Amount of food per meal. How much food should you eat? For what purpose are they interested?

Overeating is the main reason for weight gain. To be slim and healthy, the amount of food per day should be no more than that required for physiological processes in the body.

The uncontrolled process of eating food occurs:

• while watching an interesting TV show
• when a person gets worried
• during stress
• in case of non-compliance with the daily routine and diet
• if your metabolism is disturbed

The process of eating must necessarily be conscious.

In order not to overeat, it is enough to put food on the plate in a certain amount, which is determined simply: by your own hands.

Each person's hand size is different. It happens that a slender and fragile woman has large hands, which means, as they say, she has a “rectum”, her body requires an increased amount of food and she can eat plenty, but... no more than the volume that fits in her hands .

There is a large man with small hands. This means that he needs to reduce the amount of food so as not to gain weight and always be in shape.

Nature never makes mistakes and in the body of any person everything is interconnected and organically arranged. You just need to learn to listen to it (nature) and follow its instructions.

How much should you eat per day to lose weight?

The amount of food per day has its own norm and it is advisable not to exceed it:

• Place two palms together like a boat. This amount of food is your norm for breakfast
• for snacks, the amount of food should not exceed the open palm of one hand
• for lunch, as well as for breakfast, the amount is determined by the folded palms of both hands
• for dinner - no more than the fist of one hand.

It’s not for nothing that they say: “Eat breakfast yourself and give dinner to the enemy.”

Like in that Soviet cartoon about a monkey, a parrot and a snake... Let's calculate how much you need to eat per day in "parrots" (in 2 palms): two palms for breakfast and lunch, 1 palm for 2 snacks, it turns out 1 more time two palms and for dinner a quarter of two palms. The total is: 3.25 two palms.

Again, as in the cartoon, re-envision for yourself “parrots into snakes”, that is: measure the volume of two palms on some plate (with a blue border) and then your daily diet will be equal to 3.25 times a plate with a blue border.

How much should you eat to lose weight

For those losing weight, the process of calculating calories is quite labor-intensive and, in the end, either there is not enough time for it or it gets boring counting calories all the time when you want to eat immediately and a lot...

How much should you eat to lose weight, without counting calories each time? It’s enough just to remember a few simple techniques for determining the amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fruits and vegetables.

Now you won’t need to keep counting tables and scales in the kitchen. Only your hands will be needed.

Your hands are always with you and therefore it is very convenient to quickly navigate the amount of products that you put on your plate, without resorting to additional means and saving time.

Manual diet during the day

1. meat-animal protein - should be present in the diet the size of one open palm
2. carbohydrates are needed for the body every day in an amount equal to the size of the front of the fist
3. the amount of vegetables should fit in the folded palms of both hands
4. fruits (for snacking) can be consumed in quantities whose dimensions are projected onto a hand clenched into a fist
5. The question of the amount of butter per day has always been acute: some claim that it is very beneficial for the digestive tract, while others recommend limiting fats due to cholesterol. The amount of butter per day should be no more than the upper phalanx of your index finger
6. cheese is an excellent product, the beneficial properties of which are undeniable, but it should be eaten no more than the width of two folded fingers, because it also contains fats.

Naturally, everyone chooses the meat that suits them, greens can be classified as vegetables, and fats are best consumed each time in the form of various products, such as butter, nuts, eggs, cheese, fatty cottage cheese, etc.

Be especially careful with fats, because any natural product necessarily contains some amount of fat.

Do not forget about separate meals: it is better not to mix meat with carbohydrates at one meal, because these products are very difficult to digest together in the gastrointestinal tract.

It may seem at first glance that this amount of food is somehow very small. But take a look at the menu and you will see that everything corresponds to the recommendations of nutritionists:

• breakfast: oatmeal (carbohydrates equal to the front of your fist), you can add a piece of cheese
• morning snack: fruit, maybe an apple
• lunch: palm-sized meat, a “handful” of vegetables as a side dish
• afternoon snack: fruit, preferably not as high in calories as an apple, such as apricot or dried fruit
• give dinner to the enemy or the size of a fist - with vegetables. Larisa Dolina, for example, drinks only a glass of kefir at dinner.

The amount of food per day, limited by the size of your hands, fits quite logically into all recommendations for losing weight and not overeating. The manual diet has long been in service, for example, Elena Malysheva, who recommends eating small portions 5-6 times a day. Everyone who gets her weight loss program has had huge results.

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What science says about how many times a day you should eat.

Zozhnik popularly outlines the position of the International Society of Sports Nutrition regarding meal frequency, based on dozens of scientific sources. So, how many times a day should you eat, according to scientific research?

The statistics are unemotional: among US adults over 20 years of age, 65% are overweight or obese, and there are no signs of a significant improvement in this situation. In Russia, this indicator is not much better - about 51% of people (data: 2010) weigh more than necessary and the dynamics are also not encouraging.

We will not list the obvious harm from excess weight in this text. Let’s dwell on just one of the frequently discussed topics – how body weight and composition changes depending on the frequency of meals.

(Here and further we will cite as an example studies of mainly Americans, since a Russian person is essentially exactly the same, only his bonds are slightly different, and there is practically no data and research on Russia).

How many times a day do people eat?

Children have a natural need to eat small portions (“peck” food) throughout the day. However, after reaching a certain age child gets used to eating food in a certain way.

How much, often and what exactly we eat is influenced by many factors - from family and country traditions to genetics. Recent research suggests a partial genetic influence on individual meal frequency. According to the National Food Consumption Survey ( Nationwide Food Consumption Survey – NFCS, 1987 – 1988), the average meal frequency among 3,182 American adults was 3.47 times per day—that's when all snacks, including high-calorie drinks, are taken into account. if we discard intermediate meals up to 70 kcal (for example, tea, coffee, drinks), then the number of meals decreased to 3.12 per day.

Actually, this fact is confirmed by the traditionally common 3 meals a day: those same breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even though nutritionists and trainers often recommend eating small meals more often throughout the day to gain metabolic benefits, people are hesitant to follow them.

Some scientists believe that eating infrequently, but in large portions, increases the risk of obesity by increasing synthesis and storage (lipogenesis or “deposition” of fat) after eating. However, scientists have not come to a consensus: the debate continues, since research data is contradictory.

How many times a day to eat: in Does the frequency of your meals affect your body?

Over the past few years, researchers have been looking into the effects of meal frequency. Here are the results of some of the most interesting ones.

Some early human studies, published about 50 years ago, assessed the effects of meal frequency on weight and body composition. In some experiments, a similar connection was discovered. Others refute the effect of increasing the number of meals on weight and body composition.

Some studies show an inverse relationship between food frequency and body composition/weight – i.e. the more meals you eat, the less you weigh (all other things being equal - for example, with the same number of calories). However, these data are questioned: in addition to the obvious genetic differences of the subjects, there are other factors that can influence the results and conclusions.

For example, in experiments that use data collected by the experimental subjects themselves to compare total daily energy expenditure, food consumption is often underestimated (We wrote about such a case in the text “” - there in the study people cheated by 1.5-2 times). Several studies have found significant underestimation of calories consumed by overweight and obese people, as well as older people, who tend to underestimate what they eat.

The source notes a rather positive effect of eating more frequently on weight and body composition, even taking into account the possibility of underestimating people who restrict food/diet. However, this difference is insignificant and is not confirmed by many other studies.

If we discard interfering factors, thenMost studies show that increasing meal frequency does not play a significant role in weight loss/body composition changes.

Experimental research: there is no difference in the number of meals for ordinary people

Most experimental studies involve overweight and obese people. One study found: when the total daily calorie intake is unchanged(but at the same time with a lack of calories - for weight loss), no difference in weight loss is found, even when the frequency of meals per day is increased from one to nine. Roughly speaking, you can eat your, for example, 1500 kcal at least in one meal, even divided into 9 meals - there will be no difference - you will lose the same weight.

In 2010, Cameron and his colleagues evaluated the effects of an 8-week hypocaloric diet on obese men and women. One group of subjects consumed food 3 times a day (low food frequency), the other group had 3 main and 3 additional snacks (high food frequency). In both groups, caloric restriction was similar (minus 700 kcal/day from normal). As a result, a similar decrease in body weight (about 5% of the original), lean mass, fat and total BMI was recorded. There were no significant differences between groups with different eating frequencies in any of the obesity characteristics.

In addition to the experiments on fat people, several studies have been conducted on people of normal body weight. In terms of optimizing weight and body composition, the results were similar to those found in overweight/obese people: increasing meal frequency did not provide any benefit. Even on an isocaloric diet or when caloric intake helps maintain current body weight, increasing meal frequency from 1 to 5 or from 1 to 3 did not improve weight loss.

How many times a day to eat: and exceptions to the rule - children and athletes

An exception is the work of Fabry et al. The researchers showed that the increase in skinfold thickness in 10-16 year old boys and girls was significantly greater with 3 meals a day compared to 5 or 7 meals. At the same time, no significant differences were found between girls and boys aged 6-11 years.

Interestingly, many of the reports of improvements in body composition with increased eating frequency were obtained when the experimental group consisted of athletes. Thus, based on this limited information, it can be hypothesized that increasing meal frequency in athletes may improve body composition.

A small number of studies involving athletes have demonstrated these benefits from increasing meal frequency: reduced loss of lean muscle mass during a hypocaloric (calorie-deficient) diet, significant increases in lean muscle mass and anaerobic power, and significant increases in fat burning.

Meal frequency and effect on cholesterol, blood pressure, insulin in the body

There is much less literature in the scientific literature regarding the effects of changes in meal frequency on “health markers” such as blood lipids and glucose, blood pressure, hormone levels and cholesterol.

Gwinup et al were among the first to undertake several descriptive studies assessing the effects of eating like "herbivores" (frequent and low) versus "carnivores" (rare and high) in humans. Five hospitalized men and women were prescribed the consumption of isocaloric food for 14 days in a crossover method according to the following scheme:

• one large meal a day,
• 10 doses per day, every 2 hours,
• Three meals a day.

Eating like a carnivore (one meal per day) resulted in an increase in serum lipids compared to eating 3 times a day. Herbivore-type feeding (10 times per day) caused a decrease in serum lipids: phospholipids, esterified fatty acids and cholesterol.

Later, in studies involving obese and non-obese people, there was also a significant improvement in total cholesterol when isocaloric foods were consumed in 8 versus one meal and in 17 snacks versus 3 meals a day.

In a cross-sectional study that included 6,890 men and 7,776 women aged 45–75 years, in the general population, mean cholesterol concentrations decreased significantly with increasing meal frequency, even after adjusting for the confounding variables obesity, age, physical activity, and dietary intake. After adjusting for these variables, total and LDL cholesterol levels were about 5% lower in people who ate more than 6 times a day, compared with those who ate once or twice a day. Similar results were obtained by other researchers.

A recent cross-sectional study of the effects of meal frequency on health outcomes in humans compared traditional 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) versus consuming all of these meals in one serving. Each test subject adhered to one of the nutritional plans for 8 weeks with an 11-week break. When eating once a day, there was also a significant increase in total blood pressure.

Scientists reported that increasing meal frequency has a positive effect on glucose tolerance. Specifically, when subjects consumed 4 small meals at 40-minute intervals, rather than one large meal containing exactly the same number of calories, lower insulin secretion and glucose levels were observed.

When comparing consumption of an isocaloric diet of 17 small meals per day (versus 3 per day), serum insulin levels were 27.9% lower.

However, there are several experiments involving healthy men, healthy women, and overweight women that did not show any benefits on cholesterol and triglycerides.

Although research on health markers such as total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and glucose tolerance has been mixed, increasing meal frequency appears to have a beneficial effect.

However, it is noted that the experiments that found the benefits of increasing meal frequency were relatively short-term, and nothing is known about whether similar positive adaptations would occur in a long-term study.

How many times a day to eat: protein is better absorbed with a more even distribution in the diet

It is widely believed that the body can only absorb a limited amount of protein in one meal and it is necessary to distribute their consumption throughout the day for the best effect, for example, when increased protein nutrition is needed for muscle growth. And there is a scientific basis for this.

Based on recent research, muscle protein synthesis in response to a meal is optimal when consuming 20-30 grams of high-quality protein or 10-15 grams of essential amino acids - the amount most effectively absorbed per meal.

Research has shown that the typical American diet has an inadequate distribution of protein intake, with little protein at breakfast (about 10-14 grams) and the bulk at dinner (about 29-42 grams). Thus, the American diet optimizes protein synthesis only once a day - during dinner.

An animal study found that an equivalent distribution of protein between three meals (16% protein per serving) resulted in greater total protein synthesis and muscle mass, compared with suboptimal intake (8%) at breakfast and lunch and greater than optimal intake (27%). during the dinner. That is, protein is theoretically absorbed better if consumed more evenly throughout the day.

To observe a true relationship between meal frequency and protein status, it is necessary to use experimental models in which protein synthesis is optimized by consuming 5-6 rather than three servings. This was demonstrated by Paddon-Jones and colleagues, who found that mixed protein synthesis was approximately 23% higher when three large 800-kcal meals (containing about 23 g protein, 127 g carbohydrate, 30 g fat) were consumed supplemented with three small meals. 180 kcal servings with 15 g of essential amino acids, compared to consuming three large 850 kcal servings.

Combining the results of several studies, we can conclude that if protein synthesis is optimized, increasing meal frequency can have a positive effect on protein digestibility.

In addition, experiments with meal timing show the importance of protein intake before, during and after physical activity.

CONCLUSIONS

• For ordinary people who are not burdened with sports achievements and activities, for people with excess body weight, the frequency of meals does not matter. You can eat 1 time a day, you can eat 9 times a day - the result will be the same, it all depends on the number of calories consumed per day, and not on the number of meals.
• However, increasing the frequency of meals still has a positive effect on the normalization of blood pressure, cholesterol levels and surges in blood glucose and insulin levels.
• Increasing the frequency of meals (or rather, a more uniform and frequent distribution of protein across meals) also has a positive effect on the digestibility of protein, which is required in increased quantities, for example, for muscle growth.
• Some studies have shown positive impact of increasing nutritional frequency on body quality in athletes: reduction in the loss of lean muscle mass during “cutting” (hypocaloric diet), a significant increase in lean muscle mass and anaerobic power, a significant increase in “fat burning”.

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5 tablespoons – proper weight loss.

Why is the 5 tablespoons diet called nothing less than a diet for proper weight loss? 5 tablespoons - this is exactly the volume of a portion that provokes weight loss. This volume was established by the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians at the XIII International Congress of Dietitians.

As recent studies by the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences show, the most effective nutritional method is one that does not imply limiting the type of food, but reducing the amount entering the stomach at one time.

According to statistics, up to 90% of obese people have a stomach comparable in size to the stomach of large horned animals. According to Russian gastroenterologists in 2010, increased capacity of this digestive organ is characteristic of almost all overweight people. This pathology is caused by stretched muscular walls of the stomach, which, in a healthy state, should not exceed the size of a human fist. Due to this physiology, the ideal serving size was adopted to stimulate the reduction of fat mass, namely 5 full tablespoons.

This amount of food (5 spoons) is enough to satisfy your hunger and replenish your body's energy reserves. In addition, when receiving a single dose of food not exceeding 5 tablespoons in weight, your stomach will gradually begin to shrink. In fact, this process can be compared to the way woolen clothing shrinks after washing, or the way a balloon shrinks when the air is released from it.

5 spoon diet - lasting results

Any weight loss process will be useless if during the time you spend on a diet, the size of your stomach remains the same as “20 kilograms” ago. After all, according to its natural needs, laid down genetically, the body cannot constantly consume foods of only carbohydrate or only protein origin. Therefore, after finishing this or that diet, you return to your usual diet and favorite foods, and over time, to your previous weight. After all, you won’t eat tasteless food recommended by another diet all your life, will you?

This is why fruit or vegetable diets are so rarely effective - even if you eat 10 apples at one time, your stomach will stretch as if you ate several pieces of fatty pork. Of course, apples are lower in calories than meat, so you will lose weight in a week on such a diet. But, subsequently, thanks to your increased appetite and large stomach volume, you will very quickly gain back the lost kilograms.

Like any weight loss method that offers proper and, most importantly, long-term weight loss, the 5 tablespoon diet changes the physiology of digestion, reducing the stomach stretched by food to its natural size. As a result, a person losing weight normalizes their appetite, hunger is not felt so acutely and often, and a small amount of food keeps them feeling full for 5-6 hours.

Essentially, the 5 spoon diet returns the digestive processes to their healthy and proper functioning. This means that no matter how much time passes after completing the diet regimen, the newly gained kilograms will not bother you. No matter how much weight you lose on the 5 spoon diet, 5, 10 or 20 kilograms, your weight will remain low even after leaving this weight loss method.

Diet 5 tablespoons. Food and menu.

The 5 spoon diet is very easy to follow. Her nutrition plan is built quite freely, except for one BUT - the amount of food you eat at a time should not exceed the volume of 5 tablespoons (or 150-200 grams). What kind of food it will be is up to you to decide. Perhaps you will eat a piece of cake or chop, perhaps yogurt or buckwheat porridge with butter...

The main thing is to eat no more than 5 tablespoons of food at a time!

And finally, at least 3 hours should pass between the first and second meals.

The products and dishes that you will consume during the diet are entirely your choice. As you have already understood, the main point of the 5 spoons method, which allows you to lose weight, is the quantity, and not the type of food eaten.

Diet menu 5 tablespoons.

The number of meals is unlimited.

The amount of food eaten at one time is 5 tablespoons (or 150-200 grams of product).

The type of dishes and products consumed is any.

The break between meals is at least 3 hours.

Liquid:

The amount of clean drinking water is unlimited.

Sugar-free drinks (tea, coffee, juices, mineral water) - unlimited. Fructose consumption is allowed at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 250 ml. liquid (glass)

As can be seen above, there are no restrictions in the diet regarding the type of dishes and products taken, as well as the number of meals per day. The only thing that matters is the serving size - no more than 5 tablespoons every 3 hours. Whether it’s 5 tablespoons of boiled condensed milk or meat stew, it doesn’t matter at all.

The only thing you should limit yourself to is sweet carbonated drinks and other liquids containing sugar and “sweeteners”. It is strictly forbidden to consume them, since such drinks are, in the literal sense, liquid calories. Everyone can drink any tea, cocoa or coffee, but, of course, without adding a single spoon of sugar to the cup.

Frequently asked questions about the 5 tablespoons diet.

If I want to eat a piece of meat, how do I “scoop” it with a spoon to measure out the right portion?

Of course, when eating meat, you do not need to use a spoon as your only cutlery. Simply, cut a piece of meat that you think could easily fit in 1 tablespoon. Accordingly, you can eat 5 such pieces, equivalent in volume to five tablespoons. The total mass of meat in this case will be approximately 150-200 grams.

Or you can immediately measure out a piece equal to this weight and eat it. The same goes for fish and poultry. Typically in this weight range is a small piece of fish or meat, no larger than the palm of your hand.

How to eat a sandwich on the 5 tablespoons diet?

All products that do not have a liquid or porridge-like consistency can be approximately (in a diet, fundamental scrupulousness is not important) correlated with the volume of 5 tablespoons. For solid food, the total mass is approximately 150-200 grams, i.e. two ordinary sandwiches.

Can I use a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon?

Of course, if it is more convenient for you to use a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon, you can use that too. The main thing is to remember that 3 teaspoons can “fit” in one tablespoon, therefore, instead of 5 tablespoons, you can eat 15 teaspoons at a time.

How to eat whole fruits or vegetables on a diet, apples for example?

If you want to eat a whole fruit, pay attention to its weight. The average weight of the product, which fits in 5 tablespoons, is 150-200 grams. This is approximately the weight of 1 apple, 1 orange, 3 tangerines, 1 banana, 1 pomegranate, 1 pear. If you see that the weight of the fruit you have chosen clearly exceeds the specified weight, separate a piece from it weighing approximately 150-200 grams, this will be the required portion, equivalent to a volume of 5 tablespoons. The same goes for vegetables.

You can do it differently by grating or cutting the selected vegetable or fruit, for example, this is often done with carrots, cabbage, apples... In this case, it will be easy for you to measure the required portion of 5 tablespoons.

How many meals can I have per day?

As much as you see fit. The diet does not limit the number of meals. The main thing is that there is a break of at least 3 hours between them, and one serving (i.e. 1 meal) is no more than 5 tablespoons in volume (or does not exceed 150-200 grams in weight).

Are there foods that cannot be eaten on the 5 tablespoons diet?

During the diet, you choose which foods to consume and at what time of day. Sweet carbonated drinks, as well as liquids containing sugar and other sweeteners other than fructose, are prohibited. Fructose is allowed to be added at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 250 ml. (cup)

Are the use of seasonings, salt and sugar allowed during the diet?

Salt, seasonings and sugar may be part of the food. The main thing is to follow the diet rule of a three-hour break between meals, and also consume no more than 5 tablespoons of food at one time.

But remember that too salty and spicy dishes can provoke an unreasonably high appetite! Sugar can be in food, but not in liquids. To sweeten the drink, use fructose at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 250 ml. (cup).

The results of the 5 tablespoons diet will be visible after just a few days of following its regimen. The time period during which you can follow the method is unlimited. The average weight loss per week is 4-6 kilograms, per month – 15-20 kg.

Good day.

We continue to search for grains of truth in a sea of ​​conflicting information related to proper nutrition and weight loss. And such a question as the number of meals per day and portion size has still not received a clear and unambiguous answer. Personally, it seems to me that it all depends on what principles of nutrition you adhere to when losing weight.

For example, it requires a radically different schedule and size compared to . Because their goal is the same - weight loss, but their approach is completely different. For Dukan, the decrease in total calorie content occurs due to an increase in proteins in the diet, and for Protasov, due to an increase in vegetables (fiber) in the diet.

So, I’ll try to sort out popular ideas about meal times and the amount of food, depending on which system they came from, so that you have an understanding of what will be more effective with your chosen method of losing weight.

What portions and how many grams should you eat?

In most cases, when it comes to losing weight, the basic rules boil down to reducing portions, switching to fractional meals, separate meals, not eating after six, prohibiting drinking liquids during meals, avoiding starchy foods and sweets. Did you name everything? Or do you still know some common rules that guarantee you weight loss in the shortest possible time? However, such rules change over time. Remember, three meals a day was once considered the norm. And today they recommend five, and sometimes seven. Try to figure out how it is better here. I'll try.

If you are too lazy to read and are only interested in the conclusion, then I will not be original and will say right away: everything, as always, depends on the characteristics of your body. It works differently for everyone. It depends on age and lifestyle and, of course, gender. It is impossible to give one universal recipe that will work well for everyone. This is why diets exist.

A diet is an attempt to create an equally effective way to lose weight for everyone. And since we are all different, we have to take the smallest amount of food as a starting point, with which absolutely anyone is guaranteed to be able to lose weight. Not even overweight.

So let's take statements like these and try to look at them from a common sense perspective.

How many times a day should you eat

As children, we were told that the optimal amount was three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Today's recommendations from nutritionists are completely different - you need to eat in equal portions, dividing them into 5-7 meals. The point here is that if you throw food into your stomach often and little by little, then the process of digestion and assimilation will proceed evenly, and not abruptly, as if you ate the same amount of food in one sitting. This is usually called fractional nutrition. How justified is this?

Different foods take different times to digest. Let’s say you started eating not 3 times a day, but 6. It turns out that the break between meals was two hours. It doesn’t matter what kind of food you eat - any food requires at least 4 hours to be digested and absorbed. Therefore, there will be no such effect that by each next meal, all the food eaten before has been completely absorbed and the body is ready to accept and digest the next portion. And there is no such thing that smaller portions are better and faster absorbed. Any amount of food will be in the digestive system exactly as long as it is needed for digestion. The only way this can help is by getting rid of the heaviness in your stomach if you really overeat. Then breaking your lunch into two parts will make it easier on your stomach.

But this, anyway, in no way relates to losing weight. If you continue to eat the same food and the same amount of it, on which you gain weight, then spreading it over the clock will not give any result.

And if you understand that it’s a matter of the amount of food and not the number of lunches and reduce the portions, then there will be no heaviness in the stomach.

As a result: frequent meals without reducing portions do not work as a way to lose weight.

What size should the portions be?

Oh, there are so many recommendations regarding this issue that it makes your head spin. “The portion should be the size of your palm,” “no more than 150 grams of food at a time,” and others.

But in fact, the important thing is not what size your plate is, but what lies on it. I have already said more than once that carbohydrates are the most “dangerous” in terms of weight gain. I don’t want to talk now about “fast” and “slow” carbohydrates and glycemic indices - about all this popular but unnecessary information. I'm talking about the property of carbohydrates, when they enter the body in excess, to be stored in the form of subcutaneous fat.

Therefore, for example, when you eat mashed potatoes with a fried chicken leg, the danger is not the fat in which the meat was cooked, but the potatoes. After all, fat is a very important element for our body - cell walls are built from it, and it makes hair healthier and nails stronger. Therefore, the fat will go to work. But if there are enough carbohydrate reserves in the body, then carbohydrates from potatoes will accumulate in the form of fat.

When to Limit Portions

To limit the intake of carbohydrates into the body, low-carbohydrate diets are usually used. This is a way of eating in which carbohydrates are either completely removed from one of the meals, or left in each, but its amount is significantly reduced. Standard advice about giving up bread, buns, pastries and sweets is essentially one of the options for a low-carb diet, because these products are just carbohydrate bombs.

And it is precisely in the case when there are carbohydrates in every meal that it is necessary to control the portion size.

If you decide to lose weight using the “eat less” method, then no wise advice on controlling portion size “by eye” can help you. Only scrupulous calorie counting can guarantee results. And this is very, very difficult.

For example, you ate one apple. Its calorie content is 52 kcal/100 grams. How many grams was your apple? And how many of these calories in an apple are represented by fiber, which is not digestible and whose calorie content does not need to be taken into account? You consumed from 30 to 70 kcal. You don't have a more precise answer. And then you ate a baked apple. Its calorie content is 46 kcal/100 grams. The difference seems to be minimal and not significant. But the baked apple loses liquid and if previously it was a 100 gram apple with 52 kcal, now it weighs 2 times less and its calorie content is 23 kcal. Do you feel how this calculation is starting to irritate?

Serving size for weight loss

That is why, when on a diet that involves counting calories, it is recommended to make a minimum list of the simplest foods and stick to it throughout the diet in order to clearly know how many calories you consume.

Let's say for your diet you chose buckwheat, chicken, tomatoes, eggs.

This means that for the next 2-3 months (or however long you are going to follow the diet), you will only eat these foods and only in one form. If you decide to boil eggs, you won’t be able to fry them for variety. Because fried eggs will have more calories than boiled ones (due to fat). The same goes for chicken and other foods. Only one type of cooking - no deviations. Because your goal on a low-calorie diet is to find out how many calories you need to consume per day to start losing weight.

In the future, you will have to eat a certain amount of selected foods throughout the week, and at the end of it, look at where the scale arrow has moved. If there is an increase or has not changed, then you need to reduce the portion size (for example, you ate 300 grams of chicken per day, but now you will need to cut it down to 200). And, of course, all products must be weighed and calories calculated. At some point, the weight will begin to decrease - this will mean that you have found the amount of calories that you need in order to start losing weight. You will stick to it exactly until progress stops. And he will stop. After all, the smaller you become, the fewer calories your body needs.

But this is, in fact, a rather large topic, let me better write a separate article on it so that I can cover all the nuances.

As a result, I will say for now: controlling the portion size only makes sense when you clearly understand why you are doing it. There's no point in reducing your serving size of pasta if you'll be eating dumplings for lunch tomorrow. This is useless because there is no starting point from which to count the calories you need.

What time should you eat when losing weight?

With time there is usually only one problem - dinner time. With breakfast and lunch, everything is more or less clear and depends on the work schedule. Breakfast is before work; there is a special time for lunch. But people have difficulties with dinner.

In some systems, it is not recommended to eat after 6 pm, in others, no later than 2-3 hours before bedtime.

Personally, the second option is much closer to me. Because if I work until 5 pm, how am I supposed to have dinner before six? In the car on the way home? Or on the bus? And if I go to bed at one in the morning, how can I last 5 hours without eating?

But, as in all previous points, the main point in all this will not be so much time as the choice of products. If you decide not to eat after six, then you will subconsciously try to eat thoroughly so as not to go to bed at 12 at night with a sucking stomach. As a result, you will fill your stomach and walk around all evening with a feeling of heaviness in it.

You shouldn't eat right before bed either. It is necessary to give time for the stomach to digest the maximum amount of food and send it for further processing. Usually this just takes 2-3 hours.

But going to bed hungry is also not a good idea. You will toss and turn for a long time, drink water to stave off your hunger, and then go to the toilet. Agree, not the best way to spend the night.

Do you see how many nuances there are? And I haven’t told you about the choice of products yet.

What to eat before bed

Although this is easier:

• if you are on a low-calorie diet, then you need to immediately allocate the amount of calories per glass of kefir 30 minutes before bedtime (kefir “slips through” quickly, the stomach does not take long to digest it)
• if you are on a low-carb diet, then it is better to eat cheese or boiled eggs (you can without the yolk) a couple of hours before going to bed. The quantity should be such that you simply reduce the feeling of hunger, and not overeat. You can’t say more precisely here, because our bodies are too different to prescribe one specific portion)
• if your diet is vegetable, then you can eat a couple of fresh cucumbers or carrots an hour before bed. It’s not necessary before, because vegetables are also digested quite quickly.

Well, I think I noted the main points. While I was writing this article, thoughts came to write articles about a low-calorie diet with a detailed description of the choice of products and about the importance of water in losing weight. So, stop by one of these days, I’ll write a couple more useful articles.

And that's all I have for today. Thank you for your attention.