When it comes to the line, the world appears to be divided into two : on the one hand, there are those who seem to be able to eat anything without risking to gain weight, on the other hand, those who do not want to gain weight should always be on a diet and count all the calories of food, the fats and carbohydrates that it puts in the dish.

In reality the situation is more complex and the factors to be taken into consideration go well beyond that which is often referred to as the " constitution ".

There are, for example, those who manage to keep the line because they lead a very active life, even without making enormous sacrifices at the table.

It should not be forgotten that from a practical point of view, everything is reduced to a simple equation : in order not to gain weight, the energies introduced with food must not be higher than those consumed with daily activities.

In line with the calorie counter?

Calories are nothing but the unit of measurement of these energies . For this reason it could be said that, in order not to put on weight, the calories introduced with food should not exceed those burned during the 24 hours.

To know how much you can afford to eat it is therefore necessary to understand how many calories you burn during the day.

Contact a nutritionist helps to make this calculation by measuring, with appropriate formulas or tools, the basal metabolic rate (ie the energies consumed by the body at rest, simply to keep itself alive) and evaluating the level of daily physical activity .

But how to know, then, what to put on the plate? The food composition tables provide information on the calorie content of foods, but a calorie counter is not enough to guarantee a healthy and balanced diet.

The importance of nutritional balance

Food, in fact, not only brings energy, but also substances necessary for the functioning of the organism and for the renewal of its organs and tissues.

Vitamins and minerals do not bring energy with them, but taking adequate amounts of them is still necessary even when the main goal is not to put on weight.

Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are also sources of energy. Given that a gram of fat provides more than twice the calories of a gram of carbohydrates or proteins (9 compared to 4), one might think that the best way to reduce energy intake with food is to reduce the consumption of foods rich in food. fat. In reality, however, even these nutrients must be taken in adequate quantities .

In particular, according to the Larn (the levels of reference intake of nutrients and energy for the Italian population) fats should provide between 20 and 35% of the energy consumed daily in adulthood .

A question of quality

Not even from this point of view, however, can you limit yourself to dealing with the calculator .

Not all fats are the same : to stay simultaneously online and healthy, you need to pay attention to which ones you bring to the table.

The general indication is to prefer those of vegetable origin and those of fish. The former, in particular extra virgin olive oil, are suitable as a condiment, while the latter can be taken as part of the famous 2-3 portions of fish that nutrition experts recommend to include in your weekly diet.

Going further into the details of the recommendations, saturated fats of animal origin (found in milk, dairy products, eggs and meat) should correspond to less than 10% of the calories taken during the day.

The healthiest polyunsaturated fats should instead correspond to 5-10% of daily calories; in particular, 4-8% of the energies should be made from omega 6 fats and 0.5-2% from omega 3 fats (those that are rich in fish, particularly fat like mackerel and salmon) .

Instead, so-called trans fats must be avoided as much as possible. To recognize its presence it is important to read the labels well, where they are indicated with the words " hydrogenated fats " or " partially hydrogenated fats".

Lose weight with balance

If, therefore, calories are the unit of reference to know how much you can afford to eat in order not to gain weight, relying on their count is not enough: to stay in shape it is necessary to provide the body with everything it has need, including an adequate dose of quality fats.