Diet for weight loss. Table by hour, menu for the week

Diet by the clock helps not only to lose weight, but also to speed up metabolism and set the body to burning fat. Get a list of allowed foods and 4 menu options, lose up to 8 kg per month without starving!

Author: Kristina Lobanovskaya, doctor, practicing nutritionist Article updated: 11/09/2020

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Most weight loss techniques recommended by nutritionists for proper and healthy weight loss are based on fractional meals. His idea is to eat little and often. Even more detailed observance of this principle involves the so-called clock diet, the rules of which establish not only the specific number of meals, but also their hourly timing during the day. Unlike most traditional dietary diets, which require significant food restrictions, this program in its classic version is quite balanced, not hungry at all, and at the same time very effective.

Basic principles of fractional nutrition

There are several simple rules by adhering to which you can organize proper fractional meals.

• You need to eat 5-6 times a day. Between breakfast and lunch it is necessary to have lunch, and between lunch and dinner - an afternoon snack. With six meals a day, after the main dinner, shortly before bedtime, make a second light dinner.
• You should create a balanced menu, which will take into account all the useful elements in proper proportions. It is better to do this with a professional nutritionist.
• Harmful foods should be avoided if possible. Prepare dishes mainly by boiling or stewing. Reduce salt and sugar intake to a minimum.
• You need to have one meal schedule for every day and strictly adhere to it.
• Portions should be small - up to 300 grams.

Daily routine with workouts

A nutritional schedule for quick weight loss should be combined with physical activity. After waking up, for example, at 6:30, do a light exercise and take water procedures. Next, around 7:30, have breakfast, after which you can go to school/work. If there is nothing to do, then the time from 9:00 to 10:00 is the best time to exercise. The second breakfast should be at 10:00, after which you can devote time to work and study until 12:00. The rest of the daily routine:

• 12:30-13:00 – slow walk.
• 13-15 hours – study/work, followed by a fruit snack.
• 16 -17 hours – sports.
• 6 p.m. – light dinner
• 19-20 hours – walk, household chores.
• 20 -22 hours - rest.
• 22 - 22:30 - getting ready for bed.

What is the effectiveness of fractional nutrition based on?

To understand how this diet works, you need to understand the effect it has on the body.

Mode

Regime is a very important factor, without which fractional nutrition may be ineffective. When a person strictly adheres to the regime and eats at the same time every day, his body gets the opportunity to adapt to this regime. By the time of eating, salivation increases, gastric juice is produced, and appetite appears. Thanks to this, food is easily digested. In addition, there is no acute feeling of hunger, so there is no need to snack on unhealthy food on the go.

Frequency

There are about 4 hours between meals. During this time, a person does not have time to get too hungry, even if the previous meal was light and low-calorie. In addition, if you feel hungry, the thought of eating soon will make it easier to bear.

Portion volume

Due to the fact that portions are 200-300 grams, a person does not overeat, and the number of calories remains under control. In addition, it is easier for the stomach to cope with small portions, so the intestines do not become clogged, and all waste and toxins are quickly eliminated.

Efficiency

It is worth understanding that maintaining a proper daily routine will not give immediate results in terms of weight loss. This is a long-term process, but the first results can be seen after 2 weeks. Important changes that accompany the process of proper weight loss are improvements in external condition, lightness in the body.

Many people are interested in the question, how much weight can you lose by sticking to a daily routine? With constant adherence to the routine, in combination with proper nutrition, physical activity and eliminating the influence of stressful situations, you can achieve your ideal weight over a period of 3-6 months.

Products: permitted and prohibited

To switch to fractional meals, which will help improve your health and lose weight, you must first eliminate harmful foods from your diet. These include sausages, smoked products, baked goods, as well as anything that contains large quantities of preservatives, flavor enhancers, flavorings, and other harmful additives. You need to give up alcohol and carbonated drinks.

Before you start creating a menu, you need to consult with a specialist and find out what number of calories will be optimal for you, and taking this data into account, calculate your meals for each day.

Particular attention should be paid to the ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates. There is a simple general formula by which you can calculate the proportions of the necessary substances. It involves the introduction of 1-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of a person’s weight. Fats should make up up to 20% of your total daily calories. 60% of daily calories are allocated to carbohydrates, 10 of which can be allocated for the consumption of simple carbohydrates, such as sugar, chocolate, honey.

The following products are included in the menu for fractional meals:

• fresh, boiled and stewed vegetables;
• fresh fruits;
• dried fruits;
• veal;
• turkey;
• beef;
• rabbit;
• bird;
• bitter chocolate;
• marshmallows;
• marmalade;
• honey;
• seafood;
• fish;
• low-fat fermented milk products;
• green tea;
• porridge;
• whole wheat bread;
• bread;
• fresh juices.

Reviews about the hourly diet

1. The hourly diet is also called a carbohydrate-protein diet. It is very effective and I have seen this from my own experience. I eat every 2-3 hours and feel great. I don’t even have time to get properly hungry. Besides the fact that I lost 3 kilograms in a week, I began to feel much better! I have more energy and strength. It became easier for me to get up in the morning, and my insomnia went away. Since I went on a diet, I spend half as much time preparing meals, since this diet includes
2. The good thing about the hourly diet is that it includes a variety of foods: meat, fruits, vegetables. Since I started following this diet, I have lost 5 kilograms. I have tried many different diets and I can say with complete confidence that this is the best! At work I don’t feel hungry, in the morning I feel energetic and energized, and I sleep well at night. I forgot about junk food forever, as I get all the necessary vitamins from vegetables and fruits.

How to switch to fractional meals

The transition to a new diet is a very important stage. It is necessary to change your diet so as not to harm your health. It is recommended to transition gradually, according to a written plan. Replacement of foods included in the diet can be done a week in advance, according to the following instructions:

• 1 day. We refuse fast food and replace it with healthier food.
• Day 2. We refuse semi-finished products - frozen store-bought dumplings, dumplings, cutlets, etc.
• Day 3. Stop consuming carbonated drinks.
• Day 4 We remove fatty and fried meat from the diet.
• Day 5 We refuse sausages.
• Day 6 We abstain from sweets and reduce their consumption to a minimum in the future.
• Day 7 We reduce sugar consumption as much as possible.

In addition to phasing out unhealthy foods, you need to complete a few more steps in the first week of switching to fractional meals, which can also be distributed over days:

• Consider a time for breakfast, lunch and dinner that will be convenient on any day of the week. It is at this time that you will need to organize meals without violating the chosen regime.
• You need to determine how many calories and how much food per meal is enough for you to be satisfied. Gradually, the portion will decrease, but first you need to calculate the minimum food that will not cause a sharp feeling of hunger between meals.
• Consider how to replace frying with other types of processing. You can, for example, cook everything that was previously fried on the grill. Another option is to use oven baking.
• Introduce mandatory walks in the fresh air into your daily routine. You can start with the minimum - half an hour will be enough.
• Pay attention to your drinking regime. Develop the habit of always carrying a bottle of water with you and drinking it whenever you want. You need to drink one and a half liters of water a day.

If in the first week all of the above were successfully completed, you can move on to the second stage of the transition. The second week is allocated for it, and it consists of the following actions:

• The daily caloric intake, which was calculated in the first week, is reduced by 200 calories.
• Add one snack to three meals a day. This could be an afternoon snack or lunch. Don't forget about the daily calorie intake, it needs to be divided into all meals, including snacks.
• Next, we get used to eating reduced portions, since after recalculating the caloric content they will be somewhat more modest than in the previous stages.
• Calculate the ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and create a menu for the next week taking into account the results obtained.
• Monitor your eating habits and remove one harmful product from your diet per day.
• Reconsider your behavior in everyday life and start moving more. If possible, avoid the elevator and take the stairs on foot. Walk distances within a couple of kilometers instead of taking public transport.
• Increase daily water consumption to two liters.

The final stage of the transition will be the third week. It includes the following steps:

• The daily diet is reduced by another 300 calories.
• One or two more snacks are added to the diet. The two main snacks are lunch and afternoon snack. But you can also add a second dinner. Regardless of whether the result is five meals a day or six meals a day, the daily calorie intake must be divided into all meals.
• Review portion sizes to reflect new calorie reductions and additions of snacks.
• Start doing exercises in the morning. This could be a 15-minute warm-up or a 20-30 minute run.
• Adjust the water regime. Now you need to calculate your individual daily water consumption. It is calculated as follows: 30 ml of water for every kilogram of a person’s weight.

With the right approach, you can switch to fractional meals in less than a month.

Recommendations for the duration of compliance

During this type of fasting, nutritionists recommend adhering to the following rules:

• Drink up to 2 liters of water per day.
• Do not eat fried foods.
• Avoid canned food and marinades.
• Include physical activity.
• Avoid sweets.
• Food should only be boiled, stewed or baked.
• Eat at least 5 times a day.
• A serving of one dish should not exceed 100 g.

Benefits of nutrition

Fractional meals allow you to painlessly give up harmful foods and replace them with healthy ones. The thing is that this system does not require fasting or severe restriction, which leads to physical and psychological discomfort.

Fractional meals provide a fairly wide selection of products. In essence, everything that is not prohibited is permitted. You just need to watch the combination, combine higher-calorie foods with low-calorie foods.

Small portions are easier to digest, so after eating you don’t feel weak and tired like after a hearty lunch. Thanks to this, people who choose fractional meals feel cheerful and full of energy all day long.

Fractional nutrition does not have a negative effect on the body. Unlike diets, and especially fasting systems, it is harmless. Doctors often prescribe frequent consumption of food in small portions for people with diabetes, obesity, various diseases of the digestive system, and in the postoperative period.

Fractional nutrition is not a weight loss system that is used in courses. This is a new way of life that is easy to get used to and can be followed for a lifetime.

The effect of diet on the body

Nutritionists claim that following such a diet not only reduces body weight, but also has a beneficial effect on the body.

• During this period of eating, hunger hormones are not produced, and even with small portions a person feels full.
• Metabolism normalizes.
• Eating at strictly defined times normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Constipation disappears.
• Blood sugar levels return to normal.
• The body is cleansed of toxins and toxic substances through greater fluid intake.
• The quality functioning of the liver is restored.
• Blood purification occurs.
• Blood circulation is normalized.

Is there any harm?

The fractional power system has its opponents. They believe that people who choose it expose themselves to a number of dangers:

• Fractional nutrition harms teeth - the alkaline balance is more often disturbed, resulting in an increased risk of caries.
• If a person with diabetes takes such a system, it is more difficult for him to control his blood counts.
• The more often you eat, the more often insulin levels rise, and it prevents the breakdown of fat.
• By the end of the day, endotoxin levels rise significantly.
• Without feeling hungry, a person does not feel full, which leads to overeating.

Nutritionists who defend fractional meals as an optimal system say that the above statements are only partly true. For example, damage to teeth is indeed observed, but it is no less when snacking on sandwiches and chocolates on the go. For people with diabetes, such nutrition may be contraindicated, in order not to harm yourself, you must first agree on the transition to fractional meals with your doctor.

As for insulin spikes, they cannot cause much harm, since they are short-term in nature. And the level of endoxins rises only in those cases when, during the second dinner, a person allows himself a lot of sweets or flour products.

Correct ratio of dietary components

Eating with appetite brings joy and pleasure. Proper nutrition will help you enjoy delicious dishes and become slimmer. Experts call the main principles of such a system 4:

• fragmentation during the day;
• regularity and clear eating schedule;
• rational selection of products;
• the correct ratio of components throughout the day.

Breakfast should be rich in proteins - important building blocks for all body systems. It should also contain complex carbohydrates, which give a boost of vivacity and energy for the whole day. Thus, nutritionists recommend eating porridge, eggs, cottage cheese and other dairy products, fruits, and whole grain breads for breakfast.

It is advisable to make the second breakfast light, but rich in nutrients. Fresh seasonal fruits and fruit salads, a glass of freshly squeezed juice or kefir, and yogurt will do this role perfectly. Some people involved in mental work prefer to carry a handful of nuts in their bag for a second breakfast, which also helps as a snack.

For lunch, experts recommend eating protein, complex carbohydrates and some fat. So, lean meat or fish, salads with olive or other vegetable oil, grains and legumes are best. The afternoon snack can be made the same as the second breakfast, for example, eating fruit or yogurt.

Dinner is the most important meal of the day, since overeating at this time can quickly affect your figure in the form of extra pounds. Here it’s better to eat something light, but something that will fill you up for the whole evening and won’t make you walk in circles near the refrigerator, feeling a strong desire to eat something harmful. Lean meats, vegetable dishes, and salads are suitable.

Important! It must be remembered that in addition to diet, food combinations play a huge role in food. At first you will have to look at specially designed tables, but after a few days you will remember what goes well with each other, and which foods are best separated for different meals.

Fractional meals and DASH diet

Recently, the so-called DASH diet has become especially popular. It was originally developed for hypertensive patients. Then it began to be used to improve the health of patients with various chronic diseases. It involves consuming all the foods necessary for the body. The only limitation is in their quantity - you need to eat as much as the body requires for normal functioning, but no more. According to reviews on thematic forums, this diet does not provide rapid weight loss, but rather gives sustainable results without harm to health. One of the basic principles of the dash diet is split meals. This means that these two systems can be combined into one.

Three options for fractional meals for weight loss.

Nutritionists offer three options for using fractional meals for weight loss. What these options have in common is a drinking regime and frequent meals in small portions. They differ in the number of meals and the distribution of daily calorie intake.

Option 1, reference to the feeling of hunger (grazing)

This is an option for people whose rhythm of life does not allow them to strictly adhere to the regime. They are recommended to snack in minimal portions. For example, one snack may consist of only a piece of fruit or a piece of bread. But at the same time, snacks should be even more frequent. As soon as a person feels hungry, he should eat something. There should be at least half an hour between snacks. It is better to maintain intervals of 45 minutes.

This option has one important advantage - it avoids excessive overeating at the end of the day. But using it is quite difficult to control the daily intake. In addition, it deprives the intestines and oral cavity of time to rest and restore balance.

Option 2, breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks

Assumes the usual mode of fractional nutrition, which was mentioned above. At the same time, the calorie content of snacks should be less than the main meals. The serving size should not exceed 200 grams. The interval between meals is no more than 3 hours.

Option 3, timed eating

The entire daily diet is divided into 8-10 meals. All portions should be approximately the same. This is a compromise option between the previous two. Allows you to eat less and not experience hunger pangs.

Daily regimen for weight loss

As a child, everyone had to follow a daily routine. But as each person grows up, he moves further and further away from it. But in the struggle for a good figure, he plays an important role.

Meals by hour

Following simple rules will help not only lose weight, but also keep it off. Before you move on to creating a nutrition schedule, you need to determine your sleep pattern. To feel good, you need to sleep at least 8 hours. Having determined the time of rise, you can begin to create a daily routine.

• Breakfast should be an hour after waking up, around 7:00. It should include foods rich in complex carbohydrates.
• Snack at 10:00. Fruits or dried fruits work well for this.
• Lunch at 12:00. You can cook vegetable soup with it, boil chicken or beef.
• At 15:00, snack with dried fruits.
• Dinner at 18:00 – 19:00. In the evening, you should opt for light meals or fermented milk products.

Drinking regime of the day

Water is the main component of all biochemical processes in the body. To stay healthy, it is important to consume enough of it. With normal fluid content in the human body, metabolism accelerates. A person cannot absorb a lot of liquid at once. Therefore, you need to drink in small portions.

The table displays the diet for weight loss taking into account the drinking regime:

As can be seen from the table, the daily volume of water can be divided into 11 doses. If it is difficult for a person to drink the specified amount of water at once, then you can drink a smaller volume, but more often.

Recipes

With proper nutrition, not only the composition of foods is important, but also their proper preparation. Below are some recipes for delicious, healthy dishes suitable for people losing weight on fractional meals.

Carrot puree

For a serving of puree, take 1 large carrot. It is boiled and then chopped in a meat grinder, using a grater or a fork. After this, mix 5 grams of flour, 5 grams of butter and 50 grams of heated milk. Next, the mixture is poured into a metal container, chopped carrots are placed there, and all this is brought to a boil with constant stirring. The finished puree can be slightly salted.

Cauliflower puree

For this dish you will need 200-300 grams of cabbage, 100 grams of milk, 50 grams of butter. It is advisable to soak the cabbage in salted water for half an hour so that all the insects leave it. After this, it needs to be immersed in boiling water and boiled. Grind the boiled cabbage inflorescences in a blender. Then add warm milk and butter, and run in the blender again. Add a pinch of salt to the finished puree.

Beetroot puree

The beets need to be boiled and chopped in a blender. After this, add a little water, salt to taste and vegetable oil.

Cold cucumber soup

This dish is prepared from cucumbers, herbs, kefir, onions, garlic, and ginger. Proportions are chosen to taste. Garlic, onion and ginger are fried in a frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil. Cucumbers are crushed in a blender. After this, all the prepared greens are placed in the blender. Cucumbers and herbs are blended with a blender. After this, add a little water (100 grams), the same amount of kefir, and fried vegetables to the bowl. Everything is whipped together again. The finished puree is left in the refrigerator for an hour, after which it can be eaten by adding a few drops of lemon.

Vegetable soup with meat balls

Vegetable soup is cooked in water using the main ingredients of vegetables - onions, carrots, potatoes. In this dish, the main thing is to prepare the balls correctly. For them, take lean meat, for example, turkey or chicken fillet. Grind it together with the onion in a meat grinder. 100-200 grams of butter (grated or finely chopped) is added to the minced meat. After this, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of semolina to the minced meat, add some salt and mix everything thoroughly.

Make small balls from the resulting mixture and place them in the freezer. They are immersed in the soup when the vegetables are almost ready. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Omelette

For an omelet of 2 eggs you will need 1 spoon of sour cream. You can use kefir or milk (half a glass). Mix both ingredients and beat with a fork. Next, heat the frying pan, pour a little vegetable oil into it, and pour in the whipped mixture. When the omelette has set, you need to carefully turn it over and cover it with a lid, reduce the heat and bring it to readiness.

Timed diet for weight loss

Portions for this diet should be relatively small. The menu should include cereals, grains, vegetable fats (instead of animal fats), fish, meat, dairy products and other components that can be easily combined with each other. Meal schedule for weight loss by the hour, which must be strictly adhered to to achieve results:

• 8:00 – rice/buckwheat/oatmeal porridge with water.
• 10:00 – apple.
• 12:00 – low-fat cottage cheese.
• 14:00 – boiled chicken breast with cabbage.
• 16:00 – low-fat yogurt.
• 18:00 – salad.
• 20:00 – dried fruits.
• 22:00 – kefir.

Experts' opinion

When choosing a nutrition system for yourself, you need to take into account your individual characteristics of the body and lifestyle. Fractional nutrition itself has more advantages than disadvantages, but it is not suitable for everyone. If a person can easily do without snacks and does not have problems with overeating, it is better for him to stick to the traditional three meals a day. For those who experience a strong feeling of hunger during long intervals between meals and have the opportunity to have several meals throughout the day, split meals are more suitable.

General principles of the technique

During the diet for 5 days you need to eat strictly according to the clock. They eat food 8 times a day at 2-hour intervals.

After a 5-day diet, you need to take a break of 10 days and during this time eat the food that is normal for a person.

The only thing that is recommended to avoid is any flour products . Sugar and sweets can be consumed, but it is important to keep them to a minimum.

Then follow the diet again for 5 days, and after that eat normal food for 10 days.

This alternation in nutrition has its own peculiarities. During fasting, up to 3 kg of excess weight is lost, and in the next 10 days the result is consolidated.

At the same time, the body is not depleted, receiving all the necessary vitamins, nutrients and microelements.

To get lasting and effective results, nutritionists recommend eating in this mode for a month.

During this time, changes occur in metabolism and the body actively burns lipid cells. Fat deposits disappear in problem areas: hips, buttocks, waist.