It is difficult to overestimate the importance of proper nutrition for weight loss.You have to get used to healthy, wholesome foods without torturing yourself with endless diets and hunger strikes.It is enough to know the principles of nutrition and understand which foods you need to eat and which are better to forget forever.In this article we will talk about the basics of losing weight through proper nutrition and food preparation methods.
Diet rules for losing weight
The menu for weight loss should be varied, so the body will receive the necessary nutrients, vitamins and microelements in sufficient quantities.But it should also be tasty, because constant stress due to hunger and boredom due to monotonous and tasteless foods are not good for either the psyche or the body.
Basic principles
Before you start creating a menu, you need to understand the principles of healthy eating.
- Eat little and often
It is better to divide the entire daily diet into 5 meals and eat at the same time.The last time you should eat is 2-3 hours before bedtime.Such a system does not allow the body to starve, which means you will not overeat.Split meals for weight loss are irreplaceable.
- Give up fast food
Ready-to-eat food is extremely high in calories, contains a large number of preservatives, artificial colors and flavors that give it an appetizing smell and taste, as well as fatty or spicy sauces.In fast food restaurants, hundreds of portions are prepared with the same burnt oil containing carcinogenic substances.If you still have doubts, think about it: a standard set of hamburgers, a glass of cola and a bag of chips contains 1200-1400 calories, that is, almost the daily requirement, but at the same time there are no vitamins, useful fiber and almost no protein in such a lunch.
But in excess there are saturated fats and simple carbohydrates. - Chew your food well
Experiments have shown that if you chew your food about 40 times, you can lose weight without changing your eating habits.And when combined with a healthy diet, this simple technique gives truly amazing results.Thoroughly chewed food is easier to digest.In this case we eat much more slowly and the brain receives a satiety signal in time, eliminating the risk of overeating.
- Drink water
Water is a catalyst for all life processes.Two liters of clean drinking water per day will help speed up the metabolism, timely eliminate toxins and avoid fluid retention, i.e. edema.The concept of “water” does not include tea, coffee, juices and other drinks: for example, black tea and coffee, on the contrary, dehydrate the body, while juices and fruit drinks contain sugar.This doesn't mean you shouldn't drink juice, but to the body, juice is more of a food than a liquid.
What can you eat while losing weight?
Protein products
Foods that contain a lot of protein require more energy to break down.Such foods quickly relieve hunger and help maintain muscle mass.
Whey protein, beef, fish and chicken are rich in protein.Consume 0.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight if you want to burn fat and build muscle.
Table with acceptable protein food options during weight loss:
| Lean meat | Beef and its offal, broth.Rabbit, lean pork ham without rind |
| Poultry meat | Turkey, chicken, offal, natural poultry ham |
| Fish | Low or medium fat: red mullet, halibut, mackerel, cod, cod, tuna, hake. |
| Seafood | Squid, crab, shrimp, mussels and more |
| Egg | Anyone |
Fermented milk products
This food contains calcium, proteins, vitamins A, D and the entire line of group B. These elements will give you the energy you need for the whole day and will help you build muscle mass.Sour milk also helps improve the functioning of the digestive tract.
Make it a rule to drink 100 ml of fresh biokefir at night, about an hour before bedtime.
Introduce dairy products into your menu such as kefir, ricotta, natural yogurt without additives and sugars, low-fat cheese,
curdled milk.
Vegetables and fruit
Did you know that water helps you lose a few extra pounds?When you consume water-rich foods, glucose digestion slows down and makes you feel full for a long time.
When you're hungry, eat raw vegetables.These are the best low calorie foods.One cup of raw vegetables or green salad contains less sugar than 1 fruit.This is not a complete list of such wonderful products.
Complex carbohydrates
The best porridges for weight loss are oatmeal, buckwheat and barley.Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, which requires a lot of energy to break down.This burns a lot of calories and increases your metabolism.A bowl of oatmeal topped with fruit or almonds is a good way to start your day off right.
Fats and polyunsaturated acids
Polyunsaturated fats have long been proven to promote weight loss.Such substances normalize blood sugar levels, reduce cholesterol and accelerate metabolism.To lose extra pounds you need to introduce foods rich in these essential fats into your diet.
Walnuts are rich in fatty acids.Therefore, before leaving the store, buy 100 or 200 grams.
The exotic fruit avocado is also rich in fatty acids.It can be consumed both in the morning and in the evening.This product contains an important element - the natural amino acid L-carnitine.It also accelerates metabolic processes, promotes fat burning and protects the cardiovascular system from malfunctions.
What shouldn't you eat when losing weight?
Very often you can hear from a woman that she has a very poor diet, but something prevents her from successfully losing weight.Often the diet of these women contains foods that are enemies of weight loss.
Sugar
Sugar is first on the list of enemies due to its rapid conversion into fat.By consuming sugar, you can say goodbye to your thin waist.Therefore, you should avoid drinks that contain added sugars.
Sweet drinks and carbonated juices
You should not consume excess calories along with liquids.Considering that on average such drinks contain fifty calories per one hundred milliliters, drinking one glass will add an average of one hundred and fifty kilocalories to your daily diet.You can eat a nice portion of salad instead.
High-fat dairy products
There is no difference whether you replace kefir with standard fat, 1% or completely low fat.
Likewise, you should replace whole milk with milk in which the fat mass fraction does not exceed 1.5%.And the calorie content of cottage cheese, cheese and yogurt should be minimal.
Fatty meats
Meat must be present in the diet as it is an essential source of protein.However, it is better to choose chicken breast rather than thigh, and lean meat instead of the usual, but very fatty pork.It is necessary to eat only lean meats.
Sweets eaten with tea
Most women are used to drinking tea along with sweets.On average, waffles, cookies, candy or snacks contain three hundred and fifty to four hundred and fifty calories, which significantly interferes with the success of the weight loss process.
Sauces
Even if you eat a small amount of food, but combine it with mayonnaise, ketchup and other high-calorie sauces, the fat and calorie content of such a dish will increase several times.
It is necessary to completely eliminate any sauces from your daily diet.
Fast food
A hamburger can contain up to six hundred and fifty calories, which is more than half the diet of a girl who has decided to lose weight.
Nuts
The benefits of walnuts cannot be denied.However, they contain a lot of fat, and if consumed daily, the weight loss process may slow or stop.
Dried fruit
One of the healthy but high-calorie foods is dried fruit, the consumption of which should be limited when following a diet.
Flour products
Pancakes, dumplings, cakes, bread and other flour products contain a huge amount of simple carbohydrates, which very quickly turn into fat cells.It is necessary to exclude all flour products from the diet.
Calculation of the daily calorie content of foods consumed
Daily calorie intake is the optimal amount of calories consumed each day to maintain figure and health.So, if the food consumed is too high in calories, then there is a greater risk of gaining extra pounds, but if there are not enough calories in the daily diet, then you can harm your body.
There are many different formulas for calculating an individual's daily calorie intake.For example, according to one of these formulas, your weight in kilograms must be multiplied by 14 (for women) or 15 (for men), then divided by 0.453.The result obtained will be the optimal amount of calories to maintain this weight.
Another formula for calculating daily calorie intake takes into account a person's weight, age, and height.To find out your daily calorie intake using this formula, you need to add your weight in kilograms, multiplied by a factor of 9.6 with your height in centimeters, multiplied by a factor of 1.8, add the number 655, then subtract your age in years, multiplied by a factor of 4.7:
655 + 9.6*(weight in kg) + 1.8*(height in cm) - 4.7*(age in years).
The result obtained is the daily calorie requirement at rest.If you need to calculate the daily calorie intake necessary to maintain the existing weight with different loads, you need to make a slight adjustment to the result.For example, you need to multiply the result by a factor of 1.38 if a person does fitness at least once a week or does morning exercises every day.
The result of calculating the daily calorie intake should be increased by a factor of 1.55 if the number of sports activities is 3 to 5 times a week.If training is carried out more often, 5-6 times a week, a coefficient of 1.73 should be applied.If it is necessary to lose existing weight, the results obtained in each case should be reduced by 20%.
Correct nutritional menu for weight loss
Make a shopping list.Must include:
- wholemeal bread;
- lean meats (beef, rabbit, chicken, turkey);
- seafood and lean fish;
- mushrooms;
- egg;
- low-fat fermented milk products;
- fruit and vegetables;
- hard cereals and pasta;
- nuts, seeds and dried fruit (in limited quantities).
Water in a correct diet
Fluid constantly leaves the body.Every day we lose more than half a liter of water through breathing.The total loss of fluids through sweating and natural excretion is approximately two and a half liters.
Therefore, nutritionists recommend consuming at least one and a half liters of fluid per day, regardless of diet (a certain amount is compensated by other sources: food, air, etc.).It is better to drink regular drinking water than tea, coffee, juices and other drinks.
You need to drink water according to these rules:
- Daily water consumption should be increased gradually to a normal level, half a glass per day.
- It is better to drink filtered water rather than boiled water.Mineral water and other carbonated drinks are not considered substitutes.It is also better to replace compotes and juices by eating fruit.
- Contrary to popular belief, strong tea and coffee contribute to dehydration.Proper nutrition implies complete abstinence from them.It is better to drink green tea without sugar or weak herbal infusions.
- It is easy to identify the body's need for water: you need to pay attention to the liquid that is excreted naturally.Correct nutrition guarantees its transparency.Dark urine with a pungent odor will indicate that it is necessary to increase the amount of clean water in the diet.
- It is best to drink water at room temperature.Water that is too cold or hot causes stomach cramps and slows down digestive processes.
Cooking methods
Cooking foods so that they maintain their beneficial properties and also reveal interesting aromatic notes is a whole science.
Kitchen
The most classic option for preparing dietary dishes is cooking.In order for the food to remain healthy using this cooking method, it is important not to overcook the dish.
Cooking has been shown to reduce the calorie content of foods.The exception is starchy vegetables, which are best cooked in a dietary diet (potatoes, corn).
During cooking, make sure the vegetables remain a little crunchy.If they are overcooked they will lose all their beneficial components.
Extinguishing
The main thing is not to use additional fat when stewing.If you can't help it, use low-fat sour cream.
The ideal stewing process occurs over low heat;it is also important that the heat is distributed evenly on the bottom of the pan (or other utensils).
Baking (roasting)
Again, the main rule is not to use additional fats, otherwise the food will become high in calories.
We note that baked food is never fresh.The important thing is to allow the products to brown.Remember, if you cook, for example, meat, do not forget to open the foil or sleeve 15 minutes before cooking.This will give the dish an appetizing crust.
Frying
In dietary nutrition it is allowed to eat fried foods.The main thing is that it is prepared without oil.After all, what is dangerous for your figure is precisely the fact that oil increases the calorie content of some foods.
The best solution for frying is grilling.This is especially true for cooking meat or fish.
Conclusions, recommendations of nutritionists
Proper nutrition is the main basis for successful weight loss.Follow simple recommendations, abandon harmful foods for weight loss, introduce more healthy foods into your diet, create your weekly menu and stick to it - and the result will not be long in coming!