A low-carb diet is very popular due to its effectiveness and lightness. It is based on the consumption of fats and proteins in sufficient quantities, and carbohydrates - in a minimum.
Although there are no serious difficulties in this, some people do not always manage to immediately transfer their bodies to another diet. This is especially true for those who did not adhere to any diets before and did not limit their nutrition in any way. But just four to five days after changing the daily menu, the body will no longer be in a stressful state, and health will improve significantly, because at that time the first results will already be visible.
The article presents photos, results and reviews on a low-carb diet, as well as the basic rules for observing it and a menu for several days. In fact, it is suitable for many people who want to lose about 10 kg or more excess weight. The main thing is to get together and not retreat from the goal.
Important points
A low-carb diet and other similar nutritional systems are used by men and women not only to reduce body weight, but also to accelerate the treatment of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Moreover, a low-carb diet is indicated for athletes who use a nutritional system such as drying. Such changes in nutrition make it possible for bodybuilders to quickly find relief. A low-carb diet for drying provides athletes with the desired results by reducing the amount of fat and increasing muscle mass (dry).
Carbohydrates are a fairly large class of chemical compounds. It includes both simple (monosaccharides) and complex (polysaccharides) carbohydrates. They have different effects on metabolic processes. For example, the former are quickly absorbed and broken down into fructose and glucose during metabolism. If there is an excess of them, then the "excess" amount is transformed into subcutaneous fat. Simple carbohydrates include:
- honey;
- sweet apples, pears and other fruits;
- jam;
- candy;
- flour products with lots of sugar.
As for polysaccharides, they are absorbed several times slower. In addition, these carbohydrates have a complex structure, as they consist of many monosaccharides. They break down in the intestines. Due to complex carbohydrates in the human body, the sugar content slowly rises, so it always receives a sufficient amount of energy. Products with polysaccharides are:
- dried fruits;
- White rice;
- bananas
- cereals;
- pasta.
A diet aimed at a limited intake of carbohydrates activates metabolic processes similar to starvation. They reorient to gluconeogenesis. With him, as you know, glucose appears from fatty acids, glycerol, amino acids, as well as pyruvic or lactic acid. First, during fasting, protein metabolism becomes stronger. It reaches a certain level and lasts for a month. After its use as a fuel for metabolic processes, it slows down significantly.
If you decide to lose weight on such a diet, you need to remember a simple rule - the consumption of a minimum amount of carbohydrates leads to insufficient intake of healthy minerals and vitamins.
Hypo-carbohydrate diet for weight loss
At the heart of a low-carb diet for men and women is a sharp restriction on the intake of foods high in simple carbohydrates. As for proteins and fats, they must enter the body every day in full, based on the physiological characteristics of losing weight and the goal. Along with this, it will be necessary to reduce the number of calories consumed to 1700 kcal per day.
Limit carbohydrates below 120 g is not worth it, as this can lead to exhaustion and serious stomach problems. This is allowed to be done exclusively for fasting days (no more than once every two weeks) and only to completely healthy people.
Diet involves the exclusion of sugar from the diet, but this does not mean that this product is the main cause of weight gain, unlike other carbohydrates. Its presence on the menu will not matter when losing weight in cases where the energy consumption is greater than the energy value of the diet. The choice of sources of carbohydrates should be based on the fact that products with their content are of high nutritional value, which means they can improve the intestinal microflora, eliminate cholesterol and toxins, and also activate the gastrointestinal motor function.
Products
A clear list of products in a low-carb diet must be present for every losing weight person. It will help to correctly draw up a diet for a period of weight loss, without harming health. To do this, it is important to know how many carbohydrates your favorite foods contain:
- drying - 58;
- milk chocolate without fillers - 62;
- green canned peas - 12;
- white sugar - 105;
- hazelnuts - 68;
- tomatoes - 4;
- bananas - 22;
- parsley - 10;
- sour cream - 3;
- apples - 10;
- cherry - 12;
- sweet pepper - 5.
Diet principles
A low-carb diet is based on the following principles:
- Meals with the highest carbohydrate content should be scheduled in the morning. Toward evening, it is worth giving preference to protein foods.
- You need to drink more than 1.5 liters of fluid per day.
- Food should be fractional. Snacks between main meals should not be done.
- Cooking is better with dietary culinary food processing methods. For example, they can be boiled, steamed, baked and stewed, but not fried in any case.
- It is possible to increase efficiency by fasting days once a week.
Fasting days
The last principle of a carbohydrate-free diet for losing weight attracts many overweight people, as it allows you to speed up the process of achieving the goal. But hoping for the prospect of dumping hated kilos in a short time, people completely forget about the rules for unloading. It is important to observe the calorie content, which varies from 500 to 700 kcal per day. In addition, this diet limits the amount of allowed foods, thereby bringing the body closer to a deficiency of essential nutrients. Because of these nuances, arranging such days is allowed no more than once a week.
There are many unloading options. The best diets are:
- Kefir-curd. Here you need to stock up 50 g of cottage cheese of minimal fat content, a glass of yogurt and two glasses of kefir. All this food needs to be divided into 5 receptions.
- Meat / fish. In this case, as 5 meals, you need to divide 70 grams of boiled fish or meat, 150 grams of tomatoes, cabbage and pepper.
- Cucumber. This day means eating 1.5 kg of fresh cucumbers.
- Salad. Here you will need to eat 5 times a day, 250 grams of raw vegetables, combined together and seasoned with a teaspoon of olive oil. The dish can be made from tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and herbs.
Diet for diabetes
A low-carb diet for diabetes is part of the healing process. Patients are assigned the famous table number 9. A modified diet implies a decrease in carbohydrates consumed daily to 3.5 g per 1 kg of body weight. In addition, 2500 kcal of food is required per day. The menu consists of simple carbohydrates (in the majority), proteins (about 100 g) and fats (up to 90 g). This applies to people who need to lose up to 10 kg of body weight. If excess weight exceeds this value, the daily calorie should be equal to 1700 kcal.
Low-carb diet according to Khayrullin
One of the most stringent diets is Khairullin's diet. Its main distinguishing feature is the fact that proteins and fats are not limited, but the amount of carbohydrates consumed is reduced to 8 g per day.
The course of weight loss is divided into four stages. Each of them can act as a separate diet, but together they allow you to achieve incredible results:
- Stimulation. This is a low-carb diet for 14 days, suggesting a decrease in carbohydrates in the menu to 10 g per day. The main goal here is the launch of ketosis. In this case, it is necessary to consume a copious amount of water (about three liters per day), as well as take dietary fiber and vitamin-mineral complexes.
- Continued weight loss. At this stage, the amount of carbohydrates in the daily diet should be increased by 5 g. Here, of course, the process of weight loss will slow down, but will not stop completely.
- Pre-maintenance. It is necessary to proceed to this stage only after only 5 kg is left to the final goal. In this case, the amount of carbohydrates increases by another 10 g. If you act according to this plan, then 1-2 kg per month will go away.
- Maintenance. The stage of maintaining weight begins immediately after reaching the goal. Here, food is produced at the level of consumption of carbohydrate-containing products, which does not lead to an increase in body weight.
What can I eat?
Positive reviews of those who have lost weight on a low-carb diet often come from a wide variety of allowed foods. The food is based on red varieties of meat and fish of low fat content. In addition, seafood, eggs, cereals and vegetable oil are allowed on the menu.
Mandatory dietary products are dairy and sour-milk products, as well as fiber-rich vegetables. Salads, soups and various delicacies can be prepared from them.
If desired, it is allowed to include walnuts, olives, flaxseeds and peanuts in the diet. Also, bran, boiled or baked potatoes, legumes and dark bread are sources of needed carbohydrates.
What should I limit consumption?
It is necessary to completely or partially exclude sugar, pastries, confectionery, preserves, dried fruits and condensed milk from the daily diet. Also, pasta, white bread, lard, fatty meat or fish, sweet juices, wines, bananas, grapes, beer, crackers and semolina will interfere with weight loss. It's better to forget about fried potatoes and eggs right away.
Menu options
A carbohydrate-free diet for weight loss involves the consumption of exclusively permitted foods. There are several diet options. Each of them can be designed for three days, a week or two weeks.
The first option involves 5 meals:
- Fat-free cottage cheese, baked potatoes in their own peel, and green or herbal tea without added sugar.
- Wheat soup with vegetables, fruit jelly, steamed meat cutlets and rice porridge.
- Apples baked with dried fruits.
- Boiled chicken, omelette cooked in a pan with cheese and fresh vegetables, fresh juice from plums without additional components (sugar, fructose, etc.).
- A glass of kefir.
The menu of a low-carb diet for a week can be like this (every day you have to eat the same food in five meals):
- Buckwheat, cottage cheese pancakes and coffee with a little milk.
- Borsch without the addition of a meat product (vegetarian), chicken casserole with vegetables and unsweetened compote.
- Low fat cottage cheese and tea.
- Lasagna, baked meat with vegetables, apple juice.
- Sour-milk drink.
You can also use another diet option. It also includes five meals:
- Green tea, eggplant, baked with garlic, and buckwheat.
- Lentil soup, stuffed cabbage stuffed with meat, compote with dried fruits, but without sugar.
- Soft-boiled eggs and seafood salad.
- Steamed or baked fish with vegetables, a large unsweetened apple, brown rice, boiled in water without salt.
- One and a half glasses of ryazhenka.
All these rations are not so difficult to withstand. If there is a desire, any goal will be achieved. Most importantly, you can eat this way after losing weight in order to maintain the result. The only change is that you need to double the amount of carbohydrates.
Some dishes can be replaced if desired. Fortunately, there are clear recipes for this diet. They help to diversify the diet and eat right, charging the body with energy and strength.
Recipes
Many slimming people use the popular recipes for a low-carb diet even after achieving a result on a limited diet. The ration of table No. 9 includes both first and second courses, and drinks. It will take no more than an hour and a half to cook, but the portion can be divided into several parts (days) and cook just a couple of times a week.
From the first dishes you can cook:
- Soup with beef meatballs and vegetables. The main components are: 500 g of beef, a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, a tablespoon of chopped carrots, broccoli, onions, one chicken egg protein and herbs to taste. First of all, you need to grind the meat into minced meat, and then add the crushed protein and other components (except cabbage and carrots). Having formed from the resulting mass of meatballs, they should be placed in the broth along with the remaining ingredients, put on fire and bring to a boil. After 20 minutes, the pan with soup can be removed and left to brew.
- Vegetarian borscht. Here you will need to take in equal quantities cabbage, carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, beets, tomato paste and to taste sour cream, vegetable oil, herbs and salt. Grind the vegetables, fry a little (except for potatoes) in oil and let cool. At this time, you should collect water in a saucepan and put it on fire. As soon as it boils, you need to pour potatoes there, and after 30 minutes - everything else. After boiling the dish you need no more than 15 minutes. When serving, it is recommended to dilute with sour cream.
As a second dish, chicken minced meat patties with greens and cheese are perfect. They are made from a small breast, crushed in a blender, two tablespoons of sour cream, eggs, bread soaked in milk, a small onion and 100 g of cheese grated on a fine grater. All components need to be joined together and cutlets formed. Then they will need to be placed in a special container and steamed for 20-30 minutes. Serve this dish best with herbs. In this case, it is not recommended to add sour cream, as in the end the cutlets will turn out to be too fat and it will be much more difficult to lose weight after eating them.
An excellent solution for drinks would be dried fruit compote. It can be made from different combinations of components. If you wish, you can use rose hips, nutmeg, fructose, cinnamon and ginger. To prepare, you will need to combine two glasses of dried fruit with 2.5 liters of water and citric acid at the tip of the knife. Then the pan must be put on fire, bring the contents to a boil and boil for twenty minutes. After the specified time, the compote should be removed and let it brew and cool a little, after which it will be immediately ready for use.
The advantages and disadvantages of the diet
Positive reviews about a carbohydrate-free diet for weight loss, as a rule, come thanks to obvious advantages. For example:
- food is not financially expensive, since about 1300 rubles are spent per week;
- cooking does not need to spend a lot of time and have any cooking skills;
- the diet is highly effective and allows you to achieve the desired results in a short time.
As with any diet, a low-carb diet has its drawbacks:
- the presence of contraindications;
- the body does not receive the necessary elements in sufficient quantities.
Contraindications
In most cases, people leave negative reviews about a low-carb diet due to contraindications. They prohibit changing the diet, as it can worsen a person’s health. Without considering it necessary to take into account these nuances, many losing weight become the owners of additional diseases, and the lost weight returns very quickly. Therefore, they believe that the diet is not effective, which is actually a serious misconception.
The main contraindications include:
- gout;
- renal or liver failure;
- ulcer;
- gastritis;
- daily activity above normal (heavy physical labor);
- infections with exacerbations;
- pregnancy;
- lactation period;
- senile age;
- atherosclerosis;
- colitis;
- problems with the cardiovascular system.
Reviews and results of a low-carb diet
Opinion on the effectiveness of the diet in losing weight diverge. Of course, everyone managed to lose weight, but in different quantities. Someone was lucky enough to get rid of 7-10 kg in just a week, while someone took only 2-3 kg. This is due to the fact that the individual characteristics of the body, the initial weight and other nuances affect the amount of lost weight. Therefore, before starting a diet, you should consult a doctor to understand whether this diet is suitable and what results can be expected from it.
In general, reviews of the low-carb diet have been positive. People claim that it really helps to get rid of extra pounds and teaches in the future to maintain the result. In addition, those who lose weight like the rules of nutrition, because they do not drastically limit it, but only make it slightly reduce the amount of consumed substances.
Most men and women who adhere to this diet respond positively to the low-carb diet menu for the week. They like it for its ease and speed of cooking.