca pancake
1 Banana
Lunch
Lettuce, cucumber and tomato salad
Rice
White Fish with coconut sauce
Dinner
Rice and beans
Grounded meat
Sauteed spinach and zucchini
Day 7
Breakfast
Acai bowl with granola and fresh fruit
Lunch
Rice and beans
Lettuce, cucumber and tomato salad
Roasted Eggplant
Capuacu juice
Dinner
Rice and beans
Chicken leg
Steamed green beans and carrots warm salad
1 Guava for dessert
What Is That?
Some of the foods above sound very exotic, and you may find yourself thinking: “Where am I going to get that?”
Well, don’t worry, here are some replacements:
- Tapioca is a trendy grain-free flour that can be replaced with Tapioca starch or oat flour.
- Gilo is a mix between a tomato and an eggplant, so you can substitute with either.
- Capuacu, another Brazilian fruit, has been used as an alternative to chocolate. Its taste is quite specific and difficult to explain, so when it comes to a replacement, it’s a hard one. But, sticking to the Brazilian Diet’s golden rule of fresh food – any fruit or fruit juice will do as a substitute.
- Acai is super berry rich in antioxidants, it can be replaced by blueberries or mixed berries.
- Cassava is similar to potato/ sweet potato, also common in Asian and Indian cuisine. It can be replaced by yams, taro, and sweet potato.
Brazilian Diet for Vegetarians
Brazilian vegetarian is something you won’t hear that often. The country is known for its barbeques and meat-heavy diet.
That being said, nothing stops you from adapting the Brazilian Diet to your vegetarian needs.
Since it already calls for a substantial intake of vegetables and fruits, it will be easy to replace the suggested chicken and fish with high-protein vegetarian sources.
BUT! Keep the no processed food rule in mind and stay away from artificial chicken and fish.
Tips to Ensure Your Success
Track Your Calories
This does not mean calories should consume your every thought during the day.
To lose weight, no matter what eating plan you’re following, require consuming fewer calories than what you burn during the day.
You can visit a dietician or nutritionist if you’re not sure about your daily calorie intake, or you can use an online calculator to get an estimate.
Once you know your daily calorie intake to lose weight, don’t overthink it. Track what you eat but don’t go into a flat-spin should you go over 200-300 calories. On other days, you will go under.
A great tool to help you count your calories and make sure you meet your nutritional requirements is MyFitnessPal.
Don’t Drink Alcohol – No Caipirinhas!
Consuming alcohol is a surefire way to wipe out all your hard work. Alcohol is loaded with calories and has little to no nutritional value. Don’t waste your hard work!
Exercise
What you eat makes up 80% of your success and exercise the remaining 20%. Nevertheless incorporating exercise into your daily routine while sticking to the Brazilian Diet will turn your body into a fat-burning furnace.
Give Your Body a Break
Your body takes time to break down what you eat. Try not to put too much strain on it by eating too often.
It is best to give it a few hours between meals for better digestion.
Track Your Results
Don’t just rely on the scale. The body is a very fickle thing and seeing a two-pound gain due to water retention, constipation or any of the myriad of reasons can drain your enthusiasm away in a split second.
Get yourself a measuring tape and take measurements around areas like your waist, hips, butt and thighs. Re-check your results in a few weeks, and you will be pleasantly surprised – and more motivated!
Photos are also a great visual representation of your progress and something you can look back at with a smile.
Brazilian Diet Results
People have reported weight loss of up to 12 pounds a month – even more. This all depends on you! Your metabolism, lifestyle, if you are sticking to the diet and implementing all the tips listed above.
For more on metabolism, check out Metabolic Confusion Ultimate Guide – How to Trick Your Body Into Losing Weight.
In closing
Keep it simple; keep it fresh and enjoy time with your family eating healthy food like your grandma used to make it and you’ll see amazing results.
This content has been Fact-Checked by a Certified Nutritionist in our Publishing Team. Learn more here.
Gosh, I’m Brazilian and we don’t eat feijoada in common days, just rice and beans. To make it very simple, we eat rice+beans+meat or eggs+ salad or veggies, lunch and dinner, mostly. Snacks can be fruits, and breakfast is usually a fruit or some bread with butter. I know this seems hard to prepare but actually we cook once a day, you can repeat the same food (dinner and lunch) or to adapt for US, take the rice and beans out for lunch. Brazilians have their biggest meal at lunch, not dinner. And yes, most of the girls are thinner that the American girls, that’s a fact.