Metabolic diet: how the 14-day scheme works with a practical example of a daily menu
The metabolic diet is a low-carbohydrate, but high-protein diet that allows you to achieve good results in a short time.
How does it work? The metabolic diet is based on a particular scheme, called the "14-day scheme", which we will see in detail, also proposing a practical example. The daily menu includes three main meals plus two snacks in the morning and afternoon.
Eating every three hours ensures an optimal level of blood sugar: in fact, the secretion of insulin, the hormone responsible for the sense of hunger, and adipose accumulation is limited. But before analyzing the metabolic diet specifically and deciding whether to undertake it or not, better have a laugh about us girls perpetually on a diet ... how not to find yourself in this video?
How does the metabolic diet work?
The metabolic diet, as anticipated, provides for a limitation of carbohydrates and an increase in protein consumption. By drastically cutting down on carbohydrates, the body goes into a particular metabolic state called ketosis, where it burns its own fat for fuel.
If our body usually burns carbohydrates to obtain energy, with the metabolic diet it learns to burn fat directly as an energy source to use. A person in ketosis tends to have less appetite and therefore less hunger, eating less as a result.
Metabolic diet: the 14 day scheme
The metabolic diet has a 14-day schedule, the so-called "evaluation phase". The objective of this phase is to establish the right amount of carbohydrates necessary for the "optimal functioning of the organism, which can vary from person to person, even according to age. This phase is characterized by a drastic reduction in carbohydrate intake. .
In the first 12 days of the evaluation phase, you have to consume few carbohydrates and a lot of fat: the body needs to dump the sugars. The metabolic diet system recommends starting with the minimum amount of 30 g which, in case of deficiencies and problems of various kinds, must be increased. We remind you that it is a diet that burdens the kidneys and is therefore not recommended in case of kidney problems.
In the two following days, however, a sort of "recharge" is expected, produced by eating many carbohydrates (the so-called "loading phase"). In this way the body replenishes the carbohydrate content, learning how to burn fat.
The next phase after the evaluation phase, simply called the "metabolic diet phase", is the one that allows you to reap the benefits, going on indefinitely. Also in this case there are two blocks of 5 days of unloading and 2 of loading, without interruptions.
Metabolic diet: foods recommended or to be avoided
Metabolic diets do not follow the usual calculation of calories, so it is not necessary to weigh foods, instead it is necessary to follow a certain sequence during the day and above all to prefer certain foods and exclude others that are unfavorable to the type of metabolism that produces overweight.
In general, a diet such as the metabolic, which excludes carbohydrates, provides for the abundant consumption of proteins: green light then to meat (better if lean, such as chicken and turkey), fish and eggs. Also ok for vegetables, except for starchy like carrots, broccoli, cabbage, radishes and cabbage. Limited cereals, legumes, fruit (especially dried fruit), and (almost) completely excluded bread, pasta, sweets and the like. Sugars are only allowed for breakfast.
Practical example of a daily menu of the metabolic diet
An example of a metabolic diet could be:
We remind you that the 14-day scheme provides these percentages of consumption:
- Discharge phase (12 days): 50-60% fat - 30-50% protein and 30g of carbohydrates
- Loading phase (2 days): 35-55% carbohydrates - 25-40% fat - 15-30% protein
Here is an example of a daily menu:
Breakfast: unsweetened tea or coffee (aspartame-based sweeteners allowed), 3 wholemeal rusks or 4 dry biscuits, 1 low-fat yogurt
Snack: unsweetened fruit or orange juice
Lunch: 60 g of bread with 100 g of tuna in olive oil, 150 g of tomatoes, 1 coffee without sugar
Snack: a cup of tea, an apple, two walnuts
Dinner: raw vegetable appetizer, vegetable puree without pasta or rice, 150 g of roast beef, 200 g of chard, 30 g of wholemeal bread
In general, try to consume foods that help speed up your metabolism:
