Today, the Internet and glossy fashion magazines are full of different diets, variations on the topic of proper nutrition and other tips for losing weight. As practice shows, 90% of people, resorting to such methods of losing weight, remain disappointed. Why is this happening and what to do about it?
Why diets do not help?
This question was asked by anyone who at least once entered into an unequal battle with excess weight. The thing is that each person is individual. We all have different lifestyles, body features, health problems, daily routine, climatic zone of residence, etc. All these factors directly or indirectly affect the weight loss process. A diet that is suitable for one person may not affect the other or aggravate the situation. Let's look at an example.
There are two girls. Masha and Natasha. Both are 27 years old, the girls have no children, and they live alone. Masha works as a fencing instructor. Her working day lasts from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Work is associated with active physical activity. In order to keep fit, Masha consumes a lot of vegetables, “long” carbohydrates and proteins. Her daily calorie intake can range from 2000 to 2500 Kcal. Natasha works as an accountant. Her working day is not standardized, and she spends most of her day sitting in the office. For good brain function, she needs easily digestible fats in the form of fish and seafood. A girl’s daily calorie intake cannot exceed 1500. Otherwise, she quickly gains excess weight.
As you can see from the example, we all have different needs. In order to effectively lose weight, you need to create an individual diet that will take into account all factors: gender, age, lifestyle, the presence of health problems, taste preferences, etc.
Criteria for drawing up an individual diet
This requires certain knowledge of physiology, the food industry, and other nuances. That is why a specialist nutritionist should deal with the selection of an individual diet. However, you can try to do it yourself. True, you have to spend time and effort. Now consider some of the criteria for compiling an individual diet:
- Goal. Oddly enough, putting your body in order does not always mean losing weight. Sometimes, on the contrary, you need to gain muscle mass or tone muscles. Nutrition to achieve each of these goals will be different.
- Daily calories. This is one of the most important criteria in drawing up an individual diet, as many reviews of thin people say. In this matter, it is very important that the number of calories is sufficient to provide all the needs of the body on the one hand and to provide the deficit that is necessary for weight loss (or surplus when it comes to weight gain)
- The balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Remember that to create a beautiful body you need to monitor not only the quantity of food, but also its quality. Theoretically, you can eat some burgers as part of the daily calorie content and lose weight. But with such a diet, the body will have a loose appearance, and cellulite will turn into a faithful companion.
- Diet. The fact that it should be regular is no secret. But not many people think about the fact that the life schedules of people can differ from each other. The nutrition schedule should correspond to the individual needs of a particular person. That is, a person who works on the night shift should eat at night, etc.
- Individual diseases. A rare city dweller boasts perfect health. Many have problems with the gastrointestinal tract, food allergies, etc. All these nuances are taken into account during the preparation of an individual diet.
How to calculate your daily calorie intake?
In order to make an individual diet, it is necessary to determine the daily calorie intake. This figure will depend on several indicators: individual data (growth, weight, age), the desired result, the level of physical activity. When a nutritionist develops an individual diet, in addition to your data, he uses the results of medical research.
There are two ways to calculate the daily calorie content of the diet yourself: according to the formula and using the application. There are several formulas for calculating daily caloric value. All of them are based on data of height, weight, age and gender. However, most of them do not take into account motor activity. Therefore, the data are obtained averaged. More accurate results can be obtained using a special application or an online calculator. They are based on the same formulas, but already taking into account physical activity.
Why count calories?
Calculation of calorie content of products is a laborious and painstaking task. Most people get bored of it quickly and they stop controlling their diet.
The main task of daily calorie counting is control. When working on your figure, it is important to understand what you eat and how much. Many people do not consider eating candy or sugar to be eaten as tea. However, if all this is added up, then the daily norm can be exceeded several times.
Also, calorie counting makes it possible to diversify the diet. Even if the diet was violated by the cake, you can stay within the daily calorie intake, reducing the portion for dinner. This reduces the likelihood of breakdowns and bouts of gluttony.
How to count calories?
In order to correctly and accurately calculate daily calories, you will need a food scale and a calorie table of products. To make your life easier, you can use the special application, which already has a list of the most common products and where you can add additional dishes. Using such an application is simple and less tiring than keeping a food diary on paper.
How to calculate the calorie content of a dish?
If with single products everything is simple, their calorie content is listed in the application, then with multi-component dishes things are more complicated. How to calculate the calorie content of salad or soup? For this we need: a food scale, a calorie table of products or an app, paper, pen and calculator.
First of all, you need to weigh all the ingredients of the dish raw. For example, we are preparing a salad of 100 g of cucumbers, 100 g of pepper, 30 g of homemade cheese and 10 g of olive oil.
Thus, the total weight of all ingredients was 240 g, and the calorie content was 233 kcal. Now calculate the number of calories per 100 grams of the finished dish:
233 kcal / 240 g * 100 = 97 calories per 100 g of the finished dish.
If we are talking about cooking soup on meat broth, then in addition to meat, you must additionally take into account the energy value of the broth.
Features of the menu for an individual diet for weight loss
It should include a lot of vegetables, a small amount of fruit, protein and "long" carbohydrates, as noted in the reviews of those who made the food "for themselves." The ratio of these products should be determined individually. You can’t refuse the right fats: vegetable oils, nuts, fish, etc. It is recommended to avoid low-fat foods, as carbohydrates and other substances are added to improve the taste. Choosing an individual diet for weight loss is always a little more difficult than for mass gain.
Also recall the drinking regime. Of course, we cannot promise that by drinking a liter of water per day, humanity will lose weight, acne and earthy skin color. But the lack of water in the body slows down metabolic processes. In addition, dehydration leads to overeating. The fact is that the brain regions responsible for hunger and thirst are nearby. And people with chronic dehydration often confuse thirst with hunger. This leads to overeating and gaining excess weight.
The daily water norm is individual for each. It is believed that this is 33 ml per 1 kg of weight. That is, for a girl who weighs 58 kg, this figure is about 1.9 liters per day.
You need to drink water all day in small portions. Do not drink the daily norm at a time. This can lead to health problems.
Nutritionist Recommendations
There are many theories and concepts of good nutrition that can help you lose weight. If we consider the reviews of individual diets, then they are often positive, since people have their own vision, which can be left within the calorie restriction, and which they easily refuse.
In order to succeed, it is important to choose a diet that is easy to follow daily for a long period of time. Also, do not neglect physical activity. This does not mean that you need to settle in the gym. But walks in the fresh air, regular classes in any sport 2-3 times a week should become an integral part of the life of those who fight for a beautiful and healthy body.
Only a comprehensive approach to the problem can help get rid of it forever.