From the variety of diets, the eyes run. It is difficult to evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages without delving into the essence of a particular diet. The protein diet has long since made a splash with its amazing results. What is it and is it really effective? Will it harm your health?
The benefits of a protein diet
Most dietary restrictions for weight loss are aimed at a sharp decrease in the calorie content of food, even at the expense of protein. In fact, they can only eat vegetables, some fruits and other low-calorie foods.
The principle of a protein diet is as follows. The body, with the need for energy costs (physical activity), first of all begins to consume the carbohydrates that were last received.
With normal physical activity, this is where the process of "burning" calories ends, there is no weight loss. Only when the newly received body is exhausted does it begin to "fat reserves"
A protein diet provides a minimal intake of light carbohydrates from food. In such conditions, the burning of stored calories immediately begins. At the same time, other cells in the body do not suffer, as there are enough proteins for their functioning. Weight loss comes from fat tissue, not muscle loss.
The benefits of a protein diet are as follows:
- An excellent and stable result in a fairly short period of time. Most protein diets are designed for a short period of time, 2 to 4 weeks. During this period, you can lose 5 to 15 kg or more, it all depends on the initial body weight.
- There is no feeling of hunger. With such a diet, a constant level of glucose in the blood is formed, there are no peaks and appetite is controlled.
- The result obtained lasts a long time. Dietary rules form the principles of healthy eating and are already becoming a habit.
- Frequent and fractional nutrition "speeds up" the metabolism, which contributes to weight loss.
- Protein is extremely important for the body. Cell walls are built from them, complexes for maintaining immunity, they are necessary for normal digestion, muscle growth and the renewal of all tissues. It is difficult to point to a process in the body in which proteins would not participate. Therefore, a sufficient supply of proteins does not cause situations of excessive stress for the organism.
- Protein is essential for the absorption of vitamins. Conventional low-calorie diets are often accompanied by changes in the condition of the skin, hair, nails, heart disorders, decreased memory and stamina appear. A protein diet is free of these downsides.
- You can lose weight and build muscle at the same time. This cannot be done with a lack of protein. Especially true for men.
- Many amino acids (from which proteins are made) are essential for the human body. They can only be obtained with food. Lack of essential amino acids leads to various ailments in the body. There is no such thing in a protein diet.
- The set of products is very diverse, you can create a delicious and favorite diet, and not just eat buckwheat or cabbage.
- The amount of carbohydrates in a protein diet is minimal, but sufficient for the productive work of important organs, for example, the brain.
Disadvantages, without which nowhere
Diet is a stressful situation that requires adaptation. The disadvantages of a protein diet include the following:
- The load on the urinary organs increases. The kidneys filter all of the body's blood several times throughout the day. With an increased content of protein complexes, the tubules can be "blocked", which will subsequently lead to disruption of the organ's work. Therefore, a contraindication to a protein diet is kidney disease.
- Blood clotting increases. As a result, the risk of thrombosis and thromboembolism increases. This diet is not recommended for people who have ever had similar problems, as well as for those suffering from hypertension, diabetes mellitus.
- Despite the variety of foods, the protein diet is still one-way. This can lead to a deficiency or an excess of certain elements. For example, in this case, it is recommended to also take calcium and vitamin D complexes.
- The minimal amount of fiber can cause disruption of the gastrointestinal tract. Constipation and colitis very often occur. If there is a tendency to such ailments, it is better to choose other diets.
- Any prohibition of the body on something can ultimately lead to a breakdown, depression. The same with a protein diet, despite the relative variety of foods.
- Eating frequent meals (up to six times a day) is sometimes difficult to maintain in today's pace of life.
Contraindications to the diet
Any restrictions on food should be treated wisely. The main contraindications for a protein diet are as follows:
- Chronic diseases, especially of the kidneys, heart, intestines. If available, it is best to consult a dietician or therapist. Only a doctor can comprehensively assess the condition and possible danger of such a diet.
- Liver disease, as it is involved in the processing of all nitrogenous compounds that come in the form of proteins.
- It is dangerous to stick to a diet when carrying a baby and breastfeeding.
- In the presence of tumor processes, especially of a malignant nature.
Fast weight loss diet options and their characteristics
For weight loss, you can use both the classic protein diet and its varieties, supplemented with certain product categories.
Protein only
Compliance with a balanced diet of a protein diet leads not only to comfortable weight loss, but also to the maintenance of all physiological processes in the body, normal.
In this case, only pure protein products are allowed. These include the following:
- meat (lean pork, beef, rabbit, chicken, turkey, etc. );
- low-fat eggs and dairy products (mainly cottage cheese);
- legumes;
- fish and other seafood (squid, mussels, and so on);
- you can add buckwheat, oats and soy in any form.
Protein-carbohydrates
It differs in that a portion of complex carbohydrates is added to the proteins. In addition to the main products, the diet is supplemented with the following:
- flakes (muesli),
- dried fruit,
- peanuts,
- black bread,
- durum wheat pasta,
- honey,
- fruit.
Proteins and vegetables
With a protein-plant diet, you can also eat fruits and vegetables, raw and cooked (but not fried), as well as mushrooms. This option is especially suitable for people suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. A sufficient amount of coarse fiber will stimulate intestinal motility, absorb all toxins and metabolic products.
Vitamins and proteins
This type of protein diet involves enriching the diet with vitamins. There are two possible options:
- Alternating in the days (2 + 2) only protein products and then vitamins. The latter include fruits, vegetables, berries.
- You can also simply supplement protein foods with vitamin supplements throughout the day.
Basic rules of a protein diet
In order to minimize the negative effects of the diet, the following guidelines should be followed:
- Drink at least 1. 5 - 2 liters of clean water per day. This will help keep your kidneys safe.
- If you have to follow a protein diet for a long time, you should take vitamin and mineral complexes.
- Do not reduce the number of calories to less than 1200 per day. It is better to calculate the needs individually based on body weight.
- All dishes must be prepared in any way, but not fried. Boiling, steaming, stewing, baking is a healthy diet.
- It is desirable to minimize the amount of table salt.
- All dishes can be richly spiced, use cinnamon, turmeric, but not ready-made seasonings with flavor enhancers, including mayonnaise.
Menu for the week by day
In any diet, the most difficult thing is to create an interesting menu so that it is both beautiful and tasty at the same time. It can be roughly represented as follows:
Monday
- Breakfast: cottage cheese, tea or coffee without sugar.
- Snack: a glass of kefir.
- Lunch: boiled, steamed or baked chicken.
- Snack: half an apple.
- Dinner: chicken with vegetables.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: low-fat, unsweetened yogurt with cinnamon.
- Snack: grapefruit.
- Lunch: boiled beef with tomato or cucumber.
- Snack: a glass of milk.
- Dinner: beef with cabbage.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: one egg (only proteins are allowed, then two), tea or coffee.
- Snack: orange.
- Lunch: baked fish with vegetables.
- Snack: yogurt.
- Dinner: fish.
Thursday
- Breakfast: Cinnamon yogurt.
- Snack: grapefruit.
- Lunch: chicken with asparagus.
- Snack: kefir.
- Dinner: asparagus or chicken.
Friday
- Breakfast: an egg or just protein.
- Snack: grapefruit.
- Lunch: mushrooms with vegetables.
- Snack: ricotta omelette.
- Dinner: stewed vegetables.
on Saturday
- Breakfast: ricotta with cinnamon.
- Snack: apple.
- Lunch: chicken broth with boiled vegetables.
- Snack: a slice of meat cooked with vegetables.
- Dinner: kefir.
Sunday
- Breakfast: Ricotta cheesecake with cinnamon.
- Snack: grapefruit.
- Lunch: broth from any lean meat with vegetables.
- Snack: a slice of cheese.
- Dinner: yogurt.
Delicious and healthy recipes
It is healthy to simply eat. The recipes for proper nutrition are very quick and easy to include in the daily diet. Examples of first, second and dessert can be the following:
- Recipe 1. Ricotta cheesecake. You should take 200 g of low-fat cottage cheese and mix in a blender with two egg yolks, 50 g of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Beat one apple apart and then 5 egg yolks. Mix all three ingredients. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees.
- Recipe 2. Ricotta omelette. Beat the egg whites until fluffy. Separately, do the same with the ricotta, add chopped onion and dill, salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything, pour into a mold and bake in the oven until tender.
- Recipe 3. Soup with meatballs. Mix the minced chicken with the chopped onion, add the pepper, bran and egg white. Form the meatballs, immerse them in boiling water in a saucepan. Add salt, some peppercorns, bay leaf to the broth. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Recipe 4. Beef. You should take a piece of meat, salt, pepper, grease a little with lemon juice. Refrigerate for an hour. Then wrap in plastic wrap and bake for 50 minutes at 200 degrees.
- Recipe 5. Fish. Take the mackerel, peel. Brush all sides with a mixture of pepper and salt. Stuff the onions and carrots inside. Wrap in cling film and bake in the oven at 160 ° for 30 minutes.
How to choose meat
When choosing meat for a protein diet, you should give preference to the following types:
- hen,
- Beef,
- rabbit meat,
- Turkey meat.
In addition, it should be raw meat, from which you need to prepare meals yourself. Sausage delights, sausages, cured and raw smoked products - all this is not useful. First, they are high in fat. Secondly, flavor additives and enhancers stimulate the appetite. This category also includes all semi-finished products.
Allowed and prohibited drinks
During the diet, attention should be paid not only to food, but also to the incoming fluid. First, it also has calories in most cases. Secondly, additives and preservatives can interfere with digestion and other organs.
It is also useful outside the diet to favor the following drinks:
- ordinary drinking water (should make up 90% of all liquid);
- non-carbonated mineral;
- unsweetened tea and coffee (you can add a little milk);
- herbal infusions, dried fruit.
During a protein diet it is useful to consume tomato juice and celery. All other packaged drinks contain a lot of sugar, flavoring sweeteners. The resulting benefits are minimal and there are a lot of calories.
How much can you follow a diet
The protein diet is designed for an average of 10-12 days, but there are extended options as well. For example, Ducan and others. They also belong to proteins, but they are based on special principles of nutrition and have significant characteristics.
The safe duration of protein diets also depends on the state of health. About two weeks a year are believed to be acceptable to everyone.
Rules for quitting a protein diet
In order for the effect after the diet to be fixed for the longest possible period and without undue stress on the body, it is necessary to adhere to the recommendations for exiting such a diet. They will be the following:
- You should eat 4-5 times a day in small portions.
- Breakfast is mandatory, it should include proteins (cottage cheese, yogurt, meat).
- Last meal no later than three hours before bedtime.
- It is better to refuse sweet, fatty, starchy foods or just "taste".
- Try to cook properly and it is useful: boil, steam, stew.
A slim figure is 80% dependent on lifestyle, eating habits, and not on heredity, as most people believe. A protein diet is one of the most effective, safe and varied foods on the approved food list. It allows you to master the rules of a balanced diet, intelligently organize your diet. But this is not a panacea and the extra pounds will come back again, if you don't change your habits and increase the level of physical activity.