90-day separate diet: rules, menus and recipes

Do you want to lose weight using a unique method, without experiencing the feeling of hunger and loss of strength? Then consider that you have found such a diet. This is a separate nutrition diet, which is designed for 90 days.

The history of this diet began in the distant 2000s in Slovenia. Two friends who wrote food reviews for magazines decided to develop a nutrition plan for women. Their names are Breda Chrobat and Mojca Polanshek. They were excited about the issue of proper nutrition for those women who want to have a beautiful, slim figure.

All the main points of this method of losing weight were outlined by a friend in a book called “90-day separate diet.” In addition to recommendations, this book contains interesting recipes for proper nutrition.

General rules

Among weight loss diets, interest periodically arises in diets based on separate nutrition.
For the first time, it became widespread more than a hundred years ago thanks to the works of Howard Hay and Herbert Shelton, who popularized the concept of separate nutrition, who believed that the separation of foods that are incompatible with each other is a panacea for many problems, including getting rid of excess weight. G. Shelton's theory is based on the statement that the digestion of proteins occurs most fully in an acidic environment (stomach), and carbohydrates in an alkaline environment (small intestine). That is, by consuming proteins separately and carbohydrates separately, you can achieve their more complete and rapid absorption by the body. However, according to the majority of modern nutritionists, such a nutritional system does not stand up to criticism, and many scientists, in particular, Professor I.P. Razenkov, have experimentally confirmed that mixed nutrition for humans is more physiologically natural and healthy than separate ones. This is due to the fact that, according to scientifically proven data, fats, proteins and carbohydrates in a separate diet are no better absorbed than when using a mixed diet, which is characterized by more complete absorption of nutrients. Moreover, in fact, as such, separate digestion of BJU does not exist, since several enzyme systems take part in the digestive process - salivary enzymes, gastric juice, duodenal enzymes ( trypsin , amylase , lipase ), bile acids, intestinal juices that affect food nutrients as they pass through the alimentary tract. In addition, the overwhelming majority of food products initially contain proteins, fats, and carbohydrates; the whole question is only in their quantitative ratio.

However, another surge of attention to separate meals was initiated by the book of Slovenian authors Brad Hobat and Mojca Polyansek, who published their work “The 90-day separate diet diet,” which gained great popularity among people who want to lose weight. Those who are interested in such a nutrition system can easily download this book for a fee on the Internet or buy it in a store. There is nothing fundamentally new, in contrast to the recommendations of the founders of this nutrition concept, but the authors maximally adapted the diet and recipes to the realities of the present time, taking a time interval of 90 days as the basis for the diet.

Table of compatible and incompatible products

Separate nutrition (90-day diet) is based on cyclical food intake related to one or another type of food nutrients. The cycle consists of 4 days and includes a protein day, a starch day, a carbohydrate day and a vitamin day.

• The protein day diet can include any type of meat, eggs, fish/seafood, fermented milk products, including cottage cheese and cheese. At the same time, mixing protein products is prohibited, that is, two concentrated protein products cannot be consumed together. Each of these products should be consumed separately. The protein day diet also includes meat broth (300 ml per lunch) and any non-starchy vegetables.
• It is allowed to include legumes and cereals, any vegetables and vegetable broth (300 ml) in the starch day diet.
• The carbohydrate day diet includes flour products (bread, crackers, crackers), cereals (barley, millet, buckwheat), yeast-free baked goods, any vegetables, tomato sauce/paste, dark chocolate (no more than 20 g).
• On vitamin days, the diet should include fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as juices from them, dried fruits, nuts/seeds (up to 25 grams).

Daily free fluid intake is at least 2 l/day. It is allowed to drink unsweetened caffeine-containing drinks (coffee and tea) without additives. On protein days, it is allowed to add low-fat milk. Every 29th day is a fasting day, during which you are allowed to drink only water. The authors also suggest using only gentle cooking methods (boiling, baking, steaming) and avoiding fried foods. Maintain meal intervals. On a protein day, an interval of 4 hours, on a carbohydrate/starch day at least three hours, on a fruit meal every 2 hours.

In order for the 90-day separate food diet to be as effective as possible, it is recommended:

• Follow your diet. Do not eat food after 20:00.
• Use only natural products, without food additives (dyes, preservatives, flavor enhancers).
• Avoid fried foods, give preference to boiled and stewed dishes.
• Reduce salt consumption, it is better to use sea salt, replacing it with seasonings and herbs whenever possible.
• Maintain a drinking regime (at least 2 l/day).
• Count the calorie content of food to adjust its quantity. It is especially important to monitor your calorie intake on a carbohydrate day.
• Add regular aerobic physical activity (walking).
• Avoid eating fatty, high-calorie foods and fast food products.
• Eat slowly, chewing food thoroughly.

For effective weight loss, the correct way out of the diet is extremely important, which should be without a sudden transition to a regular mixed type of diet. It is recommended to start with 1-2 days of eating vegetables with a gradual expansion of the diet to include foods from other groups.

How to get out of a diet correctly

Leaving a diet is a very important point. The main thing here is not to gain back the lost kilograms and not harm your health. You need to exit the diet gradually, introducing one product after another in small quantities.

Remember that during the diet, the stomach decreased in size, and the body became accustomed to eating according to this scheme. Therefore, exiting the diet should be slow and careful.

The authors of this diet advise that many of the habits acquired during weight loss be maintained after leaving the diet. For example, it is advisable to give up the habit of drinking water with apple cider vinegar in the morning and having fruit for breakfast. It is also advisable to maintain the habit of eating one type of food per day. It is also advisable to keep the serving volumes the same.

Authorized Products

The 90-day split diet menu includes:

• On a protein day - lean red meat, chicken, turkey rabbit, boiled or baked sea/river fish, seafood, chicken/quail eggs in any preparation, fermented milk products, cheese, non-starchy vegetables, broth.
• On a starch day, it is allowed to include legumes, any vegetables, herbs, cereals, vegetable broth, and a decoction of wheat bran.
• The carbohydrate day includes cereals (barley, millet, buckwheat), flour products (bread, crackers, crackers), yeast-free and egg-free baked goods, tomato sauce/paste, any vegetables, dark chocolate (no more than 20 g), cakes, low-calorie sweets.
• On a vitamin day - dried fruits, fresh vegetables/fruits, as well as juices from them, nuts/seeds (up to 25 grams), rosehip infusion.

Table of permitted products

Menu for the week

Below is a sample menu for a week with alternating days taking into account cyclicity.

It is important to remember that on any given day you need to drink a large amount of water (about 2 liters). You can also drink black and green tea, coffee without sugar, smoothies and dried fruit compotes.

Fully or partially limited products

The 90-day separate meals diet menu excludes:

• Concentrated fatty broths and first courses based on them.
• Fatty meat, refractory fats, waterfowl meat (duck goose), margarine, smoked meats, canned food (meat and fish), fatty sausages, mayonnaise.
• Fast food products.
• Alcoholic drinks.

Table of prohibited products

Photo

Alexandrova Anastasia

Nutrition and healthy lifestyle specialist and author of myfitnesblog.com. For many years, she has successfully helped women and men lose weight and maintain a beautiful figure.

Recipes

One of the advantages of the book is that it widely presents recipes for a separate diet. Moreover, not just recipes are given, but for each dish the method of preparation is indicated, all the necessary ingredients and their quantity per serving, which greatly simplifies the process of preparing dishes; you just need to follow the instructions.

The recipes in the book are not repeated every day, and many of them are extremely interesting, for example, melon stuffed with berries, polenta with paprika, fried bananas with strawberries, soy moussaka, dried fig balls, rice with almonds, the preparation of which will allow you to improve your culinary skills. Taking into account minor restrictions in the choice of products, you can easily create a menu for 7 days and purchase everything you need.

Possible side effects

Many of those who have tested the diet on themselves share that in the first two to three weeks of switching to a 90-day diet, it is difficult to get rid of the constant feeling of hunger. In addition, there are also disadvantages such as:

• Weakness and lethargy.
• Frequent urination.
• Fever.
• Skin rashes.
• Bad mood.

In these cases, it is better to talk to your doctor; perhaps you should change your method of losing excess weight.

Comments from nutritionists

According to the overwhelming majority of experts in the field of nutrition, Herbert Shelton’s concept of separate nutrition does not correspond to modern views on the physiology of nutrition and digestion. Unfortunately, the author of the idea did not have a medical education, and his views on the physiology of digestion are significantly simplified and do not correspond to reality. Moreover, his hypothesis contradicts the medical data obtained from modern scientific research. This concerns, first of all, the participation of certain enzymes in digestion, a lack of understanding of the role of the pancreas, which, when the digestive process starts, produces several types of enzymes simultaneously that digest both carbohydrates and proteins. That is, Herbert Shelton’s statements that various enzymes suppress each other and thereby negatively affect the digestion process are erroneous.

Therefore, a healthy person does not have any physiological grounds for separate nutrition. This also applies to the physiological structure of the stomach, which is designed to digest mixed food, and not individual food nutrients in turn. Moreover, a number of amino acids contained in animal and plant proteins are absorbed by the body only in a certain ratio. So, if there is a lack of any amino acid, the absorption of others deteriorates.

According to Dr.Med.Sc. Vasilevskaya L. S. “G. Shelton’s concept does not take into account the complete adaptation of a person to a mixed diet, which arose in the process of human evolution, during which the human body developed enzymatic adaptation to mixed food and rapid/optimal self-regulation of gastrointestinal functions.”

As a conclusion, it should be noted that separate nutrition does not make much sense, but is just another fashionable diet that should not be abused for a long time. The fact that this nutritional system allows you to lose excess weight is rather a side effect, achieved by reducing the amount of food consumed and eliminating harmful foods from the diet.

Contraindications for the diet

This diet, like any other, has its contraindications. The following persons are prohibited from losing weight using this method:

• For those who have diabetes
• For those who have high cholesterol levels in their blood
• For those who suffer from various chronic diseases
• For those suffering from mental disorders

It is important to remember that before you start losing weight using your chosen method, you must consult your doctor.

Reviews and results

If you go to a forum on the topic of separate nutrition, you will see that reviews about separate nutrition are contradictory and diametrically opposed - from complete approval to categorical rejection.

• “... I go on various diets regularly. I recently found a diet for separate meals by Czech authors and decided to try it. Honestly, I only lasted a month instead of 90 days due to some discomfort. The result was 2.8 kg; on other diets it was more significant. But cooking dishes was more stressful, although the recipes are written in the book, often such products are not available, and when you start to create a menu yourself, you need to study their compatibility of products using a special table, which is tedious. In a word, I didn’t like it, I’ll try other diets.”
• “... The 90-day split diet is my favorite way to lose weight. I practice it once a year, and then in courses of 15 days 2-3 times a year. I tolerate the diet well, there are practically no restrictions. I recommend to all".

Basic principles of the 90 day split diet

Before looking at the principles, let's first look at the characteristics of the diet:

• Duration
  90 days
• Efficiency
  3 - 25 kg
• Difficulty
  is low
• Diet variety
  is average
• Rating
  4.7
• Cost
  ~6000 rub. per month

The basic principle of separate nutrition is cyclicality. One cycle lasts for four days. Changing the sequence or length of days in a cycle is prohibited, as this will reduce weight loss results to a minimum.

1. Day one is protein day. On this day, meat, poultry, fish and dairy products are allowed.
2. The second day is starchy. On this day you can eat potatoes, rice, corn, wheat.
3. The third day is carbohydrate. On this day it is permissible to eat cereals and baked goods.
4. The fourth day of the cycle is a vitamin day. On such a day, fruits, dried fruits and nuts are allowed.

The cycle consists of these days. After completing the last fourth day of the cycle, you must again move on to the first day. This procedure must be followed throughout the entire 90 days.