Carbohydrate diet for weight loss: products, menus for every day, reviews, cons

The topic of weight loss has always been and remains relevant, especially for the female half of humanity. One popular way is a carbohydrate diet for weight loss. Like any other, it is not a panacea that helps to lose a record number of extra pounds once and for all. There are no such miracles. But if you approach its application thoughtfully, you can try what kind of benefit it can bring in each specific case.

What carbohydrates are made of

From the name "Carbohydrate diet" it is clear that the diet should include mainly those foods that contain a large amount of carbohydrates. Consider what this substance is in terms of gaining excess weight and getting rid of it.

Carbohydrates have a second name - sugar, and that’s it. They contain sugar in greater or lesser amounts. In the form of glucose, fructose and sucrose, it is absorbed by the body, not decomposing into smaller ingredients.

Therefore, if you do not spend the calories quickly, they remain in the body in the form of fat deposits. There is such a comic, but very apt proverb, concerning lovers of sweets: “Minutes of pleasure, when a treat is on the tongue and years of torment, when it is on its sides”.

The secret of glycemic index

How, then, can we talk about a carbohydrate diet for weight loss? There is one secret. The fact is that not all carbohydrates are the same, they are both fast and slow, in accordance with the amount of time for which the body can absorb them. This speed is reflected in the concept of "glycemic index." It helps determine which foods are preferred when using a carbohydrate diet. The effect will be obtained when the GI is below 50 units.

A low glycemic index indicates that when eating foods with this indicator, blood sugar will not jump up as it happens. And he will grow gradually. The higher the GI, the sooner the sugar level rises, it is absorbed very quickly, and the feeling of hunger quickly occurs after eating.

The glycemic index directly depends on:

• Kind of carbohydrate (simple or complex).
• The amount of fiber contained in it (coarse fibers).
• The method of processing the product (it is cooked, fried or baked).
• The presence of protein and fat in it in one or another quantity.

Carbohydrate Diet: Foods with Different GI Metrics

In order to make it easier to understand what kind of carbohydrate foods to include in the diet, we consider the GI indicators of the most commonly used products in our country.

Products whose glycemic index is considered high (from 70 to 100), located in decreasing order:

• White bread, pastry, pancakes.
• Potatoes.
• Apricots (canned food).
• Honey.
• Cornflakes.
• Muesli with raisins and nuts.
• Waffles.
• Watermelon, melon, pumpkin.
• Milk chocolate bar.
• Carbonated drinks are sweet.
• Dumplings.
• A pineapple.
• Noodles, vermicelli, soft wheat pasta.
• Fig.
• Chips.
• Sugar.
• Semolina.

Average GI (from 40 to 70) have:

• Jam, jam.
• Wheat flour.
• Orange juice in a bag.
• Black bread yeast.
• Raisins.
• Marmalade.
• Canned vegetables.
• Bananas, grapes.
• Ice cream.
• Mayonnaise.
• Bunting, buckwheat.
• Shortbread.
• Carrot.

Low GI (10 to 40) contain:

• Cranberry juice, apple.
• Oranges, kiwi, mango.
• Brown paddy rice.
• Apple juice.
• Grapefruit.
• Whole grain bread toasts.
• Durum wheat pasta cooked in al dente.
• Prunes and dried apricots.
• Apples, plums, quinces.
• Natural fat-free yogurt.
• Beans
• Garnet.
• Tomato juice.
• Barley.
• Lentils
• A tomato.
• Blueberries, blueberries.
• Chocolate is bitter.
• Mandarin, cherry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry.
• Cabbage of all kinds.
• Bran.
• Cucumber, salad, zucchini.

How to make a carbohydrate menu

Having familiarized with what kind of GI are often consumed carbohydrate products, you can move on to the question of how to properly compose a menu of carbohydrate diet for weight loss. In this case, one must take into account a number of the following points:

• Since the number of foods with low GI is quite large, they should be taken as the basis of the diet. Particular preference for the rapid burning of fats on a carbohydrate diet is given to vegetables and squeezed juices from them, but only natural, without the addition of sugar. They are followed by sweet and sour fruits and juices.
• However, those people who lead an active lifestyle, go in for sports without fast carbohydrates can not do, since it is they who help to quickly restore the energy spent. To do this, it’s good to eat a few tablespoons of honey, apricot, a couple of slices of watermelon or banana. But only in moderation.
• Our brain also needs fast carbohydrates, especially for those who engage in intense mental activity. Sitting on a carbohydrate diet with low GI foods doesn't leave the brain hungry. Therefore, eating from time to time a small piece of dark chocolate without mixing it with other food is not only not harmful, but even very useful.
• When recommending a carbohydrate diet for a week or two, nutritionists advise not to forget about products with an average glycemic index, which includes most cereals. They are absorbed neither quickly nor slowly, but at the same time they supply a sufficient amount of energy to the body and prevent a malfunction in the digestive process, since they contain a lot of fiber. According to the figurative expression of doctors, they, together with the pectins contained in acidic berries and fruits, work like a broom, removing all unnecessary.

Do not forget about balance

When compiling a menu of carbohydrate diets for every day, one should not forget that any mono-diet is harmful. After all, the body must necessarily receive also proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. In a normal diet, the ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats should be within the 60:20:20 ratio. Therefore, when a diet is called a carbohydrate, it still includes everything you need, but in a different ratio, for example, 75:15:10.

As protein supplements, foods such as low-calorie fish, lean meat (mainly poultry), cottage cheese, soy, low-fat varieties of sausage and cheese (brynza, Adyghe), egg white are used. As fats, it is better to use vegetable oils contained in sunflower, olive, and linseed oils. If the menu includes a sufficient amount of vegetables and fruits, buying additional vitamins and minerals, as a rule, is not required.

The golden rule of any diet

Initially, the word "diet" was used in its direct meaning - "lifestyle", as it is translated from Greek. That is, it was previously implied that the diet that a person chooses for himself with the help of doctors should accompany him constantly. Today, diet is usually a temporary phenomenon. They sit on it for weight loss, unless, of course, a person has a serious illness that makes it impossible to consume certain foods throughout their lives.

In this regard, one golden rule must be remembered: "No temporary diet, which is not a way of life, can radically change the situation." Moreover, if you approach this issue too fanatically, trying to lose an exorbitant amount of kilograms in a week or a month, you can then not only gain even more, but also upset your metabolism or harm your health.

Useful Tips

Therefore, sitting on a diet, including carbohydrate, you need to understand that it should not be:

• continuous
• one-time;
• too tight;
• unbalanced.

From the foregoing, the conclusion follows - in order to obtain the desired effect and at the same time not to harm health, you need:

1. Maintain a carbohydrate diet for no more than two weeks.
2. It is advisable to repeat it from time to time, for example, once every three to four months.
3. Do not set a specific goal. For example, lose more than four kilograms in two weeks.
4. The menu of a carbohydrate diet for weight loss for every day should not contain less than 1200 kcal, in extreme cases - 1000 kcal.
5. Eating mainly carbohydrates, you should not overload the body with physical exercises, a half-hour walk once a day is enough.

Weekly Menu Example

As already mentioned, the menu is usually drawn up for two weeks. There are three options:

1. Stricter the first week, including a large amount of carbohydrate food and a small protein.
2. Act with accuracy and vice versa.
3. Distribute foods evenly for each week, based on the proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, fats - 75:15:10.

As a rule, nutritionists recommend the latter option. The scheme looks something like this: in the morning - porridge or yogurt, in the afternoon - vegetables + meat, fish or cottage cheese, in the evening - baked vegetables, mushrooms, salads.

Approximate diet for one week:

Monday

• 1st meal: Natural yogurt without fillers, with a shelf life of not more than ten days. A handful of fresh cherries.
• 2nd: Cauliflower soup puree. A low-fat portion of skinless chicken with asparagus steamed as a side dish.
• 3rd: Leaf lettuce, half grapefruit, one glass of kefir.

Tuesday

• 1st: Oatmeal in water with one teaspoon of sunflower oil. Orange.
• 2nd: Fresh cucumber salad. Steamed flounder.
• 3rd: Two baked carrots with green onions plus one teaspoon of sour cream.

Wednesday

• 1st: Rice porridge made from pre-soaked rice with the addition of vegetables - carrots, celery, onions, lemon juice. The protein of one egg.
• 2nd: One bell pepper stuffed with chicken and carrots. Tomato salad with herbs.
• 3rd: Mushrooms with fresh cucumber.

Thursday

• 1st: Zucchini fritters with the addition of natural yogurt sauce and herbs. One apple.
• 2nd: Cottage cheese with a fat content of up to 5% with the addition of parsley. Fresh cucumber salad with tomatoes.
• 3rd: Vegetable stew of white cabbage, carrots, greens. One cup of tea with one spoon of honey.

Friday

• 1st: Hercules porridge. Boil the flakes with boiling water, insist under the lid for no more than 7 minutes, add raspberries and one tablespoon of honey.
• 2nd: Steamed pike perch. Green bean salad with one teaspoon of sunflower oil.
• 3rd: Boiled jacket potato. One cherry tomato and one small fresh cucumber, some olive oil.

Saturday

• 1st: Buckwheat porridge, to which onions, carrots, and then sesame oil, passivated on water, are added.
• 2nd: Boiled veal with green lettuce. A handful of prunes with dried apricots.
• 3rd: One glass of kefir. Two tablespoons of 5% cottage cheese.

Sunday

• 1st: Baked zucchini. Radish salad with one teaspoon of flaxseed oil.
• 2nd: Broccoli puree soup. Boiled turkey breast. Asparagus.
• 3rd: One whole grain bread toast. One glass of yogurt with a fat content of one percent, one teaspoon of honey.

Delicious balanced salad recipe

When dieting, it is important to maintain vitality and good mood. To do this, you need not to be lazy and choose a variety of products and recipes suitable for a carbohydrate diet, although not complicated, but original. Here is one of them, which, in addition to the carbohydrate base, contains an egg component, which will not add weight, but on one of the days off it will delight and support strength.

Light salad with eggs and radishes

For one serving you will need:

• The protein of two eggs and the yolk of one of them.
• One fourth bunch of radishes, parsley, green onions.
• One tablespoon of low-fat sour cream.
• Two tablespoons of natural non-nutritive yogurt.
• One second teaspoon of mustard and as much lemon juice.
• One teaspoon of olive oil.
• Ground black pepper and salt.

How to cook:

1. Boil hard boiled eggs and pour over cold water. Then peel the egg with the yolk and chop it, and without the yolk - cut into eight parts.
2. Peel, wash, dry the radish. Cut into thin strips.
3. Wash and chop parsley. Wash green onions and cut into rings.
4. Thoroughly mix sour cream with yogurt, lemon juice, mustard, olive oil and ground black pepper.
5. Add greens, radishes and chopped egg.
6. Decorate the finished salad with the remaining egg slices.

Carbohydrate diet: reviews

As a rule, in specialized forums, opinions on this diet are positive, much less negative.

Benefits:

• If you make small inclusions of proteins and fats, then the feeling of hunger can be overcome, which, of course, leads to weight loss. In two weeks "without fanaticism" you can throw 3-4 kilograms.
• When using foods that have low or medium GI, not only weight is reduced, but also blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol.
• Food diversity does not produce a large deficiency in vitamins and minerals.
• The diet is very useful for people with diabetes, porphyria (a disease of the central nervous system).

Cons of a carbohydrate diet:

• It is more suitable for vegetarians, and it is not easy for meat-eaters to survive it.
• You need to constantly monitor the amount of calories consumed with food: it should not be below 1000 and above 1300, otherwise - either a breakdown or lack of weight loss effect.
• Do not use for people with chronic diseases of the internal organs.
• Unwanted increased mental and physical stress.
• The need for periodic repetition.