What is behind the methods of protein diets?
Low-carb and high-protein menus appear in different forms over the years, the Atkins diet, the Paleo diet, and also the ketogenic diet. A protein diet is a diet in which you can eat a relatively large amount of proteins – meat, fish, eggs, cheese and dairy products, and give up carbohydrates – breads, pastries, pastas, rice, sugars and even fruits.
The first was the Atkins method, which allows you to eat as much protein as you want – even with a high percentage of fat, which leads to rapid weight loss. The method is relatively extreme, and once this method was considered unhealthy, in recent years there has been a change and according to serious scientific studies it is considered an effective method for reducing weight and lowering blood sugar levels, and precisely a reduction in heart disease and not the other way around.
How do you lose weight if you eat as much meat as you want?
Most of the unnecessary calories you eat are probably found in carbohydrates – in breads and sweets. And as soon as it goes off the menu – you automatically lose weight. Carbohydrates also usually make us want more – and once you don’t eat them – it’s easier to stick to the diet.
The most important thing – when you eat a lot of proteins – while breaking down the proteins in the body, side substances are created that affect the brain and cause us to suppress appetite, so even if people are told to “eat as much as you want” – when there is no appetite, the amount you want decreases and you end up with low calorie consumption.
And another factor that contributes: on the days when you make protein menus, the body burns more calories than usual. All the factors together lead to faster weight loss compared to other diets with a similar number of calories.
What are the disadvantages?
It is not a balanced diet if you do it in an extreme way and it is not suitable for everyone, especially if there is a medical problem or even a tendency to diabetes or kidney problems. Some people also have mental difficulty giving up carbohydrates. In my experience, you can do something that is not exactly Atkins and contains very few carbohydrates – and this helps to reduce the desire to snack very significantly.