On the one hand, following the rules of nutrition and eating is not such a difficult task. However, most likely, not many people can brag of their implementation. At first glance, there are many good reasons for this. Firstly, the eternal lack of time. As a rule, there is no time to think about it. Secondly, many believe that this is not important for health, but a visit to a fitness center or an annual vacation in a sanatorium. But is it?
The effect of wellness procedures is reduced
In fact, this is far from the case. Despite the simplicity of the basic rules of eating, their non-observance greatly reduces the positive effect that all sorts of wellness procedures can give. Why is that? What do the experts say? Why is it important to follow the rules of eating? Let's look into this issue in detail.
Before proceeding to take practical steps to optimize eating habits, you need to remember two important rules. If you do not stick to them, then there is the opportunity to significantly complicate your life.
Two important rules
They are as follows:
- First, abstracting from bad habits and starting to do the right thing is necessary not immediately, but gradually.
- Secondly, despite the fact that people have always been interested in nutrition issues, and even more so, they occupy them today, to this day, eating rules that would be suitable for all occasions and have not yet been worked out for everyone. And, most likely, there will never be such.
In this regard, at the beginning of the process of assimilation of new habits and rules of eating, conditions conducive to digestion, it is necessary to arm yourself with common sense. And also you should focus on your own well-being and available basic knowledge regarding the physiology of the human body.
Three main questions
To better understand what are the rules of eating, you should answer three basic questions. They can be formulated as follows:
- When exactly do you need to eat or how many times a day do you need to sit down at the table?
- How many foods are best consumed in one go?
- How to eat?
Consider the answers to these questions.
How often do you need to sit down at the table?
Surprisingly, experts do not agree on this seemingly simple matter. Some of them argue that the entire daily amount of food must be consumed in three doses, which are breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Another part recommends reducing the volume of the above techniques, but at the same time “dilute them with snacks, which should be two or three. However, both of these approaches have both advantages and disadvantages. What are they?
Pros and cons of different approaches
As for the traditional three meals a day, it better corresponds to the modern rhythm of life, when they have breakfast and dinner at home, and dine at the place of work. Another plus is that long breaks between meals allow the body to fully absorb the food eaten.
The main advantage of fractional nutrition is that fewer foods enter the body at a time, which eases the burden on the digestive system and assimilates them in a light mode. The disadvantage of this option is the difficulty in observing such a regime with a busy schedule inherent in a modern person, it is quite problematic to enter five-six meals a day in it. Often, some tricks are skipped, and not always people manage to prepare the necessary products to carry them with them.
Speaking about the rules of eating, we must not forget about time. On this occasion, the following guidelines:
- breakfast should be between 6-8 hours;
- lunch - between 12-14;
- dinner - 18-20.
If someone prefers to have a snack, then they should be somewhere in the middle between the above intervals.
How many are there at a time?
It should be noted that the rules of eating an unequivocal answer to this question are not provided, but there are options:
- Even Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, who, as you know, was a practicing doctor, advised to get up from the table even before a person was full, that is, experiencing a slight feeling of hunger. This is due to the fact that a saturation signal enters the brain about twenty minutes after you stop eating. However, here you need to take into account the moment that you need to chew food slowly, as one who swallows large pieces will feel hungry even with a full stomach. And such a “method” will not bring any benefit.
- At one time you need to eat such a volume that fits in two palms, if they are folded together. This method became known to us from Indian yogis. Although it seems somewhat simplified, it is possible to focus on it while controlling nutrition. And you can also adopt the rule of one glass with fractional nutrition.
- Another way to restore order in your diet may be as follows. One fourth of the daily ration is eaten for breakfast, half for lunch, and the remaining quarter for dinner.
As you can see, there are several rules regarding the amount of food that needs to be taken daily. Therefore, it is worth experimenting and choosing for yourself the one that will be most suitable.
How to eat?
If you follow the rules of eating, it is important to know not only when and how much food to eat, but also how to do it. Here are some habits worth developing in this regard:
- Experts recommend a 15-minute charge before breakfast. This will stimulate appetite and activate the work of the digestive tract.
- Half an hour before each meal you need to drink one glass of water, preferably warm. This serves to normalize appetite and wean from the bad habit of drinking it after eating.
- It’s good to develop this habit: sitting down at the table, for a moment distract from all extraneous thoughts, focusing solely on food. Thus, the body is better tuned to digest food. It is customary for believers to read prayers before meals, and in India, mantras. Thus, this habit has roots from ancient times.
- No need to get up from the table immediately after eating and begin to act actively. You should sit a bit in a relaxed atmosphere.
- It is undesirable to eat very cold or, conversely, hot food. This applies to water and drinks to the fullest.
- The digestive system works much worse if you sit at a table in a depressed or, conversely, excited state. First you need to calm down a bit.
- Indian yogis recommend drinking solid food and eating liquid. This means that the first one needs to be chewed until it becomes almost liquid, and the second one should not be swallowed immediately, but several movements similar to chewing should be performed. Such a habit will facilitate the work of the digestive tract and will serve to prevent many diseases.
Thus, the rules of eating are not complicated, and everyone can fulfill them if desired.