Basics of menu planning for weight loss
Most nutritionists agree that you can't rely on willpower alone. Almost all diets are based on a gradual reduction in diet. It is important to remember that fasting is strictly prohibited. This method of reducing body weight will sooner or later lead to completely opposite results.
The statement that everything tasty is not healthy can also be considered erroneous. When most people hear the term “diet,” they imagine bland, unattractive meals, but this is not true either. Losing extra pounds by eating a varied diet is possible and necessary. How to achieve the desired result without extra effort? The recommendations of specialists and the correct calculation of nutrition for weight loss should help with this.
Advice from nutritionists and sports trainers:
- do not confuse the feeling of hunger and thirst (often a glass of warm still water calms the stomach);
- do not be lazy to chew your food (it is believed that for normal digestion, food entering the intestines must be thoroughly crushed);
- give up bad habits (stop smoking, don’t abuse alcohol and completely give up fast food);
- eat often, but in small portions (every 3-4 hours);
- do not limit yourself to fluids (consuming 1-1.5 liters of water per day is considered optimal).
Of course, following such recommendations is not enough to quickly lose weight, but controlling your diet will be the first step to a beautiful, toned body.
How to Eliminate Possible Disadvantages of a Meal Plan
If everything were as good as described above, the method of diet planning would have long ago become incredibly popular and in demand. However, there are also pitfalls here, so before moving on to the rules for drawing up your own plans, we’ll talk about the possible disadvantages of this approach.
"Antisocial" behavior
Every time a person goes on a diet, those around him are not too happy about it. Firstly, for many, following a healthy eating plan seems irrational, and secondly, it means that you most likely will not be able to participate in family and friends' feasts. It so happens that people who refuse alcohol or certain foods are looked at askance. Most likely, you yourself will begin to avoid such meetings in order not to feel awkward and avoid breakdowns. On the other hand, if you wish, you can find like-minded people and get support from them. If your environment does not share your views and openly criticizes them, most likely you just need to change them.
Disruptions
Often arise precisely because of the lack of support from loved ones who are not ready to follow your healthy eating plans. You will have to learn to negotiate and increase your level of self-control. Just because you adhere to certain rules does not mean that those around you should also follow them. Most likely, you will have to eat separately. Or pump up your willpower to the maximum, not paying attention to your neighbor’s plate. For those who cannot give up sweets, Herbalife Nutrition's Yellow Pills* can help. The chromium contained in the product reduces cravings for sweets and allows you to more successfully fight overeating. Garcinia Cambogia extract stimulates the fat burning process, so “Yellow Pills” may be well suited for those who want to lose excess weight faster.
Lack of diversity
Many fans of planned nutrition complain about this minus. However, it is very simple to level it out: introduce seasonal and exotic fruits and vegetables into your diet, do not forget about greens, seafood, meat, fish, and nuts. With the right approach, your weekly meal plan can include a lot of interesting (and fairly easy) dishes. For example, one of the full meals can be replaced by a Formula 1 protein shake from Herbalife Nutrition. The weight loss program is based on 9 cocktails with different flavors, so using them to create a varied diet will be easy. In addition, Formula 1 allows you to provide the body with the necessary protein and a whole complex of essential vitamins and minerals.
Temporary restrictions
The stricter you set the boundaries of what is permitted for yourself (for example, you completely exclude chocolate from your diet or refuse to eat after six in the evening), the higher the risk that you will relapse. However, it is quite simple to level out this drawback: you need to give yourself more freedom. And, of course, don’t forget about variety: the more interesting your diet, the easier it is to resist temptation.
Basic principles of changing the appearance of the body
Each person who comes to the gym has different goals, but we will consider two - losing weight (getting rid of subcutaneous fat) and gaining muscle mass.
Our body can change depending on how we live. If our lifestyle is sedentary, then the body will adapt to it: the body does not need muscle tone, since there is no external load; joints, ligaments, and the cardiovascular system will also not be developed (why?). You don’t buy a bulldozer to dig a small hole in the garden, but just take a shovel, sometimes not even a particularly strong one, the one that has been lying behind the garage for a long time. It’s the same with the body. Why should he develop all his physical qualities, build muscle mass, get rid of excess fat if he doesn’t need it? If you want to gain muscle mass, then you need to put your body in such conditions that building muscle becomes its main goal, i.e. create stressful conditions for the body by increasing working weights and then, as a side reaction, there will be an increase in muscle mass in order to train more intensely and lift more weights.
If you want to lose weight, then the body must be placed in such conditions that adipose tissue is “extra ballast” and storing energy in the form of fat is not necessary.
But in order for everything described above to work, the body needs your help.
In order to gain muscle mass, building material and energy are needed, which are often not enough. But by consuming the necessary nutrients, you help quickly restore damaged tissue and replenish energy reserves for further intense exercise.
When it comes to losing weight, there are several options to achieve your goal. The first is to add exercise intensity while maintaining the same nutrition plan. The second is to leave training at the same level, but create a correct diet, improving the quality of food consumed, and, if necessary, reducing its quantity.
If necessary, you can add various sports supplements for fat burning and for gaining muscle mass to any nutrition plan; they will speed up the process of achieving the goal under appropriate loads.
Meal plan options
So, the main options on which you can start when drawing up a nutrition plan are either counting calories or using the “poke” method, observing the results when changing your diet.
Calorie calculation
In this case, it is worth stocking up with pen, paper and a reference book of nutritional values of foods. I will say right away that it is almost impossible to calculate the exact calorie consumption by your body during the day, unless in laboratory conditions and if the laboratory is with you throughout the day. Therefore, we do it a little simpler: we write down all the foods eaten during the day and their weight, then we write everything down by proteins, fats and carbohydrates and calculate the total calorie intake for the day (1g protein = 4 calories, 1g fat = 9 calories, 1g carbohydrates = 4 calories ). And we do this for a week. If with such a diet the weight stays the same and the appearance does not change in any way, then we manipulate the calorie content. If we are losing weight, we cut our daily diet by 200-300 calories, but if we gain muscle mass, we add 200-300 calories from protein and carbohydrates.
Visual Perception Method
People who have been working out in the gym on their own for a long time know how much they need to train and what their diet should be to achieve the goal without calculating calories. In the same way, anyone can achieve an intuitive training program and nutrition plan. You will have to study and observe your body for more than one year, but it is worth it because you have complete control over the situation with your appearance. Start by taking a “before” photo in your underwear so that you can also compare from the photo what happened to your body over the course of 1-2 months. Then create a suitable training program in the gym and, without adjusting your nutrition plan, see what changes happen to your body in a month. After this, depending on the goal, add or subtract the amount of food consumed and change the quality. After another month, compare the appearance “before” and now from the photographs and continue to proceed in the same way. An objective assessment of changes in appearance will be comments from strangers, so you can show photos to friends to hear what really is.
Benefits of a planned diet
Important note: it is not enough just to create a nutrition plan, you also need to stick to it. This is quite difficult at first, especially if you are not used to denying yourself food before. The so-called “reward system” works perfectly in the human brain, which releases hormones of joy and pleasure. She produces them after a surge of adrenaline, during sports and eating. This is why we often cannot refuse an additional portion of a tasty (and very unhealthy) dish: the brain likes it.
Interesting fact.
A person's taste for sweets is noticeable from infancy. Children have different tastes. If you give your baby sweetened water, he will express pleasure. The sweeter the solution, the more the child will like it.**
So there is nothing strange about human overeating. But if you want to get rid of excess weight, you will have to take control of your eating habits.
Save time
When you make an exact list of what should be included in your diet, you will be surprised to find that you have a lot of time freed up. Now you don’t have to go shopping, figuring out what exactly to cook: the entire list of allowed products is already there. So a good meal plan is not only about the menu, but also about time management.
Clear diet
A well-thought-out menu makes it easy to avoid temptations and unnecessary purchases. This way you can be sure that there will be nothing unnecessary on your plate, only healthy food.
Saving money
A diet plan for weight loss means that you stop visiting restaurants and cafes where you can order fast food. In addition, the amount of junk food in the consumer basket will be significantly reduced. Remove snacks, candies or cakes from your regular diet and see how the amount on your check decreases.
Stress Reduction
This point is relevant for those who are very worried about compliance with BZHU and monitor calorie intake. In a healthy eating plan, everything is already covered, so you don’t have to weigh each dish.
Improved Energy Levels
One of the most important benefits of strict control over your own diet. The results will be noticed by those who exercise in parallel with following the PP diet. With regular healthy eating, the body receives all the necessary substances that improve its physical potential. Plus, by eating a better diet, you can avoid blood sugar spikes, ketosis, fatigue, and other unpleasant things. And don’t forget that your athletic performance largely depends on the right diet.
Good result
If you not only made a diet plan, but also stuck to it, avoiding breakdowns and overeating, then you will most likely notice a positive result within a few weeks. Especially if at the same time you start training on a regular basis or moving more: walking, climbing stairs, rather than taking the elevator.
