For those who want to lose weight we know that there are plenty of diets out there. Every day there is a new one, a new fad. But there is one that is old, famous, but dangerous, if it is not done with proper orientation and with determination. We are talking about the diet of protein.
Since the Protein Diet is often used by high-performance athletes I’ve decided to talk to Roberta Lima, a specialist in sports nutrition, being also the Nutritionist of the Brazilian Judo Team, the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the Velox Fitness Gym.
If it’s good for athletes, could it be good for everybody?
The Protein Diet was developed in the 1970s by a cardiologist, Dr. Robert Atkins, so it is also known as Dr Atkins diet.
It consists in reducing the consumption of carbohydrates in order to optimize the use of body fat for energy, thus causing weight loss.
The diet consists basically of protein (red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy products, etc.) and fats (oils and butter) It is quite common to see athletes adhering to this diet, especially athletes in sports which are divided into weight classes such as Taekwondo, Judo, Olympic Wrestling, Boxing, MMA, among others, and seeking rapid weight loss.
For high-performance athletes this food strategy can have a negative impact in their performances as it removes the Carbohydrate, from the diet, which is the main fuel for physical activities.
When the body has no carbohydrates to use as an energy source, it needs to produce it because organs such as the brain cannot survive without this substrate. The production of energy is from fat and proteins.
The process of energy conversion in fat generates ketones, toxic to cells and that can limit the time for physical activity causing fatigue. However, the energy in the protein conversion process, besides generating protein depletion (loss of lean mass), generates dehydration.
The athlete Iris Tang Sing, from the Brazilian National Taekwondo Team, bronze medal in the Pan American Games of Toronto, talks about the importance of this diet for her.
According to nutritionist Roberta Lima, for an athlete who trains exhaustively, the three-week period following the protein diet can lead to complete depletion of the muscles and liver glycogen stores (how the body stores energy) and may lead to serious damage in an athlete’s sport performance.
And for those who are not athletes? In a short term, non-athletes individuals can benefit from this type of diet, provided that it is accompanied by a nutritionist, a qualified professional, which should make adjustments of this diet to individual needs.
But remember, the long-term loss of lean body mass can lead to reduction of metabolic energy, making it difficult to maintain weight loss and weight loss in the future.
Studies done with people who have diets high in saturated fat and low-carbohydrate demonstrated an increased LDL (bad cholesterol), increased levels of uric acid and urea, renal overload and liver dysfunction, so considering it not a healthy diet.
But those who have actually tried to get the carbohydrates from the diet and opt for a protein menu know that you can lose fast. Or will this weight loss be “a mistake”?
Most people have the sensation of a quick weight loss, but it is not a real weight loss, but one is losing lean body mass and liquids, and not fat as was expected. The feeling of “losing your belly” is caused by the dehydration process. A person feels less bloated. That is because every gram of glycogen carries 3g of water. If there is no intake of carbohydrates, the body needs to break down these glycogen stores and, therefore, there is also removal of body water.
Side effects: it may cause metabolic imbalance, leading to dizziness, fainting, headaches, tiredness, lack of concentration, hypoglycemia, elevated levels of uric acid and urea, renal overload, an increase of bad cholesterol (LDL), liver dysfunction etc.
It occurs mainly because in the protein diet there is no restriction on saturated fats, and one can consume fat from meat, bacon, sausages and canned food.
So stay alert before adopting this type of diet. Don’t do this without the supervision of a nutritionist. We want to be slim, but certain types of sacrifices won’t result in a long lasting result.
No restrictive and/or radical diet generates sustainable weight loss. Think about it!
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