Healthy proper nutrition. Proper nutrition: menu and PP recipes for every day

External beauty depends not only on careful skin care, but also on the internal state of the body. To feel healthy, cheerful, energetic, you need to lead a healthy lifestyle, play sports and be able to properly care for yourself. Everyone knows about this, but, unfortunately, not everyone wants to follow the rules, looking for various excuses. Meanwhile, these rules are not as scary as they seem at first glance.

If you have firmly decided to take the path of beauty, health and longevity, you need to start gradually, because for an organism that is accustomed to completely different food and does not experience physical activity, this is a lot of stress. First, you need to create a balanced diet containing healthy foods and add at least minimal exercise to maintain muscle tone.

Maintaining a balance in nutrition

From now on and forever, your diet should include healthy foods from different food groups:

fats, there are a lot of them in olive and vegetable oil, nuts, fish;
proteins are found in milk and fermented milk products, eggs, meat, mushrooms, fish, legumes;
carbohydrates are found in grains, berries, sweet fruits and vegetables. The latter are rich in fiber, which stimulates cleansing of the body. Among carbohydrate sweets, you can eat marshmallows and marmalade; they contain pectin and apple juice.

And all these products contain microelements and vitamins that the body needs for normal functioning.

We adhere to the rules of healthy eating

To feel good, lose weight, and keep it under control, you need to stick to some basic principles.

Breakfast is a must; it kickstarts digestion and metabolism. Moreover, in the morning you can allow yourself something “forbidden”: cookies, a piece of pie, halva, etc. In the first half of the day, all processes accelerate, and extra calories will not prevent you from losing weight, whereas in the afternoon they are fraught with gaining kilograms.
You need to eat at least 4-5 times a day in small portions. Then you will not feel hungry and wait with lust for the cherished hour “X”, when you can eat. And the body will not put aside reserves for a “rainy day.” But it is better to avoid snacking between main meals. Although if you really want to, you can eat a handful of nuts, dried fruits, non-acidic fruit (acid causes an acute feeling of hunger), yogurt, wholemeal bread or something similar.
Proper nutrition means that breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner will take place at approximately the same time.
You need to drink at least one and a half liters of purified still water per day. It will help cope with a sudden feeling of hunger, restore water balance, which has a beneficial effect on the appearance of the skin, the functioning of internal organs and systems, and helps cleanse the body of toxins. But if you have problems with the genitourinary area, you should not drink water before bed - there is a risk of waking up with unsightly swelling.
Are you trying to lose weight? This means that it is necessary to reduce the consumption of sugar and salt. If life without salt seems fresh and dull to you, then at least use iodized or sea salt. It contains more useful microelements, and sea salt is more salty, so you will need significantly less quantity for cooking. As for sugar, then, in principle, everything is clear. It represents the so-called “fast” carbohydrates, which do not bring any benefit to the body, but are only stored in reserve. Any diet involves giving up sugar and foods containing it in large quantities. Honey is an excellent alternative and salvation for those with a sweet tooth - it is not only sweet, but also healthy. It strengthens the immune system and provides vitamins and minerals.
Make sure the foods you eat are fresh. It is better to cook a small amount of food for one or two servings than to cook a whole pan. When food is stored for a long time, the processes of fermentation and rotting begin, so such dishes will not benefit the body.

How you prepare it is how you will benefit

By and large, what foods you eat doesn't really matter. The main thing is how they are prepared. A lot of benefits can be extracted from the same “raw data,” or they can be turned into a source of disease and excess weight.

First, you need to give up fatty and fried foods. Proper nutrition does not mean bland dishes, but healthy and tasty ones. Instead of frying, bake in the oven and steam, avoid smoked foods, limit the use of pickles, marinades, mayonnaise, ketchup, etc. A steamer and a multicooker will become indispensable assistants in the kitchen. They will prepare delicious and healthy dishes without using fat. Cereals, meat, fish, vegetables turn out juicy and soft.

Seven bags of tricks

And finally, some tricks from the arsenal of weight loss and healthy eating gurus. They will help you get involved in a new nutrition system without much effort and nervous breakdowns:

1. At meals - only food. If you sit down to have a meal, turn off the TV, put away your book, and don’t talk on the phone. Focus only on the plate and its contents, since if you are distracted, you run the risk of eating much more than your body needs. No matter what healthy foods you consume, gluttony will not have the best effect on your well-being.

2. Eliminate alcohol. During a diet, it is better to replace an aperitif in the form of a glass of wine with a glass of water 30-40 minutes before a meal. Alcoholic drinks contain a lot of sugar, which means “fast” carbohydrates. In addition, alcohol awakens a feeling of brutal hunger, which is very difficult for a weak woman to resist.

3. If you want to lose weight, then replace your usual plate with a smaller one. Trimming portions this way gives good results. A small container creates the illusion of fullness, so your brain will perceive the reduction in portions completely calmly.

4. Change the menu. Monotonous food will soon get boring, and you will want something harmful, but very tasty and desirable. There are a lot of useful and interesting recipes that will give you the opportunity to pamper yourself with culinary delights.

5. Don't go shopping on an empty stomach. This risks buying the wrong products and the wrong quantities that are really needed.

6. Look for a low-calorie alternative to familiar foods: fatty pork can be replaced with beef, poultry, rabbit; fatty fish - drier varieties and seafood, mayonnaise - sour cream, cream - low-fat yogurt, etc.

7. Sometimes allow yourself little pranks. After all, living your whole life without cake, ice cream or fried potatoes is so sad. But remember that they should not be eaten at night, but in the first half of the day.

And one last thing. Try not to perceive proper nutrition as a punishment and deprivation of the joys of life. Believe me, not eating a bun at night, but being healthy and slim is much better than allowing yourself everything, but at the same time being obese and a bunch of other illnesses. Sign up for a massage, walk more, listen to music, try to do what you like, which makes you feel calm and good. Love yourself and enjoy life!

Proper nutrition in the “Live Healthy” program (video):

You already know what real healthy food is. This is something that grew on a tree or in the ground, swam in the sea or river, ran on the grass. Meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, eggs are all examples of real food.

And you also know what bad food is. This is what they give you from the window in your car, what falls out of the vending machine, and what is delivered to you ready-made in a box or bag. If the composition of a meal is comparable in length to Game of Thrones, and before it reaches the table, the product goes through 14 stages of preparation, it is probably disgusting and should not be eaten.

Don't give up everything at once

Few people can immediately give up their favorite foods and completely switch to a healthy diet. Having done this, the person will become irritable and gloomy, will suffer greatly and will quickly give up the idea of eating right.

You may be one of those people for whom it’s okay to give up any treat, but if this is not the case, before starting a diet, determine for yourself the right balance between the speed of getting results and the level of suffering in the process.

Just like in a computer game: first you need to choose a difficulty level. If you choose “Difficult”, you will have a hard time, but you will improve your skill much faster and achieve results.

Perhaps you prefer "Easy" because you don't want to be so nervous while playing and you want to enjoy the game.

The main thing is not to overestimate yourself. Even very slow steps towards success are 100% better than quick failure.

Set a goal

If you want to eat healthy without having a clear idea of what it is for, then every day without your favorite food will be real torture.

Determine a goal for yourself and keep it in mind. You keep yourself from eating junk food not because you like to suffer, but in order to live a better, better quality life and, perhaps, set a good example for your children.

Remember that you always have a choice. Companies that supply junk food try to make it as attractive as possible. Stop giving them your money by buying something that is slowly killing you.

You are not a slave to your taste buds.

Don't look for instant gratification from a slice of pizza, a bag of chips, or a chocolate donut. Instead, strive for a long life of joy and health.

Count calories

First, remember a simple equation.

One kilogram of fat in the human body corresponds to 7,716 kilocalories.

This means that if you are going to lose a pound of fat per week, you need to create a deficit of 1,102 kcal per day (7,716 kcal divided by 7 days equals 1,102 kcal).

To create this deficit, you first need to know your caloric intake. Track any food you consume, including occasional snacks. Once you know how many calories you consume per day, set your goal according to the formula.

For example, if you want to lose 5 kg before vacation, for example in two months, then 7,716 kcal must be multiplied by 5 kg and divided by 60 days. The result is 643 kcal - this is exactly how much you need to undereat every day.

But even if you want to lose weight very quickly, you should not reduce your caloric intake sharply: you will constantly feel hungry. It is better to gradually reduce your daily intake by several hundred kilocalories each week.

However, for health it is important not only to track calories, but also to take into account the quality of food.

Consider the quality of food

2,000 calories from eating a box of cookies will not benefit you as much as 2,000 calories from meat, vegetables or fruit.

Let's look at what nutrients your body needs and how to create a basic healthy diet.

Squirrels

Protein is necessary for the body to build cells (including muscles), maintain tissue elasticity, and produce hormones and enzymes.

Protein is an essential component of a healthy diet and should be present in every meal. Aim for 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

The maximum amount of protein per day is 200 g. Good ones include chicken breast, eggs, beef, fish, nuts, beans and most dairy products.

If you like fish, pay attention to tuna. This is a real champion in protein content: 25–30 g of protein per 100 g of product (more than chicken breast).

Fats

These nutrients are absolutely necessary for our body, but it is important to distinguish healthy fats from harmful ones.

Fats can be saturated - harmful to health - as well as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated - healthy and necessary.

Saturated fatty acids, which are found in margarine and butter, fatty meats, palm and coconut milk, when entering the body, form spherical fatty compounds that narrow the lumens of the arteries. As a result, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases.

Unsaturated fatty acids contained in avocados, almonds, vegetable oils, walnuts, fish (salmon, herring, mackerel), fish oil, do not combine when they enter the bloodstream and pass through the arteries without hindrance.

Unsaturated fatty acids support the immune system, improve brain function and skin condition, and prevent the formation of blood clots.

When adding unsaturated fats to your diet, remember that they do not contribute to the formation of subcutaneous fat. Refined and processed (empty) carbohydrates are to blame.

Carbohydrates

In the body, carbohydrates are converted into glucose (sugar), which is then used to produce energy for all body functions. Vegetables and fruits are sources of healthy carbohydrates.

However, there are also harmful carbohydrates - processed and refined, which are best excluded from the diet. They are found in sweets and baked goods, jams, sugary soft drinks and alcohol.

To quickly figure out which carbohydrates are healthy and which are harmful, use indicators such as the glycemic index and glycemic load.

How to choose healthy carbohydrates

Not all carbohydrates are absorbed equally by our bodies. The glycemic index (GI) measures this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on blood sugar levels.

By consuming low-GI carbohydrates—those that cause slight fluctuations in blood sugar levels and slight increases in insulin levels—you reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as lose weight.

The GI ranges from 1 to 100, with 100 being the fastest and strongest effect of a food on blood sugar and 1 being the slowest increase in blood sugar.

If you consume foods with a low GI, nutrients enter the bloodstream slowly, which means they will provide energy to the body for longer. In response, your body will produce less insulin and you will feel less hungry. Here you can quickly find the glycemic index of foods.

However, this will not help you calculate the correct serving size. For example, watermelon has a GI of about 73, and milk chocolate has a GI of 70. Does this mean you can eat more chocolate than watermelon? No. Because the GI is calculated based on 50 g of carbohydrates in each product, and the amount of carbohydrates in a watermelon and a chocolate bar varies greatly.

Milk chocolate contains 60 g of carbohydrates per 100 g of product, while watermelon contains only 8 g per 100 g of product. It turns out that 83 g of chocolate will cause about the same increase in blood sugar as 625 g of watermelon.

To make it more convenient to calculate serving size, use another parameter - the glycemic load (GL) of foods.

How to Calculate Serving Size

Processed foods, refined carbohydrates and sugar have a high glycemic load, while fruits and vegetables tend to have a low glycemic load.

Try to consume foods with a low GL during the day, and with a high GL right before training: carbohydrates will burn immediately. You can also consume foods with a high GL immediately after training, in combination with protein. In this case, carbohydrates are used to build muscle, rather than being stored as fat.

Thus, with the help and determination of the glycemic load of foods, you can create a healthy diet. But if this is too difficult and time-consuming for you, you can try an easier way to eat healthy - the paleo diet.

Paleo diet

The Paleo diet suggests that you eat only what was available to our distant ancestors: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. The rest is prohibited.

No calorie counting or scheduled eating. Just eat what you can, how much and when you want.

This diet is quite difficult to maintain if you often eat out and snack at fast food chains or travel a lot. However, following it, especially in combination with strength training, will provide you with rapid progress and significantly improve your health.

If you need to lose a lot of pounds in a short time or greatly reduce weight, the Paleo diet is your option. The main thing is that you manage to give up the whole variety of bakery, dairy and confectionery products.

Decide for yourself whether this diet is right for you. If you manage to consume enough protein from meat and fish, the diet will be effective and healthy. However, if you do not have time to cook meat and buy a variety of products, your body will not thank you.

Which diet is right for you

If you want to be healthy and return to a normal weight, choose GI calculation: avoid foods that cause a sharp spike in blood sugar.

If you are striving for a divine figure, try the Paleo diet. But keep in mind that to achieve results you must have the right genetics, a serious strength training program, patience and an iron will to say a firm “no” to all foods that do not fit into such a diet.

In addition, you can create your own diets and change existing ones as you wish. For example, you can follow a strict paleo diet for six days, and on the weekend you can cheat yourself - eat any goodies. Some people need a strict diet without cheating, because they can break at any moment, others feel quite comfortable breaking strict rules from time to time. Choose what suits you.

And don't forget that life goes on during a diet. You change your diet to live better. And not sometime in the future, when you lose weight, but right now.

Enjoy the feeling of lightness, the knowledge that you are improving your health and figure, and don’t blame yourself if you fail.

Why not start today? Throw away junk food, remove candy from the table, choose a diet and try to stick to it.

Start with small changes now. It may take some time before you find your healthy eating method. The main thing is not to give up and look for what works.

Almost every person is familiar with starvation diets, grueling workouts and magic diet pills. But despite the cult of a beautiful body, the problem of excess weight does not lose its relevance. Are you looking for an effective and safe way that will lead you to the ideal? Having mastered proper nutrition for every day, you can easily get in shape and maintain the desired volume for life.

Eating healthy every day is easier than it seems!

Eating right is not only healthy!

Complete absence of hunger. You no longer have to endure stomach pain, fatigue and headaches. You'll always have healthy snack options when you're suddenly hungry.
The ability to independently plan your healthy food menu for every day. You will no longer have awkward situations in a cafe or at a party. You can always find something that fits within the scope of your program.
Lack of rigid frameworks. The program does not imply categorical prohibitions. Despite the existing list of recommendations, you can always adapt it to suit your taste preferences.

But proper nutrition for every day also has disadvantages, oddly enough. The only drawback of the system presented below is its long-term nature. A healthy diet does not involve rushing. It will not help you lose all those extra pounds in a short period of time, but it will allow you to consolidate and maintain the results achieved. If you want to speed up the process a little, or take a course of a special massage.

Planning a healthy menu

A healthy diet for every day means having 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20% fat in your menu.

What is healthy eating every day? Modern nutritionists consider a correct diet to include 50% carbohydrates, 30% proteins and 20% fat with a total calorie content of 1800 kcal for women and 2100 for men, depending on the level of daily activity. In addition, such a menu should include all vitamins and minerals in sufficient quantities.

Such recommendations do not mean at all that you need to immediately start a notebook, pick up a calculator and scrupulously calculate the nutritional value of each piece you eat. It is much more convenient to use the ideas given below. Just choose one of the meal options. Try to make your healthy meals every day as varied as possible. Do not repeat your favorite dishes more than once every 3 days.

Breakfast options

Oatmeal with water or low-fat milk with dried fruits and a small handful of nuts. Alternate with buckwheat, rice and millet porridge.
Sandwich made from whole grain bread, boiled chicken breast or lightly salted salmon, lettuce, tomatoes, low-fat cheese and herbs. A glass of yogurt or any other fermented milk drink.
Omelette of 4 whites and 2 yolks with herbs. Fruit salad.
A large portion of cottage cheese with sour cream, jam and fresh fruit.
Fruit soup made from seasonal fruits and light sour cream.

Lunches

Soy meat goulash. Boiled whole grain pasta with low-fat cheese.
Baked cauliflower breaded with semolina, 10% cream and egg white.
Low-fat vegetable lasagna.
Vegetable cream soup with rice.
Low-fat rolls or a few slices of vegetarian pizza.

Dinners

Stewed vegetables with pieces of boiled chicken breast.
Seafood with boiled brown rice.
Vegetable omelet of 4 whites and 2 yolks with herbs.
Cottage cheese casserole and vegetable salad.
Boiled beef with baked vegetables.

Snacks (you can choose any 2 items)

A glass of kefir with 1 tsp. honey or jam.
20 g dark chocolate and green apple.
2 rice or buckwheat bread with cottage cheese and herbs.
A handful of nuts and dried fruits (should fit in the palm of your hand).
3 pieces of homemade oatmeal cookies.

Eat natural foods and avoid processed foods.

What is better to refuse

As you already understand, the main advantage of proper nutrition for every day is the ability to independently create your own menu. But this does not mean at all that you can replace a healthy breakfast option with a chocolate bar of similar calorie content. Moreover, there are foods that you will have to avoid.

Healthy eating every day prohibits:

dry breakfast mixes, including most types of muesli (read the ingredients carefully);
white bread and pastries;
chocolate bars and confectionery;
crackers, chips and other fast food;
ready-made sauces;
nectars and unnatural juices;
carbonated drinks and their dietary substitutes;
alcohol (only one glass of dry wine is allowed for dinner 1-2 times a week).

This list of products is advisory in nature. If you have a sweet tooth and absolutely cannot imagine your life without your favorite buns, start small. Replace them with homemade cakes with reduced amounts of butter and sugar. The situation is the same with fast food. Try to find healthy alternatives!

If you fall off your diet, don’t quit what you started and don’t think about starting over on Monday. Continue the program as if nothing had happened, slightly adjusting the fat and calorie content of the following meals.

Thus, healthy eating every day is a real way to achieve the figure of your dreams without harm to your health!

» Ekaterina Polivanova

What is healthy eating?

If there are healthy food products, then, first of all, these are apples.

They are low in calories, high in vitamins and iron. But try eating only apples for two weeks: you will experience a sharp weight loss, loss of immunity, the first symptoms of anemia and other signs of protein-calorie deficiency.

If there are unhealthy foods, then, first of all, it is butter. This is “all fat” after all. However, a “web” of butter spread on a piece of fresh rye bread is not only a mind-blowing taste, but also 20-25 kilocalories, that is, about 1 percent of an adult’s energy requirement and quite noticeable amounts of vitamin A.

There are many such examples. The fact is that Each product is unique in its chemical composition, and among the products there is no one that could fully satisfy the needs of an adult for all the nutritional and biologically active substances necessary to ensure health. Only combination of different products is capable of solving this problem.

Let's talk about exactly how the foundations of a healthy diet should be formed.

If vitamins do not enter our body, diseases called vitamin deficiencies develop.

The first law of healthy eating

The correspondence between the calorie content of food that a person consumes and the energy that his body expends.

Human energy is spent on maintaining body temperature, performing all physiological functions and biochemical processes, performing mechanical work by muscles, as well as on digesting and assimilation of food. The human body gets calories from macronutrients, the name of this word comes from the words “macro” - large long and “nutrition” - nutrition. These are the substances that a person should consume a lot with food, that is, tens and hundreds of grams. On our website there is the most accurate table of calorie content of foods, which was prepared with the support of the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Let's talk in more detail about each type of macronutrient.

FATS. Energy value fat more than twice the energy value of proteins or carbohydrates. This means that foods containing fat are the most high in calories. However don't give them up at all, because fats are also a building material for the synthesis of substances that serve as building materials for cell membranes and other structures of the body.

Calorie content of 1 gram of nutrients

Protein – 4 kcal

Fat - 9 kcal

Carbohydrates - 4 kcal

Fatty acids are involved in the synthesis of compounds that regulate immunity mechanisms, allergies and other processes.

Because of their special chemical structure, animal fats are called saturated, and vegetable - unsaturated. They have different physical properties and physiological and biochemical effects. High consumption of saturated fatty acids leads to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, so their intake should be limited. Another thing is vegetable fats.

Among them, doctors especially highlight the so-called polyunsaturated fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6. Their consumption helps prevent cardiovascular diseases and has a beneficial effect on the condition of all body tissues. Your need for these healthy fats can be met by 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil per day and at least three servings of fish per week.

PROTEINS are the most important components of food. In the human body, proteins are broken down into amino acids, from which the body itself synthesizes the thousands of proteins it needs with diverse functions. All the great variety proteins are actually different combinations of 20 amino acids. Some amino acids can be converted into one another, and only 9 are essential for an adult and 10 for a child, that is, they are simply not synthesized by the body.

These amino acids must be supplied day after day throughout our lives as part of the proteins we consume. It doesn’t matter from what products the proteins will be obtained: meat or potatoes, milk or peas, fish or bread or other products - the main thing is that your body receives all the essential and essential amino acids in sufficient quantities.

The most protein is found in products of animal origin: meat, fish, dairy products, poultry, eggs. In significant quantities, complete protein is present in legumes, that is, in peas, beans, lentils and soybeans, as well as in nuts and seeds.

Proteins are the most important components of food.

CARBOHYDRATES. Function carbohydrates in the human body, mainly comes down to supplying it with energy. They are widely present in plant foods in the form of complex carbohydrates such as starch and simple sugars such as glucose and fructose. Fruits and vegetables contain both simple sugars and starch. All grain products: flour, cereals and pasta contain mainly starch.

Of course, refined sugar, as well as sugar-containing confectionery, are sources exclusively of simple carbohydrates. It has received the definition of “added sugar” because it is added to various foods and drinks. Consumption of significant amounts of added sugar leads to the development of diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, and cardiovascular diseases.

Therefore, if you strive for health, then the amount of sweets in your diet should be limited, and, if possible, exclude it altogether.

CELLULOSE. Complex carbohydrates include: polysaccharides, like cellulose, which are not absorbed by the body. Such substances are called dietary fiber, one of their representatives is cellulose. Dietary fiber is practically not digested. However, they significantly affect the processes: digestion, assimilation and evacuation of food, and are also important for maintaining intestinal microflora.

Dietary fiber is found in large quantities in vegetables and fruits, unrefined grains such as rolled oats, and bran.

The second law of healthy eating

The chemical composition of a person’s daily diet must correspond to his physiological needs for nutritional and biologically active substances.

Vitamins and minerals are often called micronutrients, because the daily amounts required by the body are quite small and are most often measured in milligrams and even fractions of a milligram. The human body cannot produce these substances on its own and store them for future use for any long period of time. For normal functioning, the human body requires several hundred different micronutrients- these are vitamins and minerals, as well as many biologically active substances from other groups. Micronutrients are found in a wide variety of foods, and different ones in different foods. Therefore, for the normal functioning of your body, include in your diet fruits and vegetables, and always grain products, and other products of plant origin, meat, and dairy products.

Making your own menu

Let's move on to planning your meals

We hope that we have convinced you of the need to have a variety of products on your table. Now let's try to figure out how to eat properly - how often and in what quantities should one or another product or dish be included in the daily diet.

Main food groups and recommended amounts for their consumption:

Product group	Essential Nutrients	Recommendations
Bread, cereals and potatoes	Simple and complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber, B vitamins	Consume every day, preferably at every meal, give preference to products made from unrefined grains or containing bran.
Vegetables and fruits	Simple and complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids, folic acid, many biologically active substances	Use in any form 5 or more times a day. Eat at least 400 grams of raw or cooked vegetables and fruits daily.
Meat, poultry, fish, eggs and legumes	One of the main sources of protein, an easily digestible form of iron, vitamin B12	Include in your daily diet in the amount of 120-150 g in prepared form in 1-3 meals. Try to reduce the number of eggs to 3-5 per week. Don't forget about legumes - they are a healthy and affordable source of protein.
Dairy	The only significant source of calcium, contains protein, B vitamins, vitamin D	Consume up to 500 ml of milk, 50-100 grams of cottage cheese and cheese per day. Choose low-fat dairy options.
Fats	Vegetable oils and fish oil are sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E.	Polyunsaturated fatty acids provide prevention of cardiovascular diseases. 1-2 tablespoons are needed for dressing vegetable salads. Try to reduce the amount of fat you use in cooking. Reduce the use of animal fats to a minimum.
Sugar and confectionery	Simple carbohydrates, saturated fats	Contribute to the development of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and other diseases! Consume them in limited quantities and only if all the other foods listed above are present in your diet. Reduce your daily sugar intake to 50 grams.

Check yourself!

Body mass index
Your own weight will help you understand whether you are following the first law of healthy eating. Calculate your body mass index and compare it with the numbers below.
BMI less than 18.5 is underweight. Increase your nutrition.
BMI ranging from 18.5 to 25 - Your weight is normal. You are consuming enough calories.
BMI from 25 to 30 is overweight. Urgently reduce portions and increase physical activity.
BMI over 30 is obese. Consult your doctor and immediately change your diet and take up a suitable sport for you.

Easy test
Form a fold of skin over the sternum with your fingers. If the skin fold exceeds the thickness of a finger or 2 cm, then this indicates excess weight, and you need to reduce the number and size of portions to a minimum value. And if the fold is less than 1 cm, then this is a signal of lack of weight.

Are you taking enough vitamins and minerals?

Checking to what extent the second law of nutrition science is fulfilled in your diet is much more difficult. There are special medical tests that your doctor can prescribe for you if you have health problems and suspect a deficiency of any micronutrient.

However, if you follow the recommendations of nutritionists regarding the preparation of your diet, and it contains products from all groups in sufficient quantities, including fish, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, then you satisfy most of your body’s needs. To prevent vitamin deficiency, use fortified foods (bread, milk).

But still, vitamins and minerals for a balanced diet may not be enough, especially if a person’s physical activity is very low, and not a very large amount of food is required to provide the body with energy. But, if physical activity is very high, then a person needs additional microelements and vitamins.

Consult your doctor and describe your diet to him. Perhaps he will advise you to regularly use vitamin-mineral complexes or individual medications.

Information provided by the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Edited by Prof., Dr. med. Sciences A.K. Baturina. Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, 2009

The materials were created specifically for health centers. about health centers and their work in your region.

Two thousand years ago, the great Hippocrates suggested to humanity a postulate necessary for a healthy diet: “You are what you eat.” These words contain great power of wisdom.

In pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, we do not need to reinvent the wheel; we need to find in the food chaos those products that will bring constant benefits, and include them in the diet, not forgetting about nutritional culture.

Healthy eating is the solution to the following problems:

overweight,
metabolic disorders
deficiency of vitamins and microelements
imbalance with appearance.

Healthy eating is healthy, relevant and very simple. It is important to understand that this is not a diet, not an effort on yourself, but your lifestyle, the choice you made in favor of health, which will best affect your appearance.

The most important thing is that you don’t have to experience the shock of all sorts of prohibitions and restrictions, with the exception of the obvious “chemistry”. It's all about balancing and combining foods that are familiar and available to you.

Healthy Menu Planning

A daily healthy menu must necessarily consist of products that provide your body with vital components. We draw up for ourselves an approximate balance of dishes, half of which should consist of carbohydrates, and the second half should consist of almost equal parts of proteins and fats. We pay attention to the content of vitamins and microelements in products.

In numbers it looks like this:

carbohydrates - 50%,
proteins - 25-30%,
fats - 20-25%,

The total calorie content of dishes should be kept in the region 2000 kcal.

When planning the right menu, you should pay attention to the following:

What is better to refuse?

There is a psychological term “refusal syndrome”, which means an irresistible desire to break the ban. To the great joy of this particular category of people, healthy eating does not imply strict refusals and restrictions.

But there are a number of products that, due to their composition, cause irreparable harm to health. These foods have no place in the diet. By stopping using them, you will rebuild your body to eat properly, and it will begin to work like a clock.

Without hesitation, cross out from your grocery basket:

Alcoholic drinks;
Store-bought mayonnaise and ketchup;
Crackers, chips;
Carbonated drinks;
Processed meat (sausage, sausages, canned food);
Store-bought smoked meats;
Products made from white flour;
Margarine and spreads.

Believe me, by eliminating these foods, you won’t even notice their absence, creating a complete diet exclusively from what is healthy.

Changing your diet

It is important to understand that proper nutrition is not a one-time event from which you expect amazing results. This is your way of life, observing which today, you create the foundation for your future.

The main thing is for you to understand that, as in everything, this matter also requires moderation:

It’s impossible to review everything at once. A progressive plan must be developed so as not to put too much stress on your body (especially if your diet was based on snacking on fast food and soda).
If you decide to follow a healthy diet, do not immediately plan your diet for the week. Limit yourself to creating a daily menu for the next day, listening to your body.
Balance your meals with drinks and snacks. For fun, count the calorie content of your dishes and write them down in a notebook. Experiment with combinations of dishes, and you will find your answer to the eternal question: “What can you eat without causing harm?”
Be sure to focus on people who have experience in such nutrition, their advice can be very useful to you at the first stage.

Sample healthy menu

So, if you decide to become a follower of a healthy diet, you need to create an appropriate menu every day. It is recommended to take notes in order to conduct an appropriate analysis and not miss anything important.

Over time, this need will disappear, because this way of eating will become your habit, and you will freely navigate the products and ingredients you need.

We divide the daily diet into 4-5 meals, focusing on calories in the first half of the day:

Breakfast. For breakfast, porridge cooked in water or milk with the addition of butter, chicken eggs (1-2 pcs.), and a sandwich of gray bread with cheese are suitable. Tea with honey and lemon or coffee with a drop of natural cream.
Breakfast should be hearty. It provides us with a boost of morning energy.
Snack. A glass of natural juice, your favorite fruit (one) or a handful of nuts.
Dinner. Make it so that it is a complete meal.
Try to have it contain meat or fish, complemented by vegetables. Vegetables can be either raw or stewed. The main dish can be some kind of soup based on meat or fish broth, with crackers and sour cream. For lunch you can indulge in dessert.
Afternoon snack. Kefir, yogurt, dried fruits are at your disposal.
Dinner. Remember that the first half of the day is loaded with calories, and dinner is planned to be light. Accordingly, a small piece of boiled meat with vegetable salad, steamed fish, porridge with water - buckwheat or pearl barley, that's what you need! Green tea will help complement your evening meal.
Before bedtime. To prevent you from dreaming about food at night, a few hours before bedtime you can drink a glass of kefir, nibble on a carrot, or even eat a few spoons of cabbage salad seasoned with lemon juice. This is quite enough to defeat hunger. If you are not hungry, then just drinking cool water is enough.

Breakfast

Breakfast is the beginning of the day, and nothing should overshadow it, especially the thought that you are limiting yourself in anything. So, all the most delicious, joyful, interesting things for breakfast!

You can, of course, be original and cook it for tomorrow
cancer:

Baked avocado with egg, tomato and garlic. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and pour in a mixture of egg, tomato and garlic. Place in the oven until the filling is ready.
Or you can cook oatmeal or rice porridge, and shade it with your favorite berries, nuts and honey. Brew coffee and make toast, piling a tower of cheese and pear on it.
Another great healthy breakfast option is an omelette.. Here the flight of your imagination can be unlimited. Choose an omelette base to suit your taste: zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, each time you will have the feeling that you are eating a completely new dish.

Dinner

Lunch occurs in the middle of the day, and it is at this time that our body absorbs nutrients from food well. Let's give the body everything it needs to the maximum.

We choose one main dish - it can be various soups, either meat or fish. Be sure to add a large portion of vegetables in the form of a salad or side dish (stewed or stewed). We select a light and tasty dessert.

Lunch options:

Dinner

Remember that we managed to eat a lot of tasty and healthy things during the day. This doesn't mean that dinner should disappoint you, on the contrary. All the most delicious and refined, only in microdoses and fewer calories. Therefore, we approach dinner planning responsibly so as not to undo the results of the whole day.

We focus on complex carbohydrates in order not to feel hungry, and choose the option you like (or make your own):

Recipes for healthy dishes from familiar foods

The first step towards healthy eating There should be a separation of useful and harmful products. It should be your decision. In our dishes we use healthy ones - to the maximum, we limit or exclude harmful ones. We make up the main diet from familiar products available in your region.
Professional athletes are adherents of healthy eating, claiming that their diet consists of regular foods, properly balanced and properly prepared.
The most important, do not divide products according to the principle of favorites and dislikes. Try changing the cooking method and you will discover new tastes.

This is how you can change the taste:

Green beans, if cooked in the oven with spices and cheese;
Borscht, if it is simmered in the oven (slow cooker);
If you use cereals for side dishes, shading their taste with vegetables and seasonings;
Fish, if you put herbs and lemon in the belly.

Porridge

Porridges are mistakenly considered a complement to meat or fish. In fact, this is a complete dish that provides everything the body needs.

In addition, porridges contain dietary fiber, helping to cleanse the intestines, and a whole range of vitamins that help keep the body healthy.

Pearl barley porridge:

Pour boiling water over the washed cereal in a ratio of 1:2 and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
Then drain the excess water, add 2.5-3 cups of milk and simmer for another 25 minutes until thickened.
Add oil to taste.
Remove from heat, wrap in a towel and let sit until fully cooked.

Buckwheat porridge:

Take a glass of buckwheat and pour it into a frying pan.
Warm over low heat for 5-10 minutes.
Pour boiling water to cover the cereal by 2 cm and cook until tender (10 minutes).
Remove from heat, let it brew a little, add vegetable oil to taste.

Remember the phrase from childhood: “Eat porridge - you will be healthy!” Now, this is the absolute truth.

Vegetables

Vegetables are a storehouse of vitamins, microelements,
fingerprints. All this must be actively used for a healthy diet.

They can be consumed both raw and thermally processed.

Vegetable juices are simply super vitamin cocktails recommended by doctors.

Vegetables are available and affordable. They can be safely taken as the basis of a healthy diet.

Among the most popular: cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, rhubarb, celery, radish, beets, carrots, pumpkin, horseradish, sorrel.

Find out from our similar article.

Appetite:

Boil green beans for 5-8 minutes. Let it drain.
Cut the bell pepper into strips.
Heat a clove of garlic in vegetable oil, add soy sauce.
Mix beans with pepper, pour in dressing. Decorate with sprigs of herbs and olives.

Fruits

Fruits are considered the healthiest, healthiest and most delicious food. It's by chance. They contain a huge number of compounds and substances that work for the benefit of the body. They are used both as independent use in the diet and as a supplement.

A huge plus is that fruits have a healing effect, helping as a complex therapy in the treatment of diseases.

In addition to regular fruits, in order to pamper yourself, it is recommended to add “superfruits” to your diet, such as papaya and avocado.

Fish and seafood

The benefits of fish and seafood lie in the content of easily digestible fat, large amounts of vitamins A and D, iodine, phosphorus and other microelements (about 40).

In addition, fish, crustaceans, shellfish, and shrimp are easily digested by the body, which makes them indispensable in a healthy diet. These products have a tremendous aesthetic effect - skin, hair, nails become better thanks to them.

Steam fish:

Prepared from any type of fish.
Season the fish, washed and cut into portions, with spices (black pepper, basil, thyme are suitable). If desired, place pieces of onion or garlic into the belly.
Place in a steamer tray greased with vegetable oil and cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces.

Fish with vegetables:

Place fish (choose sea fish) and vegetables in layers in a baking dish.
Sprinkle everything with oil, add spices and pour in sour cream (can be diluted with cream).
Cover with foil, pierce it in several places and bake until the vegetables are ready.

Meat

Meat will definitely benefit you if you cook it in a certain way. The main condition is that it must be lean. And then along with meat you get a large amount of protein. It is important that this protein is easily digestible and fights the accumulation of fat in the body. Rabbit and lamb meat are considered the most dietary. Try introducing them into your diet.

Meat with vegetables:

Cut the veal pulp into small cubes. Place in a steamer.
Place a “coat” of a mixture of chopped fresh or frozen vegetables (onions, carrots, cauliflower, bell peppers) on top of the meat.
Set it to “vegetables” mode - it’s optimal.
Do not add salt or oil.

Bird

Among meat dishes, dishes made from poultry are considered favorites. It's all about the dietary features of this product. Poultry is easily absorbed and digested, enriching the body with fatty acids, proteins and vitamins.

It is important that white meat is considered the most healthy for poultry - breasts, which can be safely included for lunch and dinner. The most attractive, from the point of view of nutritionists, is considered
I am chicken meat.

Tender chicken cutlets with oatmeal:

Prepare minced meat (about 0.5 kg) from chicken fillet, onion and garlic (to taste), add half a glass of oatmeal, milk or water.
Mix the mixture thoroughly, form into cutlets, place on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil and bake at 180 C for 30-40 minutes.

Nuts and dried fruits

A mixture of dried fruits and nuts is considered a vitamin cocktail, useful for a healthy diet. An important feature is their ability to retain beneficial substances such as pectin, fiber, organic acids and minerals for a long time, which tone and strengthen the body. The top three are dried apricots, prunes and raisins.

Dessert

The main thing you need to understand is that healthy eating and dessert are compatible!

Tasty and aromatic, they not only bring benefits, but also lift your spirits and improve your emotional background.

TO Light desserts that should be included in the diet include:

Fruit salads;
Jelly;
Mousses;
Sorbets;
Marmalade;
Flambe.

Conclusion

Healthy eating is the first step to a healthy lifestyle. And as a pleasant bonus, you will receive a slim figure, a well-functioning body, a feeling of vigor and a good mood. Isn’t this the whole beauty of life?!

As you can see, you don’t have to radically change anything or make any efforts on yourself. A small adjustment, understanding and awareness of what you eat and what your dishes consist of, and the result is guaranteed.

The important point is that there are more and more followers of healthy eating. Involve your family and friends in this. Feel responsible for them too!