Michelle Montignac: power system

Michel Montignac (1944-2010) - the author of the popular system of effective weight loss. He was against low-calorie diets. The value of the glycemic index is the main scheme for focusing nutrition, as Montignac believed. The nutrition system of the famous French dietician is considered one of the most successful diets of the last century. How is it different from many others?

"Bad" and "good" carbohydrates

All carbohydrates Michel Montignac, the food system by which is one of the most popular, divided into good, giving energy, and bad - with a high glycemic index (more than 50), which are the main reasons for weight gain, fatigue accumulation, metabolic slowdown and so on. Useful carbohydrates include a significant amount of minerals, vitamins and trace elements. Virtually no negative effects on the body are observed. "Good" carbohydrates are digested only partially, so they can not cause a noticeable increase in blood sugar levels.

The so-called harmful carbohydrates include: glucose, baked potatoes, white bread from premium flour, honey, carrots, corn flakes, sugar, processed cereals, chocolate, boiled potatoes, cookies, corn, white rice, black bread, beets, bananas, Melons, jams, pasta from the premium grade flour and others.

Useful carbohydrates with a low glycemic index include: fructose, wheat flour with bran and whole wheat, brown rice, peas, cereals, fresh fruit juices, solid macaroni, colored beans, dairy products, lentils, rye bread, fresh fruit , Canned fruit without sugar, dark chocolate (more than 60% cocoa), soy, green vegetables, tomatoes, lemons, mushrooms.

Fats in the power system

Michel Montignac, the food system we are considering, does not allow to combine "bad" carbohydrates with fats. Otherwise, a significant percentage of accepted lipids will remain in the body. He identified two large groups of fats: animals (they are contained in fish, meat, cheese, butter, etc.) and vegetable (margarine, butter, etc.). Some of them increase the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood. It is basically saturated fats, which are found in fat, meat, smoked and dairy products, palm oil.

However, there are those who reduce the level of cholesterol or have virtually no effect on its formation. Examples include poultry without skin, eggs and oysters. These fats we find in vegetable oils: olive, sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, corn and others. Useful fish are sardines, herring, tuna, salmon, mackerel. Fish oil has no effect on cholesterol levels in any case, but it can reduce triglyceride levels in the blood, preventing blood clots and protecting the heart.

Prohibited products

From what products does Michel Montignac call for refusing or minimizing? The food system is constructed in such a way that it should not include positions with a high glycemic index. For example:

• Sugar. According to the dietician, this is the most dangerous product. How then to maintain the minimum required blood glucose? This is one of the main secrets. Montignac reminds us that the human body does not need sugar and artificial glucose, it can be easily found in fruits, cereals, legumes.
• White bread from refined flour. Although it contains carbohydrates and gives our body a certain amount of energy from a nutritional point of view, this product is completely useless, and the whiter it is, the worse.
• Potatoes. Another "outcast" in the system. Potatoes contain many vitamins and minerals, mostly only in the skin, which is rarely eaten. It delivers a very high percentage of glucose. Puree has a glycemic index of 90, baked potatoes - 95. For comparison, we recall that the index of pure glucose is 100.
• Pasta. They are not only made from wheat flour, but also various fats, vegetable and butter, cheese, eggs are added to them. This contradicts the basics of separate food, without which it is not possible to get rid of excess kilograms, as Montignac believed.
• The nutrition system (a book of recipes from a nutritionist contains many options for combining useful products) also excludes alcohol, since this factor also plays an important role in weight gain, since it causes an elementary appetite.

Helpful Tips

During many years of research, the nutritionist was engaged in the study of metabolism and the use of products in accordance with their glycemic index. The diet, which advises Montignac (the food system, the principles of combining products play an important role in it), has much in common with others. Here are some of the tips that can often be found in articles on healthy eating:

1. Do not mix "bad" carbohydrates with fats.
2. If possible, use only "good" fats.
3. Combine fats with vegetables, mainly with those in which there is a lot of fiber.
4. Drink more water.
5. Give up flour, sweet and so on.

The theoretical basis of the Montignac diet

According to the theory of Michel Montignac, the weight increases if you consume a large number of carbohydrates, in particular those that have a high glycemic index. Such products have a negative effect on blood sugar levels, significantly increasing it. And this, in turn, triggers the production of insulin. It is a hormone that stabilizes the level of sugar. Over time, the body begins to develop resistance to insulin, in other words, it stops responding to it.

Excessive consumption of foods with a high glycemic index leads to the fact that the level of sugar stops stabilizing naturally. The production of insulin stimulates the enzyme - lipoprotein lipase, responsible for the preservation of fat, and most importantly - insulin inhibits the enzyme of triglyceride lipase, and also promotes the cleavage and removal of fat from the body. Based on these data, the French nutritionist has developed his own nutrition system.

Montignac: power system

The book of recipes, authored by Michel Montignac, does not call for restraint, but, on the contrary, offers its reader a variety of balanced menu options. You should choose the high quality of all types of products: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It is necessary to take into account the nutritional value and effect on blood sugar levels. The focus is on the food culture and eating habits, which is applicable not only to weight loss, but also to stabilize it, as well as to prevent type 2 diabetes and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

There are two phases of the diet that suggested Montignac. The nutrition system (1 phase is purification of the body, 2 phase - the preservation of the results) - this is not exactly a diet, rather, it is a way of life. Moments that are worth paying attention to:

• The right choice of breakfast, lunch and dinner. At the first stage, you must abandon the bad products and introduce good in the diet. This seemingly simple recommendation will help to cleanse the body of toxins and lose excess weight. However, do not tune in to the fact that with this diet you can get an instant result.
• During the second phase, you can relax a little. The food requirements are already less stringent, you can even afford some food liberties, of course, within reasonable limits.

Essence and features of the diet

The French meal plan provides for:

• Limiting the consumption of foods with a high glycemic index (beets, potatoes, carrots), which increase blood sugar and promote overeating and weight gain.
• The exclusion from the diet of incompatible combinations: animal proteins and carbohydrates, fats and sugar, etc.
• Compliance with the principles of separate food.
• The consumption of products containing sugar should not exceed more than two or three times a week.
• The inclusion of proteins and healthy fats in the diet often and in any quantity, but using them separately from the rest of the meal.
• Fruit as a snack between meals.
• Consumption of cereals and legumes only in raw form.
• Selection of polyunsaturated omega-3 acids (for example, fish oil or flaxseed oil) and monounsaturated fatty acids (such as olive oil).
• Failure or restriction of the use of saturated fatty acids contained in foods such as butter, fat meats.
• This rule: the best carbohydrates are those that have the lowest glycemic index.

Approximate daily menu

Breakfast can include any fruit, a slice of whole grain bread with low-fat cottage cheese or unsweetened yogurt, decaffeinated coffee. Lunch consists of avocado with olive oil and vinegar sauce, steak, boiled beans, cheese and mineral water. For dinner, vegetable soup, a green salad, an omelette with mushrooms and low-fat yogurt will suit . People with chronic diseases should consult a doctor before using the set of products that offered Montignac. The food system (the menu for each day we will introduce below) is structured in such a way that there is a clear division into the allowed products and those whose consumption should be limited.

Glycemic index

Accordingly, nutritionists have taken for themselves the starting point, which is called the glycemic index. The more it is, the less suitable for use. At the heart of the diet during the first phase should be those dishes, the ingredients in which have a low glycemic index (less than 50). Between meals should take about 3 hours or more. You need three times a day, plus two snacks. It is preferable to do this at the same time. Breakfast should be dense, lunch and dinner - moderate, and in between they should choose light snacks, such as fruit.

Beginning of the diet

What is a diet? Montignac (the food system, the menu of which we are considering), suggests during the first phase to choose such products:

• Protein-lipid variant: lean meat, fish, poultry (except liver), cheese and eggs, vegetable salad, consisting of tomatoes and green vegetables, dressed with sour cream or any vegetable oil, unsweetened yogurt.
• Protein-carbohydrate variant: vegetable soups (with GI less than 50), fat-free yogurt, vegetable salads (vegetables, as for soups), vinegar or lemon juice as a dressing, pasta from wheat flour, cereals without milk - millet, buckwheat, Fig.
• Mixed variant: beans, beans, soybeans, low-fat yogurt, green vegetables, tomatoes, mushrooms and lemon.

Transition time and second phase rules

The diet offered by Michel Montignac, the food system, recipes - all this is not something temporary, it should become a good habit, preparation for a healthy diet throughout life. The transition to the second stage is necessary after the first progress in weight reduction has been achieved. During weight loss, it often happens that the weight is in place, this is normal. It is important not to despair, but to follow the intended goal, no matter what. Organism also needs time to adjust to a new way of eating, he will decide when he will not feel sorry to give extra pounds.

Features of the second phase

The second phase involves the consumption of a small amount of products with GI above 50, provided that they do not combine with white bread, potatoes, corn, white rice, pasta. In other words, if you already eat something harmful, it is better to combine it with something useful. For example, pasta will not do much harm if you eat them with vegetables, the same can be said about pork. But to combine fatty meat and starchy foods (potatoes) is not worth it. Does the Montignac food system allow eating sugar?

Reviews on this option for weight loss can be found different, but mostly in it they see more benefit than harm. Sugar can be consumed, of course, in small quantities and also provided that on this day you give up all other "bad" carbohydrates. For example, eating a piece of cake and drinking it with sweet tea will be a real crime towards your body.

Different points of view

There are many who share the opinion about the food system of Michel Montignac, but there are also those who can not calmly accept all restrictions. Disadvantages of separate nutrition do exist. The diet according to this method is not balanced perfectly, therefore some nutritionists recommend adding vitamins and brewer's yeast. Do not like the diet also to those who (especially men) can not live without alcohol, although drinking alcohol is not allowed during most diets. The first phase should be repeated no earlier than 2 months.

In general, the food system is rational and adapted to individual needs of the individual. It makes it possible to take into account his preferences and at the same time not to overload himself with unnecessary restrictions. The Montignac diet fully meets the requirements of a healthy lifestyle. The first person to whom she helped was the author of the concept, later his books with recipes began to be sold in huge editions and enjoyed great popularity among the slimming from around the world.

Little about the author's ideas

Michel Montignac was born in Angouleme (France) in 1944. With problems of excess weight, he was familiar not by hearsay, his father weighed 120 kg. Michele studied political science and worked as a recruiting manager in the 1970s at the European subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories, an American pharmaceutical company. Despite the lack of medical education, he was looking for a way to overcome the consequences of daily business lunches and came to the conclusion that the problem of gaining weight is not how much you eat, but what exactly you consume. Realizing the fact that products with a high glycemic index interfere effectively to lose weight, he tested his own diet on himself and for three months lost 14 kilograms.

Based on his experience and research, Montignac suggested that a simple calorie reduction is a "scientific scam," so you can not lose weight, because sooner or later a breakdown occurs. Weight can only be controlled by monitoring and selecting products. His diet was based on the idea that reducing calories in the diet triggers an "instinct of survival", which causes the body to accumulate fat after losing weight at the beginning of the diet. In the early 1990s, Montignac opened a series of dietary shops and restaurants that specialize in products such as beef, cheese, chocolate, foie gras, which have traditionally been seen as "symbols of destructive hedonism."

His 1987 book, "Eat and Stay Slim!" Was aimed at the general public and reached by 2005 a print run of 16 million copies in 40 countries. The author of the diet Michelle Montignac died of prostate cancer at the age of 66, it happened on August 22, 2010 at the clinic in Anmas. From the first marriage after him were three children - Charles, Emerik and Sybil. From the second marriage with his wife Suzy left two children - Joseph and Peter.

Effective way to lose weight

Many who began to apply this system of nutrition, noted the fact that the weight dropped did not return with time. And this is the main difference between the Montignac diet and many others. Thanks to it you can lose weight and stabilize weight, it is also a good way to prevent type II diabetes and cardiovascular pathology. For the first phase, you can lose up to 15-20 kg. Proper food helps to lose weight and enrich the body with the necessary vitamins and microelements. The power supply system consists of two stages. The length of the first is individual and depends on the characteristics of the organism. During the first phase it is necessary to adhere to several principles of separate power supply:

• Do not eat carbohydrates with fats: meat with potatoes, fish with pasta, you can mix fish or meat and vegetables.
• If you consume fatty foods, that is, carbohydrates can not be earlier than 3 hours later.
• GI products should not exceed 55.
• Bananas, oil, flour are strictly prohibited. However, the list of allowed products is quite wide, so you can create real culinary masterpieces from them.

The second phase of the diet is aimed at consolidating the results achieved. For example, sometimes you can mix fat and carbohydrates. The second phase lasts long enough. If over time the results are no longer reassuring, then it's worth to go back to the first phase. After the weight stabilizes, you can gradually return to the normal diet. But in any case, do not abuse harmful products. Excess weight is not always the result of an unbalanced diet. The cause may be various health problems. Therefore, before you start to follow any diet, it is best to consult a doctor and consult a dietician.

Montignac: food system, books, features for women and men

Michel Montignac is a well-known nutritionist. His books were translated into 25 languages and published in 42 countries. His method was adopted throughout Europe, and his theories exerted a great influence on other authors who dealt with similar problems. He proved that you can lose weight without losing yourself calories. The Montignac method is the fruit of many years of research and testing. This synthesis of numerous scientific publications and successful test results, conducted in collaboration with a group of doctors and researchers. From the scientific point of view, this method does not cause any doubts. Are there specific features in the nutrition of women and men? Regarding the quality of food, there is no difference, only the portion sizes differ.