Advice from nutritionists to eat carbohydrate foods for breakfast can be a disservice: confirmation by professionals of our inner desires sometimes produces unpleasant results.
Oatmeal with fruit in a white plate - photo: Fotolia.com
A healthy breakfast, from the point of view of a nutritionist, is a gentle launch of the entire gastrointestinal tract into work. As well as providing the body with the necessary energy. Our body, in principle, agrees with this. But in the fall he has one secret, but very strong desire - he wants to cover himself with fat. Frightened by the first autumn cold, our body persistently asks for calories. His desire is understandable: reasonably assuming that the first cold spells are just “flowers”, he seeks to cover himself with a fat blanket. And it triggers an almost constant feeling, if not of hunger, then of the desire to “eat something.” And carbohydrates are most often disguised as this “something”. Is it possible to replace them with something? Yes.
Breakfast
You should never skip breakfast. Nutritionists advise eating an hour after waking up, and immediately after sleep, drinking a glass of warm water, preferably with lemon. Breakfasts should include 25% of your daily calorie intake. The ideal breakfast is a boiled egg, toast with butter and cheese. Or a bowl of porridge. Be sure to have fresh fruit or juice.
The article: 5 best dietary breakfasts will help you decide what to cook for breakfast.
Why doesn’t a person gain weight, but still eats a lot?
Let's look at the most popular reasons why a person does not gain weight, gaining weight with every extra spoon:
Fast metabolism and metabolism
Metabolism is a very complex chemical process that is constantly running in our body. In the event of various malfunctions and diseases, it usually freezes and subsides, and then we begin to recover.
All substances that enter the body are first processed and then absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract; they are necessary for the growth and structure of cells and the nervous system. And if all these processes occur quickly, then the body simply does not have time to put something aside.
Genetic characteristics of the body
In fact, this is the same accelerated metabolism, which is transmitted from father or mother to children, and is laid down at the genetic level. A person may also have the Atkins gene, which allows them to produce saliva, which breaks down incoming food faster and more efficiently.
Various hormonal disorders
Many are sure that hormonal disorders are aimed only at gaining excess weight, but there is also the opposite effect. A person may simply not recover for reasons such as:
With hyperreactivity of the thyroid gland , the gland simply produces more hormones, and they speed up metabolic processes. It manifests itself as sweating, and there may be a constant fever without an inflammatory disease.
Insufficient insulin is produced - if there is little of it, then type 1 diabetes can develop, which means that a person will not be able to simply absorb and break down carbohydrates from food, and accordingly will not get better. Often manifests itself as constant thirst.
Suppressed activity of the adrenal cortex leads to a decrease in hormones that are responsible for the supply and consumption of energy in the body. A person eats a lot, but does not gain weight. Manifests itself as numbness in the limbs and muscle weakness.
Digestive problems – diseases such as ulcers and gastritis, dysbacteriosis or enzyme deficiency may occur. If you constantly experience nausea or heartburn, you should consult a doctor.
Dinner
2-3 hours after tea you can have lunch. Lunch should be the largest meal of the day, about 40% of your total calories for the day. Did you know that the tradition of a 3-course lunch came to us from the East; in Europe and Russia they dined “with what God sent”. That is, on holidays the table was full of snacks and food, and on weekdays lunch could only consist of porridge with meat and vegetables. This means that if your soup is high in calories, then for the main course you can limit yourself to only salad. Or eat a nice piece of meat with rice, add a bowl of vegetables and skip the borscht.
But a little overeating at lunch is acceptable, because there is still half a day ahead and you will have time to burn calories if you walk after work or, even better, go to the gym.
Lunch break without harm to your figure. What to give preference to?
In an Italian restaurant , when ordering pizza, it is better to stick to a simple version (and therefore less fatty and high in calories) - “margherita”, “Neapolitan”, “four seasons”. Avoid the puff pastry base, smoked sausage with pepper, hot sausages, lard and pasta as a filling, and spicy seasoning made from vegetable oil and ground pepper. If the pizza doesn't have enough vegetables, order fried eggplant, colza salad or tomatoes (without mozzarella) with vinaigrette. Pasta carbonara and lasagna with sour cream sauce are a bit heavy on the stomach. Ask for "pasta Bolognese" or spaghetti with vegetables, seasoned with Parmesan cheese. For dessert - fruit salad or ice cream. Ignore the signature Italian pastry - a fluffy bun, which, at the client’s request, is filled with cottage cheese, chocolate or vanilla cream - too high in calories.
A French restaurant traditionally offers a lot of vegetables and stewed greens. The hallmark of French cuisine is onion soup seasoned with cheese, or leek soup with potatoes. It is believed that both dishes sharpen the mind and whet the sexual appetite, conducive to office romances. But you shouldn’t order deep-fried potatoes and a rare steak to go with it - it’s hard on the stomach! You will then nod off in the office, cursing the hearty food. Order ratatouille (vegetable stew with zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, sweet peppers), bouillabaisse or fish, which is presented in a wide variety on the menu of French restaurants.
In an oriental restaurant , skip the appetizers - here they are very fatty. The exception is couscous, which contains the required amount of proteins, vegetables and starch. Order chicken, small sausages on skewers or lamb skewers and plenty of vegetables. Less sauce (it will probably be too spicy and greasy) and oriental sweets. A smart choice is an orange salad, a scoop of popsicles, a cup of mint tea.
A Japanese restaurant serves a lot of protein food (pieces of meat or fish, sushi), but almost no vegetables. Sea kale soup or salad is the maximum that vegetarians can expect. When choosing sushi, keep in mind that this dish is served with rice - you do not need to order a side dish separately. It's easy to avoid temptations at dessert: all they offer is fresh fruit and popsicles.
In a Chinese restaurant, preference should be given to steamed or grilled food. Excellent choices include chicken with pineapple, beef with ginger, scallops in batter, shrimp or fish with a side dish of white rice and vegetables. You can order a salad of cabbage, soybeans and black mushrooms with boiled meat. For dessert - exotic fruits. It would be good to check the calendar. After all, the menu of classic Chinese cuisine dishes depends on the time of year. In Beijing, every chef will say that food that is good for summer is absolutely not suitable for winter, the spring menu helps to cleanse the body, and the autumn menu helps to put aside supplies for the winter.
In a Russian restaurant, limit yourself to one sweet pancake and one with caviar, meat or sugar-free cottage cheese. Avoid mixed protein fillings (ham with mushrooms, fish or liver with eggs). Ask for some vegetables inside or order a light salad. A sweet pancake can be sprinkled with sugar, sprinkled with lemon, honey or fruit syrup, but not with hot chocolate - this is too high in calories. Mushrooms with potatoes in a pot with sour cream sauce can be ordered for lunch, but at dinner this is not the best choice - heavy food will not let you sleep a wink. Ask for a fish dish, such as kalia or fish solyanka. Kalya is a thick spicy fish soup made from noble varieties of fish in cucumber brine. Solyanka is prepared from several types of fish and a large amount of vegetables and spices. Both dishes are literally a concentrate of health.
Afternoon snack
The afternoon snack follows two to three hours after lunch. For an afternoon snack, you need to be more careful about the calorie content of foods. The ideal afternoon snack is vegetables, some unsalted and unroasted nuts.
If you have to exercise on this day, treat yourself to a glass of delicious yogurt or cottage cheese dessert.
If you go to the gym, be sure to read the article What to eat after a workout?
How many alcoholic drinks can I have?
Everyone has their own limit on alcohol. But we are talking about energy value. Many people mistakenly believe that beer is the highest in calories. However, wines, spirits and cocktails can be high in calories and added sugar.
"The calories in alcohol are a little concerning because people don't even think about them or count them," says Lindsay Moyer, a nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Additionally: drunkenness does not go away without a trace, and leaves a mark not only on the figure, but also on our children. See this article for what the baby face of alcoholism looks like.
Beer
Some beers are actually low in calories: a 355ml light beer contains about 4 percent alcohol and 100 calories. The same size Budweiser is also quite light at 5 percent alcohol and 150 calories.
But there are more calories if you drink strong beer, which contains from 7 to 10 percent alcohol.
“If that's the alcohol percentage, that's about 200 to 300 calories,” warns Moyer. This is the approximate calorie content of an average French fry or a cup of vanilla ice cream.
Cocktails
If you're watching your calorie intake, choosing beer is a better choice than most cocktails. They often have added sugar and high fructose corn syrup, which is what makes them so delicious.
According to the CSPI, cocktails need to be treated with caution: Olive Garden's margarita, for example, contains 340 calories - the same as two and a half cans of Budweiser or Coke.
And in some cocktails they even add, in addition to alcohol, chocolate and whipped cream. This drink will contain more than 700 calories - about the same as a Double Royal Cheeseburger at McDonald's.
And cocktails for a large number of vacationers in a pleasant company may seem much tastier than pure alcoholic drinks. Therefore, you will want to repeat it again and again.
Wine
The difference in caloric content between wines is less noticeable than between different types of beer - most white and red wines contain about 150 calories (per 170 ml).
Over time, sweeter grape varieties began to be used, according to Gavin Lavie Sachs, a wine history researcher at Cornell University.
“It appears that the average alcohol content of wines has increased by about 1% since the early 1990s, from 12.5% to 13.5% alcohol.”
And, again, the more alcohol, the higher the calorie content.
According to Sachs, this is due to climate change, "as higher temperatures affect the accumulation of sugars in plants." But there is also anecdotal evidence that “winemakers deliberately use sweeter varieties to satisfy the desires of consumers or critics.”
For example, there is growing interest in moscato, a sweeter wine that contains more sugar and calories. This is especially noted in California, where wine is produced mainly from sweet grape varieties.
“Grape sugar content increases as the plant grows, and later harvest dates result in higher sugar content,” says Lavie Sachs. “Higher sugar levels at the start of fermentation will result in higher alcohol content in the finished wine.”
Result: the sweeter the wine and the more alcohol it contains, the more calories it contains. Or, as one New York Times article puts it, “a thick, fruity wine.”
Dinner
The last meal of the day is 2-3 hours after the afternoon snack. And ideally 3 hours before going to bed. Limit your calorie intake and focus on vegetables, lean meats or fish.
By the end of the day, the body gives signals of fatigue; even with sedentary work, a person spends a large amount of energy. The desire to make up for what is lost results in the desire to eat something sweet and fatty.
Nutritionists advise not to give up protein foods altogether; carbohydrates are necessary. But eating flour for dinner will inevitably lead to excess weight. Cravings for sweets can be suppressed with tea with mint or dried fruits.
Read more in the article What to eat for dinner to avoid gaining weight
When you eat small meals regularly, you won't go hungry and your body won't store fat for a rainy day.
What should you eat for breakfast to avoid gaining extra pounds?
Nutritionists advise starting the day with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, which will “wake up” a sleepy stomach and awaken your appetite. Citrus juice is rich in vitamins, which have a positive effect on digestion and promote the production of insulin, a hormone that has a multifaceted effect on metabolism in almost all tissues of the human body.
5-10 minutes after drinking a glass of juice, you will have a desire to eat. By this time, you can prepare a light fruit salad or a portion of natural yogurt with muesli. Alternatively, you can simply drink a cup of tea with grain bread and a spoonful of honey.
The joys of youth
During this period, it is possible to enjoy almost any type of cooking, since it is quite difficult to gain weight.
However, it must be said that even when the body is young, fresh and healthy, and the metabolism works great and processes almost anything, it remains possible to gain weight.
The reasons here may be different:
- Lifestyle;
- hormonal disbalance;
- eating disorder.
For example, if a young man consumes a lot of fast food, then over time he may develop a disorder in the hormonal system. In particular, problems with the production of insulin, and in addition to this, problems with the pancreas and some other internal organs. The result is suboptimal digestion of food and obesity.
Therefore, even when age allows, one should not go to extremes. You need to monitor factors that may be partially independent of you, for example, if in youth they work too actively or other hormones may also be observed, obesity or other eating disorders that lead to weight gain.
Therefore, the ideal option is always a harmonious and high-quality diet that you use at any age.
Choose the right one
There are a few simple rules that will help you choose a dish that is sufficiently satisfying, tasty and at the same time safe for your health and figure:
- refuse appetizers or main courses prepared in breading or batter: as a rule, a lot of vegetable oil is used during cooking, which is saturated with dangerous trans fats;
- when choosing soups, give preference to those cooked in a clear broth: cream and cheese, which are added to puree soups, are extra centimeters on our waist;
- if you like Italian or Mexican cuisine, give preference to dishes whose sauces are made from tomato paste rather than cream or cheese;
- when choosing meat, give preference to grilled dishes, as well as those that contain boiled or baked meat;
- Whatever you order, be sure to add a salad of vegetables or dark green leaves to your chosen dish.
