Low-carbohydrate LCHF diet: what is it, menu for the week, reviews

There are a large number of nutrition systems that promise rapid weight loss. Basically, we are accustomed to nutritionists urging us to stop eating fat. However, Swiss experts have refuted the myth that it is impossible to lose weight by eating them. A good example is the keto diet. But this type of nutrition is not the only one that allows you not to give up your favorite dishes for the sake of a beautiful figure. The strict LCHF diet allows you to eat fatty foods but requires moderate carbohydrate intake.

General rules and principles of the LCHF diet: do not limit yourself

Only the increasingly popular LCHF diet promises all its adherents emergency weight loss. The term itself can be literally translated into Russian as “low carb high fat”. Followers of this nutrition system claim that they do not have the eternal “companions” of conventional diets: lethargy, irritability, weakness, a constant desire to chew something or take a nap at the most inopportune moment. But they receive rapid loss of excess kilograms, increased concentration, efficiency, and bursting energy in abundance.

The true ancestors of this type of nutrition are considered to be two William. The first bore the surname Banting and tried to lose weight in various ways. He was the first to try a version of the diet in 1863, saturated with fats while limiting carbohydrates, and published his results - losing several tens of kilograms. The second name is Ebstein, he was a Swedish progressive doctor. In his country, a similar traditional diet has long been established, which is followed today by about a quarter of the population.

Some historical information

A little later, at the very beginning of the 20th century, a nutritional system based on fats without carbohydrates, the keto diet, was used by American doctors. With its help, they learned to stop seizures and symptoms of drug-resistant epilepsy. Experiments have shown that, having gotten rid of carbohydrates, the body, in the desire to survive at any cost, completely changes its metabolism, extracting useful substances from what it is given.

The liver begins to produce ketones (a form of acetone), using fats as fuel. These substances nourish the brain and the entire body. However, unlike the modern LCHF diet, the keto diet was far from ideal. I had to spend time reading the BJU, strictly monitoring the indicators and body signals during application.

Another Swedish nutritionist named Andreas Enfeldt went further. He carefully changed the ratio of nutrients in the diet so that mathematical calculations were superfluous. All information about his invention is provided in the book entitled “Food Revolution! LCHF. Diet without hunger." Followers of his teachings claim that this is not just nutrition for losing excess weight, but a completely new look at nutrition in general.

13 principles and rules of “low carb”

There are not very many basic recommendations that you will have to follow strictly. You also won’t have to painfully count calories or force yourself to choke on unsalted oatmeal or rice. By enjoying your favorite dishes, you can get an enviable result in a fairly short time.

We don't count calories.

The quantity and weight of food should no longer worry you. The point is not at all in dosed portions, but in the correct ratio. The correct diet is seventy percent fat, twenty percent protein and only ten carbohydrates.

We eat when we are hungry.

You should not force yourself to eat food - from now on you will only eat when you yourself want to refresh yourself.

No junk or fast food.

You will have to give up fast food, quick snacks at a nearby diner, stunningly sweet pastries, sweets, cakes and pastries. Let those who do not care about their health eat shawarma, hot dogs and other kebabs. They not only harm the body, but also pump out the remaining “reserves” from our wallets. Now you will eat only natural, high-quality food.

It's better to boil than to fry.

Minimal heat treatment is another basic principle of LCHF nutrition. Less fried, give preference to steamed and boiled dishes, but if desired, you can fry foods in Ghee, olive or coconut oil.

Reading the composition.

You cannot blindly believe everything that is written in capital letters on the packaging of products, and especially semi-finished products. Often, the manufacturer disguises the presence of fast carbohydrates, preservatives, dyes, and emulsifiers behind a beautiful label.

Not a scale, but a centimeter.

Forget about weighing yourself every day. You need to sensibly evaluate the results of any diet. All the excess fat that has accumulated over the years cannot disappear overnight without leaving a trace. Therefore, it would be better to start a tape measure and measure volumes than to stare at the needle of the scale, not understanding why it stubbornly stands still for three days in a row.

Plateau effect.

Many people who lose weight experience a plateau effect; you shouldn’t be afraid of it. You need to stubbornly continue to follow the chosen method, while it is quite acceptable to increase physical activity in order to reverse the “stagnation” in losing weight.

Alcohol occasionally, beer - never.

If possible, you will need to give up alcohol, but it is not necessary to follow the “prohibition” law. Occasionally you can drink a little whiskey, brut champagne, dry wine or rum. But you’ll have to forget about beer, it will immediately knock you out of ketosis, and it’s not for nothing that it’s called liquid bread.

Fruit = delicacy.

You will only have to eat fruits and berries occasionally. They contain a lot of carbohydrates, and the diet should contain only ten percent of these substances.

Sports and physical education come first.

Exercising is a prerequisite for maintaining this type of diet. The only exception can be those who physically work hard every day. For such people, physical education is not necessary, but for others, the gym should become a second home.

Healthy sleep.

An important principle is to get enough sleep. It’s better to go to bed early so you can get the required seven to eight hours of sleep. Sleep is the best cure for the stress that fills the lives of modern people.

There is no such thing as too much fiber.

Another principle, and at the same time a difference from keto nutrition, is the attitude towards fiber. Typically, fatty foods lead to intestinal problems. When following the LCHF diet, it is recommended to pay attention to foods and supplements rich in it. Although you shouldn't overdo it either.

Vitamins, minerals, macro- and microelements for the body.

A sharp transition from a regular diet to a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet can cause a lack of certain elements in the body, loss of sodium and water. Therefore, you need to take vitamin complexes and also drink more water. But forcing yourself to absorb liters of water is the best solution. It is optimal to drink half a glass an hour before meals, and the rest of the time drink as desired.

Reviews about the diet

Engels

Pros of the diet: No feeling of hunger, no need to stand at the stove for hours. Disadvantages: Weight does not come off as quickly as we would like.

It is impossible to count how many attempts I have made in my life to lose weight. More precisely, in this process I am constantly and eternally hungry, my only thoughts are about what I will eat. To be honest, I'm tired of it.

On the Internet, I came across a completely opposite nutritional system - everything that has always been forbidden for those losing weight, please eat here - butter, fat of all kinds and more, mayonnaise, eggs without limitation, etc.

Almost all carbohydrates are prohibited, even buckwheat and oatmeal, so beloved by those losing weight, fruits are also taboo, sweets and bread without comment.

I don’t have a sweet tooth, I hardly eat fruit, I gave up sugar a long time ago and easily. The only weakness is rolls and cookies.

Having weighed everything on my internal scales, I decided that I needed to try.

The transition was quite easy for me, there were no severe withdrawal symptoms. The love for buns has not gone away, I still want them. A couple of times I even sinned and bought it, but somehow I didn’t get the desired pleasure.

I've been on this system for about two months, wow, I didn't get any results. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I did not calculate the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates by grams.

But what I would like to note is that the constant feeling of hunger has passed. This doesn’t mean that I don’t want to eat at all, I just take it calmly - I know that I’ll come, eat a cutlet with cucumber salad, cheese, butter and coffee and I’ll be full.

There is no longer a need to buy kilograms of vegetables, and then stew and cook them for hours and still be hungry.

At first, a lot of money was spent on the new diet, but now everything is balanced, the budget is in order.

The weight stays the same, +- 1 kg, but for me this is good, considering that I do not limit portions and have zero physical activity.

A larger amount of fat did not negatively affect my body, but on the contrary, I feel better - my stomach does not grumble, there is no heaviness after eating, I don’t want to constantly chew something.

I know that the system has many fans and opponents. Whether or not to try such a radical way of eating is up to you.

Despite everything, the system suited me and for now I have no plans to abandon it.

Krasnoyarsk:

The name of the diet LCHF stands for Low Carbs High Fat - Less carbohydrates, more fat - High-fat low-carb keto diet.

The whole essence of the diet is based on the fact that a person gains extra pounds only from sugars and carbohydrates, while consuming approximately 70% of the diet is fats, no more than 5% is carbohydrates and the rest is proteins, a person loses excess weight, his health and all indicators improve.

And then my sister and I decided to try this diet. I am a model, every kg counts, and losing weight will never be superfluous, she is a person who has been struggling with excess weight (small, or more precisely with cravings for sweets) all her life since childhood.

And we decided to go on this diet.

As I already said, 70% of the diet is fat. Products in which the percentage of carbohydrates is no more than 5 grams. This is butter, beef, chicken, pork, all meats, fish, lard, brisket, heavy cream.

Vegetables and fruits with a carbohydrate content of more than 5 are prohibited, which means more vegetables and fruits, except for celery and cucumbers. Fruits are not allowed, because they contain fructose, and this, according to adherents of this diet, is pure sugar, only natural, which causes insulin spikes and excess weight in a person.

A very unusual diet, because quite recently we were sure that fats are cholesterol and are very harmful to the heart and blood vessels.

Personally, it lasted me exactly a week, I stopped because I was feeling terribly dizzy, in a bad mood and in a state of “unstableness of the whole body.”

My sister, after 2 weeks, when her liver began to hurt terribly, but at the same time I want to note the advantages of this diet:

1. I don't really want sweets. 2. Volumes - fats - really go away. 3. I want to drink a lot of water.

Approximate diet for day 1: Smoked chicken leg, a jar of salmon oil, meat fried in butter, 2 boiled eggs, brisket. And, indeed, I want to drink a lot, a lot of water, about 2-3 liters a day, I have never drank so much.

Probably, the body wanted to flush out so much fat from itself, and it’s not normal to eat like that. Although initially a person, when hunting for a mammoth, ate only meat, or maybe this food was mainly for men. After all, a lighter diet is suitable for women - vegetables, fruits. And who knows, maybe the poor health and pain in the liver were that very restructuring? But I decided that I shouldn’t refuse and limit myself to something, because, firstly, the body wants it many times more, and, secondly, there should be balance, harmony and balance in everything in the world. And you need to comply with it.

I would also like to note that this food is much more expensive than usual, because meat, and especially good quality meat, costs much more than cereals and cookies, this is far from a budget option.

I read a lot of good reviews about this diet on their website, a lot of reviews from German doctors - how good this nutrition method is for humans. They argue that the modern food industry dictates to us the rules of proper nutrition and fast food, inspired by marketing and business, and who knows, maybe this breeze of a high-fat diet is a sign of an era of new sales and business.

I don’t recommend this diet; it’s better to eat everything, but in moderation.

Eagle:

Pros of the diet: The diet reduces weight, increases physical activity, energy, improves memory, increases attention; the functioning of internal organs is improved; unsaturated fats are perfectly absorbed by the body, and also contribute to the absorption of vitamins and microelements Disadvantages: Not suitable for everyone, requires an individual approach and medical supervision: in case of nutritional errors, edema may occur; if the amount of fat consumed is insufficient, there is a slight feeling of hunger.

I have never heard of such a direction of dietetics as LCHF or the keto diet. There is an opinion in society that fats are harmful, provoke cardiovascular diseases, increase cholesterol, and increase the risk of developing diabetes and cancer.

I came across this diet six months ago. The reason for my visit to a nutritionist was postpartum hormonal imbalance, vitamin deficiencies and, as a result, gastrointestinal problems.

The doctor suggested the following diet plan: - maximum restriction of carbohydrates (flour, cereals, legumes, fruits, sugar) - refusal of dairy products - consumption of vegetables (except for potatoes, tomatoes, peppers) - spices: cumin, turmeric, cloves - introduction to the diet coconut products - and lots and lots of the right fats: butter, coconut, nut, pumpkin butter; fatty meats and fish; salo; Cod liver; avocado; eggs.

I stayed on such a strict regimen for 2 months. The first couple of weeks were a bit difficult. I can’t say that I was hungry; rather, I even felt heaviness from the unusually large amount of fat in my diet. I really wanted sweets, and in the mornings there was a drop in blood sugar (tachycardia, weakness).

After 2 weeks, there were improvements, the general condition returned to normal, and gastrointestinal problems subsided.

In the following months, the doctor allowed me to add carbohydrates in the form of cereals (buckwheat, millet, quinoa, brown rice), but in minimal quantities.

The biggest disadvantage for me about this diet is weight loss. I must say that he was already below the norm. When switching to a keto diet, it inexorably continued to decline, even at my initial 53 kg, so people who say they can’t lose weight just want to say: “I don’t believe it!”

As a result, in 4 months I lost 2.5 kg, which is a lot for a person with underweight. It turned out to be difficult to build muscle on such a diet; you won’t get far on protein alone.

The keto diet promises better skin, but my skin has become sagging. I think the reason is that the diet reduced subcutaneous fat as much as possible.

Another drawback is swelling of the eyelids. The structure of my face, of course, suggests small bags under my eyes, but due to the diet they became much more pronounced.

Perhaps this is only a visual effect, since the face has noticeably lost weight, and the swelling has simply become more noticeable. But this “bonus” did not please me either.

And the last disadvantage is that it is quite expensive to eat such a high-fat diet. Quality foods containing unsaturated fatty acids are expensive, and you need a lot of them.

In general, it should be noted that the LCHF diet fulfilled its function and helped cope with gastrointestinal problems. The body feels light and energetic.

I wouldn’t make keto nutrition a lifestyle; for me it’s too harsh an option, but for overweight people, a low-carbohydrate diet is a great way to get in shape, it really works.

The shortcomings I encountered were probably my own fault. Frightened by weight loss, I still sinned a little and added a little more carbohydrates to my diet.

Through my own example, I experienced the benefits of LCHF. Not a single doctor could help me, and only by switching to the keto diet, I was able to re-adjust my entire body, so I would definitely recommend the keto diet, but an individual approach is important, in its pure form it is not suitable for everyone, adjustments are required.

Nizhny Novgorod:

I’ve been meaning to read the book “LCHF Diet Without Hunger” for a long time, and finally I did.

I myself am not keen on diets. I’ve had this obsession for a long time – I need to lose weight. With a height of 176 cm, she weighed 62 kg and wanted to lose more weight to 60 kg. I went on a dairy diet. It was enough until exactly 16.00, when I felt dizzy from hunger. I gave up on all the diets and ate my fill of soup.

And here's something else.

The problem with my husband is autoimmune thyroiditis, constant weight gain. We are trying to reduce the dose of the hormone l-thyroxine and trying all possible options

His sister just gave us this book. My husband never got through it, but I read it.

What can we say? It was written by a practicing therapist from Sweden, Andreas Enfeldt.

The point of such a diet is to give up food that our ancestors did not eat, i.e. sugar, starch, margarine, beer, fruit.

Allowed: meat, fish, seafood, eggs, natural fats, fatty sauces, vegetables, dairy products (but there are restrictions as written in the book), nuts, berries (within reasonable limits).

There are tips on what is best to eat and recipes for preparing dishes from permitted foods. I myself didn’t put my husband on this diet, because I had to eat the same thing as him - I cook it! But maybe it will help someone. For myself, I found another way - controlling weight using scales.

Time has passed. We suffered and suffered and returned to this option. The gynecologist advised me to eat fats, proteins, and a minimum of carbohydrates. And my husband, naturally, also returned to the version of this book.

Moscow:

Pros of the diet: Tasty, varied, no hunger, no dependence on food. Disadvantages: None for me.

In August of this year, I tried this diet as an experiment. I immediately realized that this was love forever. I easily lost the extra couple of kilos I gained on vacation. The craving for sweets has passed. Sometimes I indulge myself for old times’ sake, but less and less often—I don’t feel the same high from sugar.

There are tons of delicious low-carb recipes online, including sweets and baked goods.

Eat two or three times a day until full. I don’t count calories, I don’t weigh food. Sometimes I use a calorie calculator to estimate what I ate.

Without cereals, sweets and bread, carbohydrates turn out to be about 30-50 grams, with fruit about 80. If you eat less milk, there will be fewer carbohydrates, but I don’t need to lose weight anymore. With this diet, your weight stays stable.

Comments

How the food system works: who can eat it and what exactly to eat

The main goal of maintaining such a diet is to transfer the body from one type of metabolism to another. It's actually quite simple. Normally, our body and brain feed on carbohydrates. Our main task is to “extinguish” glycolysis (the breakdown of carbohydrates with the formation of glucose), but at the same time start lipolysis (the breakdown of fats by the liver with the formation of fatty acids and glycerol). This process is called ketogenesis, because during the breakdown process ketones are formed - bodies that we use as an alternative to sugars.

Indications for this type of nutrition system can only be determined by a doctor. You should not start a diet if you have any disorders or diseases in your body. First you need to visit a therapist, take all the necessary tests and tests, go to an endocrinologist, and, if possible, also a nutritionist. Only then can you be sure that LCHF, like any other diet, will not cause harm.

Recommended LCHF Products

• Any red meat and meat products to choose from: pork, beef, poultry, lamb, smoked meats, bacon, jamon, sausage (only if you are sure there are no carbohydrates in the composition). Fatty meat broths are the basis for many delicious dishes in this diet.
• Domestic or wild poultry, including skin (chicken, turkey, goose, duck, partridge).
• Fatty varieties of sea, river and captive-bred fish (chum salmon, salmon, tuna, hake, flounder, herring, catfish, crucian carp, carp, cod, trout, salmon).
• Chicken, turkey, quail, duck, goose eggs.
• Dairy and lactic acid products with a high level of fat (sour cream, cream, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, kefir, butter, hard and soft cheeses).
• Minimally processed vegetable oils (unrefined, not frozen, preferably first pressed).
• Vegetables growing above the ground (cabbage, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, celery stalks, onions, garlic, zucchini, greens, green beans).
• Nuts (sesame, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, hazelnuts).
• Olives, black olives, and peanuts.

Fully or partially limited products

Prohibited

• Chocolate and chocolate candies.
• Sugar.
• Honey.
• Bread and any pastries.
• Vermicelli, pasta and other flour products, with the exception of special ones that do not contain gluten and carbohydrates.
• Rice (white, brown, wild, steamed).
• Cereals, cereal flakes, muesli, snacks.
• Fast food and junk food.
• Low-fat products, including dairy.
• Fruit juice, lemonade, soda, energy drinks.
• Bananas, grapes.

Conditionally permitted

This set of products can be consumed occasionally, as a delicacy, without going beyond the ten percent carbohydrate limit.

• Milk.
• Berries and fruits, except those prohibited.
• Pumpkin.
• Vegetables growing under the surface of the earth (potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, garlic).
• Baked goods made from alternative flours (almond, sesame, coconut).

Information for beginners on the use of the keto diet

The keto diet continues to rapidly gain popularity in Hollywood and far beyond!

For breakfast - scrambled eggs, avocado, bacon and coffee with the richest cream, for lunch - a portion of rich broth, for dinner - steak with garlic butter and a generous handful of green salad.

It may seem that this is the daily diet of a person who did not care not only about his waist circumference, but also about his health. In fact, this is what a typical day on the keto diet looks like.

The ketogenic diet, or simply keto, as those interested in call it, is a type of low-carbohydrate diet in which high fat intake is of great importance: a person gets up to 80 percent of his daily calorie intake from fat.

For untrained people, as well as for most specialists brought up in the classical system of nutritional coordinates, these numbers cause genuine horror.

“You will die of a heart attack at 40”, “Your kidneys will tell you goodbye very soon”, “The brain will have nothing to eat, it needs sugar” - these and other “life-affirming” forecasts are constantly being addressed to those who decide to change their more familiar Most of the products are based on ketoracion.

While some continue to be afraid and intimidated by the worst consequences of the keto diet, others successfully get rid of extra pounds, and with them a whole range of health problems: attacks of allergies and asthma, heartburn and indigestion, eczema, acne and many others.

The principle of the keto diet is based on a natural mechanism inherent in the human body - ketosis. This is a way to obtain energy not from glucose, but from ketone bodies, which, in turn, are produced from fats, or more precisely, from fatty acids.

This mechanism allowed man to survive in times when food was a much greater luxury than it is today.

This is often forgotten by opponents of keto, who insist that the brain will die without sugar - if this were so, humanity would have lost its chances of survival many millennia ago, when the caveman had at best rare seasonal berries and fruits at his disposal for sweets.

The brain really cannot live without glucose, but the body gets the modest amount it needs to function not only from vegetables, nuts and other foods containing carbohydrates, but also from non-carbohydrate compounds, such as protein. This process is called gluconeogenesis.

Breastfed newborns remain in ketosis all the time, but the adult body switches to it in a state of hunger, including during sleep or strict fasting.

In ketosis, miraculous metamorphoses gradually occur in the body: cells are cleared of metabolic waste, and mitochondria, small “factories” for energy production, are restored.

A low level of insulin, which is maintained in the absence of carbohydrates, leads to normalization of metabolism and the hormonal system, a gradual cessation of inflammatory processes, including hidden ones, and a decrease in bad cholesterol in the blood.

All this most clearly affects well-being and health - there are more than enough happy examples when people who switched to a keto diet successfully refused to take a handful of pills every day.

There is an important nuance in switching to the keto diet, which “new recruits” often do not take into account: in this diet and, even more broadly, in this lifestyle, awareness and quality of what we consume is very important.

You can enter ketosis by eating margarine and sausage with an unknown composition, but you won’t be able to get healthier that way. Those who decide to make this transition gradually learn to choose truly nutritious and healthy foods, learn to cook tasty and favorite food for themselves, and not “stuff” themselves with a slightly stale sandwich from the vending machine in the office.

The benefit of the diet is that most people who switch to keto eat only a couple of times a day: this food fills you up so much that you have enough energy and a comfortable feeling of fullness for the whole day.

Many, having completely gotten off the “sugar needle”, generally stop paying attention to sweets, baked goods and fast food - they simply don’t want these products anymore. How they don’t want to return to lethargy, apathy, sleep disturbances and seemingly harmless illnesses, gradually leading to much more serious ones, which, alas, go hand in hand with the standard diet of a modern person.

More and more celebrities are joining the keto movement, which is not surprising, because this type of nutrition allows you to effortlessly maintain weight, look great and feel the same. Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, sisters Courtney and Kim Kardashian, basketball player James Le Bron, Megan Fox, Adriana Lima and many others have already been spotted among them

The basis of the diet is:

• high-quality fats: butter and ghee, coconut and olive oil, lard and other animal fat, avocado and its oil can be added to food generously and without fear;
• fatty meats and fish, seafood, eggs, offal;
• all types of vegetables that grow above the surface of the earth;
• unsweetened berries and fruits in moderation;
• quality nuts;
• fatty dairy products (cream, sour cream, sometimes cottage cheese and natural yogurt), as well as, if desired, cream and coconut milk.
• The keto diet completely excludes grains from the diet - no oatmeal for breakfast, no buckwheat, quinoa and rice, even the wildest.
• Also, sugar is absolutely prohibited, including “healthy” natural substitutes - agave syrup, Jerusalem artichoke and others, honey, and especially fructose from health food departments. Those who cannot live without sweets can eat stevia, erythritol and arhat substitute.
• Root vegetables are eaten with caution and moderation, preferably cold - this way the starch in their composition goes into a stable state, is practically not absorbed in the intestines and has little effect on glucose levels, but it feeds the bacteria we need.
• You don’t have to indulge in sweet fruits either, although from time to time keto adherents allow themselves, for example, a piece of watermelon in season or a handful of cherries.
• Seed oils - sunflower, sesame, pumpkin and others, as well as rapeseed, soybean, corn - are not welcome in keto due to their high processing and ability to provoke inflammation. Just as all products whose composition is not immediately clear are not welcome - if you don’t know what’s in it, don’t eat it.
• It is better for those who suffer from serious illnesses to switch to a keto diet under the supervision of a doctor. Everyone else can do this on their own - gradually eliminating high-carbohydrate foods from the diet.

Several LCHF recipes

Avocado and zucchini cream soup

This soup looks amazing, and it tastes rich, but at the same time soft. Choosing garlic for its preparation is fragrant, but not very hot, otherwise the dish will turn out spicy, which is not for everyone.

Components

• Avocado – 1 piece.
• Small young zucchini - 2 pieces.
• Garlic – 1.5-2 heads.
• High fat processed cheese – 1 piece.
• Pine nuts – for decoration and serving.
• Vegetable oil – 2-3 teaspoons.

Preparation

Peel the garlic, diligently chop finely. If that doesn’t work, you can put it through a garlic press. You should take a deep frying pan. Fry in preheated oil for several minutes. Wash the zucchini, cut off the tails, finely cut into cubes, and place in a frying pan.

Pour boiling water over the entire resulting mass until it covers the food completely. Grate the cheese on a fine grater and add to the zucchini. Bring everything to a boil, cook for one or two minutes, remove from heat.

Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and peel. Cut into slices or cubes. Add them to the rest of the soup. Gently beat it all with a blender or rub through a sieve. You can serve by garnishing the cream soup with parsley and a handful of ground pine nuts.

Salmon steak with vegetables and mushrooms

This steak is perfect for a holiday table for the whole family, as well as for those who simply decide to stick to a high-fat diet.

Components

• Frozen or fresh salmon steaks – 4 pieces.
• Fresh champignons or oyster mushrooms – 0.5 kilograms.
• Onion – 1 piece.
• Hard cheese 250 grams.
• Lemon juice – 2-4 tablespoons.
• Ghee oil – 1 tablespoon.
• Fresh greens.
• Seasonings and spices to taste.

Preparation

Steaks need to be defrosted if necessary, this should be done slowly. After they are completely gone, pour in lemon juice, rub with salt, pepper and selected spices. Leave for half an hour to an hour for the fish to marinate.

Peel the onion, chop into small cubes, fry in ghee until golden brown. Peel the mushrooms, wash them, cut them into cubes and add them to the onions. Next, lightly salt the mixture and fry for a few more minutes.

Line a baking dish with foil and place half of the onion and mushroom mixture on it. Next are pieces of salmon, and then mushrooms again. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater and sprinkle it throughout the dish. Tuck the edges of the foil. Bake in the oven at 170-180 degrees for 25-30 minutes. When serving, you can additionally pour cream or sprinkle with lemon juice, add fresh herbs.

Zucchini pancakes

Such small pancakes can be prepared not only on a diet. They turn out to be very nutritious and tasty, and children especially love them as a replacement for standard potato pancakes.

Components

• Young zucchini 3-4 pieces.
• Eggs – 2-3 pieces.
• Psyllum – 2 tablespoons.
• Salt, spices to taste.
• Coconut oil or ghee for frying.

Preparation

Wash the zucchini, grate on a medium grater and add salt. Leave for a few minutes and then squeeze out excess liquid. Pepper and add spices to taste. Add eggs and psyllium into the resulting mass and mix well. You need to fry the pancakes on both sides until golden brown. This dish is best served with rich sour cream and fresh herbs.

“Armour-piercing” LCHF coffee

Even drinks for this food system must be special. This one is so named because it is capable of providing a “bomb” charge of energy for a long time. It is also designed to satiate and eliminate even the slightest desire to snack.

Components

• A cup of usually prepared coffee is 100-150 milliliters.
• Coconut oil – 1 level tablespoon.
• Ghee – 1 level tablespoon.
• Cream – 1-2 tablespoons.

Preparation

Place everything in a shaker or blender cup and beat at high speed until the consistency is completely homogeneous. This coffee will not only help you wake up in the morning, but also forget about hunger until lunchtime.

Recipes

In order to eat healthy and varied, you need to constantly come up with new recipes for the lchf diet. The most popular ones will be presented here.

Chicken soup

To prepare you will need 1 ham, 150 grams of bacon, 100 grams of champignons, one onion, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, salt and spices.

Actions:

1. Separately cook the chicken leg. Separate the meat from the bone.
2. Strain the broth obtained during cooking of the leg. Chop the chicken and add to it.
3. Chop mushrooms, onions and bacon and fry in vegetable oil.
4. Add the fried mixture to the broth, add salt and pepper.
5. Serve with sour cream.

Cutlets

A hearty main course that is ideal for a lunchtime meal. To prepare, you will need half a kilogram of pork, 100 grams of almond flour, an onion, spices, and vegetable oil.

Actions:

1. First of all, you need to chop the onion into smaller pieces and fry it in a frying pan.
2. Grind the pork in a meat grinder and add onion.
3. Add flour, spices and salt to the minced meat.
4. Form cutlets and fry them on all sides in a frying pan.

Pros and cons of high-fat diets: comments and reviews

There is nothing tricky about this system; anyone can figure it out. You won’t need to count calories or spend a lot of time thinking about what is possible and what is not – everything is very clear and understandable. However, you must first evaluate all the pros and cons of such a diet, and at the same time also the contraindications that should not be forgotten.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of LCHF nutrition is rapid, high-quality weight loss. If there are no hormonal imbalances or chronic diseases, then the results can last a long time, and most likely will last forever.

• Natural foods are healthy by default. By eliminating street food and processed foods, you will know exactly what you ate and what it contains.
• The diet makes it possible not to constantly feel hungry, since there are no restrictions on the amount of food eaten, there are only complaints about quality.
• Minimal heat treatment implies preservation of beneficial substances in the composition.

However, there are also disadvantages to such a diet. The main disadvantage is considered to be an unbalanced diet, a lack of vitamins, macro- and microelements, and minerals received by the body. Therefore, it won’t hurt to simultaneously take a course of complex vitamin and mineral supplements, or use dietary supplements on the recommendation of a doctor.

Contraindications

• Disorders of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract in general (including ulcers, gastritis).
• Diseases of the cardiovascular system and the heart itself.
• Diabetes mellitus type 1.
• Excessively elevated blood cholesterol levels.
• Constant stress, depression, nervous diseases and mental disorders.
• The period of pregnancy and feeding the baby.

Nutritionist comments, reviews and results

Nutritionist, Sergey Stavrov, Moscow:

“I am regularly criticized by my colleagues, but I still remain a supporter of the keto diet and LCHF nutrition. However, I believe that it is not worth engaging in “amateur activities” without medical supervision. This diet requires complex calculations, understanding of the basics, and constant adjustments. An improperly organized process can lead to hypoglycemia and also cause many other side effects.”

Evgenia Klinchik, endocrinologist, nutritionist, Vyatka:

“The large amount of fat a person absorbs during this diet can cause significant acidification in the body. Patients often experience the formation of stones and sand in the kidneys, cholecystitis. In addition, many experience intoxication of the body. It appears because we often do not know what kind of meat we consume, how the animals were kept, what they were fed. Therefore, I always recommend starting with a visit to a doctor who will conduct the necessary research. He will help with advice and recommendations on the proper organization of the diet, daily routine, and prescribe vitamin complexes. Then everything will go smoothly, and dieting will become the path to a happy life, and not to a hospital bed.”

Tatyana Moseychik, St. Petersburg:

“The problem of excess weight, regular headaches, shortness of breath, high blood pressure has always been relevant for me. All this became especially evident after the second birth. By the age of thirty, I already weighed more than a hundred kilograms and was 1.64 meters tall. What saved me was finding a job at a medical center, where the endocrinologist himself drew attention to my problems and recommended the LCHF diet. This is not to say that everything went smoothly, for the first two weeks I felt bad, I constantly wanted candy or a pie, sugar beckoned at every corner. However, then I got used to it, began to lose weight and lost 39 kilograms of fat that I constantly carried with me. My blood pressure has normalized, I start every day with exercise, I don’t do much sports, but I have enough vigor and energy for the whole day.”

Alexey Rastishin, Moscow:

“From early childhood I suffered from excess weight, which is why I was constantly bullied at school. With a height of 1.72 meters, by the age of eighteen I weighed 107 kilograms, and this was far from muscle mass. When I wasn’t accepted into the army, I decided to take myself seriously. I tried everything possible. I suffered through nasty, unsalted cereals, tried to count calories, and took up sports. The result was mediocre, and did not last long. With grief, I managed to lose 8 kilograms, which I successfully gained with additional ones during the next breakdown. I decided not to tempt fate and went to a nutritionist. During the tests, an allergy to gluten was discovered. At first, the idea of ​​a high-fat diet seemed crazy, but in the first month I managed to lose fifteen kilograms without a trace and I believed in success. Now I am 28 years old, I weigh 78 kilograms, I have been following the LCHF diet for two years, I run and wrestle. At the same time, I eat tasty and varied food.”

Do's and Don'ts for LCHF

Now about the practical side. Products to limit:

• Sugar and products containing it
• Cereals, especially refined ones
• Legumes
• Starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes)
• High carbohydrate fruits (bananas, grapes, figs, etc.)

Increasing the proportion of fats when creating a LCHF nutrition program also has its own characteristics. Trans fats are strictly unacceptable. These include processed cheeses, margarine and products whose labels say “hydrogenated”, “milk fat replacer”, “made from vegetable fats”, etc.

First of all, it is advisable to use healthy fats in the diet, which have a beneficial effect on the body, especially on the cardiovascular system, as well as the brain.

Sources of healthy fats:

• Fatty sea fish, mostly wild: sockeye salmon, pink salmon, chinook salmon
• Unrefined vegetable oils, especially olive, flaxseed, camelina, hemp, as well as avocado oil and chia seed oil
• Seeds and nuts
• And of course, avocado

Additional fat sources:

• Eggs
• High-fat dairy products such as ghee (ghee), butter, and cheeses
• Coconut and coconut oil
• Fats in meat

Many authors who promote high-fat nutrition say: “Eat as much fat as you want and lose weight.”

However, not all so simple. There are still restrictions - this is the individual daily calorie intake. If your daily requirement, for example, is 1800 kcal, then exceeding it by consuming even the healthiest fats will not lead to weight loss, but, on the contrary, will contribute to weight gain.

Diet lchf reviews

Alexander 47 years old

For a long time I wanted to lose a few extra pounds. However, sedentary work, poor diet and frequent gatherings with friends over a glass of beer made this task almost impossible. For a long time I searched for information on the Internet about different methods. As a result, I saw a lot of positive and admiring reviews of the high-fat diet. I decided to try this unusual way of losing weight. I didn't expect such results in just one month.

Oksana 45 years old

Overweight problems have plagued me for a long time. I still couldn’t decide on any diet. Everywhere there were restrictions or physical activity that made me feel uneasy. After a long search and conversations with nutritionist friends, I found the lchf nutrition method. I was very surprised that you can lose weight with fatty foods. In all respects, this diet was suitable for me, and I decided to try it. The result is amazing. I was able to achieve what I wanted in 2 and a half months.

Alexandra 37 years old

With my weak character and lack of willpower, it is extremely difficult to give up my favorite treats. Gradually, the problem of excess weight began to bother me more and more often. I urgently needed to find a method that was suitable for me, with a minimum number of prohibitions and restrictions. I ended up finding the lchf diet. An amazing way to lose weight, but it’s exactly what I needed. I started eating in compliance with all proportions and rules. The result did not appear immediately. I had to be patient for 40 days.

Olga 46 years old

I look at my old photos and am amazed at what I used to be like. For a long time I suffered from excess weight, but with a busy work schedule, I could not concentrate and tackle the problem. When I had a month of free time, I found a very interesting lchf diet and began to take active steps. I changed my diet and started exercising. And here is the result after 60 days. I had to touch on working hours, but I did it.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the LCHF diet?

The benefits of low-carb diets are primarily due to the reduction or, in some cases, almost complete elimination of glucose.

There are several scientifically proven benefits of LCHF diets:

• appetite decreases. Hunger tends to be the worst side effect of dieting. However, eating low-carb foods automatically reduces appetite;
• the utilization of fat deposits increases, which contributes to the loss of extra pounds and an increase in muscle mass;
• blood sugar decreases. This diet reduces fasting glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels. It is beneficial for people who have been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes;
• the potential for accumulation of fat, especially visceral fat, which surrounds the abdominal organs, is reduced;
• blood pressure indicators improve. High blood pressure is one of the best known risk factors for stroke and heart disease in people who are overweight or obese;
• the amount of triglycerides is reduced. Their high levels in serum are associated with abnormal lipoprotein metabolism as well as other risk factors, including obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus;
• Beneficial HDL cholesterol increases. Its blood level is inversely related to both coronary heart disease and mortality from other cardiovascular diseases in men and women;
• Inflammation is reduced by increasing healthy, anti-inflammatory fats in the diet and reducing foods containing processed carbohydrates and sugars;
• the condition of patients with epilepsy and Parkinson's disease improves;
• Digestive stress is reduced by reducing processed foods and increasing fiber;
• Hormonal levels are naturally normalized, various depressive symptoms are significantly reduced, and your well-being improves.

The LCHF diet has some disadvantages:

• Given that this diet cannot provide the necessary nutrients, it is not recommended as a weight loss method for children and schoolchildren. Their growing bodies need the nutrients found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables;
• not suitable for pregnant or breastfeeding women unless used for therapeutic purposes to treat a disease;
• people with kidney, liver or pancreas diseases should consult their doctor;
• The diet is not recommended for professional athletes, as athletic performance at the competitive level may deteriorate.

At the initial stage of the diet, the following symptoms may appear:

• fatigue and headache;
• constipation and diarrhea;
• brain fog;
• muscle spasms;
• bad breath;
• skin rash;
• irritability.

This usually occurs when carbohydrates are sharply reduced to 5-10% of daily calories. Such side effects disappear within 1-2 weeks after starting the diet.

To minimize them, you should drink more fluids and temporarily increase the amount of salt you consume. You can solve the problem by drinking broth or a glass of water every few hours.