Counting calories and not salting enough food: 8 eating habits you should get

1. Count calories

Calorie counting is necessary not only for those who are trying to lose weight or, conversely, gain muscle mass. This healthy habit helps you understand the nutritional value of foods. Let's take the conditional 500 kcal as an example. This is one chocolate bar, from which the body will not receive anything useful, except for a momentary pleasure from sweets. A large plate of vegetable salad with chicken and avocado will "cost" the same 500 kcal, only the benefits from it are much greater.

Knowing the nutritional value of foods is also necessary in order to understand the restrictions. For example, nuts contain calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamins, and essential fatty acids. This is a healthy food, but should be included in your diet as a small snack. Nuts are high in calories, and if you eat them uncontrollably, you can quietly gain extra pounds.

2. Monitor Nutrient Ratio

Everyone should eat the main nutrients: protein, fat and carbohydrates. All of them are important because they play a strictly defined role in the functioning of the body. A simple formula will help you remember the correct ratio of these substances in your diet: “

One protein, one fat, four carbohydrates».

Another way to deal with nutrients is to mentally divide your plate into three equal portions. During each meal, two of them should be occupied by complex carbohydrates. And the third is to divide proteins and fats among themselves. Let's say you are planning to dine on chicken breast. To just eat up, it is enough to put yourself three or four slices of fillet. But if you want a balanced serving, it is better to limit yourself to one slice of chicken, but complement the dish with a side dish of rice and vegetable salad seasoned with olive oil. Rice should be minimally processed.

3. Eat vegetables and fruits every day

Vegetables and fruits contain vitamins and minerals, without which the body cannot function normally. Plus, these foods are a natural source of fiber for good digestion.

World health organization insiststhat vegetables and fruits should be eaten every day. An adult must consume at least five servings. At the same time, the group of useful foods does not include potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and other vegetables with a high starch content.

To "green" the diet, you do not need to chase expensive exotic fruits and products out of season. For example, in winter you can eat cabbage, carrots, onions, beets, pumpkin, celery, citrus fruits, apples, cranberries and a dozen more different vegetables and fruits. Add them gradually to each meal, and you won't notice how it becomes a habit.

4. Cook it yourself

The rhythm of modern life sometimes turns us on to the culinary arts of supermarkets and fast food establishments. It is, however, important to learn to pay attention to how your meals are prepared at home.

In your own kitchen, it is easier to compose a balanced menu, taking into account the BJU norm and your taste preferences. You can always replace a harmful product in a dish with a healthy one. For example, make an Olivier salad with chicken breast and yogurt dressing instead of sausage and store-bought mayonnaise. Plus, only personal control will keep you safe from expired foods, empty calories, and unhealthy trans fats.

The habit of cooking also disciplines. If you live on an emergency schedule, you are likely to skip breakfast, lunch, or - even worse - both meals. Pre-assembled lunch boxes with homemade food and healthy snacks will help you stay on track.

5. Memorize the composition of products

Cooking at home still involves the use of some ready-made foods: sauces, canned vegetables, spice mixes, milk, and many others. The composition of such products printed on the label is important information that cannot be ignored. For example, simple tomato paste can vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. One jar will contain only tomatoes and water, while the other will contain sugar, starch, or other ingredients that make the product more nutritious.

6. Stop buying mayonnaise

Is it hard to imagine a feast without herring under a fur coat and French meat drenched in mayonnaise? But in vain. The finished mayonnaise may contain hazardous trans fats. Marketers come up with various tricks to disguise the product as useful: light, olive, on quail eggs. This is all a myth. Also, any store-bought mayonnaise will bring a burst of calories.

The best alternative to industrial sauce in terms of composition is a yogurt or sour cream dressing. If you love mayonnaise so much that you are not ready to give it up completely, try making it at home. To do this, you need to beat the vegetable oil with raw yolks and lemon juice for a long time. Such a delicacy, of course, will not become less high-calorie, but you can be sure of the naturalness of the composition.

7. Undersalting food

Table salt, which is found in every kitchen, consists of two elements: chlorine and sodium. They are playing important role in metabolic processes: maintain fluid balance, are responsible for the transport of oxygen and nutrients to the tissue. At the same time, salt abuse can seriously affect your health. There is a risk of developing arterial hypertension and associated cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart failure, as well as chronic kidney disease.

In the question "Salt or not salt?" the measure is important. WHO recommends consume up to 5 g of sodium chloride daily. This amount is visually equal to a small teaspoon. That being said, keep in mind that most ready-to-eat foods already contain salt, so the best strategy is to be undersalted. while cooking, and in the store walk past the shelves with salty snacks: chips, crackers, crackers, peanuts and dried fish.

8. Reduce the amount of sugar in the diet

Nutritionists consider everything to be sugar simple carbohydrates: sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose and maltose. These substances are found in foods that cannot be completely eliminated from the diet: fruits, milk and some grains. But the amount of refined sugar, including hidden in unsweetened foods, is really worth limiting.

The World Health Organization names any sugar added to food and naturally found in honey, syrups, and concentrated juices. free. Such sugars increase the risk of obesity, which, in turn, brings with it a number of other specific problems: diseases of the cardiovascular system, metabolic disorders, diabetes.

To minimize the harm from free sugars, you should eliminate soda, industrial desserts and pastries, breakfast cereals, and stop adding sugar to tea and coffee. Recommendations for the amount of free sugars in the diet are: less than 5% of the daily energy intake, or approximately 25 g (five teaspoons) per day.