Protein Sparing Modified Fast Explained and Evaluated
The protein sparing modified fast is created for overweight individuals looking for a quick weight loss. It includes not only dietary components but also medical and behavioral aspects. The diet has a very restrictive plan; as such, it must be made with the help of a dietician and physician.
Defining the Protein Sparing Fast
Ideally, humans mostly lose fat tissue instead of lean body mass when in diet. Humans, in an ideal situation, should retain their lean body mass and lose fat tissue when dieting. However, a small part of lean body mass is lost regardless of the weight loss diet, especially with low-calorie ones. While giving only 900 calories a day, the 70 to 90 grams of high-quality protein in a PSMF diet prevents lean body mass loss.
Protein as a Source of Energy
The human body’s main source of energy is carbohydrates. People who put severe limits to their carbohydrates while dieting will find their body using their fat as an alternative source of energy. Eating food rich in protein while dieting bars the body from utilizing the protein stores, primarily located in the muscles, tissues, and cells. With the fast breakdown of fat, waste substances called ketones are expelled from the body through urination, a condition known as ketosis. As such, the protein sparing diet is also known as a ketogenic diet. The degree of weight loss is augmented by the fact that ketosis results to losing appetite.
The PSMF way only allows for a limited number of choices when it comes to food, as it only includes lean meat, poultry, seafood, and a tiny selection of low-carbohydrate vegetables. The diet excludes other classes of fat and carbohydrates. The missing nutrients in the diet are recovered by utilizing supplemental medicine. Anyone trying the diet must follow through the entire regimen until their desired weight is reached; they can then enter the refeeding phase, a post-diet process where they can once again take carbohydrates and decrease the protein they consume. With this phase, a well-rounded diet is implemented to make sure that the future weight control process is more successful.
A consideration for the PSMF diet is that a sharp decrease in carbohydrates forces the body to release large amounts of water once its stores have been used up. With this, the body might become dehydrated and it could also result to imbalance the body’s electrolytes, and it is the primary reason why medical professionals should supervise the diet. The doctor or dietician can give recommendations to the amount of liquid, sodium, and potassium a dieter must take on a daily basis. Lastly, eating food outside the recommended groups could hinder weight loss and even introduce some dangerous fluid and electrolye imbalances, making the entire diet useless.