The food system is constantly changing: after the peak of the "hunger" diet, the "protein" or "fat" diet comes. Calorie restriction or the opposite nutritional system is in trend. We will talk about a protein diet: what are its benefits, under what conditions it will help you lose weight.
Why you shouldn't stop consuming protein
A young girl, an adult woman, an aspiring athlete - sometimes all of us, driven by the motive of losing weight at any cost, rush to limit ourselves in food, eliminating fats and proteins first. But giving your body a "shake up" for a week is one thing, and always eating like this is another: it doesn't bode well in the long run. But who follows the rules when you "really need" to lose weight?
Why protein foods should be on the menu:
- Without protein there is no muscle building. When athletes gain muscle mass, they need to consume a lot of protein. If you are not an athlete and just want to lose fat, do not eliminate protein from your diet: without it, your muscles will not recover well after training.
- With a lack of protein in the diet, hair, teeth, nails and bones will become damaged and weakened.
- Protein consists of amino acids - the body needs 22 amino acids for normal functioning, 9 of which the body does not produce itself and receives from food. When you exclude protein from the menu, you do not receive substances without which the normal functioning of the body is impossible.
- Without proteins, there are no metabolic processes, because they function as a delivery service for oxygen molecules to the body's cells.
- Trying to limit ourselves to only plant proteins (for vegans) has consequences: not all essential amino acids are found in grains, nuts and soy. Vegans need to supplement with special vitamins and food supplements.
Protein diet for weight loss: how it works
Scientists have studied the effects of protein nutrition on weight loss for decades. And we found out why it is important in the fight against excess weight:
- Protein, especially from meat, activates the production of the satiety hormone (leptin) and suppresses the production of the hunger hormone (ghrelin): this is why the food that satisfies "brutal hunger" is most often understood as meat;
- Protein speeds up your metabolism, helping you burn calories quickly. Dukan, Atkins, Malysheva, Kremlin and many other weight loss diets are based on this. The keto phenomenon has the same nature: when a person receives a lot of protein and fat, but little carbohydrates, the body enters a state of ketosis, in which there is an effective loss of excess fat;
- In cases of intensive weight loss through physical activity, a protein menu is important to overcome sagging skin, which may occur due to sudden weight loss, and to strengthen bones, teeth and hair.
Protein diet rules
Any serious diet should be prescribed and monitored by your doctor, taking into account your characteristics, desired and actual weight levels. Such a diet can be a high-protein diet, as professional athletes do during the period of muscle building, or a form of rational nutrition to improve health and lose weight. The second option will help you get the desired result without much difficulty.
The rules for losing protein weight are:
- Protein should make up 50% of the daily menu (ideally 60%).
- Fats and carbohydrates should be reduced, ideally not exceeding 15% of the daily diet.
- Vegetables and herbs complement the protein menu with fiber and vitamins.
- Sweet fruits should be limited to 2 per day.
- You need to drink more water, of course avoiding sugary sodas.
- There is no place on the menu for preservatives, sauces and mayonnaise.
- The emphasis is on food that is cooked without frying, boiling or steaming.
- Eat fractionally, 5-6 times a day, in portions of no more than 200 grams.
- Physical activity is important to speed up metabolism, and therefore, to lose weight faster.
This nutritional approach helps you lose 4 to 10 extra pounds in two weeks. But if you follow the proportions of protein, fat and carbohydrates described above, this can be difficult. And the body should not be on this type of strict diet for more than 3-4 weeks, or the diet should be supervised by a doctor.
Contraindications to this diet:
- anemia;
- pregnancy and breastfeeding;
- Kidney illness;
- pancreatic disease;
- problems with the heart and blood vessels;
- diabetes;
- individual cases of protein intolerance.
And yes, protein poisoning is not a myth.
If you want to focus on protein nutrition and easily lose weight without changing your diet much, you can simply review the menu:
- increase the amount of protein products in the diet: introduce meat, fish, eggs, green vegetables, dairy and fermented milk products;
- monitor your total daily calorie intake;
- eat small portions and drink enough fluids;
- minimize frying when cooking, eliminate mayonnaise from food, reduce salt and coffee consumption;
- To speed up weight loss, you need proper physical exercise.
How to make a menu correctly
Now about planning a protein menu for weight loss. Many people feel uncomfortable when ready-to-eat menus are offered for the week. We will show you approximate options that you can focus on. Or make your own menu for the week from them.Breakfast
Egg
In your diet, you usually only eat protein. But even if you are on a diet, you can eat eggs almost every day if you don't have an allergy. For example, on Mondays and Wednesdays the menu might be boiled eggs, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays there might be omelettes.
Chicken eggs and quail eggs are equally useful - you can substitute them. You will find a simple and delicious omelet recipe below.
Cereals and porridge
Nutritionists call lentil and bean porridge the richest in protein. The first is delicious and low in calories, rich in microelements and fiber. It's best to include it in your breakfast or lunch menu at least once a week. Find the recipe below.
Important
Even though it has benefits, cereal contains a lot of carbohydrates so it can damage your diet. Therefore, we recommend that you rarely include porridge, muesli and granola in the menu.
Dairy products
Yogurt or cottage cheese for breakfast is a great choice: but the diet should be sugar-free and low-fat.
You can add fresh or frozen berries to fermented milk products, and greens to taste to cottage cheese. Or you can make delicious (low calorie! ) protein yogurt with oriental eggs - step by step instructions and photos are waiting for you below.
Breakfast "combo" with meat
In autumn and winter, breakfast is more intense than in summer, because we need energy for the whole day. Therefore, scrambled eggs with turkey will be useful. Moreover, it is prepared in 10 minutes.
Dinner
salad
Tuna salad with beans, as in our recipe, can become a complete lunch. A balanced and satisfying meal in just 15 minutes.
Mussels in spinach salad can be a lunch or part of a meal set. Delicious, low calorie and nutritious.
Soup
Simple and healthy lean lentil soup? Easy, fast and cheap in every way. Check out our recipe with step by step description.
Another option is aromatic bean soup. Pork tenderloin is rich in protein and contains almost no fat or carbohydrates. Just replace the sour cream with Greek yogurt: it has less fat.
If you think traditional cabbage soup is not for you, you are wrong - take our recipe with photos and prepare a delicious, healthy and economical soup.
You can also consider the option of vegetable soup with shrimp: but to maintain the diet, you will have to eliminate heavy cream or replace it with protein yoghurt.
Second course
Tuna is called the beef of the sea: dense, juicy and resembles meat, contains a lot of protein and vitamins. Therefore, tuna fillets can be a choice for lunch, the recipe steps for making them are presented below.
How about dumplings? If it is fish according to the recipe below, then it can be prepared almost throughout the diet period, and you will not have problems with lunch: 2-3 days of dumplings a week will definitely not let you get bored with monotony.
If time is short, see the recipe in the video below. Chicken fillet with beans is perhaps the fastest recipe for delicious weight loss.
Another great option for a quick and satisfying afternoon meal: try the spicy beef - you won't be disappointed.
Important
Watch your calorie intake if your goal is to lose weight. Our lunch option should be considered as a choice of dishes: combining a first course and salad or a main course and salad, without going beyond the daily calorie rate.
Dinner
Fish or seafood
Spinach with shrimps can be called a snack, a full dinner or a hot salad - the essence will not change. This is a low-calorie and very tasty dish: almost a high-end cuisine menu, but prepared in less than half an hour.
If you are wondering whether it is possible to eat cheaply on such a diet, the answer is of course. No need to eat shrimp every day, classic and cheap white fish will do. For example, cod - a lot of vitamins, protein and very beautiful presentation. The recipe below can be prepared in half an hour, and your family or guests will be delighted with its appearance, taste and health.
Advice
Fish dishes are generally rich in protein and nutrients, but usually low in calories, try to include them in your diet at least 3 times a week.
Meat or poultry
Steak is always delicious, because meat is one of the main sources of protein. But taking into account calorie requirements, we advise you to pay attention to the recipe for juicy turkey steak with teriyaki sauce.
You can eat beef steak or steak 1-3 times a week. The calorie content will be reduced by roasting or roasting without oil.
Combo dinner
Baking, as many believe, should be abandoned in the diet. But from beef liver pancakes according to our recipe - no. You can prepare this dish at least once a week and make it even healthier: bake pancakes in the oven without oil.
If you don't mind having scrambled eggs for dinner, here's a recipe with fried bacon. You can also reduce the calorie content by choosing the oven instead of frying.
Would you like pizza? There is a completely acceptable option that you can afford once every 1-2 weeks: get a mini pizza recipe with zucchini.
Snacks and desserts
Nuts, seeds, chia and sesame seeds are rich in protein but high in fat. So a handful of nuts or seeds is not suitable as a snack during diet week. But you can decorate vegetable salad with a spoonful of nuts.
Likewise with dried fruits - raisins, dried apricots, prunes and citrus fruits. They contain protein, fiber and a lot of sugar. This can ruin your week's efforts.
What you don't sell for breakfast from yoghurt and curd snacks is quite suitable as a snack. A slice of sheep's cheese is the best solution for any occasion.
And in order to enjoy dessert, but not increase its total calorie content, you can approach it in a sporting way: use protein powder. It is added as a flour substitute to pies and cheesecakes. It turns out to be a protein bomb of benefits and taste. For example, waffles whose recipe you can find below.
What can be done?
Make a protein shake. They are saturated with protein, providing vitamins and an unusual taste. Learn simple weight loss smoothie recipes to start switching to a healthy diet.