A week before the New Year. Healthy diet menu for weight loss for 7 days from a nutritionist

President of the Association of Nutritionists and Health Coaches (ANKZ)

The main night of the year is just days away. The menu is made, gifts are prepared, the only thing left is to come up with an image and lose weight to shine on the festive evening. Is it possible to lose a couple of pounds by New Year’s Eve without harming your health? I will tell you how to use nutrition to tighten the body, get rid of puffiness and improve complexion.

The task of “lose weight for the holiday” has become a New Year’s tradition. People are looking for a quick but effective way to get fit a few days before the event, which is strictly forbidden to do.

Extreme diets are dangerous for physical and psychological health. It is not recommended to starve, take laxatives and diuretics, arrange hours of exhausting workouts. These approaches will not only spoil the mood, but can undermine the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and heart, provoke weakness, dizziness, apathy and depressive state.

Such ways to lose weight do deprive the body of a few kilograms, but at the expense of water loss and deterioration of health. After the New Year’s feast, the weight will return, and in addition with it will appear swelling, indigestion, bad mood and bruises under the eyes.

If your goal is to lose pounds, I recommend not to disrupt the work of the body strict diet and arm yourself with safe ways, for example, arrange a week of low-carbohydrate diet.

This diet helps to remove excess water from the body and cope with edema, visibly tightens the body, improves complexion and hair condition. It is based on limiting carbohydrate foods and increasing protein and healthy fats.

During the week before New Year you should not eat:

• Flour and confectionery (whole-grain bread with a good composition is allowed);
• processed meats;
• canned vegetables, meat and fish;
• starchy vegetables: potatoes, yams, beets, peas;
• white rice;
• pasta made of wheat flour;
• mayonnaise and sauces;
• juices and compotes;
• alcohol.

Low-carbohydrate diet implies limitation of carbohydrates, but does not exclude them completely. As sources of complex carbohydrates, you should choose vegetables with low starch content and plenty of vegetable fiber.

Many people will find it difficult to give up sweets, but it is the refusal of cakes and candy that will accelerate the process of weight loss. Replace sweets with seasonal fruits and berries. To reduce cravings for sweets, I recommend drinking chicory, matcha tea, non-alcoholic tinctures of wild plants.

During the diet try to reduce the use of salt, as it retains water in the body, which provokes the appearance of edema.

A prerequisite for healthy weight loss – normalization of drinking regimen. Sufficient water consumption accelerates metabolism, activates metabolic processes, positively affects the condition of the skin of the face and body.

During the diet you should drink an individual norm of water (calculation formula: 30 ml per 1 kg of weight). It is allowed to drink herbal teas and decoctions.

It is recommended to start the morning with a glass of warm water to replenish fluid reserves in the body, improve the process of digestion and intestinal function, reduce the likelihood of constipation.

The basics of the New Year’s Eve diet are studied, you can move on to the diet. For adults, three meals a day is recommended:

• breakfast from 7:00 to 9:00 (within an hour after waking up);
• lunch from 12:00 to 14:00;
• dinner from 18:00 to 20:00.

If it is difficult to eat in this mode, one protein-fat snack is allowed, for example, one or two hours after breakfast or between lunch and dinner.

Snack options:

• hummus with olive oil and flax breads;
• nut cheese and sunflower seed bread;
• a small sandwich with whole-grain yeast-free seeded bread and a protein product (meat, fish, hard-boiled egg);
• fatty varieties of cheese and flaxseed breads;
• coconut yogurt with nut granola.

So that in the hustle and bustle of New Year’s Eve and after the holidays you do not waste time looking for a healthy diet, I offer a sample menu for weight loss, designed for three meals.

Before changing the diet, do not forget to consult your doctor.

Day 1

Breakfast

• green omelet of two eggs with spinach;
• avocado salad with olive oil and leafy greens;
• a slice of whole-grain bread on sourdough.

Lunch

• Turkey/chicken and vegetable soup;
• roasted vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower) in ghee oil with brown rice and cashew sauce;
• sauerkraut (or kimchi).

Dinner

• Vegetable stew (yams, carrots, onions, bell peppers) with turkey.

Day 2

Breakfast

• Quinoa with berries and pumpkin seeds;
• whole wheat bread toast with avocado pate.

Lunch

• cup of bone broth;
• chicken/ turkey with braised vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini);
• quinoa;
• sauerkraut (or kimchi).

Dinner

• Lazy stuffed cabbage with quinoa (minced chicken, cabbage, quinoa, zucchini);
• green salad with red bell peppers with olive oil dressing.

Day 3

Breakfast

• Glazed two chicken eggs with vegetables (zucchini, red bell pepper, onion) and green peas;
• a slice of whole-grain sourdough bread;
• salad of leafy greens.

Lunch

• Warming vegetable cream soup;
• baked cod with asparagus;
• sauerkraut (or kimchi).

Dinner

• chicken liver fried in ghee oil;
• boiled buckwheat;
• carrot and avocado salad with olive oil.

Day 4

Breakfast

• Whole wheat bread sandwich with chicken liver pate with a poached egg;
• Romano leaf salad with olive oil and olives.

Lunch

• Warming vegetable cream soup;
• brown rice with vegetables (zucchini, zucchini) with a sprinkle of walnuts;
• sauerkraut (or kimchi).

Dinner

• Bowl with brown rice, shrimp and arugula/kale with avocado sauce.

Day 5

Breakfast

• Amaranth porridge with ghee butter;
• toast with chicken liver and poached egg.

Lunch

• cup of bone broth;
• rabbit meatballs with amaranth and greens;
• sauerkraut (or kimchi).

Dinner

• casserole of minced rabbit with vegetables (zucchini, zucchini, onion, carrots);
• amaranth garnish.

Day 6

Breakfast

• spinach frittata;
• avocado and carrot salad with olive oil dressing and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds;
• slice of whole wheat bread on sourdough.

Lunch

• cup of bone broth;
• minced rabbit casserole with vegetables;
• white beans with onions and carrots;
• sauerkraut (or kimchi).

Dinner

• stew of different types of cabbage (cauliflower, broccoli) with spices and beef stew.

Day 7

Breakfast

• oatmeal pancake with ghee butter and liver pate;
• salad with grated carrot and apple.

Lunch

• cup of bone broth;
• braised cabbage with white beans and beef;
• sauerkraut (or kimchi).

Dinner

• stuffed peppers with cabbage with tomato sauce;
• green salad with olives and lemon juice.

Low-carbohydrate diet, based on the principles of complete nutrition, will be an effective tool in the fight for slenderness.

It is useful to carry out lymphatic drainage, which removes excess fluid from the body and helps to fight swelling. For active lymphatic drainage I recommend practicing the exercises “Vibrations” and “100 jumps”.

If possible, engage in physical activity: hiking, swimming, a few workouts at the gym.

Despite the busyness and turmoil in the run-up to the holiday, try to get enough sleep. The effectiveness of the diet directly depends on the quality and duration of sleep, otherwise all efforts will be in vain.

Lack of sleep provokes excessive release of cortisol (stress hormone), which slows down metabolism, increases hunger, retains water in the body.

Observance of simple recommendations on nutrition and daily regimen will help you prepare for the New Year in a great mood and without loss of health. While waiting for the holiday do not forget to take care of yourself, and during the vacations try to eat a full meal and do not overeat.