Low carb diet - weekly menu with recipes

In pursuit of harmony, fit and harmonious figure, people begin to exercise and follow a healthy diet. The first problem to face is diet. Few people know that the problem lies in the excessive consumption of simple carbohydrates. And as soon as they study information in popular sources, without reading it to the end, they completely exclude carbohydrates from the diet. And here breakdowns, health problems, loss of strength and so on begin. Where is the balance and truth? Very near! Let's figure it out.

Over the past few years, there has been a dramatic change in ideas about why a person gains weight. The masses have realized that carbohydrates, not dietary fats, are converted into subcutaneous fat, and become one of the main causes of obesity.

For a long time, low-fat diets were the basis of weight loss methods, but the real sensation was made by a low-carbohydrate diet, which showed high results in losing excess weight. Studies have shown that simple and complex carbohydrates have different effects on the body. Excessive consumption of foods high in carbohydrates leads to excess weight.

In this article you will learn:

• what is a low-carbohydrate diet and how does fat burning occur;
• advantages and disadvantages of the method;
• what foods are present in the diet of a low-carbohydrate diet;
• interesting low-carb recipes for a complete menu.

What is the essence of the method of losing weight

Carbohydrates provide the body with the necessary amount of energy that is spent during the day on vital processes and during physical activity. A complete rejection of a macronutrient will lead to malfunctions in the functioning of functional systems, and a surplus of energy received will lead to an increase in fat stores. The diet of a low-carb diet includes slow (complex) carbohydrates that do not cause a strong jump in blood sugar and take longer to be converted into energy.

The essence of the method lies in the fact that from the first day of the diet for safe and effective weight loss, every day the amount of carbohydrates consumed decreases, and proteins increase. Thanks to this, the following processes are launched in the body:

1. Previously received energy is in short supply, which forces us to look for a new source.
2. Glycogen in the first 2-3 days of the diet becomes the main energy supplier.
3. Further, fats are broken down, synthesizing an additional source of energy - ketone.

Studies comparing the benefits of low-carb and low-fat diets for weight loss have shown that people who minimized the amount of carbohydrates lost more weight in 6 months than those who followed a low-fat diet.

With a low-carbohydrate diet, the subjects felt full after eating, as proteins and fats break down more slowly than carbohydrates. In addition, the increase in blood sugar and insulin production occurred gradually. This means that they did not have sharp bursts of energy, which are replaced by fatigue and a heightened sense of hunger.

Conclusion: the principle of the diet is biochemical processes that contribute to the burning of fat and the loss of extra pounds.

It is important to remember that during the diet, the fat layer is evenly reduced throughout the body, so it is impossible to locally reduce volumes.

Advantages and disadvantages

The low content of carbohydrates in the menu favorably affects the state of the body, normalizing digestion, increasing metabolic processes and rejuvenating.

Pros:

• there is no hunger on the diet, strength remains at the same level, there is no weakness;
• suitable for diabetics;
• suitable nutrition for men and women for the purpose of losing weight;
• suitable for low, medium and high activity levels;
• does not require a significant change in the calculations of the daily calorie requirement for weight loss, the indicators of proteins and carbohydrates change.

Reducing the amount of a macronutrient helps to lose weight and improve health, it is recommended for:

• overweight;
• intensive training;
• diabetes mellitus;
• hypertension;
• endocrine system disorders;
• oncological diseases.

The method has gained confidence among athletes and performing bodybuilders - this is a reliable opportunity to gain relief, reducing the percentage of subcutaneous fat and maintaining muscle mass.

However, the diet has its downsides:

• constipation – the reduction in fiber, which is associated with a reduction in carbohydrate intake, can lead to digestive problems;
• carbohydrate starvation can cause headache, irritability and nervousness;
• exacerbation of chronic diseases;
• increases the load on the liver;
• potassium and sodium are in short supply;
• carbohydrate deficiency reduces concentration, which is critical for people engaged in mental work;
• an increase in cholesterol levels due to a large number of animal products, which provokes the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system;

A low-carb diet is not on the list of methods that can be followed for several years, since a large list of prohibited foods creates additional stress for the body. Therefore, after several weeks or months of restrictions, a person returns to his usual diet again.

Balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates

The main source of protein on a low-carbohydrate diet is animal products: meat, poultry, offal, cottage cheese, eggs. For vegetarians, legumes and nuts are an alternative.

The ratio of BJU in the diet is within:

• Proteins 40-50%;
• Fats 30-35%;
• Carbohydrates 20-25%.

The opinion of dietitians

Nutritionists are wary of the method, because a low-carb diet (for a week or a month) implies the use of 50-70 g of a macronutrient per day. Deficiency leads to undesirable disorders with a number of side effects, like a surplus.

Doctors recommend giving preference to proper and balanced nutrition, controlling the intake of carbohydrate foods. Healthy eating habits combined with physical activity will help reduce the amount of body fat - the method cannot be attributed to express weight loss, but without harm to health.

Contraindications

Before you "go on a diet", you should consult a doctor, since a high content of protein foods is contraindicated for people with impaired metabolism (for example, urolithiasis, gout).

The fact is that with a normal diet, these metabolic disorders may not manifest themselves, which means that you may not even know that you have a disease. By changing the diet in the direction of increasing protein intake, you provoke the launch of a severe pathological mechanism in your body.

Excessive consumption of fatty foods is contraindicated in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (cholecystitis, pancreatitis, cholelithiasis, stomach ulcer, gastritis). Fatty foods provoke the intake of large amounts of cholesterol into the body, which can cause or accelerate the growth of atherosclerotic plaques.

The weight loss method is also not recommended:

• pregnant and lactating;
• persons under the age of 18;
• with cardiovascular diseases;
• at the time of exacerbation of chronic diseases.

Basic rules for a low carb diet

The method involves the use of a minimum portion of carbohydrates sufficient to maintain the body's work. For women, 2 grams per kilogram of weight is required, for men - 3 g. If the daily intake is 120-150 g, then for weight loss the figure gradually and gradually decreases to 50-70 g per day. Protein food becomes a substitute for an energy source and maintains muscle tone.

A low-carbohydrate diet lowers insulin levels, which suppresses appetite. Ketone bodies, coming from animal and vegetable proteins and fats, block the flow of information about the feeling of hunger.

Following a few principles will help you achieve your goals:

• exclude products with a high glycemic index from the diet;
• take additional vitamins and minerals;
• the preferred cooking method is stewing, boiling, grilling, steaming. Fry the ingredients without adding oil or with a small amount;
• do not skip meals and do not reduce calories;
• take out complex carbohydrates in the first half and before training, in the second - protein foods;
• be sure to have breakfast;
• observe the drinking regimen: at least 2 liters of clean liquid.

Do not forget that the correct calculation of the daily energy requirement for weight loss is the first step before starting any diet.

Approved Products

The list of products for maintaining a low-carb diet is extensive, which diversifies the menu and will not allow you to starve. It is important to study the information about the component using food calorie tables or on the label.

Table of allowed products

Diet implies certain restrictions. With the help of the table, you can get acquainted with products suitable for low-carbohydrate nutrition.

Product groups	Approved Products
Meat	Lean pork, veal and beef, poultry, offal
Fish and seafood	Sea fish: salmon, salmon, cod, mackerel, herring, tuna, halibut Seafood - no restrictions
Milk products	Cottage cheese, cheese, kefir, natural yogurt without additives - all with a low percentage of fat
Eggs	Chicken and quail
Vegetables, raw and canned	Everything except high starch vegetables: potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke, sweet potato
Mushrooms	No restrictions in any way
Fruits, berries	Citrus, green unsweetened apples
cereals	Long-cooked oatmeal, brown rice and buckwheat
Nuts and seeds	Without Borders
Oil	Vegetable unrefined
Sauces	Balsamic vinegar
Sweeteners	Free from sorbitol and fructose
Beverages	Coffee, tea - without added sugar, mineral water, vegetable juices

Prohibited Products

If your favorite product is not on the list of allowed ingredients, then most likely it is on the prohibited list:

• bakery and confectionery products;
• processed cereals (white rice, instant oatmeal, semolina), premium wheat pasta;
• potatoes, corn;
• semi-finished products, smoked products;
• food ingredients (mayonnaise, ketchups and sauces, except for soy);
• chocolate;
• sweet fruits (banana, grapes);
• sugar and sugar products;
• packaged juices, fruit drinks (due to the addition of sugar);
• soda;
• alcoholic drinks.

It is necessary to abandon the above products for the first time, and after 3-4 weeks, gradually introduce them back into the diet in small portions.

Sample menu for the week

At first glance, it seems that a low-carb diet is not very diverse, however, having prepared a menu for a week in advance, you can make sure that the diet is saturated.

Table: sample low-carb diet menu for 7 days

The table contains possible combinations of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, which can be taken as a basis and replaced with your favorite meal. Do not forget that it is important to correctly calculate the calorie content of the finished dish in order to comply with the daily energy intake. Alternation and repetition of products is possible.

Day	Breakfast	2nd breakfast	Dinner	afternoon tea	Dinner
1 day	Cottage cheese casserole without sugar + tomato/cucumber	Grapefruit	Brown rice porridge with vegetables	Kefir 1%	Steamed fish + coleslaw + bread
2 day	Scrambled or two-egg omelet + chicken	Fat-free cottage cheese	Mushroom soup with low-fat sour cream + bread	Kefir 1% with chopped cucumber and herbs	Boiled beef + cucumber and tomato salad
3 day	Stewed vegetables with grated cheese	Apple	Vegetable soup with chicken broth	Milk 1. 5%	Boiled breast + stewed cabbage
Day 4	Oatmeal with grated apple	Grapefruit	Buckwheat porridge + beetroot salad	Fat-free cottage cheese	Veal or chicken ragout with vegetables
Day 5	Cheese + boiled eggs	Apple	Boiled brown rice + seafood	Kefir 1%	Vegetable salad + lean beef steak
Day 6	Cheese + boiled egg + bread	Natural yoghurt without sugar 1. 5%	Baked meat + vegetable salad	Kiwi	Stewed vegetables + boiled fish
Day 7	Milk buckwheat porridge	Fat-free cottage cheese	Fish baked with vegetables	Kefir 1%	Baked breast + fresh vegetables and herbs

A long-term low-carb diet (from 30 days) should include a cheat meal or refeed to avoid slowing down the metabolism.

Getting out of the diet

A low-carbohydrate diet is effective and affordable, but after 2 months you need to return to your usual diet. The exit is made gradually in order to minimize stress for the body and not to return the previously lost kilograms.

Return to normal diet in 3-4 weeks:

• in the first and second weeks, the amount of fruits and vegetables (not containing starch) increases;
• the third week - reducing protein foods by adding cereals;
• the number of calories is also increasing every day.

What can be cooked during the period of weight loss - delicious recipes

A hypocarbohydrate diet is not a reason to limit yourself exclusively to chicken fillet. The list of allowed products is extensive, so you can cook time-tested dishes or fantasize based on the available ingredients.

Chicken fillet in a slow cooker

Recipe #1

Cooking method:

• Rinse the chicken fillet, remove excess fat. Cut into arbitrary pieces, sprinkle with salt and spices, place on the bottom of the multicooker bowl.
• Pour in water, add bay leaf.
• Cook for 1. 5 hours in the "Extinguishing" mode.

Total carbs: 0 g

Ingredients:

• chicken fillet - 250 g;
• water - 150 g;
• salt, ground pepper - to taste;
• bay leaf - 1 pc.

Veal with cheese in the oven

Recipe #2

Cooking method:

• Rinse the meat in cold water, cut lengthwise, beat off.
• Grease a baking sheet with oil, put the veal, pour milk.
• Send to the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
• Immediately after that, salt the meat, add salt and spices to taste.
• Cut the cheese into thin slices, spread evenly over the meat, return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Total carbs: 7. 7 g

Ingredients:

• veal shoulder - 400 g;
• cheese - 100 g;
• milk 1. 5% - 100 ml;
• vegetable oil - 20 ml;
• salt, pepper, spices - to taste.

Soup with oat bran

Recipe #3

Cooking method:

• Cut the turkey fillet into cubes, boil in 1 liter of water for 20 minutes.
• At the end, add chopped onion and bran.
• Hard boil an egg, cut into small pieces and add to the broth.
• Finely chop the greens, send to the soup.

Total carbs: 24 g

Ingredients:

• turkey fillet - 150 g;
• water - 1 l;
• onions - 60 g;
• egg - 58 g;
• oat bran - 25 g;
• chopped dill - 10 g;
• green onions - 5 g;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

Chinese cabbage salad with fruit

Recipe #4

Cooking method:

• Peel the orange from the peel, remove the white layers.
• Fruit cut into cubes.
• Chop Chinese cabbage and onion finely. Combine all ingredients.
• Add salt to taste to the salad, season with lemon juice, mix.

Total carbs: 16. 5 g

Ingredients:

• Chinese cabbage - 150 g;
• apple - 50 g;
• orange - 60 g;
• green onions - 5 g;
• lemon juice - 20 ml;
• salt - to taste.

squid salad

Recipe number 5

Cooking method:

• Hard boil two eggs, peel. Cut into medium cubes.
• Rinse the squid carcass, peel and entrails, dip in boiling water for 15-20 seconds, no more! Otherwise, they will become "rubber".
• Cut seafood into thin rings or strips.
• Cucumber cut into thin strips.
• Mix all ingredients.
• Dress the salad with juice and olive oil, mix.

Total carbohydrates: 3. 5 g.

Ingredients:

• chicken egg - 116 g (2 pcs. );
• squid - 150 g;
• cucumber - 70 g;
• lemon juice - 15 ml;
• olive oil - 15 ml.

White fish with vegetables

Recipe #6

Cooking method:

• Rinse the fish, remove the fins. Cut into medium pieces, rub with salt and pepper.
• Roughly chop vegetables.
• Spread all ingredients evenly on a baking sheet.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Total carbs: 8. 7 g

Ingredients:

• cod - 500 g;
• eggplant - 80 g;
• tomatoes - 120 g;
• pepper, salt.

Cheese soup

Recipe number 7

Cooking method:

• Boil the chicken fillet until tender, remove the meat and let it cool. Cut into medium pieces.
• Grate the cheese on a coarse grater, add to the broth, simmer over low heat for 20 minutes until a homogeneous consistency is obtained, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Spread chicken fillet in each serving. Decorate with greenery.

Ingredients:

• chicken fillet - 300 g;
• processed cheese - 100 g;
• water - 1. 5 l;
• salt, pepper - to taste;
• fresh herbs - to taste.

Milk dessert

Recipe number 8

Cooking method:

• Pour the milk into a deep form for whipping, put in the freezer until an ice crust forms.
• Pour gelatin with water, cook according to the instructions, add gelatin. Cool down.
• Take out the milk, beat with a submersible blender, pour in the gelatin and continue beating.
• Remove to freezer for 20 minutes.

Total carbs: 9. 9 g

Ingredients:

• milk 0. 5% - 200 ml;
• gelatin - 10 g;
• water - 40 ml;
• sweetener - to taste.

Salad with canned tuna

Recipe #9

Cooking method:

• Finely chop the onion into half rings, pour over the vinegar, mix and leave for 15 minutes. After draining excess liquid.
• Boil the egg hard boiled, grate with cheese on a coarse grater.
• Cut the cucumber into strips.
• If the tuna is too large, then mash the pieces with a fork.
• Mix all the ingredients, season with oil, add salt and pepper to taste.

Total carbs: 7. 5 g

Ingredients:

• canned tuna - 1 can, about 180 g;
• egg - 58 g;
• hard cheese - 100 g;
• cucumber - 100 g;
• onion - 40 g;
• vinegar - 5 ml;
• olive oil - 15 ml;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

Diet cutlets

Recipe number 10

Cooking method:

• Rinse all types of meat, dry on a paper towel, finely chop or chop with a blender / meat grinder.
• Onion cut into small cubes.
• Add the egg, onion, salt and spices to the minced meat. Mix thoroughly, form patties with wet hands.
• Steam for 20-30 minutes or fry in a non-stick pan without adding oil on both sides.

Total carbohydrates: 7 g.

Ingredients:

• beef shoulder - 200 g;
• lean pork - 400 g;
• chicken fillet - 250 g;
• onion - 60 g;
• chicken egg - 58 g;
• salt, spices - to taste.

Low carb Raffaello

Recipe #11

Cooking method:

• Curd must be dry. Grind a portion of cottage cheese with a sweetener through a sieve, add sour cream, mix.
• Dry the almonds in a hot non-stick frying pan for 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Blind a ball of cottage cheese, flatten, place one almond inside, roll into a ball.
• Roll the finished sweets in coconut flakes and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Total carbs: 28. 1 g

Ingredients:

• cottage cheese 1. 8% - 250 g;
• sour cream 10% - 40 g;
• raw almonds - 20 g;
• coconut flakes - 100 g;
• sweetener - to taste.

A low-carbohydrate diet is an effective method of losing weight with a varied menu. By following the recommendations, you can quickly achieve the desired results and not be afraid for the return of the lost weight after leaving the hypocarbohydrate regimen. Carefully study the contraindications, track your well-being and be healthy!