There are a huge number of diets that allow you to lose excess weight. But for some reason, few people think that it is enough to approach the issue of nutrition competently and wisely, and no restrictions will simply be needed. There are certain rules that should be followed so as not to cry on the scale later, and there is also a list of the most unhealthy foods. How to eat right?
How to eat properly during the day? Recommendations for proper nutrition
Watch your portion sizes . In short, eat less! And at home, and at a party, and in public catering. Refuse the heavy salad and replace it with a light one. And share the main dish with a friend.
- Avoid large plates at home. Take a smaller plate. And accordingly, use smaller portions. Remember that the body does not need as much food as you are used to putting in. Enough to make you feel a little full.
- We eat much more if we eat while watching a movie on TV (a scientifically proven fact). Learn to think of the nutrition process as refueling your car. How much fuel do you need to get your car going? Refueled and off we went.
Try to plan your menu at least a day in advance. And even better - for the whole week. The day before your work day, think about what exactly you will feed your body? Stock up on yogurt and a couple of fruits to satisfy your hunger in a timely manner and not have to run to the store later for chips and chocolates.
- Once you have set your menu for the week, stick to it. Buy all products in advance. Tape your menu to the refrigerator and eat only what is on it. Hide the “extra” products so that there is no temptation to grab a couple of Krakow bagels or a smoked ham before dinner.
- Drink more water. This is the basis of proper nutrition. Minimum one and a half liters per day (soups, juices, tea and coffee go separately).
- Be sure to have breakfast in the morning. Breakfast should not be heavy, but it must contain those nutrients that will help you survive until lunch. Dairy and fiber are a must. See healthy breakfast options.
Stick to your diet strictly. If there are still a couple of hours before lunch, but you are simply unbearably hungry, and you are ready to run for a hamburger, grab an apple, pear or banana. Snack on fruit - it will not do any harm, and the feeling of acute hunger will go away.
- Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. Every day. At every meal. The most useful green vegetables are Chinese cabbage, lettuce, arugula, broccoli, cucumbers, zucchini, celery, etc. They contain the maximum amount of essential vitamins and ensure smooth functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Avoid fruit in syrup (canned) and cheap fruit juices. Reduce your sugar intake with tea and coffee. If possible, replace sweets with fruits, candied fruits, dried fruits, and dark chocolate.
- Minimize your salt intake. In some cases, refuse it altogether. For example, a vegetable salad dressed with oil will not suffer at all in taste from the lack of salt. Again, a boiled egg can be consumed without salt.
- Eliminate unhealthy carbohydrates (sugar, rice, flour) and introduce healthy ones (fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grain bread).
- Don't forget about fiber! The minimum amount per day is about thirty g. Look for it in whole grains and fruits and vegetables.
- Swap unhealthy fats for healthy ones - nuts and avocados, olive oil and pumpkin seeds, fish, etc. Reduce, if possible, to zero the consumption of red meat, whole milk products, as well as fried foods, cookies, margarine, etc.
Protein is essential. This is the source of our energy. Look for it daily in fish, beans, nuts, eggs and tofu.
- Vitamin D and calcium (dairy products, beans, leafy vegetables) - you can’t live without them.
- Strictly avoid catering . Cook it yourself! Not semi-finished products, but “first, second and compote.” You can prepare it in advance and put it in the freezer, this will save time. And money – even more so.
- Consume high-calorie foods exclusively in the first half of the day . In the second - only the lungs.
During the day, try to burn more calories than you consume in a day. Keep a notebook for the first time to see the “income and expenditure” of extra kg.
- Avoid fatty-sweet-spicy-salty.
- Any dietary restrictions are meaningless without physical activity. If you don’t want to become an old woman ahead of time, then combine your proper nutrition with proper exercise. Then your skin will not sag and your muscles will not weaken.
Diet and proper nutrition
Two different concepts:
- A diet is a time-limited diet to achieve a goal. This refers to dietary treatment tables that were also developed against obesity.
- Proper nutrition is an individual plan for creating a diet, taking into account the required calorie content per day and the range of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
In the first case, emergency measures are considered for drastic intervention in the body. Typically, when caloric restriction occurs, the body responds by regaining fluid and fat once it returns to a normal diet. In the United States, in rare cases, low-calorie diets of 600-1000 kcal for people with advanced stages of obesity using food replacement products and suppressing appetite. But then patients of weight loss clinics are recommended to eat properly, which is carefully taught by nutritionists over the course of months.
What to eat for breakfast
This energy boost is the basis of the whole day. Breakfast is not stored on the hips and is processed into clean energy. Requirements for a proper breakfast:
- Buns, sandwiches, toast and croissants - out. They only tire the body, which after such a breakfast wants to go back to bed.
- Pulses for breakfast are too much . The exception is buckwheat.
- The main part of breakfast should be fruit. Especially in the summer. In winter, you can replace them with dried fruits.
- yogurt, fermented baked milk or cottage cheese in your morning meal .
- Pure milk for breakfast can only be consumed before six in the morning. For example, with cinnamon - it provides vigor.
- The ideal breakfast is fruit salad dressed with yoghurt or fermented baked milk. You can also add berries and nuts.
- For second breakfast, you can eat porridge (for example, oatmeal), fruit and a small piece of dark chocolate.
Nutrition standards
Any calculated indicators must be individual. For example, the National Institutes of Health in the United States calculate standards that can be used as a rough guide. Values given for men/women:
- Caloric content of the diet: 2500/2000
- Protein: 55/50
- Carbohydrates: 300/260
- Sugar: 120/90
- Fat: 95/70
- Saturated fats: 30/20
- Salt: 6/6
For fats, sugar, and salt, the maximum values for maintaining health are indicated. For proteins and carbohydrates, you need to focus on your own physical activity and body fat percentage:
- Increase protein to 1-2 g per kilogram of body with regular training for weight loss.
- Reduce the amount of carbohydrates to 2-3 g per kilogram of body if you are overweight more than 10 kg .
Healthy weight loss is achieved at a minimal pace, but without starvation and without eliminating important nutrients from the diet.
To lose weight by 0.5-1 kg per week, you need to reduce your daily caloric intake by 500-750 kcal:
- Eating in the 1400-1600 will help most women lose weight safely.
- Reducing calories to 1700-2000 will help men safely lose weight.
The figures are given for office workers who lead a sedentary lifestyle without regular exercise and walking. Low-calorie diets at the level of 800-1000 kcal should not be used without medical supervision.
What to eat for lunch
For the most part, we eat lunch very quickly, without really thinking about what we are eating, and throwing what we have at hand into the firebox. Because the job is waiting. And this meal requires a serious approach. And of course, sandwiches are absolutely not suitable for lunch. As a last resort, you can order lunch to the office or find a canteen with hot lunches. Requirements for a proper lunch:
- At lunch you don’t have to limit yourself to food , but this meal should not occur later than two o’clock in the afternoon.
- For the first course you can eat, for example, borscht, for the second - buckwheat side dish and two hundred grams of chicken breast. Don't forget about salad (fresh vegetables only) and yeast-free bread. For the third - compote or juice from fresh fruits.
- Avoid smoked and fried meats at lunch . Replace it with steamed meat and plenty of vegetables.
Proper nutrition schedule for weight loss
There is a lot of debate about how many meals there should be when losing weight: 5-6 or three . Proponents of fractional nutrition advise eating the same amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates five times a day, constantly stabilizing blood sugar and reducing the desire to overeat in the future. Proponents of three meals a day criticize the five meals a day approach, since it ultimately results in:
- constant obsession with food;
- increased likelihood of overeating;
- persistently high blood sugar levels.
To avoid negative aspects , you need to choose the right products and follow three tips:
- Eat more complex carbohydrates, such as cereals and cereal breads, but invest in your daily allowance.
- Include sources of protein (meat, eggs, dairy) at every meal to promote long-term satiety.
- Avoid animal fats (pork, lard, butter, mayonnaise) and sweet fatty foods (halva, Nutella), but use vegetable fats: nuts, avocados.
Since women usually suffer from diets, they need to know everything about healthy eating for weight loss so as not to make mistakes.
What should you eat for dinner?
How does dinner usually go? We eat a lot of everything (and certainly with dessert), after which we collapse on the sofa in front of the TV to digest all this abundance of food. Moreover, while you come home from work, while you prepare dinner, while you gather the whole family at the table, the clock hands are confidently approaching ten in the evening. As a result, we spend the night digesting food instead of resting. So how should it be? Requirements for a proper dinner:
- Dinner should be light. The optimal time for dinner is no later than four hours before bedtime. Preferably around six o'clock in the evening.
- You should not eat legumes for dinner - they should be eaten in the first half of the day.
- The best dishes for dinner are stewed or raw vegetables . Certainly not meat and chips and a huge piece of cake.
- Just before going to bed, you can drink warm milk seasoned with a spoon of honey - it promotes restful sleep and quick falling asleep.
Serving sizes
Any healthy food for weight loss should not be consumed in huge quantities. Too much fruit increases blood sugar, and even healthy chicken meat can become fat deposits if consumed in excess of calories.
Portion size is individual . Nutritionists suggested using your own hands when determining the amount of food required:
- Porridge/pasta/potatoes - the size of a fist;
- Meat/poultry/fish - palm;
- Vegetables - two palms folded together;
- Baking - folded index and middle fingers;
- Butter or sauce - the upper phalanx of the thumb.
Thus, based on portion sizes, you can build 3-4 full meals with carbohydrates, protein, and vegetables.
What are healthy breakfasts?
Healthy and tasty meals are easy to find for any calorie-restricted diet. According to the balance of nutrients and the type of products, they are protein, carbohydrate, combined and special (for vegetarians, children, people with impaired metabolism).
Protein breakfasts
Protein breakfasts are recommended for people who work a lot physically, “build” muscles, and want to stay active throughout the day. On a diet with a predominance of proteins, men who require more calories than girls also lose weight without difficulty. A breakfast classic is eggs, boiled whole or in the form of scrambled eggs/omelet with herbs and vegetables. A slice of whole grain bread and a vegetable salad will provide the required portion of carbohydrates and vitamins. A sandwich with omelet and herbs, or a cottage cheese casserole will diversify your diet.
Carbohydrate breakfasts
Carbohydrates are chosen “slow”, complex. For fruitful mental activity, porridge with water with the addition of healthy fillings is suitable - dried fruits, cinnamon, nuts, cranberries, currants, baked apples, and so on. Whole grain or buckwheat pancakes with berries, a sandwich or pita bread with healthy fillings add variety to your diet.
Protein-carbohydrate breakfasts
Protein-carbohydrate meals according to PP contain iron, phosphorus, folic acid (especially necessary for women), selenium and other micro- and macroelements. For a breakfast with a reduced fat content, cottage cheese, cereals, eggs, bran and whole grain bread, vegetables and fruits that do not irritate the gastric mucosa are combined in different proportions and types.
Low-calorie breakfasts
The energy value of breakfasts is reduced with the help of dishes that contain fewer calories, but are fully satiating. This:
- porridge with water, especially oatmeal;
- lean fish and meat - cod, pike perch, chicken, turkey;
- eggs - egg white omelet, poached, scrambled eggs with herbs;
- cottage cheese with fruits and berries;
- salad with protein products and vegetables;
- vegetable pancakes with a minimum of flour;
- fruit salad with toast;
- tofu, carrot cutlets, puddings and so on.
Important to remember:
When losing weight, it is very important to balance the KBJU of the entire daily diet, and not just breakfast. Proper nutrition in the morning is ineffective without monitoring nutrients during lunch and dinner. Therefore, low-calorie breakfasts are necessarily complemented by thoughtful dishes for other meals. If you don’t have the time and skills to create a menu for weight loss, or don’t want to cook, the Light diet developed by BeFit specialists will help you for intensive and harmless weight loss.
Foods not recommended for breakfast
In the morning, the body will be harmed by “fast” carbohydrates in foods that are immediately digested, increase sugar levels and cause hunger after a couple of hours. These include salty crackers and chips, sweets and sausages. Nutritionists call juice from packages, white bread, “store-bought” muesli and cereals dubious for the morning, even though they are tasty.
It’s worth giving up healthy bananas and citrus fruits in the morning. The former contain excess sugar and magnesium (it is harmful in the morning), the latter, eaten on an empty stomach, can provoke gastritis and ulcers. Undoubtedly healthy cottage cheese in most diets is left for the second half of the day (the exception is a diet rich in protein). “Empty” porridge with water is also not suitable, their calorie content is insufficient. To prevent the feeling of hunger from coming after two hours, they add honey, nuts, berries, and a little jam.
To lose weight, exclude from breakfast:
- smoked meats, sausages, fatty meats;
- industrial yoghurts with excess sugar and dyes;
- spices, fatty sauces, mayonnaise;
- canned food and pickles;
- pasta, pies and other baked goods, sweet pastries;
- soda, energy drinks, alcohol;
- fast food and sweet coffee drinks with syrups, toppings, cream.
