Proper nutrition for weight loss begins to interest us the moment we understand that diet does not help. Diets do not help - it's a fact. Why? The answer lies in the prohibitions and restrictions found in both modern and well-known, "proven over the years" diets. Proper nutrition for weight loss must be varied, healthy and nutritious, no matter how strange it may sound. There are several basic principles of such nutrition. And also a lot of misunderstandings, misjudgments, stories about amazing superfoods, blacklists of "harmful foods" as well as stories about their wonderful rehabilitation.
Before you start a conversation about nutrition, you need to understand that in recent years, more precisely, over the last 25-30 years, the balance between basic nutrients - proteins, fats and carbohydrates - has been quite skewed towards the carbohydrate component. At the same time, you do not have to strain and calculate too much - just go to any store and look at the windows with candy. They take up almost a quarter of the store's space! And the first step to switching to a proper weight loss diet will be a complete rejection of sugar in the daily diet. That sounds scary, does it? Do you know why? Because sugar addiction is related to substance abuse.
- Well, it started. . . - someone will say disappointed, - Again prohibitions and restrictions!
A few minutes of your attention and you agree that giving up sugar can be a huge breakthrough to improve body health and consequently lose weight.
Of course we need carbohydrates. But which ones? We have all heard of fast and slow carbs. We need slow. Dishes made from cereals, whole grain flours, vegetables. . . Fruits and berries are full of fast carbs, but it is better to eat fruits and berries than to buy sweets in patisseries. Many nutritionists resolutely and abruptly propose to abandon carbohydrates and of any kind and reduce their consumption to 20-50 g per day. Such a sharp transition from the usual to the useful can lead to dizziness, loss of energy, bad mood and conviction that it is not so useful and that it is proper nutrition.
Proper nutrition for weight loss provides much more benefit and joy if you switch to it gradually, consistently and do not go astray. But first you need to understand why our body resists all changes, especially a decrease in the amount of sugar.
Sugar is truly the scourge of our time. Few products offered to us in supermarkets even lack a teaspoon of sugar. We're not even talking about candy right now! Juices, yogurts, marinades, sauces, semi-finished products, meat products, sausages and hot dogs, canned fish, instant soups, instant noodles. . . The list is almost endless! The more terrible the coming transition to new nutritional principles - it turns out that we have almost nothing to eat !? Do not panic, there is a way out and it is quite peaceful.
Proper nutrition for weight loss starts with three steps.
Step one:remove sugar in its pure form. Tea, coffee, compotes without sugar. We refuse preserves, jams, candies, chocolates, cakes and other delights by drinking tea with friends or during a work break. Ice cream, cakes, even low calorie marshmallows are excluded from our table! All carbonated beverages are prohibited. Try going without sugar for two weeks, only two weeks - you will be surprised. Tea, it turns out, tastes different. Coffee too. Cocoa with milk, but without sugar, is charged better than any stimulant. And what to serve with tea? At this stage, nuts (not salted), dried fruits, energy mixes with honey (a mixture of nuts and dried fruits, passed through a meat grinder you can add lemon), sandwiches with butter (yes, yes! ), Cheese and normal sausage, and better with homemade boiled pork, with caviar, lightly salted salmon, etc. At the same time, tea with all these treats should be included in breakfast, lunch or dinner and not be a regular snack. However, about snacks a little later.
Step to:When the body shifts from fast to slow carbs, it's time to eliminate foods that have a high glycemic index: premium wheat flour, white rice and potatoes. That is, all buns, breads, pies, porridge made from peeled rice, semolina porridge as well as everyone's favorite manna pies and potatoes in all kinds are automatically transformed from everyday food into a delicacy. Yes, and soups will now also be without potatoes. At the same time, rye bread and bakery products are made from whole grain flour (without sugar, remember that? ), Buckwheat, steamed or simply mixed with clean water overnight, instant oatmeal, they mix very well with fermented milk products as well as all exotic or forgotten grains like spelled, quinoa. In addition, you need to remove honestly sweet fruits from the diet - bananas, grapes, pears. Berries are not on this list due to their high acidity.
Step three:At this point, give up carbohydrates and leave only natural carbohydrates that are part of vegetables and sour berries. However, sometimes the first two steps are enough to significantly reduce weight. And if you meet a few more conditions in parallel, then you do not have to look for a new diet for yourself - you will move to a whole new level, where proper nutrition comes first and for life.
Proper nutrition for weight loss should be varied.This means that the balance should include not only the infamous BJU (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) but also vitamins and trace elements. And if carbohydrates give us energy in a clean, accessible form, then it is much harder for the body to get this energy from proteins and even more from fat. But as is often the case, what is difficult to obtain is usually the most useful. Calories from carbohydrates are usually too large, our body spends almost no effort on their processing, which is why "sugar calories" so quickly fit into cozy fat rolls.
Proteins are important for our body.Protein is important throughout life: in childhood it is a building material, in adulthood it is an element that helps our body to function and maintain itself best for as long as possible. Judge for yourself: protein performs a protective function that helps with the production of antibodies, transport, the most famous protein hemoglobin supplies oxygen to every cell, regulatory - normal hormone production is impossible without protein, motor - all kinds of movement are provided by proteins myosin and actin, plastic - the collagen protein is responsible for the condition of the connective tissue, the appearance of the skin, etc. , energy - proteins supply the body with energy. But perhaps one of the most important tasks for a protein is the preservation and transmission of genetic information. It is believed that the increasingly common terrible disease "Alzheimer's disease" is directly related to insufficient protein intake (not only with it, but the second most important component slightly lower).
How much protein does the average adult need? Many nutritionists, doctors and proponents of proper nutrition adhere to the norms of protein intake, derived more than a hundred years ago by the German scientist Max Rubner, and this norm was 0. 33 g of protein per. 1 kg human weight. Much has changed since then, science has advanced, and recent studies have deduced a very average rate of 1, 2 - 2, 0 g per. 1 kg weight. An impressive difference. Moreover, these 1, 2 - 2, 0 g are not the weight of the product, for example a piece of meat or a portion of beans, but the content of pure protein in the product. A sample table of high protein foods is available on our website. Our site has written about the benefits of protein products more than once, but it never hurts to repeat these common truths.
Despite the huge popularity of vegan, raw food and vegetarian diets, we still need at least 50% animal protein to keep the body healthy and not in a state of survival. These are eggs, dairy products, seafood, meat and offal. It is these proteins that have a complete set of amino acids as opposed to plant foods. Although they should be eaten, if only because variety is the essence of proper nutrition!
It is clear that there are few products on our planet that consist of a single substance. Almost any food is a combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. And here with the last ingredient - fats - happened perhaps the biggest criminal story in the history of nutrition science. At a "perfect" moment, fats were declared enemies of health. Everyone has heard horror stories about cholesterol, plaques in blood vessels and other horrors. And when you look at how stores replenish their range with low-fat or completely low-fat products at an enviable rate, you begin to doubt the sincere desire to feed us "proper", "healthy", "live" food because there is nois something correct and useful in the absence of fat in the diet.
So what is the function of fat in our body? You will say - help in the assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins. Is that all? From biology lessons from school days, someone will remember the heat exchange function of fat. So the most important function of fat in the body is the surfactant metabolism, that is, in simple terms to ensure the exchange of oxygen in the alveoli of the lungs. Fat lines the walls of the alveoli in a thinnest layer and allows us to breathe and. . . live. My grandmother's methods for treating lung diseases immediately come to mind: burdock fat, dog fat, goose fat, hot milk and butter - there is fat everywhere, inside and out, and it helped! And by the way, it still helps, just drugs to treat hypoxia (oxygen starvation), which are now sold for wild money, are actually a fat emulsion. Another important function of fat is the synthesis of membranes. The cell membrane consists of 70-85% fat, and the function of the membrane is to ensure the protection of cells, their thermal insulation and selective permeability (since not everything that seeks to enter the cell is useful and necessary for it). The myelin layer, this insulating sheath of our nerves, is 70-80% saturated fat. No myelin - get Alzheimer's disease, senile (rather young) sclerosis and dementia. Fat is one of the most important substances that is essential for the construction of membranes, the myelin sheath, which ensures their work as well as the function of the central and peripheral nervous system. Keep this in mind when choosing between 0, 5 and 3, 2% fat milk.
Another important function of fat is hormonal. These are fats that are sources of hormone synthesis and there are many of them in our body. These are growth hormones, protein hormones, thyroid hormones, digestive hormones, steroid hormones, adrenal glands, sex hormones, etc. It is clear that the slightest bias, underproduction of any hormone threatens with huge disturbances throughout the organism. A sudden onset of blackheads and acne, all kinds of skin rashes are signs of low androgen levels. Frequent headaches "for no reason" can be a sign of low estrogen levels. Constant insomnia - not enough progesterone. Fatigue, exhaustion and even exhaustion even at rest can be a sign of a violation of the production of thyroid hormones. Hair loss is also a sign of this disorder. Weight gain may be due to high levels of the hormones estrogen, cortisol and insulin combined with low testosterone levels. Forgetfulness and distraction are indicators of low estrogen and cortisol levels. How everything is connected!
Fats are responsible for heat regulation. Therefore, men who do not use diets are often hotter than women who always lose weight. Constant freezing of hands and feet is likely a sign of fat deficiency if it is not some kind of innate peculiarity. The most famous function of fat is to dissolve and help with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins: A, E, D, K. Sitting on a low-fat diet and drinking vitamin complexes - not an option, vitamins are simply not absorbed.
And finally, last but not least - vitamins, minerals, macro- and microelements. These substances are found in different quantities and combinations in all products, but special emphasis must be placed on fresh vegetables, roots, fruits and berries. One of the most valuable vitamins - vitamin C - is not synthesized in our body and we can only get it from fresh plant products. Our page has filled an entire section on vitamins, read it, it's helpful! Plant foods contain enzymes and flavonoids, all kinds of minerals, without which we simply cannot function normally. For example, potassium - the work of the heart without it will be disturbed. Magnesium is responsible for the health of the brain, nervous system and hormonal systems and is involved in metabolic processes. And also in plant products there is fiber - without it the digestive processes and peristalsis are almost impossible!
Proper nutrition to lose weight and improve the body includes the following principles:
Eat no more than three times a day. Unexpected, right? But what about 5-6 meals a day that are advertised in many recommendations? Such fraction meals are perfect for children, athletes and seriously ill citizens. If you are not in any of these categories, eat three or even twice a day.
Eat only when you feel hungry, not at night. Breakfast is optional! If you do not feel like eating in the morning, rearrange breakfast a few hours later. Do not stop food into yourself just because someone said that breakfast is the most important thing.
Learn to listen to yourself and understand the difference between hunger and the usual habit of mixing something in between. The following recommendation helps with this.
Drink water. Not in liters, as is sometimes recommended. Not cooked. Ideal in bottle or spring. The drinking scheme is easy to pour: 2 glasses of lukewarm (not cold and not boiling water) in the morning, 1-2 glasses during the day and 1 in the evening. Sometimes it is enough to drink water to understand that it was just thirst, not hunger.
Get into the habit of buying all kinds of nuts and seeds more often. In addition to fat, they contain a huge amount of macro and micronutrients.
Eat whole foods. That is, not fat-free! Cottage cheese - 9% fat, not less, but with sour cream, coffee with cream, butter sandwiches, fatty cheeses, fatty sea fish, exotic avocado, bacon! This is not a typical bias "from fire to fire. " There is, of course, a need for a measure in total.
Do not forget proteins! But no less important is what to combine it with. And this recommendation will be the last.
Eat vegetables. Lots of vegetables and herbs. Fresh, pickled, pickled, steamed, boiled and even fried in oil! But fresh salads are obviously preferred. It is not difficult to calculate the amount of vegetables: Divide your plate mentally into two parts - half will be occupied by vegetables, and the other will fit proteins, fats and the same allowable minimum of carbohydrates.
Proper nutrition for weight loss is not strict tables and recipes. This is a conscious approach. All of these tips only work if you are almost completely free of carbohydrates. If you combine proteins with carbohydrates (mashed potatoes with a cutlet) or fat with carbohydrates (bacon with bread) in a plate, you are done. More precisely, no, of course you will not die right away. You just want to live on, sigh doom over every new kilo and complain about the injustice ("I literally sit on the same water, where does the fat come from??? "). No need to sit on the water, no need to bother yourself with hunger, diet products. Just start with three steps and go without health and beauty without turning anywhere.