You need to count not only calories, but also fiber content

It is often talked about what foods should be avoided in order to lose weight or ensure a healthier diet. However, dietitian Živilė Dumbraitė recommends not to exclude any product or group of products from the diet if there is no allergy or intolerance.

First of all, find out how much is needed

According to Ž. Dumbraitė, how much and what kind of food a person should eat directly depends on his energy needs. If a person does physical work or actively exercises, the need for energy increases and the body requires more food. And when we do a sedentary job, we don't move much, we don't do additional sports, and we should eat less. "First of all, I would advise you to find out the amount of energy you need from food," advises the dietitian. "Otherwise, it may seem that you are eating in moderation, but in fact you are consuming much more calories than your body needs. Now there are plenty of free calorie calculators on the Internet and you can find out your needs in a few minutes," advises Ž. Dumbraitė.

According to the interlocutor, 1600 calories are enough for a middle-aged and physique woman who does not exercise, and 2000 calories for a man. It is extremely easy to reach and exceed this number with various snacks and large lunches.

According to Ž. Dumbraitė, the second important step in balancing your diet is to weigh the most commonly eaten products to imagine what one or another amount of product looks like. On the Internet, it is easy to find information about how much an average slice of bread or portion of cereals weighs. This will help you understand how much of your favorite products can be eaten within the recommended daily calorie intake.

"If you don't have a hand in calculating yourself, it is always worth contacting a specialist – the investment is small, and after the consultation you will have a "ready" and an understanding of how much and what kind of food you need," advises Ž.Dumbraitė.

Food is not necessarily to blame for being overweight

Ž. Dumbraitė notes that those who want to lose weight are often advised to significantly reduce or eliminate high-carbohydrate products altogether.

"For example, bread is an excellent source of carbohydrates and fiber. Due to the lack of the latter, people often complain of indigestion, irregular bowel movements, poor intestinal health. And for those who care about the figure, I can say that bread itself does not add kilograms. Unwanted weight gain is most often due to low physical exertion, unbalanced diet, hormonal changes and other reasons. Therefore, one product or a group of products should not be blamed," the dietitian is convinced.

According to her, a person who eats a healthy diet can definitely eat 1-3 slices of bread a day and even more, if he did not choose other grain dishes that day. It is important that the bread meets the recommendations for a healthy diet: 100 g of product should contain at least 6 grams of fiber and no more than 5 grams of sugar.

"If you are active, exercise, you can eat even more bread. The most important thing is that all the food eaten during the day is as varied, fresh and nutritious as possible," says Ž. Dumbraitė.

Valuable bread – not only black

According to Artūras Kokoškinas, Commercial Director of Vilniaus Duona, not only black bread is the right choice for those who want to enrich their diet with fiber and vitamins obtained from bread. In Lithuania, fluffy, light bread, especially shaped bread for toasting, is becoming more and more popular, and this is influenced by the food culture formed in Western Europe, which is becoming attractive to Lithuanians as well.

According to international recommendations, adults should consume about 28-35 g per day, children 1-3 years old - up to 14 g, children 4-13 years old - about 16-25 g of fiber per day. Dietitian Ž. Dumbraitė advises parents to put a sandwich with valuable bread, vegetables, fruits in their children's lunch box rather than a bun or other product with a lot of added sugar.