CONSCIOUS NUTRITION I.

I will try to explain what conscious eating means in a way that everyone can understand, even those with intellectual disabilities.

 

 

The internet is full of huge scams and incredible rip-offs. There's nothing surprising about this, as we're talking about a multi-billion dollar business.

But before I begin, I want to ask everyone to forget all the bullshit they've read about diets, nutrition, radical methods, carb days, and whatever other nonsense. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I have all the answers; I'm just asking that this writing serve as a starting point upon which conscious eating can be built. Then, based on the information read here, where I will describe the most fundamental rules of nutrition, its scientifically proven regulatory systems, read and UNDERSTOOD, everyone can choose the diet that best suits them. This is very important. When choosing a diet, do NOT choose what seems appealing to you, but what is right for you, what has the best effect on your characteristics and life circumstances, and last but not least, what is most effective. The goal is not for it to be good, but for it to work. It will be bad, very bad, even worse. You will suffer like animals, and you will drink water like a plant, but never forget the most basic, vulgar cliché: beauty demands suffering.

These will be: calorie counting, what to eat when, what processes take place in our body, what our body needs, details about the most basic ingredients, nutrient content, energy balance. That is, everything that will help you to consciously, healthily, and with self-control change your lifestyle, and lay the foundations of this with proper nutrition. I will try to describe all this as clearly as possible, illustrating it with examples.

Let's start. Our diet is made up of three main macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. These three main nutrients are found in our food, and their ratio determines whether a food is suitable for dieting or not. The more protein a nutrient contains, the better path we are on. The more carbohydrates and sugar, the closer we are to a woman who is obese, i.e., in a relationship.

Protein

Protein consists of a chain of amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of our body; the body rebuilds itself from them in the form of skeletal muscles, bones, and skin. So, when we talk about regeneration, the proteins in our body are at work. Muscle is 20% pure protein, and the protein found in the skin is collagen. I don't know if this sounds familiar to anyone, but collagen, for example, gives the skin its elasticity and prevents wrinkles. Some hormones are also protein, such as insulin, thyroid, and sex hormones, but incidentally, protein also transmits information in the brain, and the calcium that builds bones is also protein. Protein consists of 20 types of amino acids, 8 of which are essential and cannot be produced by the body, meaning we must supplement them.

Recommended daily intake. 80-100 grams, so even if you die trying, you must consume this much daily. But this only applies to a normal lifestyle where you do absolutely nothing. For dieting and exercise, 120-130 grams, and for muscle growth, a minimum of 160 grams should be consumed in the form of food AND supplements. When I wrote earlier that if you don't drink at least one protein shake every evening with your workout, don't even start the whole thing, this is what I meant.

Sources of intake. Chicken and turkey breast, ham, eggs – be careful with the yolk, because it's very sneaky – white fish, e.g., sunfish, salmon, cod, flounder, sole, trout, ray, shark hah, protein powders, soy, beans, lentils, rice. As for dairy products, I need to address this separately, because there are huge confusions in this area. Milk only and exclusively with 1.5% fat content or less. Never buy the 2.8% one, the difference doesn't seem big, but it is soooo big. Not all cheeses are good either, because Caravan, for example, is 70%!!! fat, but even semi-fat cheese is 40-45%. Lean cheeses that can be eaten are under 10%. Tollé has a 3% product, and that's absolutely awesome. Always check the packaging for the fat percentage. All food packaging has all the information. Ingredients, fat, protein, carbohydrates and their ratios. If there is no such information, do not buy it. Its quality is highly questionable, at least regarding the ingredients. Enough harmful substances enter our bodies daily as it is, there's no need to push more toxins into ourselves with food. Every E-number ingredient is a preservative. There is a table on the net that lists preservatives. Find it, read it, remember the numbers containing carcinogenic and dangerous substances, and if it's on the packaging, forget it.

Protein can also be obtained in very high proportions not only from food and powders, but unfortunately only girls can access these, and gays too, but I hope they don't read this blog.

Carbohydrates

The body's most important energy source. The primary energy provider for the brain and muscles. This is why when we diet – meaning we consume as few carbohydrates as possible – we feel we have no strength and are in a bad mood. The first few days of a diet are incredibly difficult to endure precisely for this reason, because we deprive our body of carbohydrates, not to mention that willpower and perseverance are not really present after 25. Our body demands carbohydrates because it needs energy to function. If it doesn't get it from us, it will get it itself. This is when it starts breaking down our body fat, from which it covers its needs. 60% of our energy needs are covered by carbohydrates; our muscles, for example, need 300g of carbohydrates daily. Furthermore, carbohydrates also build our skeletal system, participate in the production of immune substances, blood clotting prevention, bone formation, but also play an important role in metabolic processes, which we can regulate most effectively by controlling our intake. To optimize our metabolism, we need to raise our blood sugar level to a normal level in the morning and maintain it throughout the day. Because by dividing carbohydrate intake into several smaller meals (5 per day), we regulate our insulin secretion, and here we have arrived at a damn important part.

Insulin is such a powerful hormone that it can slow down and stop fat burning. Insulin is a metabolic regulating hormone that helps in the utilization of sugar and carbohydrates. The main function of this bastard is to convert excess carbohydrates into fat. In other words, if we eat mindlessly, supplying our body with a lot of carbohydrates, our blood sugar level skyrockets, insulin goes into overdrive, and converts sugar and carbohydrates into fat, then stores it in our body as body fat. Sugar and chocolate are the biggest enemies. More sugar, more insulin, more harmful substances, more SZDSZ. The less fluctuating our blood sugar level is, the lower the chance of obesity.

Sources of intake. Vegetables in any quantity, the classic team: lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, etc. NATURAL muesli and cereal, so not muesli with chocolate and cinnamon, crammed with all sorts of dried, shriveled junk. The natural muesli and cereal available at SPAR are very good. Rye, brown, spelt bread, brown rice, puffed rice and wheat, walnuts. I thought a lot about whether to write this down, because I'm afraid you'll cling to it, but if you slip up on this, then feel free to jump out the window. Dark chocolate with over 80% cocoa content, once a week, maximum 5 squares. Adhere to it if possible, but this is just an option, you don't have to eat it. I intentionally left fruits for last, because there's a huge difference between fruit and fruit. Primarily due to their fruit sugar content. What I specifically recommend are apples, oranges, apricots. What I simply recommend are strawberries, peaches, raspberries, and possibly bananas in the morning. Anything beyond that should be avoided during a diet, but mostly always. Grapes, plums, pears, cherries, hazelnuts, and all dried fruits are particularly bad.

Dave once came up to me and said he was going to switch to a healthy lifestyle, and he was going to eat lots of fruit and vitamins, so he was going to eat lots of fruit jam. Fool, when I heard that, I thought I was going to die on the spot. Pityu was there too, he's not exactly the dieting type, but this killed him too. For that comment, I personally still throw things at Dave to this day.

Fats

Essential for the production of some enzymes, maintaining hormone levels, and the absorption of some fat-soluble vitamins. Along with carbohydrates, this is the other main energy provider for the body. Fats transport vitamins, regulate our body temperature, and last but not least, are building blocks for our nervous system and some internal organs. But there are two more fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6, which are two essential enzymes that our body cannot produce, meaning we also have to ingest them. We are talking about two very important enzymes, especially during a diet, as they can stimulate metabolic processes, normalize our already mentioned blood sugar levels, and determine the condition of our hair, nails, and skin. But most importantly, they reduce menstrual symptoms. Although it's a bit of a bummer that this doesn't affect me.

Sources of intake. Flaxseed, soy, olive oil, almonds. This is the only main nutrient that should not really be forced through food. There are excellent preparations to supplement this, and here I am mainly thinking of omega fatty acids.

Summary

These are the basics. Now you will at least know what the numbers indicated on the packaging next to fat, protein, and carbohydrates mean. Moreover, you will roughly know the recommended daily intake values. But these are just the foundations, like building a house and the bricks have just arrived. That's roughly where we are now. Many factors influence how much energy each person needs. This is influenced by gender (yes, it is), meaning whether you are male or female, age, and what kind of work you do during the day. Sedentary office work, general activity, moderately heavy, or heavy physical work.

Here is a very good table from which everyone can determine their daily protein, carbohydrate, and fat needs. The calorie part will only be in the next post, let's not get too far ahead, because it is important that you understand all the processes of nutrition, but until then, let's look at daily meals.

Daily meals

I will describe a few alternatives on how a healthy, conscious diet would look like in everyday life, according to different times of the day. You can choose from several options, try to vary them, but under no circumstances should you add anything. These are the framework.

Breakfast. (half an hour after waking up). Our first and most important meal. The essence of the first meal is to raise our blood sugar level and kick-start our metabolism. The amino acids in our blood are depleted by morning, so protein replenishment is also very important. If you take vitamins, now is the time to take them. I want to dispel some legendary bullshit, starting right away with that horrible nonsense about eating like a king in the morning and a beggar in the evening. Just because it's breakfast, you don't have to go crazy and stuff yourself with food; it's true that this is one of the biggest meals of the day, but it's not like you can eat unlimited amounts of everything. Many people think they can eat chocolate in the morning because it "will be worked off during the day." My God.

1. sandwich from whole grain bread (brown, rye, spelt…)

with chicken or turkey ham, lean cheese, boiled egg

with seasonal vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, radishes, onions…)

2. omelet plain or with onions, ham, vegetables without oil, 2 whole eggs, rest of the whites

3. soft or hard-boiled eggs

4. (sugar-free) muesli with skim milk, yogurt

5. oatmeal with skim milk, yogurt or protein shake

Whole-grain bread looks like this: brown, heavy, and hard. So if they try to sell you a bread that doesn't look like that, it's colored white bread. Then the omelet part usually causes problems too, so 2 whole eggs, and beyond that, only the white part of the rest should be added, from a maximum of 5 eggs.

10 AM (three hours after breakfast) Should contain protein and carbohydrates, the second smallest meal of the day. Its role is only to maintain blood sugar levels.

1. chicken or turkey ham with puffed rice, wheat, seasonal vegetables

2. half a bag of rice seasoned with anything (vegetables, fruit, spices, yogurt, cottage cheese…)

3. fruit (be careful with high fructose content: banana, grapes, tangerine, yellow and watermelon)

4. protein shake with banana

Lunch (between 12-14 o'clock) A complete meal, preferably warm food. What I must emphasize here is the cooking technique, which preserves the nutrient content of the food. Baking at 200°C literally kills everything in the food. Grilling, steaming, boiling are great + no unnecessary oil gets into our body, as 1 tablespoon of oil is 100 kcal (calories).

Soup: clear, chicken, pea, egg, vegetable soup

Meat: chicken, turkey, lean beef, seafood, steamed, boiled, grilled seafood (fried without oil, in a pan, in a glass dish, in aluminum foil)

Side dish:

seasonal vegetables plain or with garlic, kefir dressing

(brown) rice (with vegetables)steamed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, eggplant, salad…)

potatoes: boiled or prepared the same way as meat

stewed vegetables

With soups, be very careful about pasta; they are often packed with it. Firstly, because it's cheap, and it has a great property: it hides the fact that there's nothing else in the soup. Small portions of stewed vegetables, if possible.

Snack (between 4-6 PM) Another blood sugar stabilizing meal. With a normal lifestyle, one of the bottom two options; if you're on an exercise program, you can have the same as lunch, but only if you're actually exercising alongside it.

1. chicken or turkey ham with puffed rice, wheat, seasonal vegetables

2. lean meat on a bed of salad (seasonal vegetables) with natural or kefir/yogurt dressing, olive oil

Dinner (around 8 PM) I don't really recommend anything here besides a protein shake; in fact, for the last meal of the day, I exclusively suggest a protein shake, but whoever wants to can torture themselves with lean cottage cheese.

1. 0% yogurt with puffed rice, wheat

2. slow-absorbing protein shake (can be consumed even before bed)

3. lean cottage cheese

Evening Nothing more, because by evening the body is tired and worn out; replenish it with plenty of protein which will rebuild, i.e., regenerate, the body by morning. It is the greatest foolishness to burden the body with digestion in the evening. During the night, due to proper nutrition, our body optimizes its hormone balance, and if it has to waste this energy on digestion, then we might as well go to hell.The timings are merely guidelines; for those who live a nightlife, or wake up at 10 AM, or perhaps at 2 PM, the same rules apply. Eating every three hours is key, although there's nothing worse than a nightlife, but if that's the case, then that's the case. We can still live healthily.

That's what I planned for the first part. In the continuation, there will be calorie counting in any quantity with tables, I will describe how to calculate our daily calorie needs completely personalized, there will also be talk about how different body types should eat and exercise, and further nutritional advice will also be discussed.

to be continued…