The protein diet refers to the category of diet during which a person does not experience a constant feeling of hunger. It is also considered one of the classic ones, both popular and efficient diets contributing to weight loss. And I’m sure you’ve already heard of this diet. But if you’re still uncertain about what it’s all about, read this article!
Substantiated with scientific research, the basic principles of protein diet are as follows: exclusion of carbohydrates and consumption of protein-rich meals activate the process of fat burning. It is also believed that the protein calories are absorbed by the body and converted into energy as a whole while the calories coming to the gastrointestinal tract from carbohydrate foods are sent to the ‘reserve’ and cause a number of inconveniences such as fat.
Furthermore, protein digestion in the stomach takes a longer time, which means that the feeling of fullness persists for a long period of time.
How the ultimate high protein low carb diet plan goes
In general, as in any other restrictive diet, here everything is very individual and depends on the individual characteristics.
Standard protein cycling diet for weight loss consists of 4 three day-cycles. One should not abuse this diet and it is recommended to repeat it no earlier than in three months. All the rules are equal for both men and women.
You cannot eat:
- Bread, pastry, bakery
- All cereals
- All dairy products
- Sugar, sugar substitutes
- All fruits
- Alcohol and drinks, fruit teas
- Nuts, seeds, gum
- Beans
- Carrots, beets, potatoes, corn
- Marinated mushrooms, vegetables, sauerkraut
- Shrimp, squid, crab sticks
- Liver, pates
- Any meat, bacon, sausages
- Any fish
- Eggs
- Mushrooms
- All vegetables except of those listed above
- Water
- Coffee, black and green tea without sugar or its substitutes
- Olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper, garlic
It is advisable not to abuse:
- Boiled sausages (starch)
- Sweet cherry tomatoes (sugar)
- Zucchini, eggplants
Important!
- ! Dress the salads with either olive oil or lemon
- ! Fry in olive oil only, may be in the egg, but no breading.
- ! Eat at least 5 times a day. Even if you do not want–you must! The more you eat, the more you lose weight.
- ! Before each meal, drink a glass of water. You cannot drink during the meal and 30 minutes after it.
- ! You cannot eat after 8.00 p.m., but you can drink.
- ! It’s forbidden to follow the diet for more than 10 days!
- ! You can repeat the diet not earlier than in 2 months.
- ! If you stopped following the diet at some point – you can stop – the diet won’t work. You can take a 2-week break and try again.
Important recommendations:
- Drink! Very important! At least 2 liters! Before eating it’s ok, during and after – no-no!
- It is easier and more efficient to lose weight avoiding: grilled chicken, smoked sausage, salami and boiled sausage!
- Boiled, steamed and baked meat, fish and poultry – that’s what we need!
- Eggs are another story… – delicious but dangerous! So no more than three eggs a day.
- Seaweed, olives are excluded! (pickled, fermented vegetables, etc. – doesn’t matter, forbidden!)
- Take vitamins!
- And this is important! Meals: the proportion is 2: 1 protein, i.e., there should be twice more vegetables! If we put 200 grams of meat, there should be 100g of vegetables.
- Select these 10 days wisely (for no holidays to interfere).
- 5 meals a day reduce the weight much faster than 4 meals.
- Stop dieting very accurately, do not gorge on carbs, especially potatoes, cereals and flour, otherwise all 10 days will go down the drain.
Again, everything is individually! For someone these recommendations will be useful, while someone will add something of his/her own!
The main diet objectives:
- Switch your body’s metabolism from burning carbs as the most ‘convenient’ fuel to fat burning.
- The stabilization and maintaining a constant blood sugar level to avoid the hypoglycemia symptoms such as carbohydrate addiction, constant hunger, sleepiness during the day, etc.
- Getting rid of sweet cravings and other food addictions.
- Natural testosterone increasing for men, estrogen for women, and dopamine levels for all of us.
Take into account
- You should not eat more than 20 g of carbs per day.
- Do not track calories and the amount of food you eat. Instead, keep it limited to eating when you’re truly hungry and stop eating when you’re full.
- There are still strict limitations though. If a certain food is not included in the diet, it is recommended to avoid it completely. You’re not allowed to take even a small bite, since even a small amount of carbohydrate-rich foods cancels out the results of the diet.
- Basically, the diet consists of proteins, fats, and the combinations of them. Products containing protein-carbs or carbs-fat combinations should be EXCLUDED throughout the entire diet, since carbs are strictly forbidden.
mmmm…yummyyy
Consumption of the following products is almost unlimited:
- All kinds of meat – pork, bacon, beef, ham, mutton, dry sausages, etc. (always look at the packages and labels to avoid food carbohydrate fillers).
- All kinds of birds: chickens, geese, ducks, turkey, etc.
- All kinds of fish: salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, sardines, etc.
- Eggs cooked in various ways without carbohydrate supplementation: boiled, fried, omelet, etc.
- Vegetable salads: leaf lettuce, Chinese cabbage, celery, cucumber, chicory, radish, parsley, fennel, paprika.
Young shoots of germinated seeds – in small quantities. Mushrooms. Radish. Herbs for salads and cooking: fennel, ginger, thyme, oregano, pepper, cayenne pepper, tarragon, basil, rosemary, garlic.
For salad dressings, it is desirable to use olive oil and lemon juice.
Useful vegetables: fresh vegetables, the 100 g of which contain no more than 5 grams of carbs. These are cucumbers, tomatoes, white cabbage and cauliflower, zucchini, squash, eggplant, radishes, lettuce, spinach, asparagus, fennel, celery, green onions, chicory leaves, mushrooms, lemon, cranberry.
All these products can be included in every meal, depending on the taste, without calculating the nutritional value of carbs. (400 g per day safely!)
Suitable: fresh vegetables, 100 g of which contain 5–10 carbs. These are onions, radishes, turnips, parsley, and celery root. Without regard to carbohydrate amount it is allowed to eat up to 200 grams per day.
Forbidden and unwanted: fresh vegetables, 100 g of which contain more than 10 grams of carbs. These are carrots, beets, beans, potatoes, green peas. These vegetables should be consumed with calculation of the carbs content in the daily diet.
Ultimate high protein low carb diet plan
So, let’s sum it up. The food ration of protein diet is quite broad if you look at it closely. Many different protein-containing products are allowed. But to be more precise – these are only natural diet products that do not contain dyes, preservatives, excess salt and other substances.
But any processed products such as sausage, ham, and wieners should be excluded from the diet. Since poultry is considered particularly dietary and easy on the stomach, such dishes as grilled chicken (without skin), or turkey skewers are perfect for the diet. You can also eat any seafood. The main thing is that everything should be grilled, steamed or baked in the oven.
3-day sample menu can look as follows:
Protein diet Day 1
Breakfast: boiled egg, steamed chicken cutlet, tea / coffee;
Second breakfast: mixed herb salads with olive oil and lemon;
Lunch: grilled fish, salad of cabbage with cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs, tea / coffee;
Lunch: boiled meat, cauliflower in egg batter;
Dinner: vegetable salad and fresh mushrooms, beef broth.
Protein diet Day 2
Breakfast: baked chicken wings, spinach, tea / coffee;
Second breakfast: pumpkin soup (see recipe below).
Lunch: pork, stewed with mushrooms, cucumber and radish salad, tea / coffee;
Snack: asparagus salad with arugula and olive oil (see recipe below).
Dinner: steamed fish, mixed herb salads with greens, seasoned with lemon juice.
Protein diet Day 3
Breakfast: boiled chicken, slightly fried in olive oil, cucumber salad and Chinese cabbage, tea / coffee;
Lunch: lamb salad with fennel and parsley;
Lunch: spinach and watercress soup (recipe is below), a steamed fish cutlet, tea / coffee
Lunch: fried chicken with zucchini;
Dinner: meat, baked in foil, steamed vegetables, tea / coffee.
As you can see from the above example of protein diet, during the first three days the person is unlikely to experience any hunger pangs, rather he or she will forget what it is. This is the unique feature of this diet: you eat pretty much a lot, but lose weight.
However, be aware that the slightest deviation from the restricted list will reduce to zero the diet effectiveness immediately, and you can re-start it not earlier than in two weeks.
A 3-day cycle must be repeated. If you can and love cooking, it won’t be difficult to make an optimal diet. You can combine the products according to your taste and desire, but be sure the diet is quite diverse. Avoid salt. Canola oil, lemon and herb seasonings will be perfect for the lettuce salad.
Leave your comments on the diet, its results and your experiences with protein diets 🙂
