A nutritious and tasty protein diet for weight loss is one of the most popular ways to lose weight. It works quickly and effectively, and in combination with regular physical activity allows you to get rid of three to five pounds of excess fat and tighten muscles in just one week.
Weight loss with a protein diet for weight loss
The bottom line is to drastically limit carbohydrate intake for a while, reduce fat intake, and make protein foods the basis of your daily diet. It is the high protein content that is the secret of the prolonged absence of hunger in this diet.
Why does a protein diet work? The answer is simple. Carbohydrates predominate in the daily diet and our body takes energy from them. When carbohydrates from the diet are virtually lost, it is protein that becomes a source of energy. Lack of carbohydrates forces the body to break down subcutaneous fat. The protein actively moves the water, due to which the weight is also significantly reduced.
Protein foods consume much more energy than light carbohydrate foods. The increase in energy consumption for digestion is again a plus in the coffers for the effectiveness of the protein diet.
Dietary opponents claim that high amounts of protein can be harmful to health. Fans are sure: if you follow all the rules and do not exceed the allowable period for using the protein scheme, nothing bad will happen to the body, but the weight will actually decrease.
Protein diet for weight loss, the basic rules
In order to lose weight with protein as effectively as possible and not cause harm, you must strictly adhere to the basic rules:
- do not use canned food, pickles, marinades, semi-finished products;
- completely abandons all carbohydrate products: flour products, confectionery, pasta, cereals, starchy and very sweet vegetables and fruits (potatoes, corn, bananas, grapes, figs), fatty dairy and fermented milksour cream, sour cream);
- exclude alcohol and soda;
- to reduce the load on the kidneys, which are forced to excrete from the body a large amount of putrefaction products of protein foods, you must strictly follow the drinking regime: drink at least one and a half, or preferably two liters of pure non-mineral waterno gas every day;
four meals a day is much more effective for weight loss than three meals a day. It is therefore worth applying the principles of partial nutrition during the diet; - portions should not exceed 250-300 grams;
- Food intake should be stopped at least two hours before bedtime. In this case, it is better to drink the main amount of water before six in the evening;
- For weight loss it is very important not to exceed the amount of protein in 180 grams, and also to adhere to an individual calorie corridor. For some, it is enough to reduce the calorie content by one hundred kcal, while others lose weight perfectly, while maintaining the usual energy "weight" of daily food. In any case, the content of calories in the daily diet should not exceed 1, 5 thousand kilocalories.
You should not eat more than two eggs a day, otherwise you can raise cholesterol levels and provoke serious illness. The yolk is especially dangerous, while the amount of egg white can be increased if desired.
Protein foods are easier to digest with green vegetables. This feature should not be overlooked: in this way you can greatly facilitate the work of the body during the diet.
Highlights
What can you eat? Any food with a predominant protein content: meat (give preference to lean options: beef, beef, rabbit), any fish, eggs, poultry (chicken, turkey, duck), skim milk and kefir, natural yogurt. Along with them, the body must receive fiber from raw and stewed vegetables. Lettuce, any cabbage, radishes, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers are ideal for a protein diet.
For cooking meat and vegetables, we recommend cooking and roasting without meat (for example in a slow cooker or foil). Frying should be avoided: it increases the calorie content and reduces the quality of protein. It would be nice to limit the amount of salt (extra strain on the kidneys is useless), seasoning the food with spices and lemon juice.
No matter how happy the results are (and weight loss will go very fast), in no case should you eat this way for more than a month! You can repeat the diet after only four months so that the body can recover from a protein attack. An unbalanced diet for a long time is very dangerous, so you can not violate the allowed period.
Protein diet is ideal for healthy young adults. It is strictly forbidden to use a protein scheme for people with diseases of the kidneys, intestines, liver, blood vessels, as well as for pregnant and lactating women, adolescents and people over 60 years.
Protein diet menus for the week
Weight loss diet for a week. The suggested menu is approximate. You can change your diet as you see fit by monitoring your calorie content. Despite the four meals a day, you can introduce a snack before dinner in the form of a salad leaf, a glass of kefir, a piece of cheese or drink a little kefir two hours before bedtime.
Monday
- Breakfast: one hundred grams of cottage cheese with a fat content of not more than 2% (do not add sugar), green tea.
- Breakfast: 30 grams of cheese, egg (steep or soft-boiled).
- Lunch: two hundred grams of a slice of boiled beef (you can cook beef or other lean meat) with a light salad of raw finely chopped cabbage with a spoonful of canned peas and vegetable oil (150 grams).
- Dinner: a piece of steamed fish with tomato slices (200 grams of each product).
Tuesday
- Breakfast: boiled egg, salad of all kinds of green vegetables with a spoonful of oil (150 grams).
- Breakfast: a glass of low-fat cottage cheese with a spoonful of natural yogurt.
- Lunch: boiled or baked fish with broccoli (total weight of the dish is 250 grams).
- Dinner: two hundred gram piece of boiled chicken (preferably dietary breast), two tomatoes, a piece of cheese.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: spring salad of half a tomato and cucumber with sour cream, boiled egg.
- Breakfast: thirty grams of nuts with coffee.
- Lunch: two hundred grams of chicken, lettuce.
- Dinner: two hundred grams of beef stew with lentil garnish (one hundred grams of cooked cereal).
Thursday
- Breakfast: omelet of two eggs, a glass of kefir.
- Breakfast: one hundred grams of stewed zucchini, 150 grams of stewed or boiled chicken.
- Lunch: beef (200 grams), one tomato.
- Dinner: a glass of low-fat cottage cheese.
Friday
- Breakfast: three tablespoons of steamed oatmeal (do not add butter).
- Breakfast: boiled egg, a piece of cheese.
- Lunch: boiled chicken breast (150 grams), garnished with beans (one hundred grams).
- Dinner: a portion of lean pork (not more than 200 grams) and a garnish of stewed cabbage.
Saturday
- Breakfast: a portion of boiled turkey garnished with green beans (total weight not more than 250 grams).
- Breakfast: a glass of low-fat cottage cheese with a spoonful of honey.
- Lunch: boiled lean meat, light vegetable salad, seasoned with butter or yogurt.
- Dinner: portion of fish and garnish of roasted zucchini (total weight not more than 250 grams).
Sunday
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs in water from two eggs with juicy tomatoes.
- Breakfast: fifty grams of a mixture of nuts and coffee.
- Lunch: broth of meat or vegetables with minced chicken balls and chopped herbs.
- Dinner: a portion of rabbit meat cooked in a sauce of cream and herbs.
How to get out of the diet
If you have the desire and strength, you can continue to lose weight on a protein diet for another three weeks. In this case, once a week (Saturday or Sunday) you can pamper yourself with something forbidden: waffles, candies, cake. This will help avoid damage, and the carbohydrate "load" will shake the body.
It takes the same amount of time to quit a protein diet as long as the restriction lasts. In the first days you should gradually introduce into the diet "correct" carbohydrates: cereals, whole grain bread, fruit, a small amount of dried fruit. Remember to observe partial meals and drink one and a half liters of water.
Advantages and disadvantages
Protein diet has its advantages and disadvantages. A definite plus is guaranteed weight loss, provided that all dietary rules are followed. Other benefits include:
- variety in the diet. With monodiet, it is harder to lose weight because you get tired of the same products quickly;
- diet helps to get rid of excess water, which means that it helps to make the skin more elastic, get rid of cellulite (requires a special massage);
- allows you to cope with high physical activity;
- can be used not only to lose weight, but also to gain muscle mass.
Disadvantages of the protein weight loss scheme:
- Low fiber can lead to constipation.
- Protein foods are expensive.
- Sweet lovers can suffer from depression.
An unbalanced diet is not healthy. To reduce the risks, you should take a multivitamin complex throughout the week (or month).
Protein Diet Review
Consuming protein products has reduced the percentage of subcutaneous fat without exercise and hunger. With a low-fat, low-carb diet, it was possible to significantly improve your appearance without going to the gym. We managed to stick to this diet for only 5 days. This means that for almost a week, exclusively protein for breakfast, dinner and lunch, and as a result the muscles became more expressive and fit.
It is not recommended to sit on such a diet for more than a week. Even 5 days is already a lot, it is better to eat only protein for about 3 days, then change the diet as suggested in the Ducan diet.