The balanced meal checklist

Ensuring proper nutrition is crucial, even when aiming for weight loss. Providing your body with essential nutrients is key to enhancing satiety and maintaining energy levels. Here's a straightforward checklist to consider when planning your meals. Here's the 4 things each meal should include:

Protein 🥩

Most people aren't eating as much protein as they think they are. You should aim to consume 1.0-1.5g per body weight of protein per day. For example, if you are 60kg, you need to consume 60-90g of protein per day. Examples of protein include chicken, fish, beef, eggs, beans and lentils. Protein is important because it helps you feel full and has a high thermic effect - meaning that it will speed up your metabolism.

Carbohydrates 🍠

Carbs often get labelled as 'the enemy' and are usually cut down when one is trying to lose weight. You still need carbs though, however I would recommend opting for 'complex carbohydrates' instead of 'refined carbohydrates.' Put simply, complex carbs are usually brown in colour (brown rice, brown pasta, brown bread) and are more healthier as they are high in fibre and still contain nutrients. Other examples of complex carbs include vegetables such as sweet potato.

Healthy fats 🥑

Fat is vital for hormonal reproduction and brain health. It'll also help with your satiety. Include healthy fats in your meal such as avocado, olive oil, cheese, nuts and seeds. There are is an unhealthy type of fat called 'trans fat' which is usually found in commercial baked goods such as cakes, biscuits and pies. These should be consumed in moderation.

Colour (fruit or vegetables) 🥦

Adding 'colour' to your meal means you need to add some fruit or vegetables. Fruit and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals that are essential for vital physiological functions. The recommended daily intake is 2 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables per day. These will also help your satiety and reduce your cravings.

Get into the habit of ensuring you include all of these in your meals. When people share with me that they have cravings or low energy levels, the first thing I do is see if they include everything in this checklist! As cliche as it sounds, you are what you eat - so ensure that you are fueling your body with the nutrition it needs.