Proper nutrition - a menu for every day for a healthy lifestyle

When considering whether eating three times a day is useful for losing weight or gaining weight, one must proceed from both general rules and individual characteristics. There are people who are able to eat once a day according to the principle of the Stone Age diet (in the evening - as it should, the rest of the time - as necessary) and not suffer. Others need to eat small meals. For some people, three meals are best.

Sometimes the regime of 3 meals a day is forced due to work schedules. In any case, you need to eat correctly. In nutrition, this is called balanced.

Contraindications to dietary nutrition

All organs and systems of the body suffer from excess weight. However, there are contraindications to the process of reducing body weight. First of all, children and adolescents should not be on a diet. A growing body needs a lot of energy and nutrients.

It is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women to adhere to a strict diet. Indeed, during this period of life, the body not only supports itself, but also provides the child’s body with the necessary substances. During menopause, due to disruption of hormone production, women begin to recover. You should not put additional stress on your body at this time. Within 6 months the weight returns to normal.

People over 60 years old should not go on diets. They should add more fermented milk products to their diet to strengthen bones. These groups of people who are overweight should review their diet, make it balanced and remove foods that lead to obesity.

People suffering from the following diseases should approach dietary nutrition with caution:

• Gastrointestinal diseases.
• Exacerbation of any chronic disease.
• Diseases of the genitourinary system.
• All types of oncology.
• Diabetes.
• During the recovery period after surgery.

Diet rules

• consultations with your doctor, nutritionist, psychologist (if necessary);
• correct calculation of calorie content of food;
• choice of physical activity;
• walks in the open air;
• moral readiness;
• support of loved ones.

No diet on its own will give good results if there is not enough physical activity.

Classes in the fitness center, swimming, running, yoga or “home” sports are what will help you achieve your goal and prevent the kilograms from “coming back a hundredfold.”

How to create a menu for a month

No breakfast. Without breakfast in the morning, you risk overeating in the evening. This way you won't be able to lose weight. High calorie dinner. If you are used to having a heavy dinner, you will have to change your habits. Dinner should be light. For example, 200 g of baked chicken breast, or stewed cod. High calorie drinks. If you like coffee drinks (lattes, cappuccino, etc.), juices and sweet tea, you don’t have to give them up, but you need to limit your consumption. Their daily calorie intake should be no more than 500 calories. Alcohol. Be careful with alcohol, as it is high in calories and stimulates the appetite. Refusal of fat consumption. Fats are needed by the body for normal metabolism. By excluding them from your diet, you risk causing disruption, for example, hormonal

It is fundamentally important to get fats from natural foods (meat, fish, dairy products). Sauces and seasonings

Store-bought sauces are usually high in calories and contain many artificial additives, and seasonings can stimulate the appetite. Therefore, do not overuse these supplements. In addition, you can prepare sauces and seasonings yourself. If you need to replenish provisions, go to the store well-fed. On an empty stomach, you risk being tempted by food that contradicts the principles of proper nutrition.

Products

When creating a monthly menu for weight loss, remember: you shouldn’t starve, but you shouldn’t overeat either. That is, you should not overuse even harmless apples - the stomach tends to stretch. Don't forget that you need to get up from the table feeling light.

• After waking up, drink 250 ml of still water.
• After you have drunk water or other liquid, you can eat no earlier than 40 minutes later.
• You can drink liquid at least an hour after eating.
• Have dinner 2-3 hours before bedtime.
• Make a menu according to your daily routine (for example, if you work at night, this does not mean that you will have to starve), but strictly adhere to your meal schedule.
• Eat small meals: 4–6 times a day.
• Snack on fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts (walnuts or peanuts). This way you won't experience extreme hunger and overeat during main meals.
• Drink green tea with lemon. It suppresses appetite well, speeds up metabolism and cleanses the body.

Your diet must include:

• cereals;
• meat (chicken, turkey, beef);
• fish;
• mushrooms;
• nuts (without salt and seasonings);
• raw fruits and vegetables;
• honey, raisins, dried apricots, prunes;
• natural dairy products;
• eggs (unless you are allergic to them);
• liquid hot dishes (soups, borscht);
• greenery.

Reviews and results

Reviews of the low-fat diet among those who have practiced it vary significantly. Reviews from most of them boil down to the fact that a low-fat diet is not a good option for a weight loss diet and it is better to use other, more rational types of diets.

• “... I have been struggling with excess weight my entire adult life. I tried many of them, but unfortunately, as with most diets, after 1-3 months the weight returned to the initial figures. For a change, I decided to try a low-fat diet, but after a week I stopped it on the advice of a nurse friend, who said that it could lead to hormonal imbalance. And the result after a week on the diet was not impressive, the weight loss was only 750 grams.”

Features of fractional meals

If someone sits down to have a snack 2 times a day, then the period of fasting is on average up to 8 hours, and there is often no breakfast at all. If the regime is not followed, a strong feeling of hunger appears, it is difficult to suppress it immediately, so more food is absorbed than necessary. A system in which the required amount of food is divided into 6-8 times is beneficial in many respects. You will have to eat in small portions, ideally smaller than your own fist, but this will be enough, because in 2-2.5 hours there will be another snack.

There are 3 ways to stick to this diet:

• look in the refrigerator every time you feel slightly hungry;
• eat well 5-6 times in small portions;
• Have light snacks every 2-3 hours.

In the first case, you need to eat very little, just to satisfy the feeling an apple is enough and after 15 minutes a banana. This method has a lot of disadvantages: it is difficult to create a menu, eating becomes chaotic, and the desire to eat normally becomes obsessive. For some who used this approach, the day turned into constant chewing. The gastrointestinal tract is overloaded, the entire system malfunctions.

If you divide the total amount of daily food by equal 5-6 times, then the benefits will be much greater

It is only important not to allow a gap more serious than 4 periods of fasting between snacks. This method allows you to get a regular amount of necessary calories and microelements, and also avoids overeating

Gradually the stomach decreases in size.

The third method consists of 8-10 equal servings with similar calorie content. The size of what you eat at a time does not exceed a glass. Hunger almost never comes, the percentage of fat decreases, as part of the diet, fractional meals are a varied menu for the week.

Features of healthy food per day for adults and children

Adults and children require different amounts of calories. This table shows how different the energy needs of a child and an adult of different gender are.

Age (years)	Number of kilocalories
	Men	Women
1-3	1300	1300
4-6	1800	1800
7-9	2000	2000
9-12	2250	2150
13-14	2500	2300
15-18	3000	2500
19-35	2600	2200
36-50	2400	2000
51-65	2200	1800
65 and older	1900	1700

Important! Up to 5 years of age, any diet for weight loss is strictly prohibited. Except in special cases as prescribed by a doctor. You just need to eliminate fast food, soda and reduce your consumption of sweets.

From 5 to 9 years old, you can slightly reduce calories by reducing foods with simple carbohydrates. It is better to encourage your baby to move more, enroll him in a sports section or swimming.

Basic principles of proper nutrition for effective weight loss

Proper nutrition is the key not only to slimness, but also to health and good mood. Sticking to a healthy diet is not difficult at all, because it does not require such strict restrictions as when following various diets. However, some rules still exist.

What are the principles of proper nutrition? Here are the main ones:

• you should eat little and often;
• You must drink at least 1.5 liters of clean water per day;
• the diet should contain a lot of vegetables and fruits;
• you should reduce the consumption of baked goods and sweets;
• use boiling, stewing and baking as heat treatment;
• it is necessary to maintain the correct ratio of proteins, carbohydrates and fats;
• The last time you should eat is 4 hours before bedtime.

First of all, with proper nutrition you need to eat 5-6 times a day. This should be a hearty breakfast, a hearty lunch, a light dinner and healthy snacks. Breakfast is a very important meal of the day; it gives you energy for the whole day and helps you avoid snacking on unhealthy foods. Lunch should be hearty, because it is the main meal of the day. For dinner, you should prepare light dishes that are quickly digested and at the same time satiate well. As for snacks, you need to choose them very carefully. After all, it is often during snacking that we eat a lot of junk food. Sweets, buns, cookies, hot dogs - all this is very unhealthy for both weight loss and health.

In this case, portions should be small. It is advisable to eat no more than 1-1.5 glasses of food at a time. Such portions will help you feel full, but not overeat. In addition, frequent and small meals will help improve metabolism.

You can drink any drinks, but they should not contain a lot of sugar. That is, compotes, fruit drinks, tea and coffee should be drunk without sugar or with a minimum amount of it. You can replace sugar with honey. As for clean water, you need to drink a lot of it. It helps to avoid dehydration, speed up metabolism, and improve intestinal function. Therefore, you should drink at least 1.5 liters of water per day, this does not include other liquids. It is best to drink water 20 minutes before meals and half an hour after it. This is good not only for health, but also for weight loss. The fact is that a glass of water before meals will help reduce the amount of food consumed.

According to the basics of proper nutrition, the diet should contain many different vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries. Plant foods contain not only many vitamins and minerals, but also fiber. This substance helps you feel full. Therefore, if you add a vegetable salad or stew to the menu, you will only want to eat after a few hours

In addition, fiber helps cleanse the intestines, which is also important when losing weight.

Naturally, proper nutrition involves eating healthy foods. This means that the amount of unhealthy sweets, baked goods, and fast food must be reduced to a minimum. But this does not mean that you should give up such food completely. This is the difference between proper nutrition and diet. Firstly, sometimes you can allow yourself something tasty, but harmful. Secondly, sweets and baked goods can also be healthy if prepared correctly. For example, jelly from fruits or berries, buns made from oatmeal will not harm your figure; on the contrary, they will be beneficial.

One of the principles of proper nutrition for effective weight loss is the use of proper heat treatment of foods. You can boil, bake in the oven or stew food. But you shouldn't fry it. With this processing, the amount of fat increases, and accordingly, the food will be more harmful and high in calories. If the recipe requires frying foods, you can do this with a small amount of vegetable oil and literally within 1-2 minutes. But it is better to avoid this method of preparation.

If you want to lose weight using a healthy diet, it is important to maintain balance. Often the diet is dominated by fats and carbohydrates, whereas for effective weight loss there should be a lot of proteins, enough fats and carbohydrates

Moreover, there should be more complex carbohydrates, which are found in cereals and vegetables. And fats should be healthy; you can find them in fish, avocados, vegetable oils, and nuts.

The very popular statement about fasting after 18 hours is not always correct. The fact is that the last time you should eat food is four hours before bedtime. Therefore, if you go to bed at 22-23 hours, then it is better not to eat after 18 hours. If you go to bed late, you can eat at 19-20 hours. Prolonged fasting can slow down your metabolism, which will interfere with weight loss.

The principles of proper nutrition for effective weight loss are quite simple. And the results will appear in 1-2 weeks.

Recipes for delicious raw food dishes

Festive dish “Sushi with zucchini”

Ingredients:

• Young zucchini – 200 g;
• Raw nori sheet;
• Honey – 0.5 tsp;
• Lemon juice – 1 tbsp. l.;
• Black pepper;
• Sea salt – ¼ tsp. l.;
• Nut (almond) – ½ tsp;

Filling:

• Bell pepper – 1 pc.;
• Avocado – 1 pc.;
• Cucumber – 1 pc.
• Carrots – 1 pc.;
• Greens - (bunch).

We remove the zucchini from the peel and grate it. Then, we cut the pureed vegetable as finely as possible. We get a rice substitute.

The contents are salted and placed in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. During this time, the chopped vegetable will give juice, which should be squeezed out, and add honey, lemon juice, pepper, and nuts.

Carrots are rubbed on the loin. The remaining vegetables are cut into strips and sprinkled with lemon juice.

Cooking process:

1. The bamboo mat is covered with cling film and a sheet of nori divided in half is placed;
2. An empty space of up to 1.5 cm is left from the edge of the sheet;
3. Vegetables are laid out on a layer of zucchini mass, rolls are wrapped and cut into 3 cm pieces with a knife;
4. In order for the sheet to stick well, its edges must be lubricated with water.

The ratio of sodium and potassium in zucchini normalizes the body's water balance.

Avocado is rich in minerals and vitamins B, E, K, PP, C, A. Useful components cleanse the blood of cholesterol, normalize heart function, and improve memory.

Carrots are good for the eyes, lower blood pressure, and renew liver and kidney cells.

Bell Pepper: Rutin and ascorbic acid work together to strengthen the walls of blood vessels.

Live cookies

Ingredients:

• Wheat – 0.5 kg;
• Raisins – 50 g;
• Sesame – 20 g.

Cooking method:

1. The wheat is soaked and left overnight;
2. In the morning, the water is drained, the grain is placed on cheesecloth and kept for another 24 hours. In a warm place, the germination process occurs within 36 hours. The product is considered ready to eat when the sprouts reach 1–2 mm. Larger sprouts are bitter, so it is not advisable to eat them;
3. The sprouted grain is twisted in a meat grinder along with dried fruits, which are pre-soaked in water at a temperature of 37 degrees C and dried with a paper towel;
4. Cookies are formed, sprinkled with sesame seeds and sent to the oven at a temperature of 45 degrees C, where they are kept until completely dry. This temperature allows you to preserve vitamins, macro, microelements, vitamins.

Sprouted wheat is rich in nutrients and vitamins. All components support the functioning of the heart and brain, slow down the aging of the body, and improve the condition of hair and skin.

Raisins are a source of iron and stimulate the access of oxygen to tissues. The presence of oleanolic acid in the composition suppresses the growth of bacteria that occur during dental diseases.

Sesame: phytin, which is part of the seeds, restores the mineral balance of the body.

We are sure you have heard about the beneficial properties of sprouted wheat seeds. But do you know everything? Sprouted wheat: benefits and harm, recipes. Check it out! Read about how to properly remove excess fluid from the body here. Know that you need to fight swelling! We'll show you how to do it.

And here read about ways to take olive oil on an empty stomach. The benefits of the product, its effects on the body and possible harm.

Halva

Ingredients:

• Sunflower seeds (unroasted) – 0.5 kg;
• Pitted dates – 10 pcs.;
• Peanuts – 0.3 kg;
• Honey – 2 tbsp. l.;
• Carob – 2 tbsp. l.;

Algorithm of actions:

1. Grind seeds, dates, peanuts in a blender;
2. Add honey, carob;
3. Mix until smooth and form into a crust;
4. Place in a cool place for 2 hours.

Sunflower seeds contain vegetable fats, magnesium, and fat-soluble vitamins. They have a preventive effect against atherosclerosis, heart attack and slow down aging.

Dates contain pantothenic acid, niacin, vitamins (B, C, A), magnesium, and potassium. They prevent liver disease, improve vision, and remove fluid from the body.

Peanuts are a powerful antioxidant, improve memory and hearing, and renew the body's cells.

Diet plan for weight loss

In addition to permitted and prohibited foods, there are several points that you should also think about when planning your daily diet:

• type of heat treatment;
• portion size;
• frequency of meals;
• drinking regime.

How to prepare healthy meals

The number of recipes for healthy dishes is slightly less than standard ones, so you don’t have to worry about the lack of culinary ideas. All methods of heat treatment are available to you, including frying, but it is done without oil, in a special non-stick frying pan. You can:

• cook;
• bake;
• cook in a double boiler;
• stew;
• cook on the grill.

How many times a day to eat

A constant feeling of hunger is not something that promotes proper nutrition for weight loss, even if you need to lose weight urgently. If you follow the above principles of BJU balance, you will not starve, because... carbohydrates will provide the desired degree of saturation

However, in addition to this, it is important to strictly adhere to the eating regimen, which will help get rid of the every minute desire to chew something. According to nutritionists, the correct diet is to eat up to 6 times a day.

However, this figure is determined individually:

• If you eat a portion of meat, saturation can last up to 4 hours, and the product will also take a long time to digest.
• If you have a snack with vegetables, after 2 hours the body needs to be given a new “dose” of food.
• According to the rules of healthy eating, it is advisable not to take long (longer than 4 hours) breaks in the menu, so as not to provoke a drop in sugar, which will lead to insulin spikes and a slowdown in metabolism.

Serving size for proper nutrition for weight loss

Do you eat your fill or feel hungry after eating? A question that plagues most women who take out their scales before cooking. For some, losing weight inexorably entails reducing portions to ridiculous sizes, which provokes breakdowns, because. no saturation occurs. Doctors do not agree with this policy - even for weight loss, proper nutrition does not require fasting: the amount of food on the plate should be such that after half an hour you do not feel empty in your stomach, but also do not suffer from overeating.

Follow these guidelines:

• The amount of chicken or fish meat per serving is 100-150 g, visually it should not exceed the size of your palm.
• The volume of cereals, pasta is a handful scooped into your palm, i.e. 50 g or a little more.
• You need to eat a lot of vegetables, so their portion is cupped palms (the food is cut into pieces).
• It is advisable to coordinate the correct serving size with the daily calorie content: do not exceed 400 kcal for the main meal and 200 kcal for a snack.

Compliance with drinking regime

Some women and men underestimate the importance of water in the diet, especially when losing weight. Some people substitute the concepts of “drinking” and “tea” or “coffee”, but the drinking regime is pure, still water, which does not actively burn fat, but is necessary for weight loss

Failure to comply with the correct drinking regime leads to stagnation of lymph, blood thickening, dehydration, swelling, poor skin tone and deterioration of well-being.

Key recommendations regarding what and how to drink for proper weight loss:

• A glass of water before meals is a must-have element of your menu.
• Each cup of coffee must be compensated with 0.6 liters of clean water, because... This drink causes dehydration.
• Juices, compotes and other drinks are food; they do not count towards the regime.
• Forget about the 2-liter rule: the optimal amount of water is calculated individually. The norm for humans is 30 mg/kg.

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”.