Nutritionist Kovalkov told how to eat so as not to gain weight in self-isolation

Alexey Kovalkov is a nutritionist who is known not only in Russia, but also abroad. He developed his own nutrition system, thanks to which people even with the third degree of obesity lose weight and maintain the results for many years. Kovalkov proved by his own example that only proper nutrition, a clear eating regimen and physical activity make it possible to restore a slim figure.

The nutritionist himself lost 50 kg in just 12 months, but this is far from the limit! There are already people who, under Kovalkov’s supervision, are getting rid of more kilograms.

The essence of the diet from Dr. Kovalkov

This type of diet is cautiously, but still approved by official medicine. The peculiarity of Kovalkov’s nutrition lies not in the severity of restrictions, but in the competent distribution of food products and restrictions. The author is categorically against fasting, because it will inevitably lead to gluttony, poor health and weight gain.

The essence of Kovalkov’s diet: limiting the consumption of carbohydrates and replacing animal fats with vegetable ones. In addition, setting goals for yourself plays a big role.

Alexey Kovalkov claims that the desired results will not be achieved using his weight loss method if:

• the cause of excess weight gain has not been established;
• it is not realized that proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are important for longevity;
• there are no goals.

The author of the diet immediately stipulates that it is not quick; you won’t be able to get rid of 10 kg in a week or two. But it also has undeniable advantages:

• while losing weight, you will not need to constantly count calories or fast in the evenings;
• due to the fact that the diet is as balanced as possible, those losing weight never feel hungry;
• You can and should create a menu, select products and ready-made dishes yourself.

Despite all the advantages of the Kovalkov diet, before starting a weight loss program, you need to be examined by a therapist. The fact is that even a gentle and “non-starvation” diet is categorically contraindicated for existing chronic pathologies (not all, only some).

We recommend reading about the Lesenka diet. You will learn about the principles of the diet, its advantages and disadvantages, stages, menus for 5 and 7 days, results, exit rules. And here is more information about the popular Kremlin diet.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of the technique:

• No hunger strikes.
• Balanced diet.
• Fast weight loss.
• Normalization of metabolism.
• Improved health.
• No fasting days.
• No grueling training required.
• No calorie counting.

Disadvantages of the diet:

• Duration.
• Complete abandonment of the usual diet.
• Constant motivation is required.

Preparing to lose weight

Alexey Kovalkov is convinced that any diet must begin with preparation. And his specially developed weight loss method requires such a period. Preparation includes a gradual reduction in the consumption of prohibited foods, creating a healthy diet - and the person losing weight will learn to choose dishes and food products that are beneficial for weight loss, and the body will begin to get used to dietary restrictions.

Along with the restrictions, the menu is replenished with vegetables, fruits and legumes. During preparation, you must accustom your body to drinking enough water. It is this that enhances the production of fat-burning hormones, so you should drink at least 2 liters of pure still water per day.

The duration of the preparatory period according to the Kovalkov diet is on average 3 weeks, but can vary within a week, both to shorten the period and to extend it.

Nutritionist advice

• Fasting days can only be used when they are needed. For example, after the New Year holidays due to overeating. On ordinary days, we should not forget about the beneficial bacteria living in the body. If you do not feed them for a long time, they will die and pathogenic microflora will take their place.
• You want to eat when there is a lack of water. Then the body begins to store it for future use in the form of edema, depositing liquid from food. If your legs swell, but your arms are normal, then the problem is a lack of drinking water. If the upper half of the body swells (you can’t remove the ring from your finger, your face swells), then most likely there is a problem with the kidneys.
• Women after childbirth can go on a diet only after 6 months , provided that 2 monthly cycles have passed. It is better to start losing weight during the estrogen phase, immediately after menstruation. If you start in the second phase, the weight only increases. It has nothing to do with diet.
• After 18:00 you need to eat; you should not fast for more than 10 hours. Otherwise, the body begins to store nutrients. Before going to bed, you need to eat protein and fiber. Carbohydrates can be eaten only 5-6 hours before bedtime, because... when they are consumed, insulin is released, which blocks the action of somatotropic hormone, a powerful fat-burning substance released at night.

The technique helps you lose excess weight in a short period of time. The main disadvantage of the Kovalkov diet is the duration of the last stage. The menu can be prepared in advance for the day, week, month. At the same time, it is not necessary to strictly follow it - if you want to drink yogurt instead of kefir, then you need to do so.

The main stages of a protein-fat diet

Kovalkov’s weight loss method is a step-by-step process of getting rid of extra pounds. The first stage is preparation, the essence of which is described in the previous section. Next you need to go through three steps.

First stage

Its duration is 2 weeks, during which you need to gradually reduce the amount of food you eat and speed up metabolic processes. During the initial stage of losing weight, you need to follow some rules:

• An hour before each meal you should drink 1 glass of cool still water;
• the menu should always include kefir, grapefruit and fresh vegetables;
• Every day you need to perform simple physical exercises, give the body a load, for example, walking or swimming in the pool.

At this stage, the menu for one day could be like this:

• morning – 5 – 7 peeled walnuts + 150 ml of low-fat and unsweetened yogurt + 3 tablespoons of bran;
• snack – any fruit from the list of allowed + green tea without flavoring additives and sugar;
• lunch – Greek salad with olive oil;
• snack – any citrus fruit or apple + green tea without additives;
• dinner – boiled whites from 2 chicken eggs.

For information about the nutritional rules of the Kovalkov diet at stage 1, watch this video:

The stage of learning to lead a healthy lifestyle

It is much longer than the previous two, about 7 weeks, during which there is a steady weight loss, cleansing of the intestines and consolidation of the results already achieved. The menu may include white chicken meat (breast), low-fat fermented milk products and seafood.

At this stage, the menu for one day could be like this:

• morning – a handful of dried fruits or peeled hazelnuts + a glass of natural (without additives) yogurt or low-fat kefir;
• snack - any fruit from the list of permitted fruits in the amount of 200 g;
• lunch – 300 g of low-fat cottage cheese or boiled white chicken + 100 g of fresh or steamed vegetables;
• snack - any fruit;
• dinner – vegetable salad with vegetable oil and lemon juice.

For information on nutrition at stage 2, watch this video:

Consolidate the result

This stage has no restrictions on duration; Kovalkov himself claims that the recommended regimen and diet for this period must be followed for life.

You are allowed to eat even those foods that are on the list

prohibited. For example, it is perfectly acceptable to consume a few “squares” of a bar of dark chocolate or a couple of pieces of shish kebab.

For the consolidation stage to be effective, the following rules must be followed:

• food is taken 5 times a day (snacks are taken into account);
• after 18-00 it is forbidden to consume foods that contain complex carbohydrates (they are on the list of prohibited carbohydrates);
• It is strictly forbidden to mix carbohydrates and fats in one dish - you should avoid potatoes and goulash.

For information on nutrition at stage 3, watch this video:

Features of the drinking regime

The Kovalkov diet does not call for drinking a certain amount of water per day. He advises you to drink constantly and as much as you want. Preferably 10 minutes in advance. before meals, so as not to remove digestive juices from the stomach and, as a result, not to retain food.

The amount of fluid consumed per day should be calculated individually, taking into account the characteristics of the excretory function and chronic diseases. This is especially true for the use of medicinal and table mineral waters, which can only be drunk as prescribed by a doctor.

You should not focus on the feeling of thirst. The body says this only when there is a severe lack of fluid. It is advisable to carry a bottle of clean water with you and drink every time it comes into view. There is no need to pour water into a glass or drink a certain volume of liquid. You can take a couple of sips, but regularly.

At the first stage of the technique, you should try to drink at least 1.5 liters of water per day. This is necessary to remove toxins and decay products from the body. Next, 4-5 tbsp is enough. If urinary function is impaired, it is not necessary to adhere to these data.

Tea and coffee do not replace water; on the contrary, they increase the body's need for fluid. In the morning after waking up, you need to slowly drink 1 tbsp. water (room temperature). During the day, most of it should come between meals. When thirsty, a person consumes more food.

Prohibited Products

The Kovalkov diet is, first of all, a refusal to eat the following foods:

• sweet carbonated drinks;
• White rice;
• jam;
• honey;
• any sweets - confectionery, candies;
• compotes;
• fruit juices;
• corn;
• White bread;
• potato;
• any semi-finished products;
• products containing food and flavoring additives;
• pickles – it is generally advisable to reduce the amount of salt to 6 g per day;
• smoked meats

The consumption of alcohol of any strength is strictly prohibited; in extreme cases, if necessary, a small amount of table wine is allowed on the menu.

“I haven’t met a single slim child in Spain”

— According to research

Friedrich Schiller University
Jena the first 10 positions in
the ranking of countries with
the highest mortality rates from cardiovascular and other diseases caused by poor nutrition
are occupied by the countries of the former USSR.
Russia is just 10th (first is Uzbekistan, Ukraine is 4th, Belarus is 7th). To what extent are cardiovascular diseases related to diet? — Indeed, in terms of mortality, cardiovascular diseases caused by the development of vascular atherosclerosis are in first place. But how does this disease develop? First, the blood sugar level rises, and the high concentration of sugar in the blood turns it into a real acid for blood vessels.

Our skin is a multilayered epithelium, and any damage heals quickly. The vessels consist of a single-layer endothelium. If a person eats fast carbohydrates in large quantities, the sugar level instantly exceeds the norm and corrodes the blood vessels. Liquid blood plasma begins to sweat into the vessel, the muscle wall thickens, the vessel narrows, and platelets and high-density lipoproteins settle in this place. This is how atherosclerosis develops.

Therefore, all complications of diabetes arise due to damaged blood vessels, that is, microcapillaries in the legs are destroyed, diabetic foot develops, which leads to amputation. And we can spend as much money as we want on the construction of cardiology centers, but until we solve the nutrition problem, we will not eliminate the increase in cardiovascular diseases.

“Our skin is a multilayered epithelium, and any damage heals quickly. The vessels consist of a single-layer endothelium. If a person eats fast carbohydrates in large quantities, the sugar level immediately exceeds the norm and corrodes the blood vessels.” Photo diabetsunveseliba.lv

— In what ways are the eating habits of Russians similar to the habits of residents of post-Soviet countries?

- In my opinion, they are completely different. And if we are talking about Uzbekistan, then this is the only country where a decision was made at the state level to introduce dietetics lessons into the school curriculum. Moreover, the construction of a large nutritional center with branches in all cities of Uzbekistan is underway. And the best nutritionists have been invited to run the clinic.

— Scientists have also found that people eat healthily in Spain, Israel and France. What contributes to this state of affairs: state policy, the peculiarities of national cuisine, or something else?

— I don’t agree about Spain. I visit this country quite often, and there are a lot of overweight children there. I will say more - I have not met a single slender child in Spain. The French (“true” French) are more fortunate - they are genetically programmed to assimilate the national cuisine and not gain weight.

— It is believed that in Europe and the USA, unlike Russia, they produce mainly genetically modified products. Can they affect the quality of nutrition and lead to obesity?

— Nobody knows yet what the consumption of GMO products can lead to. And whether there really are no products containing GMOs in Russia is unknown. Perhaps the meat you eat was raised on feed purchased in Europe or the USA and genetically modified products were used in their production? There are many reasons for obesity, but only a doctor can find out the true reason for its occurrence.

Authorized Products

Everything that is not on the list of prohibited foods is allowed to be consumed. Be sure to include in the Kovalkov diet:

• kefir and any low-fat fermented milk products;
• grapefruits;
• berries and fruits (any except bananas).

You need to drink about 3 liters of clean water per day. It not only promotes the rapid removal of toxins from the body (this is the result of cleansing the intestines), but also helps control hunger.

Possible side effects

Despite all the benefits of diet and the transition to a healthy lifestyle, negative side effects from changing eating behavior are possible:

• Metabolic disturbances. Due to insufficient calories, metabolism slows down. The body finds itself in a stressful situation, and its work is aimed at saving energy expended. If you go off the diet, this can lead to sudden weight gain.
• Eating disorders. After prolonged restrictions, a person may lapse; even a relatively small amount of food eaten will lead to overeating. There are cases when a person generally loses the ability to normally determine and evaluate his feeling of hunger.
• The danger of “awakening” or intensifying chronic diseases, disturbances in the functioning of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract.
• Lack of nutrients affects brain function - psychomotor reactions slow down, memory deteriorates.
• If a person does not use vitamin-mineral complexes, he may experience deterioration in the condition of nails, skin and hair (due to vitamin deficiency).
• Possible decrease in muscle mass due to the body's transition to endogenous nutrition. Energy is taken not only from fat, but also from muscle tissue.
• If you lose weight rapidly, stretch marks and sagging skin will inevitably occur. Special cosmetics that make the skin more elastic help to partially eliminate the problem.

Menu for losing weight

The Kovalkov diet takes place in three stages and each of them has its own menu. The most difficult stage is the preparatory stage, when the body is rebuilt and begins to receive small portions of food with restrictions on complex carbohydrates and fats. During this period, you can safely consume legumes, fresh vegetables, kefir, and grains.

The optimal choice would be pureed legume soups with the addition of a small amount of olive oil, cereal porridge in water without sugar and oil, vegetable salads with vegetable oil.

At the second stage of the weight loss process, you can add boiled white chicken meat, seafood, dried fruits, and any fermented milk products (sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurts) to the menu. But the third stage (consolidation) is the longest, and ideally you should stick to it for the rest of your life. The diet of someone losing weight will be varied and not as strict as during preparation.

Menu for the week

In principle, anyone who is losing weight can create their own menu based on the list of allowed foods. This is what Kovalkov himself recommends:

• Breakfast can consist of nuts of any variety (literally 100 g), unsweetened and low-fat yogurt, kefir, and bran.

You can’t eat everything at once “in one sitting”; on the first day you can pour the bran with natural yogurt and wash it all down with green unsweetened tea, on the second day you can have breakfast with nuts and a glass of kefir.

• Lunch includes boiled seafood with lemon juice, boiled chicken breast, fresh vegetable salad with added meat, baked turkey fillet or fish, and fruit. For example, you can satisfy your hunger with 200 g of boiled fish, a salad of fresh vegetables with vegetable oil and a glass of green tea.
• Dinner - it will be enough to eat 100 g of boiled meat or seafood, a green salad, low-fat cottage cheese, natural yogurt. Again, you should follow your diet - dinner should be no later than 18 hours and in small quantities.

Between main meals, you should definitely have snacks - fresh berries, fruits with the exception of bananas.

For a month

Creating a menu for a month is quite simple - you just need to include permitted products in it. The peculiarity of the Kovalkov diet is that at the last stage it is allowed to eat fried turkey, and 20 - 30 g of dark chocolate and sweets. Naturally, these products are present on the menu in minimal quantities and not every day.

You can diversify your monthly diet with salads made from fresh or baked vegetables without sauces, but with the addition of meat and seafood.

Contraindications

Kovalkov recommends that before using a diet and drawing up a menu for the month, if you have any chronic diseases, consult a doctor. In any case, you need to undergo a general examination. If you have health problems, you need to adjust the technique so that it does not harm the body.

Contraindications:

• Children, teenagers, old age.
• Pregnancy.
• Breastfeeding period.
• The first six months after childbirth, unsteady menstruation.
• Hormonal disorders.
• Acute diseases.

Mandatory physical activity

Working out is an integral part of weight loss, because you won’t be able to get rid of extra pounds solely by correcting your diet. They should be extremely moderate and start simple: at the preparatory stage, the person losing weight should walk more, and can visit the pool 2-3 times a week. Cardio exercises and strength training are prohibited, and if the initial weight exceeds the norm by 30 kg, then you should get advice on the advisability of the loads.

As you progress through the stages of the Kovalkov diet, physical activity should increase: visiting the gym under the supervision of a fitness trainer, running in the fresh air, and hiking are allowed.

How not to lose your temper

With any diet, there is a danger of failure and a return to the previous diet (or no diet at all). To prevent this from happening, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• Alcohol increases appetite, so only dry wine is allowed (and only at stage 3).
• Of all the possible dishes, you need to choose the most delicious and healthy ones.
• Under no circumstances should you give up regular physical activity, even if it’s simple walks.
• There are a lot of permitted foods, so meals within the diet can be made quite varied. This will help normalize and balance your daily diet.

The greatest danger is posed by fatty foods and processed meat products (sausages, boiled sausages). The consumption of such products should be minimized, and ideally completely eliminated.

The desire to achieve a goal is an important component

Psychological attitude is no less important than compliance with all dietary recommendations. Kovalkov is convinced that only those who have set a goal for themselves and have the desire to achieve it will see the result of their efforts. The options “I’ll try, maybe it will work”, “I have nothing to lose”, “I’ve tried everything, why not take the risk again” - this is definitely not for losing weight.

The goal must be set realistically, because a person will not be able to get rid of 20 kg in a month, even if he simply starves. Those who are losing weight should be pleased with the results, even if they lose 3 - 4 kg per week. Let this figure be a goal, and exceeding it will be a pleasant bonus.

“There has been some transformation of the idea of ​​body positivity”

— The body positivity movement is popular in the West, calling for people to accept their excess weight and love themselves as they are. Could it have negative effects on overweight people? And what is the reason for the emergence of such a movement?

— Originally, body positivity is a social movement that is based on the belief that all people should have a positive image of their bodies and accept them in the same way as the bodies of other people. It fights for the inadmissibility of discrimination based on weight, mental and physical health, and appearance. Now there has been some transformation of the idea itself. Body positivity calls not to associate appearance with health, but it has long been known that obesity is a chronic relapsing disease that leads to an increase in mortality, primarily from cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In this case, ignoring obesity as a problem will lead to an increase in socially significant diseases in society as a whole.

“Ignoring obesity as a problem will lead to an increase in socially significant diseases in society as a whole.” Photo hudey.net

— One of the frightening trends in Russia is the increase in the number of adolescents suffering from obesity. What is the reason for this and how does excess weight affect the development of a teenager?

generally
?
How can parents instill proper nutritional culture in their children? — According to WHO, the number of overweight infants and young children (0 to 5 years) worldwide has increased from 32 million in 1990 to 41 million in 2021. This is a scary statistic. An obese child is almost 90% an adult with all the manifestations of metabolic syndrome - diabetes, arterial hypertension, insulin resistance. The latter, already in adolescence and young adulthood, is a risk factor for the development of infertility in both men and women. This trend is associated with an incorrect high-carbohydrate diet, the formation from early childhood of the reflex “if you did something well - get a sweet,” “tired, crying, whining or making a row - you need to give a sweet.” But an excess of foods rich in sugar and gluten only worsens brain function and reduces school performance.

Health is affected by the lack of sports, poor eating habits in the family, not always proper nutrition in schools and kindergartens, and a decrease in natural feeding. It is necessary first to teach parents the principles of healthy eating, including healthy snacks, to introduce conversations in schools and kindergartens about proper nutrition and the dangers of excess weight, to develop the accessibility of children's sports, to teach children to rejoice, celebrate and receive positive emotions not only with the help of pizza and sweets .

Real results

If you strictly adhere to the diet menu and exercise regularly, then in a couple of weeks you can get rid of 5 - 6 kg of excess weight . Of course, these are conditional indicators; a lot depends on the “source material”, the activity of metabolic processes in the body and even the age of the person losing weight. But there is no doubt that there will be results on the Kovalkov diet. The doctor himself gives these guarantees!