What is a healthy diet plan for weight loss? What types of foods should be excluded from the diet for PP, how much protein, carbohydrates and fats should you eat per day?
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, divide each meal into 5 food groups. Read more about them.
Proteins
Proteins should ideally make up about 20 percent of total daily calories.
How much protein should you eat?
You should consume about 0. 8 to 1. 2 grams of protein for every pound of body weight per day. You should try to divide this amount into all meals and snacks throughout the day, instead of turning them into one or two meals. Protein is especially important if you are trying to achieve weight loss by burning body fat. The fact is that the breakdown and assimilation of protein requires more energy than any other macronutrient, resulting in higher calorie expenditure.
Cereals
Cereals often have a bad reputation because most foods that contain grains today are industrially processed into fast carbohydrates such as sweet grains and white bread. If you choose unprocessed cereals and grains, you will immediately get all the benefits of cereals: energy, vitamins and minerals necessary for the normal functioning of the body.
How many grains do you need?
You need about six servings of cereal or 170 grams a day. A slice of bread and half a cup of cooked rice or pasta count as a serving. At least half of the meal should be whole grains.
Fruit
What else do you need to include in your weight loss diet? Fruits. Even the fact that the fruit contains sugar, more precisely fructose, is not a problem if you do not exceed your daily calorie intake. Your body needs fructose to stay healthy. So the fruit is naturally sweet, which means it can satisfy the craving for sugar if you don’t want to eat chocolate at night.
How much fruit do you need?
You should eat about two servings a day. A whole apple, orange or banana counts as one serving.
Which fruit should you choose?
You should eat mostly fresh fruit and limit your intake of fruit juices and processed foods such as apple sauce, for example (unless you made it yourself).
Vegetables
If you really want to know how to eat properly to lose weight, 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 eating lots of dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli and asparagus. Starchy vegetables like potatoes are also useful. Cooking vegetables (not boiling because it washes out all the nutrients) is one way to improve the taste if you don’t like to eat it raw.
Dairy products
We consume dairy products due to the large amount of vitamins and minerals. These are high-protein foods, so a snack like cottage cheese is ideal if you need to eat something before your next full meal. Since dairy products are generally a great source of protein, they are also part of a weight loss package.
How many dairy products do you need?
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?
Dairy products are not important for a healthy diet. So, if you can’t eat dairy products due to allergies or lactose intolerance, or you just don’t like them, there are other potential ways to get those essential vitamins and minerals while still achieving great results.
- Broccoli, cabbage, figs and oranges are rich in calcium.
- Dark green leafy vegetables (cabbage, broccoli), tomatoes and citrus fruits contain vitamin C.
- Minerals like phosphorus, magnesium and iron are found in many other foods you already eat.
- You can also take a daily multivitamin to fill those gaps in micronutrients.
What about fat?
Fats and oils are technically no longer a separate food group. During the diet, you will probably automatically ingest the fats you need to stay healthy.
And where do my fats come from?
If you eat a healthy variety of foods, you should eat all the necessary healthy fats. But no more than 30 percent of your daily calories should come from fat.
The Truth About Carbohydrates
You may have heard by now that not all carbohydrates (sugars) are bad. When you see experts talking about how bad sugar is for you, they usually talk about added sugar. Such sugar is added to our food during processing for several reasons and should be limited, if not excluded.
However, carbohydrates found in cereals, fruits, vegetables and dairy products are not moderate. You should not be intimidated by this type of sugar. It is converted in your body into the energy you need to stay healthy.
How many calories should I ingest per day?
Now that you know how to eat well for weight loss, you’re probably still wondering how many calories you can eat per day. Technically, you don’t need to count calories if you don’t want to. The standard for men and women is 2000 kcal. You can calculate calorie needs if you really want to know and keep track of them on a daily basis, but it all depends on what you eat and how active you are. Instead, pay attention to food types and portion sizes, as this can be a much more effective but less difficult way to achieve results.
Calculating daily calorie intake for weight loss
To find out how many calories you need per day, you can use one of the formulas to calculate calories. The most commonly used formula is Tom Venut. It looks like this:
Men: 66 + (13. 7 x body weight) + (5 x height in cm) - (6. 8 x age in years)
Women: 665 + (9, 6 x body weight) + (1, 8 x height in cm) - (4, 7 x age in years)
The resulting figure is multiplied by the coefficient of physical activity:
- Sedentary work, inactive lifestyle: 1, 2
- Average stress level (morning exercises 3 times a week) 1, 38
- Large loads1, 56
- Very high loads1, 73
- A real extreme (you won't be able to wear that much, don't even think about it. 1. 9
But if you start having questions like “Why can’t you lose weight? ”, it may turn out that your daily calorie intake is greatly overestimated and that the body simply doesn’t need to expend fat reserves. In this case, it is better to calculate the daily calorie intake and make a menu based on the obtained data. It is especially important to know the caloric content of the diet, when the weight has stopped after achieving certain results, then it will be easier to reduce the diet by an additional 500 calories and continue to lose weight.
One serving is:
- 100-150 grams of vegetables (hand size);
- 150 ml dairy products;
- 120 g of meat or fish (about 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 status
In order to lose weight without harm to health and maintain good health, harmony, the body needs to consume enough protein, fat and carbohydrates. Approximate proportions - 75 g protein: 60 g fat: 250 g carbohydrates: 30 g fiber. Foods that contain protein are a source of amino acids for building muscle fibers, maintaining healthy skin, hair, nails, fats for the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, as well as the skin, and carbohydrates are a source of energy.
Does meal time matter?
Optional. Make it easy for yourself and eat when you’re hungry, even if it’s just a snack. If you prefer to eat six small meals a day than three large ones a day, do so. If you like to eat every few hours, then it is enough to eat 3 times a day at a convenient time. Just don’t skip meals (you’ll end up eating, but somewhere at night and sabotaging potentially quality results). Nutrition is important, but not in terms of time, but quality.
Planning menus and meals
Eat several complete and balanced meals each day, maintaining a healthy diet. The secret is to eat different foods. Below is a sample menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner to help you start planning your meal.
Daily relationship:
Breakfast
- Low fat Greek yogurt or oatmeal with fruit and granola
- Half pastry with cream cheese without fat
Lunch
- 2 shawarma items (tortilla, beef, lettuce, guacomole, sour cream)
- 1 bowl cooked brown rice with baked beans
Dinner
- Small salad (lettuce, red onion, tomato, cheese, Italian dressing)
- Roast chicken breast
- 1 bowl of pods
- Baked potatoes with cheese
Snack Ideas
- Celery and Nut Butter
- Fresh vegetables with hummus
- Sliced fruit and whipped cream
- Apple
- Perec
- Dried fruit
- Nuts
- Tortilla and salsa
- Pickles
Shopping list
Here are some examples of healthy food you can buy at your local store. Knowing which foods to buy is part of a 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
- Sir
- Milk or soy milk
- Avocado
- Oily fish like salmon
- Nuts
- Fatty yogurt
A Guide to Planning a Healthy Diet for Beginners
Meal planning is one of the simplest and healthiest things you can do to achieve weight loss results with a healthy diet. Whether it will be just one day or a whole week is up to you. Properly formulated diet gives us not only the opportunity to lose weight, but it is also convenient when all food issues are resolved in advance. When the ingredients for a delicious and healthy meal are waiting for us at home, it becomes easier to avoid buying something harmful.
1. How many meals do you need?
First, let’s think about our plans and the plans of our loved ones for the week. From here we can get a rough idea of how many meals we need. This could be, for example: six breakfasts for everyone, five family dinners, one lunch four times and one afternoon snack.
2. How long does it take to cook?
This is a very important element of effective meal planning and is often neglected or forgotten. You can make as many plans as you want, but if you don’t have enough time to complete them, then what is the benefit of them? With this in mind, expand your list with pre-prepared dinners and lunches. This means that you must first get acquainted with the dishes you are going to prepare - the more information you find about them, the easier it will be to find dishes that easily fit into your schedule.
If you have a difficult work week ahead of you, keep in mind fast food, preheated meals or pre-prepared meals that can be served quickly. 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 cook several dishes that will be eaten throughout the week. For example, make chili or fry two chickens at once so that it will be enough for both dinner and the next. Moreover, it will be a tasty and healthy addition to sandwiches and salads.
3. Selection and arrangement of dishes
Use the list to select meals that fit organically into your schedule. Also, take a look at your loved ones ’favorite foods or flip through a 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. When planning, you must also remember the expiration date of the product. For example, fish dishes must be cooked within one to two days after buying the fish, while frozen or dry food can be prepared later.
You also need to be able to use all the ingredients wisely so you don’t have to throw anything away. This way you can save both 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. Listing meals that suit you and your family is one of the easiest ways to calculate and simplify your meal planning process. Every time you find a recipe for a dish you like, put it on this list. You can also keep recipes in your fitness diary. This will not only help you with your diet, but also make meal planning easier.
4. Enter everything in the calendar
It doesn't matter which calendar you use, be it on your computer screen or on your wall. But it is always best to have a paper copy of the calendar in a prominent place. It is usually hung on the refrigerator. When the plan of today's dishes is visible, then we become more responsible for their preparation. Also, your family won't keep asking, "What's for dinner today? " They can just look at the calendar.
If you prefer 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 out the calendar. Remember to record the quantities of each product you need, and also check how much you have left so you don’t accidentally buy too much. You can save time by sorting the products listed in groups as they appear in the store. For many supermarkets this is:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Bread and cereals
- Spices and baking products
- Oils
- Crackers
- Drinks
- Dairy products
- Meat and eggs
6. Preparation and preparation of meals
Chop the vegetables, grate the cheese, make the sauces - just prepare what we can in advance. You can even measure spices, cook potatoes or fry vegetables.
Scheduling meals not only puts us in a prime position to achieve a healthy diet, but also saves a lot of time because we can prepare ingredients while you have free time.