Protein diets are back at their peak.
For decades now, they've been researched and widely used by those looking to lose weight, and the recently booming Ducan Diet has sparked a new surge of interest.
The essence of a protein diet is to limit the intake of fats and carbohydrates and replace them in the diet with protein foods. Protein diets are the most researched and scientifically proven to be effective, but like any resource limitation they have a number of disadvantages.
A protein diet can be low-carb or no-carb. Carbohydrate-free versions are used to quickly achieve results, but more often this is the first stage of a diet aimed at rebuilding the body's metabolism.
Protein diets include:
- The Atkins Diet, aka the Robert Atkins Nutrition System;
- The Ducan Diet, one of the most popular weight loss systems in the world;
- The Bunting Diet, historically the first protein diet, was published as early as 1864.
- Vitamin and protein diet.
More than a century of active research into low-carb diets has demonstrated the persistence of the results achieved with a protein diet and provided an explanation for its mechanism of action. The diet is based on the replacement of carbohydrates and fats with proteins. It has been proven that with dietary restrictions, the body replenishes the lack of substances not only by processing fat reserves, but also at the expense of muscle tissue. A large amount of protein allows you to compensate for the loss of muscle mass, because meat and dairy foods are the main source of protein for the body. The absence of fast carbohydrates in the menu and a small amount of slow ones with a complex structure make internal fat stores act as the main source of energy. But even the processing of protein food requires a lot of it. Thus, a large amount of protein in the diet triggers ketosis in the body, when protein breakdown products take up more space in metabolic processes, leading to a decrease in insulin levels in the blood, forcing the body to look for new sources of glucose, ketosis also affects the dulling of hunger attacks, most dietersdoes not experience it at all.
Distinctive features of a protein diet
- Lack of hunger due to a large amount of protein in the diet and regular meals.
- Frequent meals - two to two and a half hours pass between meals.
- Recommended for athletes looking to lose weight quickly.
- Gives fast and stable results.
- It is easy for people who do not know how to limit themselves in the diet and portion size, because the portions of protein food - meat, cottage cheese, fish - are large enough, and the menu is relatively diverse.
- The diet has been well researched.
- The need for more fluid, due to the increased load on the kidneys and the acceleration of metabolic processes.
- Contraindicated in people suffering from kidney disease, the elderly.
- Not suitable for the main diet, but allows you to return to it painlessly.
- Suitable for diabetics.
Following a protein diet provides weight loss of three to eight kilograms in two weeks.
Recipes include various types of lean meat, fish, or poultry cooked with little or no fat and salt.
An additional intake of vitamin complexes, an increase in water consumption, preferably mineral water, the absence of light carbohydrates and fat in the menu is necessary, alternation with carbohydrates in the form of non-starchy fruits: apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage is permissible. With a vitamin-protein diet, fruits and vegetables make up up to half of the meals.
The doctors' comments on the diet are positive, but it is not recommended to use it for a long time. The optimal time for fast weight loss for people who are not obese is two weeks.
Frequently asked questions about the protein diet
Do pregnant women need a protein diet?
No, and even contraindicated. Pregnancy requires careful monitoring of your diet and control over the intake of various substances necessary for the development of the fetus.
How long are protein diets?
From a week to a month, but the low-carb phase itself should not last longer than two weeks. The week is suitable for giving the body additional tone and easy weight adjustment.
Can you stick to a lighter version of the diet all the time?
Yes, and even follows, because the exclusion of a large amount of fats and "empty" carbohydrates from the diet already has a positive effect on the weight and condition of the body.
Are there any negative external effects from the diet?
Yes, those who follow a diet for too long notice a deterioration in the growth of hair, nails, dry skin, which is explained by the lack of vitamins, the problem is partially solved by taking complex vitamin preparations together with a spoonful of vegetable oil in the morning.
Summing up, we note that a huge number of users of a particular diet, especially the Ducan diet, as the most popular at the moment, often change the timing of various stages or impoverish the diet, striving to increase efficiency. But they do great harm to their health, because protein diets heavily load the kidneys, they should be adhered to for a short time, in most cases for about two weeks, and then only maintain the result with a healthy balanced diet. Severe restrictions must always be medically justified, and self-diagnosis and self-medication can only add new problems.
Adhering to a diet, it is important to feel comfortable, and having achieved a result, not to injure the body in pursuit of centimeters, but to fix it with physical activity and healthy food. Eat right, be healthy and beautiful!