Choose a gradual and safe way to lose weight. We will tell you all about a gentle diet for weight loss: basic principles, permitted foods and menus for the week.
How to lose weight safely? Many nutritionists believe that a sparing diet is a great option for weight loss. Principles, contraindications, benefits and menus for a week at home - all the details are in the material.
There are many different diets for weight loss, designed for short sprint races.
The frugal diet for weight loss compared to them is a marathon, it can last more than six months, while the reduction of calories in the diet is quite serious. Before you start losing weight in this way, be sure to contact your doctor and find out if it is really safe to eat on a gentle diet for weight loss.
Gentle diet for weight loss: basic principles and contraindications
The gentle diet is divided into two main phases: intensive phase and refase.
The intensive phase lasts up to 6 months. During this time, you should limit your calorie intake to 1, 800 calories a day. As part of your diet, you focus on protein-rich foods. For example, poultry, fish, eggs, low-fat cheese and tofu. Butter and other dressings for salads are excluded from the diet menu, and carbohydrates are limited to 20 grams per day. Thus, initially almost every meal will contain a certain amount of meat, mostly without garnish or with garnishes in the form of certain vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower and others from the list of permitted foods).
In the second step, you can slowly add fat and carbohydrates and gradually reduce the amount of protein to 70-140 grams per day. The second phase lasts 6-8 weeks. In the first month, up to 45 grams of carbohydrates per day are allowed, and in the second month - up to 90 grams.
Talk to your doctor, you may need to take extra multivitamins, potassium, calcium, magnesium or sodium during the first phase to protect your body from nutrient deficiencies. You should also monitor your condition and if it worsens, for example, performance decreases or dizziness begins - you should immediately move on to the next phase or, respectively, repeat or exit the diet.
Why is a gentle diet good for you?
A gentle diet is useful not only for weight loss. Additional benefits of a gentle diet:
- lowering cholesterol levels by up to 20%;
- normalization of blood sugar levels;
- lowering blood pressure;
- protection against metabolic syndrome.
Unfortunately, even a sparing diet is not an ideal recipe for weight loss. Before you start, be sure to consult a specialist, as diet has side effects. For example, this can cause nutritional deficiencies in the body.
The diet is not suitable:
- for the elderly;
- for breastfeeding and pregnant women;
- for those with gallbladder problems;
- for people with eating disorders;
- for patients with chronic diseases.
Gentle diet for weight loss: a menu for a week
Taboo foods are also allowed
We have already outlined some of the foods you can eat on a light weight loss diet. Detailed list of authorized products:
- poultry: skinless chicken, turkey, goose, duck;
- meat: lean meat, pork, lamb;
- fish: flounder, cod, catfish, flounder;
- vegetables: leafy vegetables, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, celery, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, zucchini;
- low-fat dairy products: cottage cheese, low-fat cheese, skim milk;
- eggs and egg whites;
- tofu.
Large amounts of fats and carbohydrates are excluded from the menu of a sparing diet. Full list of taboo foods:
- fruits: apples, fruits, oranges, grapes, melons, pears, peaches;
- starchy vegetables: potatoes, corn, peas;
- grain: wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, millet;
- legumes: black beans, lentils, chickpeas, beans, peanuts;
- processed foods: convenience foods, baked goods, potato chips, fast food, candy;
- sweet drinks: juice, sweet tea, sports drinks, soda;
- sugar and sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, table sugar, molasses, brown sugar;
- fats and oils: olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable oils, salad dressings, butter, margarine;
- whole milk products: yogurt, greasy cheese, milk.
You should eat little by little, in small portions, but often. This diet has three main meals a day and several snacks. Well suited as such:
- Egg;
- Slice of roasted meat or fish;
- Cottage cheese;
- Slice low-fat cheese;
- A few stalks of celery;
- A handful of cooked vegetables from the list of allowed;
- Tomato.
Remember to drink enough water, the daily norm is about one and a half to two liters, it is best to drink at least a glass half an hour or an hour before a meal, and also to drink unsweetened green or black tea as snacks to drown out any feeling ofhunger. A good option is mineral water or rosehip broth, herbal tea, of course, you do not need to add sugar to these drinks and in general you should refrain from sugar. The best way to cook food is to steam, boil, bake, you can use a microwave.
Gentle diet for safe weight loss: menus and dishes that you can prepare at home
Monday
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach and tomatoes.
- Lunch: fried cod with steamed broccoli.
- Dinner: grilled chicken breast with brussels sprouts.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: tofu with onions, garlic and peppers.
- Lunch: roasted chicken with vegetable garnish (without dressing).
- Dinner: pork chops with fried asparagus.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: egg omelette with zucchini, tomatoes and garlic.
- Lunch: roasted cod with boiled cabbage.
- Dinner: salad of lean beef, mushrooms, garlic, ginger and green onions.
Thursday
- Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese.
- Lunch: Turkey low carb meatballs with zucchini and tomato noodles.
- Dinner: fried chicken with garlic and lemon (without garnish).
Friday
- Breakfast: hard-boiled eggs with salt and pepper.
- Lunch: roasted tofu with stewed green beans.
- Dinner: grilled steak with baked aubergines.
Repeat one of the days on Saturday and Sunday.
Do not forget about the limitations - for the intensive phase the main part consists of proteins, for the second their amount decreases due to an increase in the amount of carbohydrates.
Gentle diet recipes
Chicken casserole with vegetables
Ingredients: chicken fillet, cauliflower, broccoli, eggs, low-fat sour cream, low-fat cream, sprinkle cheese, garlic, spices to taste.
Preparation: if the vegetables are frozen - thaw, if not - rinse in salted water, divide into inflorescences. Cut the chicken, mix it with vegetables in a baking dish, fill it with sour cream diluted with warm water, put it in the oven for 20 minutes, temperature - 180 degrees. For the second pour, mix the cream with some of the cheese, eggs, finely chopped garlic or passed through a garlic press, add spices, mix everything well. Remove the chicken with vegetables from the oven, fill it with freshly prepared stuffing, spread the remaining cheese on top. Return everything to the oven for another 20 minutes.
Vegetable salad
Ingredients: low-fat cheese, celery stalks, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, herbs, lemon juice.
Preparation: Wash the vegetables, cut them into a deep bowl, send finely chopped low-fat cheese, chopped celery stalks, herbs or chop them by hand. Add lemon juice and mix everything well.
Dietary soup with meatballs
Ingredients: turkey, chicken or rabbit fillet, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, eggs, herbs, spices to taste.
Preparation: grind the meat with onions, add the egg, salt, pepper if desired, stir and shape the meatballs. Put the finished meat products in boiling water, add to them broccoli and cauliflower, pre-divided into inflorescences (if you bought frozen vegetables, it is not necessary to defrost them in advance), grated carrots on a fine grater - this will give a golden color to the broth, spicesto taste. Cook until the cabbage and meatballs are ready, garnish with herbs when serving. You can also add a hard-boiled egg to the soup - half of each plate.
Reviews of a sparing diet
Those who try this version of a sparing diet for weight loss say that it is quite difficult to follow - the restrictions are strong, the daily amount of calories may not be enough for those who are accustomed to physical activity or long walks, fatigue, dizziness may occur -if this happens, the caloric content of the diet will have to increase and then decrease gradually, monitoring health and avoiding bigotry.
The foods you can eat are tasty enough, but not too varied, the hardest thing for people is to give up baked goods and pastries and switch to vegetables as a side dish. They also recommend that you do not ignore supplements and report the feeling of hunger that may accompany you at first, but then you will most likely get used to the new diet.
Leaving the diet, as warned by those who have tried it, should be very smooth, even after the end of the second phase, foods from the banned list should be introduced very carefully, otherwise there is a risk all efforts on the basis of weight losswill go to the wind. The fact is that for a long time the metabolism that this diet takes is restored, the body gets used to processing a certain amount of a certain type of food, therefore the accumulation of excess fat can be a consequence of excess. It is best to switch from this diet to a diet built in accordance with the recommendations for proper nutrition, in which case the likelihood of weight gain will be minimal and there will be enough strength and energy.