The Ideal Protein Weight Loss Method is a medically designed protocol aimed at promoting weight loss while preserving muscle mass. Developed over 20 years ago in France by Dr. Tran Tien Chanh, MD PhD, this program seeks to address the issues surrounding metabolic syndrome and combat the obesity epidemic. It is exclusively available through trained and certified health professionals.
How Ideal Protein Works: Resetting Your Body's Balance
The Ideal Protein Protocol takes a systematic approach to resetting your body's natural balance by leveraging a low-carb, protein-forward structured plan. The program is designed to balance your blood sugar and encourage your body to rely on fat for energy. This is achieved through a ketogenic diet that includes nutritious, quality protein foods to keep you feeling full and satisfied as you shed pounds. The goal is to stabilize your blood sugar while the body burns fat and maintains lean muscle mass, so that you end up healthier, slimmer, and feeling better.
According to Dr. Tran, the cause of most weight issues in modern society is insulin dysfunction. Insulin's primary function is to regulate blood sugar levels; however, it also facilitates the transport of fat into fat cells and locks it there, preventing it from being used as a source of energy. By restricting carbohydrates, the Ideal Protein diet encourages the body to burn its fat reserves while maintaining muscle mass.
The Four Phases of the Ideal Protein Diet
The Ideal Protein diet consists of four phases designed to help you lose weight, stabilize your weight loss, and maintain your new weight long-term.
Phase 1: Weight Loss
Phase 1, also known as the "Weight Loss" phase, lasts until you have completely achieved your weight loss goals. During this phase, the diet focuses on reducing carbohydrates and fats while ensuring adequate protein intake.
Read also: Foods Allowed on the Ideal Protein Diet
During this phase, people are asked to eat:
- An Ideal Protein breakfast
- An Ideal Protein lunch with 2 cups of selected veggies.
- A dinner consisting of 8 ounces (225 grams) of protein with 2 cups of selected veggies
- An Ideal Protein snack
These Ideal Protein meals can be purchased only through authorized clinics or centers. Most meals provide 20 grams of protein and fewer than 200 calories per serving. You can eat unlimited raw vegetables from a specified list with lunch and dinner.
The diet still focuses on reducing carbohydrates and fats, while ensuring adequate protein intake. They have added a greater variety of foods to make the diet more enjoyable, including Konjac and Shirataki noodles (noodles with no digestible carbs) to help you feel more satisfied. No deep frying or breading permitted.
Here are some protein possibilities for the Ideal Protein Diet:
- Fish: any fish, such as anchovy, cod, flounder, hake, tuna, tilapia, mahi-mahi, red snapper, redfish, trout, or salmon - however, limit salmon to once a week
- Other seafood: squid, shrimp, oysters, mussels, lobster, crawfish, clams, scampi, scallops, or crab
- Poultry: skinless chicken, turkey, fowl, quail, or wild birds
- Beef: tenderloin, sirloin, very lean ground beef, rump, or other steak cuts
- Pork: fat-free ham or tenderloin
- Veal: tenderloin, breast, shoulder, rib, shank, cutlet, or other cuts
- Vegetarian: eggs or tofu (plain)
- Other: venison, bison, kidney, lamb loin, liver, rabbit, ostrich, or others
With lunch and dinner, you are also allowed to consume 2 cups of selected vegetables or an unlimited amount of company-approved raw vegetables. These include:
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- Selected vegetables (2 cups per meal): asparagus, bean sprouts, rhubarb, okra, sauerkraut, zucchini, yellow summer squash, chicory, alfalfa, kale, and more
- Raw vegetables: lettuce, celery, mushrooms, radish, spinach, radicchio, and endive
The permitted seasonings and condiments for this diet include all herbs, garlic, ginger, vinegar (white and apple cider), tamari, soy sauce, hot sauce, hot mustard, spices (MSG- and carb-free), mint, and more.
In addition to the meals, dieters are told to consume the following supplements, which must also be purchased through authorized clinics or centers:
- With breakfast: 1 multivitamin and 1 potassium supplement
- With dinner: 1 multivitamin, 2 calcium-magnesium supplements, and 2 omega-3 supplements
- With snack: 2 calcium-magnesium supplements
- With all meals: 1-2 digestive enzyme supplements
- Once daily: 2 antioxidant supplements and 1/4 teaspoon of Ideal Salt
Phase 2: Stabilization
After you reach your goal weight, you transition to Phase Two for 14 days by replacing one Ideal Protein food with a lunch. You can expect to enjoy 2 Ideal Protein foods each day and 8 ounces of whole protein for lunch and dinner. You'll still enjoy 4 cups of select vegetables and unlimited raw vegetables and lettuce. During this phase, you’ll slowly reintroduce carbohydrates and fats. The company does not disclose how the Macro Code is calculated. The Macro Code supposedly helps dieters understand the ideal number of servings of protein and fat to eat and the number of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) to include each day.
Phase 3: Pre-Maintenance
The first step toward maintaining your weight loss is our pre-maintenance phase called Phase Three. During this phase, you add back in breakfast. Now you can enjoy 8 ounces of whole protein for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while you continue to enjoy 4 cups of select vegetables and unlimited raw vegetables and lettuce. You’ll stay full and satisfied and feel good as you progress to the maintenance phase.
Phase 4: Maintenance (Lifestyle Living)
Also called “Lifestyle Living,” Phase Four is a 12-month phase designed to help you to maintain your weight loss. You receive ongoing support to keep you on the right track. The focus of this phase is on giving you the carbohydrates you love most in the right amounts. Having protein 3-4 times a day and limiting carbohydrates to 1-2 servings a day is the easiest approach for adding in carbohydrates during this phase.
Read also: Comprehensive Diet Plan
Once you reach phases 2 and 3, you can reintroduce more carb, dairy, and fat options, including:
- Complex carbs: whole grain bread and whole grain, sugar-free cereal
- Fruits: bananas, apples, peaches, cherries, papaya, grapefruit, apricots, plums, tangerine, watermelon, passion fruit, grapes, oranges, kiwifruit, and more
- Dairy: milk, yogurt and cheese
- Fats: butter and oils
Foods to Avoid During Phase 1
The following foods are forbidden during phase 1 of the Ideal Protein Diet:
- pasta (other than Ideal Protein brand), rice, legumes, breads, and cereals
- all root vegetables, including potatoes, beets, and carrots
- sweet peas and corn
- all fruit
- all dairy, with the exception of 1 ounce (30 mL) of milk in coffee or tea
- all nuts
- all soda
- all processed snack foods, including candy, chocolate bars, and potato chips
- all commercial fruit juices and vegetable juices
- all alcohol (beer, wine, spirits, etc.)
Benefits of the Ideal Protein Diet
- Weight Loss: Several studies have shown that the Ideal Protein Diet is effective for promoting weight loss, at least in the short term.
- Premade Meals May Be Convenient: During the weight loss phase, you will frequently consume premade Ideal Protein foods. The only exception is dinners, for which you must measure your protein and vegetable portions.
- Involves Professional Support: The Ideal Protein Diet provides support from a licensed healthcare professional or a trained consultant, which may make it easier to lose weight and keep it off.
- May Improve Blood Sugar and Lipid Levels: Limited evidence suggests that the Ideal Protein Diet could improve blood sugar and blood lipid levels.
Potential Downsides of the Ideal Protein Diet
While the Ideal Protein Diet offers potential benefits, it also has significant downsides to consider.
- Cost: A significant downside of the Ideal Protein Diet is the exorbitantly high monthly cost.
- Many Ideal Protein Foods Are Highly Processed: The packaged Ideal Protein foods are highly processed. They contain a variety of oils, additives, and artificial sweeteners that are not naturally present in whole foods.
- Very Restrictive: People who love flexibility may have difficulty following the Ideal Protein Diet because it severely limits dietary options - especially in its early phases.
- Not Vegan-Friendly: The Ideal Protein Diet is not suitable for vegans, as the packaged foods sometimes contain eggs and dairy products.
- Untrained Coaches: Ideal Protein coaches are not required to have formal education in nutrition or weight loss counseling.
- Limited Outside North America: The Ideal Protein Diet is featured in more than 3,500 clinics and centers across the world. However, most of these sites are in North America, making the diet difficult to follow elsewhere.
- May Cause Uncomfortable Symptoms: Another downside of the Ideal Protein Diet is its drastic reduction in calorie intake. Reducing your calorie intake so sharply may cause side effects and unpleasant symptoms such as hunger, nausea, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, constipation, cold intolerance, hair thinning and hair loss, gallstones, and irregular menstrual cycles.
Research and Clinical Trials
A randomized, assessor‐blinded, parallel‐group trial examined the effects of the Ideal Protein (IP) Phase I diet compared to a low-fat, low-calorie (LFLC) diet on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors. The study included 192 participants with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 and ≤49 kg/m2. The IP Phase I diet focused on lean protein and vegetables with avoidance of fruit and dairy, while the LFLC diet goals included <30% of daily energy from fat, <7% from saturated fat, 55% from carbohydrate, and an energy deficit of 500 kcal/day.
The results showed that the mean change in weight at 3 months was −9.6 ± 12.7 kg in the IP group as compared to −1.6 ± 27.2 kg in the LFLC group. The mean between‐group difference in change at 3 months was −8.1 kg (95% confidence interval [CI] −16.6 to 0.6; p = 0.05). Additional significant between‐group differences included waist circumference, hip circumference, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, all favoring the IP group.
The study concluded that the IP weight loss program is effective and safe compared to a guideline‐based LCLF dietary behavioral intervention among black and white adults with obesity and CVD risk factors, providing support for the effectiveness of the program.
The Importance of Personalized Coaching and Support
Even though this diet is very structured, it does require some individual adjustment. This is the advantage of working with a clinician. They not only give you access to Ideal Protein branded food items; they will also create a personalized weight loss program for you that includes the supplements you need. The Ideal Protein diet can seem complicated, but ideal protein experts make it simple by providing you with an easy-to-follow Phase 1 sheet that lists your meal plan and permitted foods.
Ideal protein is exclusively available and developed by accredited Ideal Protein Healthcare Professionals. Dedicated coaches provide weekly support sessions and nutrition education, as well as weight and measurement progress analysis.