A nutritious and delicious protein diet for weight loss is one of the most popular ways to lose weight. It works quickly and efficiently, and in combination with regular physical activity allows you to get rid of three to five kilograms of excess fat and tighten muscles in just a week.
Lose Weight with a Protein Diet for Weight Loss
The bottom line is to sharply limit the intake of carbohydrates for a while, reduce fat intake and make protein foods the basis of the daily diet. It is the high protein content that is the secret of the long absence of hunger on this diet.
Why does a protein diet work? The answer is simple. In the everyday diet, carbohydrates predominate, and our body takes energy from them. When carbohydrates from the diet are practically lost, it is protein that becomes the source of energy. Lack of carbohydrates forces the body to break down subcutaneous fat. Protein actively drives water, due to which 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 piggy bank of the effectiveness of the protein diet.
Opponents of the diet argue that high amounts of protein can be detrimental to health. Fans are sure: if you follow all the rules and do not exceed the permissible period for using the protein scheme, nothing bad will happen to the body, but the weight will actually decrease.
Protein weight loss diet, the main rules
For weight loss on protein to be as effective as possible and not cause harm, you should strictly adhere to the basic rules:
- do not use canned food, pickles, marinades, semi-finished products;
- completely abandon all carbohydrate products: flour products, confectionery products, pasta, cereals, starchy and very sweet vegetables and fruits (potatoes, corn, bananas, grapes, figs), fatty dairy and sour milk products (sour cream, cream);
- exclude alcohol and sugary carbonated drinks;
- in order to reduce the load on the kidneys, which are forced to remove from the body a high amount of decay products of protein food, you must strictly observe the drinking regime: drink at least one and a half, or preferably two liters of pure non-mineral water without gas every day;
four meals a day is much more effective for weight loss than three meals a day. Therefore, it is worth applying the principles of fractional nutrition during a diet; - portions should not exceed 250-300 grams;
- At least two hours before bedtime, food intake should stop. 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 adhere to an individual calorie corridor. For some, it is enough to reduce the calorie content by one hundred kcal, while others are losing weight perfectly, while observing the usual energy "weight" of daily food. In any case, the calorie content of the daily diet should not be higher than 1. 5 thousand kilocalories.
You shouldn't 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 whites can be increased if desired.
Protein foods are easier to digest with green vegetables. This feature should not be neglected: this way you can significantly facilitate the body's work during the diet.
Important points
What can you eat? Any food with a predominant protein content: meat (give preference to lean options: beef, veal, rabbit), any fish, eggs, poultry (chicken, turkey, duck), skim milk and kefir, natural yogurt. Along with them, the body should 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, it is recommended to use boiling and baking without meat (for example, in a slow cooker or foil). Frying should be avoided: this increases the calorie content and reduces the quality of protein. It would be nice to limit the amount of salt (an extra burden on the kidneys is useless), seasoning food with spices and lemon juice.
No matter how happy the results are (and weight loss will go very quickly), in no case should you eat like this for more than a month! You can repeat the diet only after four months so that the body can recover from a protein attack. An unbalanced diet for a long time is very dangerous, so you cannot violate the allowed period.
A protein diet is ideal for healthy young adults. It is strictly forbidden to use the 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 old.
Protein diet menus for the week
Diet for weight loss for a week. The suggested menu is approximate. You can vary the diet as you see fit, keeping track of its calorie content. Despite the four meals a day, you can introduce a pre-dinner snack in the form of salad leaves, a glass of kefir, a slice 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.
- Second breakfast: 30 grams of cheese, egg (steep or soft-boiled).
- Lunch: two-hundred-gram slice of boiled beef meat (you can cook veal 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 slice of steamed fish with tomato slices (200 grams of each product).
Tuesday
- Breakfast: boiled egg, salad of any green vegetables with a spoonful of oil (150 grams).
- Second breakfast: a cup of low-fat cottage cheese with a spoonful of natural yogurt.
- Lunch: boiled or baked fish with broccoli (the total weight of the dish is 250 grams).
- Dinner: a two-hundred-gram piece of boiled chicken (preferably dietary breast), two tomatoes, a slice of cheese.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: spring salad of half a tomato and a cucumber with sour cream, a boiled egg.
- Second 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: an omelet of two eggs, a glass of kefir.
- Second breakfast: one hundred grams of stewed zucchini, 150 grams of stewed or boiled chicken.
- Lunch: beef meat (200 grams), one tomato.
- Dinner: a cup of low fat cottage cheese.
Friday
- Breakfast: three tablespoons of steamed oatmeal (do not add oil).
- Second breakfast: boiled egg, a slice of cheese.
- Lunch: boiled chicken breast (150 grams) garnished with their beans (one hundred grams).
- Dinner: a portion of lean pork (no more than 200 grams) and a side dish of stewed cabbage.
Saturday
- Breakfast: a portion of boiled turkey with a side dish of green beans (total weight no more than 250 grams).
- Second breakfast: a cup of low-fat cottage cheese with a spoonful of honey.
- Lunch: boiled lean meat, light vegetable salad, seasoned with butter or yogurt.
- Dinner: a portion of fish and a side dish of baked zucchini (total weight no more than 250 grams).
Sunday
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs on water from two eggs with a juicy tomato.
- Second breakfast: fifty grams of nut mixture with coffee.
- Lunch: meat or vegetable broth with minced chicken balls and chopped herbs.
- Dinner: a portion of rabbit meat cooked in sour cream sauce and herbs.
How to get out of the diet
If you have the desire and strength, you can continue losing weight on a protein diet for another three weeks. In this case, once a week (on Saturday or Sunday) you can pamper yourself with something forbidden: waffle, candy, cake. This will help to avoid a breakdown, and the carbohydrate "load" will shake the body.
It takes the same amount of time to leave the protein diet as the restriction lasted. In the early days, you need to gradually introduce into the diet "correct" carbohydrates: cereals, whole grain bread, fruits, a small amount of dried fruits. Be sure to observe fractional meals and drink one and a half liters of water.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The 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. On mono-diets, it is harder to lose weight, since you quickly get tired of the same products;
- diet helps to get rid of excess water, which means it helps to make the skin more elastic, get rid of cellulite (a special massage is needed);
- allows you to cope with high physical activity;
- can be used not only for weight loss but also for gaining muscle mass.
Disadvantages of Protein Weight Loss Scheme:
- Low amounts of fiber can lead to constipation.
- Protein foods are expensive.
- Sweet lovers can suffer from depression.
An unbalanced diet is not healthy. To reduce risks, you must take a multivitamin complex throughout the week (or month).
Protein Diet Review
Consuming protein products has reduced the percentage of subcutaneous fat, without training and feeling hungry. With a diet low in fat and carbohydrates, it was possible to significantly improve the appearance without going to the gym. We managed to adhere to this diet for only 5 days. That is, for almost a week, exclusively proteins for breakfast, dinner and lunch, and as a result, the muscles became more expressive and fit.
Sitting on such a diet for more than a week is not recommended. Even 5 days are already a lot, it is better to eat exclusively proteins for about 3 days, then change the diet as suggested in the Ducan diet.