Proper nutrition for weight loss begins to interest us the moment we understand that diets don't help. Diets don't help, that's a fact. Why? The answer lies in those prohibitions and restrictions that abound in both modern and popular diets, "try over the years". Proper weight loss nutrition should be varied, healthy and nutritious, no matter how strange it may seem. There are several basic principles of such nutrition. And also a lot of misconceptions, misconceptions, stories about fantastic superfoods, black lists of "bad foods", as well as stories about their wonderful rehabilitation.
Before starting a conversation about nutrition, it is necessary to understand that in recent years, more precisely, in the last 25-30 years, the balance of basic nutrients - proteins, fats and carbohydrates - has been rather skewed towards the carbohydrate component. At the same time, it is not necessary to try and calculate too much - just go to any store and look at the windows with sweets. They take up almost a quarter of the store space! And the first step in switching to a proper diet for weight loss will be a complete rejection of sugar in the daily diet. Sounds scary, right? Do you know why? Because sugar addiction is similar to drug addiction.
- Well, it started. . . - someone will say disappointed, - Again prohibitions and restrictions!
A couple of minutes of your attention and you will agree that giving up sugar can be a huge step towards improving the health of the body and, consequently, losing weight.
We need carbohydrates, of course. But which ones? We've all heard of fast and slow carbs. We need the slow ones. Dishes based on cereals, wholemeal flours, vegetables. . . Fruits and berries are high in fast carbohydrates, but it is better to eat fruit and berries than to buy sweets from the bakery department. Many nutritionists propose to abruptly and decisively abandon carbohydrates, and of any kind, by reducing their consumption to 20-50 g per day. Such a clear transition from the usual to the useful can lead to dizziness, loss of energy, a bad mood and the belief that it is not so useful and that it is proper nutrition.
Proper nutrition for weight loss will bring much more benefits and joy if you switch to it gradually, consistently and do not lose. But first you need to understand why our body so stubbornly resists any changes, especially a decrease in the amount of sugar.
Sugar is truly the scourge of our time. Few products offered to us in supermarkets lack even a teaspoon of sugar. We're not even talking about sweets right now! Juices, yoghurt, marinades, sauces, semi-finished meat products, sausages and sausages, fish preserves, instant soups, instant noodles. . . The list is almost endless! More terrifying is the imminent transition to new nutritional principles: it turns out we have almost nothing to eat !? Don't panic, there is a way out and it's pretty quiet.
Proper nutrition for weight loss begins with three steps.
First step:remove sugar in its pure form. Tea, coffee, compotes without sugar. We reject preserves, jams, candies, chocolates, cookies and other joys of tea by drinking with friends or during a work break. Ice creams, cakes, even low-calorie marshmallows are excommunicated from our table! All carbonated drinks are prohibited. Try to go without sugar for two weeks, just two weeks - you will be surprised. Tea, it turns out, tastes different. Coffee too. Cocoa with milk, but without sugar, loads better than any stimulant. And what should be served with the tea? At this point nuts (unsalted), dried fruit, energy mixtures with honey (a mixture of nuts and dried fruit, passed through a meat grinder, lemon can be added), butter sandwiches (yes, yes! ), Cheese and regular sausage, and best with homemade boiled pork, with caviar, lightly salted salmon, etc. At the same time, tea with all these delicacies should be included with breakfast, lunch or dinner and not be a usual snack. However, about snacks a little later.
Step two:When the body shifts from fast to slow carbohydrates, it's time to cut out foods that have a high glycemic index: premium wheat flour, white rice, and potatoes. That is, all sandwiches, loaves, pies, peeled rice porridge, semolina porridge, as well as manna pies and potatoes of all kinds favorite by everyone are automatically transformed from everyday food into a delicacy. Yes, and now the soups will be potato-free too. At the same time, rye bread and baked goods made from wholemeal flour (without sugar, remember? ), Steamed buckwheat or simply sprinkled with clean water overnight, instant oatmeal, are very well mixed with fermented milk products, as well as all exotic products or forgotten cereals such as spelled, quinoa. In addition, it is necessary to remove frankly sweet fruits from the diet: bananas, grapes, pears. Berries are not included in this list due to their high acid content.
Step three:at this stage, you should abandon all carbohydrates, leaving only natural carbohydrates that are part of acidic vegetables and berries. However, sometimes the first two steps are enough to significantly reduce the weight. And if you meet some other conditions in parallel, you will not have to look for a new diet for yourself - you will move to a whole new level, where proper nutrition comes first and foremost 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 bring us energy in a pure and accessible form, then it is much more difficult for the body to get this energy from proteins, and even more so from fats. But, as is often the case, what is difficult to obtain is usually the most useful. Carbohydrate calories are usually excessive, our body puts almost no effort into processing them, which is why "sugar calories" adapt so quickly to comfortable rolls of fat.
Protein is vital 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 function and stay at its best for as long as possible. Judge for yourself: the protein performs a protective function, helping in the production of antibodies, transport, the most famous protein hemoglobin supplies oxygen to each cell, regulatory - normal hormone production is impossible without protein, motor - all types of movement are supplied by the proteins myosin and actin, plastic - collagen protein is responsible for the condition of the connective tissue, the appearance of the skin, etc. , energy - proteins provide energy to the body. But perhaps one of the most important tasks of a protein is the storage and transmission of gene 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 a little lower).
How much protein does the average adult need? Many nutritionists, doctors and advocates of proper nutrition adhere to the norms of protein intake, deduced more than a hundred years ago by the German scientist Max Rubner, and this norm was 0. 33 g of protein per 1 kg of human weight. A lot has changed since then, science has moved on and recent studies have inferred a very high average rate of 1. 2 - 2. 0 g per 1 kg of weight. An impressive difference. Also, these 1, 2 - 2, 0 g are not the weight of the product, for example a piece of meat or a serving of beans, but the pure protein content 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 great popularity of vegan, raw 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, fish and seafood, meat and offal. It is these proteins that have a full set of amino acids, unlike plant foods. Even if 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 all foods are a combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. And so with the last ingredient - fats - perhaps the greatest criminal history in the history of food science took place. In a "perfect" moment, fats were declared enemies of health. Everyone has heard horror stories about cholesterol, plaques in blood vessels and other horrors. And watching how the stores fill their assortment with low-fat or completely low-fat products at an enviable rate, you begin to doubt the sincere desire to feed us "correct", "healthy", "live" food. , because there is nothing correct and useful in the absence of fat in the diet.
So what is the function of fats in our body? You will say: it helps in the assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins. That's all? From the biology lessons of the daysof school, someone will remember the heat exchange function of fats. Hence, the most important function of fats in the body is the metabolism of sufractants, that is, in simple terms, to ensure the exchange of oxygen in the alveoli of the lungs. The fat covers the walls of the alveoli in a very thin layer and allows us to breathe e. . . live. My grandmother's methods of curing lung diseases immediately come to mind: badger fat, dog fat, goose fat, hot milk and butter - everywhere there is fat, inside and out, and it helped! And, by the way, it still helps, only drugs for the treatment of hypoxia (oxygen deficiency), which are now being sold for wild money, in fact, it is a fat emulsion. Another important function of fats is the synthesis of membranes. The cell membrane is made up of 70-85% fat and the function of the membrane is to ensure the protection of the cells, their thermal insulation and selective permeability (since not everything that tries to enter the cell is useful and necessary). The myelin layer, this insulating sheath of our nerves, contains 70-80% saturated fat. No myelin - get Alzheimer's disease, senile sclerosis (much younger) and dementia. Fat is one of the most important substances vital for the construction of membranes, the myelin sheath, ensuring their work, as well as the functioning of the central and peripheral nervous system. Remember this when choosing between 0. 5 and 3. 2 percent fat milk.
Another important function of fats is that of hormones. Fats are the sources for the synthesis of hormones, and there are many of them in our body. These are growth hormones, protein hormones, thyroid hormones, digestive hormones, steroid hormones, adrenal hormones, sex hormones, etc. It is clear that the slightest injury, the underproduction of any hormone threatens with huge disruptions in the work of the whole organism. A sudden attack of blackheads and acne, all types of rashes are a sign of low androgen levels. Frequent "no reason" headaches can be a sign of low estrogen levels. Constant sleeplessness - not enough progesterone. Fatigue, exhaustion and even exhaustion even during 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 can be due to high levels of the hormones estrogen, cortisol and insulin, along with low testosterone levels. Forgetfulness and distraction are indicators of low estrogen and cortisol levels. How connected is everything!
Fats are responsible for regulating heat. That's why men who don't go on a diet are often hotter than women who lose weight all the time. Constantly frozen hands and feet are most likely a sign of fat deficiency, if not some kind of congenital peculiarity. The most famous function of fats is to dissolve and aid the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins: A, E, D, K. Sitting on a low-fat diet and drinking vitamin complexes - not an option, vitamins simply they will not be 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 attention should be paid to 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 site has filled a whole section on vitamins, read it, it's useful! 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 disrupted. Magnesium is responsible for the health of the brain, nervous and hormonal systems and is involved in metabolic processes. And also in plant products there is fiber: without it, the processes of digestion 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, advertised in many tips? Such split meals are perfect for seriously ill children, athletes and citizens. If you don't fall into any of these categories, eat three or even twice a day.
Eat only when you are hungry, not at night. Breakfast is optional! If you don't feel like eating in the morning, reschedule breakfast a couple of hours later. Don't gorge yourself on food just because someone said 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 will help with this.
Drink water. Not in liters, as is sometimes advised. Not boiled. Ideally bottled or spring. The drinking regime is simple to dishonor: 2 glasses of warm water (not cold and not hot) in the morning, 1-2 glasses during the day and 1 in the evening. Sometimes drinking water is enough to realize that it was just thirsty, not hungry.
Get in the habit of buying all kinds of nuts and seeds more often. In addition to fats, they contain a huge amount of macro and microelements.
Eat whole foods. That is, not fat-free! Cottage cheese - 9% fat, no less, but with sour cream, coffee with cream, butter rolls, fatty cheeses, fatty sea fish, exotic avocado, bacon! This is not a typical "focus to focus" misalignment. A measure is needed in everything, of course.
Don't forget the proteins! But no less important is what to combine it with. And this recommendation will be the last.
Eat vegetables. Many vegetables and herbs. Fresh, pickled, pickled, steamed, boiled and even fried in oil! But fresh salads are obviously preferable. It is not difficult to calculate the amount of vegetables - mentally divide your dish into two parts: half will be occupied by vegetables, and the second will fit with proteins, fats and the same minimum allowable carbohydrates.
Proper nutrition for weight loss is not rigid tables and recipes. This is a deliberate approach. All of these tips will only work if there is almost complete rejection of carbohydrates. If you combine protein and carbohydrates (mashed potatoes with a cutlet) or fat with carbohydrates (bacon with bread) in one dish, you are done. More precisely, no, sure, you won't die right away. You will go on living, sighing doom on every new kilogram and complaining of injustice ("I'm literally sitting on the same water, where does the fat come from??? "). There is no need to sit on the water, no need to torment yourself with hunger, diet products. Start with three steps and walk, without looking anywhere, towards health and beauty.