The 6th truth about Kasia. Healthy eating for a lifetime (2)

Nice to meet you once again, my dear reader!

I hope you have read the 1st part of Healthy eating for a lifetime (1). 

Today I am going to analyse the rest of the healhty eating pyramid. Just to make sure you know what I am writing about I am posting the same pic once again.

Last time I discussed the importance of physical activity, regular body weight check and the difference between hunger, appetite and craving. 

This time let's talk about main food group. I am sure you are able to distinguish them.

1. Vegetables- a vital source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Should form a major part of your diet.
2. Fruits- packed with essential nutrients, fruits provide a good source of carbohydrates, fibre and vitamins.
3. Bread, cereals, pasta and potatoes- the food in this group are a valuable source of carbohydrates and fibre.
4. Dairy food- milk and dairy products are an important source of protein, vitamins and minerals.
5. Protein food- this group includes meat, poultry and fish.

Fantastic! Yes, all is great, but...honestly... Do we really know what do all these words mean?!

VITAMINS- naturally occuring chemicals essential for health. They contain no calories, they are important for normal growth and development. Vitamins are necessary for the body to use the calories provided by the food that we eat.

Take a look at a very general description of the essential vitamins- what are they good for, what happens when you don't provide enough of them to your body, what is daily intake and where to find them (no, I am not talking about pills!):

MINERALS- are substances orginating in rocks and metal ores. They work together in making and breaking down body tissues and in regulating metabolism- the chemical reactions constantly occuring in the body.

Once again- some little help. General information about minerals that you need. 

FIBRE- oh, my favourite one! Little helper with huge power:) It' s essential for maintaining a healthy digestive system. There are two types of dietary fibre: soluble fibre, which can dissolve in water; and insoluble fibre, which does not have this ability. Food that are high in dietary fibre often take longer to eat and they increase feeling of fullness after meal because they slow down the passage of food throught the intestine.

CARBOHYDRATES= source of energy!!! They are obtained from grains, bread, rice and pasta, as well as from fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Carbohydrates provide energy for all the body's activities. As they are digested, they are broken down into simple sugars, such as glucose. 

Hope tha above short explanation and pix help you to understand basic functions of healthy diet.

More interesting information and essential facts about the healthy eating habits soon.

Sleep well and do not overeat.

Kasia

The 6th truth about Kasia. Healthy eating for a lifetime (1)

Hello again!

Thank you so much for all visits so far. Hope to meet you again and again. And I hope you like what your read here:)

Today I am going to write more about the enigmatic healthy eating habits. Enigmatic, beacuse not all of us exactly know what it is, how to start and what are the rules. 

Basically, healthy eating is all about 5-a-day raw, fresh, cooked, steamed fruits and vegetables, avoiding higly processed food, fatty & salty fast food, drinking plenty of water, saying no to sweetened sodas and juices and skipping delicious sweets...

Sounds hard, complicated? Let me explain you, that it doesn't have to be hard to introduce healthy eating habits into your life.

Let's start with basics.

Nutrition for life

You are what you eat. No excuses. What you eat and drink affects your body. Junk, fatty, salty food makes you fat, slower your metabolism, makes you sleepy with no energy. This is true. And you already know it.

Your body's needs vary at different stages of your life and the way you live- that's the reason why your nutritional needs are different too. Why is it so important? Because to grow properly and function normally, you need a complete range of nutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibre, and water. Don't forget about vitamins and minerals! 

Simple rule- eating well makes you feel well, which improves your mood and increases your positive energy.

To mantain a healthy weight, you need to balance the energy you take in from food you eat with energy you expand in the course of your daily life. Easy. In short- don't overeat. When you overeat, excess food intake is stored in the body as FAT.  To be honest, there is a lot of people dealing with underweight. This situation is also unhealthy and  in longer period of time leads to serious health problems. However I am going to focus on overweight and obesity, because I have experience and relevant knowledge to write about. 

The healthy eating pyramid

Above picture explains very clearly how the right way of eating should look like.

Leading healthy lifestyle means being active- sport should become your best friend. For fun, for strong body, for nice form of socialising, for catching some fresh air and sun whenever possible... Many, many reasons for someone who is looking for reasons, not excuses. Controlling your weight is ESSENTIAL in maintaining  the right body weight, let's do every Monday in the morning before breakfast. You can notice any changes, modify your portion size, frequency of eating during a day, and find the best food for yourself. But what is most important- you are able to avoid weight gain! Tah dah:)

This is the first part of that topic. Soon will comment all the food groups and importance of each one. Hope you're with me. Step by step will reach there, don't worry.

In the meantime think of difference between hunger, appetite and craving. Which one happens to you most often? Are you able to recognise them?

HUNGER- this is a physiological response by which the body alerts the breain that nourishment is needed. You may experience stomach discomfort.

APPETITE- this is an instinctive physical desire to eat that occurs when you are hungry. It can be stimulated by outside influences (smell, taste, looking at food).

CRAVING- this is a psychological state affected by outside influences, such as smell of food, and by emotions, habits, moods, and imagination, rather then by hunger. Read more about emotional eating.

Sleep well and try to make the RIGHT choices everytime. Say NO to not exsisitng needs, say YES to healthy eating habits.

Nite,

Kasia

Time for a piece of heaven

Simple and tasty food is my priority. I don't like pre-cooked food and usually do all by myself. From the scratch, beacuse only then I am sure what is in the meal I eat. Of course don't panic, I don't want to say that you can't be sure what you eat:))) But as long as you can touch, smell, see and have fun with all ingredients it is real art!
When you are losing weight or maintaining the right one you should keep an eye on calories and fat, that's the minimum you should always control. Let's be honest- it's much easier to read label on every product, add all "data" and be sure what's in food you are eating.

My menu for today- brown pasta with tuna steak and some tasty details.

What's in?

• 1 can of tuna steak in sunflower oil (drained)
• 40 gram (when uncooked) brown spaghetti
• 3 sundried tomatoes in oil with herb (drained)
• 8 black olives
• spinach 
• persley
• pepper, salt
• sunflower seeds
• steamed corn colb (1/2)

Basically- it takes around 20 minutes to make that delicious, light meal... Not too long:) if you don't like spinach add some rocket leaves. Up to you.

Once again- use your imagination:)

Important info:

1 portion contains around 550 calories and 14grams of fat.

Enjoy!