Protein is essential for the body to be able to function properly. This essential nutrient promotes growth, energy, strength, weight loss, and many more health benefits. Common sources of protein include beef, poultry, beans, eggs, soy, cheese, milk, and more. Many people enjoy protein in the form of shakes or bars. Inadequate protein intake can cause various conditions such as hypotension and anemia. Without protein, muscle mass may decrease, and this can cause weakness. The high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets have been very popular for many years. Protein diets offer many weight loss options. The following are different types of protein diets.
Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet is a diet plan invented by Dr. Robert Atkins. This diet includes all types of protein and fat, including poultry, fish, meat, eggs, cheese, oil, and butter and restricts carbohydrates like pasta, bread, fruit, alcohol, milk and starchy vegetables like corn, peas and potatoes. The Atkins diet promises that you will lose weight and will not be hungry with this low-carbohydrate diet. This diet also promises that you will achieve better memory function and heart health, as well as other health benefits.
The Atkins diet stresses that people who are overweight consume too many carbohydrates. The body burns both carbohydrates and fat for energy, but carbohydrates are used before fat. By drastically reducing carbohydrates and consuming more protein and fat, the body naturally loses weight by burning fat more efficiently. The Atkins diet claims that most people use this diet plan for weight maintenance, optimal health, and disease prevention.
Zone Diet
Dr. Barry Sears created the Zone Diet. Dieters are allowed to eat many foods on the Zone Diet, but they need to meet the proportions of the diet. To achieve weight loss, the Zone Diet encourages regular meals that have low-calories. The Zone diet includes canola, olive, avocados, and macadamia nuts. The Zone Diet does limit pasta, bread and certain fruits. These carbohydrates are restricted because they tend to release glucose quickly. Overall, the Zone Diet has higher protein and fat content than traditional diets.
South Beach Diet
Dr. Arthur Agatston created the South Beach Diet. This diet was based on a system known as the glycemic index. This diet system ranks foods according to how quick their sugars can enter the blood. It is believed that the South Beach Diet is healthier than many other protein diets because it allows consumption of whole grains, legumes and beans, low-fat dairy products, vegetables and healthy fats from nuts and fish and fats like olive oil. The South Beach Diet restricts healthy foods like carrots and fruits because of their high glycemic index rating.
The South Beach Diet has several stages. The first two weeks, the induction phase, is meant to help dieters quit craving carbohydrates. And it's why carbohydrates are minimized throughout the diet. The South Beach theory stresses that highly processed carbohydrate foods are digested too quickly. As a result, insulin levels spike. Insulin is a hormone produced in the body to process sugars. Once carbohydrates are used up, high insulin level makes the person to crave more food. When this happens, the person tends to eat more carbohydrates. The South Beach Diet aims to help the dieter break this cycle and want to eat less portions but better foods.
Protein Power Diet
The Protein Power Diet was created by Drs. Michael and Mary Eades. The Protein Power Diet encourages all types of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, butter, non starchy vegetables, oil, cheese and salad dressing. This diet also allows moderate consumption of alcohol. Foods that are not allowed on this diet include grains, starchy vegetables, fruits, and milk.
The Protein Power regimen, like the other low-carbohydrate diets, is based on the theory that controlling insulin level, helps regulate cholesterol, blood pressure, fat storage, and triglycerides. Carbohydrates cause the production of insulin in the body and that high levels of insulin impede the breakdown of fatty deposits. In contrast, low carbohydrate intake causes low levels of insulin levels. Therefore, one loses weight. If you do this long enough, the fat begins to melt away.
Stillman Diet
Irwin Maxwell Stillman created the Stillman Diet. It is a form of high-protein and low-carb diet that was created many decades ago. The Stillman Diet differs from low-carb diets such as the Atkins Diet in that it also limits fat intake. This diet contains very high amounts of protein. It is the highest protein diet, and it encourages lean proteins like skinless poultry, lean meat, eggs, fish, seafood and low-fat cheese while limiting oil, fat and carbohydrates like vegetables, bread, fruits, pasta, and dairy products.
Sugar Busters Diet
This diet allows low-glycemic foods, all proteins and fats and moderate alcohol consumption. The Sugar Busters Diet restricts white rice, potatoes and bread, carrots, beets, corn and refined, white flour products. The basic plan is to eat stone-ground whole grains, high-fiber vegetables, lean and trimmed meats, fruits, and fish. If you want to drink alcohol, you should choose red wine. Grill, bake or broil meat, and cook with oils that are low in saturated fats and high in mono- and polyunsaturated fats. You should consume three meals a day of moderate portions. This diet allows snacks such as nuts and fruit, although fruit should be consumed by itself.
Considerations
High-protein, low-carbohydrate diet plans are popular ways to achieve weight loss. But high-protein diets may not be suitable for everyone. You should consult your healthcare provider before starting a high-protein diet. Experts advise that the best way to lose weight is through moderate calorie consumption and increased physical activity. If you want to lose weight and get in great shape, you need to learn more about various nutrition and fitness programs. Determine what works for you, and stick with the plan.
Chapter 3- What is the Dukan Diet?
The Dukan Diet (also known as the French Protein Diet) is a weight-loss method that encourages and proposes natural weight loss. It was developed by French nutritionist Dr. Pierre Dukan more than a decade ago and the target market was obese people. There is a healthy eating plan incorporated into the Dukan Diet. This healthy eating plan consists of 72 foods from animals and 28 from plants. This diet plan contains four separate phases: The Attack Phase, The Cruise Phase, The Consolidation Phase, and the Stabilization Phase.
The secret behind the diet is that it allows the dieter to eat as many “good foods” as preferred. The difference between the Dukan Diet and other diets is the fact that there isn’t any calorie counting or limiting foods to certain times of the day or to so many times a day. As long as people consume foods on the list, they are allowed to consume as much as they want. Protein is essentially the main component for this particular diet. The Dukan Diet is quite similar to the Atkins diet because both have a strong focus on protein. A main difference however, is that the Atkins diet allows the participant to consume fat.
The attack phase is phase one and it allows rapid weight loss with 72 different high-protein and low-fat foods. During this phase, one can’t eat any other foods. The drinks allowed during this phase are limited to water, coffee and tea. Drinks can’t have any calories or fat; the foods eaten during this phase range from low-fat beef to zero-fat cottage cheese. Oat bran is also a food that one is allowed to consume during this particular phase. Some dieters implement an exercise plan such as a 20-minute walk every day. The five day protein kick has proved to provide immediate weight-loss. People who have participated in the attack phase have claimed to drop 7-10 pounds in five days. The attack phase is brief and complete with instant results and gratification.
The second phase is the cruise phase and it switches between having days with only protein consumption and days with protein and vegetables consumption. Oat bran can also be added in, similar to phase 1. Dieters can up their walk to 30-minutes in this phase. The dieter has the choice of how to alternate the strict protein days with the protein and vegetable days. For example, he/she could eat 5 days of protein and vegetables, then 4 days