Nutrition recommendations for summer

When we throw off the thick clothes as we enter summer; The weight gained by winter handicaps such as inactive days due to cold weather and snacks eaten in front of the television during long evenings have come to light. No problem, the solution is in your hands… Expert Dietitian and Phytotherapist Hanse Nur Özyurt gave nutritional suggestions that will help you as you enter the summer.

time for renewal
In many of us, our vitamin D levels decrease during seasonal transitions and especially in the winter months when we cannot benefit from enough sun; It may cause feelings of weakness, fatigue, drowsiness, reluctance, and inability to get enough rest. Spring has come, summer is on the doorstep. If you have such symptoms, you can have a general blood test and have your vitamin and mineral levels checked before the summer.

Primary goal: Sustainable lifestyle changes
An adequate and balanced diet means a personalized nutrition program. It is not possible to establish a long-term eating pattern with popular diets (intermittent fasting, protein-rich, ketogenic, etc.). Scientific studies show that the rate of rapid regain of weight lost through short-term diets is very high. Mistakes in popular diets; It is caused by imbalances between nutrients. Carbohydrates, fat, protein, even vitamins and minerals in the nutrition plan should be calculated individually. Deficiency of any nutrient in the diet also negatively affects the bioavailability, metabolism or requirement of other nutrients. My advice is; You will need to make lifestyle changes instead of diet programs. The causes of obesity may be more energy intake than your body needs, genetic factors, metabolic factors, physiological predisposition or lack of physical activity.

Among these reasons;

Evaluate yourself
Questioning what causes your excess weight
Focus on causes that you can fix yourself (excessive energy intake and lack of physical activity)
You can take steps for a solution.
With the awareness that the most important thing is awareness; Instead of diet lists that can be made for 1-2 weeks without thinking and that do not fit your life and diet, you should find the cause of your own weight problem and provide a permanent solution with lifestyle changes. In addition to these, some common items that every individual should pay attention to should not be forgotten.

Pay attention to adequate water consumption
Adequate water consumption is the most important step in maintaining health and losing weight that should be taken into consideration but is often overlooked. The amount of water consumption should be specific to the individual. As your weight increases, the amount of water you need to drink increases at the same rate. Now I leave a formula here. Everyone can calculate the amount of water they need to consume daily and think of this calculation as an individual water guide. The calculation is as follows: You need to consume 35 ml of water per kilogram of weight. In other words, a 70-kilogram individual needs to consume 70×35 = 2450 milliliters of water daily. Since one standard glass of water is 240 ml, the amount of water this individual should consume daily is equivalent to 10 glasses of water. When choosing a drink, you can remember that water is the best drink for your body and that water has 0 calories, and try to make your choices accordingly.

 
Try to get vitamins and minerals naturally before supplements
In order to prevent getting sick during seasonal transitions, we need to have a good immune system, and for a good immune system, we need to meet our daily vitamin and mineral needs in sufficient amounts. Well, if our body needs more than 15 vitamins and the same amount of minerals every day; How can we meet this diverse list of needs? Yes, here is our answer: Adequate and balanced nutrition becomes meaningful for this very reason. The more diverse, colorful and different types of foods you add to your daily diet; The more vitamins and minerals you will receive, the more diverse they will be. If healthy individuals consume 5 portions of vegetables and fruits daily, there is no need to take additional vitamin and mineral supplements. My suggestion; By turning the ratio here in your favor in terms of calories and health, you will meet your daily vitamin-mineral needs in the form of a mixture of 4 portions of vegetables and 1 portion of various fruits. For example, consuming fruits in the form of fruit salad…

Lots of vegetables, lots of salad, fruit in balance
Vegetables are a food group that provides us with a very small amount of calories, even though we consume them in large quantities. From vegetables we get carbohydrates, small amounts of protein and plenty of different vitamins and minerals. Vegetables and fruits are rich in antioxidants that protect the cell from oxidative stress. Another function of vegetables and fruits is to help intestinal activities. Vegetables; It is rich in vitamin C and carotenes, the precursors of vitamin A. Green leafy vegetables contain many B vitamins. They are also rich in vitamins E and K. There should be plenty of vegetables in your life, but there should be fruits in balance; Vegetables should always weigh more than fruits on the scale .

Sports and healthy nutrition should go simultaneously
The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week for all individuals. This is because physical exercise can increase weight loss as well as reduce the degree of inflammation caused by excess fat in the body. Obesity stimulates the release of pro-inflammatory stocks such as IL-1, IL-6 and TNFalpha due to excessive fat accumulation, especially around the abdomen. Scientific studies have shown that regular exercise reduces the level of CRP, a marker of inflammation. You can initiate this positive metabolic process for your body by walking at moderate intensity for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.