Choose a gradual and safe way to lose weight. We will tell you all about a gentle diet for weight loss: basic principles, allowed foods and menus of the week.
How to Lose Weight Safely? Many nutritionists believe that a light diet is a great option for losing weight. Principles, contraindications, benefits and menus for a week at home - all the details are in the material.
There are many different weight loss diets designed for short, "sprint" races.
In comparison with them, a sparing diet for weight loss is a marathon, it can last more than six months, the calorie restriction of food is quite serious. Before you start losing weight this way, be sure to talk to your doctor and find out if it's really safe for you to eat on a light diet system for weight loss.
Soft diet for weight loss: basic principles and contraindications
The gentle diet is divided into two main phases: an intense phase and a re-phase.
The intensive phase lasts up to 6 months. During this time, you should limit your calorie intake to 1800 calories per day. As part of your diet, you focus on protein-rich foods. For example, poultry, fish, eggs, low-fat cheese and tofu. Fat and other salad dressings were removed from the diet menu and carbohydrates were limited to 20 grams per day. Therefore, at the beginning, almost every meal will contain some meat, mostly with no side dishes or with side dishes in the form of certain vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and others from the list of allowed foods).
In the second step, you can gradually add fats and carbohydrates, gradually reducing the amount of protein to 70-140 grams per day. The second stage lasts 6-8 weeks. In the first month, up to 45 grams of carbohydrates are allowed per day, and in the second - up to 90 grams.
Talk to your doctor, you may need to take extra multivitamin, potassium, calcium, magnesium or sodium supplements in the first step to protect your body from nutrient deficiencies. You also need to monitor your condition, and if it worsens, for example, performance drops or dizziness begins - you need to immediately go to the next stage or repeat or stop the diet, respectively.
Why is a gentle diet good for you?
A gentle diet isn't just good 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 light diet is not an ideal recipe for weight loss. Always consult a specialist before starting, as diet has side effects. For example, it can cause nutritional deficiencies in the body.
Diet not suitable:
- for the elderly;
- for lactating and pregnant women;
- for those with gallbladder problems;
- for people with eating disorders;
- for patients with chronic diseases.
Soft diet for weight loss: a weekly menu
Allowed and taboo foods
We've already outlined some of the foods you can eat on a light weight loss diet. Detailed list of permitted products:
- poultry: skinless chicken, turkey, goose, duck;
- 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, skim milk;
- eggs and egg whites;
- bean curd.
A large amount of fat and carbohydrates is excluded from the menu of a sparing diet. Here is the full list of taboo foods:
- fruits: apples, strawberries, 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, confectionery;
- 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;
- full-fledged dairy products: yogurt, fatty cheese, milk.
You need to eat little by little, in small portions, but often. This diet includes three main meals and several snacks a day. It is very convenient as:
- Egg;
- A slice of cooked meat or fish;
- Cottage cheese;
- A slice of low-fat cheese;
- A few celery stalks;
- A handful of boiled vegetables from the allowed list;
- A 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 one glass half an hour or an hour before meals, as well as unsweetened green or black tea as a snack. suppress the possible feeling of hunger. A good option is mineral water or rosehip water, herbal tea, of course, you do not need to add sugar to these drinks, and in principle you need to stay away from sugar. The best way to cook is to steam, boil, bake in the oven, you can use the microwave.
A gentle diet for safe weight loss: menus and meals you can prepare at home
Monday
- Breakfast: spinach and tomato omelet.
- Lunch: fried cod with boiled broccoli.
- Dinner: Chicken breast with grilled Brussels sprouts.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: tofu with onions, garlic, and bell peppers.
- Lunch: baked chicken with vegetable garnish (not gravy).
- Dinner: Pork Chops with Fried Asparagus.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: egg omelet with zucchini, tomatoes and garlic.
- Lunch: baked cod with stewed cabbage.
- Dinner: a salad of lean ground beef, mushrooms, garlic, ginger and green onions.
Thursday
- Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese.
- Lunch: Low-carb turkey patties with zucchini and tomato noodles.
- Dinner: fried chicken with garlic and lemon (no side dish).
Friday
- Breakfast: boiled eggs with salt and pepper.
- Lunch: baked tofu with steamed green beans.
- Dinner: Grilled steak with oven-fried eggplant.
Repeat any day on Saturday and Sunday.
Do not forget about the limitations - for the intense stage, the main part consists of proteins, for the latter, 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 sour cream, low-fat cream, spread cheese, garlic, spices to taste.
Preparation: If the vegetables are frozen - defrost, if not - rinse in salted water, divide into inflorescences. Cut the chicken, mix with vegetables in a baking dish, fill with sour cream diluted with warm water, put in the oven for 20 minutes, temperature - 180 degrees. For the second pouring, pass the cream through a piece of cheese, egg, finely chopped garlic or garlic press, add spices, mix everything thoroughly. We take the chicken with vegetables out of the oven, fill it with the freshly prepared stuffing, distribute the remaining cheese on it. We return everything to the oven for another 20 minutes.
vegetable salad
Ingredients: low-fat cheese, celery stalk, tomato, cucumber, red onion, herbs, lemon juice.
Preparation: Wash the vegetables, chop into a deep bowl, send finely chopped low-fat cheese, chopped celery stalks, herbs or chop finely by hand. Add lemon juice and mix everything well.
Diet soup with meatballs
Ingredients: turkey, chicken or rabbit fillet, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, eggs, herbs, spices to taste.
Preparation: Mince the meat with onions, add the egg, salt, pepper if desired, mix and form the meatballs. Put the finished meat products in boiling water, add broccoli and cauliflower, previously divided into inflorescences (if you bought frozen vegetables, you do not need to defrost them in advance), grate the grated carrots on a fine grater - it will give the broth a golden color, spices to taste. Cook cabbage and meatballs until ready, garnish with herbs when serving. You can also add boiled eggs to the soup - half on each plate.
Reviews of a gentle diet
Those who have tried this version of a light diet for weight loss say that it is quite difficult to follow - the restrictions are strong, the amount of calories per day may be insufficient for those who are used to physical activity or long walks, fatigue, dizziness may appear - if this happens, then increasing the calorie content of the diet, followed by gradual It is necessary to reduce the number of people, to observe the state of health and to avoid fanaticism.
The food you can eat is tasty enough but not very diverse, the hardest thing for people is to abandon bakery products and sweets and switch to vegetables as side dishes. They also recommend that you do not neglect nutritional supplements and report the feeling of hunger that may accompany you at first, but then most likely get used to the new diet.
Exit from the diet, as those who have tried it, should be very smooth, even after the completion of the second stage, it should be very carefully introduced to foods from the prohibited list, otherwise there is a risk that all efforts on the diet will fail the basis of weight loss. The fact is that the long time this diet takes, the metabolism is rebuilt, the body gets used to processing a certain amount of a certain type of food, so excessive accumulation of fat can be the result of excess. It is best to switch from this diet to a diet formed according to the recommendations for proper nutrition, in this case the probability of gaining weight will be minimal, and there will be enough strength and energy.