The protein diet is very popular among world show business stars, athletes and ordinary people.This is an effective weight loss technique that allows you to lose weight quickly without harm or stress to the body.But you need to lose weight according to the rules, so that instead of a beautiful figure you do not end up with health problems.
The main features of a protein diet
You should start a diet by studying its main principles.These include:
- The basis of nutrition is protein.It should make up at least 60% of the daily diet.
- The amount of fats and carbohydrates is reduced to a minimum.Ideally, they should not be more than 15% of the daily diet.
- The menu is allowed to include vegetables and fruits that make the diet more varied and balanced.
- Physical activity is required.
- Meals should be divided up to 6 times a day, the serving amount does not exceed 200 grams.
This food system allows you to lose 4-5 kg per week without feeling hungry.Proteins saturate the body with important substances, but you cannot eat according to this system for a long time.The maximum period is 21 days.The optimal period for the diet is 14 days.
Who is a protein diet suitable for?
A protein diet is ideal for those who want to lose weight quickly and without stress on the body.Thanks to a varied diet, you don't have to eat only one type of product, and the high nutritional value of meat eliminates the feeling of hunger for a long time.
For athletes and people who lead an active lifestyle, a protein diet helps them lose weight and gain muscle mass.Weight is lost by losing fat, not muscle.This helps to form a beautiful, sculpted figure.
Contraindications for a protein diet
Ideally, before starting a diet, you should consult a doctor to identify contraindications.This is a very serious energy system that should not be used by persons:
- minors and the elderly;
- pregnant and lactating women;
- diabetics;
- with kidney and liver diseases;
- with cancer;
- with an increased level of blood coagulation;
- under high physical and emotional stress.
You should not start a diet during illness or when you are not feeling well.
When you adhere to a protein diet, you should take vitamin complexes.This is necessary to prevent hair loss, deterioration of nails and teeth.
Protein rate
An average person needs 0.8 grams.protein per kilogram of weight.For weight loss, this rate doubles.If you follow a protein diet, you should consume between 1.2 and 1.6 grams per day.protein per kilogram of weight.Actual weight is not taken into account, but planned body weight.
To calculate how much protein is included in a prepared dish, you need to know its composition and the amount of protein in each ingredient.
For example.Planned weight - 70 kg.You should consume between 84 and 112 grams per day.squirrel.The menu is being compiled:
- beef - 200 gr.(37.8 g of protein);
- eggs - 2 pieces.(12.7 g of protein);
- cottage cheese - 200 gr.(33.4 g of protein).
It turns out 83.9 g.squirrel.Plus, other foods are taken into account, which increases the total amount of protein eaten.
To make the correct calculation, buy a kitchen scale and weigh each fresh product.
The pros and cons of a protein diet
A protein diet, like any specialized nutritional system, has its pros and cons.When you plan to lose weight with the help of proteins, you need to take them into account.
Benefits include:
- Varied food.You don't have to eat just one product.The list of allowed dishes is quite extensive.
- There is no hunger.Proteins relieve hunger for a long period of time.This allows you to lose weight without suffering from a debilitating urge to eat something.
- Strengthening the immune system.Proteins increase the endurance of the body and increase physical strength.
- Rapid weight loss.After the end of the diet, if you do not return to the previous table, but eat healthy food, the lost kilograms will not return.
- Weight loss due to the layer of fat.The body gets energy from fat, not muscle.Therefore, muscle mass does not suffer in this diet.
- Ideal for athletes.Thanks to the presence of a large amount of protein in the diet, muscle mass is actively built.As a bonus to lose weight, the athlete increases the endurance of the body and forms a beautiful relief on the body.
But there are also disadvantages to a protein diet.These include:
- It is possible to reduce mental performance by limiting the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.
- There is a risk of blood clots due to increased blood density and clotting.
- Calcium is washed away and problems with bones and teeth can occur.
- An unpleasant odor appears from the body and mouth due to the increase in ketone bodies in the body.
You need to approach the protein diet wisely, making sure to take vitamin complexes to compensate for the lack of nutrients.This method of losing weight is suitable only for absolutely healthy people who do not have chronic or acute diseases.
Another disadvantage of a protein diet is a complete rejection of sweet and fatty foods.And if you cannot do without sweets and sweets, then such a food system will cause nervous stress.It is worth choosing a different diet where carbohydrates are allowed in small amounts.
The rules of a protein diet for weight loss
For a protein diet for weight loss to help you lose weight, follow some important rules:
- Put the main emphasis on proteins.These are meat and dairy products.You are allowed to add a side dish to the main dish once a day.
- Limit the amount of fat you consume.Their daily amount should not exceed 30 grams.
- Cereals are allowed, but only in the first half of the day, as a side dish.Choose low-calorie foods, excluding oatmeal and millet.
- Vegetables can also be used as a side dish, but potatoes and other types of starch are completely prohibited.You can eat cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers.
- Fruits are allowed, but not sweet.Give priority to oranges and green apples.
- The last meal should be 2-3 hours before bedtime.
- During the diet you will have to give up alcohol and sweets.
- In a protein diet, a lot of liquid is removed from the body, so the daily amount of water consumed should be increased by 1.5 times.Drink at least 2 liters of fluids a day.
- Ideally, you should avoid salt.You can add dried herbs, garlic and soy sauce to your food as seasoning.
If during the diet you feel dizzy, your health and sleep deteriorate significantly, then you should add more complex carbohydrates to your diet.
Allowed foods for a protein diet
When creating a menu, consider the list of foods allowed in a protein diet.These include:
- Meat.Lean cuts of beef, chicken, veal, rabbit and turkey are allowed.Fatty pork and lamb are completely prohibited.
- Fermented milk products.The daily diet should include low-fat cottage cheese, natural yogurt and kefir.
- Eggs.Be sure to eat chicken or quail eggs.It can be soft-boiled eggs, scrambled or an omelette.It is recommended to consume 2 chicken eggs or 4 quail eggs per day.
- Fish.Another source of protein is lean fish.We cook it with steam, in the oven or boil it without adding oil.
- Green vegetables.Fiber is necessary for complete digestion of food and improvement of well-being.Give preference to tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage and zucchini.Vegetables can be eaten fresh, boiled, roasted or stewed.
- Cereals.High-protein diets include avoiding all types of grains.But they are still necessary as a source of carbohydrates.You can cook buckwheat, peas or oats.
- The fruits.Nutritionists recommend eating citrus fruits in a protein diet.But be careful with them – high acidity has an irritating effect on the stomach lining and can cause gastritis.
For drinks, give preference to herbal infusions and green tea.A small amount of coffee is allowed - no more than 1 cup per day.Most of the liquid should come with plain water.
Prohibited foods for a protein diet
The list of prohibited foods in a protein diet is much wider.This is due to the fact that the food system means the rejection of most food groups.So this list includes:
- Bakery products are completely excluded.Several times a week you can eat 1 piece of rye bread.
- Pasta.
- Sweet and flour dishes.This includes all foods that contain sugar.You can't even sweeten drinks.
- Alcohol.Some protein diets allow you to drink a glass of dry red wine a day.But it is still better to give up alcohol in any amount.
- Starchy vegetables.Avoid radishes and potatoes.Despite their nutritional value, they add weight.
- Sweet fruits.Bananas, pears, melons are prohibited.
- Fast food products.Fast foods will have to be excluded from the diet.
- Carbonated drinks.
Giving up your favorite foods is only difficult for the first week.Then you will learn to eat properly and you will maintain this habit after the diet is over.
How to organize protein food
To prevent your new diet from harming your health, stick to the plan:
- Preparation for a diet.Over the course of 2-3 weeks, gradually begin to give up sweets if you have a great love for them.Replace sugar with dried fruit, reduce the amount of sweetener in drinks.
- Smooth entry into the diet.You should smoothly switch to a protein diet, giving up other foods within 1-2 days.
- The diet itself.Be sure to monitor your health and control your weight.
- Leaving the diet.Complete the diet without problems, gradually increasing the amount of food consumed.
It is good if the time of the diet falls on a holiday, which reduces the temptation to eat sandwiches for lunch or refuse a full breakfast.
Buy groceries in advance by making a menu.When you go to the store, you risk buying a product from the prohibited list.
Make sure you play sports.You can go to a gym or choose gymnastics at home.Yoga and running will do.Physical activity should be at least 3 times a week.But remember that if you have not played sports before, you should not overload your body.Start with light exercises and gradually increase the load.
The duration of the protein diet
The maximum duration of a protein diet is 14 days.During this time, it is possible to lose up to 15 kg.After a 3-month break, you can repeat it to improve the result.
The optimal period is 10 days.During this time you can lose up to 10 kg.The result depends on the individual characteristics of the organism.The more you weigh, the more active weight loss is.
The minimum period is 7 days.It allows you to lose up to 8 kg.This period is suitable for those who find it difficult to give up their favorite foods.
Sample menu for a week for weight loss
An approximate menu of a protein diet for weight loss for a week will help you decide on your diet.Take the indicated dishes as a basis, but adjust them yourself, taking into account the lists of prohibited and permitted foods.
| day | BREAKFAST | lunches | Dinner |
| 1 | Omelette with cheese, green tea | Beef stew with buckwheat | Boiled fish |
| 2 | Low-fat cottage cheese | Boiled chicken breast, cucumber and tomato salad | Scrambled eggs, green tea |
| 3 | Oatmeal in water | Stewed beef with zucchini | Baked salmon with lemon and herbs |
| 4 | Curd cheese | Rabbit in sour cream, brown rice | Steamed turkey cutlets |
| 5 | Cheese toast | Fish soup with rice | Roast beef fillet with soy sauce |
| 6 | Low-fat cottage cheese, apples | Stew beef, carrots, cabbage and zucchini | Caesar salad |
| 7 | Buckwheat porridge | Chicken soup with meatballs | Fish casserole |
What you should eat as a snack:
- boiled eggs;
- kefir;
- natural yogurt;
- apple, grapefruit;
- cheese;
- curd pancakes and casserole;
- vegetable salad.
Every day you should eat 3 full meals and 2-3 snacks.Before going to bed, 2-3 hours before sleep, you can drink a glass of kefir, tea or eat natural yogurt.Food should be as light as possible so that you do not feel well from indigestion and a full stomach.
If you play sports, take extra protein.Choose foods without sugar and additives.This cocktail will relieve the feeling of hunger and will not cause weight gain.
Exiting the protein diet
To ensure that the lost kilograms do not return after the end of the diet, you must correctly return to your usual table.Add 1-2 products to your diet every day, leaving sugar, pasta and potatoes last.Start with vegetables and fruits, increasing the amount of side dishes.Be sure to include whole grains as a source of carbohydrates.
Nutritionists say that the withdrawal period from a diet is twice as long as the duration of the diet itself.If you followed the protein diet for 10 days, then you need to complete it for 20 days.
To maintain your results, follow a healthy diet.Avoid unhealthy, fatty, fried foods.And then the weight will go away, your figure will become slimmer, and as a pleasant bonus you will get good health and beauty.
Mistakes with a high-protein diet
Many people are prevented from achieving their goals by quite common mistakes.These include:
- Quickly give up carbohydrates and fats in favor of proteins.Remember that the protein diet is serious, so you can't suddenly "enter" it by giving up your usual diet for a day.
- Complete rejection of carbohydrates.The diet should contain vegetables, fruits and cereals in small quantities.Otherwise, poor health and stress cannot be avoided.
- Lack of physical activity.Without sports you cannot achieve a beautiful figure.But stretch marks and sagging skin are worth waiting for.
- Hunger.Plan your diet so that you don't feel hungry.Otherwise, the body will go into a phase of extreme energy conservation and start storing fat.
Switch to the new system without problems and monitor your well-being.And then in a week you will lose weight without stressing the body.