How to start eating right and forming the right habits. Where to start with proper nutrition for weight loss

We all think about our diet sooner or later: problems with weight, skin, and health in general force us to open our refrigerator and skeptically examine its contents. We ask ourselves the questions “what to exclude from the diet?” and “how can I start eating right?”, we are looking for our way to a healthy and beautiful body.

Meanwhile, healthy and proper nutrition– this is not a strict, exhausting diet, not a mockery of the body and not depriving it of its joys, this is just a series of rules, if you follow which you can radically change yourself, acquire new useful habits, beautiful figure and significantly prolong life.

Our body is a reflection of what we eat

It's no secret that obesity has become a huge problem. modern people– we move less, consume less a large number of fatty foods, high-calorie sauces, sweets. There are endless temptations everywhere, and manufacturers compete to see who will offer the next super product that no consumer can resist. The result of this race can be observed on the streets of any metropolis - according to statistics, almost every second resident of developed countries has overweight. Obesity, unfortunately, leads to problems not only in aesthetics and self-esteem, but also to serious consequences for the body: the risk of many diseases is directly proportional to the amount of excess weight. Diabetes, problems with the heart, gastrointestinal tract, and reproductive function are only a small part of the possible diseases that arise when the diet is not followed.

The good news is that last years Taking care of your body has begun to become fashionable: more and more calls to exercise are being made by the state and public organizations, organic and dietary products are appearing on store shelves, and advice on how to eat healthy is being disseminated in the press.

The basics of healthy eating, or how to eat healthy

When creating a healthy eating menu, you should remember several general rules: firstly, you need to eat often and in small portions. It’s most convenient to get yourself a small plate that can hold a handful-sized portion. No need to be afraid of hunger! A healthy diet involves 5-6 meals per day. It is also good to accustom yourself to eat at the same time - this will stabilize the functioning of the stomach and will promote weight loss.

Second important rule– remember about calories. There is no need to scrupulously calculate them throughout your life every time you eat; just watch your diet for a week or two, and the habit of automatically “estimating” the calorie content of food will appear by itself. Everyone has their own calorie intake; you can find it out, for example, by using a special calculator that is easy to find on the Internet. For example, a 30-year-old woman weighing 70 kg with a height of 170 cm and little physical activity needs about 2000 kcal per day. To lose weight, you need to consume 80% of calories from the norm, that is, in our example, about 1600 kcal per day. Additionally, there is no point in cutting down your diet - the body will simply slow down its metabolism, and such a diet does more harm than good.

Rule three - we maintain a balance between “income” and “expenses”, that is, the energy that is spent by the body on basic metabolism, work, sports, and calorie intake. Food includes four main components: proteins, fats, carbohydrates and dietary fiber - all of which are necessary for our body. The only question is which of them (fats and carbohydrates are different), in what quantities and proportions to consume. Approximate recommended values ​​are 60 g fat, 75 g protein, 250 g carbohydrates and 30 g fiber. The fourth rule is to drink water. Often we don’t want to eat, our body simply mistakes a lack of fluid for hunger and forces us to eat something that we really don’t need. One and a half or more liters of clean drinking water will help get rid of pseudo-hunger, make more elastic skin, will improve the general condition of the body, speed up the metabolic process.

And the fifth rule is to choose products wisely. Read labels, composition and calorie content of products, exclude fast food, mayonnaise sauces, products with chemical additives, preservatives, and dyes from your diet. You must know what you eat, and then the path to beauty and health will become quick and enjoyable.

Healthy food

We will try to answer the age-old question “what to eat to lose weight?” The main thing when creating a menu for a healthy diet is maintaining a balance between expenses and consumed products.

So, you definitely need to include in your healthy diet every day:

  • cereals, in the form of porridges and muesli, rich in slow carbohydrates, which will provide our body with energy;
  • fresh vegetables (cabbage, carrots) provide the body with dietary fiber - cellulose;
  • legumes are a rich source of vegetable protein, especially necessary for those who rarely or do not eat meat;
  • nuts, especially walnuts and almonds, have a beneficial effect on the entire body and are a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-6 and omega-3, microelements;
  • dairy products: natural yoghurts (without added sugar), kefir, low-fat cottage cheese provide calcium and improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
  • sea ​​fish contains protein and essential fatty acid omega-3;
  • fruits and berries are a storehouse of vitamins, heal the skin and protect the body from diseases;
  • lean meat - chicken breast, rabbit, beef - a source of protein.

Healthy products should not contain preservatives, artificial colors, palm oil. It is better to limit pickles - you can treat yourself to them from time to time, but you should not get carried away.

If you have a problem with excess weight, then you should give up sugar altogether, even if you have a sweet tooth and cannot live without a cup of sweet coffee in the morning - sweeteners will solve this problem. Don't be afraid of them; high-quality natural-based substitutes are harmless, contain virtually no calories and taste good.

Strictly prohibited!

We've decided on healthy foods, let's look at the list of foods that are incompatible with a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition:

  • Sweet carbonated drinks. They do not quench thirst, irritate the gastric mucosa, and, as a rule, contain a monstrous amount of sugar - about 20 g in each glass, artificial colors and flavors, and preservatives.
  • Deep fried food. French fries, chips, crackers and anything that is fried in large amounts of oil should be eliminated from the diet. Carcinogens, lack of nutrients and fat are not what a healthy body needs.
  • Burgers, hot dogs. All such dishes contain a mixture of white bread, fatty sauces, meat of unknown origin, appetite-stimulating seasonings and a large amount of salt. What do we get as a result? A real calorie “bomb” that instantly turns into folds on the body and does not carry any nutritional value.
  • Mayonnaise and similar sauces. Firstly, they completely hide the natural taste of food under spices and additives, forcing you to eat more, and secondly, almost all mayonnaise sauces from the store are almost pure fat, generously seasoned with preservatives, flavors, stabilizers and other harmful substances.
  • Sausages, frankfurters and semi-finished meat products. There is hardly any need for any explanation at this point - just read the product label. And this is only official data! Remember that under the “pork, beef” items in the composition, skin, cartilage, and fat are most often hidden, which you would hardly eat if they were not so skillfully processed and beautifully packaged.
  • Energetic drinks. They contain a heavy dose of caffeine combined with sugar and high acidity, plus preservatives, dyes and many other components that should be avoided.
  • Instant lunches. Noodles, mashed potatoes and similar mixtures, which just need to be poured with boiling water, contain large amounts of carbohydrates, salt, spices, flavor enhancers and other chemical additives instead of nutrients.
  • Floury and sweet. Yes, yes, our favorite sweets are one of the most dangerous foods. The problem is not only the high calorie content: the combination of flour, sweet and fatty foods multiplies the harm several times and instantly affects the figure.
  • Packaged juices. Vitamins and other beneficial substances almost completely disappear during processing. What benefit can there be from a concentrate diluted with water and flavored with a fair amount of sugar?
  • Alcohol. Enough has already been said about its harm to the body, we will only note once again that alcohol contains calories, increases appetite, interferes with the absorption of nutrients, and if the minimum doses are not observed, it slowly destroys the body, because ethanol is a cellular poison.

The transition to a balanced healthy diet will not be a burden if you follow simple recommendations.

First of all, don't starve yourself. If you feel discomfort, eat an apple, some nuts, dried fruits or muesli.

Secondly, drink a lot and choose healthy drinks. Chicory is good for weight loss - it suppresses hunger due to the large amount of fiber in its composition and has a beneficial effect on the body. Also useful green tea, especially with ginger.

Diversify your diet! The more different healthy products you consume, the more the body receives various microelements, vitamins, amino acids.

If you really want something forbidden, eat it for breakfast. Of course, it’s better to give up unhealthy foods altogether, but at first it helps to think that sometimes you can still pamper yourself.

The fewer unnatural ingredients in food, the better. If you want to eat healthy foods, it’s better to choose a piece of meat instead of sausage, fresh vegetables instead of canned ones, muesli instead of buns.

Creating a “Healthy Eating” Menu

How to start eating right? First of all, you need to find out how many calories your body needs. Let's say it's 2000 kcal daily. In order to lose weight, you need to consume 1600 kcal per day, distributing it over 5-6 meals.

So, let's create a healthy food menu for every day:

Breakfast. Should be rich in slow carbohydrates and proteins, it can include:

  • oatmeal, muesli or grain bread;
  • kefir, unsweetened yogurt or a piece of cheese.

Second meal– light snack between breakfast and lunch:

  • any fruit weighing approximately 100-200 grams, or some nuts, dried fruits;
  • 100 grams of cottage cheese or unsweetened yogurt.

Dinner should be the largest meal of the day:

  • 100 grams of buckwheat or brown rice, pasta made from durum flour. You can add carrots, onions, peppers to the dish;
  • boiled chicken breast;
  • A salad of fresh vegetables seasoned with yogurt, a small amount of soy sauce or flaxseed oil.

Afternoon snack, between lunch and dinner - another light meal:

  • A small piece of fruit or a glass of freshly squeezed juice, preferably from vegetables.

Dinner– light and tasty:

  • 100-200 grams of lean beef, rabbit, turkey, chicken, fish or legumes;
  • Salad made from cabbage, carrots and other fiber-rich vegetables.

And finally, a couple of hours before bed:

  • A glass of kefir, chicory or drinking unsweetened yogurt.

Throughout the day, you can drink unlimited quantities of water, green tea and chicory drinks with natural extracts of rose hips, ginger or ginseng.

Serving sizes are indicated approximately and will depend on individual parameters - daily calorie intake, rate of weight loss and other individual factors. In any case, it is better to consult a nutritionist.

Would you like to prolong your youth and health? Then you just need to know how to eat properly. It is worth starting to study the basics with the words of Hippocrates: “Food should be our medicine.” Plus, proper nutrition allows us to stay healthy, which means beautiful, young and not face problems of excess weight, cellulite or premature aging.

A balanced diet recharges the body with energy, and physical labor or sports makes it strong, able to resist viral infections and other sources of disease.

The foundation of health is laid in youth. It can be strong like stone or fragile like sand, then in mature age people become weak and sick. If you dream of healthy life without diseases, learn to eat properly.

3 rules of proper nutrition

  • First rule: proper diet nutrition consists of many different foods from each level of the food pyramid. Eating monotonously does not provide the body with all the necessary nutrients. The daily menu should include foods of all colors (the more of them, the better for health).
  • Second rule: the menu for each day includes the correct amounts of products from each level of the food pyramid. This is the only way to get all the calories and nutrients needed for normal growth and development.
  • Rule three: you can’t eat too much of one type of food. This leads to digestive disorders or other complications.

A balanced diet, what is it like?

How to eat properly to provide the body with everything it needs? Let's start with the main thing. Fruits and vegetables enrich us with vitamins and antioxidants, dairy products with minerals, meat, beans, beans with protein, and grains with dietary fiber and healthy carbohydrates.

A balanced diet for each day includes 30% vegetables, 20% fruits, 20% carbohydrates (starches such as wheat, rice and corn, etc.), 20% protein (which is found in meat, beans, legumes, etc. .) and 10% dairy products.

Bad and good eating habits

Don't skip breakfast. In the morning hours, the body needs food to provide it with energy. If you don't eat in the morning, your metabolism slows down, which means you gain weight. excess weight(not in the form of muscle tissue, but fat).

Get into the habit of drinking a lot of water and a glass or two of freshly squeezed juice, this habit will have a positive effect on your health and appearance. Still, other drinks are considered harmful, especially store-bought fruit juices, which contain only dyes, sugar and a lot of other chemicals.

Don't buy chips, margarine, frozen foods, white bread, candy, etc. All of them lead to weight gain and destroy health.

How to eat healthy - menu for 1 day

A good day starts with good breakfast, which should include a healthy source of protein and plenty of fiber. This combination will help satisfy your hunger and keep you feeling full until lunch. Protein can come from low-fat dairy products and nuts. Eggs are a good source of protein. High fiber content is found in foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The best source of fiber is oatmeal.

Breakfast menu.

  • Hard-boiled egg.
  • Whole grain toast.
  • Mug of fruit juice.
  • Oatmeal on skim milk with strawberries (banana).
  • A tablespoon or two of chopped nuts.
  • Orange juice.

When you don't have time for breakfast, drink a glass of yogurt at home, and an hour later, at work, snack on an apple and a handful of nuts (walnuts or pecans).

Menu for lunch.

  • A sandwich made from two slices of grain bread stuffed with a small piece of turkey fillet, lettuce, mayonnaise, tomato sauce or mustard.
  • Grated carrots (200 - 300 gr.)
  • Fruit juice 1 tbsp.

If you want to eat between lunch and dinner, snack on one apple and a glass of milk or drink water (1 - 2 glasses).

Menu for dinner.

If your diet was poor during the day, then there is a high probability of overeating during dinner. To prevent this from happening, mentally divide a small plate into four quarters.

1. One part of it should be filled with a protein source (baked chicken breast);

2. Second part: one small baked potato with low-fat sour cream;

3. Third and fourth parts: green and colored vegetables or vegetable salad.

4. Eat fruit for dessert.

5. Kefir - before bed.

The interval between meals for an adult should be 4 - 5 hours, and for children - 3 (4) hours.

To implement the idea of ​​proper nutrition in your life, you need to create a menu for every day. For those who have not yet succeeded in this matter, we offer a ready-made plan for 5 days.

Healthy diet: menu for 5 days.

Monday
Breakfast
  • 2 eggs (hard-boiled)
  • 1 plate of oatmeal with honey,
  • 50-100 grams of fresh spinach (cut into small pieces, you can add a little salad),
  • a glass of green tea.
  • Salad recipe (if you don't like spinach).
  • 2 oranges, 3 - 4 cloves of garlic, fresh basil - to taste, olive oil - 3 tablespoons.
Dinner

Gourmet salad,

1 glass of green tea.

Gourmet salad recipe.

Ingredients: arugula and goat cheese, almonds and pears, 2 tablespoons olive oil and apple cider vinegar (about half a cup).
Place arugula on a plate and add goat cheese.

Cut the pear into small pieces and chop the almonds, place them in a frying pan, adding a spoonful of oil. Simmer for about 5 minutes (the pears should remain crisp). Place on a plate with cheese and arugula.

Prepare the sauce: take Apple vinegar and pour it into the frying pan, add a little oil. Simmer over low heat for 1 minute. Pour this sauce over the salad and add the chopped turkey pieces.

Dinner

Dinner should be light, in order to eat properly, it is recommended to eat 5 - 6 hours before bedtime. If you can't sleep because you feel hungry, drink a glass of hot tea.

Assorted salad - try to include as many different vegetables and fruits as possible, such as spinach, arugula, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber, fresh basil, apple or pear, etc.

Also add a piece of beef, chicken, turkey or fish to the dish.

One decaf coffee or green tea.

Friday
Breakfast
  • Omelette with oatmeal and eggs.
  • 200 - 300 grams of raw vegetables,
  • Orange juice.

Omelette recipe.

Half a cup of oatmeal, two eggs, two tablespoons of olive or coconut oil, salt to taste.

Heat a frying pan over low heat and add a tablespoon of coconut oil.

Place cereals and fry them for about 5 minutes, stirring until they turn golden brown. Salt them and move them to the edge of the pan. Add the rest of the oil to the empty space and break the eggs into it.

Don't mix the eggs with the oats right away; let them absorb the oil first. Then, after 2 - 3 minutes, you can mix them, close the lid and simmer over low heat until completely cooked.

Dinner
  • Whole grain tuna sandwich,
  • 1 serving of raw vegetables,
  • cranberry or lingonberry juice.
Dinner
  • Palm-sized chicken breast
  • 200 gr. raw vegetables,
  • flower tea.

A balanced diet, using the example of the given menu samples for every day, will help maintain the health and beauty of the body, affect weight, improve mood and increase immunity. Try eating healthy for just a few days to see a big difference in how you feel and look great.

Proper nutrition is the key to good health and a fit figure. And it’s not for nothing that they say that “we are what we eat.”

That's why it's so important to strive to lead a healthy lifestyle. To get on the path to correction, you need to start by introducing healthy foods into your diet. If you feel like you can never give up a juicy medium-rare steak or potatoes and onions, don't worry. This amazing post contains simple tips How to switch to proper nutrition without harming your psyche and health.

1. Cook a large pot of whole grain cereal or beans once a week.

You can replace some meals with healthy foods throughout the day. For example, one day replace your usual toast for breakfast with quinoa seed porridge. And the next day, instead of fatty foods for dinner, try beans with fresh or stewed vegetables. Gradually, your body will get used to it, and you will be able to eat exclusively plant foods.

2. Drink only black tea and black coffee.


Forget about all the extra additives for tea or coffee. Completely get rid of the habit of adding sugar or milk to hot drinks. Of course, this will take time, but it will be worth it. Soon, without “flavor substitutes,” you will be able to taste the entire flavor palette of black tea or coffee without harming your figure.

3. Follow the rules of ideal portions using your own hand.


If you constantly monitor the amount of food you eat while eating, you will soon feel the gratitude of your body. Try it and you will definitely like it!

4. Replace high-calorie and unhealthy foods with alternative and healthy ones.


Have you ever heard that almost every product has a less harmful analogue that is not inferior in taste. Try turning your own dishes into healthy masterpieces using your knowledge of substitutes. For example, mash potatoes with cauliflower in a 1:1 ratio. You will not be able to tell the difference between these vegetables, but the amount of starch will be several times less.

5. Bake food in the oven instead of frying it in a pan.


If your dish can do without the harmful cholesterol crust, then bake it in the oven. Almost any food can be prepared in this way, ridding the body of the harmful effects of vegetable oil.

6. Have weekly Meatless Mondays.


Of course, it is best to start the work week with a fast day, but if it is too difficult for you to change your favorite diet on Mondays, then choose any day. During the week, consume the maximum amount of vegetables, replacing some meals with them. Introduce a vegetarian diet gradually, listening to your own body.

7. Eat only self-prepared food.


Of course, the food industry now offers a wide range of dietary and low-calorie products, but most of There are no useful substances in them. Therefore, arm yourself with patience and culinary recipes, and learn to cook yourself. Even if your dish contains more calories, the percentage of nutrients in it will be much higher than in any chemically processed food.

8. Drink a glass of water between alcoholic drinks.


If you are invited to a bar to have a glass of good beer or to a restaurant for a glass of red wine, then do not be alarmed that healthy diet will be covered with a “copper basin”. Follow a little advice and drink a glass of plain water between glasses of alcoholic drinks. This trick will help avoid dehydration, speed up the feeling of fullness and save you from a “rumpled” look the next day.

9. Take a full lunch with you to work at least once a week.


On your journey to eating healthier, you may find it difficult to give up some of the things you've been passionate about. But, if coffee with cream and store-bought food can be tolerated, then a dry snack at work is not. Train yourself to prepare a full lunch to take to work. Start with one day a week. Then add more. Over time, this will become a habit.

10. If snacking is unavoidable, choose low-calorie options.


In this case, it doesn’t matter whether you make the snack food yourself, buy it at a grocery store, or put it together from various products. The most important thing is to be sure to monitor the number of calories in them. There are a lot of low-calorie recipes for every taste and color. Choose for your health!

11. Eat your vegetables first.

If your meal includes several dishes, then be sure to eat the vegetables first and then proceed to the meat or side dish. Thus, you will get full faster by accustoming your body to healthy and wholesome food.

12. Use whole wheat flour.

Life without sweets is not life at all, so giving it up can be almost impossible. There is a great way to prepare delicious sweets without harm to your health. To do this, you should use whole grain flour, rich in fiber and protein. Don't try to immediately replace regular flour with whole wheat flour, as it will take time to adjust to cooking with this flour, which changes the texture of baked goods. Experiment and you will succeed!

13. Try to buy vegetables and fruits only from people who grow their own crops.


Train yourself to go to the market to buy natural products from farmers directly. Choose only vegetables and fruits that have been grown in your garden without the use of harmful chemicals.

14. Instead of soda, drink regular still water.


Everyone knows that soda is not the healthiest drink and it is better to give it up once and for all, replacing it with plain water. But most people love soda precisely because of the taste qualities that regular water lacks. There is a great solution to this problem: before drinking water, add lemon, mint, herbs or tinctures to it to give it a slightly sweet taste and aroma.

15. Eat vegetables and protein-rich foods for breakfast.


Avoid eating sweets in the morning so that in the middle of the day you are not overtaken by the desire to immediately devour a chocolate bar, which arose due to a sharp drop in blood sugar. All over the world, many people have long given up sweets and jam in the morning in favor of healthy and nutritious food.

16. Use small plates.


Scientists have proven that when seeing a large plate and a small amount of food on it, the brain sends signals about dissatisfaction with food intake and the desired addition. Deceive your own consciousness and replace large plates with smaller ones. This way you can eat less food.

17. Add more whites than yolks to egg dishes.

It is known that the yolk is a tasty but harmful addition to the protein. Therefore, to maintain proper nutrition, you will have to reduce your consumption of yolks. No matter what dish you plan to prepare, always use whites and yolks in a 2:1 ratio.

18. Eat as many colorful vegetables and fruits as possible throughout the day.


Most often, the bright color of vegetables or fruits signals the presence of concentrated nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) in them. Therefore, the more vegetables and fruits different colors you eat, the more nutrients you get.

19. Replace unhealthy foods with healthy ones.


As mentioned above, each product has its own useful substitute. And such similarity can be used not only for complex preparation of dishes. Regular snacks can become more nutritious if you replace unhealthy ingredients in them. For example, avocado is great as mayonnaise when making a sandwich. Dates can replace sugar in milkshakes. For pancakes instead of syrup and butter pulp from fruit compote is suitable. Fried zucchini will replace French fries, frozen grapes - candy, Greek yogurt - sour cream or mayonnaise, potatoes (cashews) - cream for pureed soups, etc.

20. Add healthy seeds to your dishes.


Try to accustom yourself to adding healthy seeds to all your dishes. For example, chia seeds are rich in important micronutrients. Pumpkin seeds add value to muesli and desserts. Flax seeds are great for porridges and sprinkles on various dishes. Any seeds have a beneficial effect on the body and speed up metabolism.

21. Instead of a glass of orange juice for breakfast, eat a piece of fruit.


The most useful part of citrus fruits is the white veins, which contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients. So instead of a glass of orange juice, eat a whole slice of regular citrus fruit.

22. Try to eat dishes containing more vegetables.


During any meal, make sure that your dish consists of more than half vegetables. This will help balance your diet and teach your body to eat healthy foods.

Eat right and be healthy!

In dreams of a slim body, people try different diets: low-carb, protein and many others. They give results, but they are temporary: the weight returns quickly. And sometimes the effect is the opposite of what was expected, and instead of losing weight, health problems begin.

The truth is that nutrition must be balanced. To feel good, you need to provide the body with the entire spectrum of nutrients: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, macro- and microelements.

The optimal ratio, according to American nutritionist Robert Haas, is 50 - 25 - 25. This means that daily diet should consist of 50% carbohydrates, 25% protein and 25% fat.

Watch your diet

Fats participate in the construction of new cells, the production of hormones, water metabolism and the transport of vitamins. Fatty acids are divided into two groups: rich And unsaturated. The former are harmful to health, as they settle on the walls of blood vessels and increase the level of “bad” cholesterol.

Unsaturated fatty acids perform the beneficial functions discussed above. However, some fatty acids, such as omega-3, are not synthesized by the body and can only be obtained from food. Therefore, you need to try to include healthy fats in your daily diet. These are found in avocados, olives, olive oil, nuts, sea fish and other products.

Protein- the main building material of the body, not only for cells, but also for enzymes and hormones. Proteins help build muscle, have strong bones, beautiful hair and nails.

There are squirrels animals And vegetable. It is believed that two-thirds of the daily protein intake should come from animal foods (lean meat, fish, eggs, dairy products), the rest from plant foods (beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables).

Carbohydrates - main energy supplier. Carbohydrate-containing foods should form the basis of the diet - 50%. Don't be confused by this figure - this also includes fiber, vitamins and minerals; they are often concentrated in carbohydrate-rich foods.

You can restore strength after vigorous physical activity, for example, with a glass of fruit juice or a can of soda. Both drinks contain sugar - a fast carbohydrate, a source of glucose. Thanks to him, these drinks are sources of quick energy. But do not forget about the daily intake of sugar - no more than 65 g. Monitor the amount of sugar contained in dishes and drinks and added to them. As a guide: mango nectar - 14.5 g of sugar per 100 ml, Coca-Cola - 10.6 g per 100 ml, orange juice - about 13 g per 100 ml.

Drink enough


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The body is 55–65% water. Hydration is very important for health. As Yuri Tyrsin notes in his book “Secrets of Proper Nutrition. Minerals, vitamins, water,” dehydration of just 2% significantly reduces performance, and 4% dehydration leads to lethargy and apathy. The individual norm is calculated using the formula: 40 ml per kilogram of weight.

It is necessary to increase fluid intake in hot weather and during physical activity.

You can maintain your water balance with any drinks: juice, fruit drink, sweet soda such as cola, tea - they all consist of 85–99% water, perfectly quench thirst and saturate the body's cells with vital moisture.

Snack correctly

The time for a full lunch has not yet come, but the feeling of hunger is already approaching. What should I do? Have a snack! But no buns or sandwiches. For a snack to not be harmful, it must be correct. Keep apples, bananas, nuts, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or hard-boiled eggs on hand. These are healthy and incredibly nutritious foods that will help cope with hunger.

Also, don't keep junk food at home. Chips, Twinkies, popcorn - all this is delicious, sometimes you can afford them. Even if you have a willpower of steel, there will come a time when it will crack. It’s better not to keep temptations at home.

Don't expect instant changes

“I’ll eat well and immediately become slim and healthy” is a mental trap that almost everyone who tries to make their diet more balanced falls into.

However, developing and consolidating a healthy eating system requires methodical and rather lengthy work on oneself. Don't expect instant results!

Lightness and harmony will come gradually. But you will certainly notice these positive changes.

The material was prepared with the information support of TCCC.

The problem of proper nutrition is one of the most pressing for every person. It’s no secret that it is the quality of the food we eat that affects our health. appearance, general health. Depending on what goal a person is pursuing (he wants to lose weight, gain weight, build muscle, or just finally start eating right), his daily diet will have its own characteristics.

How to start eating right?

Whoever you are - man or woman, fat or thin - the basic principles of proper nutrition are the same for everyone. If you decide to take a responsible approach to the issue of healthy and healthy food, then you should remember the following immutable rules:

You need to eat 4-5 times a day, preferably always at the same time;
- pay special attention to breakfast, dinner should be light and not too late;
- fatty, spicy, salty, pickled, smoked foods should be excluded or minimized from the menu;
- cereals, fruits and vegetables should become an indispensable attribute of the daily diet;
- it is also recommended to eat meat daily, but it should be lean (beef, chicken, rabbit, lean fish) and eaten in limited quantities (no more than 80 g per day);
- at least 3 times a week you need to consume fermented milk products: cottage cheese, kefir, fermented baked milk, cheese;
- don’t forget about nuts, legumes, seafood - you should include them in your diet 2-3 times a week;
- liquid in the form of ordinary or mineral water, juices, compotes, jelly should be consumed in sufficient quantities - at least one and a half liters per day;
- carbonated and alcoholic drinks it is worth reducing them to the possible minimum, ideally eliminating them from the diet altogether;
- various semi-finished products, fast food, stale food, products containing harmful food additives (dyes, flavor enhancers, sweeteners) should become an eternal taboo that does not tolerate any indulgences.

How to eat right to lose weight?

Those who want to lose weight should, of course, first of all focus on the principles of proper nutrition that we have listed. Then you won’t have to resort to the “services” of diets that are harmful to the body, your weight will normalize and you will remain in the right shape for many years.

To lose weight, you also need to pay special attention to the calorie content of the foods you eat. To do this, absolutely everyone who is losing weight needs to purchase a table of caloric content of foods and create their daily menu based on its data. As a rule, for a woman losing weight, consuming 1500-2000 calories is enough, for a man losing weight - 2500-3000 per day. Under no circumstances should you go hungry - such stress will not benefit your body.

Eat at least 5 small meals a day. If you wish, you can also snack on healthy low-calorie foods: apples, carrots, low-fat cheese, tangerines, tomatoes. Eliminate sweet and flour products from your diet.

Drink more mineral still water - firstly, it will help normalize metabolism, and secondly, it will create a feeling of fullness in the stomach. That is why you need to drink a glass of water half an hour before meals.

How to eat right to gain weight?

Those who want to gain weight should also focus on the general rules of healthy eating. But thin people should have other priorities in the menu, different from the diet of overweight people.

Many people suffering from thinness incorrectly think that uncontrolled eating of buns and cakes, fatty meats, and various sweets will save them. In any case, this food is considered harmful - it may not only not lead to obesity, but also cause various diseases, for example, diabetes.

So how to eat right to gain weight? Eat protein foods: lean meats and fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, brown rice. Carbohydrates will also help, but not heavy buns with fried potatoes, but cereals, grapes, beets, peaches, melons, bananas, and dairy products. Consume vegetable fats - add olive or sunflower oil to salads.

Don’t try to eat a lot, gorge yourself on sandwiches, butter, sour cream. You will overeat, thereby poisoning the body, promoting the formation of toxins and burning fats, which you already lack. In addition, with the help of such a “diet” you will give yourself a bunch of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine system. And as you age, you may even become obese.

It's no secret that the basis of bodybuilders' nutrition is protein. You can get it with meat and eggs. How much protein should you consume for rapid growth muscles? For every kilogram of your weight you should have 2 g of protein. Divide the resulting figure by 30 (this is how many grams of meat are absorbed by the body at a time) - the result will be a number equal to the number of protein intakes per day.

Example. Your weight is 60 kg. Daily norm protein for you - 120 g. When divided, we get the number 4 - this is how many meals you need to consume these 120 g of protein.

Before training, you need to eat a hearty meal, giving preference to complex carbohydrates: potatoes, rice, oatmeal, pasta. It is these foods that most contribute to weight gain and a good flow of energy, which is also necessary for muscle growth. Complex carbohydrates They take a long time to break down - their effect is enough for the entire workout.

But after training, you should eat simple carbohydrates: apples and bananas, raisins, honey, confectionery. These products will help you quickly restore strength after exercise, and they also block the release of hormones into the blood that contribute to muscle breakdown.

Also, your menu should definitely include low-fat dairy products: milk itself, cottage cheese, yogurt, kefir, cheese.

Regarding special sports nutrition, then it can only become a supplement, but not a replacement for natural proteins and carbohydrates. It is simply impossible to build muscle with powders and tablets alone.

How to eat properly during pregnancy?

Nutrition expectant mother must be complete and balanced. Time and again we send you to re-read the basic rules of healthy eating - they will also be useful for a pregnant woman. However, there are also some nuances to how to eat properly during pregnancy.

A pregnant woman's menu should contain proteins, fats and carbohydrates in sufficient quantities, vitamins A, B, C, E, folic acid, calcium, iron. All this contributes to both the normal functioning of the pregnant woman’s body and the full formation of the embryo, and then the fetus.

Many expectant mothers naively believe that with the onset of pregnancy they need to start eating for two. This is wrong! Daily calorie intake should be approximately 3000-3200 Kcal, which is approximately 30% more than the average non-pregnant woman.

Another misconception about how to eat properly during pregnancy is to eat whatever your heart desires. Like, there's no point to the pregnant body unnecessary stress - it is better to immediately satisfy his needs. The gastronomic preferences of expectant mothers sometimes amaze the imagination. But it’s one thing to eat a couple of pickles or a jar of canned food just once, and quite another to regularly eat processed foods or fast food. Think about yourself and your child - isn’t he worthy of you eating healthy food these months?

If you are suffering from edema - a problem for many pregnant women - exclude from your menu foods that retain fluid in the body. Reduce your consumption table salt, give up spicy, smoked foods.

You may need to take a prenatal vitamin and mineral supplement in addition to your regular diet - but this is something you should talk to your doctor about.

How to eat properly for children?

All the best for children! And this rule applies almost primarily to their nutrition.

Of course, baby food should be as balanced as possible and include all food groups. Special attention It is worth paying attention to the absence of so-called “junk food” in the child’s diet: fried, smoked, spicy, canned and semi-finished products, fast food. Such food has an adverse effect on the adult body, but what can we say about a child, whose body is just forming. Such nutrition, even in small portions for an adult, will lead to childhood obesity and gastrointestinal diseases at an early age.

It is not at all necessary to buy special food for children in the store - healthy and healthy food You can cook it yourself for your child. Choose only the freshest products for its preparation, follow the basic principles of a healthy diet, do not indulge your child with lollipops, chewing gum and soda - this is the secret of how to eat healthy for children. Ideally, proper nutrition should become the basis of the life of the whole family - this will be easier and healthier for both you and your children.

And one more important rule baby food- never force your child to eat! There are small children for whom it is enough to eat half of the prescribed norm - and this will not affect their well-being in any way. It also often happens that the child simply did not have time to get hungry for the next meal - let him skip it, and next time the mother will know that the portions need to be smaller and not allow the child to snack between the “main” meals.

How to eat healthy in summer?

Summer nutrition is a separate issue. Firstly, summer is rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and berries - and it would be a sin not to take advantage of these gifts of nature by making certain adjustments to your daily menu. Secondly, summer heat is the cause of exacerbations of various infectious diseases, which await us, including with low-quality, spoiled food.

That is why in summer time You should make special adjustments to your menu. Lean on fresh foods to make up for the spring lack of vitamins and stock up on them for the winter. And fresh fruits themselves, salads, freshly squeezed juices and smoothies, various fruit and berry desserts are a healthy and tasty delicacy that few people will remain indifferent to. But do not forget that under no circumstances should you buy such products at spontaneous points, otherwise, instead of benefit, you can get a completely opposite result.

Summer is not the time for “heavy” food. How to eat healthy in summer? Minimize the consumption of meat, mushroom dishes, and complex side dishes. Buy fish only fresh, from certified outlets. In the summer heat, do not eat products from street stalls or various fast foods - this perishable food becomes many times more dangerous for the body in the summer. Replace ketchups with tomatoes, mayonnaise - sunflower oil. When buying dairy and fermented milk products, pay attention to the expiration date - it is preferable to buy milk, yogurt, kefir, which has today's date on it.

We hope that after reading our article you have no questions about how to start eating right. Eat tasty and healthy!