Do you lose weight from eating a cucumber?

Answer

A cucumber indeed contains very little energy, namely 8 kcal/100 grams. After all, 94% is water. Moreover, you are just as sweet with it; You don’t just swallow a raw cucumber, but you have to chew it properly. It has never been measured exactly, but in this case this could cost more energy than the cucumber provides you.

However, most foods never cost us more calories than they provide.

The basic question: do you lose weight from cucumber?

You will not lose weight from cucumber alone. This should be viewed in the context of total nutritional intake. If you are used to snacking all day long (chocolate, cookies,…), and you completely replace this by nibbling on a cucumber, you will indeed lose weight. You have to maintain this in the longer term (several weeks) so that you will not only lose moisture (the first 10 days) but also burn fats effectively. This process only starts slowly because the body first selects the sugars in the form of glycogen as a reserve fuel.

This does not fall within the principles of healthy nutrition. A cucumber is of course healthier than candy, but the basis of a healthy diet is variety and balance. That cucumber doesn’t provide you with many essential nutrients. You can use this as a snack or with a salad, but alternate with carrots, fruit and possibly other vegetables. Furthermore, the principles of the ‘active’ food triangle (www.vig.be) apply to everyone.