Making a healthy diet is much easier than many people think. And it has nothing to do with the fact that there is nothing to eat when you switch to np meals! On the contrary, if you do it right, your np menu will be even more varied than the diet you are currently following. And if we say that it will leave desserts, pizza and pasta? But let’s go over everything in order.
All food is conventionally made up of three macronutrients – proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Each macronutrient has its own role in the body. For example, proteins are the building material – almost all cells in our body are made of them. The main function of fats is structural. Fats make up the membranes of all cells, almost all of the brain and nerve fiber (75%), and the liver (50%). The main function of carbohydrates is energy. And it is important to understand that not only muscles need energy – the brain, liver, kidneys and heart use them as fuel.
Nutrition rules
- Balance your GI balance.
An example of a good diet is one that gives you all the macronutrients in the right amounts.
Protein
Protein for a healthy adult girl = weight+50%.
If you work out, multiply your weight by 1.2 because athletes need extra protein for muscle recovery after a workout. 50% is the average protein absorption rate. The fact is that not all protein is 100% digestible. The degree of absorption depends on many factors, from the source of the protein to the condition of the gastrointestinal tract and the characteristics of the enzymatic system. So as not to scare people with formulas, nutritionists suggested to take an average value of 50%.
Fats
The norm of fat for a healthy adult girl is about 60 grams.
Carbohydrates
The norm of carbohydrates for a healthy girl depends on the goal:
-30 to 115 grams for weight loss,
-weight*2 to 3 grams for keeping fit,
-5-6 grams for gaining weight.
If there is no time to count, be guided by the proportions: when switching to a balanced diet, the menu should consist of 30% fats, 40 carbohydrates, and 30 proteins.
- Choose a variety of macronutrient sources.
No matter how useful and fashionable this or that product is, don’t limit yourself to it and choose a variety of sources of macronutrients. The choice of healthy foods is huge!
Did you notice that a sample menu for a healthy diet always includes buckwheat? Be sure to add it to your diet, but do not forget about other healthy sources of carbohydrates – pasta from whole wheat durum wheat, uncooked rice, yams and so on.
Protein is made up of amino acids, and each protein source has a unique amino acid composition. For this reason, it is important not to limit yourself to just one protein product. As you can see, eating only chicken breast is not necessary at all. Moreover, you can get all the necessary amino acids only from plant-based ingredients – a combination of cereals and legumes.
Sources of fats should also be varied. The easiest option is to buy several types of cold straight-pressed oils and alternate them when adding them to your salad. If you want to become even more conscious of your transition to a healthy diet, the menu should match the proportion: the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the diet should be from 1:2 to 1:8.
According to some reports, CIS residents have a strong excess of Omega-6 in their diet, and the ratio looks to be 1:50. Excessive amounts of Omega-6 lead to chronic inflammation in the body, so we recommend adding sources of Omega-3 to the diet already to balance the proportion – flax and hemp seeds, or flax and hemp oil, walnuts and bright green vegetables.
- Choose a variety of vegetables and fruits.
Have you ever wondered why fruits and vegetables have different colors? They are colored by pigments-red, orange, orange-yellow, yellow-green, green, and white-green. Each pigment has a different effect on the body: red – reduces the risk of lung and heart disease, orange and yellow-green – improves vision, green – cleanses the body, and so on.
For this reason, it is important to eat plant foods of all colors every day. Try the rainbow method: write down all the pigments, hang the list on the fridge and after each meal cross out the color you have already eaten. This visual method will help you quickly learn to use a variety of fruits and vegetables that you might not have thought of before.