For most people, diets are terrible agony and starvation, stress due to the inhibitions of their favorite foods and quickly returned kilograms, and even doubled. Many women and men cannot lose weight, despite numerous restrictions, as a result, they stop exercising themselves and put weight loss on the back burner.
Michel Montignac's diet is a whole philosophy of nutrition, without hunger and disappointment. With its help, you can lose weight without harm to the body and consolidate the result.

As is usually the case with someone brilliant - the inventor was not going to become famous. Michel Montignac was looking for salvation for himself. In view of the nature of his job duties, he had to frequent restaurants and dine with clients. He absolutely did not monitor the quality and quantity of food eaten. Soon all this began to affect his figure.

Monsieur Michel Montignac gained a lot of weight and felt uncomfortable. The question arose about losing weight. But no matter how many different diets he tried to adhere to, nothing helped, and if he managed to lose weight, he returned very quickly. Then he had no choice but to take everything into his own hands.

The essence of the Michel Montignac diet

Losing weight using this method is not based on careful and strict restrictions, but on healthy and proper nutrition. The main principle of Michel Montignac's diet is to take into account the glycemic index of foods when compiling a menu, that is, the effect on a person's blood sugar level. The stronger and faster food increases it, the more harmful it is.

In response to an increase in glucose (sugar) after a meal, the body releases the hormone insulin, which is responsible for metabolism. Thanks to him, the blood carries sugar faster and more to various tissues, including fatty ones. In addition, it enhances the production of carbohydrates in the liver, after which they are dumped back into this tissue. Thus, weight gain occurs.

The peculiarity of Michel Montignac's diet is the use of foods that do not cause a sharp and strong increase in sugar, and therefore insulin. Thus, all glucose will be consumed by the body, will not be deposited in the fatty layers and the weight will not increase. And what has already been stored will be spent on the "life support" of the body.

Positive and negative aspects of losing weight

When going to follow Michel Montignac's diet, a person must consider its pros and cons. The indisputable advantages include:

• systematic and sustainable weight loss;
• reducing the risk of developing obesity;
• prevention of the appearance of diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus;
• lowering "bad" cholesterol;
• cleansing the body of toxins and toxins;
• general improvement.

However, this eating method has its drawbacks, such as:

• psychological tension due to compliance with the compatibility of products;
• spending a lot of time on cooking (Montignac recommends doing this over steam or low heat);
• the inability to follow the principles of diet everywhere - at a party, a restaurant, at events;
• such a menu is not suitable for people suffering from diabetes and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys or liver.

Despite all the nutritional features, this diet cannot harm the body; following the menu, you can lose about 3 kg of weight per month. On the one hand, this is not much, but this is how it is possible to lose weight safely and without the risk of regaining all the lost pounds.

Method rules

Monsieur Michel Montignac proposes to divide all food into "bad" and "good". It depends on their glycemic index, that is, the higher the index, the more “harmful” the product, since it stimulates a quick rise in sugar levels. The starting point of the diet is glucose 100 itself. All food products are conventionally divided into several categories.

• The most unwanted ones have a level of 70 to 100. These include honey, white sugar, white refined flour baked goods, corn, beer, sodas, sugary and dried fruits, and starch.
• Less dangerous, but subject to reduction in the diet, are foods with an indicator from 50 to 70. These are bread and pasta made from wholemeal flour, fruits, cereals such as brown rice, millet and rolled oats. It is impossible to exclude them completely, since they contain vitamins, fiber, useful microelements.
• The most useful are those products with an index less than 50. Namely: buckwheat, barley, natural yogurt, low-fat kefir, freshly squeezed juice, vegetables, herbs, dark chocolate, nuts, eggs, apples, peaches, beans, mushrooms, citrus fruits.

Having dealt with the "harmful" products, for successful weight loss and weight retention, you must adhere to simple menu rules for the diet:

• To get rid of extra pounds, you need to minimize products with an index above 50-60 units. Either there are them, but only accompanied by fiber.
• Combine carbohydrate-containing food with carbohydrates or proteins in your diet, but not with fats.
• Fatty foods in a recipe should be paired with protein foods.
• The interval between menus during the day must be at least 3 hours. Moreover, the higher the index was, the more time must elapse before the next snack.

If a person adheres to Michel Montignac's diet, then he will start the mechanism of losing weight, and subsequently will not get better.

For what the glycemic index is, see this video:

Phases and their features

Nutrition according to the system is divided into phases: for weight loss and maintenance. The first stage of the diet lasts as long as it takes to achieve the desired result. And the second lasts a lifetime. After all, Michel Montignac's diet is understood not so much as a temporary restriction, but more as a way of eating. Each stage has its own characteristics of the menu.

First phase

During the initial phase, it is important to eat foods with a glycemic
index below 50. We will have to completely exclude all rich flour products, sweets, butter, potatoes and replace them with vegetables. Bread and pasta are suitable from wholemeal and hard flours.

To lose weight on the Michel Montignac diet, you need to focus on food with an index of 15 and below.

Such products can be eaten indefinitely at any time interval. These include fish, meat without fat, vegetables, non-sugar fruits, berries, mushrooms, eggs, seafood. Because of them, sugar does not rise very quickly, so fat stores are not stored. Thanks to a consistently low insulin level, the mechanism of weight loss is triggered.

Second phase

After achieving the desired result in weight, the stage of keeping it begins. It lasts a very long time and can even become a healthy eating habit. At this stage of the diet, you can already allow yourself to be weak in the menu with the quality of products above 50.

You can even mix carbohydrates with fats, but in this case, the dish must be accompanied by fiber for quick digestion of food. It helps to avoid a sharp rise in blood sugar, slows down the penetration of carbohydrates into the blood and tissues. In addition, if a person has eaten a very heavy and high-calorie product, it is necessary to do according to the Michel Montignac system of the first stage.

Thanks to such nutrition throughout life, the body is insured against the development of various serious diseases and weight gain.

Slimming menu

Michel Montignac's diet does not have a special set of food products for every day, because the amount of time for the first and second phases is not limited. Therefore, everyone who is losing weight can appoint a menu for himself, the main thing is to adhere to the rule of food compatibility. For a balanced diet according to this system, the following features should be observed:

Protein and lipid products

Protein and carbohydrate-containing foods

• low fat yogurt;
• porridge cooked in water, for example, buckwheat, rice (brown, unpeeled), millet;
• vegetable water soups;
• salads with lemon juice and vinegar dressing, balsamic sauce;
• pasta, durum flour spaghetti.

Foods combined with protein, lipid and carbohydrate-containing

• skim cheese;
• different types of legumes;
• greens and green vegetables;
• citrus fruit;
• mushrooms.

It is better to build your food for every day of Michel Montignac's diet according to the following principle:

• eat any fruit before breakfast, as they force the stomach to produce juice, which digests food faster;
• strictly observe the menu regime: breakfast, lunch, dinner. No snacks.
• drink as much plain clean water as possible;
• do not season dishes with spicy sauces that increase appetite;
• do not add sugar to tea, coffee, cocoa, and only freshly squeezed juices are better;
• minimize starchy foods such as potatoes, since starch is the same sugar;
• refuse sugary soda, and very rarely allow alcoholic drinks.

After a couple of months of observing such a diet menu, the human body completely gets used to it and switches to a healthy diet. He himself will begin to demand only good products and “refuse” harmful ones.

Delicious recipes

The main advantage of Michel Montignac's diet is the large number of varied and delicious dishes. Here are some recipes for the menu.

Spaghetti with chicken fillet

Products for the recipe: chicken breasts, spaghetti, spices, low-fat yogurt, tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, garlic.

For dressing, you need to mix yogurt with spices. The fillets should be washed and lightly beat off. Then pour the dressing on the breasts laid out in a baking sheet and simmer in the oven until tender. Spaghetti is boiled in parallel, when they are ready, pour tomato sauce and finely chopped tomatoes with garlic. Chicken breasts are also laid out on a plate. The dish is ready.

Mustard Breaded Chicken

Recipe Products: Whole Chicken, Mustard Powder, Low Fat Yogurt, Spices. You need to thoroughly grate the whole chicken with a mixture of spices and mustard powder, pour yogurt inside. The chicken is stewed in the oven until tender. The dish can be served after about an hour.

Vegetable garnish for meat

Ingredients for the recipe: potatoes, mushrooms, onions, kefir, herbs, garlic, cheese, tomato paste, tomatoes, eggplants, spices.

First you need to boil the potatoes, then stew them in the oven, then pour the low-fat kefir with herbs and garlic while still hot. Next, mushrooms and onions are quickly fried and laid out to the potatoes, filled with tomato paste with grated cheese. Cabbage with tomatoes, herbs, garlic is stewed separately. Eggplants with tomatoes, garlic and herbs are also cooked separately in the oven.

After the constituent parts are ready, everything is laid out in one dish and seasoned with olive oil, decorated with fresh herbs.

Nut chocolate muffins

Products for the recipe: roasted peanuts 250 g, 3-4 eggs, a tablespoon of cocoa, half a spoonful of fructose, 50 g of butter.

First, peanuts are crushed, whites and yolks are separated from their eggs. The first ones are whipped with a mixer into a tight foam. And the yolks are mixed with fructose, cocoa and chopped nuts, butter. The whole mixture is thoroughly mixed, after all the components are carefully laid out in molds and sent to the oven for half an hour. The recipe is suitable for a carbohydrate menu.

For how to make delicious chocolate nut muffins, watch this video:

After the Montignac diet

This nutritional system for weight loss is suitable for most people, with rare exceptions. It does not involve starvation like other diets. The menu is very varied and offers a wide range of flavors. However, you should not expect immediate results. With the help of Michel Montignac's diet, the natural processes of the breakdown of body fat are triggered, but the weight obtained remains stable.

In addition, it is quite balanced and allows you to pamper yourself with sweets, meat and even alcoholic beverages, but without harming your health.

After the first stage of the diet, people notice an improvement in the state of the body, mood, ease and mobility, desire and the possibility of an active life. In addition, many losing weight observe positive changes in health, as a result, they have less frequent high blood pressure, pain in the liver, they forget about flatulence, colic and heartburn. Continuously adhering to the second phase of losing weight, people begin to experience the entire spectrum of taste sensations and pleasures.

Michel Montignac's diet is not just a strict set of products on the menu for every day, but a nutritional system, in which the correct metabolism is established, the work of the whole organism. It allows you to "make friends" with your body and find out the specifics of your needs.

The diet, which was developed by Michel Montignac, has gained worldwide fame. She is loved by many people for the fact that they can enjoy food and at the same time not gain excess weight, but, on the contrary, lose excess pounds. This diet does not require calorie counting, strict dietary restrictions or fasting, so its principles can be happily followed throughout your life. Moreover, in 3 months you can lose 25 kg.

How the diet was developed

According to legend, the Montignac diet was invented by the author to a large extent for himself. Dr. Michel Montignac worked for a time in Paris as a representative of an American pharmaceutical company. By the nature of his activity, he was forced to constantly attend business meetings with clients, which, as a rule, took place in cafes or restaurants. As a result, Montignac became very stout, and he developed complexes about his appearance.

Having tried many different diets on himself, to no avail, Montignac came up with his own weight loss system and lost more than 16kg in weight in a couple of months. At the same time, the principle of harmony according to Montignac "eat and lose weight" has become revolutionary, and the food system according to Montignac has become a classic in the dietology of the twentieth century.

According to the author of the diet, Dr. Michel Montignac, consuming food, you need to experience pleasure. And in no case should you limit yourself to food, and, moreover, the body should not starve. The main thing is to choose the right products for the daily menu and take control of insulin secretion. The essence of the effect of the Montignac diet can be easily understood if we turn to one of the basic concepts in dietetics: the glycemic index (GI). It shows how quickly the blood glucose level rises after the next meal with this or that product.

Michel Montignac pioneered the use of GI foods for effective weight loss in developing his diet. At the same time, while conducting the research, he consulted with the best French doctors and nutritionists. In addition, many aspects of the Montignac diet were further confirmed by research at the University of Harvard. Therefore, at the moment, the Montignac system of proper nutrition can be called one of the few that have received scientific substantiation and recognition of doctors around the world.

The Montignac diet is suitable for almost everyone and has almost no contraindications. At the same time, it does not limit a person in food: you can enjoy delicious food and lose weight.

The basic principles of the Montignac food system and its phases

According to Montignac, a set of extra pounds occurs, as a rule, due to systematic overeating. This is also influenced by the rhythm of life of a modern person, when most of us live on constant snacks, and the quality of these snacks with foods rich in sugar, simple carbohydrates and fats.

However, if you eat a lot of simple carbohydrates, the body begins to vigorously produce insulin, which inhibits the work of the enzyme triglyceride lipase, which is responsible for the breakdown of fats, and helps the work of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase, which is responsible for their storage. As a result, a person is rapidly gaining weight.

Michel Montignac was the first to scientifically substantiate the fact that simple carbohydrates and fats in the complex are the strongest stimulant of appetite. As a result, humanity "gets hooked" on such food, and all life becomes just a series of snacks.

Montignac believed that this vicious circle can be broken if:

• exclude sugar from the menu;
• do not use buns, pasta, polished rice, ketchup and mayonnaise;
• exclude the complex "fats + carbohydrates" from the diet, that is, eat meals saturated with these components strictly with a break of 3 hours;
• eat your fill 3 times a day;
• control the GI of consumed foods;
• exclude products containing preservatives and flavor enhancers;
• drink at least 2 liters of clean water daily, excluding juices and alcohol (occasionally only dry wine is permissible);
• limit tea and coffee as much as possible;
• fruit is eaten for breakfast or for 30-40 minutes. in front of him.

The entire Montignac food system is built from the alternation of two phases. The first goals are: normalization of metabolism, elimination of toxins, cleansing of the body and loss of kilograms. The second goal is to consolidate the result obtained at the previous stage. In this case, the first phase of the Montignac diet is based on the exclusion of junk food and the preference for foods with a low GI, with their correct combination in one meal.

With the change in the phase of the Montignac diet, the restrictions are softened and the use of unhealthy foods becomes permissible, but in small quantities and only occasionally.

Main foods and glycemic index table

It will not be difficult to master the principles of using foods according to the Montignac diet if you understand the GI table of foods. The higher the GI, the more intensively insulin will be released into the bloodstream and the more glucose the body will store in the form of fatty deposits.

GI table of the most common foods

The Montignac Diet Table does not contain meat, poultry and fish, since GI is assigned only to foods that contain carbohydrates. Pure meat, poultry and fish do not contain them, which means that their GI will be zero. Therefore, their use can not be limited.

When compiling a daily menu for the Montignac diet, food with the lowest GI should be taken as the basis of the diet. Within reasonable limits, it is allowed to dilute the menu with products with a moderate GI, because, in addition to glucose, they contain healthy dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. Michel Montignac advised that food with a high GI should be completely eliminated or reduced to a minimum.

Menu for the week

However, choosing food based only on the glycemic index table is also not worth it. It should only serve as a basis for a healthy diet, not a dogma. Montignac pointed out that when drawing up a menu, one should pay attention to the nutritional value of products. For example, the GI of honey is 90, and carrots are 85, but they contain a large amount of vital substances, therefore it would be unreasonable to exclude them from the menu. At the same time, the GI of cooked sausages is only about 28, however, they contain a set of harmful additives, therefore, not only those who are on a diet should not get carried away with them, but everyone who follows their figure.

Montignac paid much attention to the correct combination of products in his diet. In one meal, it is better to combine proteins with fats and not eat simple carbohydrates with them. For example, you cannot season pasta and porridge with oil, it is better to use tomato sauce for this, and meat will be right to eat with vegetable salad seasoned with oil. Montignac also emphasized that the way of culinary processing is important during the preparation process. It is better to cook by baking or boiling in a double boiler or over low heat, and it is better to exclude frying.

The table in which the GI of the products is indicated will help to correctly select the products for the Montignac diet, so that the diet is as healthy and useful as possible.

Menu for phase I of the Montignac diet with recipes

Phase I of the Montignac diet lasts from 2 to 3 months. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the body and the goals of the person. This time is required to change eating habits, cleanse the digestive tract and normalize metabolism. The menu should be diversified as much as possible and enriched with foods that contain proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

The most plentiful in the diet should be the morning meal. Breakfast should not only consist of coffee or tea, as this negatively affects the metabolism. After all, if in the morning there is no feeling of hunger, then the dinner was too dense. Therefore, according to Montignac, in such a situation, you should radically reconsider your eating habits: learn to have a full breakfast and reduce the amount of food in the evening.

Sitting on the Montignac diet, it is better to start the day with fruits, which will start the digestive process and serve as prevention of constipation. During breakfast, preference should be given to protein foods and fiber. For example, low-fat cottage cheese with rye toast or oatmeal with yogurt are great for the first meal on a diet.

The Montignac dieter should also eat densely. The menu should contain low-fat dishes, rich in proteins and lipids, and completely exclude simple carbohydrates. The main dish of the day's meal should be meat or fish, you can eat fresh vegetable salad as a side dish, and 100 g of yogurt for dessert.

Approximate menu of the Montignac diet for stage I.

1. Breakfast: 200 g of buckwheat (oatmeal) porridge without butter or scrambled eggs with herbs.
2. Lunch: boiled mackerel or beef, cabbage salad with cucumbers and tomatoes.
3. Dinner: baked chicken breast or fish, vegetable salad with olive oil.

You can eat your last meal a few hours before bedtime. That being said, dinner should be the lightest of all the dieter's meals.

Recipe 1. Zucchini Soup

Finely chop the onion and chop the zucchini into pieces. Stew vegetables in a saucepan with vegetable oil. Then pour them into a blender and beat. Gently add 0.5 l of broth, curry, a clove of garlic and 120 ml of cream. Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, but do not cook.

Recipe 2. White meat with cheese

Beat off the chicken breast, pour over with soy sauce, season with herbs, pepper and olive oil, sprinkle with grated cheese, cover with a circle of fresh tomato, sprinkle with chopped herbs. Wrap the breast in foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

Recipe 3. Strawberry-curd dessert

4 tbsp. l. pour boiling water over instant gelatin and leave to swell. Add lemon juice to the gelatin and, while stirring, heat the mass until it is completely dissolved. In a serving dish, mix 100 g of hazelnuts and 2 tbsp. l. apple puree, top with 50 g of strawberries. Add 400 g of cottage cheese to the gelatin-lemon mass, mix well and put in a mold on top of the strawberries. Send the finished dessert to the refrigerator for solidification.

The first phase of the diet has two basic rules: eating three meals a day and avoiding snacks.

Montignac Phase II menu with recipes

The task of the II phase of the Montignac diet: stabilization of the result obtained at the I stage. You can make minor deviations in the diet with a gradual expansion of the list of permissible dishes. However, in the Montignac diet, there are basic principles for compiling the menu in the stabilization phase.

1. The menu should be expanded gradually, with the introduction of dishes made from beans, beans and whole dairy products.
2. It is okay to occasionally combine fats and carbohydrates, however, along with this, you need to consume vegetables containing fiber.
3. It is allowed to sometimes drink dry wine, eating a slice of cheese or vegetable salad before eating it.
4. Sometimes simple carbohydrates are acceptable in small portions.
5. Instead of butter, use a spread, drink only low-fat fresh milk.
6. To get only the "right" fats, you need to give preference to fatty fish.
7. Continue eating only whole grain bread.
8. Minimize the consumption of sugar, sweets and pastries in the diet.
9. Eliminate soda and sugary drinks.
10. The tea should be weak and the coffee should be decaffeinated.
11. Consume 2 liters of clean water daily.

Approximate menu of the Montignac diet at stage II. Breakfast: whole grain bread toast with a slice of marmalade or natural muesli with yogurt. Lunch: any meat (except pork) or fish, boiled or baked with raw vegetables. Dinner: Pea soup (other beans with vegetable salad) or seafood with vegetables. Sometimes you can indulge in a glass of dry wine.

Recipe 1. Red fish solyanka

First, you need to prepare a broth from the head, tail and fins of red fish with onions and carrots. Next, brown the finely chopped onion, add the chopped pickles, let them stew a little, stir in 1 tbsp. l. tomato, a little cucumber pickle, fish broth and stew. Cut the fish carcass into pieces and boil in the rest of the broth. Cook the fish until tender, add the dressing, wait until the hodgepodge boils, season with olives, olives and lemon juice.

Recipe 2. Spaghetti with chicken and mushrooms

Chicken breasts must be beaten off, seasoned with salt and pepper, covered with kefir and placed in a preheated oven. While the meat is stewing, you need to boil the spaghetti. Dip a couple of tomatoes in boiling water to easily peel off, chop and grind with finely chopped mushrooms, at the end add a slice of chopped garlic. Pour the ready-made spaghetti with tomato-mushroom sauce, lay out the chicken breasts and sprinkle with herbs.

Recipe 3. Walnut-chocolate biscuit

Grind a glass of nuts. Separate the whites of 3 eggs and beat until fluffy. To the remaining yolks, mix 2 tbsp. l. fructose, 1 tbsp. l. cocoa, ground nuts, 50 g margarine and stir everything thoroughly. Then very carefully add whipped whites into the mass, put the dough in a greased form. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. at a temperature of 1800C.

The duration of the second stage can be varied at your own discretion.

Results of the Montignac diet

With the help of the Montignac diet, you can not only lose weight and stabilize your weight, but also prevent type II diabetes and diseases of the cardiovascular system. In addition, most people living on this diet for a fairly long period note an improvement in general well-being and an increase in vitality and performance.

Describing the diet in his book, Michel Montignac promised to lose weight up to 20 kg in 2 months. However, it is obvious that his writings spoke of those who have a large percentage of overweight. But the analysis of subsequent studies and reviews allows us to conclude that, having up to 10 extra pounds, about 5-6 kg will go during the first phase of the diet. The rest of the excess weight will be lost gradually and in the future, if you do not deviate from the principles of the second phase of the Montignac diet and do not indulge yourself with excess of permitted foods.

In terms of recommendations for combining different types of food and limiting sweetness, Montignac's diet echoes the principles of separate feeding systems. Such diets provide an opportunity to normalize blood glucose levels and thereby control your appetite. However, disturbances in the diet and deviation from the system in this case is unacceptable, since Montignac focuses on the fact that in order to successfully maintain a form, low-glycemic separate nutrition must accompany a person throughout his life.

If the ideal weight is no longer a dream, but a reality, and you aim to stay in shape further, you can make some individual adjustments to the described diet to your liking. After all, Montignac himself liked to pamper himself with fresh croissants for breakfast, but it is still better to continue to select the main diet according to the compatibility of products and their glycemic index.

It is impossible to achieve sustained loss of extra pounds using only diet techniques taken out of context. The main plus of the Montignac diet is expressed in the activation of metabolism and the normalization of metabolism. Only after this will the weight stabilize at the required level. The disadvantage of the Montignac diet is due to its non-percent balance. This is insignificantly true for fast diets, but this system is quite long-lasting - and this drawback, with the wrong selection of products, can harm the body. In general, the Montignac diet is one of the most effective and leads to long-term results in the case of a close study of the system, its understanding and strict adherence to all recommendations.

When deciding to use one or another strict diet or switch to a certain nutritional system, be it the Montignac diet or any other, it is worthwhile to be examined and consult a nutritionist. After all, only a specialist can tell you how best to organize the diet, taking into account the individual characteristics of the body. The doctor will be qualified to assess the benefits and possible risk of complications from the use of various diets.

Today the Montignac diet is quite popular, as many foreign stars adhere to it. The diet is based on two stages, the first involves dropping extra pounds, and the second is to consolidate the results obtained. Also, the diet is based on the glycemic index. According to it, the products that can be included in the first and second stages are determined. The diet has contraindications. It is contraindicated to use it for pregnant and lactating women, children and adolescents, people who have undergone surgery, patients with diabetes, people with psychological illnesses, ulcers, acute inflammatory processes in the body, the elderly.

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Basic principles of the diet

In order for the effectiveness of the diet to be high, it is necessary to adhere to the following basic principles:

№	Basic principles
1	It is allowed to eat fruit only half an hour before the start of a meal. This must be done so that all nutrients are well absorbed. It is recommended to prepare a fruit salad and drink freshly squeezed juice every day for breakfast (except for protein-lipid)
2	It is necessary to adhere to proper nutrition during the diet and eat within 4 times a day
3	It is recommended to use black and gray bread made from coarse flour instead of delicious pastry and bakery products. It should be eaten for breakfast or lunch.
4	One of the main taboo of this method is beer. It is not recommended to take it, since the composition contains malt, which affects the level of glycemia, as a result, fatigue appears.
5	You should avoid sugary drinks, nectars, soda, packaged juices. In addition to the fact that they contain a large amount of synthetic additives, such products are high in sugar, which leads to an increase in the glycemic index. Also, drinks that contain carbon dioxide contribute to the appearance of cellulite.
6	It is necessary to pay much attention to complex fats, which are found in beef, pork, lamb, cream, butter. Such fats have a detrimental effect on the cardiovascular system. Fatty foods are best replaced with poultry, eggs, olive oil, goose or duck fat.
7	You should exclude regular coffee from the diet or replace it with decaffeinated coffee. Alternatives to this drink are mildly brewed tea, chicory
8	You need to drink at least 2 liters of clean water per day.
9	The menu can include dairy products with low or zero fat content
10	Whole grain cereals (pearl barley, wheat, millet) should be preferred. Fast food and muesli are not recommended
11	White rice should be replaced with brown unpeeled
12	Potatoes should be consumed no more than once every 7 days. In addition, it should not be baked in the oven, it is better to cook it in a peel.
13	Sugar consumption should be limited. If it is unusual to drink unsweetened tea or coffee, then you can add honey or a sweetener
14	It is worth giving up any baked goods, pasta and semolina
15	You can't feel hungry. If a person is constantly hungry, the glucose entering the body can gradually be deposited in the fat folds.

Advantages and disadvantages, contraindications

Diet advantages:

1. 1. If the diet is followed correctly, then in 3 months you can get rid of 15 kg of excess weight.
2. 2. The diet can be repeated several months after the end of the previous one.
3. 3. During the diet, correct habits are formed, which consist in fractional nutrition, drinking plenty of clean water, and refusing to eat after 6 pm.
4. 4. There is no feeling of hunger thanks to a hearty menu, which means that a breakdown is unlikely.
5. 5. Since the diet is balanced, there is no need to use food supplements and vitamin-mineral complex.
6. 6. The well-being of a losing weight person significantly improves, a surge of strength is felt, and the mood rises.
7. 7. There is a regulation of blood sugar levels.
8. 8. Blood pressure and blood circulation are normalized.
9. 9. The digestion process is improved, there are no problems with stool.
10. 10. Complexion, skin and hair condition are improved, bones, teeth and nails are also strengthened.
11. 11. Smooth weight loss occurs, which means that cellulite, stretch marks and sagging skin do not appear.
12. 12. All products of the diet have a high compatibility with each other.

Disadvantages:

1. 1. It is necessary to constantly count foods on the glycemic index.
2. 2. Avoiding sweets, potatoes, alcohol and rice.
3. 3. Separation of food.

Diet is contraindicated:

• during pregnancy and lactation;
• children and adolescents under 18;
• elderly people;
• people suffering from psychological illnesses;
• people who have high blood sugar;
• with ulcers;
• if there are acute, chronic and inflammatory processes;
• in the postoperative period.



Diet stages

The power supply system consists of 2 stages. The essence of the first is intense weight loss to the required proportions, and the second is to consolidate the results for many years:

1. 1. First step Is active weight loss. In the first phase, you need to limit the consumption of the usual carbohydrates. It is necessary to form a menu of products that belong to the third table of glycemic indices. In the 1st phase, separate meals should be adhered to, which means that one meal should include foods that contain either only fats or carbohydrates.
2. 2. Second phase- consolidation of results. This stage is, in fact, the scheme for exiting the diet. Its duration can be different and it depends on the person who is losing weight. Gradually, at this stage, foods from the 1st and 2nd tables of glycemic indices are introduced into the diet.

The glycemic index is a shorthand for the rate of breakdown in the human body of foods that contain carbohydrates, compared to the rate of breakdown of glucose, whose glycemic index is considered the reference.



Glycemic Index Table

Foods with a high glycemic index:

Product name	GI
Dates	145
Long french bread	132
Rice noodles	130
Beer	112
Shortbread cookies	109
Watermelon	102
Wheat bagel	100
Rye bread toast	98
Swede	95
Glucose	91
Shortcrust fruit baskets	90
Oven baked potatoes	88
Rice flour	86
French buns	84
Hamburger buns	83
Canned apricots	81
Spaghetti	90
Mashed potatoes	93
Honey	90
Instant rice porridge	87
Donuts	86
Ice cream	85
Cornflakes	83
Boiled carrots	80
Popcorn	80
Steamed white rice	80
Beans	80
Potato chips	79
Crackers	79
Muesli	78
Brown rice	76
Canned sweet corn	75
Unsweetened waffles	75
Zucchini	74
Pumpkin	74
Orange juice	74
Ground crackers	73
Sweet potato	72
Wheat porridge	70
Fruit chips in sugar	69
Milk chocolate	68
Starch	68
Marmalade	66
Snickers Bars, Mars	65
Turnip	65
Sugar	64

Foods with an average glycemic index:

Product name	GI
Unleavened cakes	64
Wheat flour	63
Bulgur	63
Croissant	62
Wheat flour cream	61
Muesli Swiss	60
Oatmeal porridge	60
Puree soup with dry green peas	60
A pineapple	60
Biscuit	60
Jacket-boiled potatoes	59
Canned vegetables	58
Semolina	57
Bananas	57
Melon	56
Black bread	55
Raisin	53
Pasta with added cheese	53
Black bean puree soup	51
Beet	50
Sprouted wheat grains	49
Pancakes made from wheat flour	49
Bar Twix	49
White rice	48
Pizza with cheese and tomatoes	47
Pies	47
Sucrose	46
Papaya	45
Arabic pita	45
Wild rice	45
Mango	44
Oatmeal baked butter	43
Fruit with whipped cream	42
Sweet yogurt	42
Tomato soup	42
Bran	42
Buckwheat	42
Sweet potato	41
Kiwi	40
Pasta with cheese	40
Pancakes, buckwheat bread	40
Sherbet	40
Oatmeal	39
Sugar Free Grape Juice	38
Unsweetened grapefruit juice	38
Pineapple juice	38
Bran bread	37
Canned pears	36
Lentil puree soup	36

Low glycemic index foods:

Product name	GI
Grape	35
Fresh green peas	35
Corn cereal porridge	34
Orange fresh	34
Apple fresh	33
White beans	32
Wheat grain bread, rye	31
Pumpkin bread	30
Fish sticks	30
Spaghetti made from wholemeal flour	30
Bean soup	29
Orange	29
Chinese vermicelli	28
Dry peas	27
Fig	27
Natural yoghurt	27
Low-fat yoghurt	26
Dried apricots	25
Corn	24
Fresh carrots	24
Soy milk ice cream	23
Pear	23
Sprouted rye grains	22
Cocoa	21
Peanut butter	21
Strawberry	21
Whole milk	21
Lima beans	21
Berry marmalade	20
2% milk	19
Soy milk	19
Peach	18
Apple	18
Sausages	17
Skim milk	16
Red lentils	16
Cherry	16
Crushed yellow peas	15
Grapefruit	15
Barley porridge	14
Plums	14
Canned soybeans	13
Green lentils	13
Black chocolate	13
Fresh apricots	13
Peanut	13
Fructose	12
Rice bran	12
Walnuts	12
Broccoli	11
Eggplant	10
Oyster mushrooms	10
Green pepper	10
Cabbage	10
Fresh onions	10
Tomatoes	9
Leaf salad	8
Garlic	8
Lettuce	7
Sunflower seeds	7

7 days menu

Sample menu for a week:

Days of the week	Meal time	Products / Dishes
1	Breakfast	Fresh from two lemons - 300 ml; kiwi - 2 pcs.
	Snack	Muesli - 160 g; low-fat yogurt - 200 g; coffee - cup
	Dinner	Mushrooms cooked in Greek - 180 g; chum salmon - 120 g; vegetable salad - 170 g; hard cheese - 3 pieces
	Afternoon snack	Apple - 1 pc.
	Dinner	Stewed vegetables - 200 g; boiled chicken - 120 g; low fat yogurt - 230 g
2	Breakfast	Wholemeal bread with butter - 2 slices; coffee with milk - 300 ml
	Snack	Orange - 1 pc.
	Dinner	Baked eggplant with tuna - 130 g; shrimp - 140 g; salad with cabbage, cheese and tomatoes - 200 g
	Afternoon snack	Granular curd - 200 g
	Dinner	Vegetable soup - 130 ml; lentils - 150 g; strawberries - 170 g
3	Breakfast	Grapefruit juice - a glass; pear - 1 pc.; kiwi - 1 pc.
	Snack	Skim milk - 400 ml; wholemeal bread - 1 slice; unsweetened jam - 80 g
	Dinner	Tomato, lettuce, cucumber, cheese salad - 230 g; steak with broccoli and cheese - 250 g
	Afternoon snack	Apple - 1 pc.
	Dinner	Vegetable soup - 210 ml; pasta with cheese and mushrooms - 180 g; low-fat yogurt - 250 ml
4	Breakfast	Freshly squeezed juice from two lemons and one kiwi
	Snack	Muesli with raisins - 200 g; low-fat yogurt without additives - 230 g; coffee without added sugar and decaffeinated - 300 ml
	Dinner	Chum salmon - 120 g; mushrooms in Greek - 200 g; vegetables - 190 g; hard cheese - 90 g
	Afternoon snack	Banana - 1 pc.
	Dinner	Chicken stewed with vegetables - 230 g; unsweetened yogurt - 180 g; fruit salad - 130 g
5	Breakfast	Orange juice - 300 ml; low-fat cottage cheese - 200 g; decaffeinated coffee with milk - cup
	Snack	Classic yogurt - 160 ml
	Dinner	Grilled salmon - 230 g; spinach; bitter chocolate - no more than 70 g; green tea - 350 ml
	Afternoon snack	Baked apple - 1 pc.
	Dinner	Cheese soufflé - 190 g; lentils with pork - 240 g; hard cheese - 100 g; unsweetened green tea with fruit - cup
6	Breakfast	Scrambled eggs from 2 eggs; bacon - 100 g; sausages - 2 pcs.; coffee with milk - 250 ml
	Snack	Orange - 1 pc.; kiwi - 1 pc.
	Dinner	Grilled fish with vegetables - 180 g; strawberry pie - 130 g; cherry juice - glass
	Afternoon snack	Unsweetened granular cottage cheese - 200 g
	Dinner	Soup with tomatoes, potatoes, cheese, leeks, carrots - 200 ml; green salad; purified water - 400 ml
7	Breakfast	Low-fat milk with coffee - 300 ml; fruit slicing
	Snack	Orange - 1 pc.; unsweetened yogurt - 200 g
	Dinner	Smoked salmon - 130 g; beans - 150 g; lamb meat - 120 g; cheese - 60 g; green tea - 400 ml
	Afternoon snack	Rice cakes - 3 pcs.
	Dinner	Tomatoes stuffed with herbs and cottage cheese - 3 pcs.; soup with potatoes, onions, herbs, carrots and cheese - 220 ml; apple fresh - 300 ml

Recipes

Popular homemade recipes for the Montignac diet are zucchini soup, salad with mushrooms and cheese, baked chicken breast with cheese, champignon cream soup, chicken breasts with yogurt.

Zucchini puree soup

Components:

• onion - 1 pc.;
• zucchini - 2 pcs.;
• garlic - 1 clove;
• curry pepper (powder);
• cream - 150 ml;
• chicken broth - 0.5 l.



Cooking method:

1. 1. Finely chop the onion, chop the zucchini into wedges.
2. 2. Stew the chopped onions and zucchini in a pan with the addition of oil - vegetables should be soft, but do not fry them.
3. 3. Put chopped vegetables into a blender and beat well, add curry, chicken broth, cream, mix all the ingredients thoroughly, then heat to a boil.

Mushroom and cheese salad

Required Ingredients:

• champignon mushrooms (pickled) - 200 g;
• chicken egg - 1 pc .;
• homemade mayonnaise - to taste;
• greens;
• ham - 120 g.



Cooking steps:

1. 1. Boil and wash the onions and mushrooms, cut them into small pieces and fry in vegetable oil until soft, add ground pepper and salt.
2. 2. Frying must be diluted with 1/3 of the mushroom broth, beat the ingredients until creamy using a blender.
3. 3. Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the flour, add the chopped mushrooms and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 8 minutes.
4. 4. Add cream to the resulting soup and simmer for 5 minutes. Next, remove the container from heat and salt. You can serve the dish with croutons or oat bran.

Chicken breasts with yogurt

Required Ingredients:

• chicken breasts - 500 g;
• salt;
• pepper;
• unsweetened yogurt - 400 ml.



The chicken breast must be beaten off, add pepper, salt and pour over yogurt (unsweetened). After that, you need to put the meat in the oven. The dish should be baked for 15 minutes at a temperature of 150 degrees Celsius.

And a little about secrets ...

The story of one of our readers Alina R .:

My weight was especially depressing for me. I gained a lot, after pregnancy I weighed like 3 sumo wrestlers together, namely 92 kg with an increase of 165. I thought my stomach would come off after giving birth, but no, on the contrary, I began to gain weight. How to cope with hormonal changes and obesity? But nothing disfigures or makes a person younger than his figure. In my 20s, I first learned that overweight girls are called "WOMAN", and that "they don't sew that size." Then at 29 years old, divorce from her husband and depression ...

But what can you do to lose weight? Laser liposuction surgery? Recognized - at least 5 thousand dollars. Hardware procedures - LPG massage, cavitation, RF lifting, myostimulation? Slightly more affordable - the course costs from 80 thousand rubles with a consultant nutritionist. You can of course try to run on a treadmill, to the point of insanity.

And when to find all this time? And it's still very expensive. Especially now. Therefore, for myself, I chose a different way ...

Michel Montignac is an internationally renowned nutritionist and creator of a unique diet. Thanks to him, millions of women and men have acquired the desired forms, improved their body and changed their way of life. What is the secret of his technique and how it works, you can learn from this article.

The history of the creation of the Montignac method

At the beginning of his career, Montignac worked as a representative in one of the largest pharmaceutical companies. His responsibility was to meet with clients, investors and other important guests of the firm. The places of meetings and presentations were usually restaurants and cafes. In addition, the dietitian was in constant motion and had to snack on the run. This work, together with the lifestyle, led Montignac to the second stage of obesity. Excess weight haunted the future nutritionist and created many complexes.

This is how the long road to creating the perfect diet began. Michel Montignac has tried dozens of trendy weight loss techniques. But none of them gave him the desired result. And then he began to develop his own method. Having weighed all the pros and cons of all the diets passed, the nutritionist has developed a theory of the appearance of excess weight. And I found a way to deal with it.

Where does excess weight come from?

Michel Montignac believes that the hormone insulin, produced by the thyroid gland, is the culprit for excess weight. provoke simple carbohydrates. When they are consumed, the blood sugar level rises, and to reduce it, the body produces insulin.

The problem is that if a person eats a large amount of carbohydrates, then the sugar rises quickly. And insulin quickly reduces it to a level below average. As a result, the body begins to lack sugar. It signals the brain to replenish its levels by consuming simple carbohydrates. It turns out a vicious circle. A person eats sweets and after a while wants them even more.

To avoid sudden fluctuations in sugar levels, Michel Montignac suggests consuming foods with a low glycemic index, since it is this index that affects the production of insulin. This will allow:

• Keep insulin normal.
• Fat - break down in a timely manner.
• Avoid diabetes.

Michel Montignac's method

Montignac is fundamentally against the word "diet". In his opinion, it causes negative associations associated with restrictions on food, hunger strikes, the use of lean, tasteless foods, exhaustion, weakness, and others. He not only does not prohibit eating, but also encourages the consumption of tasty, satisfying food. This is probably why Michel Montignac became an idol for women.

Michel Montignac's method is based on reducing high glycemic index foods and increasing low glycemic index foods.

Prohibited foods include:

• Sugar in any form.
• Starch and products containing it.
• Sweet vegetables such as beets and carrots.
• Sweet fruits such as bananas, grapes, mangoes.
• Processed cereals such as white or semolina.
• Bread, especially white bread.
• Pasta.
• Combined meals that contain a lot of fat and carbohydrates at the same time. For example, cakes, pastries, fried potatoes, pilaf, etc.

Permitted products include:

• Vegetables, especially green ones.
• Fruits such as apples, citrus fruits, avocados, peaches, kiwi and all the rest.
• Unprocessed grains such as buckwheat or brown rice.
• Durum wheat pasta.
• Fresh herbs.
• Berries.
• Mushrooms.
• Red meat. It can be eaten with vegetables, but it is forbidden along with cereals and pasta.
• Poultry, breast is preferred.
• Fish, of all sorts.
• Dairy and fermented milk products.
• Soy-based products such as tofu and milk.

As you can see, the list of permitted products is quite large. Losing weight does not have to starve or eat monotonously. Every day he can prepare himself a wide variety of dishes. But it must be borne in mind that the amount of fat will have to be reduced, and also to avoid combining it with carbohydrates, even complex ones.

This menu option is approximate and was created so that losing weight has an idea of ​​Montignac's daily diet:

• Breakfast: steamed oatmeal in milk, fruit or berries.
• Second breakfast: one kind of any fruit, except bananas and grapes.
• Lunch: boiled beef with vegetable salad.
• Afternoon snack: cottage cheese with vegetables or fruits.
• Dinner: scrambled eggs, mushrooms and vegetables.
• You can have a snack with unsweetened yogurt before bed.

Diet stages

Michel Montignac's diet is divided into two stages. At the first, there is a reduction and strict control of consumed carbohydrates. Only foods with a low glycemic index are acceptable. Its duration depends on the person and how many kilograms he wants to lose weight. When losing weight achieves the desired weight, he goes on to the second stage - consolidation. It allows foods with a high glycemic index, but in small quantities.

First step

This stage can have a different duration and depends on the desired weight of the losing weight. During this period, you need to carefully approach the choice of products. For example, it is better to give preference to fatty fish or avocado. They contain many useful acids that not only do not harm the figure, but also help to improve it. Unlike butter and vegetable oil.

Among protein foods, it is better to choose a low-fat diet. For example, chicken breast, lean beef, veal, fish from the cod family, cottage cheese, eggs, seafood, etc. But you will have to give up fatty pork and lamb.

As for carbohydrates, their glycemic index should not exceed 40 points. Namely vegetables, green fruits, herbs, cereals in small quantities.

Food can be boiled, stewed and steamed. Frying them is strictly prohibited.

During the diet, it is advisable to play sports. It is not necessary to overload the body with grueling exercise on simulators. You can walk in the fresh air or do morning exercises.

You also need to drink plenty of clean water, about 1.5-2 liters per day. Tea and coffee are not included in this quantity.

Second phase

This stage is stabilizing. It is designed to help you develop healthy eating habits and get out of your diet gently. Simply put, stabilization will help you avoid re-gaining weight.

During this period, the amount of acceptable carbohydrates in the diet increases. You can eat unprocessed cereals, sweet vegetables. You can also increase the amount of fruit in the daily menu.

The second stage lasts as many days as the first lasted. That is, if the first stage took one month, then the stabilization lasts exactly the same.

Michel Montignac: books

The nutritionist not only created a unique method of losing weight, but also immortalized it in his books. Many weight loss guides have been written over the years of his career. They describe the Montignac technique, its features, pros and cons. As well as useful tips and advice for those who wish to speed up the process of losing weight.

List of books by Michel Montignac:

• Nutrition Secrets for Everyone.
• “Method of losing weight by Montignac. Especially for women. "
• "The secret of your youth."
• Michel Montignac. Eat and lose weight. "
• "Secrets of Healthy Eating for Children."
• "The method of losing weight by Michel Montignac."
• Michel Montignac's 100 Best Culinary Recipes.
• "Have dinner and lose weight."

Every person who wants to lose weight, rejuvenate, improve health and simply change their life for the better must read these books. In them Michel Montignac not only talks about his method, but also shares the secrets of a healthy and tasty lifestyle.

At the end of the article, we can conclude that Michel Montignac is a genius nutritionist. He not only developed a nutritional system, but also proved it on his own experience. Books describing her have sold millions of copies and have been translated into hundreds of languages. And if a person wants to lose weight, change his life and be healthy, then he should pay attention to the Montignac method.

Michel Montignac

The first phase - phase 1 - is relatively easy to apply in practice. You just need to remove a number of foods and foods from your diet. The most important thing is to understand why you are doing this and not otherwise.

My experience says that this is the reason for the failures of some people using the method. I never doubt your ability to absorb new principles and ideas. It is much more difficult to abandon old ideas that sit firmly in our subconscious, as they are absorbed by mother's milk. The ideas presented in this book are based on research by scientists and doctors, but, unfortunately, have not yet received universal acceptance. So, if you become their adherent, do not count on the support and sympathy of others.

So, let's begin. It is very important not to skip a single meal - it throws the body out of balance. It is imperative to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as an afternoon snack. Breakfast should be hearty, lunch is normal, and dinner is light. The same food can promote fat deposition in the evening and not in the morning.

Breakfast No. 1

Protein-carbohydrate with a certain amount of fiber (fiber).

Option 1:

Wholemeal bread (wholegrain, bran or various types of doctor's bread).

Unfortunately, there is no exact standard in the selection of flour when baking bread. Each pastry chef prepares bread according to his own recipe. For this reason, very often the name of bread, say whole grain, does not correspond to its quality. This bread can be a mixture of white and whole flour, or white flour with less refined flour. As for bran bread, in reality it is white bread, to which the chefs have added a small amount of bran, which would give the baker the right to assign the name "bran" to the bread. The bran used as an additive is a waste from the industrial processing of wheat and, therefore, it is possible that it may contain pesticide residues.

I still recommend choosing real whole grain bread - wholemeal flour. It can usually be found in health food stores. Wholemeal bread maintains the integrity of the components of the wheat grain, which allows it to rank on the list of "good" carbohydrates - with a low glycemic index. In addition, this bread is rich in proteins, minerals, trace elements and B vitamins. For variety, you can use separate loaves, such as oat wasa. As for all kinds of cookies, they must be excluded, since they contain fats and sugar. Let's return, however, to wholemeal bread. What can you eat it with?

In phase 1 it cannot be eaten with butter or margarine - something that can be done in phase 2. You should also not eat bread with honey or jam, as the latter contains 65% sugar.

I suggest you the following additions:

Fruit jam, made without sugar from fruit pulp, jelly-like (thanks to apple pectins). This jam has nothing to do with the classic jams that are high in sugar, even if they taste sweet. This jam has a low glycemic index and therefore goes well with wholemeal bread.

Low-fat cottage cheese or natural yoghurt with a very low fat content.

Option 2

Cereals like "muesli", only without sugar, honey, caramel, rice and corn.

Oatmeal can be sprinkled with hot or cold skim milk or water, or eaten with low fat cottage cheese or yogurt. You can add sugar-free fruit jam.

Of course, no cornflakes or rice or corn dishes that have a glycemic index of 85.

A combination of whole bread with cereals is also allowed.

Breakfast can consist of some fruit with skim milk added.

Breakfast number 2

Protein-lipid and therefore salty. It can consist of ham, bacon, cheese, or eggs (whipped, cooked soft-boiled, or fried eggs).

This is an English breakfast and since we are in phase 1 it should be carbohydrate-free. So don't make toast, not even whole bread.

This is the perfect breakfast formula when you are in a hotel where whole breads and cereals are rare, or on weekends when you have time to make scrambled eggs.

It should be noted, however, that this breakfast is rich in saturated fat. Therefore, if you have high cholesterol and cardiovascular insufficiency, this breakfast is not for you.

You can finish breakfast with low-fat cottage cheese, but not more than 150-200 g, because it contains a little carbohydrates that can activate the secretion of insulin and block the fats that entered the body with this breakfast.

Be careful and avoid carbohydrates for the next two meals.

Any of the breakfast options can be accompanied by:

Decaffeinated coffee

Weak tea (strong tea has the same effect as coffee)

Chicory

Skimmed milk

In phase 1, it is best to avoid cocoa.

All drinks are drunk, of course, without sugar, it is possible with a sweetener, but try to do without it in order to get rid of sweets in general.

Whether you dine at home or in a restaurant, your meal should be made up of proteins and lipids, but that doesn't mean it should be fatty (see Chapter II on “bad” and “good” lipids).

I will give a few examples for clarity. Best of all, test yourself against the Carbohydrate Food Chart (see Appendix). I advise you to make a photocopy and keep it always at hand. You will soon remember the table by teeth.

Typical lunch:

Raw vegetable salad;

Fish or meat or poultry;

"Permitted vegetables";

green salad;

drink - still water

Any salad is suitable as an appetizer, as long as there are no "bad" carbohydrates in it.

Therefore, before placing an order, check to see if the salad contains potatoes, corn, carrots or beets.

The salad can be seasoned with vegetable oil (preferably olive oil) and vinegar or lemon.

In phase 1, avoid carbohydrates and lipids such as walnuts. If you do not take a salad with nuts, then a salad with small pieces of bacon is not excluded. But do not forget to ask that no croutons are added there.

Be vigilant, beware of even small mistakes (in fact, they are big).

In a restaurant, always make sure that no ingredient you don't want ends up in the salad.

Refer to allergies - works unmistakably. But if the salad includes green beans, leeks, cabbage - plain and cauliflower, tomatoes, chicory, asparagus, mushrooms, radishes, cheese, or pieces of smoked sausage, eat it as much as you like.

There are no prohibitions on eggs, even with mayonnaise. Yes, yes, mayonnaise is allowed in a protein-lipid meal - in reasonable quantities, of course (just check if it contains sugar, glucose and any flour). However, if you have excess cholesterol, avoid mayonnaise and sour cream (see chapters II, VIII).

Suitable as a snack: tuna, sardines in oil, crabs, lobsters, smoked or pickled salmon. In the first phase, avoid oysters, scallops and goose liver pate (a French delicacy): they contain carbohydrates and lipids and slow down your weight loss. But in the second phase, you can fully enjoy them.

Main course Fish or meat or poultry (preferably fish). There are no prohibitions here, except for the cooking method. Fish and meat should not be dunked in flour or bread crumbs. It is best if the fish is grilled.

Also, avoid gravies from the pan - they are difficult to digest and increase blood cholesterol.

Flour is often added to sauces, so avoid thick sauces.

Do not eat large quantities of mustard. In phase 1 - no more than a teaspoon mixed with vinegar and olive oil. It makes a great gravy.

The side dish must contain fiber, and therefore can include all kinds of vegetables - from tomatoes to eggplant, also French beans, cauliflower, etc. - the choice is huge. If you are using frozen vegetables - of course, they are always worse than fresh ones - look at the bag for sugar.

From the moment you become an adherent of this method, get used to eating cheese without bread. Soon you will find that the cheese tastes much better this way, and when you can drink wine, you will realize that it is not even tastier, but very tasty.

It is customary to eat cheese with a fork and a knife, in this case there is simply no room for bread - as the basis for cheese.

If you are not used to this, try cheese with green salad. Or take Swiss cheese or Conte as a base for other cheeses. In phase 1, almost all cheeses are allowed. You can finish your lunch with cottage cheese or yogurt, but do not eat more than 100 - 125 grams, because both contain few carbohydrates. They can provoke your pancreas to release insulin, which will store fat from your main meal, so obese people are better off avoiding cottage cheese and yogurt in the first phase.

Some sweet desserts can be made with sugar substitutes: a sweet dessert made from beaten eggs and milk; whipped cream or whipped egg whites.

As I already said, no alcoholic beverages, including wine, should be drunk in the first phase.

Drink water, tea is better herbal.

My advice: drink less with meals so as not to dilute gastric juices and thereby disrupt the digestive process. Start drinking water only in the second half of your meal. Anyway, don't start your lunch with a glass of water. This custom, which has arisen recently, is the source of many troubles associated with metabolic processes that depend on your digestion.

It is better to drink water between meals and not less than one and a half liters per day.

Aperitifs are forbidden to you, replace them with a glass of tomato juice. And if for some reason it is difficult for you to avoid drinking, then, taking the glass in your hand, pretend that you are drinking. Then discreetly place your glass somewhere and move away from it. I can recommend this method as well. The company always has an aperitif lover who heavily relies on them. Place your glass next to it, and before you have time to blink an eye, the glass is empty. If this path is ordered, there will always be a flower pot, a bucket of ice from under champagne, an open window, well, in extreme cases, a toilet.

Now about how to behave during receptions.

Do the same for champagne as for an aperitif. The situation is worse with snacks, especially with sandwiches. With a certain skill, you can lick the top off a sandwich - it usually does not contain harmful ingredients. Skill comes with practice, and he who seeks will always find a way out. Look for cheese! It usually lies separately from bread and biscuits, cut into a form convenient for eating - into cubes or slices. But don't overdo it. Better then look for sausages on sticks or without them, and don't forget about cholesterol!

If you are one of those who cannot deny themselves food at the sight of a beautiful laid table, if you cannot resist the free food offered, if at the sight of all this abundance your will weakens and vows recede, I will give you advice: in advance, at home , eat what you are allowed, it will reduce your appetite, and you will surely cope with temptations.

My great-great-grandfather in the last century, being invited to a gala dinner with his boss along with his six children, always tried to feed them full of fatty soup before leaving the house. Then at a party, when they were given unusual, not seen or before meals, their enthusiasm was noticeably reduced, for which they all had a reputation for being well-bred children.

so my advice is to eat a hardy egg or a nice piece of cheese before you eat, and you will more easily avoid temptations. even get into the habit of carrying little round cheeses called Babibel or Laughing Cow in your pocket.

Try not to go hungry between meals. Such cheeses, dried fruits, or rye rusks can help curb your appetite. And be careful not to eat lipids after a carbohydrate meal.

Oddly enough, dining with friends often puts you in a more difficult position than receptions.

You can honestly explain to close friends what the matter is, and even ask them to take your wishes into account when drawing up the menu.

Well, in case you don't know each other enough, I will give you some tips.

First, improvise depending on the situation. For example, if there is a paste in your appetizers, eat it, but do not touch the toast on which it lies. If you're served a great cheese soufflé, don't be embarrassed, but don't eat the third serving. When it's the turn of the main course, put yourself a little, but refrain from eating (if it's made from rice or dough), just slide it over the plate. Try to recoup the salad and then, at the end of dinner, when the cheese platter is served. Usually by this moment the guests are so full that it is practically at your complete disposal, and no one will pay attention to your addiction to it. The most difficult thing is with dessert, and if the situation forces you to accept it, say: "Only, please, less" - and eat a symbolic piece. This will leave about the same amount of dessert on your plate as the others who have already gorged themselves with lunch.

Second, start drinking as late as possible during lunch. Drink red wine with cheese.

But if you did break the rules of the first phase, enforce them harder after you sinned.

Remember, you are very sensitive to glucose during this time. The challenge before you is to increase your tolerance (resistance) to it, but until it stabilizes, your glucose sensitivity remains extremely high.

Having deprived your body of "bad" carbohydrates for a long time, you suddenly introduce a large dose of them and throw them back from you for a couple of weeks. The further you progress in phase 1 (for example, two to three months), the less effect the violation of the regime will cause.

If you seriously violated the regimen two weeks after entering phase 1, then you have thrown yourself almost to the beginning of the method. Of course, this is very discouraging, but remember: a lost battle is not a lost war yet.

Dinner can be:

Protein-lipid with a lot of fiber and a small amount of carbohydrates (fruits);

Protein-carbohydrate, also with a lot of fiber and a small amount of lipids (just a sauce of vinegar and vegetable oil for salad).

Option 1:

protein-lipid with a small amount of carbohydrates and a large amount of fiber (fiber). Dinner can be the same as lunch. This is if you are dining out. At home, as a rule, the choice of food is limited. But if you've convinced your family to join you in developing new eating habits, things become much easier.

The best place to start is with a thick vegetable soup. For its preparation, you can use turnips, onions, celery, cabbage - in general, any vegetables listed in the Appendix. Avoid potatoes. It is often used to thicken soup. Celery, or egg yolk, or mushrooms, chopped with a mixer until puree is much preferable. When serving soup, you can add a spoonful of butter or sour cream to it (if you are not keeping an eye on cholesterol).

Meat should be avoided in the evening, it is better to replace it with poultry. Better yet, eggs or fish.

Avoid cold meats too, especially if you ate beef, veal, pork, or lamb at lunch. This will cause a large intake of saturated fat and jeopardize blood cholesterol levels.

In the evening, you can eat cheese or yogurt, depending on what you ate at lunch. Better not to repeat yourself. Yogurt, as shown by recent studies, is very beneficial: it lowers cholesterol levels, increases resistance to infections and improves motility. But be careful - eat yogurt without additives or fruit concentrates, and especially make sure it is naturally fermented. Best of all - farm yogurt or with the addition of bifidoc. And do not eat yogurt often: after all, it contains a carbohydrate-lipid component.

Homemade food should be legal but tasty food such as smoked mackerel or sardines in oil. Eat what you will not find in a restaurant: boiled artichokes are delicious, containing a lot of vitamins and minerals, fiber, which lower blood glucose levels and stimulate intestinal activity. Also, eat tomatoes, spinach, chicory, eggplant, cauliflower, leeks, and mushrooms.

Option 2:

protein-carbohydrate with a high fiber content and a low lipid content (a little salad sauce - from vegetable oil and vinegar). Carbohydrates should have a low glycemic index, any lipids are excluded.

I offer you a list of dishes to choose from:

vegetable soup (no potatoes and carrots);

whole rice with tomato puree;

wholemeal pasta with basil sauce; lentils with onions;

white or colored beans;

whole wheat groats with vegetables;

artichoke seasoned with lemon, mustard and low-fat yogurt;

salad with the same dressing or with the addition of vegetable oil.

Do not limit yourself too much in the consumption of vegetable oil: it contains vitamin E and essential fatty acids.

For dessert, you can eat low-fat cottage cheese or natural low-fat yogurt with fruit puree for flavor.

The main thing is to do without lipids: butter and vegetable oil, margarine, grated cheese, eggs, etc.

This dinner can be eaten two to three times a week. By using “good” carbohydrates, especially legumes (lentils and beans) that contain plant-based proteins, you will balance your diet.

Remember not to eat fat at night. This will help your weight loss as fat eaten in the evening is easily converted to fat reserves.

It is important to properly distribute the main meals for one week. In a week you should eat: meat or sausages - about three times; a bird - twice; eggs - twice; fish - three to four times and three to four times "good" carbohydrates (whole foods or legumes).

There are many reasons why we skip lunch or, at best, replace it with a sandwich.

Never miss a meal! This is one of the fundamental laws of nutrition. Nothing prevents you from eating four or five times a day, but you can't eat less than three times a day. This is the easiest way to disrupt your metabolism. Don't do it yourself and don't let others do it. Your body begins to behave like a dog being fed irregularly. It is enough for her to find a bone, as she immediately hides it in reserve.

I'm sure at this stage - in phase 1 - you will no longer be tempted by a buffet sandwich or a McDonald's burger. At the end of the book, I'll tell you what I think about the eating habits exported to us from a country that considers itself a pillar of Western civilization. Of course, this country deserves our respect for a number of achievements in science and technology, but not in gastronomy and not in nutrition.

Well, so what do you eat instead of this "fast food" nightmare?

A little imagination, already acquired knowledge - and here are some recipes for how to eat quickly at work or on the road, without breaking our rules:

Ham (both smoked and non-smoked). I advise buying Parma ham, it is always sliced ​​thinly and does not require a knife or fork;

Continental sausage - it is better to take sliced. In case of high cholesterol, I recommend replacing the sausage with smoked salmon or crab sticks;

Hard-boiled eggs can always be found at the bar or in the buffet;

Tomatoes (just don’t forget the napkin, or I don’t envy you). Botanists consider the tomato to be a fruit, while we nutritionists consider it to be a vegetable;

Any kind of cheese will work, but since we are focusing on practical convenience, it is better to give up the hamburger and all the goat's cheeses - on a trip, their smell causes condemnation of others, so choose from other types of cheeses.

If you haven't eaten for a long time, you can arrange for yourself a lunch of nothing but fruit. Eat them heartily, as much as you like. Fruit has one drawback - they digest quickly, and after a couple of hours you will feel the urge to nibble on something. Allow yourself another apple and a slice of wholemeal bread. But don't eat the "bad" carbs like biscuits or, even worse, "snickers" and other pseudo chocolate bars.

If you go in for sports, then a quarter of an hour before exercise, you can eat dried fruit.

Well, that seems to be all about phase 1.

If you ate a lot of sweets before choosing a new style of eating, then in the first month of the diet you can lose 5 - 6 kg. But do not stop there, otherwise you risk starting to put on weight, resembling accordion bellows, which, shrinking, immediately begin to expand.

After your first quick success, continue like this, and although the weight will not decrease at the same rate, it will gradually melt away, steadily, day after day. It is believed that men achieve goals more easily than women. However, it must be remembered that if you are undergoing any course of treatment at this time, then this may lead to the opposite result, since some medications cause weight gain. Women should be aware that during their period, they may also experience fluctuations in weight that are not related to metabolism.

Still, it has been noticed that women lose weight worse than men. There are four possible reasons for this:

1. Anxiety, anxiety, which can cause increased insulin secretion.

2. Hormonal disorders during menopause.

3. Problems with the thyroid gland, although quite rare.

4. Sometimes, especially in the early stages, the female body, as it were, counteracts weight loss. This is a kind of reaction to repeated low-calorie diets suffered in the past, which led to excess weight.

If in the past you have had problems with cholesterol, now, having learned to regulate it through the correct, balanced introduction of lipids, you will forget about it. Therefore, avoid fats, especially soluble fats - they are the culprit in the increase of "bad" cholesterol in the blood - and choose those fats that contribute to the appearance of "good" cholesterol.

Your healthcare provider may object to the new diet, as it contradicts what he was taught at the institute in his youth, but the best argument is your weight loss without taking any medication. It is difficult to object to such a scientific argument.

By following the rules of Phase 1, it is impossible not to lose weight. If it doesn't, there is a mistake somewhere.

The only way to find the truth is to make a complete list of everything you ate in a day, and using the tables in this book, find the error in the diet.

For example, you might eat too much normal yogurt or cottage cheese that contains both carbohydrates and lipids. Or: you regularly eat vegetable soup with "legal" vegetables. Check its "origin". Most likely, you will read on the bags that, in addition to vegetables, such a soup contains starch, sugar, dextrose or other additives for thickening and coloring that are harmful to you.

Be carefull! While the basic principles of the method are not difficult to follow - of course, sacrificing some of your habits - minor deviations from it can negate all your efforts.

A word of warning: If you are on a low-calorie diet, do not switch overnight to a new method. Your body is already accustomed to a certain type of food, and its change (towards an increase in calories) when switching to our method can lead to the opposite result - fat deposition. Thus, you can gain a couple of extra pounds. My advice: When you start using our method, increase the number of calories from what you were previously receiving by 100 calories per day until you reach our recommended diet.

DURATION OF PHASE 1

Naturally, you want to ask, "How long should I be in the first phase?"

In order not to irritate you, I will answer the question with a question: "What is the length of the piece of rope?" As you can imagine, the answer depends on many factors.

The answer is that the length of Phase 1 is determined by how quickly you lose unnecessary weight, and this depends on different individual characteristics.

The answer is when you reach your ideal weight (read chapter XII).

What is "ideal weight"

This is such a limit when your body itself comes to the conclusion that you cannot continue to lose weight. He makes such a decision based on his own considerations, without consulting anyone.

The period of losing weight can last from several weeks to several months. It all depends on how much weight you need to throw off.

The main thing is to allow your pancreas to recover and become healthy again.

Suppose you decide to use the method without being overweight, wanting to restore your physical and mental performance. My advice would be the same: to restore normal digestion and metabolism, extend phase 1 as long as possible.

In practice, the duration of phase 1 is very difficult to clearly define, since the transition to phase 2 should be smooth and gradual, not in one day.

It is very possible that in phase 1 you will feel so good that with some effort you will move on to phase 2.

SUMMARIZING THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PHASE 1

Never mix "bad" carbohydrates (white bread, flour, starchy foods) with lipids (meat, fats, vegetable oils) in the same meal.

Avoid all lipid carbohydrates (chocolate, avocado, liver, nuts, chips, baked goods).

Eliminate sugar from your diet altogether.

Use only coarse flour for cooking.

Eat only wholemeal bread and only at breakfast.

Forget about potatoes, especially fried ones.

Forget white rice, eat only brown or wild rice.

Never eat white flour pasta, only wholemeal flour.

Introduce legumes into your diet, mainly as a main course at dinner.

Temporarily abstain from all types of alcohol - both strong drinks and wine and beer. This is very important in phase 1. In the next phase, you can afford wine within reasonable limits.

Do not drink strong coffee, get used to decaffeinated.

Never skip a meal. Eat three times a day at the same time.

Limit your intake of "bad" lipids in favor of "good" ones to protect yourself from heart disease (see Chapter II).

Try to drink less with meals so as not to dilute gastric juices, and do not drink immediately before meals.

Take your time with your meals, try to chew your food for longer and eat in a relaxed state.

Try to make fruit juices yourself, avoid store-bought juices - they often contain sugar.

After a carbohydrate-rich lunch, hunt down for at least three hours before eating a diet high in lipids.

After a lipid-rich meal, wait at least three hours before consuming a carbohydrate meal.

Eat plenty of dietary fiber: salads, legumes, green vegetables, fruits (see chapter II).

A warning. The above list is just a summary of what was stated in the previous part of the chapter and should not be taken as a statement of the method itself. Understanding the method in a simplified way, without delving into what is happening in your body, which can only be understood by reading the previous and subsequent chapters, you can seriously harm yourself, especially in the matter of lipid intake.

Comment. Now we have come half way and learned that there are two types of carbohydrates: "good", which you can eat without fear of increasing weight, and "bad", which must always be remembered and avoided on the menu, and the main difference between them is in the mechanism of glucose release during digestion The better the flour is refined, the more "bad" carbohydrates appear in it, and the closer the flour is to coarse - unrefined, the more "good" carbohydrates it contains (see Chapter II).

It is very important not to use any fat in these carbohydrate menus.

WEIGHT MAINTENANCE AND STABILIZATION

Now our task is to enter cruise mode, since you have already mastered the basic techniques of the new method of feeding. You have eliminated "dangerous" dishes from your menu and are now honing your new habits. Moreover, you have already reached the weight you dreamed of and are now ready to move on to phase 2.

Unlike Phase 1, which still lasted for a limited period of time, Phase 2 will have to be followed for the rest of your life if you want to maintain your weight gain. I have been in this phase for ten years now and have not added an ounce, although I do not deny myself anything. Phase 2 is the maintenance phase, the point where we really learn to eat right.

At the first stage, I talked mainly about what you can't eat, and what you need to eat in limited quantities or in a certain sequence.

At the second stage, restrictions will be weakened, there will be freedom of interpretation, that is, the stage of the art of nutritional management will begin.

This means that you do not have to blindly adhere to all the laws and regulations developed for you. It is about applying knowledge in the form you need. A fool can consistently follow strict rules of conduct - we know this well from our bureaucrats, who strictly follow a set of idiotic rules, which they themselves have developed - not wanting to know anything other than these rules.

I am not asking you to unswervingly obey the code of laws, if only because from now on there will be no strict prohibitions that cause irritation and the desire to violate them.

You must master the art of managing your diet, not blindly obeying a set of rules, but creating new rules based on the specific situation and your knowledge of the metabolism in your body. The stage of creative development of the method has come.

It will always remain a dangerous product. What I said earlier remains valid in the next phase. Get in the habit of going sugar-free. Even if suddenly you don’t have a sugar substitute and you want to say to yourself: one piece of sugar in coffee will not change anything, stop. Of course, you can break the rule, but with one condition: you will not taste any other "bad" carbohydrates all day.

But you better be firm. Not a single lump of sugar in your coffee, not a single gram of sugar in your curd. One of two things: either a substitute or nothing.

Of course, in phase 2 you have more freedom of choice than in phase 1, but be careful with it, appreciate it. You are like a criminal with a suspended sentence: any violation of the law - and you are behind bars again.

You can say that you are forced to eat sugar by circumstances, because it is present in most desserts. But I will teach you how to do so in order to inflict minimal harm on yourself.

If you want to succumb to the temptation and eat dessert with sugar, then, of course, you cannot drink coffee with sugar. In general, my advice to you: always drink coffee without sugar, and you will free yourself a small niche - to eat a dessert that contains sugar.

But you better stand to death: sugar is poison and treat it like hell!

But this is the strictest taboo that will hang over you. Other laws will be more liberal.

I expect a question from you: what about honey? This is a natural product, not rectified, maybe ...

I hasten to disappoint you - the glycemic index of honey is 90, which is a "bad" carbohydrate.

But if it is prescribed for you as a medicine, well, so be it - no more than a teaspoon a day, and then after a carbohydrate breakfast.

One of my brothers, like me, is a big red wine enthusiast. But he felt all the consequences of his love for wine only when I told him: every piece of bread that you eat is a glass of red wine that you will not drink. So take your pick!

Breakfast. If you are on a carbohydrate diet, you should only eat bread made from coarse flour (see chapter V, “Breakfast”). And only after three months, when low-fat cottage cheese is literally coming out of your ears, you can replace it with light margarine or light spreadable butter, but do not overuse it!

In general, you can eat butter very rarely, mainly when you are on a trip and you have no choice.

Also with milk: get used to skimmed milk, but if you are very unbearable, use half-skimmed milk.

From time to time, on duty, I have to breakfast in large Parisian hotels. During breakfast, I cannot deny myself an appetizing bun or an excellent croissant dripping with fragrant butter, but automatically I remember: this means that today I will have to refrain from wine and chocolate dessert during the day and at dinner.

Perhaps by now you have realized that the secret of proper nutrition regulation lies in the harmonious distribution of deviations from the rules. The body has a certain degree of resistance, now the level of insulin production by the pancreas can be controlled much better than before. But remember: if you exceed your limits, the arrow on the scale will instantly remind you of this.

Just as a good manager keeps an eye on the bank's budget all the time, you should keep an eye on your own weight on the scale. Again, I remind you: it is better to eat three extra oysters than a piece of white bread with butter.

If you eat smoked salmon as a snack, never eat the toast served with it. Or order the pickled salmon - never accompanied by a toast.

Be careful with the pate on the toast too, because liver is a carbohydrate-lipid mixture.

In general, make it a rule to eat in a restaurant what you do not eat at home. I am amazed at the restaurant by my compatriots and foreigners: leafing through the menu for a long time, they choose long-familiar dishes that they eat every day. Sometimes it is only heroic efforts that can move them from these positions and force them to try something new. If they are the same workers - without imagination, without striving for new things, I feel sorry for their management, shareholders and colleagues at work.

In France, always order fish - the country's most famous chefs prefer to make their finest fish dishes. In this country, in cities that are 500 km away from the sea, you can always get fresh fish.

Even in Phase 2, I retain my disdain for potatoes, white rice, refined flour pasta, and corn. They, like bread, especially in combination with lipids, are responsible for our extra pounds. Eat them exceptionally. As for bread, go without it at lunch and dinner. Be aware that there is only one way to reduce the negative effects of "bad" carbohydrates: you can lower their glycemic index by accompanying carbohydrates with fiber.

For example, if you really want to eat fried potatoes, eat them with green salad, whose fibers will reduce the effect of this deviation from the dietary norms.

Of course, there are cases that exclude the possibility of choice. But even then, do not give up so easily, but think about how to minimize the harm done to your body. Of course, avoiding wine and desserts can go unnoticed. But what if you are visiting your beloved aunt, who perceives every crumb of the dish she cooked, left by you on the plate, as a personal insult? Well, then you have no choice but to eat everything that is forbidden and then go on a Phase 1 diet for two or three days to bring the balance back to normal.

In such cases, you may have a desire to quit all these diets and return to the good old days, when there were no temptations and prohibitions and life was easier and more fun. Such thoughts come to you especially often with the approach of Christmas, which, with all your desire, cannot be passed without “losses”.

My ten-year experience says that there are no desperate situations. A solution can always be found.

You need - and you've figured it out - to raise your body's glucose tolerance limit. If you use the accordion method, that is, after gaining 3-4 kg, returning to phase 1, you will not achieve anything.

Now I have a very high glucose threshold, but this is achieved by long-term adherence to phase 2, and, of course, I can afford deviations, but the easier it is for me to do this, the more I adhere to the principles.

The goal of my method is to lose the old conditioned reflexes associated with bad gastronomic habits, which we acquired in childhood, and gain new conditioned reflexes with a plus sign. If you found them in phase 1, then in phase 2 they will work without difficulty. I'm sure any of you can acquire reflexes that will stimulate the right food choices. If you come to a restaurant and find spaghetti on the menu that you love very much, and it will give you great pleasure to eat a portion of this dish, do not deny yourself. But put it aside in your mind. Have fun, but keep in mind a portion of excellent spaghetti in order to compensate for their negative effect in the future.

Reading these lines, it is difficult for you to imagine that you will ever be able to resist temptations and that you have the will to voluntarily leave what you love very much on your plate. But, believe me, in fact it is much easier than you imagine. Once you are happy to see the first noticeable results in Phase 1, the habit of limiting will become automatic. On a subconscious level, it will be difficult for you to succumb to temptations. So gradually you will come to automatic regulation of your diet.

The main advantage of my METHOD is that it weaned you off bad habits acquired throughout your life, resulting in obesity. Having coped with it, remember: if you return to your previous way of life, you will hardly be able to repeat the results of my method a second time.

But if you have the will and the desire, then you will wonder how easy it is to stick to the method, and the time will come when you will no longer be tormented by the temptations of baked potatoes and Christmas cakes. You will find many other, no less delicious dishes that you simply did not know about before. And over time, learn to plot your course between the icebergs of "bad" carbohydrates automatically, as if turning on the autopilot.

You've already done everything fruit-related in Phase 1. Eat fruit on an empty stomach. Moreover, it is not so much the amount of carbohydrates that they contain (fructose or glucose) that matter, but with what they are eaten, since sometimes fruits are poorly digested. Go back to the previous pages, where I talk about this, and you will understand me.

But there are fruits that are very low in carbohydrates, in phase 2 they can be eaten daily in large quantities. These are strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Therefore, at home or in a restaurant for lunch or dinner, eat these berries without restriction.

If your lunch is protein-lipid, you can even put cream on them, but without sugar (substitute is possible)!

And if you've been on your diet, you can even afford Chantilly whipped cream (although I suspect there is some sugar in it too). Well, at home - only whipped cream with a sugar substitute.

By the way, another fruit that does not cause any problems is melon, but, of course, as an appetizer at the beginning of lunch. But try to stand after such a snack for at least a quarter of an hour before the main courses (especially if it is meat or fish).

By the way, if the melon is served among various salads, then do not be afraid to mix it with them, except for those salads where there are eggs, mayonnaise and sausages. But this advice only applies to digestive problems, the risk of gaining weight from melons in the 2nd phase is minimal.

Many of my readers ask if there is a difference between fresh and cooked fruit? Yes, but small: boiled fruits ferment less in the stomach than fresh ones. In other words, they are absorbed almost completely. Therefore, when taking on a serving of compote, remember that you are deviating from the method. In boiled fruits, fiber is destroyed (they are well absorbed), vitamin C is lost, as well as the ability to lower blood sugar.

Dried fruits have an average glycemic index, but most dried fruits retain their basic fiber properties, so they can be included in your diet to maintain physical potential. These fruits include figs, dried apricots or prunes.

This part of the book, like the chapter on wine, touches my heart strings, as I have always had a sweet tooth at the end of a meal.

We all have weaknesses. But it is important to be able to control yourself.

Honestly, I can safely give up potatoes for the rest of my life and for almost years - from spaghetti, but I can't live even a week without chocolate.

Modern cuisine cannot do without a modern pastry shop. Unfortunately, the French patisserie is the leading one in the world. It is original, beautiful, based on the natural qualities of the product and lightweight.

Therefore, in phase 2, you can widely use her achievements without violating the laws of our method.

Even the biscuits are so light that they contain almost no flour or sugar. And in the mousses of the "new kitchen" there is almost no sugar or flour. In the Appendix you will find a recipe for a bitter chocolate dessert. It contains 5% flour, that is, no more than 50 g of flour is used for a cake weighing 1 kg, and no sugar (except for a small amount already in the chocolate). In general, this is a very small deviation from phase 2.

And dark chocolate mousse (see the recipe in the Appendix) will appeal to any gourmet.

I started with chocolate because it's my passion, and if it is of the highest quality (high in cocoa), then it is low in carbs and has a glycemic index of about 22.

But in addition to chocolate, the "new desserts" offer a wonderful set of fruit mousses, which, although they contain a little sugar and a little bad carbohydrates, nevertheless, in terms of their negative effects, are below one toast or a serving of fried potatoes - I do not want to translate this information into the language that is boring to everyone. percent, grams and kilograms.

Well, if you eat charlotte, then just refrain from the crust, and everything will be fine.

By the way, about ice cream. Do not deprive yourself of this pleasure, because its glycemic index is not more than 35 (there is very little sugar in good ice cream), but twitter has an index of 65.

Moreover. If you like ice cream drizzled with hot chocolate with a pile of whipped cream and an umbrella on top, indulge in this delicacy. The harm from it is much less than from a portion of mashed potatoes.

Generally speaking, cakes should be avoided due to their flour and sugar content, although a slice of cake is no worse than one baked potato or two tablespoons of white rice.

However, it should be remembered: any deviations from the norm should not be a system, but a case, and not very frequent.

ALCOHOL

The consumption of all alcoholic beverages is subject to the same laws as food. In phase 1, a complete restriction of any alcoholic beverages, and in the next phase, certain indulgences, that is, it is allowed to drink dry wine. And if you are used to drinking something strong as an aperitif before lunch, a few glasses of red and white wine during meals, and liqueur after lunch, then this should not be any more.

Aperitif

Refrain from whiskey, even diluted, especially from gin and tonic, which is full of sugar. Better a glass of champagne or white wine. Remember that there is as much alcohol in one scotch whiskey as there is in a half bottle of wine. Therefore, it is better to drink this portion during lunch than as a strong aperitif before dinner. If you don't know what is best to drink before dinner, the menu of which is not known, order a young Bordeaux or Borjolais, which can be drunk with any dish.

In general, during the aperitif, before meals, tempts you most often. Usually this is due to a long wait for latecomers or the fact that the hostess is late for dinner. In a word, the wait can take an hour, or even two. All sorts of snacks are placed around, mostly with "bad" carbohydrates, and you know that in this house great red wine will be served for lunch or the hostess is famous for her desserts, so you prepare in advance for breaking the diet - remember: you can break it once, no more.

It is especially difficult in English-speaking countries, where you are invited at half past five in the evening, and they start feeding at nine, or even ten in the evening.

I remember how an English couple who came to live near Paris invited us to dinner. We showed up, like decent people, at seven o'clock. And at a quarter to twelve one French couple began to get home.

"How," the owners were worried, "you won't stay for dinner?"

We were all already in a state of deep hypoglycemia and were practically incapable of further communication.

If you had to get to such evenings, then you were probably amazed at how many drinks people can drink on an empty stomach. The owner constantly pours into your glass, and you completely lose control - but how much did you end up drinking?

In general, if you want, you can always find a way to avoid an aperitif. And most importantly, remember: drinking on an empty stomach is very harmful and is the cause of many diseases.

I am a supporter of red wine, and in particular Bordeaux. This does not mean, however, that I deny white wines and reds other than Bordeaux. For example, they say that foie gras (goose liver pate) goes best with Sauternes wine. But food regulation is an art of compromise. Goose liver, as you already know, contains carbohydrates and lipids, and therefore, even if their quantities are symbolic, when ordering liver, you allow a small exception. The sauternes, which you will accompany the liver, are also a small exception, as they contain sugar. So you used your joker at the start of lunch. How should you behave further? You just need to limit yourself to at least Sauterna - drink just enough to get the taste of the liver.

It is also very important that there is little sugar in dry wine, and even more so in red, not to mention burgundy. This way you do yourself the least amount of harm. Specifically, I recommend young red wine with an alcohol content of 9 to 12 degrees. These include Beaujolais, Gamay, Loire Valley wines such as Chinons, Angevin, Saumur, Champagne and some other local wines, which are usually drunk as young as Savoy.

I believe that three glasses of wine with lunch will not harm your body balance. For example, here's a perfectly balanced lunch:

Mushrooms in Greek

Grilled flounder with eggplant caviar

Green salad

Decaffeinated coffee

After drinking three glasses of wine with this dinner, you will not add a single gram of weight, provided that you start drinking wine at the end of the main course, thereby preparing the stomach and neutralizing the effect of alcohol. And no sleepiness in the afternoon.

Of course, it is better not to consume alcohol at all, but the purpose of my book is to show that you can, by adhering to accepted norms of behavior, not harm your body. At home, I advise you to drink water.

And never drink wine on an empty stomach, the result will be the opposite - in your body it will all go into fat.

Another tip: if you drink wine, do not drink water during this time, it will damage your digestion.

Afternoon liquor

In France, it is customary to drink a glass of liqueur after dinner, as they say, for better assimilation of food, they even call this glass "dejestif". A small glass of liquor is equal to a large glass of wine, and although it really helps to dissolve fats and assimilate them without harm to the body, you must always try to ensure that this glass does not appear every time and does not grow into two, or even three.

My advice: stay friendly with decaffeinated coffee. In phase 2, you will no longer need to cheer yourself up with coffee, which contains caffeine, which stimulates insulin secretion in some people. But in this phase, the small dose of caffeine your body occasionally gets will not harm your balance.

OTHER DRINKS

All sugary, effervescent drinks, whole milk and commercial fruit juices in Phase 2 are eliminated as in the previous one.

Phase 2 is easier and at the same time more difficult to implement than phase 1. Easier because there are fewer inhibitions and more food choices that are allowed to eat. It is more difficult because this phase involves careful and very intelligent power management, the main characteristics of such management are consistency and rigor. Be vigilant as you will have to constantly avoid risk.

The first danger that lies in wait for you is the erroneous regulation of nutrition. You can adjust your diet, but keep track of only one part of your diet. For example: you drink whiskey before a meal and wait for the main course to have one of three glasses of wine afterwards. You have learned well that the effects of alcohol do not harm the body if there is food in the stomach. But you have already taken an aperitif on an empty stomach and now do not expect a positive effect.

At the end of this chapter, I summarized the golden rules of Phase 2. Memorize them in order to harmoniously apply in practice.

Second. It is a misconception that if I “sin,” I can always go back to phase 1 and restore it all over again. I must warn you that this will not happen. It will take you twice as long to regain your original weight, usually at least three months.

The main task is to achieve stability for the rest of your life, then there will be no turning back to the past. If you achieve this, you will not want to go back - you will feel so much better. And then automatism will develop, and the method will turn into a behavioral skill, you will be on the right course on "autopilot".

I want to warn you about one more thing: do not try to convert everyone to your faith. Don't promote the principles of your new diet every step of the way. Don't tell everyone what you eat and what you don't eat. Don't tell others what nutritional mistakes they make. Do not try to save everyone who is not on a diet from the mortal danger that threatens him. Apart from anger, you will achieve nothing. Most people understand that they are eating the wrong way, but they do not have the will to take a step in the right direction. You will awaken guilt in them, and this is not what people like.

Watch your weight carefully. Have an accurate scale and weigh yourself regularly at the same time. You will quickly feel that small deviations in weight can be corrected by diet, and if there is a tendency, then do not rush to extremes - just change course a little and everything will fall into place. The time will come when you will do it automatically, without noticing the process itself. SUMMARIZING THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PHASE 2 As an exception, you can allow the combination of "bad" carbohydrates with lipids, but then accompany the meal with fiber, such as salad.

Do not eat sugar, granulated sugar, honey, jam, and candy. Consume sweeteners.

If you do eat "bad" carbohydrates, even sporadically, do not overuse them.

Resume eating legumes and whole foods. Continue to eat the wholemeal bread at breakfast. For lunch and dinner, bread can only be eaten with cheese.

Avoid sauces or make sure they are free of flour.

Substitute vegetable margarine for butter, especially at breakfast.

Drink skim milk.

Eat more fish and favor “good” lipids to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Be careful with desserts that contain sugar. Eat strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

You can eat chocolate, chirps, ice cream, and whipped cream, but don't overdo it.

Avoid baked goods containing flour, fat, and sugar.

Prefer fruit and egg mousses or unsweetened cream.

Do not drink alcohol on an empty stomach.

Don't drink aperitifs. Only in exceptional cases. Before lunch, opt for dry wine or champagne, but first eat a fresh vegetable salad, cheese, a piece of sausage, or a crab stick.

Drink water or wine with meals, but not more than half a bottle a day. Do not drink water if you are drinking wine.

Drink water between meals (approximately one and a half liters per day).

Eat before drinking.

Don't drink fizzy drinks, cola, or soft drinks.

Continue drinking decaffeinated coffee, or weak coffee, or tea.

Distribute deviations from the method evenly over all meals. Sample menu for phase 2

(To maintain weight and balance imbalances)

Day 1 Breakfast:

Wholemeal bread + sugar-free jam

Light margarine *

Decaffeinated coffee (d / k coffee)

Skim milk

Avocado with sauce (vegetable oil and vinegar dressing)

Steak with green beans Creme brulee

2 glasses of wine *

Vegetable soup

Omelet with mushrooms

* - slight deviation from the diet.

Day 2 Breakfast: Orange juice (homemade)

Croissant + bun ** Butter

Coffee + milk *

Lunch: Tomatoes with cucumbers

Grilled fish

1 glass of wine

Artichokes with sauce (vinegar and vegetable oil) Scrambled eggs with tomatoes

Green salad

Water ** - significant deviation from the diet.

Wholemeal bread Light butter *

Skim milk

Aperitif: 1 glass of white wine *

Smoked salmon

Baked Leg of Lamb with Beans *

Chocolate mousse *

3 glasses of wine **

Vegetable soup

Stuffed Tomatoes (see Appendix)

Green salad Low fat cottage cheese

Scrambled Eggs Bacon

Sausage D / k coffee + milk

Dozen oysters

Grilled tuna with tomatoes

Strawberry shortbread cake **

2 glasses of wine *

Vegetable soup

Cauliflower baked with cheese

Green salad

Day 5 (big retreat)

Orange juice

Raw cereals or low-fat cottage cheese

Coffee or d / k coffee + skim milk

Goose pate *

Grilled salmon with spinach Liquid dark chocolate ** 3 glasses of wine **

Cheese soufflé

Boiled light-salted pork with lentils **

Whipped egg whites * 3 glasses of wine

(This day is atypical. It shows the limits of possible - very rare - deviations, especially in the amount of wine.)

Day 6 (return to phase 1 to remove the effect of day 5)

Wholemeal bread

Skim cheese

D / k coffee + skim milk

Salad: cucumbers, mushrooms, radishes

Pollock baked in tomato sauce

Water, mild tea, or herbal tea

Vegetable Soup Ham

Green salad

Day 7 Breakfast:

Wholemeal bread

Skim cheese

Skim milk

Chicory salad

Entrecote with green beans

Strawberry

1 glass of wine *

Fruit: 1 orange, 1 apple, 1 pear, 150 g strawberries, raspberries or blackberries

Day 8 Breakfast:

Wholemeal bread

Light oil

Skim milk

Shrimp cocktail

Tuna with eggplant

Green salad

2 glasses of wine *

Vegetable soup

Lentils

Strawberries 1 glass of wine

Michel Montignac