Protein diet: pros and cons, 7-day menu

High protein nutrition is standard practice in the professional sports field. The need for an increased level of protein for active muscle growth makes you change your diet. At the same time, the amount of carbohydrates and fat in the menu is reduced in proportion to the increase in protein, which leads to a natural decrease in adipose tissue in the body.

The effect of a diet built on protein, people found out a long time ago. The first book on the benefits of high protein nutrition was published in Europe in the nineteenth century. In modern history, the founders of protein nutrition were Dr. Atkins, Dukan, according to their example, the Kremlin diet was developed. However, despite the abundance of information, it is not always possible to understand what a high-protein diet is.

Features of the protein diet

The reason for this is the distorted facts presented in accessible sources. Often, a protein diet in them appears to be an ideal way to lose weight, which allows you to eat hearty and tasty food and at the same time steadily lose weight. In fact, such nutritional techniques were developed by doctors by no means for everyone who wants to say goodbye to a few excess pounds.

• Nutrition for diseases. Dr. Atkins, a famous American cardiologist, noted that he developed his method of high-protein diet for people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system. For them, the need to reduce weight is a vital task, since with obesity, the risk of heart attack, thrombosis increases many times.
• Obesity is more harmful than a short-term protein diet. French doctor Pierre Ducant, who turned his diet into the most successful commercial project in the history of dietetics, noted that high protein nutrition is dangerous. He recommends his patients the maximum amount of protein food only in the first, most aggressive stage of the diet, called "Attack." Correctly assessing the risks from such a diet, he pointed out that if there is a lot of excess weight, it makes sense to stick to a protein menu for no longer than five days. During this time, the Ducan diet can do less harm to the body than it daily suffers from obesity. And the rest of the time, the doctor recommended that you include a sufficient amount of carbohydrates in the diet and consume up to three tablespoons of bran daily, almost one hundred percent having a carbohydrate structure.

Once in the "people", the principles of protein nutrition were distorted beyond recognition. So there was the famous Kremlin diet, which allows you to unlimitedly consume high protein and fatty foods, including sausages, processed cheese, lard. There are diets that recommend completely abandoning cereal products, minimize the amount of vegetables in the diet, and almost completely eliminate fruits from it. An unfounded opinion was formed that these products do not meet the criteria for protein nutrition, as sources of carbohydrates.

The main components of the diet

What is included in a protein diet? What carbohydrates did not please the person? And why is protein-enriched nutrition yielding a quick weight loss result - up to minus 7 kg in one week? The answers to these questions lie in the basic principles of metabolic processes taking place in the human body.

Our body receives proteins, carbohydrates and fats from food. These are the three basic elements, each of which performs the most important functions. So protein is a “building material” involved in tissue regeneration, cell construction, and the formation of immune defense. Carbohydrates are sources of energy for the human body. Fats are the most important element for the proper functioning of the endocrine system and the absorption of vitamins of the fat-soluble group.

The intake of the main components is required by the body daily, and in balanced proportions. If any element becomes larger or smaller, violations occur. For example, an excess of protein puts stress on the kidneys and liver, and its undigested residues clog the intestines and produce toxins. The abundance of carbohydrates not wasted in the form of energy leads to the deposition of adipose tissue, and fat - in violation of metabolic processes.

Diet principles

A protein diet implies an increase in the proportion of proteins in the diet by reducing the amount of carbohydrates. This element may be present in the diet in the form of animal and vegetable products. Animal protein found in meat, milk, cottage cheese, fish is well absorbed. The body accepts it almost completely - by 92-98 percent. Vegetable protein, which is rich in legumes, mushrooms, lettuce and cabbage, can be absorbed by the body by 60-80 percent.

The protein diet menu is based on the following principles.

• More protein, less carbohydrates. A decrease in carbohydrate volume relative to protein leads to a change in metabolism. An organism that is used to getting energy from food is on the verge of its deficiency. But the body needs energy to ensure the functioning of internal organs, mobility and human performance. To get it, the body seeks internal reserves. And such a reserve becomes its own adipose tissue accumulated during periods of excess carbohydrates in food. Metabolism is converted from external energy consumption to burning fat stores. Adipose tissue is destroyed.
• No hunger. The diet includes hearty foods: meat, eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt. They have a complex structure, the splitting of which the body has to work hard. Digestion of protein products takes hours, during this time a person does not feel hunger. In addition, the diet does not indicate the amount of servings. You can eat by appetite, excluding only overeating.
• There is no sharp urge to eat. A sudden desire to eat something is associated with jumps in insulin in the body. Insulin is a hormone that breaks down glucose, and it, in turn, enters our body from simple sugars, for example, confectionery and baking, and from complex carbohydrate complexes found in cereals, cereals, vegetables. If there is nothing to break down insulin, the pancreas does not produce it. The stability of blood sugar determines the absence of sudden attacks of hunger.
• Duration up to four weeks. Despite satiety and effectiveness, reviews of the protein diet do not allow it to be practiced for a long time. In its original form, it critically reduces the intake of carbohydrates into the body, the value of which is high for our body. The permissible period of a high protein diet is two to four weeks.

The use of large amounts of protein is not typical for the human body. The body can only absorb its part, which is necessary for the basic processes.Muscles receive a large amount of food, which, with sufficient physical exertion, allows them to form a beautiful, expressive relief.

However, if not the entire volume of the incoming component has been assimilated, the body must dispose of it as garbage. Excesses are transformed into nitrogen compounds, for the elimination of which the kidneys and liver are responsible.

When following a protein diet, it is extremely important to choose the type of physical activity that you like. It can be daily active walking or regular training in the gym. Sports and adequate physical activity will increase the intensity of weight loss and help prevent the negative effects of a high protein diet.

The role of carbohydrates

The essence of the diet is not in the complete removal of carbohydrates from the diet, but in their significant limitation. Moreover, in most “without an author” weight loss plans, which can be found on the Internet in many ways, it is recommended to remove carbohydrates from the diet in general.

But the menu for 14 days of a protein diet cannot completely exclude this most important component of nutrition. Carbohydrates must be present in the diet, it is important only to correctly assess which ones benefit the body and which only harm.

Carbohydrates are divided into two groups.

• Simple. These include sugar and products containing it. Sugar is pure glucose that causes the release of insulin in the body to process it. Refined sugar is sent to the brain, as only our main organ can eat glucose. It also serves as a source of fast energy for physical activity, brain activity. If sugar was eaten a few minutes before a brainstorming session or sports training, the body will waste all glucose received. If the sweet product is consumed in the evening on the couch, the body has nowhere to expend energy. It is transformed into fat and stored in tissues for a rainy day.
• Complicated. Such compounds include substances that include chains of polysaccharides in the structure. Complex carbohydrates are found in cereals, durum wheat, whole vegetables, and some fruits. The value of complex carbohydrates is that they do not provoke a sharp release of insulin. The body breaks down these chains gradually, forming a stable glycemic line. A constant glycemic level without jumps eliminates sudden attacks of hunger or the availability at one moment of a large amount of energy that the body needs to put somewhere. Energy during the breakdown of complex carbohydrates is released gradually, for example, when consumed barley groats for four hours. The body receives this energy for a long time, and the feeling of fullness is retained for as long.

The correct menu of a protein diet by day of the week does not exclude the use of carbohydrates. The nutrition system introduces the separation of carbohydrates into good and bad. From the first it is required to refuse completely, and the second - to eat in small quantities. That is why recipes for diet foods contain carbohydrate components along with protein.

Menu

The daily menu may include plant and animal proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The list of allowed products is quite large: it includes meat, seafood, dairy products, poultry and fish, legumes, many types of vegetables.

Based on this list, you can make a diet of protein diet for 7 days.

Nutritionist Recommendations

In the presented menu there are really a lot of protein products, but also fresh vegetables, fruits are stored in the diet daily. At the same time, the amount of carbohydrates is reduced, among them there are no simple sugars, which is especially important for normalizing weight.

Common mistakes

“Many people, in an attempt to limit their carbohydrate intake, erroneously refuse a number of products,” commented nutritionist Julia Bastrigina. - The same vegetables that contain a lot of carbohydrates do not actually stimulate weight gain. Their fibrous structure causes an excessive waste of energy for digestion, so fresh vegetables are called products with a negative calorie content. "

Here are some more common mistakes that are made when compiling a menu for 14 days of a protein diet.

• Not enough vegetables. Leaning on meat, we deprive the body of valuable fiber, the sources of which are fruits and vegetables. But such a diet leads to a deterioration in well-being, digestive problems, and dietary breakdowns. “Eat plenty of vegetables,” recommends Julia Bastrigina. “The more there are, the better.” The total amount of vegetables must exceed the amount of any other food in your diet. ” In addition to vegetables, valuable fiber, as well as many vitamins and protein, is found in legumes, nuts and seeds of all kinds, citrus fruits.
• Low fat. A detailed description of a high protein diet never indicates the need for fats. But they are extremely important not only for weight loss, but also for well-being. Fats are the main element of metabolic processes, without them fat-soluble vitamins A and E are not absorbed. A little fat in the diet eliminates the feeling of hunger, which will invariably return when the body processes the bulk of its fat reserves. Eating fatty foods and eating fats are not the same thing. Fatty meat will only harm the body, and a tablespoon olive oil to a salad, a handful of walnuts and even a piece of dark chocolate will be extremely useful for him.
• Unlimited Serving Size. An important plus of a protein diet for a week is the lack of the need to observe the weight and volume of servings. No need to count calories or use a kitchen scale.But this is also a minus of the diet, a high risk of overeating and eating too many calories. “When limiting the amount of carbohydrates, it is important to monitor the total calorie intake,” recommends fitness trainer George Maltabar. - Make no mistake, believing that you can eat and lose weight. Appetite should be your advisor on the amount of food consumed. Do not eat at a time when hunger is satisfied. "
• Lack of diet. “A serious risk of 'breaking loose' occurs when hunger comes, and we don’t know what to eat at this moment,” says dietician Yulia Bastrigina. - Then the hand reaches for the coffee machine, a desire appears to run into the cafe and buy a bun. Do not let these situations prevail. Plan a diet, accustom yourself to discipline. "
• Monotonous food. It is impossible to eat the same food every day and feel comfortable. Make a varied menu for 10 days of a protein diet for weight loss, use different products and their combinations.
• Slightly sweet can you? When the weight decreases steadily, there is a desire to eat something “tasty”. An inner voice persuades that nothing bad will happen if once a week you allow yourself ice cream or a cake. The beginning of such a dialogue with oneself leads to the return of old habits. It’s not scary to eat something sweet from time to time, the problem is that craving for it returns and settles back in your life. And weight loss stops.

If a month after the start of the protein diet, "allow" yourself to eat something sweet, the body will not be able to use this product correctly. Split sugar is transformed into glucose and will immediately be converted into adipose tissue. Therefore, weight gain when eating sweets after a long protein diet is fast.

Protein Risks

“Our body needs proteins, carbohydrates and fats daily,” says nutritionist Lyudmila Denisenko, a doctor. - If, as a result of a deficiency of carbohydrates, glucose intake into the body is sharply reduced, the body replaces it with protein. For several weeks, it has been using protein for energy, and it can’t direct a sufficient amount of it to basic purposes, such as tissue regeneration, the creation of hormones and antibodies. ”

Too much protein causes you to feel unwell as a result of ketone formation. This is a “by-product” of incomplete burning of adipose tissue, which any protein diet seeks. Ketones are toxic, they attack the kidneys, liver, blood vessels, spread through the blood. As a result, a person receives a condition close to poisoning: impotence, nausea, dizziness, and the urge to vomit.

High protein nutrition also creates other risks:

• impaired digestion and stomach discomfort associated with insufficient fiber intake;
• weakness, inability to engage in mental activity as a result of the lack of glucose - the only food for the brain;
• urine acidification, the formation of kidney stones due to an excess of protein in the diet;
• a decrease in insulin secretion and metabolic disorders with a predisposition to weight gain, even with a slight consumption of carbohydrate products;
• dehydration, loss of skin tone as a result of the loss of glycogen, which retains fluid in the tissues.

A protein diet is far from the best weight loss plan. It is important to form a healthy, balanced diet with limited calorie content, using, for example, Elena Malysheva's diet. The results of those who lost weight in its system, including a complex of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, demonstrate not only weight loss, but also the stability of the results, as a result of the formation of the right eating habits.

Fast results and the apparent simplicity of the diet draw attention to the protein diet. But to turn to her often and use her principles is for a long time dangerous to health. Doctors advise against high protein diets for longer than two to four weeks. Our body's need for a balanced diet dictates a completely different diet with enough protein, fat and proper, complex carbohydrates daily.

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