Dermatovenerologist, cosmetologist, trichologist, honored author of Evehealth
09-09-2014
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This article is based on scientific evidence, written and reviewed by experts. Our team of licensed nutritionists and estheticians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and present both sides of the argument.
Kim Protasov's diet gained popularity in 1999 after publication in an Israeli newspaper for the Russian-speaking population. The author of the diet was presented as a popular Israeli nutritionist. Over the course of the year, the diet gained extraordinary popularity, mainly thanks to Internet resources.
The principle of the Protasov diet and its menu
The essence of the diet is a strictly prescribed menu. At the same time, nutrition is not limited either by the amount of food or by the time frame, that is, you can whenever and as much as you want. The main rule is to eat only certain foods - 5% fat dairy products and fresh vegetables. You can drink coffee and tea in any amount, but without adding sugar. It is necessary to drink water and at least two liters per day.
The duration of Kim Protasov's diet is five weeks. The food menu according to Protasov looks something like this:
The principle of the diet is based on replacing carbohydrates and animal fats (flour, sweets, fatty semi-finished meat products), which have a high glycemic index, with dietary fiber and proteins contained in dairy products, fish and lean meat. Due to this nutritional system, blood sugar levels are normalized and the craving for sweets is reduced.
Since fish and lean meat contain useful microelements and complete protein, the body receives all the amino acids necessary for the proper functioning of the body, which contributes to the tone of muscle tissue and the reduction of fat. Thanks to dietary fiber, the stomach is filled to its fullest and the feeling of hunger does not arise, and the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is also normalized. The absence of salt in the diet menu helps remove excess fluid and eliminate swelling, and limiting fat promotes rapid weight loss.
Exit from the Protasov diet
Exiting Kim Protasov’s diet should occur gradually and not too quickly.
Based on observations of people losing weight, a special five-week menu was developed to break the diet:
| Week | Name of permitted products |
| VI | Some dairy products are replaced with lower fat ones (0.5-1% fat content). The replacement is compensated by adding vegetable oil to salads (no more than 3 teaspoons of oil per day). On average, the amount of fat consumed should not exceed 30-35 g per day. |
| VII | Two apples out of the required three pieces are replaced with any unsweetened fruit. |
| VIII | For breakfast, instead of vegetables, prepare porridge from 1-2 tbsp. cereals The porridge is complemented with vegetable salad and low-fat cottage cheese. Dried fruits are added to the menu. |
| IX | Some dairy products are replaced with lean meat or chicken. Boiled vegetables are added to the diet. |
| X | It is allowed to use light broths and add regular products to the menu. |
After completing the Protasov diet, it is not recommended to eat rice and baked goods for 1-2 months.
Results of the Protasov diet
As a result of using the Protasov nutrition system, weight begins to rapidly melt during the last two weeks of the diet. Reviews of Protasov’s diet say that in 5 weeks of such nutrition you can lose from 3 to 7 kilograms of excess weight.
At the end of the diet, the body will get used to such a nutrition system and returning to its usual diet will be quite difficult. Five weeks of dieting develop a certain eating habit that remains after the weight loss process is completed. This makes it easy to switch to a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Even in the absence of excess weight, the Protasov diet is recommended to be used at least once a year for. When combined with diet and physical activity, it promotes better results.
Recipes for the Protasov diet
Following Kim Protasov's diet is quite easy. Despite its apparent limited choice of food, a wide variety of dishes can be prepared from permitted foods, which allows you to eat not only healthy, but also tasty.
There are a considerable number of recipes for dishes for the Protas diet on the Internet. They differ in their purpose for the time period. As an example, we can give only a small fraction of recipes for preparing dishes in Protasovka style:
1-2 weeks
"Admiralty" salad
Grate the green apple, carrots and radishes. One boiled egg is divided into a white, which is finely chopped, and a yolk, which can simply be chopped. The ingredients are laid in layers in the following order: radish, egg white, carrot, apple, yolk. The layers are coated with natural yoghurt. The top of the salad can be decorated with corn and herbs.
Cleansing salad for weight loss
Finely grate the peeled green radish. Add finely chopped parsley and dill and celery stalks. Season the resulting mixture with low-fat kefir. When eating salad, cleansing is caused by a pronounced diuretic and laxative effect.
3-5 weeks
Fish fillet in milk
Salt and spices are added to half a glass of milk with 0.5% fat content to taste. The fish fillet is placed in a foil-lined dish, poured with milk and sprinkled with chopped herbs. Bake the fish at 180 degrees for 30 minutes in a preheated oven.
Chicken in kefir
Salt portioned chicken pieces and sprinkle with seasonings to your liking. Then pour in 0.5 liters of kefir and leave the chicken to marinate for 2 hours. After this time, place the chicken along with the marinade in a mold and bake until golden brown at 180 degrees for about an hour.
6-10 weeks (exit)
Omelette with spinach
Coarsely chop 2 large bunches of spinach, throw them into boiling water and cook for 4 minutes after boiling, then drain the water and squeeze the spinach to get rid of any remaining water. Fry 1 onion cut into half rings in vegetable oil, add 3 chopped cloves of garlic, and after 40 seconds add spinach and fry for 2 minutes. Pour the mixture with 2 eggs, beaten with half a glass of milk, salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and fry for 2 minutes, then stir the omelet and fry for another 30 seconds. Serve with tomatoes and green onions.
Zucchini and Cheese Casserole
Coarsely grate 800 g of zucchini pulp and squeeze out excess liquid. Mix 200 g of homemade cheese or grain cottage cheese with 50 g of grated hard cheese, add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and salt the resulting mixture. Mix 3 beaten eggs with the cheese mixture. Place the zucchini on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil, pour in the cheese and egg mixture and mix a little. Bake for 30-40 minutes in the oven at 250 degrees.
Contraindications of the Protasov diet
Kim Protasov's diet is contraindicated for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract due to the presence of a large amount of raw vegetables in it. This nutritional system is not recommended for people with lactose intolerance. It is strictly not recommended for women to lose weight using this scheme during pregnancy and lactation.
Advantages and disadvantages of Kim Protasov's diet
The advantages of Kim Protasov's diet include its good tolerance, since the amount of food is not limited. During the diet, metabolism is normalized and optimal conditions are created for its further functioning. Due to the large volume of dairy products, the body receives the required amount of protein, lactose and calcium. Eating a large amount of vegetables replenishes the need for fiber and minerals, and also perfectly improves intestinal function.
Among the few disadvantages is the lack of hot meals in the first two weeks of the diet and some lack of carbohydrates. Insufficient consumption of carbohydrate-containing foods can cause increased fatigue, dizziness, and general weakness of the body, but no critical changes in the body will occur during the diet.
Another disadvantage of the Protasov diet is that to gain the required amount of calories you need to eat a fairly large amount of vegetables. If you eat food in large portions, the stomach gets used to such volumes and in the future it is quite difficult to return to the usual amount of food. Therefore, when using the Protasov diet, you should eat in small portions, but very often.
If the diet does not suit any parameters, for example, you do not like raw vegetables or dairy products, then you should not start the diet, since it will be very difficult to tolerate it. The Protasov diet is definitely not suitable if you have stomach problems or allergies to permitted foods.
If acceptable products are replaced with completely different ones or the duration of the diet is shortened, then such nutrition is no longer the Protasov diet and, accordingly, the results will differ significantly from the expected.
During the period of following the Kim Protasov diet, it is advisable to take it to avoid possible micronutrient deficiencies. It is necessary to consume at least 1200-1500 kcal per day.
If pain, discomfort or cycle disturbances occur during the diet, you should immediately return to your daily diet and immediately consult a doctor for advice.
To learn more about Kim Protasov’s diet, you can watch a video describing the diet and reviews of people who have lost weight with it:
