Food Macro Nutrients And Caloric Value For Weight Loss tips by weight loss

For human to exist, his body needs energy. One of the main energy sources is food.

The food nutritional value for the body is determined by its caloric content and the composition. Its composition includes micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) and macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, water). Caloric value is the amount of energy that human gets by eating this or that product.

A properly formulated diet is the main prevention for most diseases, as well as good help with their treatment.

When planning a diet, it is important to take into account the products calorie content and their composition. The basic requirement for calorie, micro and macro nutrients is individual for each person. You can learn more about this in the following chapters. Looking ahead, we will tell you that the correctly selected diet caloric content will allow you to gain or lose weight, and the diet micro and macro nutrient composition will effect on your hormonal indicators, appearance and overall health.

Hunger and Satiety

The feeling of hunger gives to a person a signal that he needs food (energy). A healthy body is able to request the macro balanced meals in the right quantity independently. However, if certain processes in the body are disrupted, this is not happens.

Good food choise How does a person get energy from macro balanced meals?

Getting into the gastrointestinal tract, the food under the influence of enzymes are broken down into various nutrients. The cleavage occurs down to the smallest molecules and particles, which allows nutrients to enter the blood and lymph. One of the substances entering the blood is glucose.

Glucose is the main source of energy. Depending on its concentration in the blood and cells human feels hungry or satiety.

Two hormones are responsible for the duration and quality of saturation in the body: insulin and leptin. Insulin is released by pancreas, and leptin – by adipose texture.

Insulin helps the body’s cells to take glucose (energy) from the bloodstream. Insulin can be equal a key that helps to open the cell so that energy enters it. In the body, insulin is produced on an ongoing basis, but the degree of its concentration depends on the glucose amount in the blood. With an increase in glucose level, the insulin amount produced is also increased.In this chain, the hormone leptin acts as a link, informing the brain about the cell saturation and, accordingly, about the cessation of insulin production.

Food and Diseases

Various disorders in the glucose – insulin – leptin – saturation chain operation leads to diseases such as leptin resistance, insulin resistance and sugar diabetes.

How and why does the body fail?

When the certain substance concentration and frequency of finding in a person’s blood becomes constant, an addiction to the given figures appeared in the body. If we talk about glucose at the saturation beginning chain, then its constant concentration in the blood increase causes gradual loss of the body cells sensitivity first to leptin, and then to insulin. When a cell loses sensitivity to leptin, we stop feeling satiety and leptin resistance. The feeling of hunger does not leave us, even if we have just moved away from the table, since the hormone leptin, having lost contact with the cell, sends it to the brain an incorrect signal about the of body satiety feeling.

Insulin resistance is a loss of cell sensitivity to insulin. When the cell loses sensitivity to insulin, it stops receiving energy. If the cell receives an insufficient energy amount, the body begins experiencing energy hunger.

The most common symptoms of insulin resistance

Dependence on carbohydrates. Constant craving for sweet, salty, crunchy foods.
The need to eat a lot and/or often.
Inability to control yourself. When it comes to a diet, there is a willpower lack feeling.
Increase in body sizes, mainly in the waist and/or the waist size is more than 80 cm.
It is difficult to lose weight, even with the presence of regular training and reducing the amount of food consumed.
History of irregular menstrual cycles. Polycystic ovaries syndrome (PCOS).
Acne.
Marks on the neck, chest, groin and armpits skin – hair growth, the appearance of papillomas and/or acanthosis.
Daytime fatigue, inability to concentrate, drowsiness (especially after eating), dizziness.

When the body experiences a constant energy hunger, insulin resistance eventually transforms into diabetes.

Health And Diet

Food micro and macro nutrients is the main source of energy. So that human felt comfortable and at the same time was healthy, the body should be able to get satiety from the required amount of energy. After all, if the body receives nutrients in the amount necessary for it, the “glucose-insulin-leptin satiety” chain operates correctly. The key link in setting up the chain is the correct nutrition. When we talk about proper nutrition, we don’t mean strict prohibitions or permanent restrictions.

Proper nutrition is the ability to make up your diet correctly.

It is very simple to do this, you need:

Calculate your personal calorie and macro nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, water) requirement.
Based on your personal need, choose relevant food foods.
Learn how to distribute a grocery basket during day and week.

Remember! The key to proper nutrition is diet planning!

Personal calories, protreins and carbohydrates (CPFC) need

Calories

Calories are conditional amount of energy received from food. Couning calories The diet caloric content is the foundation in its formation, since depending on the calories amount consumed, human will gain, lose or maintain weight.

The calorie allowance for each person is individual. In order o calculate your daily requirement, use the formulas listed below.

The daily calorie allowance for women =

(10 * weight (kg) + 6.25 * height (cm) – 5 * age (years) – 161) * physical activity factor

The daily calorie allowance for men =

(10 * weight (kg) + 6.25 * height (cm) – 5 * age (years) + 5) * physical activity factor

where the physical activity factors are:

1,2 – minimum or no physical activity, basic metabolism;

1,5 – intensive physical activity up to 5 times a week;

1,9 – daily physical activity and additional physical work.

Caloric content and weight loss

To gain weight, you need to follow to calories surplus – get more the daily allowance. And in order to reduce weight, it is necessary to create a deficit in the daily caloric content. The caloric deficit can be reached by reducing the diet caloric content and increasing physical activity. For example, if you need to reach a daily deficit of 500 kcal, in order to reduce weight, then you can remove 250 kcal by correcting the diet, and spend the other 250 ones, by adding physical activity (250 kcal is an hour of walking or half an hour on an elliptical machine (read more about an elliptical machine>>)).

For the body to function properly, the deficit should not be too large, and the total diet calorie content should not be less than 1200-1300 kcal. In the best case, the body will simply stop losing weight, since it will enter to the saving mode, and in the worst case, hormonal background problems will begin.

Periodic caloric content reduction to 800-1000 kcal permissible no more than 1-2 times a week, taking into account the fact that in other days the diet caloric content will be increased, that is, the created deficit will be compensated.

Please note, if according to your calculations the daily ration is 1200-1300 kcal and less, and at the same time you have indeed, excess weight — to reduce calories is no need for a diet. In this case, in order to lose weight, the deficit in daily calories will need to be reached due to the physical activity.

CPFC In the Diet

Calories, Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates (CPFC) in food

The main goal of food is to give us energy to provide vital activity. But, as we found out, it’s not enough just to get the next portion of food, it is important to feel satiety after its use. The satiety should be long-lasting – it is this scenario has a positive effect on the body. And if we talk about the weight loss stage, it is a long-term satiety will help to avoid breakdowns. Foods, depending on their composition, will saturate the body differently. Further we shall study which food components allow the body to experience a long-term satiety, and because of which we will soon have hunger.

When planning a diet, it is important to find a balance between caloric content of foods and their composition. That is, the composition of the eaten food should bring a feeling of satiety and be within the daily calorie allowance.

Proteins

Proteins are the main body building material. They ensure the body functional operation and are used for formation and renewal of all tissues. Due to the fact that proteins are present in our consumed foods, we feel satiated. The daily need for proteins is individual for every person. On average, this figure ranges from 1 to 2.5 grams per 1 kg of healthy weight.

You can calculate your daily protein allowance using the formulas:

activity factor * healthy weight (kg) = required amount of protein (g)

where a healthy weight is a weight without extra pounds, the one in which human feels good, and the activity factor is equal to:

1 – there is practically no activity, a passive lifestyle;

1.5 – medium activity no more than 1 hour a day, including exercises in the gym no more than 3 times a week;

2 – high activity, power exercises, gym exercises more than 3 times a week;

2.5 – this coefficient is used for athletes, training in order to increase muscle mass.

The proteins should be present in the diet in sufficient mount!

Proteins In the diet

Proteins are of animal and plant origin. We recommend taking as the basis of the diet only animal origin proteins since their absorbation is much higher.

The ideal protein foods for building the diet will be:

– fish (preferably tuna, salmon, trout, saury, mackerel) and seafood (squid, crab, mussels, shrimp, caviar);

– eggs;

– meat (beef);

– poultry (chicken, goose, duck, turkey – all positions without skin);

– by-foods (liver, heart);

– dairy foods (cottage cheese, hard cheese).

We recommend choosing natural meat, fish and poultry, because that grass-fed meat will be rich in anti-inflammatory agents. And in the overweight human body inflammatory markers are increased. When planning your diet, give your preference to more light protein foods, that is, eat fish, eggs and by-foods, not meat. Large amount of proteins is contained in many kinds of plant foods (nuts, seeds, legumes, cereals). But, since the fats and carbohydrates percentage in the plant food composition is higher, it is better to take these foods into account as fats and carbohydrates.

Fats

Fats are the second important component of our body. If we can compare proteins with bricks, with which a house is being built, then fats will be cement, fasten the bricks together. Fats perform many useful functions in the body, the most important of which will be: hormones production control, improving the body endurance, giving mobility and elasticity to the body cells, as well as energy production, which makes human cheerful and workable.

The fat presence in the diet in sufficient amount also provides a feeling of satiety. And this is exactly what required from the nutrition – to feel satiety after eating for a long time getting up from the table.

The daily fat requirement for each person is also purely individual. According to the norms, this figure ranges from 1 to 2.5 grams per 1 kg of healthy weight, but its exact value will be depend on many factors, including diseases, as well as certain body features. As a reference value suitable for most, we recommend taking an average value of 1.5 grams.

To calculate your daily fat requirement, you can use this formula:

1.5 * healthy weight (kg) = required amount of fat (g)

The fats should be present in the diet on a regular basis!

Fats In the Diet

The fats can be saturated (of animal origin) and unsaturated (mainly of plant-based origin). There is also a special type of fat, which is formed as a result of high temperature processing of any fats and, in particular, when they are heated repeatedly. For example, when warming up previously cooked food.

Such fats are called trans fats.

When making a diet, more attention should be paid to vegetable fats, they are better absorbed by the body. Animal fats are no less useful, therefore their presence, even in less amount, should be mandatory in the diet. But trans fats should be excluded. In the body they increase inflammation, which makes loosing weight harder for us. In addition, getting into the body, trans fats violate the walls of our cells, which affects their selectivity and permeability.For example, vitamins begin to be absorbed worse.

✅ Sources of healthy fats		❌ Sources of harmful fats
Oils	Foods	Trans Fats
Butter	Avocado	Margarine
Melted butter	Olive	Sunflower refined oil
Olive	Fatty fish	Semi-finished foods and fast food
Coconut	Caviar	All foods from confectionery store department
Ghee	Nuts	Food cooked under exposure to high temperature, deep-fried to golden crust
Lard	Pumpkin seeds

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are not only a source of energy, but also, as proteins and fats, take an active part in the construction of body. Therefore, the presence of carbohydrates in the diet is also important.

How to determine how many carbohydrates should be in your diet?

Rule #1. It is necessary to eat carbohydrates at least 100-120 grams a day. Below this figure, we do not recommend going down in avoiding problems of metabolism and hormonal background (for example, girls may lose their menstruation).

Rule #2. Calculation of daily carbohydrate food requirement can be executed in this way:

Your daily calorie allowance – protein foods (kcal) – fat rich foods (kcal) = carbohydrate food daily allowance (kcal)

That is, we count the amount of carbohydrate foods that we can to eat in a day for the diet calorie content residue. But remember rule #1. If according to the rule #2 formula, the amount of carbohydrates is less than 100-120 grams, then follow rule #1 and add physical activity to spend excess of the calories received.

Carbohydrates in the diet

By their value and significance for the body carbohydrates are divided into two categories: simple and complex ones. Learn more about their differences and application in the diet from this table:

Type	❌ Simple Carbohydrates	✅ Complex Carbohydrates
Speed of absorbation	Quickly absorbed	Slowly absorbed
Satiety	After consumption feeling of hunger comes quickly	Give a continuous satiety
Where contain	Mainly, in foods manufactured industrially	Mainly in natural vegetable foods
Food examples	– honey and sugar – confectionery – all kinds of white flour pastries – yeast bread – most fruits – some vegetables (turnips, potatoes, beetroot, pumpkin) – white rice – and much more	– whole grain cereals (buckwheat, oatmeal, bulgur, quinoa, wild rice) – whole grain bread – legumes (lentils, chickpeas, red beans) – pasta made of solid wheat types – vegetables – and much more
Application in the diet	Except or minimize	Provide the diet with a sufficient amount

Calories, Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates (CPFC) in food

As a rule, most foods in their composition have not one macronutrient, but include several of them or even all. That is, in a certain amount proteins, fats and carbohydrates will be present in the food. In practice, we usually divide foods into protein, fat and carbohydrate. But, as a rule, calling the food as protein contained, we mean that the protein amount exceeds the quantitative composition of other macronutrients, not that it consists of protein entirely. If we take into account the above, it should also be understood that, for example, 100 grams of fish do not contain 100 grams of protein, and an 80-gram croissant does not include 80 grams of carbohydrates (see the example below). In addition, the food processing during preparation affects the caloric content of foods and their macronutrient composition. For example, cooking, frying, stewing, steaming, drying, smoking, salting, drying.

How to find out how much CPFC are contained in a particular food?

Applications automatically calculating the CPFC of foods, will help you with daily calculations, for example,

Beachbody On Demand, read more >>

You can also use the public information from the Internet and make independent calculations, writing everything down in a notebook or diary.

We strongly recommend keeping a food diary if you are at the initial weight loss stage. Because if you regularly weight foods and study their composition, you will not only lose weight faster, but you will soon learn to determine portions of foods by eye, and, having breakfast / lunch / dinner outside the home, you will be able to avoid overeating.

Protein food

Eggs

Egg nutritional value

Egg, boiled	Amount Per 100 grams	% Daily Value *
Calories	155
Total Fat	11 g	16%
Saturated fat	3.3 g	16%
Cholesterol	373 mg	124%
Sodium	124 mg	5%
Potassium	126 mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate	1.1 g	0%
Dietary fiber	0 g	0%
Sugar	1.1 g
Protein	13 g	26%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		5%
Iron		6%
Vitamin D		21%
Vitamin B6		5%
Magnesium		2%
Cobalamin		18%