How much bread can I eat per day? Calculating the ration

Some people have been taught since childhood that no dish is without bread. And some, on the contrary, prefer to completely exclude bakery products from their diet. But, as in the case of other products, it should be consumed in moderation. How to calculate how much bread you can eat a day without harming your figure and body, tells Anna Semenova, founder of the company producing dietary food products Newa Nutrition, PhD in food technology, nutritionist, product developer and expert of the International Festival of Health and Sports SN PRO EXPO FORUM.

Is there a universal norm?

In fact, everything is purely individual. To find out how much bread you can have, first of all, you need to understand the individual need for the calorie intake (calories, proteins, fats, carbohydrates). It is calculated based on a person’s goals and his personal physiological parameters.

For example, let’s take a 30-year-old woman with a height of 160 cm and weight of 65 kg, who does not do sports. The woman’s goal is to lose 5 kg. Let’s calculate her needs.

How to calculate the daily calorie requirement?

Various formulas are used for calculation, but the Mifflin-San Giora formula is recognized by the Association of American Dietitians:

For women: (10 × weight in kilograms) + (6.25 × height in centimeters) – (5 × age in years) – 161.
For men: (10 × weight in kilograms) + (6.25 × height in centimeters) – (5 × age in years) + 5.

You also need to consider physical activity.
If you have no physical activity and a sedentary job, multiply the result by 1.2.
If you do a little jogging or light gymnastics 1-3 times a week, multiply by 1.375.
If you exercise moderately 3-5 times a week, multiply by 1.55.
If you exercise fully 6-7 times a week, multiply by 1.725.
If your job involves physical labor, you train twice a day and include strength training exercises in your training program, your coefficient will be 1.9.

And now we count: (10*65 + 6,25*160 – 5*30 – 161) * 1,2 = 1606 kcal.

This woman’s calorie requirement to maintain her existing weight has been obtained.
For comfortable and safe weight loss, she should reduce her calorie intake by 250 kcal and consume an average of 1350 kcal per day.

How to calculate the norm on BGU?

Now let’s calculate the norm on proteins, fats and carbohydrates. According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, it is necessary to consume:

• Not more than 30% of fats (of which saturated fats not more than 10%, and trans fats not more than 1%);
• 5% free sugars (meaning easily digestible forms of carbohydrates – sugar, glucose, fructose).

For protein and carbohydrates in general, WHO does not give specific data, so let’s designate them for the example case: 1.5 g of protein per 1 kg of desired weight, the rest – carbohydrates.

It turns out that this woman should eat: 45 g of fat per day, 90 g of protein, no more than 16 g of free sugar and 130 g of carbohydrates (preference is given to fiber, dietary fiber).

Total KBJU: 1350/90/45 (on saturated fats no more than 4 g)/146 (on free sugar – 16 g).

How to fit bread into the diet?

Now let’s fit different baked goods into her diet.

Wheat loaf

Ingredients: wheat baking flour, water, white sugar, sunflower oil or margarine, salt, pressed baking yeast.

Nutritional value in 100 g of the product: proteins – 7.5 g, fats – 2.9 g, carbohydrates – 51.4 g (including free sugar – 5 g).

Energy value per 100 g of the product: 265 kcal.

Consumption of 100 g of such a loaf covers 20% of the entire need for carbohydrates and 31% of free sugar.

Glycemic index: 80.

Not recommended for people with diabetes, insulin resistance, celiac disease. Due to the high content of fast carbohydrates, promotes the growth of insulin in the blood, so after such bread will quickly want to eat again. May contain saturated fats and trans fats if margarine has been used.

Borodino black bread

Ingredients: baking rye flour, drinking water, second-grade wheat flour, sugar, fermented rye malt, molasses, salt, coriander, baker’s yeast.

Nutritional value in 100 g of the product: proteins – 68 g; fats – 1.3 g; carbohydrates – 39.8 g (of which sugar – 5 g).

Energy value: 201 kcal.

Consumption of 100 g of such bread also practically covers the need for carbohydrates by 15% and free sugar by 31%.

Glycemic index: 50.

It is not recommended to eat with celiac disease. Although the glycemic index of this bread is lower than that of a white loaf, and there are slightly less fast carbohydrates, there are still a lot of them. People with diabetes and insulin resistance are advised not to eat this bread or to minimize its consumption by controlling their total carbohydrate intake.

Green buckwheat bread

Ingredients: whole-wheat flour, psyllium husk, salt, baking soda.

Nutritional value per 100 g of product: proteins – 6 g; fats – 2 g; carbohydrates – 28 g (of which sugars – 0 g, dietary fiber – 6 g).

Energy value: 166 kcal.

Consumption of 100 g of such bread closes only 12% of the daily norm of consumption. There is no sugar in it, but there is fiber, which normalizes digestion.

Glycemic index: 20.

Such bread can be eaten with gluten intolerance, because green buckwheat flour does not contain it. It is allowed in diabetes and insulin resistance, because it has fewer carbohydrates, no sugar and a lot of fiber.

The daily norm of bread is a rather conditional indicator and depends not only on the peculiarities of the body, but also on specific goals. Read the composition and choose bread with a low content of saturated fat, fast carbohydrates and added sugar. Give preference to products containing more dietary fiber. Take into account your dietary restrictions by choice or medical conditions and decide what bread to eat and how much bread to eat.