3 Protein-Based Diets You Should Know

When people want to lose weight or gain muscle, they typically turn to diets high in protein that will keep them fuller for longer. With them, people also receive an excellent set of nutrients to build a successful meal plan around. These protein-based diets are some of the most common ones, but to ensure that you get enough protein in your day, they may have you cut back on other foods and macronutrients. Always check with your doctor before swapping to a new diet, especially one that has you cutting back on and restricting certain foods.

Why Protein Is Great For Diets

Protein can help keep you fuller longer, meaning that protein-based diets are excellent options for people who want to lose weight, but they may be more detrimental than beneficial if you stick to them for the long term. 

Protein can also help your body build strong skin, cells, organs, muscles and more, making it an irreplaceable part of your diet, whether you’re trying to reach a specific weight goal or just trying to think of a meal plan that works for you. Protein-based diets can help people achieve their nutrition goals, whatever they may look like.

You’ll find protein in several foods, meaning you won’t have to eat the same things repeatedly to get a healthy dose. Red meat, lean meats and seafood are some of the best sources to get your protein, but if you don’t eat meat, you can always supplement it some other way. 

Some people consume a dose of protein through shakes with added ingredients to make the raw protein powder taste better. Even people who don’t eat meat can get plenty of protein through foods like eggs and cheese, but it might be harder to meet your macros if you’re aiming for a certain amount.

3 Protein-Based Diets Everyone Knows

These three protein-based diets are some of the most common ones everyone knows — or, at least, they’ve heard of them in passing. If you’re looking for a high-protein diet that will help you kickstart your health goals, these plans are excellent to adhere to for a short time.

1. Ketogenic Diet

The Ketogenic Diet has become more popular in recent years for being a diet heavy in fat and protein. On the flip side, you eat little to no carbohydrates, so it isn’t a great diet to follow for too long. About 7% of the U.S. population follows the Keto Diet, which may not sound like a lot initially, but it encompasses many people for such a limiting diet with many rules. 

Several people love it because of all the foods available to you in any quantity — including those often deemed “bad” for you, like things high in fat, such as bacon. Just remember, everything is good in moderation, and you might try a more relaxed version of the Keto Diet to see how you like it first. If you don’t transition into ketogenesis just right, you might experience the dreaded “keto flu.”

2. Paleo Diet

The Paleo Diet involves only eating foods available during the hunter-gatherer period, so it’s no wonder it’s often called the “caveman diet.” Still, that doesn’t mean that you only eat meat on this diet — though protein is a huge staple of your everyday meals. Paleo is a diet that works great when people use it as a starting point to eating healthier. Because it’s so restrictive, it doesn’t work well for everyone, but many people use it as a way to avoid more processed foods they may find trouble quitting.

3. Dukan Diet

Known less than the other two diets on this list, this way of eating focuses primarily on consuming only protein with some complementary foods. It’s a diet that works in phases, mainly to allow the people on it to lose weight aggressively through consuming large amounts of protein. In the first phase, you’ll be limited in what you can eat, but more foods open up to you in the second phase and beyond, where you’ll work on maintaining the weight loss and not regaining it.

While this diet may help you lose weight, it’s a protein-based diet that you should only consider if you have your doctor’s support. It has strict rules, much like the Keto Diet, so it may be more challenging to stick to the Dukan Diet for the long term, especially through all of the restrictive stages.

Try Protein-Based Diets to Achieve Your Body Goals

Often, sticking to a diet can be difficult and unsustainable in the long term. These protein-based diets don’t need to be adhered to for years for you to see your results. In fact, if you want to lose weight or gain muscle in a healthy amount of time, your doctor might even recommend that you start one of these diets for a temporary period. Once you’re finished with the diet, remember to reintegrate other foods slowly, so you don’t shock your body. You may find that these diets, alongside exercise and other work, may help you achieve the body goals you only dreamed of.