Protein is an essential element for the normal functioning of the body, it is responsible for the synthesis of hormones and enzymes responsible for metabolism, and it is the main building material of new cells. Many diets limit the intake of protein foods, which can lead to health problems. But protein diets are not for fast weight loss because they are based on such foods.
The role of proteins in the body
Protein is a very important nutrient in the human body. In the process of digestion, they are converted into amino acids necessary for normal muscle growth, maintaining a healthy state and active life. If they are present in small amounts in the human body, this indicates changes in hormonal levels, chronic fatigue, or liver problems. Protein is especially important for people who associate their lives with sports, because it is the main material for building a beautiful relief.
General principles of nutrition
When following a protein diet for weight loss, you should eat small portions every 3 hours so that you do not go hungry. The diet should include protein-rich foods such as fish, tofu cheese, dairy products, seafood and more. If there are carbohydrate foods on the menu, they are only allowed with a low glycemic index.
Preparation rules
When following a protein diet, the following cooking rules should be followed:
- Use only homemade sauces to decorate salads. It is recommended to replace mayonnaise with soy sauce, and use kefir to wrap vegetables.
- It is important to add spices to the vegetable barbecue, it is recommended to use the following: chopped ginger, oregano and curry. Selected spices should be added in small amounts, as they should be only to emphasize the taste of vegetables in the dish.
- It is recommended to use the following spices in addition to meat products: bay leaf, garlic, sweet beans.
- It is recommended that fruits in the diet be raw.
- Use as a beverage: tea, coffee, freshly squeezed juices, fruit drinks and fruit drinks.
Duration
The duration of the protein diet should not exceed two weeks, ideally it is recommended to maintain such a diet for 1 week to 10 days. This recommendation is made to avoid reloading in the liver. The break should be at least 4 months. A 10-day protein diet is the most popular option.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages include:
- The high efficiency of such a diet allows you to lose up to 10 kilograms, and even more during obesity;
- short period of adherence;
- unlike other diets during the diet do not want to eat anything;
- The result obtained after the diet is maintained for a long time;
- Any physical exercise that requires dieting, such as: fitness, various exercises at home, visiting the gym;
- The diet is varied;
- You can choose the recipes for the dishes you eat.
Disadvantages of a high protein diet for weight loss include:
- Such a diet puts a significant burden on the internal organs, especially the kidneys due to the high consumption of protein foods;
- Excessive protein intake leads to an imbalance of minerals and vitamins necessary for the body;
- Adherence to the diet can lead to disorders of the digestive system;
- there is a risk of water imbalance in the body;
- Such a diet exacerbates chronic diseases and raises blood pressure.
Contraindications
Contraindications include:
- musculoskeletal disorders;
- lactation period;
- disorders of the digestive system;
- various disorders of kidney function;
- liver disease;
- date of birth;
- Disorders of the cardiovascular system.
Options
There are various protein weight loss diets developed by different professionals.
Protein-carbohydrate
The difficulty of losing weight by following a protein-carbohydrate diet is that limiting the caloric content of food burns muscle rather than fat.
This diet consists of 3 stages:
- Protein cycles. It generally lasts 2-3 days. Due to the loss of glycogen due to a lack of carbohydrates in the diet, the body gradually begins to burn fatty tissue. It works as a day of fasting.
- Carbohydrate cycle. It lasts from 1 to 2 days, during which time the human body is replenished with the main source of energy - carbohydrates.
- Mixed cycle. Within 24 hours, a person follows a moderate diet, adding both protein and carbohydrates to the menu.
Atkins
In this diet, fish and meat are in balanced proportions with vegetables and fruits in the diet, carbohydrate consumption is reduced, and fats and proteins are in unlimited quantities on the menu. You can already lose 3 to 5 kilograms in the first 14 days.
Ducan
The main focus of the diet, developed by nutritionist Dukan, is to minimize carbohydrates, contain only protein in the diet, and add it to the diet to improve digestion. The technique is divided into 4 stages, each with an individual length. The diet is quite effective, and after 5 days you will notice a weight loss of 3-5 pounds.
Doctors
The basic rule of this diet is to replace protein and carbohydrate days. This allows you to lose about 7 kilograms in 10 days, and in some cases someone can lose 10 kilograms. You have to eat 5 meals a day, which allows you to avoid hunger.
Here are some suggestions on how to look or get an appointment for dietary supplements:
- On the day of protein you will need to drink 1 glass of warm water on an empty stomach, and for breakfast boiled chicken eggs and herbs that can be used: celery, dill or parsley;
- Boiled chicken should be eaten without skin until 15: 00, and at least 800 grams of meat per day should be eaten in several meals;
- On a carbohydrate day, you can generally eat up to 5 pounds of vegetables.
What to eat
If you decide to follow a protein diet, first of all read the list of allowed and forbidden foods to create a proper diet.
Protein products
A protein diet means things you can and cannot eat - the list of foods is below:
- seafood;
- lean meat;
- vegetables;
- soft and hard cheeses;
- vegetable oil;
- cereals, as a supplement to soups;
- internal products: kidneys, liver, chicken intestines, tongue, etc . ;
- egg whites;
- dried fruits;
- low-fat dairy products.
How to choose meat
Lean meat is the main source of protein, so it should be included in the diet. Preference is given to the following meat products: duck, chicken, lamb, beef and turkey.
The following types of meat products should be excluded from the diet:
- sausage;
- sausage;
- canned meat;
- pork;
- smoked meat.
Protein drinks
Beverage options:
- Mix one tablespoon of different nuts with one tablespoon of honey and add the resulting mixture to a glass with 200 grams of kefir.
- To prepare you need 130 grams of low-fat cottage cheese, 1 teaspoon of any fruit and 130 grams of low-fat boiled milk.
- To 250 grams of milk add 2 tablespoons of oatmeal, any fruit, 1 pinch of cinnamon and 150 grams of low-fat cottage cheese.
- To 150 grams of kefir you need to mix the following ingredients: 1 tablespoon of cocoa, 1 tablespoon of bran and 100 grams of low-fat cottage cheese.
Sample menu for the week
Protein diet in the form of a weekly menu for weight loss:
Monday
- Breakfast. In the amount of 200 grams of low-fat cottage cheese for tea or coffee.
- Lunch. 1 large orange.
- The dinner. Brown with a small amount of boiled chicken fillets at risk.
- Snack. Protein drink.
- The dinner. Cooked fish fillets with vegetable salad.
Tuesday
- Breakfast. Tea and 2 boiled eggs.
- Lunch. 1 large apple.
- The dinner. Baked chicken breast with a small piece of rye bread in the amount of 100 grams.
- Snack. a glass of plain yogurt.
- The dinner. Baked pollock with vegetable salad.
Wednesday
- Breakfast. buckwheat porridge with milk and coffee.
- Lunch. A banana.
- The dinner. Cheese soup with a small slice of black bread.
- Snack. Protein drink.
- The dinner. 200 grams of cooked lamb with vegetable salad.
Thursday
- Breakfast. Chicken omelette and tea without sugar.
- Lunch. Grapefruit and apples.
- The dinner. Spinach soup with bread.
- Snack. Cottage cheese without additives.
- The dinner. 150 grams of grilled fish and fresh vegetables.
Friday
- Breakfast. 150 grams of low-fat cottage cheese, coffee.
- Lunch. 2 unsweetened cheesecakes.
- The dinner. Liver with sour cream with vegetable salad.
- Snack. Cheese souffle.
- The dinner. Two egg omelets, fresh tomatoes.
Saturday
- Breakfast. A couple of oatmeal cakes and a glass of fermented baked milk.
- Lunch. Apple.
- The dinner. Vegetable broth, 150 grams of chicken breast, a slice of whole grain bread.
- Snack. Milk net.
- The dinner. 150 grams of boiled beef with cabbage salad.
Sunday
- Breakfast. Oatmeal pancakes with tea.
- Lunch. Two tangerines.
- The dinner. Chicken cutlets with 200 grams of asparagus.
- Snack. Protein drink.
- The dinner. 200 grams of steamed fish, fresh vegetables.
How to get out
When you finish your protein diet for 4 weeks in the form of a menu and achieve the desired result, it does not mean that you should eat everything tomorrow. If you do this, your lost weight will return, and all previous efforts will be meaningless. To prevent this, dietary foods should be gradually eliminated.
To consolidate the results, you need to get used to sugar-free tea and coffee, and do not eat a lot of flour and sweets, do not overeat fatty foods. It is recommended to drink a glass of water and eat oatmeal or low-fat cheese before breakfast each time. Vegetables can be eaten in any form other than fried. You should also not eat potatoes for the first time after leaving the diet, and gradually introduce a normal diet into the diet.
Why diets may not work
Numerous studies have proven that with proper implementation of dietary conditions, it gives results in weight loss. However, at the end of such a diet, there are cases when the figures on the scales do not like or do not decrease at all.
The reason may be several things. First, it can occur in the case of very low physical activity of a person, and a significant consumption of food. In this case, the energy stored in the food is not wasted and the pounds are not burned at all.
Second, the cause may be a slow metabolism. First of all, such people should try to improve their metabolism and then go back to their diet.
And in the absence of the latter factor can be the desired result constipation. It is necessary to cure intestinal disorders, change the diet accordingly and, if necessary, treat.
Recipes
Some may think that the protein menu is very limited and monotonous, but in reality they can be used to prepare a wide variety of delicious dishes for a protein diet.
First
The complete way to make spinach puree soup:
- Boil the chicken breast in 0. 5 liters of water until soft.
- Remove the meat without straining the broth.
- Wait until the meat cools down and cut it into pieces.
- Chop the frozen spinach.
- Add chopped spinach to the soup and cook for 5 minutes;
- Put chicken in broth.
- Pour 1/3 cup milk and beat with a blender.
- Depending on the taste, you can add spices and use basil or nutmeg.
Cheese soup:
- Boil the selected meat.
- Wait until it cools down and cut into pieces.
- Pour 50 grams of cheese into the soup and add 3 egg whites.
- Cook for 10 minutes and add the pieces of meat.
The second
Liver in sour cream:
- Remove 500 grams of liver from a vein.
- Peel a squash, grate it and squeeze the juice.
- Cut the onion into half rings.
- Fry the vegetables until golden brown.
- Add 2 tablespoons sour cream.
- Add raw liver and a little water.
- Stir constantly for 15 minutes and cook until fully cooked.
Chicken cutlets:
- Pass a pound of chicken breast through a meat grinder.
- Add 100 grams of grated cheese to the minced meat.
- Add raw eggs.
- Add spices.
- Shape the cutlets by hand.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
desserts
Oatmeal Pancakes:
- Mix 4 tablespoons of oatmeal in half a glass of milk.
- Add the eggs.
- salt.
- Bake in a non-stick pan.
Jelly recipes:
- Boil 500 ml of milk in a pot.
- Add 5 chopped strawberries until the milk boils.
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of quick-acting gelatin in milk.
- Mix the contents thoroughly.
- Pour into molds.
- Refrigerate until hard
Reviews
- The first review, a 25-year-old girl, said: "The protein diet was beneficial to me after breastfeeding. First, I found a "menu with a 14-day protein diet" diet option and started sticking to it for weight loss. The extra 5 pounds I gained during pregnancy was gone in a week and a half. The rules were easy to follow, and I loved protein foods so much that I was happy to be able to do so without much effort. After all, you could eat everything I loved. "
- The second review, a 31-year-old woman, said: "I realized that the protein diet was not really mine. In real life, I didn't like the meat of birds, so I could hardly stand it. Chicken breast brought tears to my eyes in the last days of the diet. Nevertheless, my efforts paid off, as I had all the options I needed. "
- A third review, a 41-year-old woman, said: "I have had many unsuccessful experiments with diets that have made my health worse. But when I stumbled upon a protein diet, I immediately noticed the difference. It does not require strict restrictions on the amount of food consumed, the main condition - the basis of the diet should be protein. At the same time, the body received enough energy, and I was able to live normally without severe restrictions. At the end of the diet, I was very pleased with the performance on the scales, it lost 6 pounds and did not return even after two years.