How To Eat During Great Lent

As soon as Great Lent arrives , all cafes and restaurants begin to offer a lean menu, chefs and food bloggers come up with complex dishes that do not contain animal products , and many wonder whether it will be possible to lose weight during Great Lent . 7 weeks restriction is no joke.

In fact, Great Lent is a test of strength of spirit, which is not reduced to dietary restrictions. And it definitely cannot be considered a dietary or health practice, even the opposite: during fasting it is easy to lose muscle mass and gain excess fat. However, this can be avoided.

To begin with, you need to figure out what you can and can't eat during Lent . Let's find out how to make the Lenten menu healthy and tasty.

Allowed foods during fasting

All products of plant origin: cereals, vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, berries, bread, pasta without eggs, mushrooms, algae, vegetable oils, in the last days - fish, caviar and wine.

Prohibited foods during fasting

All products of animal origin: meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products , animal fats.

How to make a menu for Lent

If you look at the list of Lenten products , it immediately becomes clear: there are few sources of protein and many carbohydrates. In order for nutrition to be complete and meet the requirements of fasting , the following should be kept in mind.

• There are no examples of menus for fasting in the scriptures , it is not deciphered what "dry food" is and whether chia pudding poured with cold vegetable milk will be considered it. It is said that this is "coarse dry food". And then everyone decides independently.

• There is a monastic post for lay people as well. And according to the rules, you need to receive a blessing for fasting from the father, and he decides which relaxations are allowed to you. Traditionally, special instructions were given to the sick, pregnant women, new mothers and those who travel. If you go to and from work every day for 1.5 hours, then probably by ancient standards you are an eternal traveler:) And therefore the idea of ​​observing a strict version of the monastic fast and giving up, for example, oils in this case would not be the best idea.

• Fasting is a time of abstinence. A diet consisting of avocado, dark chocolate, soy latte and coconut chips is formally lean, but you definitely cannot call it moderate.

• It is difficult to get enough protein during fasting . You need at least 1 g of protein per 1 kg of weight. The main sources of protein are the same animal products that are not allowed. Why should you bet on vegetables that contain a sufficient amount of it. For example, this is broccoli and cauliflower. Nuts and seeds are good sources of protein. But they contain phytic acid, which reduces the assimilation of micronutrients. For some reason, it is better to soak them, and then dry them at a low temperature. Vegan protein powder is not the most nutritious product , but it can be a good option during fasting . Pay attention to the composition, often such productscontain useless ingredients. Pea and hemp are better than soy. Beans are rich not only in protein, but also in carbohydrates. In an attempt to gain the norm of protein at the expense of peas and beans, you risk gaining extra pounds and creating a storm in the intestine.

• If you are actively training or preparing for pregnancy, limiting yourself to plant-based protein is not a good idea. It is better to leave fish in the diet, but give up social networks during fasting . To get both proteins and healthy fats at once, choose mackerel, herring, salmon and cod liver.

• Fats are the easiest position in fasting . Use coconut, olive, avocado oil. But vegetable oils from nuts and seeds contain a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, which, when consumed excessively, can have a negative effect on health and waistline. And don't forget plant- based foods rich in fats: coconut, avocado, nuts and seeds.

• Foods allowed during fasting are mainly sources of carbohydrates. To get the most out of them, you should bet on vegetables. Moreover, frozen vegetables are not inferior to fresh ones in the amount of vitamins and useful substances. But bread, pasta and porridge, although they are lean, do not contribute to good health: they give a feeling of satiety for a short period of time, and then at first drowsiness comes and - after a short period - an acute feeling of hunger.

• Whole natural products are always better than surrogates. From the point of view of Christianity, man is made in the image of God, which means that the body should be taken care of in the same way as the gift of God. You can eat vegan sausage with sugar and gluten and burgers made from meat substitutes and formally observe the principles of Great Lent , but you cannot call such a diet a care for the body.