Protein diets are very popular among business stars, athletes and ordinary people around the world.This is an effective weight loss technique that helps you lose weight quickly without harming or stressing your body.But you need to lose weight according to regulations so that instead of having a beautiful figure, you don't have health problems.
Main features of protein diets
You need to 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 fat and carbohydrates is reduced to a minimum.Ideally, they should make up no more than 15% of the daily diet.
- The menu is allowed to include vegetables and fruits, making the diet more diverse and balanced.
- Physical activity is necessary.
- Meals should be divided up to 6 times a day, portions should not exceed 200 grams.
This nutrition system allows you to lose 4-5 kg in a week without feeling hungry.Protein saturates the body with vital substances, but you cannot eat according to this system for a long time.Maximum time is 21 days.The optimal duration of the diet is 14 days.
Who is a high-protein diet suitable for?
A high-protein diet is ideal for those who want to lose weight quickly and without stress on the body.Thanks to a varied diet, you do not need to eat only one type of product, and the high nutritional value of meat helps eliminate long-term hunger.
For athletes and people with active lifestyles, a high-protein diet helps them lose weight and increase muscle mass.Weight loss is fat loss, not muscle loss.This helps form a beautiful, sculpted shape.
Contraindications to protein diets
Ideally, before starting a diet, you should consult your doctor to determine contraindications.This is a pretty serious electrical system that people should not use:
- adolescents and the elderly;
- pregnant and lactating women;
- diabetics;
- with kidney and liver diseases;
- have cancer;
- with increased degree of blood coagulation;
- under high physical and mental pressure.
You should not start a diet when you are sick or when you feel unwell.
When adhering to a protein diet, you need to take vitamin complexes.This is necessary to prevent hair loss, damage to nails and teeth.
Protein levels
The average person needs 0.8 grams.protein per kg of weight.To lose weight, this indicator is doubled.If you follow a protein diet, you need to consume between 1.2 and 1.6 grams per day.protein per kg of weight.It is not the current but the expected body weight that is taken into account.
To calculate the amount of protein in a prepared dish, you need to know its ingredients and the amount of protein in each ingredient.
For example.Estimated weight – 70 kg.You need to consume between 84 and 112 grams per day.squirrel.Menu being compiled:
- beef - 200 g.(37.8 g protein);
- eggs - 2 pcs.(12.7 g protein);
- fresh cheese - 200 g.(33.4 g protein).
It turned out to be 83.9 g.squirrel.In addition, other foods are also taken into account, helping to increase total protein intake.
To calculate accurately, buy a kitchen scale and weigh each fresh product.
Pros and cons of protein diets
Protein diets, like any specialized nutritional system, have their pros and cons.When planning your protein weight loss, you need to take them into account.
Benefits include:
- Diverse food.You don't have to eat just one product.The list of allowed dishes is quite extensive.
- Not hungry.Protein reduces hunger over the long term.This allows you to lose weight without having a debilitating desire to eat something.
- Strengthens the immune system.Protein increases the body's endurance and increases physical strength.
- Lose weight quickly.After completing the diet, if you do not return to your previous diet and eat healthy foods, the lost kilos will not return.
- Weight loss due to fat layer.The body gets energy from fat, not muscle.Therefore, muscle mass is not affected on 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 reward for losing weight, athletes increase their body's endurance and form a beautiful figure on their body.
But high-protein diets also have disadvantages.These include:
- It is possible to reduce mental ability 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 bone and tooth problems can occur.
- An unpleasant odor appears from the body and mouth due to the increased amount of ketones in the body.
You need to approach a protein diet wisely, making sure to supplement with vitamin complexes to compensate for the lack of nutrients.This weight loss method is only suitable for completely healthy people, without chronic or acute diseases.
Another disadvantage of a protein diet is the complete refusal of sweet and fatty foods.And if you cannot do without sweets and cakes, then such a nutritional system will cause nervous tension.It is necessary to choose another diet, in which carbohydrates are allowed in small quantities.
Principles of protein diet for weight loss
To have a protein diet for weight loss help you lose weight, follow some important rules:
- Put the main focus on protein.These are meat and dairy products.You are allowed to add one side dish to the main dish once a day.
- Limit the amount of fat you consume.Their daily intake should not exceed 30 grams.
- It is allowed to eat cereals, but only in the first half of the day, as a side dish.Choose low-calorie foods, excluding semolina and millet.
- Vegetables can also be used as a side dish, but potatoes and other starches are completely prohibited.You can eat cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers.
- Fruit is allowed, but not sweet.Prioritize 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.
- During a protein diet, a lot of fluid is removed from the body, therefore the amount of water consumed daily should be increased by 1.5 times.Drink at least 2 liters of fluids per day.
- Ideally, you should avoid salt.You can add dried herbs, garlic, and soy sauce to your food as seasonings.
If during the diet you feel dizzy, your health and sleep are seriously reduced, then you need to add more complex carbohydrates to your diet.
Foods allowed for a protein diet
When creating a menu, consider the list of foods allowed on a protein diet.These include:
- Meat.It is allowed to eat lean meat from beef, chicken, veal, rabbit and turkey.Fatty pork and lamb are completely prohibited.
- Fermented milk products.The daily diet should include low-fat cheese, natural yogurt and kefir.
- Egg.Be sure to eat chicken or quail eggs.They can be soft-boiled eggs, omelets or omelettes.You should eat 2 chickens or 4 quail eggs every day.
- Fish.Another source of protein is lean fish.Cook it by steaming, in the oven or boiling without adding oil.
- Green vegetables.Fiber is needed to fully digest food and improve health.Prioritize tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage and zucchini.Vegetables can be eaten fresh, stewed, grilled or boiled.
- Cereal.A high-protein diet involves avoiding all grains.But they are still necessary as a source of carbohydrates.You can cook buckwheat, peas or oatmeal.
- Fruit.Nutritionists recommend eating citrus fruits in a high-protein diet.But be careful with them - high acidity has an irritating effect on the stomach lining and can cause gastritis.
As for drinks, give preference to herbs and green tea.Allow small amounts of coffee - no more than 1 cup per day.The majority of the liquid should be accompanied by plain water.
Prohibited foods on a protein diet
The list of prohibited foods on a protein diet is much broader.This is because the nutritional system involves eliminating most food groups.So this list includes:
- Bakery products are completely excluded.A few times a week you can eat 1 piece of rye bread.
- Macaroni.
- Sweet and flour dishes.This includes all foods that contain sugar.You can't even sweeten the drink.
- Ale.Some protein diets allow you to drink a glass of dry red wine per day.But it's better to give up alcohol in any quantity.
- Starchy vegetables.Avoid radishes and potatoes.Although they have nutritional value, they cause weight gain.
- Sweet fruit.Bananas, pears, and melons are prohibited.
- Fast food products.Fast food will have to be excluded from the diet.
- Carbonated drinks.
Giving up favorite foods is only difficult during the first week.You will then get used to eating properly and maintain this habit after completing the diet.
How to organize protein nutrition
To prevent your new diet from harming your health, stick to the plan:
- Prepare for the diet.After 2-3 weeks, gradually start giving up sweets if you love them.Replace sugar with dried fruit, reduce the amount of sweeteners in drinks.
- Easy to include in the diet.You need to smoothly switch to a high-protein diet, giving up other foods within 1-2 days.
- The diet itself.Be sure to monitor your health and control your weight.
- Quit your diet.Complete the diet smoothly, gradually increasing the amount of food consumed.
It is very good if the diet period falls on vacation, this reduces the urge to have a sandwich for lunch or refuse a full breakfast.
Buy groceries in advance by planning a menu.When you go to the store, you risk buying products that are on the prohibited list.
Be sure to play sports.You can join a gym or opt for aerobics at home.Yoga and running will do.Physical activity should be at least 3 times a week.But remember that if you have never played sports before, you should not overload your body.Start with light exercises and gradually increase the load.
Time to apply a protein diet
The maximum duration of a protein diet is 14 days.During this time, up to 15 kg can be lost.After a 3-month break, you can repeat to improve results.
The optimal time 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 your weight loss process will be.
Minimum duration is 7 days.It allows you to lose up to 8 kg.This stage is suitable for people who have difficulty giving up their favorite foods.
Sample menu for a week to lose weight
The approximate menu of a protein diet for weight loss in a week will help you decide on your diet.Take the specified dishes as a basis but make your own adjustments, taking into account the list of prohibited and allowed foods.
| day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
| 1 | Cheese omelet, green tea | Beef stew with buckwheat | Boiled fish |
| 2 | Low-fat cheese | Boiled chicken breast, cucumber and tomato salad | Omelette, green tea |
| 3 | Oatmeal on water | Veal stewed with green pumpkin | Grilled salmon with lemon and herbs |
| 4 | Cheese curd cake | Rabbit with cream sauce, brown rice | Steamed ground turkey |
| 5 | Toast with cheese | Fish soup with rice | Grilled beef tenderloin with soy sauce |
| 6 | Low-fat cheese, apples | Braised veal, carrots, cabbage and zucchini | Caesar Salad |
| 7 | Buckwheat porridge | Chicken meatball soup | Fish stew |
What to eat as a snack:
- boiled eggs;
- yogurt;
- natural yogurt;
- apple, grapefruit;
- cheese;
- cheese pancakes and casserole;
- vegetable salad.
Every day you should eat 3 main meals and 2-3 snacks.Before going to bed, 2-3 hours before going to bed, you can drink a glass of kefir, tea or eat natural yogurt.Food should be as light as possible so as not to cause discomfort due to indigestion and bloating.
If you play sports, drink more protein shakes.Choose foods that are free of sugar and additives.This cocktail will reduce hunger and will not cause weight gain.
Get off the protein diet
To ensure that the lost kilos do not return after completing the diet, you need to return to your usual diet correctly.Add 1-2 products to your daily diet, leaving sugar, pasta and potatoes for last.Start with vegetables and fruits, increasing the number of side dishes.Be sure to include grains as a source of carbohydrates.
Nutritionists say that the time to exit the diet is twice as long as the time to stay on the diet.If you follow the protein diet for 10 days then you need to complete it after 20 days.
To maintain your results, follow a healthy diet.Avoid fried, fatty, unhealthy foods.And then the weight will disappear, your figure will become slimmer and as a pleasant bonus you will receive good health and beauty.
Mistakes with a high-protein diet
Many people are hindered from achieving their goals by quite common mistakes.These include:
- Quickly abandon carbohydrates and fats in favor of protein.Remember that a protein diet is very serious, so you cannot suddenly "enter" it by abandoning your usual diet for one day.
- Completely refuse carbohydrates.The diet should contain few vegetables, fruits and grains.Otherwise, poor health and stress are inevitable.
- Lack of physical activity.Without sports you cannot achieve a beautiful figure.But the appearance of stretch marks and sagging skin is worth the wait.
- Hungry.Plan your diet so you don't feel hungry.Otherwise, the body will enter a phase of extreme energy conservation and begin to store fat.
Transition to the new system smoothly and monitor your health.And after a week you will lose weight without putting stress on your body.