7 Day Indian Vegetarian Diet Plan for Weight Loss

Most 7 day diet plans online promise a number. Two kilos, three kilos, sometimes five. In one week your body can drop some water and a little fat. Anyone promising more is selling a crash, and the crash usually comes back with interest.

So this plan is plainer. It uses food you already cook, stays around 1,400 to 1,600 kcal a day, and puts protein in every meal so you are not raiding the kitchen at 4 pm. A realistic pace is about half a kilo a week once you settle in. We have written charts like this for clients since 2016, and the people who stick with an ordinary plan beat the ones who start strict and quit by day four.

Who this is for

These numbers suit a woman of about 70 kg with a desk job. Men and heavier people need more food, and so do people who train. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic, on thyroid medicine, or have any condition that needs a doctor, skip this plan and ask your doctor or nutritionist first.

Three rules before you start

Put protein in every meal: dal, curd, paneer, chana, sprouts or soya. Fix the portion of roti or rice, either two rotis or one cup of cooked rice per meal, not both. Cook with about a teaspoon of oil per dish, drink 2.5 litres of water, and finish dinner two to three hours before you sleep.

Every day also has a fruit around 11 am, tea with a small handful of roasted chana, makhana or almonds around 5 pm, warm jeera water in the morning and a glass of haldi milk at night.

The 7 days

Day 1 (1,400 kcal, 76 g protein)

• Breakfast: Moong cheela (2) with curd
• Lunch: 2 rotis, masoor dal, bhindi, cucumber raita, salad
• Dinner: Paneer bhurji, vegetable soup, steamed broccoli

Day 2 (1,430 kcal, 71 g)

• Breakfast: Oats porridge with nuts
• Lunch: Moong dal khichdi, kadhi, cabbage sabzi
• Dinner: Palak tofu, 2 rotis, salad

Day 3 (1,420 kcal, 80 g)

• Breakfast: Besan chilla (2) with curd
• Lunch: Rajma, 1 cup brown rice, cabbage sabzi, curd
• Dinner: Moong dal soup, tofu scramble, salad

Day 4 (1,580 kcal, 67 g)

• Breakfast: Vegetable poha, curd, peanuts
• Lunch: Palak dal, brown rice, mixed sabzi, curd
• Dinner: Matar paneer, 2 multigrain rotis, salad

Day 5 (1,590 kcal, 70 g)

• Breakfast: Moong dal dosa, mint chutney, curd
• Lunch: Chole, 2 jowar rotis, lauki, chaas
• Dinner: Vegetable khichdi, raita, mushroom sabzi

Day 6 (1,420 kcal, 67 g)

• Breakfast: Dhokla, chutney, curd
• Lunch: Toor dal, brown rice, beans sabzi, raita
• Dinner: Soya chunks curry, 2 multigrain rotis, tinda

Day 7 (1,500 kcal, 66 g)

• Breakfast: Besan chilla with paneer, chutney
• Lunch: Vegetable pulao, moong dal, lauki raita
• Dinner: Moong dal khichdi, lauki sabzi, raita

The numbers are approximate and use standard home servings. Your plate may differ by a hundred calories either way, and that is fine.

If something on the plan does not suit you

Do not eat roti? Use a cup of cooked rice or a millet khichdi instead. No curd? Have a glass of chaas or add an extra dal. No tofu or soya? Paneer or a bigger bowl of dal does the same job. Eat eggs? Swap any breakfast for a two egg bhurji with a slice of multigrain toast.

If you have a dairy or gluten allergy, do not copy the table as it is. Ask a nutritionist to adjust it, because a few of these dishes will need to change.

What to expect

Week one often shows 0.5 to 1 kg on the scale, and part of that is water. Weigh yourself once a week, same day, same time. If the number does not move for two weeks, change the plan, not your mood. And if you feel dizzy, weak or constantly cold, eat more and talk to a doctor. A plan that makes you feel ill is a bad plan.

Can I repeat it?

Yes. Keep the structure and rotate the dals, sabzis and fruit so you do not get bored. Boredom is the real reason most plans fail by week three.

If you want it built around your own food

This chart is a template. A nutritionist at DietGhar builds yours around your weight, your routine and what your family cooks. The 15 day plan starts at Rs 499. Install the app at https://dietghar.com/app and fill in your profile to begin.

This is general information, not medical advice. It does not replace your doctor.