What does a healthy eating plan look like when losing weight? What foods should be abandoned in the PP diet, how much protein, carbohydrates and fats should be eaten daily?
Basics and rules of healthy eating
For optimal results, especially if you are just starting a healthy lifestyle, you can follow the MyPlate method. That is, you divide each meal into 5 food groups. Read about them below.
Protein
Ideally, protein should make up about 20 percent of your total daily calories.
How much protein should you eat?
You should consume about 0, 8-1, 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. You should try to divide this amount into all meals and snacks throughout the day, rather than turning them into one or two meals. Protein is especially important if you are trying to lose weight by burning fat in your body. The fact is that protein requires more energy to break down and absorb than any other macronutrient, resulting in higher calorie costs.
Cereals
Cereals often have a bad reputation because most grain-containing foods today are industrially processed and converted into fast carbohydrates such as sweet grains and white bread. If you choose unprocessed grains and grains, you will immediately get all the benefits of grains: the energy, vitamins and minerals needed for normal body functioning.
How much cereal do you need?
You need about six servings of grain or 170 grams per day. A slice of bread and half a cup of cooked rice or pasta are considered a serving. At least half of your servings should be whole grains.
Fruit
What else needs to be included in a diet for weight loss? Fruit. Even the fact that the fruit contains sugar, more precisely fructose, is not a problem if you do not exceed the daily caloric intake. Your body needs fructose to be healthy. So, the fruits are naturally sweet, which means they can satisfy your craving for sugar if you don’t want to eat chocolate at night.
How much fruit do you need?
You should take about two servings a day. An entire apple, orange, or banana counts as one serving.
Which fruit should you choose?
You should eat mostly fresh fruit and limit your consumption of fruit juices and processed foods such as apples (unless you made them yourself).
Vegetables
If you really want to know how to eat properly to lose weight, just remember vegetables - your new best friend. They are rich in fiber, which is good for your digestive system. They are also low in calories and satiety, so you can eat more vegetables than other foods and consume fewer calories at the same time, which ultimately leads to quality weight loss.
How many vegetables should you eat?
You need three to four servings.
Which vegetables to choose?
Try to eat plenty of dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, broccoli and asparagus. Also useful are starchy vegetables such as potatoes. Cooking vegetables (not cooking because all the nutrients are washed out) is one way to improve the taste if you don’t like to eat raw.
Dairy products
We consume dairy products due to their high content of vitamins and minerals. It’s a high-protein food, so a snack like curd is ideal if you need to eat something before your next full meal. Because dairy products are usually a great source of protein, they are also part of a weight loss package.
How much dairy do you need?
Approximately, you need about three servings of dairy products each day. One cup of milk or yogurt counts as one serving.
What if you can't / don't want to consume dairy products?
It is not dairy products that are important for a healthy diet, but their nutrients. So if you can’t eat dairy products due to allergies or lactose intolerance, or you just don’t like them, there are other possible ways to get those essential vitamins and minerals and still get great results.
- Broccoli, cabbage, figs and oranges are high in calcium.
- Dark green leafy vegetables (cabbage, broccoli), tomatoes and citrus fruits contain vitamin C.
- Minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, and iron are found in many other foods you already consume.
- You can also take a multivitamin daily to fill in the micronutrient gaps.
And what about fat?
Fats and oils are no longer technically a separate food group. Following a diet is likely to automatically consume the fat you need to stay healthy.
And where do I get fat from?
If you eat healthy food, you should get all the healthy fats you need. But no more than 30 percent of your daily calories should come from fat.
The truth about carbohydrates
You may have heard that not all carbohydrates (sugars) are bad. When you see that experts talk about how bad sugar you have, they usually talk about added sugar. Such sugar is added to our food during processing for many reasons and should be restricted if not ruled out.
However, carbohydrates in cereals, fruits, vegetables and dairy products are not moderately harmful. You shouldn’t be intimidated by this kind of sugar. In your body, it turns into the energy you need to stay healthy.
How many calories should I consume per day?
Now that you know how well you eat to lose weight, you’re probably still wondering how many calories you can eat in a day. You don’t technically need to count calories if you don’t want to. The standard for men and women is 2000 kcal. You can calculate your need for calories if you really want to know and monitor them on a daily basis, but it all depends on what you eat and how active you are. Rather, pay attention to the types of foods and the sizes of the dishes, as this can be a much more effective but not so difficult way to achieve results.
Calculating Daily Weight Loss Calories
To find out how many calories you need per day, you can use one of the calorie counting formulas. The most commonly used formula is Tom Venut. It looks like this:
Men: 66 + (13. 7 x body weight) + (5 x height cm) - (6. 8 x age per year)
Women: 665 + (9, 6 x body weight) + (1, 8 x height cm) - (4, 7 x years of age)
The number obtained is multiplied by the physical activity factor:
- Sedentary work, sedentary lifestyle: 1, 2
- Average stress level (morning exercise 3 times a week) 1, 38
- Heavy loads1, 56
- Very heavy loads1, 73
- True extreme (you can't pick it up, you can't even think. 1. 9
But if you have questions like “Why can’t you lose weight? "In this case, it is better to calculate the daily caloric intake and create a menu based on the data. It is especially important to know the calorie content of the diet, when the weight has stopped after achieving certain results, then the diet will be easier to reduce another 500 calories and continue to lose weight.
One serving is:
- 100-150 grams of vegetables (fist size);
- 150 ml of dairy products;
- 120 g of meat or fish (approximately the size of a palm; )
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil;
- 12 grapes;
- 1 apple, banana, orange or pear;
- 1/2 mango or grapefruit;
- 1/4 avocado.
Track your balance
To lose weight without compromising health and maintain good health and harmony, the body needs to get enough protein, fat and carbohydrates. Approximate proportion - 75 g protein: 60 g fat: 250 g carbohydrates: 30 g fiber. Foods that contain protein are a source of amino acids for the formation of muscle fibers, healthy skin, hair, nails, fat for the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, as well as the skin, and carbohydrates are a source of energy.
Is meal time important?
Optional. Relieve yourself and eat when you are hungry, even if it’s just a snack. If you would like to eat six small meals a day instead of three large meals a day, do so. If you like to surround yourself every few hours, then it is enough to eat 3 times a day at a convenient time. Just don’t skip eating (you will end up eating, but somewhere at night and sabotage the potentially quality results). Diet is important, but not in terms of time, but in terms of quality.
Menu and dish planning
You can eat a few hearty and balanced meals each day while maintaining a healthy diet. The secret is to eat different foods. Below is an example of a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu to help you start planning your meal.
Daily rate:
Breakfast
- Lean Greek yogurt or oatmeal with fruit and granola
- Half a bun with low-fat cream cheese
Lunch
- 2 pieces of shawl (tortilla, beef, salad, guacomole, sour cream)
- 1 bowl of cooked brown rice with fried beans
Dinner
- Small salad (lettuce, red onion, tomatoes, cheese, Italian sauce)
- Roasted chicken breast
- 1 bowl of green beans
- Baked potatoes with cheese
Snack ideas
- Celery and Nut Butter
- Fresh vegetables with humus
- Sliced fruit and whipped cream
- Apple sauce
- Pretzel
- Dried fruits
- Nuts
- Tortilla and salsa
- Pickled cucumbers
Shopping List
Here are some examples of healthy foods you can buy at your local grocery store. Knowing what foods to buy is part of the weight loss package.
Healthy food:
- Meat (steak, pork, beef)
- Fish and Shellfish
- Eggs
- Nuts and seeds
- Cereals
- Whole grain pasta
- Brown rice
- Buckwheat
- Whole grain bread
- Greek yogurt
- Cheese
- Milk or soy milk
- Avocado
- Fatty fish like salmon
- Nuts
- Fatty yogurt
Healthy Eating Planning Guide for Beginners
Meal planning is one of the easiest and healthiest things you can do to get a healthy diet to achieve weight loss results. Whether it’s just a day or an entire week, it’s up to you. A properly formulated diet not only provides an opportunity to lose weight, but is also simply convenient when all food issues are resolved in advance. When the ingredients for a delicious and healthy meal await in our home, it becomes easier to avoid buying something harmful.
1. How many meals do you need?
Let's think about our own and loved ones' weekly plans first. From here we can get an estimate of how many meals we need. These could be, for example: six breakfasts for all, five family dinners, one lunch four times, and one afternoon snack.
2. How long will it take to cook?
This is a very important element of effective meal planning and is often overlooked or forgotten. You can create as many plans as you want, but if you don’t have enough time to implement them, then what are their benefits? With that in mind, expand your list for pre-prepared dinners and lunches. This means that you first need to be familiar with the dishes you will be cooking - the more information you find about them, the easier it will be to find dishes that will easily fit into your schedule.
If you’re waiting for a hard work week, don’t forget fast food, hot meals, or pre-prepared quick meals. After all, we don’t want to waste time cooking, doing it five times a day. Once you have worked as a chef, you can immediately prepare several dishes that will be eaten throughout the week. For example, make chili or fry two chickens at once to make enough for both today’s and the next dinner. In addition, it will be a delicious and healthy addition to sandwiches and salads.
3. Meal Selection and Schedule
Use your list to select dishes that organically fit your schedule. Also, check out your loved ones ’favorite foods or flip through the recipe book. You also need to consider the time of year, what is now sold from seasonal vegetables and what everyone would like to eat. You must also remember the shelf life of the products when planning. For example, fish dishes must be prepared within one or two days after the purchase of the fish, and frozen or dry later.
You also need to be able to use all the ingredients wisely so that nothing is thrown away. This way you can save time and money. If you want to eat better and spend less money, then buy seasonal products and look for products with discounts and promotions.
Make a list of the best recipes. Having a list of dishes that are right for you and your family is one of the easiest ways to calculate and simplify the meal planning process. Every time you find a recipe for a dish you like, add it to this list. You can also keep recipes in your fitness journal. This will not only help you follow a diet but will also make it easier to plan your meal.
4. Enter everything on the calendar
It doesn't matter which calendar you're using, whether it's on your computer screen or on the wall. But it’s always best to keep a paper copy of your calendar in a visible place. It is usually hung on the refrigerator. When today’s meal plan is visible, we become more responsible for preparing it. Also, your family won’t keep asking, “What’s dinner today? ” They can just look at the calendar.
If you want a digital calendar, you can create today's meal plan on your phone and share this menu with friends and family.
5. Create shopping lists
This is best done at the same time as filling in the calendar. Remember to write down the quantity of each product you need, as well as check how much is left so you don’t accidentally buy too much. You can save time by sorting the products on the list into groups when they appear in the store. For most supermarkets, this is:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Bread and grains
- Spices and baking products
- Oils
- Crackers
- Drinks
- Dairy products
- Meat and eggs
6. Cooking and cooking
Chop the vegetables, grate the cheese, make the sauces - just prepare what we can in advance. You can even measure spices, boil potatoes or fry vegetables.
Meal planning not only gives us a central position to eat healthily, but also saves a lot of time because we can prepare the ingredients while you have free time.