What is proper nutrition: a complete guide for beginners and a sample menu for the week

Many people have a negative attitude towards proper nutrition, believing that life is not given to limit oneself in tasty food. But proper nutrition and diet are completely different things, and you don’t have to give up your favorite foods. Correctly selected recipes for dishes, as well as combinations of products, will allow you to create for yourself not only a healthy, but also a tasty menu for a long time. How to switch to proper nutrition, where to start?

The most important thing is not to switch to proper nutrition in one day. Here you need to act quietly and carefully, move towards the intended goal in small steps, otherwise a breakdown will inevitably follow. You can easily trick your brain into trying to persuade you to eat cake, croutons and kebab at the same time if you follow our recommendations.

General rules and principles of healthy eating

The first study on healthy eating was conducted in 1973 in Finland. Over the years of the experiment, in the region where the study was conducted (North Karelia), the mortality rate of the population from obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases decreased by 7 times. This is just one of many studies that prove the need for healthy eating.

We bring to your attention 10 basic principles that will help you create a healthy diet for every day, change your attitude towards food choice and food culture.

1. Diet. To eat healthy, you should have at least 5 meals a day. This is breakfast, lunch, dinner and light snacks in between. It is optimal that no more and no less than 2.5 hours pass between meals. For convenience, until the regime becomes a habit, use checklists and mark each meal.
2. A varied diet. Eat as many different vegetables and fruits as possible. The more vegetables on your plate and the brighter and more colorful it is, the better.
3. Calorie content. The process of calorie absorption is individual for each organism and depends on the characteristics of metabolism. Instead of counting calories in each serving, keep a food diary and note in it every day what foods you ate and in what quantities, how it affected your condition, mood, and health. If this method seems difficult to you, use special programs and applications for calorie counting, but do not focus on them. The more you limit yourself, the more difficult it will be for you to get used to PP.
4. Replacement of harmful products with useful analogues. Instead of white bread, buy whole grain bread, instead of sweet bars for a snack, choose 1-2 bananas, instead of instant cereal - cereal porridge.
5. Studying the composition of products. Carefully read the ingredients of the products you choose in the supermarket. Buy products with natural ingredients.
6. Elimination of harmful products. Eliminate chips, soda, sausage, sauces, mayonnaise, ketchup, and fast food from your diet forever. Go to the supermarket with a pre-compiled list so as not to be tempted by various “harmful things”.
7. Preference for unprocessed foods . Eat more fresh vegetables and fruits than processed ones.
8. More water throughout the day . It is advisable to drink at least 2 liters of water per day. Drink in small sips, slowly.
9. Mandatory snacks . Fruits, nuts, bread, cottage cheese and any other light dietary products that help dull the feeling of hunger between main meals are required.
10. Reduce salt intake . Salt retains excess water in the body and puts stress on the kidneys. Monitor the amount of salt you consume per day. Eliminate unhealthy pickles from your menu, such as dried or smoked fish. (read more about how to give up salt).

What kind of nutrition can be called correct?

Proper nutrition (sometimes called healthy) involves eating natural foods that only benefit the body. The diet of a person who is planning to eat according to this principle should include dishes that contain the required amount of nutrients. We are talking about the following components:

• proteins;
• fats;
• carbohydrates;
• vitamins;
• microelements.

It is necessary to count them to ensure the daily requirement. It is also important to follow other rules that make nutrition correct. Thus, fast food, processed foods, carbonated drinks and other harmful foods should not be included in your diet. It is also recommended to limit the amount of salt, exclude fried foods, steam or boil, stew, or bake dishes. You should eat food at the same time every day.

How to choose the right menu?

A properly composed diet is the basis of health and well-being.

Menu selection rules:

1. Calculation of basal metabolism. Calculate the required minimum calories for your body using special calculation formulas from the Internet. The required amount of calories depends on your gender, age, and physical activity during the day. You cannot fall below the minimum value obtained in the calculation.
2. Protein counting. Optimal amount of protein: 1 gram per 1 kilogram of weight. For those losing weight, this norm should be doubled.
3. Fat counting. Even if you are losing weight, you cannot completely eliminate fats from your diet. Replace them with healthy fats: olive oil, fatty fish. Optimal amount per day: 1 g per 1 kg of weight.
4. Carbohydrate counting. Their amount is calculated based on the total number of calories per day. 1 gram of proteins and carbohydrates contains 4 kcal, 1 gram of fat contains 9 kcal. By subtracting protein and fat from your total calories, you will get the amount of carbohydrates you need per day.

In the first half of the day, it is recommended to eat foods rich in carbohydrates. These are cereal porridges with fruits or vegetables. In the afternoon, it is advisable to eat more fiber. Add vegetables and herbs to the main dish.

I would divide diets by type:

1. Diet for weight loss for obesity I, II, III degrees of obesity
2. Diet for overweight 3-10 kg.
3. Diet for weight loss during exercise
4. Diet for weight gain
5. Diet to stabilize achieved results in the process of losing weight
6. Diet for diabetes and other dysfunctions
7. Diet for pregnant and lactating women, etc.

What is he like? Ideal diet?

Of course, these diets still need to be adjusted for gender, age, body type, types of exercise, and previous experience of losing weight. However, if we consider the Ideal Diet as a general recommendation, and not as a specific one, then in general it will look like this:

You need to calculate how many calories this person needs to maintain Optimal Metabolism (OMB). This way we will understand below what number we should not fall so that our metabolism does not slow down.

You can calculate OER using the formula:

• For men: 66 + (height × 5) + (weight × 14) – (age × 6.8)
• For women: 655 + (height × 1.85) + (weight × 9.6) – (age × 4.7)

For example, for a woman 25 years old, height 170 cm, the daily caloric intake will be 1476 kcal per day. Calculated using the formula: TBV = 655 + (170 × 1.85) + (65 × 9.6) – (25 × 4.7) = 314.5 + 624 + 655–117.5 = 1476 kcal per day

If you eat less than this limit, then the weight will initially go away quickly, and then it will slow down greatly, as the body goes into saving mode.

Ideal diet, how to calculate and how to compose?

Menu options

For men

Table with examples of the optimal PP menu for middle-aged men:

Day of the week	Daily diet
Monday	Breakfast: 1 boiled egg, buckwheat porridge, vegetable salad, green tea. Snack: a glass of kefir or a banana. Lunch: boiled meat, vegetable salad, berry or fruit compote. Read also:  Diet “minus a pound”: reviews and examples, nutrition and menu for weight loss Snack: green tea with diet pastries or bread. Dinner: boiled or baked fish, vegetable salad, green tea with honey.
Tuesday	Breakfast: oatmeal with berries, pumpkin seeds, compote or tea. Snack: vegetable or beet salad with bread. Lunch: boiled chicken with buckwheat, vegetable salad, green tea. Snack: sandwich of whole grain bread and cheese, compote. Dinner: boiled meat, boiled potatoes, fresh vegetables.
Wednesday	Breakfast: omelet with green onions and dill, tea or compote. Snack: fruit or nuts. Lunch: steamed cutlet, vegetables, green tea puree soup or compote. Snack: dietary cottage cheese casserole with tea. Dinner: baked or boiled lean fish, vegetable salad, compote.
Thursday	Breakfast: omelet or fried eggs with asparagus, stewed vegetables, sweet tea. Snack: Banana or handful of nuts. Lunch: lean boiled meat, boiled or baked potatoes, fresh vegetables, green tea or compote. Snack: a sandwich of whole grain bread and cheese, feta cheese or cottage cheese with berries, tea. Dinner: boiled meat or steamed cutlet with vegetables, tea.
Friday	Breakfast: pearl barley porridge with milk and nuts. Snack: any fruit or berries Lunch: chicken or turkey fillet, vegetable soup, tea. Snack: bread with green tea or compote. Dinner: vegetable salad, stewed fish, water or compote.
Saturday	Breakfast: oatmeal with berries and fruits, sweet tea. Snack: grapefruit. Lunch: steam cutlet with buckwheat, vegetable puree soup, compote. Read also:  Content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in buckwheat per 100 grams, calorie content, composition of the cooked product Snack: diet cookies with tea. Dinner: vegetables, green tea, boiled lean meat.
Sunday	Breakfast: porridge with dried fruits (raisins), sweet tea. Snack: banana. Lunch: boiled chicken with side dish, tea. Snack: bread with kefir or milk. Dinner: boiled chicken, fresh vegetables, compote.

Download the healthy nutrition menu for men here so that you always have it at hand.

For women

Table with weekly PP diet for women:

Day of the week	Daily diet
Monday	Breakfast: oatmeal with berries and fruits, green tea. Snack: apple. Lunch: boiled fish, rice, fresh vegetables, compote. Snack: chicken breast and steamed vegetables. Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese, green tea.
Tuesday	Breakfast: oatmeal with berries, pumpkin seeds, compote or tea. Snack: cottage cheese with a spoon of honey. Lunch: chicken broth, vegetable salad, green tea. Snack: fruit. Dinner: boiled chicken fillet with fresh tomatoes.
Wednesday	Breakfast: oatmeal with berries and fruits, tea or compote. Snack: two oranges. Lunch: stewed vegetables and chicken breast, green tea or compote. Snack: dietary cottage cheese casserole with tea. Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese, compote.
Thursday	Breakfast: rolled oats with milk with berries, tea. Snack: natural yogurt without additives. Lunch: fish soup with potatoes. Snack: fresh vegetable salad with sour cream. Dinner: chicken breast with two fresh cucumbers, tea.
Friday	Breakfast: boiled potatoes, 1 egg, fresh cucumber. Snack: kiwi, tea without sugar. Lunch: rice and mushroom soup, hard cheese. Snack: cottage cheese and berry casserole. Dinner: stewed fish, seaweed, water or compote.
Saturday	Breakfast: omelet, unsweetened tea. Snack: apple, kefir. Lunch: boiled fish with rice, compote. Snack: shrimp with fresh vegetables. Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese. Read also:  Chocolate “Babaevsky” elite 75% – review from personal experience
Sunday	Breakfast: oatmeal with dried fruits (raisins), tea. Snack: banana, orange. Lunch: boiled chicken with vegetable casserole, tea. Snack: tomatoes, boiled shrimp. Dinner: steamed fish cutlets, brown rice, fresh vegetables, compote.

A sample menu for women can be downloaded here so that it is always at hand.

Is it possible to lose weight with proper nutrition?

At its core, proper nutrition is a balanced diet menu that allows you to provide the body with the necessary substances. However, despite the fact that the principles of proper nutrition do not provide for very strict restrictions, it is difficult for a person to adjust to their observance. After all, a balanced diet today is, unfortunately, a rarity. Most often, people abuse unhealthy foods such as fast food, sweets and processed foods, while healthy and tasty foods such as vegetable salads or sea fish appear on the menu only from time to time. By consuming fast carbohydrates, which stimulate appetite and change eating behavior, a person invariably gains excess weight .

But if you change your eating habits and formulate your diet according to the principles of proper nutrition, extra pounds will not accumulate. If you slightly reduce your daily calorie intake, you can reduce your body weight. To do this, you can replace higher-calorie foods with low-calorie foods, and also eliminate nutritious snacks, replacing them with lighter ones. As a result, this regimen makes it possible to lose weight by an average of 4 kg per month.

Budget diet for a week

A healthy diet for every day is not as expensive as many people think. With just 1,000 rubles you can purchase groceries for a week, from which you will prepare healthy and wholesome meals for all seven days.

When you go shopping, be sure to buy:

Proteins:

• 1 dozen eggs;
• 1 liter of kefir;
• 300 grams of cottage cheese;
• 5 kg chickpeas;
• 1 kg chicken.

Carbohydrates:

• 1 kg buckwheat;
• 0.5 kg oatmeal;
• 1 kg apples;
• 1 kg bananas;
• 1 kg of oranges;
• 1 kg of white cabbage;
• 1 kg carrots;
• 1 kg frozen green beans.

Fats:

• 0.5 kg mackerel.

Spices, natural baked goods, sweets:

• 300 g honey;
• ground black pepper;
• Provencal herbs;
• turmeric;
• cinnamon;
• pumpkin seeds;
• dried ginger and garlic;
• sesame.

Examples of simple dishes from a budget grocery list

For breakfast:

• oatmeal with apple and cinnamon;
• omelette with green beans;
• smoothie made from kefir, cottage cheese, banana and cinnamon.

For lunch:

• boiled chicken breast with buckwheat and carrot and cabbage salad;
• chickpeas with stewed cabbage and sesame seeds;
• stewed chicken with pumpkin seeds and vegetables.

For dinner:

• chicken fillet with carrot and cabbage salad;
• baked fish with vegetables;
• cottage cheese with pumpkin seeds and kefir.

Ideal snacks include: apples or bananas, a fried egg with bread, a vegetable salad, a sweet salad of apple, honey and carrots.

What to do next with your diet?

After you have calculated what your optimal metabolism (OMB) is, you need to multiply it by the physical activity coefficient:

• 1.2 – low activity – you do not exercise and avoid physical activity, sedentary work;
• 1.3 – moderate activity – you engage in moderate physical activity every day (walking, cycling) or your work involves physical activity;
• 1.5 – high activity – you alternate moderate physical activity (2-3 times a week) with more intense exercise in the gym (aerobics, jogging, cycling, skiing, skating, tennis, exercise equipment), approximately 7-10 hours per week, your work requires significant physical effort;
• 1.7 – very high activity: intense exercise 2–3 hours daily (sports), more than 14 hours a week, professional activity involves heavy physical labor.

Thus 1476*1.3=1918 . If a girl has average physical activity, then to maintain optimal body weight, she needs to consume at least 1918 calories.

Multiply OEL by CFA (physical activity factor)

If she wants to lose weight, then she needs to consume fewer calories, if she wants to gain weight, then more. I think the principle is clear?

What is better to refuse on PP?

The menu of proper healthy eating for every day, as you have already noticed, does not contain sweets, flour, homemade and store-bought baked goods and many other products.

What else will you have to give up when choosing proper nutrition:

• oatmeal and other types of cookies;
• sparkling water, especially sweet;
• fast food dishes: store-bought dumplings, dumplings;
• cheap pasta that cooks in less than 7 minutes;
• fried potatoes and french fries;
• sunflower and corn oil;
• white bread, buns;
• fruit juices from the supermarket;
• energy bars;
• oat, corn, buckwheat flakes;
• mayonnaise, ketchup, sauces, mustard;
• low-fat store-bought yoghurts;
• ice cream.

These products contain many artificial ingredients: trans fats, preservatives, flavor enhancers, sweeteners, which not only threaten your figure, but also cause serious harm to your health.

Well, did I scare you, friends, with my Ideal diet calculations?

And there is nothing to be afraid of, you just need to understand that a beautiful and healthy body requires certain knowledge and some attention on your part. When you come to get a job, do you show your diploma, where it says that you studied for 5 years, so that you are allowed to operate some equipment?

Or do you come and study on the government apparatus, and then what will happen there? (It also happens, it’s true that I say that). Our body can also endure a lot, but in the end its condition will be the same as you treated it.

So, what recommendations can I give so that you can use them right now:

1. Calculate your personal caloric intake using the formula above and never eat fewer calories than the formula shows you.
2. Eat about 20-30% fewer calories than calculated based on your physical activity ratio.
3. Eat the foods in the table below, which I recommend you download. I did it for my slimming marathon. If you eat according to this list within your calorie limits, then you are guaranteed good health.
4. Be sure to use any Vitamin-mineral complex that you trust on a regular basis - I recommend Ultimate vitamins from the Coral Club company (vitamins tested not only by me, but also by many of my clients, you will be amazed how your nails and hair will begin to grow), as well as vitamin D and Omega 3 (this the minimum you need throughout your life!!!

Well, friends, subscribe to my blog, I will be glad to see you among my subscribers, hugs, your Anna San

Other additional tips

It’s not difficult to choose an approximate healthy nutrition menu for every day. It is much more difficult not to break down and return to your previous gastronomic habits.

A few simple recommendations will help you turn PP into a habit:

1. Understand that proper nutrition is not a newfangled diet for a couple of weeks that will make your figure slim and beautiful from the first day. This is a lifestyle that will keep you healthy, youthful and beautiful, and eliminate problems with excess weight, hair, and skin.
2. Write down on a piece of paper the goals you want to achieve by sticking to the PP.
3. Transition to a healthy diet gradually. Get rid of sausages, sausages, mayonnaise on the refrigerator shelf, start adding a little less salt to your food, avoid chips, snacks and other “goodies”. Introduce new vegetable dishes into your diet, discover unfamiliar tastes.
4. Don't focus on eating right. Broaden your horizons, increase your range of interests.
5. Don't beat yourself up over your relapse. Analyze the reasons why you bought crackers or a chocolate bar (hunger, lack of calories in your morning breakfast).
6. Carry healthy snacks with you (apples, bananas, nuts, dried fruits) so that in case of sudden hunger you don’t resort to something “nasty”.

Does eating right help you lose weight?

Many people think that proper nutrition is a panacea for all diseases and the best remedy for excess weight. Surely, you have already heard similar advice for losing weight, they say, give up everything harmful and fatty and the kilograms will go away.

We'll have to disappoint you. Eating healthy on its own does not help you lose weight. You can only lose extra pounds if you maintain a calorie deficit , that is, you consume less energy than you expend. What foods are in your diet is of secondary importance.

Proper nutrition is not a way to lose weight, but first and foremost a concern for health.

Recipes: PP for weight loss

We offer several simple recipes for healthy dishes that can be included in the menu.

Cottage cheese casserole

To prepare low-calorie oatmeal you will need:

• cottage cheese with a minimum fat content – ​​250 g;
• low-fat milk – 0.5 tbsp;
• chicken eggs – 2 pcs.;
• vanilla sugar;
• whole grain flour - 3 tbsp. l.

Cooking method:

1. Combine cottage cheese, milk, eggs and vanilla. Beat with a blender.
2. Add flour to the curd mixture.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
4. Fill the baking dish with the mixture and place in the oven for half an hour.

Baked fish with lemon

To prepare we will need:

• lean fish (hake, pollock).
• onion – 1 pc.;
• lemon – 1 pc.;
• olive oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
• fresh herbs;
• salt, spices.

Cooking method:

1. Clean the fish.
2. Divide the lemon into two parts. Squeeze the juice out of one half and chop the other half.
3. Chop the greens, mix with oil and lemon juice.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the fish carcass on a baking sheet, place lemon and onion slices on top of it. Drizzle with sauce. Bake for about 30 minutes.

You can learn about the healthiest fish from our article.

Rice with vegetables and mushrooms

For the dish you will need

• rice - 1 tbsp.;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• bell pepper - 1 pc.;
• champignons – 300 g;
• spices and salt to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Boil the rice. Chop the onion, pepper and champignons, simmer them in a frying pan with olive oil.
2. Combine rice with vegetables, season with spices.

Consequences of poor nutrition

Systematic poor nutrition can lead to very serious health problems, which, in turn, have an extremely bad effect on the body.

Gain of excess body weight up to obesity. Excess weight is not only an aesthetic problem. It provokes numerous diseases: in particular, it causes rapid wear and tear of joints, affecting the human skeleton, and has a bad effect on the functioning of various systems and organs, causing osteoporosis , atherosclerosis , diseases of the cardiovascular system, etc.

Diseases caused by poor nutrition are often associated with a deficiency of very important minerals and vitamins for the body, which are not supplied in sufficient quantities with food. Very often, children and adolescents develop vitamin deficiency due to an incorrect diet, which results in fatigue, decreased performance, irritability, etc.

Deterioration in appearance. Tooth enamel deteriorates, acne may appear, hair becomes dull and the condition of nails deteriorates.

The essence of proper nutrition - why do you need it?

1. Proper nutrition (PN) is the key to health and the basis of a healthy lifestyle.
   Your body needs food for growth, restoration of cells and tissues, maintaining body temperature, motor activity and other processes. What you eat affects your well-being, mood, appearance and, most importantly, your health.
2. Improper nutrition leads to illness
   , reduces immunity and is deposited on the sides. If you have taken the path of a healthy lifestyle, you train, but stuff yourself with all sorts of rubbish - you will not achieve your goal.
3. Eating healthy daily is critical
   to both losing weight and gaining muscle mass.

Principle: proper nutrition is not a one-time act of preparing for summer, but a way of life,
a healthy lifestyle that allows you to feel great and be in shape all year round.

Harmful products

Now let’s figure out what foods you can give up in order to speed up weight loss and improve your well-being. Please note that the list below is advisory in nature and is needed only as a general guide. If, for example, you cannot imagine life without sweet coffee in the morning, replace sugar with a natural sweetener. Or instead of fast food hamburgers, make delicious sandwiches at home.

• Sweet carbonated drinks. These products contain dyes, flavors, and preservatives that negatively affect the gastric mucosa. In addition, soda contains a huge amount of sugar.
• Snacks (chips, crackers, French fries and others). Such snacks are prepared in a large amount of fat, so all that the body can get are carcinogens, extra calories, excess fat and salt.
• Fast food. Most dishes from fast food restaurants are based on white bread, questionable quality meat and fatty sauces. And all this is flavored with a large amount of flavor enhancers and salt. Naturally, with such a combination there is no question of any benefit to the body.
• Sausages. The chemical industry has long learned to pass off substandard meat production residues as a natural product. Therefore, most often you purchase ground cartilage and skins under the guise of sausage or ham.
• Mayonnaise. This sauce mainly consists of fats, vinegar and salt, which is bad for digestion.
• “Quick” lunches - soups, purees, noodles, which just need to be poured with boiling water to be ready. Such food is not suitable for a healthy diet, as it contains low-quality ingredients and a range of chemical additives.
• Sugar, white flour products. We recommend gradually giving up confectionery products. The combination of sweet and starchy foods enhances the negative effect on the figure.
• Packaged juices. It has been proven that such drinks practically do not contain essential vitamins and are essentially sweet “water” with the aroma of fruit.
• Alcohol. Alcoholic drinks, when abused, destroy human internal organs. And the gastrointestinal tract and liver are the first to suffer. In addition, alcohol is very high in calories, which affects your figure. Scientists allow you to drink a glass of good red wine with dinner, but not more than 1-2 times a month. And when working on fat burning, it is better to completely eliminate alcohol.

Liliya Karpusevich

Nutritionist, sports nutritionist

Sugar from carbonated drinks is quickly absorbed by carbon dioxide. This adversely affects the functioning of the pancreas and contributes to the appearance of cellulite in the fair half of humanity.

Unscrupulous manufacturers use dehydrogenated vegetable fats, dyes and preservatives in sausage products. This leads to the development of cholesterol plaques in blood vessels and allergies, including intoxication.

Alcohol consumption reduces testosterone levels in men, which increases the risk of infertility and impotence. Also, alcoholic drinks promote muscle catabolism in both sexes and an increase in subcutaneous adipose tissue due to hidden calories, reducing fat burning to zero. For comparison: 1 ml of alcohol - 7 calories, 1 ml of oil - 9 calories.

Be careful with muesli. On the one hand, it is a healthy product consisting of cereals and dried fruits. On the other hand, many manufacturers often add sugar and chocolate to the composition, which greatly increases the calorie content of the dish.