What to put in a “healthy food plate”. TOP advice from nutritionists

Designed by Freepik Diets that involve fasting or strict adherence to a specific diet have long been considered relics of the past.

Modern fitness trainers and nutritionists recommend adhering to the principles of healthy eating (HE) in an effort to lose weight and reduce body size. The plate rule became a similar personification of the PP.

A diet for losing excess weight based on this principle is considered the most effective among similar methods of natural struggle for an ideal figure.

People who follow the plate rule quickly reduce the number of unwanted kilograms and centimeters without harming the normal functioning of the body.

What is this rule: the essence and principle of the method

Important! The essence of the nutrition principle under consideration is to use the same plate (preferably with a diameter of 21-25 cm), mentally divided into three parts, for daily meals, preferably at lunchtime.

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In order to correctly determine the boundaries of the zones on the plate, it is necessary to figuratively draw a vertical line exactly in the middle of the dish. Next, one of the sides is again divided into equal halves, but now horizontally.

Each of the resulting parts on the dishes is filled with different products that differ in both calorie content and their chemical composition. This property helps a person adhering to PN to correctly set food priorities and consume the required amount of calories without exceeding the daily norm.

According to the plate rule, the largest portion of the container should be occupied by vegetables, served raw, boiled or steamed. This side dish is low in calories and contains a high content of vitamins, minerals, micro- and macroelements, in particular fiber.

Moreover, some vegetables, for example, broccoli, have a negative calorie content, which is characterized by a predominance of the amount of kcal consumed during their absorption by the body over the amount contained in the product itself.

Fiber, which is the main component of vegetables, normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and promotes a kind of cleansing of vital systems.

It is recommended to consume vegetables primarily for their best digestibility and filling the main part of the stomach. The best options for this type of side dish are:

• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• cabbage of all varieties (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc.);
• pumpkin;
• zucchini.

Attention! Vegetables in this case do not include potatoes and legumes. The composition of such products is dominated by starch and protein, rather than fiber and natural vitamins.

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Having eaten the vegetable part of the plate, you should begin to absorb the side dish, which takes up 25% of the dish used. This part should include carbohydrate foods necessary to maintain energy, as well as the normal condition of hair and nails. Slow carbohydrates traditionally include:

• porridge;
• potato dishes;
• durum wheat pasta;
• whole wheat bread.

For dessert, according to the plate rule, it is advisable to leave the protein part. Protein is extremely important for:

• maintaining normal functioning of all body systems;
• restoration of muscle tissue during physical activity;
• strengthening the body's protective properties.

It is recommended to fill the remaining 25% of the plate:

• poultry and other low-fat varieties;
• fish;
• legumes;
• eggs;
• seafood.

Be sure to check out:

Rules and recipes for a menu with proper nutrition Rules for compiling and a sample menu for a week as part of proper nutrition The meaning and rules for creating a regimen with proper nutrition for a healthy person We create a menu for older people correctly: we take into account the characteristics of the body at 60 and 80 years old

Plate of healthy food. Scheme

Portion control continues to play a major role in rising obesity rates. How do we know how much we should eat and what our food should consist of?

The healthy food plate provides a simple visual outline. Five major food groups that are the basis for a healthy diet. They show how much of certain foods we should eat. There are many versions of the Healthy Plate. The Harvard scheme, in my opinion, is the simplest and most understandable.

Plate with examples

Different food groups are color coded as portions within a standard plate. Therefore, we understand how much of each food group you need to take.

Half your plate should consist of fruits and vegetables, and the other half should consist of lean protein and whole grains. What do I love about the Harvard Healthy Food Plate? It has short descriptions associated with each food group. This plate not only clearly shows what your plate should consist of. But it also gives examples of each food group so you know what to put on your plate.

Fats

Contrary to popular belief, fats (plant types like nuts and avocados) are actually healthy. Our body needs them for optimal health. The Harvard Healthy Eating Plate illustrates incorporating healthy fats with a bottle of olive oil. This indicates that everyone should include a variety of healthy fats in their diet. Examples of healthy fats are also provided so consumers know what constitutes healthy fats and what to avoid.

Whole grain products

The Harvard Healthy Eating Plate encourages eating whole grains. She does not prohibit eating pasta or buns, but it is advisable to reduce their quantity. After all, such products contain “fast sugars” that are more likely to enter the bloodstream. This may contribute to weight gain.

The body spends additional energy on digesting “slow carbohydrates”. This means that the possibility of being deposited in subcutaneous fat is reduced.

Fast carbohydrates - refined rice, pasta, baked goods. Slow - whole grain bread, brown rice, buckwheat.

Water is life-giving moisture

Water is very important to maintain our health. And I love that the Healthy Eating Plate includes this in its illustration. It is advisable to drink it with a small amount of sugar or without it at all. This category also emphasizes the importance of limiting consumption of dairy products. As well as avoiding sweet drinks such as carbonated drinks and coffee drinks.

Does this diet always help with weight loss?

Of course, compliance with the rule in question does not guarantee weight loss if:

• lack or insufficient physical activity;
• neglect of drinking regime;
• frequent unhealthy snacks;
• high consumption of sugar, flour, salt;
• the presence of dysfunctions of individual body systems;
• irregular adherence to the basic principles of the plate rule.

You may also be interested in: Fitness nutrition: training, losing weight, enjoying food

Plate rule for weight loss: reviews

Below you can read reviews from people who have experienced this method of losing weight.

Plate rule for weight loss, reviews:

Valentina . I had never been slender, but before the operation to replace the kneecap, the doctor recommended losing weight. I don't know how to count calories; I don't have a kitchen scale at home. Naturally, I couldn’t weigh anything. That's why I used the plate rule. I took a plate with a diameter of 18 cm, and put a large amount of vegetables, a tiny piece of bread, and a small steamed cutlet. Instead, I often used boiled meat. In the evening I drank kefir with salad. In the morning, I sometimes treated myself to milk oatmeal and a small piece of toast with cheese. In 2 months I managed to lose 8 kg. This is certainly not very much, but I feel much better. This helped me get back on my feet faster after surgery.

Veronica . My life is a constant struggle with excess weight. I tried many nutrition systems, including fasting 16/8 and 18/6. This nutrition system was not very suitable, although I do not hide the fact that I lost weight quite quickly. The best method for me was the single plate system. In the morning I don't have breakfast, but I have lunch and dinner. For dinner I mostly eat boiled meat with salad. I don't eat carbohydrates in the evening. At lunch I allow myself almost everything, even a small piece of bread. I managed to lose 3 kg in 1 month.

Svetlana . I don’t like to restrict myself in nutrition, so I tried to choose a gentle system for losing weight. One of these is the one plate rule. Considering that I ate a lot of fatty foods, the one-plate system became a real salvation for me. I lost 4 kg in a month and a half.

Sample diagram
Read on the topic:

• 5 Best Protein Shakes at Home: Recipes
• Vegetarian sports menu
• How much protein is in 100 grams of cottage cheese?
• High Protein Foods: List
• What is healthier in a chicken egg: white or yolk?

Many nutritionists believe that the plate rule can be safely used for breakfast. However, instead of meat ingredients, you should use eggs and dairy products as protein. Instead of carbohydrates, you should use dried fruits and a small amount of nuts. The vegetable part remains the same. You can afford to replace some of the vegetables with avocados. This is a fairly fatty product, but it contains the right fats that lower cholesterol and have a good effect on the condition of the skin. In the morning, it is best to use bread, beans and lentils as carbohydrates.

Pros and cons of eating according to this method

The growing popularity of this nutritional method is due to a number of benefits for those who adhere to it. We are talking about the following factors:

• no need to count calories and nutritional supplements for the daily diet;
• simplicity and transparency of the proposed systematization of meals;
• the need for mandatory consumption of foods of varying nutritional value and chemical composition, which makes the daily diet balanced and rich in vitamins and nutrients;
• the ability to independently select products.

Despite the above advantages of forming a diet according to the plate rule, it is worth noting that it, like other principles of a proper diet, has a number of disadvantages that are necessary to take them into account:

• lack of data on the consumption of dairy products and fruits as part of such menu adjustments;
• insufficient information for people trying to lose excess weight, specifying the daily amount of calories, BJU, daily number and volume of portions, and so on.

You may also be interested in: Healthy Eating Pyramid

Harvard Healthy Food Plate. What it is

If you study healthy eating techniques, you will notice one important feature. The basis of the diet is plant foods. Why? It contains fiber, vitamins and minerals for nutrition. Half to three-quarters of a healthy plate consists of plant foods - fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts and whole grains.

A healthy plate provides a simple solution. It indicates how much and what foods you need to eat in order to simply live . There is no need to waste precious time on calculations and distribution of products.

Eating right means you feel better, sleep better and feel more energetic. Now I will talk a little about the benefits of proper nutrition.

A healthy plate of food strengthens the microbiome

The human microbiome is the trillions of bacteria that live inside and outside the human body. If these microbes are beneficial, we feel healthy. If the microbiome is disrupted, it is clear that this cannot be positive. Therefore, after taking antibiotics that kill healthy flora, probiotics are prescribed. These are products that contain bacteria that are beneficial to our body.

So, back to our “good and kind” microbes and microbiome.

Foods rich in fiber keep the digestive system healthy. They help us absorb nutrients.

One hundred trillion of your body's best friends, otherwise known as bacteria, live in your gut. They make up the microbiome. When you eat certain foods, such as bananas, artichokes, and kiwis, you end up with undigested fiber. They feed your “good bacteria.” Eating fermented foods like yogurt, kefir gives you a direct dose of probiotics to help fill your gut. You can also take probiotic supplements. These efforts will help the most beneficial bacteria thrive in your gut. They will also prevent potentially harmful viruses and bacteria from settling there.

A healthy plate of food boosts immunity

Your immune system is constantly fighting off any harmful pathogens that enter your body. Eating foods with vitamins A, C and E helps maintain immunity. Rich in vitamins - blueberries, grapefruit, broccoli, avocado, mango, carrots, seeds and nuts.

Eating a healthy plate of food helps the body naturally remove toxins. You don't need cleanses because your liver and kidneys do all the hard work themselves. Your liver sifts through every ounce of blood looking for anything it doesn't like and gets rid of it. This could be alcohol, medications, or other toxins (poisons). Your kidneys then turn these toxins into waste and eliminate them from the body.

A healthy plate of food fights inflammation

Sometimes your body reacts to injury or illness with pain and discomfort in an attempt to heal itself. This also occurs with food intolerances or certain chronic diseases such as arthritis.

Most leafy greens, fruits and other healthy foods such as nuts, olive oil, celery, beets, salmon, tuna and anchovies are anti-inflammatory. This can help reduce inflammation in your body.

Professional opinions

The opinion of professionals about the plate rule is overwhelmingly identical: experts talk about the convenience and effectiveness of this method in adjusting the daily diet in order to lose weight or form an ideal figure.

Janelia Skripnik, professional fitness trainer and nutritionist

According to Janelia, the principle in question is the fastest and most convenient for honing the appearance of your own body. Skripnik explains that, despite the fact that there is no 100% guarantee of weight loss when using this method, there is still a high probability of its effectiveness, but only subject to a responsible approach to adjusting the lifestyle in general (playing sports, giving up bad habits, and so on) .

Anna Margolina, PhD in Biology in the USA

Anna Margolina believes that the plate rule is nothing more than the simplest way to organize a balanced diet, especially important for people after 40 years of age. According to the specialist, it is thanks to loyalty and the right to choose products to fill the fictitious areas of the dish that people guided by a similar principle will be able to avoid depression, stress, anorexia, bulimia and other consequences of adhering to the rules of a strict diet for weight loss.

Ekaterina Krasavina, fitness trainer, fitness model

Ekaterina is sure that in order to lose excess weight and further maintain an ideal shape, you need to regularly monitor the food you consume, which the plate rule will help you cope with. This technique, by restructuring the lifestyle of the person using it, can not only guarantee timely achievement of the desired results, but also minimize the risk of returning extra pounds or centimeters in the future.

Plate method for weight loss: disadvantages

There are many disadvantages to this nutritional method.

The plate method for weight loss, disadvantages:

• The fact is that according to this principle you cannot choose foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This method is more suitable for lunch, since in the morning carbohydrates are recommended along with dairy products, that is, proteins.
• In the evening, many nutritionists do not recommend consuming carbohydrates at all, even if they are complex. 3 hours before bedtime, it is better to completely exclude any meals, regardless of what they consist of. It is recommended to consume simple and complex carbohydrates before 14:00, that is, in the morning and at lunch. In the evening, they should be replaced with fiber, that is, vegetables, and protein products.
• This nutrition system is not suitable for people who train in the gym or use cardio training. This category requires a high protein content, so the menu does not cover all needs.

Scheme

Main conclusions

The plate rule, due to the simplicity of its application in practice, can become an effective assistant in the fight for an ideal figure, but only with regular physical activity, as well as if you exclude harmful foods from your diet.

By dividing a plate with a diameter of 21-25 cm into 3 parts and filling the largest of them with vegetables, and the other two with proteins and carbohydrates, you can get a balanced meal that meets the requirements of the basic principles of a healthy diet.

Despite the lack of guarantees associated with the effectiveness of this method, numerous positive reviews from specialists in the field of nutrition and sports indicate its harmlessness and advisability for practical use in your diet.

Are superfoods healthy?

“Superfoods” are purely an advertising ploy used by marketers to increase sales of individual products. Therefore, now in Europe they have even banned the use of such a name. However, why? You cannot call a product a “superfood” because there is no clearly defined qualification category for such a product. What is a “superfood”?! Translated, this is super food.

For example, goji berries and chia seeds are called “superfoods”. But in fact, they can be fully replaced with other products. Goji berries contain a lot of vitamin C, but black currants are no less. Chia seeds and flax seeds are similar. What's the difference? In price - so-called “superfoods” cost many times more, because people believe in their miraculous properties, which they actually do not possess. Yes, they are useful, but also in moderation. If only because products grown outside our open spaces are not digested in the same way as “native” ones. In addition, “superfoods” travel from one country to another, so it is not known under what conditions they were stored or how long they spent traveling.

What to expect and how much weight you can lose

The second most popular question is: “How much weight can I lose in a month, in a week, in six months?” And there is no definite answer here either. It all depends on you: on your starting data, on perseverance, determination, adherence to the rules, and so on.

A person who has 5-10 extra kilograms will lose weight much slower than someone who has an extra 30-40 kilograms. A healthy person will be able to eat what a sick person cannot. An office worker working 12 hours a day will have time to do less than a freelancer who spends 2-3 hours a day on work, and so on. There are a lot of factors.

At one time, I lost 35 kilograms in less than six months. Another 5 kilograms took 4 months. But my knowledge at that time was far from the truth.

In the first few weeks, people with significant excess weight experience rapid dynamics. A person can lose from two to five or more kilograms per week. This is due to the fact that when switching to proper nutrition with a limited range of products, swelling caused by food allergies and intolerances goes away.

Then the weight loss slows down. In a week you can lose from 0.3 to 1.5 kg, depending on the person’s weight.

In addition, the weight loss strategy is of great importance, i.e. the nutrition and training system you have chosen. A low-carb diet and intermittent fasting will produce different results.

Efficiency and reviews from those losing weight

The effectiveness of the dish diet depends on what foods a person allows himself to lose weight. If you completely eliminate sweets and other unhealthy foods, you can lose 3 to 5 kg in a week. For those who cannot imagine life without their favorite treats, the process of losing weight will be longer. However, weight will decrease due to smaller portions.

Numerous accolades about the one-plate diet testify to the effectiveness of the technique. Most of the people who tried this nutrition system on themselves were satisfied with the results.

Alina, 25 years old: “Before the one-plate diet, I tried many ways to lose weight. All of them gave short-term results. At the end of the diet, the weight returned. In addition, nails and hair suffered due to an unbalanced diet. Now that I just control my portion sizes, I don't have that problem. I allow myself everything, even candy. The dish diet helped me control myself. I know I'll stick to the portion that fits on my now favorite plate and don't even think about adding more. I lost 4 kg in a month. Maybe someone will find this result not too stunning, but I am quite happy with it.”

Olga, 48 years old: “On this diet, I lost 5 kg in two weeks. This made me very happy, since I didn’t feel hungry at all. But in order to adhere to such a food system, you must constantly ensure that the house has the right set of products. After all, every meal includes proteins, fats and carbohydrates. You have to spend a lot of time preparing different dishes. It is unlikely that such a diet will suit those who have no time to plan a menu.”

Victoria, 38 years old: “I chose a lighter version of the one-plate diet. I allocated myself a saucer for these purposes. I won’t lie: eating such small portions was very unusual and quite difficult. A plate with a diameter of 10 cm barely fits a piece of meat and salad. But over time I got used to this lifestyle. Between meals I drank low-fat kefir, sometimes tomato juice without salt. I eliminated junk food completely. In a month I got rid of 10 kg. I’m very pleased with this result, I will continue.”