Balanced Diet

What is diet? 

We understand this term as the set of food substances that are ingested forming nutritional habits and forming part of our lifestyle. The word diet comes from the Greek term word meaning "way of life"; In short, every living thing has its diet.

In this sense, the diet does not have to aim to lose weight. Although it is often related to being on a diet with the desire to lose weight, the truth is that the diet refers to the food that is eaten and the eating habits that are acquired. However, the diet can be modified according to the goal we want to achieve: lose or increase weight, combat any disease or discomfort (anemia, cholesterol ...) or even improve our sports performance.

In this section, you will find information on diets for weight loss, balanced diets, sports diets, nutritional advice and more. A diet that perhaps interests you, the chocolate diet, which is new, healthy and without many rules.


Balance Diet

It is important to eat well because that will affect our body. Here are a number of tips for maintaining a balanced and healthy diet. Do not lose detail and look at recommended foods in addition to how to carry out a healthy diet.   It is important that the diet is varied.

 Because each food provides us with specific nutrients beneficial and essential for our body. In turn, the vegetarian diet is also presented as a balanced diet, although it has some shortcomings. The macrobiotic diet will also help you balance body and mind.


The principles of a healthy life go through food, not only for athletes, who also get great benefits according to their diet but for all people.

Therefore, we will not pass up the opportunity to give you a series of tips that can help you maintain a healthy diet. And we can remember the famous phrase "I am what I eat,". Sometimes we forget that eating habit will affect our daily life . That is why we have to select some proper food what we can take positively.

The balanced diet par excellence is the Mediterranean diet, based on a varied diet, rich in vegetables and fruits, carbohydrates, dairy products, meat and fish, all made with olive oil. This popular diet, typical of the countries of the Mediterranean arc but extended by more and more zones, shows that a healthy diet is not at odds with variety.

Tips for following a balanced diet

Here are a few tips to keep in mind for a balanced diet:

• Avoid eating foods rich in fats and sweets.
• When you go to eat meat it is advisable that they be lean cuts, that is to say, with low-fat content and preferably white and red meats, such as beef or breast.
• Fish, preferably grilled or baked, has to be habitual in your diet since it brings many benefits to the body.
• Fruit is essential and at least two servings of it are recommended throughout the day.
• The vegetable is another food that should not be lacking in your diet and it is recommended to eat a daily serving, preferably raw and fresh.
• Do not forget cereals, such as oats, barley, wheat ..., or legumes, like lentils or chickpeas, which are a source of carbohydrates and fiber.
• Reduce consumption of smoked or canned foods, pre-cooked foods or pastries.
• When cooking, avoid the breaded, battered and fried.
• Try grilling, steaming, baking.

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The whole30 program or "paleo-extreme diet": what changes can it cause in our body?

A paleo diet adapted to our reality and properly planned can have great health benefits. However taken to the limits its effects can change a lot. The whole30 program also known as "paleo-extreme diet" today is placed under our magnifying glass to show the changes that can cause in the body.

What is the whole30 program?

With some modifications to the paleo diet that many know, the whole30 program is proposed as an alternative to change the lives of people with the help of food. It promises to eliminate diseases without effective cause or treatment, to solve the absence of energy, to correct hormonal imbalances and even to help to lose weight.

It is (according to its creators) the definitive solution to a poor quality of life that only needs to be carried out during 30 consecutive days in which, foods with sugar and sugar proper, sweeteners, alcohol, cereals Whole grains) and their derivatives, legumes, white potatoes, dairy products and all that have sulfites, nitrates or transgenics.

The diet is then gluten-free, with no added sugars and very reduced in processed foods, because although they are discouraged, specific products such as clarified butter, oil and coconut milk or canned olives can be included.

Unlike the traditional paleo diet in which nuts and seeds abound, this variant does not allow quinoa or amaranth, any kind of legume except green beans, and the nuts are so nutritious for the body.

In addition, traditional paleo-style preparations are not allowed, ie we will not be able to create a paleo pizza, or paleo bread or the like, but we should try preparations that do not imitate junk food with the permitted foods.

Finally, the diet does not indicate amounts and prohibits weighing or taking any bodily measures during the 30 days of the program. It should be followed to the letter if we want to see results.

What changes can it make in our body?

It is not an extreme diet compared to low calorie, but the whole program is extreme because of many restrictions it imposes and to eliminate whole groups of foods that are often widely consumed.

A diet with these characteristics can undoubtedly produce changes in our body, but probably not in the direction promised, since the restrictions do not contribute to normal eating behavior but they interfere with the relationship we have with food and can generate emotional alterations And moody.

In addition, eliminating food groups such as grains that are generally pleasant and socially accepted can hurt us and render the proposal unsustainable as well as not flexible because it prevents us from eating and sharing food with others.

In fact, the whole 30 program itself states that the first two weeks (half their duration) will be really hard and that is due to the total absence of everyday foods that are good sources of energy as well as to the lack of culturally accepted preparations and Very common in our diet.

The absence of hydrates will not benefit those who practice sports for example because this nutrient is key to correctly perform and care for the neuromuscular system, as they constitute the energy fuel par excellence.

On the other hand, not indicating quantities of each group of food allowed may give rise to an unbalanced diet in which fiber and protein absent or vice versa. Even when these types of diets are proposed ad libitum, they can alter blood lipids.

It is an extreme diet that can alter our body internally and adversely affect from the organic functioning of it to our emotions and mood.

Can you offer some benefit?

As the whole30 program raises, it is a diet that eliminates the main sources of carbohydrates, and if we do not abuse fruits it can be transformed into a low carb diet that favors the loss of weight and even benefits the cardiovascular system.

Also, a greater amount of protein can contribute to the gain or maintenance of lean mass, especially if we accompany the diet with the practice of regular exercise. And this clearly benefits the metabolic rate and away from diseases such as obesity, diabetes or others.

On the other hand, this diet may offer the possibility of permanently moving away from sugar and other nutrients of processed foods like sodium or trans fats that harm health.

When it comes to diet it is not healthy to fall into extremes, therefore, the key would be to find a middle ground in which we can reduce processed foods and include pleasurable and everyday foods in adequate amounts

However, beyond these positive aspects of the whole30 program, because it is a paleo-extreme diet, we do not recommend its practice. It eliminates healthy food groups without any scientific basis, such as legumes and other popular foods such as cereals, which we can consume as long as we select correctly.

The key would be to find a middle point in which we reduce processed foods and sugar, but do not forget to include dishes or pleasant foods, a source of quality and very daily carbohydrates at our table. Just taking into account particularities and considering that it is not healthy to fall into extremes when it comes to diet, we can achieve a diet that benefits our health in full.

Bibliography consulted | International Journal of Exercise Science 7 (2): 128-139, 2014; Food Organization of the United Nations, Role of Carbohydrates in Exercise and Physical Performance; 

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Do you want to lose weight? Tips to make your own slimming plan

As spring begins and as summer approaches, more and more people want to lose weight to look fit on the beach. And since many try to take care of themselves under their own rules, today we leave some tips to develop your own weight loss plan.

 David Diaz Gil taught us to calculate our caloric needs and the micronutrients we need, but for us to create a good weight loss plan, we recommend considering the following tips to lose weight successfully:

• Analyze previous experiences, that is, what you have done previously to lose weight that really allowed you to get results, or what diets you have done and abandoned without success and what are the things that made you move away from those proposals. Just taking into account previous experiences you can learn from your mistakes and optimize now, your plan to lose weight.

• Consider your preferences, not only food but also, consider whether you prefer to make your weight loss plan only, with the help of a professional, with a family member or friend, or with your partner or a support group. Of course, you should also take into account the foods you prefer, because as we have said many times, for your diet to be sustainable these should not be left out.

• Supervise your health, for which it can be very helpful to perform a complete medical checkup to help you know how your body is, to rule out diseases and other factors that you should take into account when starting a plan to lose weight.

• Make a flexible plan that allows you to adapt your meals to those of the rest that share the table with you, whether at home, at work or at an event, and do not forget that so you can truly change your habits and lose weight Taking care of health, no food should be banned, it may be reduced, but it must be present in your diet.

• Organize your food purchase, so that with this you initiate the change in your food and try to have a "safe environment" in your home in which there is a variety and quantity of healthy foods and that you do not have at your disposal caloric foods and Little healthy to consume daily.

• It raises clear and accessible goals, taking into account that a reasonable weight loss is about 1% of the current weight per week and that the slower the decline the longer it can last and the less amount of muscle mass is lost, Which helps to reduce the risk of the rebound effect.

• Try to be as natural as possible in your weight loss behaviors, ie try to meet your nutritional and calorie needs with food and burn calories through exercise, avoiding the use of supplements and miracle products that will affect your pocket and can put you at risk Your health without really helping you.

Remember that you can achieve great changes by building your own weight loss plan, especially if you take it as acquiring a new lifestyle and not as a simple "diet" to lose weight.

With these tips, you will lose weight taking care of your health and in a sustainable way in time.

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How to Create Your Own Diet Plan

   
How to Create Your Own Diet Plan

Having your own diet plan on your home table can help you learn how to keep your calorie intake correct. Instead of asking someone else to provide you with a sample of diet plan, you can start to learn how to create your personal diet plan by reading this article. Do you crave for a diet that perfectly caters your specific needs? Here are steps on how to plan your own diet that will help you shed weight and keep yourself good.

      

But before we start to learn how to create a personal diet plan, it is important that you know who you are first. Knowing what you need is one most essential thing when it comes to personalizing your diet plan. Information about losing weight, eating healthy and changing your lifestyle plays a big role in planning your diet plan.

Steps for creating a diet plan

 First, you have to get familiar with the portion sizes of the different foods found on each food group that would make up your diet plan.

ü  Learn the types of foods to take at each meal time

To make it simple for you, we shall breakdown each meal into small units –fruits, vegetables, protein, leafy greens, protein snacks, and starch/grain as well as taste enhancers. Each diet plan should have a different structure that is based on these small units. A diet plan that follows such a basic structure is easy to remember, you are able to know what you should eat at each meal. Below are some basic structures for the different calorie levels:

Daily Diet

2200 Calorie Diet Plan

Breakfast: 2 Protein +1 Fruit (+ vegetables if desired) + 1 Starch/Grain
Snack: 1 Protein Snack
Lunch: 2 Protein + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens +1 Starch/Grain + 1 Taste Enhancer + 1 Fruit
Snack: 1 Protein Snack + 1 Fruit or Vegetable
Dinner: 2 Protein + 2 Starch/Grain + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 2 Taste Enhancer
Snack: 1 Fruit

1800 Calorie Diet Plan

Breakfast: 1 Protein +1 Fruit (+ vegetables if desired)
Snack: 1 Protein Snack
Lunch: 2 Protein + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens +1 Starch/Grain + 1 Taste Enhancer + 1 Fruit
Snack: 1 Protein Snack + 1 Fruit or Vegetable
Dinner: 2 Protein + 1 Starch/Grain + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 1 Taste Enhancer
Snack: 1 Fruit

1200 Calorie Diet Plan

Breakfast: 1 Protein + 1 Fruit (+ vegetables if desired)
Lunch: 1 Protein + 1 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 1 Taste Enhancer
Snack: 1 Protein Snack + 1 Fruit or Vegetable
Dinner: 1 Protein + 1 Starch/Grain + 2 Vegetables + Leafy Greens + 1 Taste Enhancer
Snack: 1 Fruit

ü  Learn your portion sizes

The moment you have mastered the basic breakdown of your meal plan, the next thing is to become familiar with the appropriate portion sizes within each of the food groups.This is one important factor in ensuring you maintain your calories.

ü  Create your menu

Once you are familiar with the portion sizes for the different food groups, then you can complete your diet plan by putting your meal plans together. By using the basic structure for the calorie level you selected, you can now combine foods from each of the food groups to now create your diet plan.

CLICK for ready product

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