Protein food for weight loss: list of products and recipes

A balanced diet plays a special role in human life, which consists of a properly composed daily diet containing the optimal amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. All these and many other components are vital for the full functioning of all organs. Each of the elements has its own characteristics: for example, for weight loss, amino acids are needed - structures that make up proteins. The body spends 30% more energy on their breakdown than on the breakdown of fats or carbohydrates. Thanks to such a large expenditure of calories, weight loss occurs.

Considering that it takes a lot of time to process and absorb protein foods (about 3-4 hours), then by including more proteins in the diet, we stay full longer. Therefore, eating foods rich in proteins is one of the indicators that you are on the right path to weight loss. Below we will share with you recipes for food for every day, talk about foods rich in proteins, but for now we will take a closer look at what protein is.

Importance for the body

Proteins perform a variety of functions:

• Structural (fibrin, collagen) – protein is the basis for building tissues and organs.
• Energy (prolamine) - energy released during the breakdown of proteins.
• Signal (glycoproteins) - proteins of cell membranes recognize substances coming from the outside.
• Contractile (myosin) – provide motor activity.
• Reserve - stores nutrients.
• Transport (hemoglobin) - participate in gas exchange.
• Regulatory (hormonal) - regulate chemical and physiological processes.
• Catalytic (enzymes) – accelerate chemical processes.

This list of functions makes it clear that the role of proteins for the body is, of course, great.

Flaw

Today, protein deficiency is a pressing problem for many people. For some, it occurs when losing excess weight, for others - when becoming a vegetarian, and for others - due to diseases of the digestive and endocrine systems. A mild degree of protein deficiency often does not manifest itself clinically, so in the hectic days we rarely associate rapid fatigue with a decrease in the concentration of proteins in the blood.

The consequences of a lack of protein foods are quite sad: children’s growth and mental development slows down, adults suffer from liver failure, hormonal and reproductive disorders, and the immune system noticeably malfunctions.

If your health worsens, contact a specialist, undergo the necessary tests and receive adequate treatment. To replenish protein in your diet, add the following foods:

• lean beef;
• legumes, nuts;
• dairy products, eggs.

Protein diet rules

The protein diet is designed in such a way that our daily menu consists mostly of proteins. But when preparing a diet for every day or for the whole week, you need to follow certain rules:

• Monitor the quality of the products. Canned food, smoked meats, and semi-finished products are also prohibited during the diet, although they can be classified as proteins. Fast food and other similar foods contain not only fast carbohydrates, but are also rich in animal fats and harmful additives.

• Give preference to lean types of meat and fish. This includes poultry, rabbit, ocean and sea fish. It is better to temporarily avoid fatty pork and beef, as well as offal. Meat rich in lipids takes longer to digest and puts more strain on the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys.
• Limit spices, preservatives, etc. With an abundance of protein foods, the kidneys are subject to greater stress than usual. Excess salt, spices, and flavor enhancers retain fluid and create additional difficulties for the excretory system.

As with other diets, remember to drink enough fluids and monitor your condition. If it begins to worsen, you should immediately stop the protein diet and consult a doctor.

Fast and slow proteins

Proteins are usually divided into fast and slow. This division is associated with different rates of their breakdown and absorption. Both types are equally important for the full functioning of the body.

Slow

From the name it is clear that the rate of absorption of these proteins is quite low. It takes about five to eight hours to completely process them. What are they needed for? They help the body cope with hunger for a long time, providing it with a large supply of energy. Slow-acting proteins are useful for those who want to lose weight.

These proteins work best if consumed in the evening. During a night's sleep, they are 100% completely processed. This approach will also help cope with the possible unbridled desire to eat something tasty and terribly high in calories.

Fast

Unlike slow proteins, fast proteins have an increased rate of digestion and absorption: only a few hours. Who needs them? Of course, athletes and people involved in hard physical work.

Nutritionists advise consuming them immediately before training and an hour after it.

How to combine them

The right combination of both types of proteins is necessary for good digestion. In this regard, the combined intake of egg whites and corn grits, beans, wheat flour and boiled potatoes works well. Dishes made from milk and rye, soy and millet are perfectly digestible. Slow and fast proteins are equally important for those who want to lose weight and those who want to gain weight. However, they will have a positive effect on people of both categories only if they comply with the daily norm, which we will talk about now.

Protein diet: pros and cons

The protein diet is popular due to its effectiveness - with its help you can achieve significant weight loss. At the same time, it suits many people. Among the advantages of this method:

• variety of foods consumed - you don’t need to give up everything, you can eat deliciously;
• absence of a constant feeling of hunger - you should eat small meals every 2-3 hours;
• rapid weight loss - the result appears almost immediately and can be maintained for a long time;
• loss of body weight due to your own fat – the body’s reserves are consumed without harm to health;
• Suitable for athletes and those who actively train - physical activity is an indispensable condition for protein nutrition.

Despite the many advantages, this method of weight loss also has several disadvantages. Commonly cited as the most serious are nutritional imbalances that can cause calcium to be leached from the bones. In addition, there may be other disadvantages:

• decreased cognitive abilities and concentration due to lack of carbohydrates;
• increased risk of thrombosis and similar diseases due to increased blood clotting;
• bad breath, the cause of which lies in the high level of ketones constantly present in the body.

Daily protein intake

The daily protein requirement for women is 58-87 grams, for men – 65-117 grams. But these are far from concrete numbers. After all, these indicators are influenced by several factors:

• body type;
• activity;
• nutrition;
• physical exercise.

Therefore, in each case the norm is calculated individually:

• Women - 58-87 grams. During pregnancy, the numbers increase one and a half times.
• Men - 65-117 grams. With good physical activity and an active lifestyle - up to 150 grams.
• Preschool children - 3 grams per 1 kilogram of body weight, school children - 2.5 grams per 1 kilogram of body weight.

To provide the body with the required daily protein intake, let's figure out which foods contain it in the greatest quantities.

Recommendations

To achieve a positive result and a light diet, you need to adhere to the following instructions:

1. Accurately calculate your daily protein intake. The smallest daily dose for adults is approximately 40 g. However, on average, protein intake should be 1 g per 1 kg of body weight with little physical activity. That is, a woman weighing 55 kg should consume at least 55 g of protein per day.
2. Consume at least 2 liters of fluid per day. This is due to proper nutrition, as well as in order to facilitate the functioning of the excretory system, which is overloaded with protein breakdown products. With a lack of water inside the body, the concentration of ammonia increases, which negatively affects the gastrointestinal tract.
3. Use of a complex of vitamins. To reduce the consequences for the body from an unbalanced diet, experts advise replenishing the required amount of vitamins and minerals thanks to synthetic vitamin complexes. After the diet, it is recommended to consume fish oil in order to improve the general condition of hair, nails and hormonal balance.
4. Physical exercise. One of the disadvantages of protein nutrition is a quick return to previous levels. To maximize retention and consolidate the finished result, you need to go in for sports.
5. The presence of a large amount of fiber in the menu. Heavy protein foods lead to a deterioration in intestinal motility, and consequently to a sudden increase in the number of harmful microorganisms. It is possible to reduce stress on the digestive tract and prevent constipation thanks to non-starchy vegetables and bran.

Protein nutrition is considered the most effective for reducing body weight. Thanks to numerous recipes, you can quickly and easily lose weight without feeling hungry. The diet may be varied and balanced, taking into account the individual characteristics of the body and personal preferences.

List of Protein Rich Foods

Knowledge of protein-containing products will help not only to regularly replenish the daily protein intake, but also to correctly combine them with each other. So, the undisputed leaders in protein content are meat, eggs, dairy products and cereals.

Meat proteins

Meat is a storehouse of protein. It contains 20 amino acids, 8 of which the body cannot synthesize on its own. That's why they are called irreplaceable.

The largest amount of protein contains: veal, beef, horse meat, and venison. A lower protein content is found in turkey and chicken. Meat is well absorbed by the body. It is also important that it is digested slowly, so the feeling of fullness lasts longer than after eating dairy, vegetable or fish dishes.

Fish and seafood proteins

Fish is another source of easily digestible protein. The species that contain the largest amounts of it include salmon, herring, flounder, trout and tuna.

Table of protein content in fish

Milk proteins

The name speaks for itself - this is a type of protein that makes up all dairy products. The largest amount is found in cottage cheese, cheese, milk, and kefir.

The situation with milk proteins is a little more complicated than with meat and fish proteins. To break them down, a special enzyme is needed - renin. And it is produced only in children, so only in them is it possible to completely break down casein (this is a milk protein). But what about being an adult? In this case, nature has endowed the human body with another enzyme - pepsin. Although even with its help, the breakdown of casein is not complete.

Cereals

In cereals, protein occupies from 7 to 14% of the total mass. Basically, it is represented here by gluten (gluten). Gluten is made up of a series of amino acids. As for the highest protein content, buckwheat is the leader here.

Lyrical introduction

The protein diet is one of the most popular among those who want to lose weight. This is explained simply - proteins are extremely beneficial for our body.

They participate in the structure of the cell, metabolism, transportation of these same substances and in many other vital processes.

Fat fighter

The main, so to speak, direction of their activity when losing weight is achieving ketosis, a state when the process of fat breakdown starts.

It is achieved by sitting on proteins by limiting the intake of carbohydrates into the body, from which energy usually comes.

Since there are not enough carbohydrates, fats are used - they store a “strategic reserve” of energy, glycogen, in which excess glucose is hidden.

As a result, energy is obtained by breaking down fats, they are burned, and the muscles remain in place - after all, there is plenty of protein in the body from such diets, and even beyond measure.

This is why protein is included with such pleasure in all sorts of weight loss menus, some of which I talked about in my article “How to lose weight in 14 days on a protein diet.”

Dark side

There is, however, another side to the process - excess protein can lead to problems. It is not for nothing that nature has established a balance in the flow of all useful substances into the body, and if a imbalance occurs somewhere, then negative consequences are quite likely.

I spoke in detail about what is good and what is bad in such a diet in the article “Protein products as a way to lose weight - pros and cons”, and also looked into how it affects our body in the article “How does a diet work on losing weight high protein?

Here I just want to remind you that excess protein can lead to problems with the kidneys, liver, pancreas and other negative consequences (it is impossible to predict, because the state of the body is different for everyone).

If you decide to get hooked on a protein menu, consult your doctor first to see if this will result in undesirable effects.

Not just meat

I would like to remind you that proteins are not only meat, milk, cottage cheese and other foods of animal origin. When going on a protein diet, think about the fact that a considerable amount of protein is also found in plant foods.

Legumes, nuts, quinoa, green vegetables, herbs, soy products (milk, tofu) - all this can become the basis for delicious dishes that will bring only one benefit. What kind and how to prepare them? This will also be discussed in my article.

Without rules - nowhere

As we strive to lose weight, it is a good idea to follow rules that will help us do this. Namely:

You need to steam, stew, bake, in a slow cooker and microwave, but if possible, do not fry or fry lightly with a small amount of fat.

You should limit the intake of fats and carbohydrates, but not go to extremes - both should be present in recipes.

If you intend to cook exclusively protein foods for a long time, remember that it is not recommended to skew your diet; it is best if your weight loss in this way does not take more than two weeks.

It is better not to eat anything before going to bed. Otherwise, undigested food will ferment in your stomach all night. Better drink a glass of water.

Well, now let’s start preparing protein and the most balanced dishes.

Protein Digestibility

We talked about the benefits of protein. The topic of its digestibility was also touched upon a little when they said that the process of digesting the same casein is quite difficult in adults due to the lack of an enzyme that breaks it down. Therefore, it is better to replace milk with fermented milk products, and vegetable proteins with animal proteins. Take a look at the protein digestibility table in percentage terms:

In addition to the cooking method, the process of protein digestion is influenced by the state of the digestive system and diet. Numerous studies have proven that it is best to combine meat with vegetables, then the absorption process will be more complete. Also, protein digestion occurs best with frequent meals - 5-6 times a day. Experts do not recommend eating less often.

Authorized Products

Sample daily menu

When choosing dishes for your daily diet, take into account your taste preferences: it is not at all necessary to strictly follow the proposed menu, you can swap dishes and experiment with ingredients. But at the same time, do not forget to comply with the daily protein intake and the total serving size.

Try to eat often, but in small portions. In the afternoon, experts recommend combining proteins only with vegetables that do not contain starch.

Here’s a short excursion into how to create a daily menu. We did not clearly describe the diet, but only provided different options: create a menu of dishes that you like.

Examples of various combinations:

• 1 meal (breakfast) - cottage cheese, yogurt, kefir with oatmeal cookies or chicken proteins. For drinks, you can use tea or coffee without sugar.
• Meal 2 – apple, grapefruit or orange.
• 3rd meal (lunch) - boiled turkey or chicken breast, stewed beef, vegetable soups or stewed vegetables.
• 4th meal - kefir, yogurt or cottage cheese.
• 5th meal (dinner) - boiled or stewed beef, fish or vegetable salads. Are you convinced that protein foods can be tasty?

As a snack, nutritionists allow the use of a protein shake, drink or bars, which are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. There are special companies involved in their production. Products can be ordered at home via the Internet, having previously read reviews about a specific manufacturer.

What to remember

• Protein dishes are healthy food in all respects, which, moreover, satisfies the feeling of hunger for a long time.
• Most importantly, when preparing them, try to keep your food balanced, and do not completely give up fats and carbohydrates.
• If you intend to strictly adhere to a protein diet, it is not recommended to stay on it for more than two weeks to avoid health problems.

With that, I say goodbye to you for today. See you again!

How to compensate for the lack of protein for vegetarians

Vegetarianism is a food system whose benefits are still controversial to this day. After all, in any case, a healthy diet should be balanced in all nutrients, which means including protein. But what if meat, the main source of protein, is something someone “shouldn’t” eat? Experts assure that some herbal products will be an excellent alternative:

• soy;
• legumes;
• nuts.

Also among the plant sources of high protein is corn. It is rich in fatty oils, mineral salts and selenium.

Expert opinion

Don't assume that getting back and staying slim is just a matter of eating the right amounts of different proteins every day. This is certainly important, but it is only part of proper nutrition. And not the most significant one. The formation of healthy eating behavior includes returning to normal consumption of not only proteins, but also carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, microelements, clean water, and other liquids, and calories. Complying with these standards is not easy: it will require willpower, discipline, and perseverance in achieving goals. However, modern progressive techniques for losing and maintaining weight allow you to stay slim by making proper nutrition a regular habit, thus minimizing any effort and restrictions.

How to switch to a protein diet

To make the transition to protein nutrition as comfortable as possible and give the maximum weight loss effect, you need to switch to the diet gradually. It’s worth starting to gradually give up carbohydrates 2-3 weeks in advance, limiting sweets and starchy foods. This is especially true for those who love sweets. If you suddenly exclude them from the menu, there is a high risk of failure.

1-2 days before starting a protein diet, you need to gradually eliminate other foods, switching to the planned diet. During the restriction, it is imperative to monitor your condition. This applies not only to weight, but also to well-being. Even if you are mildly unwell, pay attention to the condition of your urine and stool.

If you are unsure of your abilities, plan your first attempt at a weight loss diet during the holidays. This way there will be fewer temptations to eat something forbidden with colleagues or friends.

It’s best to make a menu in advance and go grocery shopping. Try to keep the refrigerator free of excess food that could undo your efforts. The main condition is that the protein diet must be accompanied by physical activity. Even if you don't play sports, you should start doing exercises, running, cycling every day or at least every other day.