If you are thinking about losing weight and eating a balanced diet , the nutritionist, Carlos Aznar Gallego, recommends us to incorporate a series of essential foods and clarifies several doubts about snacking between meals or the number of meals we should eat per day.
- Keys to a balanced diet to lose weight
- Balanced diet: foods that promote fat and weight loss
- Not recommended foods to lose weight
- Tricks to eat a balanced diet and lose weight
- To eat a balanced diet, can I snack between meals?
- How many meals should a balanced diet include?
- 5 healthy menus for a balanced diet
Keys to a balanced diet to lose weight
Regardless of the objective we are looking for, a healthy and balanced diet , such as the Mediterranean diet, must cover four basic principles , except in cases where there is an associated pathology:
- Variety principle. Our diet must include foods from all nutritional groups to obtain the specific nutrients that each of them provides us.
- Frequency principle. To maintain a hormonal and energetic balance, frequent and regular consumption of food is necessary.
- Principle of moderation. Regardless of our objective, the tendency of our balanced diet should be to consume food in a moderate way since, per unit of time, the body has a limited capacity to assimilate and use said energy and nutrients.
- Hydration principle. It is very important to provide water to our body on a regular basis throughout the day since all the chemical reactions that regulate our metabolism occur in an aqueous medium. In addition, it is an excellent tool to control appetite and satiety .
1500 calorie hypocaloric diet
Silvia Cardona
A hypocaloric diet is one that causes a deficit regarding energy needs. In this article we know guidelines for a 1500 calorie diet. Read more
Balanced diet: foods that promote fat and weight loss
Although there are no foods with “negative calories” , if our goal is to reduce the percentage of body fat we must prioritize those foods that provide us with a feeling of satiety , and at the same time, provide low-calorie nutrients . Take note of the following tips to start the change!
- Incorporate fruits and vegetables into your diet , since they are the foods that provide more vitamins and minerals with a reduced caloric intake.
- Introduce fish, eggs and meat into your diet, the amount of fat they provide is indifferent compared to the contribution of amino acids, which is essential for the protection of our tissues and the proper functioning of our metabolism . Also, there are recent studies that debunk false myths about egg consumption and cholesterol .
- Nuts and legumes should be part of your balanced diet because they will provide you with the energy you need and, in addition, a very high amount of essential nutrients . Their absorption is very slow, which is a great benefit for hormonal control.
- Rice is a fundamental food for weight loss. You can learn how to make a tasty loose rice to accompany your recipes.
Not recommended foods to lose weight
There are certain foods that provide a lot of energy, but their main problem is that the absorption is very fast . Some examples can be sugar, flour and refined rice that are present in the majority of pastas, breads and rice that we usually consume, as well as in industrial soft drinks and juices.
These products generate a too rapid increase in blood sugar , which stimulates the insulin hormone that works by introducing this substance into the muscles. And, although a priori it may seem positive, since it is a sharp rise and in large quantities, this hormone can stimulate the entry of that energy to other types of cells called adipocytes, which are related to the increase in fatty tissue . Which is not recommended if our intention is to lose weight and reduce the amount of fat in our body. Free guide
Sugar Manifesto by Carlos Ríos and DKV
In this e-Book you will find data on the current consumption of sugar in Spain, the types of sugar and tips for knowing the labeling of food in the supermarket. In addition to a decalogue to reduce sugar consumption. Download the guide for free
Tricks to eat a balanced diet and lose weight
In addition to following the advice of the specialist Aitor Sánchez in his book ‘My diet no longer limps’ or the realfooding movement by Carlos Ríos , the key to following a balanced diet and being able to lose weight – or, rather, body fat – is to achieve a negative energy balance . How is it achieved? Consuming fewer calories than we burn and, in addition, that these calories come from quality food , nutritionally speaking.
Of course, it is not advisable to expose our body to excessive caloric restriction since it can have undesirable negative effects such as decay or the known “rebound effect” – by which, our body defends itself against the lack of energy and assimilates it in fat form-. With your DKV health insurance you will be able to solve all your nutritional doubts with the nutritional medical line and you will have advice on the type of diet that is best for you .
As you already know, if your goal is to lose weight, exercise is one of the main tools to stimulate the individual’s caloric expenditure and, in addition, optimizes the use of certain nutrients. Also, it is essential a good rest , (meaning not sleep much) because, in this way, our hormonal system function properly and avoid metabolic stress situations that prevent the body to lose weight in response to aggressive agents such as the lack of sleep, fasting or dehydration .
Forget about following any diet to lose weight or those that promise to do it quickly since they do not have any medical support because although at the beginning it is possible to lose weight, in the medium-long term the result is counterproductive, recovering the lost weight, and even in some cases, gaining weight due to the well-known rebound effect.Free guide
What to include in a healthy and balanced diet?
In this guide you will find scientific recommendations on diet and disease prevention , tips for taking care of social meals, for a more sustainable diet and meal options with little time. Free download
To eat a balanced diet, can I snack between meals?
Surely, if you have been on a diet before, you will have tried not to snack between meals , despite the fact that many nutritionists advise eating 5 meals a day . In this way, snacking is not convenient, but it is a good strategy to maintain adequate sugar levels and, thus, control our appetite .
Can I eat any food between meals? Obviously not. In fact, the problem arises when the snacking is random and improvised , so the ideal is to keep a certain control of the healthy snacking alternatives that we can include between the main meals. Therefore, the foods that interest us most are those that provide a small amount of sugar and that this, in addition, is absorbed slowly, that contain a significant amount of fiber to stimulate satiety and always, accompanied by a significant amount of water .
If you don’t know what to include in your healthy snack , we suggest you incorporate: fruit, skimmed dairy products, nuts in controlled quantities, small sandwiches or sandwiches made of 100% whole wheat bread with ham, cheese, tuna, avocado, hard-boiled egg … Everything is alternatives healthy and interesting to include in your balanced diet!
How many meals should a balanced diet include?
The nutritionist Carlos Aznar Gallego recommends eating 5-6 meals a day to have a balanced diet , but what determines this amount is the physical activity we do. It is important not to leave long periods of fasting since this would trigger an imbalance in glucose levels and, therefore, a decrease in vital energy, an increase in appetite and an increase in the tendency to accumulate fat , as a ‘supercompensation ‘.
In conclusion, it cannot be said that there is a specific number of recommended meals per day , but that, depending on physical activity, work / study hours and sleep, it will have one recommendation or another.
5 healthy menus for a balanced diet
If you want to lose weight and reduce fat, Carlos proposes 5 healthy menus for a balanced diet . And you, do you dare to change your lifestyle?
MONDAY
- Breakfast:
- Whole wheat toast with tomato, oil and kiwi.
- Midmorning:
- Pineapple.
- Food:
- Lamb lettuce salad with walnuts, parmesan and lemon vinaigrette.
- Baked sea bass with dill.
- Mid afternoon:
- Natural yogurt with one ounce of dark chocolate with a minimum of 70% cocoa.
- Dinner:
- Thai style stir fry vegetables.
- Chicken with mushrooms.
- Tangerine.
TUESDAY
- Breakfast:
- Whole wheat toast with tomato and yogurt with apple.
- Midmorning:
- Orange.
- Food:
- Aubergines stuffed with chicken and vegetables.
- Piece of fruit
- Mid afternoon:
- Rice cakes with fresh cheese and turkey.
- Dinner:
- Greek salad.
- Golden baked.
WEDNESDAY
- Breakfast:
- Whole wheat toast with tomato, olive oil, ham and piece of fruit.
- Midmorning:
- Mango or peach
- Food:
- Roasted vegetables with goat cheese.
- Baked trout loins with tomato and onion.
- Mid afternoon:
- Pear compote with cinnamon.
- Dinner:
- Cream of leeks.
- Turkey with onion, zucchini and soy sauce
- Apple.
THURSDAY
- Breakfast:
- Oatmeal porridge with milk and cinnamon and pieces of banana.
- Midmorning:
- Kiwi.
- Food:
- Gazpacho.
- Pork tenderloin with sauteed vegetables.
- Mid afternoon:
- Oat crepes with pear or apple compote.
- Dinner:
- Sauteed broccoli with onion.
- Baked salmon with yogurt sauce.
- Tangerine.
FRIDAY
- Breakfast:
- Whole wheat toast with tomato and yogurt with apple.
- Midmorning:
- Strawberries.
- Food:
- Avocado, mango and salmon salad.
- Hake in vinaigrette.
- Mid afternoon:
- Skimmed yogurt with applesauce.
- Dinner:
- Vegetable stew.
- Baked beef meatballs.
- Kiwi.