How to lose weight on protein food: protein diet rules, menu, products

First, let's try to figure out what a protein diet is and what its characteristics are. First of all, it is worth saying that this diet is based on a large consumption of protein foods: eggs, seafood, meat, fish, dairy products, various nuts and grains. It is worth minimizing the consumption of fat, and especially carbohydrates.

Many people think soprotein dietquite difficult, however, this is not so. The big advantage is fullness with food, almost without restrictions. Now let's think about the foods that you should eat in large quantities, because they will be your main diet.

What do you need to eat on a protein diet?

1. dairy
2. Meat and fish
3. Low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese
4. Beans
5. Vegetables
6. Seafood

Foods that should not be eaten with a protein diet:

1. Snacks
2. Sweet fruits are high in calories
3. Baking and dessert.
4. Potatoes
5. Full fat dairy products
6. Fatty meat.

Why should you choose a protein diet to lose weight?

Protein is the building block for our body; it contains a large amount of vitamins, macro and micro elements. The problem for many people trying to lose weight is the constant damage caused by starvation. On a protein diet, you will have enough energy and you will not constantly think about food. You will also not tire your body, it will look attractive, because the muscle tissue will be practically not damaged. This is a great option for those who want to finally get a toned figure.

How does a protein diet work?

The point is ondigestionand the body expends a large amount of energy to digest protein foods. To digest lean chicken breast or egg whites, your body must use its own reserves, namely fat. It is at this moment that the powerful weight loss process begins. To achieve maximum results, it is desirable to add at least minimal physical training.

No one talks about what you have to do all daylost in the gym, but half-hour circuit training at home will help increase the effect of a protein diet.

Important Benefits of a Protein Diet. First of all, there is a wide selection of products available in many stores. You will not experience constant hunger, but will be satisfied with food every time and enjoy it. Agree, even a piece of lean meat, cooked quite tasty, seems more appetizing than fresh lettuce or green apples. There are many options of recipes that are suitable for people who eat protein foods.

Many are aware of the significant advantages of protein diets over others; over time, you may get used to this diet, and it may become your way of life. After losing a certain number of kilograms, you will gradually be able to add your favorite foods without gaining weight. But keep in mind that protein should remain the main product of your diet.

Disadvantages of protein diet. Of course, every method of losing weight has its drawbacks, but the protein diet has a small drawback. The first and most important thing is that the products you need to eat regularly are not cheap. Seafood will cost more than the bread or pie you can buy on your way to work. You also need to spend more time preparing food. It will not be easy for those with a sweet tooth, because the protein diet does not include almost all desserts, except for dried fruits and fruits with a low fructose content.

You need to carry a container with you that will last all day, especially if you spend a lot of time at work or school. A protein diet involves eating at least 5 meals a day.

Basic principles of protein diet:

1. Avoid high calorie foods. It is necessary to exclude alcoholic beverages, fast food, baked goods, sweets; dried fruits can be an analogue. Sweeteners should also not be present in your diet. Any food that ends up on your plate should be low in carbs. Do not forget that even a small amount of sweetener in a cup of coffee can cause a strong appetite, resulting in overeating.
2. Drink a lot of water. This refers to pure water, and not various drinks in the form of coffee, tea or juice. When following a protein diet, you need to drink at least 2 liters of water per day. Carry a small bottle with you and refill it regularly, so you will remember to take a few sips, even when you are not at home or in the establishment.
3. Reduce your fat intake. If your diet contains types of fatty cheese, fatty cottage cheese, nuts or butter, eat before lunch, so the body will spend energy in time and excess calories will not be stored as fat. Protein foods are suitable with cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, and low-glucose fruits.
4. Stressful exercise. Either way, you need to supplement your protein diet with exercise. This is how you will achieve the desired results faster, speed up your metabolism, increase the absorption of protein food and be able to burn more calories than you eat, and this is the secret of healthy weight loss.

Who should think carefully about choosing a protein diet?

First of all, those who suffergastrointestinal tract disease, as well as from kidney failure. A protein diet is undesirable for older people, because the body must process a large amount of protein food, and if there is an opening with the heart or blood vessels, the idea should be abandoned altogether.

Sometimes when illiterateusing a protein dietblood clotting may change, and as a result there is a risk of blood clots. Therefore, do a blood test first and do it safely so that weight loss does not become a health problem for you.

Protein diet for weight loss

Time for sun, relaxation, flowy dresses and bikinis is behind us. The beautiful ladies have managed to relax a little and also treat themselves to something very tasty and no less "very" high in calories. Undoubtedly, small joys make everyday life brighter and more positive. The main thing is to tell yourself to stop in time! Otherwise, the appearance of excess weight is very fast and, as the experience of losing weight shows, will bring uncertainty, negativity and problems into your life for a long time.

But what if time is lost? How to recover yourself quickly at home? Is a protein diet effective for every day?

Does perfect have to be perfect?

Before we talk about diet, let's think about whether there is such a thing as "ideal weight. " It seems that the answer is really clear, because the whole industry of fashion and "healthy" lifestyle tells us every day about the need to meet certain beauty standards and, apparently, health. An ideal that was not created by us and, of course, has nothing to do with the understanding of human nature and the biological mechanisms of our functioning. Despite this, we are motivated in every possible way to strive to achieve certain standards, to show results in the pool, gym and street jogging. The tragedy of the situation is that we do what is very suitable for our bodies, not because it brings satisfaction and benefits, but simply for compliance. We don't monitor our well-being, we don't track the signals the body gives us, we measure and weigh our bodies! And, as a result, we only make things worse.

Everyone is inspired, aware, ready to act, but where to start? And you need to start with your own definition of non-ideal weight. The same, individual for each of us, but causes the same feeling of discomfort and dissatisfaction.

Is the weight not ideal?

Try typing in any search engine the query to determine your ideal weight, and you will receive links to dozens of calculators and tables. And none of them will take into account:

• your heredity (genetic predisposition);
• the presence of chronic diseases;
• the number of fat cells in your body and their ability to store fat;
• metabolism (metabolism) in your body;
• your lifestyle - the presence of stress, sleep and wakefulness, your mobility, the quality and manner of your diet.

If you put everything together, it becomes clear that each of us has a weight that is not our own ideal. How to determine the time to act? If you experience one or more of the following, your weight is far from your ideal:

your weight has a negative effect on your health - your general health is getting worse, you get tired faster, your joints and back bother you for the first time, shortness of breath has appeared, your blood pressure rises periodically, bowel function leaves many problems. be required;

weight begins to make unpleasant adjustments in your life. You cannot do your usual activities (anything that requires mobility and physical endurance), you have to limit yourself in clothes, you feel awkward when you are in public transport or crowded places, you start adjusting your life and work plan by takingcalculate your weight.

Remember, if you seriously decide to take care of yourself, start by visiting a nutritionist and an endocrinologist. This will be the best thing you can do for yourself. Only experts in medicine and proper nutrition, together, can help you maintain health and improve your quality of life. Don't forget about the need for constant physical activity in your life.

What is a protein diet?

How can you adjust your menu to lose the weight that prevents you from living a full life? A high-protein diet can help with this - a diet based on high-protein foods, as well as a significant limitation of carbohydrates and fats. Using this diet method, you can lose 14 kg in 3 months.

The basic principle of a protein diet is to eat foods that contain protein that regulates the metabolism in our body. In this way, it is possible to avoid the main drawback of any diet - a decrease in protein intake into the body, which, in turn, leads to a rapid reduction of the body (internal organs, not receiving enough protein, begin to pull them out of muscle tissue). All this leads to weakness, poor physical health and sagging skin.

Benefits of Following a Protein Diet

The advantages that distinguish the protein diet from any other type of diet seem quite obvious:

• maintain a healthy muscular system;
• the ability to combine diet even with serious physical activity;
• the impossibility of developing painful complications such as anorexia;
• absence of exhausting and stressful hunger (protein food is absorbed by the body within 3-4 hours);
• Protein diet meals include a large amount of fiber, which ensures that the intestines work smoothly;
• due to relatively slow weight loss, gradually, without much effort, it is possible to maintain the necessary weight after leaving the diet;
• good health - complete absence of weakness, dizziness and nausea, which is typical for other types of diet;
• appearance blossoms, real rejuvenation of the body takes place - the condition of the skin, hair and nails improves.

It is important to remember that the maximum effect for the health of your body can only be achieved by following the rules of dietary nutrition in combination with physical activity; all their organs and systems must be trained.

Cons and contraindications of protein diet

When deciding to rebuild your diet according to the principles of a protein diet, remember - there is no ideal diet! Any diet is associated with certain restrictions or exceptions, which means that the burden on your body will definitely increase. It is for this reason that one cannot but mention the disadvantages of following a protein diet.

Protein diet should be short term. Long-term consumption of protein foods leads to problems with the skeletal system (the main use of protein leads to leaching of calcium from bone tissue, which makes bones very fragile).

Prolonged restriction of carbohydrate intake can negatively affect overall performance.

The nervous system is also attacked, reacting to the lack of a sufficient amount of fat in the diet - the main ingredient for the reproduction of nerve cells. The main symptoms of this condition are increased anxiety and irritability.

A long-term protein diet can disrupt the balance of blood particles - hemoglobin production increases dramatically.

Protein foods leave a large amount of "decomposition products", which leads to an increased load on the kidneys (for their excretion).

Protein diet menu

The protein diet menu should be built based on several principles that guarantee the achievement of the necessary results (for example, weight loss of 10 kg):

Protein makes up at least 60% of the total diet.

Reluctance from constant snacks; for this purpose, preference is given to protein products with a long digestion cycle.

There should be at least 5 or 6 meals during the day, and the interval between them should not exceed 3 hours.

Avoid frying; all dishes should be prepared by baking, boiling or steaming.

To balance your diet better, you can include certain vegetables and fruits in your diet.

Have regular physical activity on the body.

The main product of the protein diet

Chicken, turkey, calf, rabbit

Exceptions: lamb, pork (high fat content)

Low fat fish

(no more than 4% fat)

Pink salmon, pollock, cod, navaga, perch, pike perch, gray

Dairy products and fermented milk contain no more than 3-5% fat

Kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheese

Rice, oatmeal, buckwheat

All "green" vegetables, as well as any other in small quantities, 2-3 times a week

Sour fruit drinks and compotes and homemade juices without sugar (diluted 1: 1 with mineral water), herbal teas and their infusions, coffee without sugar

Olives, flax seeds, sunflowers - in very limited quantities

Among the products that are forbidden to eat, some of the main ones can be identified:

• flour products - pasta, pastry, bread;
• sugar and products and dishes containing sugar - baked goods, ice cream, chocolate, sweets, ready-made juices, fruit drinks, etc. ;
• any sausage;
• potatoes and dishes containing them;
• alcohol and any product containing alcohol;
• fast food and industrial semi-finished products.

Important! No matter which protein diet option you plan to use (short-term or long-term), remember that the duration of the diet should not be more than once every 6 months.

Protein diet: list of allowed foods and recommendations

During the protein diet, the following are allowed:

• any meat - pork, beef, chicken with minimal fat content;
• seafood, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese;
• raw vegetables: cabbage, cucumber, herbs, tomatoes;
• Lemon juice or olive oil is used as a dressing;
• Oatmeal and buckwheat are allowed 2 times a week.

• sweets - here are all confectionery products (cakes, cookies), sugar and sweet fruits;
• bread products, pasta, foods fried in fat;
• cereals, potatoes, butter.

When following a protein diet, you must follow the following recommendations:

• you need to eat 5-6 times a day, the last time no later than 2 hours before bedtime;
• drink at least 1. 5 liters of mineral water without gas or clean water every day;
• any alcohol is prohibited;
• If desired, it is allowed to eat a couple of citrus fruits or apples without sugar for a snack.

What protein diet programs are there?

Quite a few protein diet programs have been developed. There are both pure protein diets and those with different variations: protein-vegetable, protein-fruit, protein-vitamin and others.

Protein diet for a week: menu options

Choice of protein diet for 7 days

1 choice

• Breakfast: 150 grams of beef with one whole grain bread, a cup of tea or coffee;
• Snack: 1 apple;
• For lunch: boiled chicken breast (150 grams) with vegetable salad (200 grams);
• Afternoon snack: 1 glass of low-fat yogurt or kefir;
• For dinner: boiled sea fish (200 grams) with vegetable salad dressed with lemon juice.

Option 2

• Breakfast: 150 grams of low-fat cottage cheese, tea, coffee;
• Snack: 1 citrus fruit;
• For lunch: boiled beef with vegetables (150 grams);
• Afternoon snack: 1 cup of low-fat kefir with diet bread;
• For dinner: 200 grams of boiled lean fish with fresh vegetables.

Option 3

• Breakfast: boiled chicken fillet (200 grams), tea or coffee;
• Snack: 1 apple;
• For lunch: 200 grams of boiled beans with a portion of vegetable salad;
• Afternoon snack: 200 grams of low-fat yogurt with diet cookies;
• For dinner: 150 grams of boiled beef with 150 grams of cabbage salad, seasoned with 1 tbsp. l. olive oil.

Option 4

• Breakfast: 1 glass of low-fat kefir with diet cookies;
• Snack: 1 fruit without sugar;
• For lunch: 200 grams of boiled chicken breast, 1 glass of apple juice;
• Afternoon snack: 1-2 boiled eggs;
• For dinner: 200 grams of boiled fish, 150 grams of fresh vegetables.

Option 5

• Breakfast: 150 grams of boiled turkey, 1 apple, tea or coffee;
• Snack: 1 glass of apple juice, 1 diet cookie;
• For lunch: boiled fish (200 grams) with a piece of whole grain bread;
• Afternoon snack: 1 glass of low-fat kefir;
• For dinner: 150 grams of boiled beef with vegetable salad.

Option 6

• Breakfast: 150 grams of low-fat cottage cheese and tea;
• Snack: 1 grapefruit;
• For lunch: boiled beans with vegetables;
• Afternoon snack: 1 glass of kefir;
• For dinner: boiled sea fish (200 grams) with fresh vegetable salad.

Option 7

• Breakfast: 1 glass of skim milk, 1 diet biscuit;
• Snack: 1 apple without sugar;
• For lunch: vegetable soup with champignons;
• Afternoon snack: 50 grams of low-fat cottage cheese;
• For dinner: boiled beef (150 grams) with fresh salad.

Short-term (fast) protein diet options (3 days)

The main feature of such a "fast" protein diet is the complete absence of snacks, strict adherence to 3 meals a day and a ban on any, even the smallest, physical activity. At the same time, drinking herbal tea without sugar is allowed between meals.

1. breakfast - 1 boiled chicken egg, cooked in any form (boiled, poached, etc. ), can be replaced with quail eggs, taking into account the calorie content;
2. lunch and dinner - 150-200 grams of low-fat cottage cheese (no more than 3-5% fat) and tea without any sweetener (the use of sugar and honey is unacceptable);
3. liquid consumption - at least 2 liters per day;
4. last meal no later than 18: 00.

When leaving a short-term protein diet, follow the principle of gradualness, so as not to harm your health; you must add food and increase its quantity gradually, over 1-2 weeks. Start by adding whole grains and fruits, then add dairy products and fermented milk (see fat content of products).

Unfortunately, no matter how much we want, it is difficult to call such a diet balanced; during the period of the protein diet (especially short-term), the body experiences an acute deficiency of vitamins and minerals. To minimize the possible negative consequences of such restrictions, about a week before the diet, start taking a vitamin complex designed for long-term use (from 1 to 3 months).

When deciding to start a fast protein diet, evaluate not only your current physical condition, but also the emotional and intellectual stress that may occur during this period. Stop the diet (or change it in time) if:

• you have recently suffered from a somatic illness;
• you are facing a period of serious physical, intellectual or emotional stress;
• you are over 50 years old;
• you have problems with the liver and/or kidneys, as well as the cardiovascular system;
• you previously had (or currently have) blood clotting disorders (increased risk of thrombosis) and signs of diabetes.

And, of course, the use of any diet is absolutely impossible during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

If you want to schedule a menu for a protein diet for a longer period, for example, a month, then it is better to contact a specialist. They will not only be able to create a diet based on the allowed calorie content and list of allowed foods, but will also make it as balanced as possible.

Dukan diet menu

The Dukan Diet also refers to a type of protein diet; according to the menu, it is divided into various levels: attack, cruise, protein-vegetable, consolidation, stabilization. The first stage of the attack is the most critical, here is the approximate menu:

• For breakfast: 2 egg white omelets with low-fat milk and some herbs.
• Snack: one and a half tablespoons of oat bran.
• For lunch: 200 grams of boiled beef.
• Snack: boil 200 grams of shrimp or other seafood.
• For dinner: 200 grams of boiled beef or lamb.

decision

The effect of weight loss on a protein diet, as a rule, becomes noticeable within a week, when the first 4-5 extra pounds are lost.The most noticeable results will be after three weeks, when excess weight will be lost more and muscle relief will be noticeable. After all, protein diets are designed to get rid of fat deposits without losing muscle mass. Fortunately, there are enough protein products to restore and "build" muscle.

The greater the initial weight a person loses, the greater the "loss" will occur during the diet. For example, if you weigh 100 kg and are obese, you can lose 5 - 10 kg in two weeks. At the same time, the diet is quite diverse and will not cause an aversion to certain products, as happens in mono-diet.

It is believed that the optimal period when you can stick to a protein diet with benefits and without harming health is 10-14 days. During this time, you can lose 8-15 kilograms.

The right way out of the protein diet

Experts advise to exit the diet gradually. The protein nutrition system is no exception. You should not immediately pounce on your favorite foods, the use of which is prohibited during the program. It is best to exclude sugar and flour products from your diet altogether.

Besides, you must continue to adhere to the regime: eat at least 5-6 times a day in small portions, do not eat 2-3 hours before bedtime, drink more water and stop drinking alcoholic beverages.

In the first 2 weeks after the protein diet, physical activity should also be increased. This needs to be done to use the incoming energy optimally and maintain the results.

Contraindications

In order not to harm your health, people suffering from the following diseases should avoid the protein diet:

• hepatitis (and other liver diseases);
• arrhythmias (and other heart abnormalities);
• kidney dysfunction;
• dysbacteriosis;
• colitis;
• pancreatitis;
• increased thrombus formation;
• joint pain (and all related diseases).

Also, the protein nutrition system is not suitable for the elderly, pregnant and lactating women.