The lean protein diet is based on the consumption of foods rich in protein but containing few calories such as poultry meat, fish, vegetables, for example and, after two weeks, fruit.
In this diet, foods with carbohydrates such as rice, pasta or potatoes are excluded from your diet for 2 weeks, which can then be consumed again, but in moderation to maintain weight. There, you can eat as much food as you want, with no restrictions on quantity.
What to eat on the lean protein diet
What you can eat on the lean protein diet are
- Foods rich in lean protein in the amount you want – examples: poultry meat, fish, eggs and light cheese
- Vegetables, maximum 3 variations per day – examples: cabbage, lettuce, tomato, cauliflower, broccoli, onion, cucumber, zucchini, okra, turnip, radish, chard, jilo, parsley, chicory, endive, heart of palm, eggplant , peppers, spinach, kale, watercress and arugula.
- Diet gelatin, or other gelatin as long as it doesn’t contain sugar, is a dessert that you can eat as much as you want.
- After 2 weeks of starting the diet, you can eat fruits, such as: melon, watermelon, avocado, mango, papaya and lemon.
Drinks can be water, tea or coffee, without sugar or with a fructose-free sweetener, such as Stevia, for example.
What not to eat on the lean protein diet
What you cannot eat on the lean protein diet are foods rich in carbohydrates such as:
- Rice, wheat or corn;
- Beans, chickpeas, lentils or peas;
- Banana, grape, fig (dried), plum, persimmon, chestnut, coconut (pulp), jackfruit (seed), quince, medlar, date, almond or tamarind;
- Any type of potato;
- Sugars that are: sucrose (cane or beet sugar), glucose (grape sugar), lactose (milk sugar), maltose (malt sugar), fructose or levulose (fruit sugar);
- Milk, biscuits, biscuits, flour and its derivatives, honey, molasses, beer, peanuts, ham, carrots, beets, cornstarch, pasta, yogurt, pudding, anything containing sugar and chocolate.
After 48 hours without eating foods with carbohydrates, the body begins a process in which it searches for stored fat to produce energy.
Lean protein diet menu
An example of a lean protein diet menu is:
- Breakfast and snacks – sugar-free gelatin with sugar-free coffee or scrambled eggs with light ham.
- Lunch and dinner – grilled turkey steak with lettuce and tomato salad or baked hake with broccoli. Vegetables can be seasoned with oil and vinegar.
The lean protein diet can cause symptoms such as headache, bad breath, muscle pain and constipation in the first few days, but little by little the individual gets used to it and these symptoms disappear.
