Today there are hundreds of types of diet whose ultimate goal is to reduce the weight of the person who decides to follow it. Within them, there are many that are really harmful and harmful to the body, while there are others that seek a balanced intake of all kinds of nutrients and are really healthy for the body. The balanced or balanced diet will help you boost your health and maintain a healthy weight. We tell you what exactly it consists of and what are the foods that make it up.
The balanced or balanced diet: what does it consist of?
When talking about a balanced diet, reference is made to a type of diet that contains the nutrients that the body needs to be able to function perfectly. These essential nutrients are protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water.
It is very important to follow a totally healthy balanced diet as it will help you prevent diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and osteoporosis among others. As long as you keep an eye on the quality of the nutrients.
In addition to this, a balanced diet allows the person who follows it to have a better quality of life with all that that entails. On the other hand, any balanced or balanced diet must follow four basic premises:
- Healthy and equitable: Your diet should include foods that are both healthy and nourishing. In this way, you will provide the body with the specific nutrients it needs to function properly.
- Frequency: the frequent and regular intake of healthy foods is essential to be able to maintain a hormonal and energy balance.
- Moderation: the frequency of meals is important because in the small intestine we have cleaning mechanisms that are usually activated every 3 or 4 hours, so if we continuously consume food they stop being activated and gastrointestinal disorders may appear, such as abdominal swelling among others. Therefore, consume food spaced in time.
- Hydration: you will have heard specialists talk a thousand times about the importance of drinking two liters of water a day. It is true that hydration is very important, since all the chemical reactions that regulate our metabolism take place in an aqueous medium, but this is highly variable. There are external factors (temperature, humidity, physical exercise, state of sweating…) that can modify the amount of water. Therefore, drink water when you are thirsty.
What foods should be included in a balanced diet
In a balanced diet, the quality of those healthy foods that provide us with the necessary nutrients for the body must prevail, always respecting values, culture and religion. These are the recommendations of nutrition experts:
- Consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables: a fundamental characteristic of a balanced diet is the consumption of vegetables with a daily intake, since they are foods with a large dose of vitamins and minerals, fiber and phytochemicals with an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nature.
- Proteins: proteins, as we have previously mentioned, are essential and we can provide them in our diet through legumes, nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, meat and some vegetables in smaller quantities. The supply of amino acids (proteins) they generate is essential both for the protection of our tissues and for the functioning of our metabolism.
- Fats: we must choose to consume healthy fat such as monounsaturated (extra virgin olive oil, avocado, almonds and hazelnuts…) and omega 3 polyunsaturated (blue fish and walnuts).
- Whole grains (carbohydrates): rice, pasta and whole wheat bread, quinoa, oats, rye… and little processed. When we talk about whole grains we are providing fiber, vitamins and minerals. This group also provides us with energy and we must consume in relation to our daily activity.
What foods should NOT be included in a balanced diet
- There are certain types of food that are not recommended in a balanced diet. Which is it? Well, mainly those that do not enhance our health. That is to say: sugar or products rich in sugar such as sweetened soft drinks and industrial juices, pastries and pastries. These products work by causing large spikes in blood sugar which stimulate the hormone known as insulin. What this hormone does is introduce sugar into the muscles.
- A priori this could be positive, however, when the rise in sugar is very sudden and in large amounts, insulin can also cause the introduction of that energy into another type of cell called adipocytes, which are linked to the increase in fat tissue. In addition, refined oils and red and processed meat (sausages) would not be considered in a balanced or healthy diet.
Tricks to boost your health and complement your balanced diet
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Energy balance
The great secret to maintaining a healthy weight and following a balanced diet lies in creating a balanced energy balance. How is this achieved? Very simple: consciously consuming enough energy, that is, not overeating.
These calories must come from real (unprocessed) foods with high nutritional quality. Of course, it is also important to emphasize that if we subject our body to an exaggerated restriction of calories, the body may end up having negative effects. One of them is known as the “rebound effect”: the body recognizes the lack of energy and reacts by accumulating what little it obtains in the form of fat.
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Physical exercise
Another fundamental factor that complements a balanced diet, stimulates caloric expenditure and optimizes nutrient absorption is physical exercise.
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Sleep well
In this case, quality matters more than quantity. It is useless for you to sleep ten hours if you have been staying awake continuously throughout the night. The quality of sleep has a decisive influence on our health and, of course, on our weight. Sleeping adequately makes the hormonal system work correctly, avoiding situations of metabolic stress.
Snack between meals, yes or no?
- Normally, the fact of “snacking between meals” is associated as something negative. Nothing is further from reality. Snacking is not that it is appropriate, it is that it is a smart tactic for people who need a higher energy intake, who cannot cover three meals as athletes, or who want to avoid arriving hungry for said meals.
- The real problem is created when that snack includes foods that are not recommended and turns into something improvised and very unhealthy. The balanced diet is characterized by planning the main meals of the day, so that, just as we organize what we are going to have for breakfast, lunch or dinner, we must also schedule those products that we are going to consume between meals. A healthy snack can include, for example: fruit, nuts, dairy products, small snacks or whole wheat sandwiches.
How many meals to eat a day to maintain a balanced diet?
- In general, to follow a balanced diet, it has always been recommended to eat five meals a day, although what really defines the number of daily meals that should be eaten are personal characteristics, schedules, daily activity, pathologies, etc.
- Below we propose an ideal weekly menu for a balanced and balanced diet. You can adapt according to your life. Take note:
Example of a weekly menu for a balanced diet
- You should keep in mind that this diet is indicative. Before starting to do it, it is recommended to consult with a specialist. In addition, the products will also depend on the season of the year, the season of food, etc.
MONDAY
- Breakfast: A whole wheat toast with oil and tomato. A banana smoothie.
- Mid-morning: An apple.
- Lunch: Lettuce salad, walnuts, goat cheese and lemon vinaigrette. Baked sea bream with potato cubes and sweet potato.
- Mid-afternoon: Natural yogurt with 85% cocoa dark chocolate.
- Dinner: Sautéed broccoli, onion and carrot with grilled chicken. A tangerine.
TUESDAY
- Breakfast: A whole wheat toast with oil and tomato. An Apple.
- Mid-morning: A natural yogurt with nuts.
- Lunch: Macaroni with zucchini. An orange.
- Mid-afternoon: Tea and homemade oatmeal cookies.
- Dinner: Baked salmon with potatoes and vegetables. Natural pineapple.
WEDNESDAY
- Breakfast: Coffee with milk. A toast of cereal bread with a slice of banana and cinnamon.
- Mid-morning: Mini fresh cheese sandwich with vegetables.
- Lunch: Bean salad with corn, tomato and prawns. A pear.
- Mid-afternoon: Tea and a handful of nuts.
- Dinner: Mushrooms with brown rice garnish. Fried eggs with parsley. A natural yogurt.
THURSDAY
- Breakfast: Bowl of milk with muesli and raspberries.
- Mid-morning: Homemade cereal bar.
- Food: Gazpacho with chunks and whole wheat croutons. Grilled mackerel. A slice of watermelon.
- Mid-afternoon: Whole wheat snacks + nuts.
- Dinner: Vegetable stew. Textured soy meatballs. An Apple.
FRIDAY
- Breakfast: Milk or vegetable drink with cocoa. Homemade oatmeal cookies.
- Mid-morning: Yogurt and a tangerine.
- Lunch: Chickpeas with spinach and shredded cod. Strawberry bowl.
- Mid-afternoon: Nuts.
- Dinner: Toast with escalivada. Two- egg omelette with wild asparagus. Natural pineapple.
If you want a variation of this menu, here is another equally rich in essential nutrients and perfectly balanced. You can combine both:
In the diet you will see that there are many concepts that you may not know. The EVOO is extra virgin olive oil, while the bread is recommended whole wheat or whole grain bread. In a vegetarian or vegan diet, replace animal protein with vegetable: legumes and derivatives (tofu, tempeh, textured soy…) In this case, milk can be replaced by vegetable drink.