What does a healthy eating plan look like for weight loss? What types of foods should be excluded from the PP diet, how much protein, carbohydrates and fat should be eaten daily?
Basics and rules of healthy eating
For optimal results, especially if you are just starting a healthy lifestyle, follow the MyPlate method. That is, it divides each meal into 5 food groups. Read more about them.
Protein
Protein should ideally make up 20% 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 break this amount down between all meals and snacks during the day, instead of turning it into one or two meals. Protein is especially important when trying to lose weight by burning body fat. In fact, it takes more energy to break down and assimilate a protein than any other macronutrient, resulting in higher calorie expenditure.
Cereals
Cereals often have a bad reputation, as most cereal-based foods today are processed industrially into fast carbohydrates such as sweet cereals and white breads. If you choose unprocessed grains and grains, you will immediately get all the benefits of cereals: the energy, vitamins, and minerals needed for the body to function normally.
How many grains are needed?
Approximately six servings of cereals or 170 grams per day are required. A slice of bread and half a cup of cooked rice or pasta count. At least half of the portions should be whole wheat.
Fruit
What else needs to be included in the diet to lose weight? Fruit. It is not even a problem that fruits contain sugar, more specifically fructose, as long as it does not exceed your daily caloric intake. Your body needs fructose to stay healthy. Thus, the fruits are naturally sweet, which means they can satisfy their cravings for sugar if they don’t want to eat chocolate at night.
How much fruit do you need?
You should take about two doses a day. A whole apple, orange or banana counts as one serving.
Which fruit to choose?
You should eat mainly fresh fruit and limit your intake of juices and processed foods such as apple sauce (unless you have made it yourself).
Vegetables
If you really want to know how to eat right to lose weight, just remember vegetables - your new best friend. They are rich in fiber, which is beneficial for the digestive system. They are also low in calories and satiety, so you can consume more vegetables than other foods and consume fewer calories at once, which ultimately leads to quality weight loss.
How many vegetables should I eat?
You need three to four servings.
Which vegetables should we choose?
Try eating lots of dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli and asparagus. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes are also useful. Cooking vegetables (not boiling because it washes away 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 because of the large amounts of vitamins and minerals. They are high in protein, so a snack like cottage cheese 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 part of a weight loss package.
How many dairy products do you need?
You need about three servings of dairy products pretty much every day. A cup of milk or yogurt counts as one serving.
What if you can't / don't want to consume a dairy product?
It is not the dairy products themselves but the nutrients that are important for a healthy diet. So, if you can’t eat dairy products because of allergies or lactose intolerance, or simply don’t like them, there are other possible ways to get these essential vitamins and minerals and still get 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 consume.
- You can also take a daily multivitamin to fill in micronutrient deficiencies.
What about fat?
Fats and oils are no longer technically a separate food group. You are likely to automatically consume the fats you need to stay healthy while on a diet.
And where do I get fats from?
If you eat healthy foods, you get all the healthy fats you need. But up to 30 percent of your daily calories can come from fat.
The Truth About Carbohydrates
You may have heard that not all carbohydrates (sugars) are bad. When you see experts talk about how bad sugar is, they usually talk about added sugar. We add such sugar to our food during processing for a number of reasons and should be limited, if not excluded.
However, carbohydrates in cereals, fruits, vegetables and dairy products are not moderately harmful. This kind of sugar should not be intimidated. In your body, it becomes the energy you need to stay healthy.
How many calories should I consume per day?
Now that you know how to eat well to lose weight, you’re probably still wondering how many calories you can consume per day. Technically, you don’t have to count calories if you don’t want to. The standard for men and women is 2000 kcal. You can calculate your calorie needs if you really want to know and track 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 complicated method to achieve results.
Calculating Your Daily Calorie Intake for Weight Loss
If you want to know how many calories you need per day, you can use one of the calorie calculation formulas. 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)
Multiply the resulting number by the coefficient of physical activity:
- Sedentary work, sedentary lifestyle: 1, 2
- Average stress level (morning exercises three times a week) 1, 38
- Heavy loads1, 56
- Very high loads1, 73
- Real extreme (you won't be able to carry that much, don't think about it. 1. 9
But if you have questions like, “Why can’t you lose weight? ” In this case, it’s better to calculate your daily calorie intake and create a menu based on the data you get. It is especially important to know the caloric content of your diet, once the weight has stopped after achieving certain results, it will be easier to reduce your diet by an additional 500 calories and continue to lose weight.
One dose:
- 100-150 grams of vegetables (the size of a fist);
- 150 ml of dairy product;
- 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.
Keep track of your balance
To lose weight without compromising health and maintain health and harmony, the body needs to get enough protein, fat and carbohydrates. Approximate ratio - 75 g protein: 60 g fat: 250 g carbohydrate: 30 g fiber. Protein-containing foods are sources of amino acids to build muscle fibers, maintain healthy skin, hair, nails, provide fats for the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, and skin, and carbohydrates are a source of energy.
Is meal timing important?
Optional. Make it easier for yourself and eat when you’re hungry, even if it’s just a snack. If you would rather eat six small meals a day than three large meals a day, do so. If you want to tear yourself up every few hours, it is enough to eat 3 times a day at a convenient time. Just don’t miss meals (you’ll end up eating, but somewhere at night and sabotage your potential quality results). Diet is important, but not in terms of time, but in terms of quality.
Menu and meal planning
While maintaining a healthy diet, you can eat more complete and balanced meals a day. The secret is to eat different foods. Below is a sample breakfast, lunch and dinner menu to help you plan your meal.
Daily dose:
Breakfast
- Lean Greek yogurt or oatmeal with fruit and granola
- Half a bagel with fat-free cream cheese
Lunch
- 2 pieces of shawarma (tortilla, beef, lettuce, guacomole, sour cream)
- 1 bowl of cooked brown rice with fried beans
Dinner
- Small salad (lettuce, red onion, tomato, cheese, Italian dressing)
- Fried chicken breast
- 1 bowl of green beans
- Baked potatoes with cheese
Snack ideas
- Celery and walnut butter
- Fresh vegetables with hummus
- Sliced fruit and whipped cream
- Apple sauce
- Pretzels
- Dried fruits
- Walnut
- Tortillas and salsa
- Pickled cucumbers
Shopping List
Here are some examples of healthy foods you can buy at your local grocery store. Part of the weight loss package is knowing which foods to buy.
Healthy eating:
- Meat (steak, pork, beef)
- Fish and Shellfish
- Eggs
- Nuts and Seeds
- Cereals
- Wholemeal pasta
- Brown rice
- Buckwheat
- Wholemeal bread
- Greek yogurt
- Cheese
- Milk or soy milk
- Avocado
- Fatty fish like salmon
- Walnut
- Fatty yogurt
Healthy Eating Planning Guide for Beginners
Planning a meal is one of the easiest and healthiest things we can do to achieve weight loss through a healthy diet. Whether it’s for just a day or a whole week, it’s up to you. A properly formulated diet not only offers the opportunity to lose weight, but is also convenient if all food-related issues are resolved in advance. When the ingredients for a delicious and healthy meal are waiting for us at home, it’s easier to avoid buying something harmful.
1. How many meals do you need?
Let’s think first about our plans and the plans of our loved ones this week. From here we can get a rough idea of how much food we need. Examples include six breakfasts for everyone, five family dinners, one lunch four times, and an afternoon snack.
2. How long does it take to cook?
This is a very important part of effective meal planning and is often overlooked or forgotten. You can make as many plans as you want, but if you don’t have enough time to complete them, what good are these? With that in mind, expand your list with pre-prepared dinners and lunches. This means you need to be familiar with the foods you need to prepare first - the more information you find about them, the easier it will be to find foods that easily fit your schedule.
If you’re waiting for a hard work week, remember fast food, reheatable food, or pre-prepared food that can be served quickly. After all, we don’t want to waste time cooking, five times a day. Once you have worked as a chef, you can immediately prepare several meals to be consumed during the week. For example, make a chili or fry two chickens at once so it will be enough for both today’s dinner and the next one. Moreover, it will be a delicious and healthy addition to sandwiches and salads.
3. Selecting and Scheduling Food
Use the list to select foods that fit organically into your schedule. Also, check out your loved ones ’favorite dishes or flip through a recipe book. You need to consider the season, what is available now from seasonal vegetables, and what everyone wants to eat. You should also remember the shelf life of your products when designing. For example, fish dishes should be cooked within a day or two of the fish being purchased, while frozen or dry dishes can be prepared later.
All ingredients should be used wisely so you don’t have to throw anything away. This will save you time and money. If you want to eat better and spend less money, buy seasonal products and look for products with discounts and promotions.
Make a list of the most popular recipes. Creating a list of the right foods 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 food you like, put it on this list. You can also store recipes in your fitness diary. This not only helps in the diet but also makes it easier to plan the meal.
4. Enter everything on the calendar
It doesn't matter which calendar you use, be it on your computer screen or on the wall. But it’s always best to keep a paper copy of your calendar in a prominent place. They are usually hung on the fridge. When the plan for today’s meals is visible, we become responsible for preparing them. Nor does your family keep asking, “What’s for dinner today? ” They can just look at the calendar.
If you prefer a digital calendar, you can create a plan for today’s meal on your phone and share this menu with friends and family.
5. Create shopping lists
This is best done by filling in the calendar at the same time. Remember to write down the quantity of each product you need and also check how much is left so you don’t accidentally buy too much. You can save time by grouping the products in the list as soon as they appear in the store. For many supermarkets, this is
- Fruits and vegetables
- Bread and grains
- Spices and bakery products
- Oils
- Crackers
- Drinks
- Dairy products
- Meat and eggs
6. Preparing and preparing a meal
Chop vegetables, grate cheese, make sauces - just prepare whatever you can. You can even measure spices, cook potatoes or fry vegetables.
Scheduling your meals not only puts you at the forefront of achieving a healthy diet, it also saves you a lot of time as we can prepare the ingredients during your free time.