Choose a gradual and safe way to lose weight. We will tell you everything about a gentle diet for weight loss: the basic principles, allowed meals and menus per week.
How to safely lose weight? Many nutritionists believe that a gentle diet is a great way to lose weight. Principles, contraindications, benefits and menus of the week at home - all information is in the material.
There are many different weight loss diets for short sprint races.
A frugal diet for weight loss compared to them is a marathon, it can last more than six months, while the calorie restriction of food is quite serious. Before you start losing weight this way, be sure to contact your doctor and find out if you are really safe to eat using a gentle weight loss diet.
Gentle diet for weight loss: basic principles and contraindications
The gentle diet is divided into two main phases: the intensive phase and the repetitive phase.
The intensive phase lasts up to 6 months. During this time, you should limit your calorie intake to 1, 800 calories per day. As part of your diet, you focus on foods rich in protein. For example, poultry, fish, eggs, low-fat cheese and tofu. Oil and other salad dressings are not on the diet menu and the amount of carbohydrates is limited to 20 grams per day. Thus, in the beginning, almost every meal will have a certain amount of meat, mainly without additives or with additives in the form of certain vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower and others from the list of permitted foods).
In the second step, you can slowly add fats and carbohydrates and gradually reduce the amount of protein to 70-140 grams per day. The second stage lasts 6-8 weeks. Up to 45 grams of carbohydrates per day is allowed in the first month, and up to 90 grams in the second.
Talk to your doctor as you may need to take extra multivitamins, potassium, calcium, magnesium or sodium supplements in the first stage to protect your body from nutrient deficiencies. You should also monitor your condition, and if it worsens, such as reduced performance or dizziness, you should go to the next phase immediately or repeat or stop your diet accordingly.
Why is a gentle diet good for you?
A gentle diet is not only useful 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 gentle diet is not an ideal recipe for weight loss. Before you start, be sure to consult a specialist, because the diet has side effects. For example, it can lead to malnutrition in the body.
The diet is not suitable for:
- the elderly;
- lactating and pregnant women;
- for those with gallbladder problems;
- people with eating disorders;
- patients with chronic diseases.
Gentle diet for weight loss: menu per week
Allowed and taboo dishes
We have already described some foods that you can eat on a low weight loss diet. Detailed list of allowed products:
- poultry: chicken, turkey, goose, duck without skin;
- meat: lean meat, pork, lamb;
- fish: flounder, cod, catfish, halibut;
- vegetables: leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, celery, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, zucchini;
- low-fat dairy products: cottage cheese, low-fat cheese, skimmed milk;
- eggs and egg whites;
- tofu.
High levels of fat and carbohydrates are excluded from a frugal diet menu. Full list of taboo dishes:
- fruits: apples, berries, oranges, grapes, melons, pears, peaches;
- starchy vegetables: potatoes, corn, peas;
- grains: wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, millet;
- legumes: black beans, lentils, chickpeas, beans, peanuts;
- processed foods: groceries, 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;
- wholesome dairy products: yogurt, fat cheese, milk.
You need to eat gradually, in small portions, but often. This diet has three main meals a day and some snacks. Well suited as such:
- Ola;
- A slice of fried meat or fish;
- Cottage cheese;
- Low fat cheese slice;
- Several celery stalks;
- A handful of cooked vegetables from the whitelist;
- Tomato.
Do not forget 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 meals, as well as snacks to drink unsweetened green or black tea to drown out the possible feeling of hunger. A good option is mineral water or rosehip broth, herbal tea, of course, do not need to add sugar to these drinks and, in principle, refrain from sugar. The best way to prepare food is steaming, cooking, baking, you can use the microwave.
A gentle diet for safe weight loss: menus and meals that you can prepare at home
Monday
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach and tomatoes.
- Lunch: fried cod with steamed broccoli.
- Dinner: chicken breast with grilled Brussels sprouts.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: tofu with onions, garlic and Bulgarian pepper.
- Lunch: fried chicken with vegetables (without sauce).
- Dinner: pork chops with fried asparagus.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: egg omelette with zucchini, tomatoes and garlic.
- Lunch: fried cod with boiled cabbage.
- Dinner: salad of lean minced beef, mushrooms, garlic, ginger and green onions.
Thursday
- Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese.
- Lunch: low-carb turkey meatballs with zucchini and tomato noodles.
- Dinner: fried chicken with garlic and lemon (without garnish).
On Friday
- Breakfast: hard boiled eggs with salt and pepper.
- Lunch: fried tofu with steamed green beans.
- Dinner: grilled steak with oven-baked eggplant.
Repeat any Saturday and Sunday.
Do not forget about the limitations - in the intensive phase, the main part is made up of proteins, in the second - their amount decreases due to the increase in the amount of carbohydrates.
Gentle diet recipes
Chicken casserole with vegetables
Ingredients: chicken fillet, cauliflower, broccoli, eggs, low-fat cream, low-fat cream, cheese sprinkling, garlic, spices to taste.
Preparation: if the vegetables are frozen - thawed, if not - rinse in salt water, divide into inflorescences. Trim the chicken, mix it with vegetables in a baking dish, fill with sour cream diluted with warm water, put it in the oven for 20 minutes, temperature - 180 degrees. For the second pour, the cream is mixed with a portion of cheese, eggs, finely chopped garlic or passed through a garlic press, add spices, mix everything thoroughly. We remove the chicken with vegetables from the oven, fill it with freshly prepared filling, and distribute the rest of the cheese on top. We return everything to the oven for another 20 minutes.
Vegetable salad
Ingredients: low-fat cheese, celery stalks, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, greens, lemon juice.
Preparation: Wash the vegetables, cut them into a deep bowl, send finely chopped low-fat cheese, chopped celery stalks, greens or finely 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, greens, spices to taste.
Preparation: chop the meat with the onion, if desired, add the egg, salt, pepper, stir and make meatballs. Put the finished meat products in boiling water, add to them broccoli and cauliflower, previously divided into inflorescences (if you bought frozen vegetables, you do not need to thaw them beforehand), grated carrots on a fine grid - it will give a golden color to the broth, spices to taste. Cook until the cabbage and meatballs are ready, serving, decorate with greens. You can also add hard-boiled eggs to the soup - half on each plate.
Reviews of a gentle diet
Those who have tried this version of the gentle diet for weight loss say that it is quite difficult to follow - the restrictions are strong, the daily caloric intake may be insufficient for those who are accustomed to physical activity or long walks, fatigue, dizziness may occur - if itwill happen, the caloric content of the diet will have to be increased and then gradually reduced, taking into account the state of health and avoiding bigotry.
The dishes you can eat are delicious enough, but not too different, the most difficult thing for people is to give up bread and sweets and switch to vegetables as an additive. They also advise you not to neglect supplements and report a 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, must be very smooth, even after completing the second phase, foods from the banned list must be introduced very carefully, otherwise there is a risk that all efforts to lose weight will end up in waste. The fact is that the long-term metabolism required for this diet is restored, the body gets used to processing a certain amount of certain types of food, so the accumulation of excess fat can be a consequence of excess. It is best to move from this diet to a diet based on the recommendations of proper nutrition, in which case the probability of weight gain will be minimal, and there will be enough strength and energy.