Basics: Essential Nutritional Credits for Weight Loss Diets (Five Major Nutrients)

Before we get to this article, have you already followed the dietary plan suggestions from the previous article for about a week and diligently implemented the "just follow" weight loss plan? Honestly, only by personally experiencing changes in diet and lifestyle habits, combined with moderate exercise, can you feel the confidence and joy of "I'm about to succeed in losing weight"!

Over the next week, you should figure out what you're eating every day, including what the "five major nutrients," "six food categories," and "food substitution tables" are. Also, how many calories should you consume each day? And from which foods should you get those calories to achieve both health and a slim figure? This is a key focus of this plan.

Of course, this article will also highlight the exercise and lifestyle improvement methods outlined in this plan, helping you understand how to exercise to maintain a good figure and how to control calorie intake in your daily life. Alright? Let's keep going!

Week 2 - Slimming Diet (Required Nutrition Credits)

■ A Complete Explanation of the Five Major Nutrients

The so-called "five major nutrients" refer to five essential nutrients for the human body: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. The first three are energy-providing nutrients, while the latter two are non-energy-providing nutrients. Energy-providing nutrients primarily serve as fuel and raw materials in human physiological functions; non-energy-providing nutrients, on the other hand, play a role in promoting and coordinating physiological activities and maintaining balance, and are also indispensable elements for maintaining human life.

The functions and food sources of these five important nutrients are described below:

carbohydrate

Also known as "carbohydrates," they include polysaccharides, disaccharides, and monosaccharides. Polysaccharides are found in starchy foods such as rice and wheat, while disaccharides and monosaccharides are found in sugar, glucose, fructose, and lactose. Carbohydrates are the most direct source of energy for the body; however, if consumed in excess, they can be converted into protein or fat and stored in the body.

protein

Protein is a major component of human muscles and internal organs, making it an extremely important nutrient for children's growth. However, because protein is metabolized into carbon-containing waste products in the body and then excreted through the kidneys, and the development of muscles and tissues in adults is less active compared to adolescents or infants, excessive protein intake may burden the kidneys. If the metabolism of nitrogenous waste products (products of protein metabolism) is incomplete, toxins can easily accumulate in the body, leading to a decline in physical health. Therefore, protein intake must be moderate.

Protein is mainly found in meat, beans, and dairy products. Whether it's carbohydrates or protein, each gram provides about 4 calories when burned in the body. However, the body takes more time and expends more energy metabolizing protein than carbohydrates. In other words, if you eat the same gram of carbohydrates and protein, the calories produced when burning protein will be less than those from carbohydrates. To put it more clearly, consuming the same amount of carbohydrates is more likely to lead to weight gain than consuming the same amount of protein.

Fat

Besides existing as pure oils like salad oil and butter, fats often coexist with proteins or carbohydrates. For example, one cup of whole milk contains 12 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of protein, and 8-10 grams of fat. Fat is a nutrient that modern people are most concerned about consuming in excess because one gram of fat, when burned in the body, can produce 9 calories, more than twice that of carbohydrates or proteins. Just think how terrifying this killer of weight control is!

Furthermore, because fat enhances the flavor of food and is not easily visible on its own, we often ingest excessive amounts of fat without realizing it. For example, it's normal to add oil when cooking, but you don't feel the oil when you eat it. As a result, once it quietly enters your body, it begins to release a large amount of calories.

Some vegetarians often wonder why they are gaining weight even though they eat vegetables or legumes at every meal and don't eat any meat. If you feel the same way, you need to investigate how much oil you add when cooking your vegetables. Are your legumes deep-fried and soaked in oil? The answer will then be revealed!

Calorie analysis of a common "stir-fried greens" dish: Half a pound of greens: approximately 75 kcal; 3 tablespoons of oil (salad oil or lard): approximately 405 kcal; 2 cloves of garlic: approximately 10 kcal. The entire dish contains approximately 500 kcal, of which 405 kcal is from oil. Therefore, 80% of the calories in this dish come from fat.

It's worth noting that while fat is a major enemy of obesity, it also plays a crucial protective role in the body. This is because a layer of adipose tissue often surrounds the internal organs, acting as a protective barrier. While an excessively high body fat percentage certainly threatens health, a body fat percentage below 12% for women and below 3% for men can also be harmful to health.

The close relationship between calories and body weight

The more food you eat, the more calories you consume, and the more weight you gain. Just how many excess calories does your body need to store to gain 1 kilogram of "fat"? The answer is 7700 calories. That seems like a lot. Many people might think, "That's much more reassuring!" But don't forget, when you want to lose weight, you also need to burn 7700 calories to lose 1 kilogram!