Extra Help with Weight Management
Increase:
- “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper” – this old saying is true for good blood sugar levels as it ensures that you will use up the fuel source you eat as fuel and not store it overnight as fuel.
- Try to make lunch your main meal of the day and eat no later than 7pm in the evening; even aiming for this can make a big difference and if you eat enough at lunchtime it will be easier, so do not “save yourself” for that big meal – not eating puts the body into starvation mode.
- Parsley – this herb is a diuretic, which when eaten encourages the body to shed excess fluid which can be perceived as excess weight. Eating just 25 g (1 oz) of fresh parsley will give visible results to your figure. The active ingredients are the plant chemicals apiol and myristicin, these clean out the kidneys and aid their general function. Parsley can also reduce irritating skin problems, high blood pressure and the build-up of uric acid, which can otherwise lead to gout.
- Apples, Berries, Fresh Fruit contain a type of fibre called pectin, which is in the cell walls of most fruits, especially apples. Pectin puts a natural limitation on the amount of fat your cells can absorb and once in your system absorbs watery substances which in turn cause cells to release fat deposits. Add stewed apples, apples, fresh fruit and berries, to your diet – they are great alternatives to refined sugar sources that can promote weight gain.
- Almonds are a great snack to carry around to help stave off sugar cravings because of their excellent omega 6 oil and fibre content. They also contain lots of the nutrients that help manage weight levels.
- ‘Negative Calorie’ Foods – all foods have some calories. No food is actually “negative calorie” food. But the overall effect of certain foods in our body is that of “negative calories”. Negative calorie foods are foods, which use more calories to digest than the calories the foods actually contain! Calories from these foods are much harder for the body to breakdown and process. In other words, the body has to work harder in order to extract calories from these foods. This gives these foods a tremendous natural fat-burning advantage, and are also known as fat burning foods, the best examples are: asparagus, apple, beetroot, berries, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chili, cucumber, garlic, leeks, lettuce, grapefruit, pears, pineapple, lemon, melon, mango, onion, orange, papaya, pineapple, spinach, turnip, courgette.
- Also see details of the Glycaemic Index for details of which carbohydrate foods release their sugars most slowly into the bloodstream and so make the best basis for meals and snacks link here. Please note that all recipes included in this report are low or medium GI for overall health welfare.
Decrease:
- Do not replace sweet foods with “diet” versions that contain many chemicals that upset hormone levels in the body – eat naturally.
- Avoid sugar that easily turns to fat when in excess in the bloodstream – remember that a sweet tooth is conditioned and you can break the habit – reduce sugar in tea and in foods slowly and you will soon wean yourself off and even then find some foods too sweet!
- Avoid “low-fat” products – adopt a healthy attitude to fats. These are generally overprocessed and replace the fat with sugar or sweeteners – they also give the idea that these foods are healthy to eat and that fat is all bad. Fats and oils release their energy slowly and help to balance blood sugar – see the healthy sources in your body systems section and eat in moderation.
- It is high levels of saturated fats as in red meat and dairy products that aid to weight gain, especially if these are combined with refined carbohydrates as in crisps, cakes and pastries.
- You don’t need too many starchy carbohydrates, especially in the evening – potatoes, pasta, rice, bread and noodles are all starchy carbohydrates – these can be a good source of energy, but can also provide more of the glucose energy source than we may need. This is particularly true in the evening, when it is unlikely after your evening meal that you will burn off this energy. So save your starchy carbs for lunch and have more vegetables instead in the evening. If eating out ask for more vegetables instead of potatoes and avoid the bread.
Lifestyle:
- Chronic sleep deprivation has shown to increase appetite and decrease satiety, a crucial link to weight gain.
- It is impossible to increase metabolism and burnt fat as fuel without regular exercise.
- We become more thermogenic and so burnt fat as fuel when exposed to cold, when fat cells become more metabolically active, so don’t overheat your house and get out into the fresh air regularly.