How not to grow fat on the low-calorie products

Foods with low energy density can both help and hinder nutrition. To low-fat foods are useful, you need to follow a few simple principles.

At first glance, low-calorie foods promise solid pros: you can eat what you like, there is much as you want and not worry about the calories. But sometimes this approach plays a cruel joke with us: we become so careless that eat twice more than the body needs. It turns out like the old joke about the pizza, which is asked to cut into four pieces, because eight pieces - it's too much.

The balance between calories and satiety

Surely you do not just meet low-calorie versions of popular products. Of course, they have fewer calories, however, and a feeling of fullness from them may be much weaker - it is likely that you just do not naedites. But with 200-gram chicken breast it is unlikely to happen: feeling of satiety will come sooner than you doedite it.

Treat calories like the budget, that is, put a goal to be the most well-fed at the lowest possible daily intake of calories.

Low-calorie options are good only if you are at the same time do not feel constant hunger. Olive oilFor example, one of the most high-calorie foods, but gives a feeling of fullness that you do not want to have a bite and get calories from other foods. As a result, you eat less.

Psychological and physical satiation satiety

satiety is not only physical but also psychological state. It is difficult to feel satiety and satisfaction when you deny yourself favorite foods.

Even when you are full, you can be unbearably want something to eat, for example, sweet. In this case, you will save the jelly without sugar, which will satisfy the need for sweet and almost no impact on the daily consumption of calories.

Sometimes low-calorie versions of products are very helpful. For example, if you miss the cake, get them in the dietary options (they exist, trust me), eat and chill out. Of course, they will not be quite so low-calorie or useful. But better that than to suffer for a long time, and then break up and swallow whole cake.

However, this does not always and not for everyone. For example, someone has the same low-calorie cake can only tease the appetite and cause even more intense desire to pamper themselves with something tasty. As a result, one cake may result in a chocolate, cake and a handful of chocolates - you will get less than if you just ate a coveted cake with butter cream.

It is important to know yourself well and understand the situations in which a low-calorie foods will solve the problem, and in which - create it.

How to choose between conventional and low-calorie products

When deciding what to spend daily requirement of calories, Consider the following.

• Nutritional value of the product is more important than its caloric content. It is believed that the increase in the proportion of protein and reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the diet lead to greater saturation. But this does not mean that we should have one protein and completely abandon the carbohydrates. This means that you need to find an optimal proportion.
• Low-calorie versions of products provide marketers, not nutritionists. Their main goal - to get you to buy the product, not the cause of your weight in order. Carefully read the information on the packaging and does not believe the advertising.
• Not labeled as: any product is not absolutely harmful or absolutely useful. Reason as an investor: I think that will give you the use of a product. In some situations, opt for low-calorie counterpart is justified, but it is very much in this case depends on the individual, his environment, activity will force the situation itself, and many other factors.

The last point is particularly important. Many reading this article, would exclaim: "How is it - eat cake? There are cakes bad! "This attitude will ruin any diet. Be a little more flexible when choosing foods. On this principle, by the way, is so-called flexible diet.

Lyle McDonald, a sports physiologist, nutritionist and one of the first supporters of a flexible diet, argues that there are two reasons why conventional diets do not provide the desired effect:

• categorical and waiting ideal result;
• focus only on the short term.

Flexible diet is based on the opposite principles: renunciation of categorical and focus both on the short and on the long run.

Follow these tips, listen to yourself, and you can often make the right choice between your favorite high-calorie foods and low-calorie counterparts.