Protein-carbohydrate diet for weight loss: how to create a menu and get out of it correctly

Benefits and harms

High protein content has an impact on the organs and performance of our body, and this effect can be both positive and negative.
Benefit

• With rapid weight loss, the muscles do not disappear anywhere, giving the figure an attractive relief;
• the protein diet contains a sufficient proportion of nutrients and substances so that the body does not feel their deficiency;
• protein diet shows good results;
• wide variety of products;
• a protein day is ideal for combination with high physical activity, without having a negative effect on the mental state;
• the condition of the skin, teeth, nails and hair improves.

Harm

• The risk of developing cardiovascular diseases increases;
• for women, a protein day can be fraught with dysfunction of the reproductive system;
• a high concentration of protein puts a strong strain on the liver and kidneys;
• Digestive problems may occur due to lack of fiber;
• the necessary balance of BJU is disrupted, which has a bad effect on the intestinal microflora;
• Animal protein increases cholesterol levels.

How long can you stay on this diet?

Such a diet cannot be classified as a mono-nutrition, because, in fact, you get all the necessary nutrients. True, sometimes vitamins and microelements will not be enough for you, so it is still worth taking various multivitamin preparations. The duration of the diet primarily depends on your goals. You can follow this diet until you reach your desired weight. Just remember that after 2-3 months you will still be overtaken by the plateau effect. The weight will stop going away and stop at one point. To overcome it, it is recommended to make 2-3 days purely protein, and then return to the original regimen. Increased physical activity also helps overcome the plateau effect. It's time to choose the right sport for yourself.

Rules

In order for protein weight loss to produce results immediately, you should follow certain recommendations:

• consume products only from the permitted list;
• include acceptable carbohydrates and fats at a certain time, when they are not stored in extra pounds;
• eat every day at exactly the same time;
• protein portions should be no more than 150 grams, but you need to eat them often;
• have snacks as often as possible;
• maintain a drinking regime (at least 1.5 liters of still water daily);
• try to reduce the amount of salt in dishes to a minimum;
• supplement the protein day with physical activity;
• try to include more plant protein in your diet than animal protein.

You can spend protein days no more than once a year. Only in this case they pass without harm to health. The maximum duration is 2 weeks. A short-term diet usually lasts 3-4 days, it also leads to weight loss in a minimum period.

You should pay attention to the correct way out of protein weight loss in order to consolidate the result and not create a stressful situation for the body. Habitual food must be introduced gradually - first add healthy carbohydrates (cereals, pasta, whole grain bread), then vegetables and fruits, and lastly add fermented milk products. You still need to stick to smaller meals and drink more water.

After a breakdown, there is no need to despair, but you can return to the diet menu again, taking into account all the recommendations.

Basic rules for a protein day

To carry out unloading, you need to know what to eat on a protein day. The daily amount of pure protein is taken at the rate of 1 g per 1 kg of body weight. The weight of the product does not correspond to the volume of protein compounds, for example, 100 g of chicken meat includes 20 g of pure protein. If the weight of the person losing weight is 75-80 kg, you will have to eat 400 g of chicken per day.

The list of fasting day products is extensive:

• veal, turkey meat, beef;
• cottage cheese with fat content up to 2%;
• fermented milk drinks;
• eggs;
• Fish and seafood.

The above list gives you the opportunity to experiment with dishes. Food is stewed, baked, boiled, but you cannot fry, salt, or smoke.

Instead of animal proteins, you can use vegetable proteins (legumes), but they provoke flatulence and are difficult to digest. It is better to replace meat products with them in your regular diet.

When deciding what you can eat on a protein day, follow the recommendations:

• Eat every 2-3 hours.
• Eat protein foods an hour before bed. It stimulates the production of melatonin, a hormone necessary for burning fat. It is produced from 11 o'clock at night, so to lose weight you should not stay up late.
• Divide your daily diet into small portions weighing up to 200-250 g so that food is absorbed faster.
• Drink 2 liters per day to remove toxins.

If the diet is difficult to tolerate, you can eat 2-3 cucumbers per day, green onions, garlic and herbs.

To unload on squirrels, choose a day when you can stay at home, avoid worries and physical activity. In addition, the breakdown of protein releases ketone bodies, which cause bad breath.

Important! You can stick to a low-carbohydrate diet for up to 3 days. Then the body begins to burn muscle rather than fat tissue. Due to the large amount of toxins released, the liver, kidneys, heart, and bladder suffer. For chronic diseases of these organs, the protein day menu for weight loss is contraindicated for these people.

• Read on the topic: 10 eggs a day on a diet - benefit or harm

Contraindications

Protein days rich in amino acids and protein are not always beneficial. They promote weight loss if there are no listed contraindications:

• protein nutrition significantly reduces the level of calcium in the body, which can be critical for older people;
• high protein content in food negatively affects people suffering from kidney and liver diseases;
• Those who have serious problems with the stomach and intestines should not follow such a diet.

Protein for dinner or at night: is it possible or not?

Is it possible to eat proteins while actively losing weight at night? Protein foods are especially useful in this case. Night fat burning is an effective way to combat excess weight, but to start this process, two conditions are necessary:

• At night, the body should receive a minimum amount of energy. We all know that calories are constantly spent on breathing, sweating, sleeping, etc. Fat is a strategic reserve of energy that the body puts aside for a “rainy day.” But you can spend it every night. Protein foods require a lot of calories to digest, but provide minimal energy. By consuming protein at night, you force the body to work and spend energy.
• Sufficient production of growth hormone - somatotropin. It is this hormone that accelerates metabolic processes, slows down the formation of fat and promotes the rapid breakdown of deposited fat cells. Protein foods improve the production of growth hormone, which again confirms its effectiveness in losing weight.

Protein meals consumed in the evening should not contain fats or carbohydrates. Otherwise, the amount of energy received will be exceeded, which will hinder weight loss.

What can you eat?

Products for preparing dishes for protein weight loss should be taken from the recommended list:

• lean meat: beef, rabbit, veal;
• lean poultry: chicken, turkey;
• low-fat fish: pink salmon, chum salmon, cod, hake, pollock, blue whiting, pike, flounder;
• seafood: squid, shrimp, mussels, octopus;
• vegetables: except potatoes, beets;
• fruits are predominantly sour: kiwi, orange, lemon, grapefruit, apples, pineapples;
• mushrooms;
• legumes: beans, lentils, chickpeas, soybeans;
• dairy products with a low fat content: sour cream, kefir, fermented baked milk, milk, cottage cheese, bifidok, cheese, yogurt - they also should not contain sugar or foreign additives;
• eggs;
• unsweetened teas (green, black, herbal), coffee, still water.

Products

For a protein-carbohydrate diet, there are two lists that will help you create a menu and lose weight with maximum results. These are permitted and prohibited products.

Authorized products:

Squirrels

• Low-fat dairy products: cottage cheese, kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt without dyes, milk, yogurt, hard cheeses;
• lean fish: pink salmon, flounder, pollock, tuna;
• seafood: shrimp, squid, crabs;
• beef, rabbit;
• chicken, turkey without skin;
• legumes: lentils, beans, chickpeas;
• egg white;
• nuts.

Carbohydrates

• Bread, confectionery, baked goods;
• sweets: chocolate, halva, candy, refined sugar, honey, jam, jam;
• peas, beans;
• dried fruits: dates, raisins;
• pasta;
• all cereals: buckwheat, rice, oatmeal, pearl barley, millet;
• fruits;
• potato;
• pasta.

Prohibited products:

• high fat dairy products;
• vegetable oils;
• pork, lamb;
• sausages, sausages;
• margarine, butter;
• fatty fish: halibut, mackerel, herring, burbot, sturgeon, etc.;
• canned food;
• sausages;
• cream cakes, pastries;
• pizza, chips, french fries, fast food.

When creating a menu for a carbohydrate-protein diet, always keep these lists in front of you so that you don’t inadvertently eat a piece of cake on a carbohydrate day, considering it for regular baking, whereas these are fats that are prohibited. You also need to know the scheme - how exactly the days of separate and mixed nutrition alternate.

This is interesting! The protein-carbohydrate diet has gained particular popularity among athletes, for whom it is so important to keep their muscles toned.

Recipes

Recipes balanced in the amount of protein can form the basis of a menu and contribute to effective protein weight loss.

Chicken breast with orange

Remove the skin from the chicken fillet, rub with garlic, marinate for 30 minutes in honey with the addition of cumin and curry. Place on parchment paper, top with orange slices and grate cheese. Bake for 40 minutes at 160º C.

Omelette

Break 4 eggs into a bowl, add 100 ml of milk. Add chopped parsley and grated cheese there. Beat with a spoon or mixer. Pour into a heated frying pan.

Beans with egg

Pour green beans into a heated frying pan and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Pour in 2 raw eggs in a thin stream, stirring the beans constantly. Pepper and salt. Simmer for another 3 minutes.

Fish cutlets

Pass the pollock fillet through a meat grinder. Add half a finely chopped onion and a raw egg. Form cutlets, cook in a frying pan or bake in the oven. Serve with mustard, basil and natural yogurt sauce.

Diet plan

You must understand that there is no universal order for constructing days in this diet. It all depends on how well the body responds to the proposed nutritional option and how it feels. However, an approximate diagram can be noted:

1. increased amount of protein in the diet;
2. a sharp increase in carbohydrates by reducing protein;
3. yield, optimal ratio of protein and carbohydrates (you can take the ratio of 30/20/50 as a basis);
4. repetition.

On and after a carbohydrate day, a slight increase in weight is possible, since carbohydrates retain water in the body

For example, we make the first two days high-protein, on the third day we sharply reduce the amount of protein in the diet and increase carbohydrates, the fourth day is average. The scheme can also be 3/2/1 or 3/1/1.

To answer the question of how to plan a protein-carbohydrate diet for weight loss, the menu for every day will be the most comprehensive answer.

An example menu for a circle might look like this:

1 day

- protein.

• Breakfast
  - omelet
• First snack
  - cottage cheese
• Lunch
  - lean meat, chicken, steamed or boiled fish + vegetables, mostly green
• Second snack
  - scrambled eggs with one yolk
• Dinner
  - kefir, fermented baked milk.

Day 2

- protein, same products.

Day 3

- high carbohydrate.

• Breakfast
  - oatmeal or unsweetened muesli with honey or fruit
• First snack
  : fruit
• Lunch
  - buckwheat, pasta, rice, any boiled cereal, butter is allowed. Whole grain bread, vegetables.
• Second snack
  - fruit
• Dinner
  - egg + vegetables, or chicken breast + vegetables.

4 day

— averaged

• Breakfast
  - oatmeal porridge with milk, fruit.
• The first snack
  is cottage cheese with fruit.
• Lunch
  - lean meats, chicken, fish with cereals (buckwheat, rice), vegetable salad
• Second snack
  - fruit
• Dinner
  - scrambled eggs with vegetables, or boiled breast with vegetables.

Always drink plenty of clean, plain water without additives, it helps reduce appetite and helps the body cope with digestive processes more easily.

This is a sample menu to give you an idea. Protein products can be replaced or alternated. It is important to eat a lot of vegetables and greens every day, as they contain fiber, without which digestive difficulties can occur.

Menu options for every day

Many diets are based on the principles of losing weight on protein foods. Vivid examples are the Dukan and Malysheva diets. When compiling a menu for protein days, you can be guided by the proposed options.

On balls

When carrying out this type of fasting day, you cannot limit your diet to eggs alone. The best option is considered to be a supplement in the form of apples or grapefruit.

• Eggs should only be eaten boiled; salting or adding sauce to them is prohibited. You cannot fry, make omelettes or drink raw eggs.
• The daily quantity of eggs is 3 pieces, the same number of apples (or 2 grapefruits) is required.
• The specified diet should be evenly divided throughout the day, not forgetting to drink 2 liters of water.

On a chicken

The advantages of the chicken diet include satiety, variety of dishes and accessibility. The most gentle option is a combination of chicken and vegetables. The latter can be eaten raw or cooked; the most preferred in addition to poultry are zucchini, bell peppers, herbs, beets, carrots, cabbage, and tomatoes.

• The total amount of chicken meat is 1 kg. It is divided into 4-5 equal parts, which will make up each new meal.
• The chicken can be boiled or baked. In any case, the skin must be removed.
• The amount of salt is reduced to a minimum, oil is eliminated completely. When baking, it is recommended to use parchment.
• It is allowed to use spices, but remember that they whet the appetite.
• A variation of the chicken fasting day consists only of eating poultry. In this case, take the breast, boil it, do not salt it.
• You can prepare broth - a liter of chicken soup is also divided into 5 meals and supplemented with a large amount of liquid (herbal decoction, tea, water).
• It is allowed to replace chicken with turkey.

On fish

Fish fasting days are quite easily tolerated, excluding the feeling of hunger. In addition to losing weight, this diet option is beneficial for hypertensive patients and people suffering from atherosclerosis. It features a large variety of dishes available for consumption.

• You can only eat low-calorie, low-fat fish (mostly white varieties) - pike, flounder, hake, perch, pollock, blue whiting, crucian carp, herring, pike perch, cod, trout.
• The amount of salt in foods should be kept to a minimum.
• Fish can be boiled and baked.
• The total daily amount of fish is 1 kg. It is divided into 5 equal portions.

On meat

A meat fasting diet strengthens muscles, allowing you to lose fat mass. At the same time, the condition of the hair and skin does not suffer at all - they receive the necessary amount of nutrients.

• For meat fasting days, it is allowed to eat only lean meat (poultry, beef, rabbit, veal).
• Total quantity - 0.4 kg.
• Vegetables (0.3 kg) are also used as a supplement, from which it is preferable to prepare stews.
• Meat can be boiled, stewed or baked without adding salt or oil.
• The total amount of meat is divided into 5 equal portions. They need to be eaten throughout the day; vegetables are allowed only for lunch and dinner.
• Last meal no later than 19:00.

On cheese

Cheese days can be diluted with vegetables and a small amount of cottage cheese or kefir if hunger becomes difficult to control.

• For fasting days, only cheeses with a low fat content are suitable. These include tofu, chechil, mozzarella, ricotta and feta.
• The total amount of cheese product is 300 grams, divided into equal pieces, which are eaten throughout the day.

Protein and vegetable menu for 7 days

Protein-fruit menu for 3 days

To lose weight with the help of fruits and proteins, you need to give preference to low-calorie citrus fruits and not include bananas, grapes and plums in your diet.

Protein-fat days

The specificity of protein days supplemented with fatty foods is that weight loss occurs due to a lack of carbohydrates - incoming fats are spent on energy production, and subcutaneous fats are broken down.

During such weight loss, it is recommended to maintain a nutritional balance in terms of protein and fat: 2.5 grams of fat per 1 gram of protein.

You can diversify your diet these days by:

• fatty meat (pork, lamb),
• fattier fish (cod, mackerel, trout, salmon, tuna),
• various offal (kidneys, liver, stomachs, hearts).

Protein-carbohydrate alternation

Alternating protein and carbohydrate days is very effective for losing weight. Usually they are arranged every other day and are supplemented by a mixed day, but the duration of the cycle can increase.

2 days fast, 2 days protein

More rigorous weight loss involves the inclusion of fasting days. This diet follows the following scheme: 2 fast days - 2 protein days - 2 vegetable days. The first two days you need to limit yourself to 2 liters of kefir and a glass of tomato juice. The menu for protein days can be completed with dishes from the examples given, and vegetable days should contain the appropriate products, fresh or boiled.

1000 calorie menu

You can lose weight quickly if you significantly reduce the number of calories you consume. The presented menu is designed for 1000 kcal per day.

Curd fasting day

Weight loss may be limited to one day. Unloading in this case is based on the consumption of one product, supplemented with other acceptable components, but in small quantities. Cottage cheese is the most suitable protein ingredient to provide a complete protein relief.

For pregnant

Pregnant women are not recommended to lose weight on protein alone. It must be supplemented with a small amount of fiber (represented by cereals and vegetable components) and healthy fats. But a large share should still come from protein. Protein days as part of a well-structured diet help control weight without feeling hungry.

Sample menu for the day

You can control your water balance with clean, still water; you can also drink herbal teas and unsweetened compote of fresh berries or dried fruits.

Advice from nutritionists and trainers

To lose weight, it is best to combine alternating protein and carbohydrate days with exercise.

Note! Experts advise strictly adhering to a diet, alternating foods, and calculating the number of calories consumed and burned. You should not eat any other foods and drink at least 2 liters of clean water per day, this will speed up your metabolism.

To lose weight, it is best to combine alternating protein and carbohydrate days with exercise. Physical activity will help you quickly get rid of fat reserves, tighten muscles and tone sagging skin. Exercise also increases blood circulation, saturating tissues with oxygen. If all conditions are met, protein-carbohydrate alternation for weight loss can bring a stunning effect.

https://youtu.be/FuVkr9rl4r0

results

The effect of protein days is manifested primarily in immediate weight loss. A distinctive feature is that the muscle definition is preserved, they are outlined due to the reduction of fat mass. Combining a protein diet with exercise gives even more impressive results.

How much excess weight is lost?

According to reviews from those losing weight, a strict diet based on protein alone promotes rapid weight loss - up to 9 kg per month. More gentle options also give positive results - up to 5 kg per month.

Losing weight on proteins: how to properly organize a protein fasting day

A protein fasting day is recognized by nutritionists as one of the most nourishing and safest for the body: the main builder of tissues and cells, protein, is retained in the diet. The diet has many advantages, but for good results it is important to be able to properly plan your diet and prepare food correctly.
We'll tell you how to quickly, tasty and inexpensively get your figure in order in a couple of days.