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The protein diet is a clear favorite among diet plans to help you lose weight. However, in any discussion, stakeholders are inexorably at odds with two camps: some idolize the quick effect of a protein diet and the ease of adherence to it, others are full of skepticism about the possible health problems caused by high intake of protein. Everyone is right in their own way, but a protein diet can be a great tool for weight loss if you know how to use it.
The protein diet captivates with its variety! Valuable proteins that help load the body to capacity and make it spend the hated fat stored on the thighs are found in meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and even legumes and some vegetables. Considering that the appetite on a protein diet naturally decreases, you can finally approach losing weight calmly and even in a gourmand way.
Protein diet: who is in the lead?
No one will make a discovery by assuming that the main component of a protein diet is protein (simply put, protein). Protein is the most important macronutrient, that is, one of the main nutrients necessary for human life. Proteins are also called proteins, and, in turn, a number of polypeptides are proteins, since the alpha amino acids in the molecular composition are connected by a stable peptide bond.
In the cells of living things, the roles of proteins are extremely diverse. Enzyme proteins are responsible for biochemistry and metabolism; other types of proteins are used in the formation and maintenance of the integrity of the cytoskeleton (the “framework” of the cytoplasm in multicellular organisms).
Proteins are involved in immune responses, the exchange of data between cells and their division. Most proteins are “multi-lingual” – simultaneously provide benefits on different fronts of the body. The human body constantly needs many amino acids for development, growth and health, but not all of them are able to synthesize on their own. Therefore, protein food is so important: during digestion, proteins are fermented, turning into amino acids, which either are part of the human body’s own proteins, or break down further, releasing the energy necessary to continue life.
Insufficient intake of proteins with food causes various malfunctions in the work of internal organs: changes in the structure of the liver, hormonal levels, the cycle of functioning of the secretion organs. Protein deficiencies can also result in decreased performance, poor memory, persistent fatigue, heart pain, and arrhythmias. It is especially dangerous to abstain from protein at a high level of physical activity – the body has nowhere to take the material necessary to maintain muscles in order. In addition, a diet with a deliberately low protein content can negate the benefits of other macronutrients: with a lack of enzymes, a number of acids and vitamins are simply not absorbed.
A protein diet for quick weight loss involves obtaining proteins from two main sources – vegetable (soy, some types of cereals, for example, gluten-free pseudo-grains of quinoa, beans, nuts and seeds, lentils, mushrooms, berries, zucchini, lettuce, cauliflower) and animal ( milk and dairy products, eggs of chickens and ducks, meat, offal, fish and seafood).
In grams, the body’s daily protein requirement can be expressed as 1 g of protein = 1 kg of body weight.
This is an example of an averaged, balanced setting. However, the protein diet is based on the predominant use of protein-rich foods against the background of extremely low carbohydrate (carbohydrate) content in the menu. Such a diet structure reprograms metabolism to waste accumulated fat reserves and allows you to lose weight quickly and for a long time. How does this happen?
Protein diet: fat, your rainy day has come!
The protein diet was ranked by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition as one of the three longest lasting diets. At the same time, not a specific author’s or “word of mouth” nutrition plan was assessed, but the general principle of organizing the menu: a lot of protein, little carbohydrates.
Meat, eggs, offal are not in vain considered “heavy food”. Firstly, they are really able to quickly provide a feeling of satiety and, which is important when following a diet for weight loss, help to forget about the obsessive desire to chew something for a long time.
Secondly, protein digestion is not easy for the body. The complex molecular structure of proteins makes the processing “go with all stops”: in order for the body to use protein, it must be “split” into short amino acid chains, and those into individual amino acids. This requires enzymes, time and effort, which consumes a lot of energy.
An amazing fact: in order to assimilate protein, the body uses almost half of its caloric value!
Adhering to the “traditional” diet, a person gets fast and affordable energy from carbohydrates and fats. In the event that the intake of these macronutrients from food is sharply reduced, as happens on a protein diet for weight loss, the body is faced with the need to spend fat reserves set aside for a rainy day. Therefore, for a quick and radical weight correction, a protein diet is considered, undoubtedly, the most effective. This biological principle of metabolic change is used to explain the effect of his author’s nutritional plan, for example, by Dr. Osama Hamdiy, the developer of the chemical diet.
Almost all protein foods contain hidden fat, in addition, a diet completely free from carbohydrates is extremely dangerous for health – in a protein diet, the amount of carbohydrates is minimized as much as possible, but they are not completely excluded. In the Kremlin protein diet, the accounting of incoming carbohydrates is arranged according to a simple mathematical principle – each product is assigned its own carbohydrate index in points. To get a lot of protein and at the same time not to overdo it with carbohydrates, adherents of the Kremlin diet simply count these units throughout the day.
A modest amount of carbohydrates in terms of a protein diet for weight loss should not be avoided for another reason – if carbohydrates in small quantities come with protein, then their absorption naturally slows down. Therefore, a protein diet during the day evens out the total glycemic index of foods, helping to stabilize blood sugar levels. This makes it possible to avoid outbursts of hunger accompanying the use of fast carbohydrates and fats (it is especially easy to notice this effect in the example of sweets or fast food – easily digestible components are quickly transformed into glucose, which leads to the release of insulin and attacks of wolfish appetite after a seemingly hearty lunch in a diner ).
A comfortable feeling of satiety is one of the advantages that made the protein diet for weight loss so popular.
A striking example is the Atkins diet, which has amassed many followers, including among Hollywood stars. The duration of the “classic” protein diet, based on a strictly prescribed lean diet, should not exceed two or four weeks. However, if you understand and accept the basic principle of a protein diet and build your daily diet according to it, avoiding fast carbohydrates and preferring proteins, vegetables and fruits, a high protein diet turns into a lifestyle. The main thing is not to forget about the second important part of the protein diet, no less important than food itself.
Protein diet: movement is a must!
It is known that losing weight quickly is generally not difficult: you just need to stop eating. The harm of this advice is fully manifested when fasting in the name of harmony leads to drunken gluttony at the end of an exhausting diet and, as a result, a quick return of the lost weight with such suffering.
Strict diets (and this is almost half of all existing diets for weight loss), sharply restricting the use of any food, including protein, has one not obvious, but rather insidious effect. With a lack of proteins, muscles deprived of the “supply of building material” quickly succumb to dystrophic changes. This gives a short-term result in the form of weight loss, but in the long-term, it “loosens” the muscular corset so that it is simply not able to maintain good shape, and any weight loss does not lead to a beautiful toned body.
A protein diet allows you to avoid this risk – if you follow it, muscle mass gets practically no reason for suffering. However, another point is actualized: if a lot of protein is supplied from food, but the body is not subjected to sufficient and regular physical activity, excess proteins that are not required for muscle recovery begin to form nitrogenous compounds. The body does not need them, and it begins to actively remove them, overloading the kidneys.
Scientific studies have shown that the combination of a protein diet with a passive lifestyle leads to kidney edema, growth of the collagen membrane around the capillaries and acidification of urine. All these factors provoke the occurrence of urolithiasis. Therefore, doctors are sure: the use of a large amount of protein products must be combined with a sufficient intake of water, vegetables and fruits. They contain fluid, fiber, and other ingredients that promote digestion and detoxification to reduce the burden on the kidneys and minimize the risk of unpleasant “stones” and other diseases.
Any protein diet for weight loss must be accompanied by physical activity. Everyone chooses an activity to their liking – fitness, bodybuilding training, morning jogging, aerobic exercise during the day (simple walking). It is important that the muscles do not stand idle, and the kidneys do not groan under the pressure of urea. A protein diet combined with movement will make your body look really attractive, not just slim.
Protein Diet Menu: Protein-rich meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner
Protein breakfast options for inspiration
Grain cottage cheese with a spoonful of low-fat sour cream
Omelet
Boiled eggs
Scrambled eggs with ham
Boiled meat with whole grain bread
Kefir or milk, bran and nuts (almonds or pine nuts)
Cheese or ricotta with berries
Protein lunch: options for inspiration
Tofu with stewed vegetables
Steak and green salad
Grilled seafood
Lentil soup with vegetable broth
Turkey steaks with beans or beans
Quinoa with mushrooms
Grilled fish fillet with cucumber salad
Protein Dinner: Options for Inspiration
Apple or celery wedges with peanut butter
Yogurt with nuts and berries
Grilled chicken fillet with vegetable and hard cheese salad
Bean burger with vegetable salad
Falafel with lettuce