Diet without carbohydrates

foods for a carbohydrate-free diet

Among the many different weight loss systems, the carbohydrate-free method of weight loss holds a special place. It is also used by professional athletes for the so-called "drying". The main goal in this case is to get rid of subcutaneous fat and build muscle, providing them with beautiful relief. Before starting a diet, carefully study all the pros and cons, principles and contraindications.

The essence

As the name suggests, the carb-free program consists of reducing carbohydrates in the diet by focusing on fat and protein. Many other protein diets are based on the same rules: Ducan diet, Montignac, keto. According to reviews, subject to a carbohydrate-free diet, in two weeks the plumb line can be 5-10 kg, depending on the starting body weight.

However, it is impossible to completely abandon carbohydrates, they are necessary for the normal functioning of the digestive system and nervous system. After all, carbohydrates are a source of energy for the body, therefore, completely excluding them from the diet, very soon you will begin to feel periodic headaches, drowsiness, fatigue, mood swings, low concentration of attention and other "delights". Therefore, nutritionists recommend keeping 20-30 grams of carbohydrates in food per day. At the same time, low-GI products have an advantage.

What is GI

The glycemic index is the rate at which carbohydrates in food are absorbed by the body and increase blood sugar.

calculating the glycemic index for weight loss on a carbohydrate-free diet

The scale for measuring the glycemic index (abbreviated to GI) consists of 100 units. Consequently, 0 is the minimum value, i. e. products that contain no carbohydrates at all, and 100 is the maximum possible. Foods with a high GI very quickly saturate the blood with glucose, as a result of which the body is replenished with extra calories. If no additional energy is needed at this time, it is immediately converted into fat accumulations. This is how the body provides itself with a backup source of energy.

Remember: it's not high-GI foods that interfere with leanness, it's their uncontrolled use. Especially with an inactive lifestyle. For example, if you've just done strength training, fast carbohydrates will be helpful by stimulating muscle growth. And if you sit on the sofa and watch TV, sweets and pastries will only worsen your figure and health.

Note:the actual GI index may vary depending on the amount of food consumed, method of preparation, heat treatment, combination with other foods and other factors. The numbers, however, do not differ drastically: Brussels sprouts, for example, will still remain a low GI product (10-20 units), and the glycemic index of instant cereals will still be high.

High glycemic index foods (95-70)

These include:

  • White bread;
  • sandwiches;
  • Pancakes;
  • baked, boiled and mashed potatoes;
  • rice noodles;
  • instant porridge, including rice;
  • honey;
  • corn flakes;
  • sports drinks (PowerAde, Gatorade);
  • sweet pastries;
  • muesli with nuts and raisins;
  • pumpkin, watermelon and melon;
  • milk chocolate and chocolate bars;
  • carbonated drinks Pepsi and Coca-Cola;
  • Ravioli;
  • chips;
  • sugar.

Medium GI (65-55)

  • Wheat flour;
  • packaged juices;
  • preserves and jams;
  • rye bread and black yeast;
  • marmalade;
  • muesli with sugar;
  • baked potatoes;
  • raisins;
  • whole grain bread;
  • canned vegetables;
  • Cheese paste;
  • bananas;
  • sweet ice cream;
  • long grain rice;
  • Mayonnaise;
  • oatmeal;
  • buckwheat brown;
  • grapes and grape juice;
  • Ketchup;
  • spaghetti;
  • Scottish-butter biscuit.

Low GI (50-5)

  • Sweet potatoes (potatoes, sweet potatoes);
  • green buckwheat;
  • basmati rice;
  • unsweetened cranberry juice;
  • oranges, kiwis and mangoes;
  • unsweetened apple juice;
  • brown rice;
  • grapefruit;
  • Coconut;
  • freshly squeezed orange juice;
  • unsweetened carrot juice;
  • dried apricots and plums;
  • tomato juice;
  • different types of cabbage: cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, white cabbage;
  • nuts: peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts;
  • rhubarb;
  • tofu (tofu);
  • soy;
  • spinach;
  • vegetables: parsley, basil, oregano.

Important:even low-glycemic foods contain calories, so you'll need to count them. There is no direct relationship between the glycemic index and calorie content.

How does it work

To make glucose and other sources of energy, the body needs a substance called alanine. The body does not get enough carbohydrates, so it has to use "fat stores" to make alanine. In order not to reduce muscle mass, you need to eat protein foods.

Gradually lose weight, the body is cleansed and discharged. Strength and well-being are assured.

Note:alanine is an aliphatic amino acid that plays an important role in human energy metabolism. Due to the interaction of alanine with various biologically active compounds, other useful substances are formed in the body.

General principles

In order for the result to be quick and effective, we carefully observe all aspects of this nutritional system:

  1. Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. You will have to forget about the intermediate snacks.
  2. The norms of water drunk per day are 2-2, 5 liters. Drink water before meals and half an hour after, but not at the same time.
  3. Eat your last meal before seven or eight in the evening. If you are tormented by an intolerable feeling of hunger in the evening, trick your stomach with a glass of water and then go to bed.
  4. Take vitamin and mineral supplements.
  5. Gradually reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the menu: from the usual rate of 150-200 g, approach the minimum value - 20-30 grams.
  6. Eliminate from the diet bread, sugar, coffee, foods containing starch (potatoes, beets, corn), high glycemic index fruits, semi-finished products; food marked "diet" or fat-free, alcohol is also unacceptable.
  7. From vegetable fats, only a little nuts and olive or flaxseed oil are allowed.
  8. Frying is allowed, but always only in olive or linseed oil.
  9. Don't forget about the exercise. If you are completely unbearable to run in the morning or swim, console yourself with the fact that thanks to physical education, the skin will not sag after losing weight, and the muscles will acquire a beautiful shape.

Basis of the diet

Foods you can eat without restrictions:

  • meat (beef, veal, rabbit, turkey);
  • poultry eggs and offal (liver, tongue, heart);
  • fish and seafood (fillets of sea fish, shrimp, lobster, crab);
  • dairy products (cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, unsweetened yogurt);
  • berries, citrus and other fruits with a low glycemic index;
  • vegetables (cabbage, fresh peas and beans, leafy greens and vegetables);
  • Nuts and seeds.
protein foods for a carbohydrate-free diet

Advantages and disadvantages

professionals

  1. You can compose a menu to your taste from a variety of allowed products. Each day the diet will be different, which means that the diet is easily tolerated and painless.
  2. There is no need to waste time preparing special dishes.
  3. Acceptable dietary cost.
  4. Reliability, you will lose weight very fast.
  5. When limiting the use of carbohydrate foods in the body, ketones are produced, substances that accelerate the burning process of adipose tissue. Ketones reduce appetite, energize the brain and act as antidepressants.

versus

However, not everything is so rosy; a carbohydrate-free diet also has significant drawbacks.

  1. Due to the consumption of a large amount of protein foods, metabolic products overload the liver and kidneys. They work very intensively, which can lead to the development of chronic diseases.
  2. By refusing food containing carbohydrates, a person deprives his body of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, experts recommend taking vitamins and food supplements that have been proven to be effective.
  3. With a lack of carbohydrates in the body, ketone bodies are formed. They accumulate in the blood and then pass into the urine. People call this symptom "acetone in the urine", it indicates a violation of fat and carbohydrate metabolism.
  4. Often the body does not want to accept a carbohydrate-free diet, so a person has unpleasant symptoms: weakness, nausea, constipation or, conversely, diarrhea.
  5. Food rich in protein contains a lot of fat, so pay attention to your menu.

Menu

As mentioned above, this diet does not have a strict menu, you can compose it yourself.

For 7 days

omelette with cheese for a carbohydrate-free diet

Monday

  • Morning: omelette with cheese or an egg; unsweetened coffee or orange juice; diet loaf.
  • Day: vegetable soup with chicken broth; chicken with rice; a glass of kefir; instead of rice, you can use a vegetable salad with olive oil.
  • Evening: assorted cucumbers and tomatoes, dressed with lemon juice; low-fat cottage cheese; grapefruit.

Tuesday

  • Morning: low-fat yogurt; a piece of cheese; orange or apples.
  • Day: vegetable soup with beef broth; boiled veal; kefir or apple juice.
  • Evening: boiled cauliflower with mushrooms; boiled egg; compote of dried fruit.

Wednesday

  • Morning: oatmeal on the water; cottage cheese casserole; green tea.
  • Day: fish soup without potatoes; boiled fish; celery salad; coffee.
  • Evening: turkey meat with vegetables; tomato juice; Greek salad.

Thursday

  • Morning: scrambled eggs with tomatoes; apples; rosehip broth.
  • Day: cheese soup; boiled brisket with greens; Yogurt.
  • Evening: buckwheat polenta; boiled beef; fruit juice.

Friday

  • Morning: cottage cheese with sour cream; boiled egg; coffee without sugar.
  • Afternoon: vegetable soup with sorrel; fried fish in olive oil; green tea or berry juice.
  • Evening: cabbage salad; beef steak; herbal tea.

Saturday

  • Morning: 2 eggs; oatmeal and tea.
  • Day: potato-free chicken soup; millet polenta; Yogurt.
  • Evening: boiled fish; cucumber and tomato salad; rosehip broth.

Sunday

  • Morning: curd mousse and berries; Cooked apples.
  • Day: turkey borsch; cooked fish; tomato juice.
  • Evening: beef liver; steamed cauliflower; composed.

For 10 days

soft-boiled chicken egg for a carbohydrate-free diet

Day 1

  • Breakfast: two soft-boiled eggs; assorted cucumbers and tomatoes with the addition of Chinese cabbage (season with 1 teaspoon of olive oil); unsweetened coffee or rosehip broth.
  • Lunch: a slice of low-fat cheese and two lettuce leaves.
  • Lunch: grilled breast; radish salad and lettuce leaves; green tea.
  • Afternoon snack: a glass of kefir and a handful of berries.
  • Dinner: steamed lean fish fillet; baked eggplant or zucchini with cheese.

Day 2

  • Breakfast: a two-egg omelette with tomatoes; natural yogurt with fruit pieces; coffee without sugar and milk.
  • Lunch: a glass of kefir and an orange.
  • Lunch: fillet of flounder; vegetable stew made with tomatoes, courgettes, broccoli, leeks.
  • Afternoon snack: cucumber stuffed with grated cheese (45 gr. ).
  • Dinner: Grilled Beef Steak; spinach, rocket and avocado salad; carrot juice.

Day 3

  • Breakfast: a two-egg omelette with a tomato; two slices of celery and 45 g of grated cheese; rosehip broth.
  • Lunch: a glass of yogurt with berries or pieces of fruit.
  • Lunch: boiled mackerel fillet; broccoli, leek and tomato puree soup.
  • Afternoon snack: a glass of kefir with berries.
  • Dinner: grilled pork tenderloin; steamed cauliflower with the addition of 1 tsp. olive oil; herbal tea.

Day 4

  • Breakfast: natural yogurt with pieces of fruit; two soft-boiled eggs; green tea.
  • Lunch: two slices of celery and a slice of cheese.
  • Lunch: grilled tuna fillet; white cabbage, radish and cucumber salad.
  • Afternoon snack: a glass of kefir and a handful of berries.
  • Dinner: breast; Pancakes with zucchini; coffee.

Day 5

  • Breakfast: ricotta casserole with berries; herbal tea.
  • Lunch: a small portion of Caesar and chicken breast.
  • Lunch: halibut fillet; assorted white cabbage, cucumbers and radishes with olive oil.
  • Dinner: beef steak; baked asparagus, sprinkled with grated cheese.

Day 6

  • Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese with berries and green tea.
  • Lunch: Grilled breast and salsa salad.
  • Lunch: Salmon fillet and mushroom noodle soup.
  • Afternoon snack: two slices of celery and 45 g of low-fat cheese.
  • Dinner: Steamed breast and asparagus with grated cheese.

Day 7

  • Breakfast: an egg omelette with tomatoes and aromatic herbs; natural yogurt with fruit pieces; coffee.
  • Lunch: a small portion of Caesar topped with olive oil, lemon juice and spices.
  • Lunch: flounder fillets and baked cauliflower.
  • Afternoon snack: cheese and two slices of celery.
  • Dinner: brisket and a portion of Mexican guacamole salad and herbal tea.

From the eighth day we start again. In this version, it is allowed to drink a glass of skim milk or kefir at night.

Hard variety

This option is only suitable for highly motivated people with good health and strong willpower.

boiled fish for a carbohydrate-free diet
  • 1st day. Starting at 10, we eat a hard-boiled egg every two hours. Only 5 eggs a day.
  • 2nd. During the day, in small portions, 1 kg of cooked lean fish without salt is eaten.
  • 3rd. 2 boiled breasts without salt.
  • 4th. 5 boiled potatoes.
  • 5th. Half a kilo of boiled beef or veal.
  • 6th. 2 kg of any fruit, except bananas.
  • 7th. 2 kg of any vegetables except potatoes. Cooking method: cooking, steamed, grilled.
  • 8th. 1 kg of low-fat cottage cheese.
  • 9th. 2 liters of low-fat kefir.
  • tenth. We drink rosehip decoction all day.

For 14 days

cottage cheese for a carbohydrate-free diet

Day 1

  • Breakfast: two hard boiled eggs, unsweetened tea or coffee.
  • Snack: 100 g of low-fat cottage cheese.
  • Lunch: 200 g of boiled pollock, rosehip broth.
  • Afternoon snack: White cabbage and cucumber salad.
  • Dinner: 100 g of boiled pollock.

Day 2

  • Breakfast: oatmeal, eggs, green tea.
  • Snack: a glass of kefir or natural yogurt with berries or pieces of fruit.
  • Lunch: buckwheat polenta and grilled breast 100 g.
  • Afternoon snack: assorted cucumbers and tomatoes.
  • Dinner: boiled pollock 100 g.

Day 3

  • Breakfast: oatmeal, eggs, green tea.
  • Snack: green apple.
  • Lunch: a portion of brown rice and 100 g of chicken breast.
  • Afternoon snack: Curd casserole.
  • Dinner: Brussels sprout salad.

Day 4

  • Breakfast: a two-egg omelette. Sugar-free tea or coffee.
  • Snack: pollock or steamed breast 100 g.
  • Lunch: 200 g boiled pollock, baked vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, different types of cabbage).
  • Afternoon snack: assorted vegetables 200 g.
  • Dinner: grapefruit and apple juice.

Day 5

  • Breakfast: Oatmeal and hard boiled eggs.
  • Snack: vegetable salad, 50 g of low-fat cheese.
  • Lunch: boiled rice and brisket, vegetables 100 g.
  • Afternoon snack: low fat carrot and cottage cheese salad, 100g each.
  • Dinner: a green apple and unlimited cabbage.

Day 6

  • Breakfast: a two-egg omelette with a tomato.
  • Snack: vegetable salad 150 g or 100 g of cottage cheese.
  • Lunch: boiled rice and chicken breast.
  • Afternoon snack: carrot salad in oil and cabbage.
  • Dinner: 100 g of pollock and a glass of kefir.

Day 7

  • Breakfast: Oatmeal with hard-boiled eggs. Tea with a spoonful of honey.
  • Snack: apple or orange.
  • Lunch: 200 g of boiled beef and pearl barley porridge.
  • Afternoon snack: 100 g of ricotta.
  • Dinner: 200 g of vegetable salad with a slice of cheese.

Day 8

  • Breakfast: two boiled eggs, an apple, green tea.
  • Snack: orange.
  • Lunch: buckwheat porridge or rice with cod (150 g).
  • Afternoon snack: boiled breast 200 g.
  • Dinner: 200 g vegetable salad.

Day 9

  • Breakfast: a glass of kefir and an omelette.
  • Snack: cabbage salad with cucumber 200 g.
  • Lunch: boiled rice and brisket.
  • Afternoon snack: carrot salad.
  • Dinner: vegetable salad and a small grapefruit.

Day 10

  • Breakfast: oatmeal, eggs and tea with a spoonful of honey.
  • Snack: 100 g vegetable salad.
  • Lunch: a portion of rice, chicken cutlets with steamed onions.
  • Afternoon snack: a glass of natural yogurt.
  • Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese and green apple.

Day 11

  • Breakfast: two soft-boiled eggs, green tea or bitter coffee.
  • Snack: Orange and a handful of walnuts.
  • Lunch: 200 g of grilled fish.
  • Afternoon snack: tomato juice 200 g.
  • Dinner: 150g beef steak.

Day 12

  • Breakfast: oatmeal and eggs, coffee.
  • Snack: 50 g of low-fat cheese.
  • Lunch: 200g lentil soup, fish balls.
  • Dinner: banana and carrot juice.

Day 13

  • Breakfast: vegetable salad, coffee and a sandwich.
  • Snack: coleslaw.
  • Lunch: steamed fish pies and buckwheat polenta.
  • Afternoon snack: an apple and a glass of kefir.
  • Dinner: salmon steak, lettuce leaves.

Day 14

  • Breakfast: scrambled two eggs with a slice of bacon.
  • Snack: 50g cheese and two slices of celery.
  • Lunch: a portion of brown rice and boiled brisket.
  • Afternoon snack: 200 g of sour cream.
  • Dinner: vegetable stew and herbal decoction.

For one month

You can prepare a diet yourself for such a long time, observing the following recommendations:

boiled meat for a carbohydrate-free diet

First week (introductory). In the morning we eat complex carbohydrates, at snack and lunch - protein and complex carbohydrates 50/50, snack and dinner - protein foods. Sweet and starchy foods are completely excluded, but low glycemic index fruits and vegetables can be added. The goal of the first week is to prepare the body for a carbohydrate-free diet.

Second week. We eat the following: eggs (2 pieces per day), low-fat cottage cheese, 1% kefir, 0. 5% milk (one glass), boiled beef, skinless chicken breast (fat is concentrated in it ), boiled or baked sea fish, seafood, fresh vegetables: cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs (unlimited), apples and oranges (one a day until 14-00), for dinner you can eat 1 tbsp. a spoonful of bran.

Third week. Low-fat cottage cheese, eggs (2 - whole, 2 more - protein only), boiled brisket, boiled or baked sea fish, cucumber (one piece per day), herbs, bran, 1 tbsp. spoon three times a day.

Fourth week. 2 boiled chicken breasts a day, hard-boiled egg white (7-8 pieces a day), a bunch of parsley, bran.

What is drying?

This term has entered everyday life from fitness and bodybuilding. Athletes use it to burn fat while maintaining muscle mass.

a girl who lost weight on a carbohydrate diet

What do you need to know

  1. Even if you carry out drying according to all the rules, it is not safe at all. The kidneys and liver are overloaded, which causes weakness and lethargy, exacerbation of chronic diseases and malfunctions in the gastrointestinal tract.
  2. If you don't exercise, there will be no drying of fats, it will be a normal low calorie diet. You shouldn't expect miracles from her, but health problems are quite expected.
  3. Drying only makes sense if you have previously been involved in sports training and have the necessary muscle mass to shed the fat layer. If there are no pronounced muscles under the fat layer, it will be more effective for you to abandon flour, fatty and sweet foods.
  4. It's a long process and doesn't feel like a quick weight loss routine before the holidays. Short-term (to prepare for a competition) drying takes one to two weeks, and long-term (gradual) drying takes five to seven weeks. Only a gradual one will help to tighten the figure.
  5. It is held no more than twice a year.

Perfect drying performance

  1. Two weeks before the start of drying, it is necessary to support the liver. This will help you as hepatoprotectors - prophylactic agents that have a positive effect on the liver.
  2. During this period, the body should not experience any stress: travel, marriage, session, emergency at work. Therefore, carefully plan the drying period.
  3. Women are not advised to "dry" for more than a month and a half, otherwise hormonal disturbances will follow. At the end of the process, exit follows. In terms of durability, it is equal to the drying itself.
  4. Workouts during this period should be short but very intense. Cardio training should last no more than half an hour and strength training should last 45 minutes.
  5. The calorie content of the diet is only 300-350 calories less than usual. A low calorie menu (up to 1200 kcal per day) is only suitable if your weight is 55 kg or less before drying.
  6. Protein shakes and other dietary supplements are used in consultation with the trainer.

Nutritionists strongly warn: drying is not just a carbohydrate-free diet, it is too serious a process to do it yourself, at home. Experiments can adversely affect health.

Contraindications of a carbohydrate-free nutritional system

Before starting such a diet, you should consult with your doctor in the following cases:

  1. If you have recently undergone surgery.
  2. Have kidney, liver or gastrointestinal problems.
  3. You suffer from some kind of chronic illness.

Diet is strictly prohibited:

  • children under 18;
  • lactating and pregnant women;
  • with food allergy to protein products.

Carbohydrate recipes

To make your menu tasty and varied, we offer you some simple recipes.

Chicken meatballs with cheese

Take 0. 5 kg of chicken fillet and run through a meat grinder. A pinch of salt, pepper and two minced cloves of garlic enhance the flavor. Mix everything well. Beat in a raw egg. On a coarse grater grate 200 gr. hard cheese and resulting flakes are also added to the minced meat. Stir again. Brush a pan with olive oil and form small meatballs. Bake them in the oven at 200 ° C for 20 minutes. When they are golden, turn them to the other side. Serve hot, sprinkled with aromatic herbs.

chicken meatballs for a carb-free diet

Liver casserole

Take a pound of beef liver, rinse it thoroughly in cold water, grind it until puree using a meat grinder or blender. Finely chop an onion and 200 gr. champignons. Beat 4 egg whites. Add 2 tbsp. spoons of oat bran. Mix the whole mass well. Put in a mold, greased with olive oil and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes. When cooking, you can use sugar-free kebab dressing.

A casserole option without onions and mushrooms is also possible.

liver casserole for a carbohydrate-free diet

Light chicken salad

Boil 100gr. chicken fillet. Drain the broth, it will be useful for the soup. Take 50 g. lettuce leaves and cut into strips. Cut the finished fillet, cucumber, tomato and hard-boiled egg into cubes. Combine all the ingredients and add a drizzle of olive oil.

salad with vegetables and chicken for a carbohydrate-free diet

Baked mushrooms in eggs

Take half a kilo of fresh mushrooms, chop them finely, boil them in salted water and put them in a colander. When the liquid has drained, transfer the mushrooms to the pan and fry them a little in olive oil. Then transfer to a baking sheet and sprinkle with herbs. Salt and pepper to taste. With a spoon make two holes in the mass and pour in the raw eggs. Bake in the oven until the eggs are cooked.

mushrooms with eggs for a carbohydrate-free diet

Pumpkin pancakes

Take 200 g. pumpkin and grate. Beat a raw egg into the resulting mass. Add 4 tbsp. spoons of flour and a pinch of soda. Mix the pumpkin mixture until smooth. Form the pancakes and bake at 200 degrees. You can sprinkle them first with grated cheese. Instead of baking, pancakes can simply be fried.

pumpkin pancakes for a carbohydrate-free diet

Get out of the diet

How to get out of the diet correctly:

  1. Gradually return to your normal diet, adding new foods every week. For example, seven days after the end of a marathon, put pasta on the menu. Fourteen days later - starchy vegetables, after three weeks - cereals and so on. . .
  2. Continue to eat fractionally: in small portions several times a day. Nutritionists say 5 meals a day are much healthier than less frequent meals.
  3. Stick to the green plate rule. It looks like this: half is filled with green leafy greens and crunchy greens. A quarter plate: cereals - rice, bulgur, beans, and the second quarter: healthy protein foods about the size of a human palm - fish, chicken, beef, etc.
  4. The amount of carbohydrates consumed each day increases by only 30 grams. It's great if these are slow carbs.
  5. Don't forget about the exercise. You don't need to spend evenings at the gym, you can just walk briskly and do light exercises in the morning.
  6. Limit your fat intake.