no carbohydrate diet

no-carb diet for weight loss

Excess weight in most cases is caused by an excessive supply of adipose tissue, which accumulates as a result of chemical transformations of carbohydrates entering the body. And although obesity is based on certain disruptions in the endocrine and digestive systems, the most comfortable andThe painless solution is to limit the source of excess calories in the process of everyday nutrition. By preventing or severely reducing access to the stomach of easily digestible carbohydrates using a carbohydrate-free diet, we automatically deplete the accumulated reserves. Trigger the burning reaction.

What is a no-carb diet

It is on the basis of carbohydrate-free diets that athletes lose extra pounds before competitions, artists on the eve of filming, and public figures when they need to get in shape. Athletes have a special term for such nutrition. Also happens. It is called "drying" - by removing carbohydrates from the diet, subcutaneous fat deposits are removed and the relief and elasticity of ligaments and muscles is improved. But for those with a sweet tooth, carbohydratesLife without is an ordeal, with those forced to radically change their taste preferences for quite a long time. It requires not only determination, but also a fair amount of patience and willpower.

There is also the other side of the coin - the complete rejection of carbohydrates in favor of protein products causes a condition that nutritionists call not entirely the correct term carbophobia (literally "fear of carbohydrates"). Avoiding pieces of sugar like crumbs or fire, not thinking about anything other than losing weight, sitting on "omelets and cutlets" for months, fans of carbohydrate-free diets inevitably end up with digestive and metabolic problems. "Earn". Some cases are fraught with disorders of the higher nervous system. activities, memory loss, depression and sociopathy.

Prolonged or persistent refusal of carbohydrates leads to a violation of the acid-base balance towards acidification of the body, which inevitably leads to a decrease in immunity and premature aging. A long-term low-carbohydrate dietSide effects are problems with intestines, kidneys, gout, arthritis and other diseases.

Below we will look at several examples of a carbohydrate-free diet and a scheme for its use, which allows you to normalize metabolic processes, get rid of excess weight and at the same time not go to extremes, pumping the body with proteins to capacity. Is. Far from harmless chemistry and energy of animal origin.

Biochemical and physiological basis of low carbohydrate diet

The decisive argument for a low-carbohydrate diet is the peculiarity of the body's reaction to the entry of even a small amount of sugar into the stomach. The pancreas immediately begins to release insulin into the blood and digestive enzymes into the stomach, which immediately increases appetite (that's why theysay that appetite comes from eating). As a result, when we eat foods rich in carbohydrates, we almost always eat more than we need. Protein foods do not have such a seductive effect on the "pancreas", hormones andThe production of enzymes is in working order, saturation occurs gradually and completely. Proteins are broken down longer in the gastrointestinal tract than carbohydrates, so the feeling of satiety lasts for several hours, and if youIf you eat three or four protein meals, there is no need for snacks.

Principle 250 kcal

Most likely, it will not be possible to completely abandon carbohydrates - simply because they are also fully included in protein dishes, albeit in minimal quantities. But this is not scary, the main thing is that "carbohydrates" kilocalories. Does not exceed the specified number.

A low-carbohydrate diet certainly requires willpower, but its use can be very disciplined. It is enough to remember a single number - 250. This is the number of energy units - calories, contained in the daily amount of carbohydrates entering the body. Of course, we have to carefully weigh all the dishes and calculate their energy value using special tables or notes on the restaurant menu. Will happen, but that's an almost unavoidable cost of any strict diet.

Carbohydrate mono-diet: effective, but monotonous

An ideal low-carbohydrate diet for guaranteed and quick weight loss involves different daily meals - on the first day of the diet you eat only chicken, on the second - only eggs, on the third - only cheese or cottage cheese. This helps in losing weight. The fastest, but also the most "tasteless" and dull way. Not everyone is ready for such sacrifices, so we will lose weight without fanaticism and combine business with pleasure - gastronomic pleasures with a healing effect, which promises tasty and healthy products based on animal and plant proteins.

By the way, the above mentioned vital 250 notorious carbohydrate kilocalories per day should also be obtained not from buns and sweets, but by including complex carbohydrates (longer to digest) in the diet - vegetables rich in starch, cereals, yeast-free whole grains. of bread.

Basic ingredients of a no-carb menu

Here is a list of protein foods intended for a protein diet:

  • Lean meat – chicken, turkey, rabbit, veal;
  • Offal – stewed heart and liver;
  • Duck, chicken, quail egg;
  • Marine fish fillets, crabs, shrimp, lobster, marine cephalopods;
  • Dairy products – kefir, yogurt, grain cottage cheese, low-fat sour cream and hard cheese;
  • Leafy vegetables (cabbage), artichokes, green peas, beans, zucchini, onions, garlic, garden herbs. You can eat mushrooms, but with caution, because mushroom proteins are different from animal proteins;
  • sour berries and fruits, as well as avocado;
  • nuts and seeds.

Meat and fish should be cooked by steaming, in the oven or at most on the grill, but in no case in a frying pan or deep-frying.

A proper diet does not include sausages, sausages and pates that contain a lot of dubious additives based on carbohydrates and transgenic fats.

When choosing food suppliers, you need to give preference to farms where meat and dairy animals are kept in comfortable conditions and do not get various growth hormones and antibiotics in their food. You should not trust the price tags in supermarkets. - If you are on a diet, carefully read the instructions on the packaging and study in advance the list of food additives, many of which are harmful to health, but are used in the manufacture of notorious. Healthy" products.

restricted carbohydrates

restricted carbohydrates

Now about the main thing for each diet - what is prohibited. On a low-carbohydrate diet, the following is prohibited:

  • Bread, except unleavened whole grains;
  • Everything made from flour – pasta, pizza, pies, khachapuri, cakes, pastries;
  • Chocolate and confectionery;
  • Sweet and sour fruits and berries;
  • Vegetables rich in starch (potatoes, carrots, corn, beets);
  • Semi-finished industrial products. No matter what manufacturers write on the packaging, they almost always contain carbohydrate additives and preservatives, and even genetically modified fats;
  • Fruit juices and carbonated drinks;
  • Alcohol in any form.

Confident meat eaters will find it difficult to resist a glass of red wine with their favorite steak, but here you have to choose: health or pleasure. Alcohol, in addition to its direct toxic effect on the body, is a powerful appetite stimulant and quite high-calorie. The product is also - the calories obtained with it can be safely added to the 250 kcal daily limit of the protein diet.

menu for 7 days

Low carbohydrate diet menu for a week

monday

  • Breakfast – Cheesecakes made from low-fat cottage cheese with bran.
  • Lunch – vegetable salad with herbs, 200 g chicken breast with herbs.
  • Breakfast – Orange.
  • Dinner – Turkey with 100 grams of boiled vegetables.

Tuesday

  • Breakfast – Omelet with vegetable salad or boiled vegetables. Black tea without sugar.
  • Lunch – vegetable cream soup with pieces of turkey or chicken.
  • Breakfast – Green apple.
  • Dinner – Salmon baked in the oven.

Wednesday

  • Breakfast – unsweetened muesli with milk and dried apricots or other dried fruits.
  • Lunch – Lentil soup with chicken breast.
  • Breakfast – Almonds or other nuts (a handful).
  • Dinner – salad of cherry tomatoes, arugula, canned tuna (1 can) and mozzarella.

Thursday

  • Breakfast – Oatmeal with water without sugar. One banana (can be chopped and added to the oatmeal).
  • Lunch – Vegetable soup with veal meatballs.
  • Breakfast – orange or grapefruit, a glass of citrus fruit juice.
  • Dinner – low-fat boiled fish.

Friday

  • Breakfast – a mixture of 1 banana, a glass of fresh or defrosted seedless cherries and a glass of milk. Mix in a blender.
  • Lunch – Chicken Pilaf 200 g.
  • Snack – green tea with a slice of hard cheese.
  • Dinner – Chicken or turkey with vegetable salad.

Saturday

  • Breakfast – Egg white omelette. Tea without sugar. 1 banana.
  • Lunch – 100 g boiled chicken breast with brown rice.
  • Breakfast – sandwich made of unleavened bread, soft cheese, ham, lettuce and chopped tomato.
  • Dinner – vegetable roast with meat. A glass of kefir or unsweetened drinking yogurt.

sunday

  • Breakfast – 1 hard-boiled egg. Diet bread with hard cheese.
  • Lunch – cream soup of champignons or wild mushrooms. You can add chopped turkey or chicken to the soup.
  • Breakfast – Orange, green apple or a handful of nuts.
  • Dinner – vegetable salad, 100 g oven-baked meat or fish.

Oatmeal for low carbohydrate diet

Oatmeal on water occupies a borderline position. When dieting without carbohydrates, it is recommended to include four types of cereals in the menu:

No. Name protein content carbohydrate content
1 Cereal Eleven% 68%
2 Pea 21% 50%
3 Oatmeal 12% 65%
4 Quinoa 14% 64%
Oatmeal is especially useful in the intervals between periods of active weight loss, when you need to restore the balance of fats, proteins and carbohydrates in the body.

A dubious option: keto diet In the United States, with its notorious fast food culture, a very popular type of carbohydrate-free diet is the ketogenic diet, which allows you to eat large amounts of not only proteins, but also animal fats. This scheme has both supporters and opponents. The main argument of the latter is the harm of fatty foods to the cardiovascular system due to the deposition of cholesterol on the walls of blood vessels. It is hard to disagree with this.

Diet timing and precautions

The effects of the diet begin to be seen after two to three weeks; With strict daily separate meals, you can lose weight within a week of switching to protein. Limiting quickly digestible food will almost inevitably lead to intestinal disorders - constipation, flatulence, whichCaused by a decrease in the amount of vegetable fiber. When eating a meat menu or eating fish and seafood, you should drink at least two liters of fluid a day, eat soups, and if you have persistent constipation, mild laxatives. Take. After a month, to avoid the development of persistent carbophobia, you should take a break of two to four weeks. This will restore the disturbed protein-carbohydrate balance and intestinal motility. When taking a break from dieting, you shouldTime should not go to waste: the diet must be balanced and strict, otherwise you will not only lose all your gains, but also gain excess fat deposits, and you will have to start the fight once again against excess weight.