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| LOSE WEIGHT |
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Practical tips for weight loss:
- The most important point to remember is that you are not on a 'diet', rather you are making a commitment to change your lifestyle and eating habits for the better and this will last you for the rest of your life
- The best way to lose weight is to eat less and to cut back on the fat in your diet.
- Avoid eating when you are not hungry and eating out of boredom or frustration. Learn to listen to your body and eat only when your body tells you that it needs food.
- Avoid snacking between meals. Stick to your 3 balanced meals per day and eat only fruit in between if really necessary.
- Drink lots of water every day, drink a glass of water with each meal and also spread out through the day.
- Base all your meals around high fibre starches, as these will keep you feeling fuller for longer.
- Choose lower fat foods daily, as this will help you to reduce your total kilojoule input and thus help with weight reduction. Cook using low fat methods and avoid adding unnecessary oils and fats to your food.
- It is very important to increase your level of physical activity. This will have many beneficial effects on your body and help to induce weight loss.
- At each meal, reduce your portion sizes and use a smaller plate. Try not to overload your plate with food, dish up a smaller plate first time around and then if still hungry after the meal, have some more vegetable or salad.
- Eat slowly and enjoy your food. Sit down at a table to eat and avoid eating with distractions.
- Stop yourself from picking at food while you are cooking or clearing up. Only eat as part of a planned meal.
- Avoid eating out too often or buying too many takeaway foods.
- Cut down on your alcohol intake as alcohol is high in kilojoules and provides no nutritional benefits to your body.
- Cut down on sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, cookies, chips, pastries and sugary drinks. These 'treats' often become habits and can lead to further weight gain.
Eating out:
When eating out remember that you are the client and that you have the right to request that your meal is prepared to your preference.
For a starter:
- Opt for a salad starter excluding the yellow cheeses, bacon, oily vegetables & croutons. A French salad is normally a safe option to go for.
- Have a broth, tomato or vegetable based soup instead of the cream based variety. Often soups are garnished with cream, rather request plain yogurt as the garnish or no garnish.
- Choose a fruit starter for a fresh and healthy beginning to your meal.
For the main course:
- Ask for a ladies portion when having more than one course.
- Have two healthy starters instead of a starter and a full main dish.
- Choose tomato based pasta dishes.
- Bulk up with a side order of veggies or salad
- Avoid the creamy and oily dishes.
- Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on your food for flavour, instead of adding the cream sauce.
Pizza
- Ask for less or no yellow cheese.
- Ask for a sprinkle of feta cheese instead
- Opt for vegetarian toppings, avoiding the high saturated fat meats
- Ask for a thin-based pizza. Try and share a thin-based pizza and a salad with a friend.
Steak
- Go for a plain or BBQ basted one, as most of the sauces are cream based.
- Choose a cut in a ladies portion and ask for all fat to be trimmed off.
- Avoid gravies; rather go for a mint sauce or jelly, mustard, horseradish, cranberry jam or an applesauce.
- Avoid those deep-fried Cordon Bleu and Schnitzels.
Game
- A good low fat choice if you avoid the creamy sauces.
Fish
- Choose the grilled or baked option.
- Low fat choices: Hake, Kabeljou, Sole, Kingklip, Sushi
- Beneficial oily fish: Salmon, Mackerel, Snoek, Butterfish
Vegetarian Dishes
- Watch out for the extra cheese as well as for the deep-fried and battered items.
Vegetables
- Beware of creamed, sugared, oiled and buttered vegetables, ask for them to be steamed or grilled.
- Opt for steamed or boiled rice or potatoes instead of fried rice or chips
Desserts .
- Have a peppermint to end the meal, rather than a creamy, high fat dessert.
- Enjoy a coffee, tea or a cappuccino with skim milk.
- If you do want some dessert, order a fruit salad, sorbet or poached pears.
Avoiding fad diets:
Generally these "magic" cures are expensive with only short-term results (weight is picked up again in the long term - often more than the original weight). With quick weight loss, it is usually not fat that is lost, but fluid and muscle mass.
Look for the following:
- Promises of large and rapid weight loss
- Short-term diet
- No exercise required
- Special garments or passive exercise machines involved
- Magical ingredients with special abilities to speed up metabolism
- Claims to eat as much as you like and still lose weight
- Combinations of specific foods are advocated
- The use of only one or two types of food
- An exotic range of expensive and unusual foods
- Special powders, pills and meal replacements
- Food replacements and vitamin/mineral supplements
These diets are usually very low in energy, causing the body's metabolism to slow down. The body has to then function on a lower food intake, creating the impression that it is being starved. As the metabolism slows down, the dietary intake also needs to be lowered to cause continuous weight loss, resulting in a slower weight loss or a complete stop. The dieter gets frustrated because the weight loss has slowed down, he/she feels hungry all the time and is simply bored with the diet. This then causes the person to stop following the diet and revert back to the previous way of eating.
Additionally, these diets are nutritionally inadequate, very boring, are unscientifically based and usually require nutritional supplementation.
How do I identify a healthy weight loss diet?
Checklist for an appropriate weight-loss diet:
- Allows a choice of many different types of foods and includes all food groups
- Encourages the use of lower-fat foods and cooking methods
- Promotes lifelong exercise and dietary changes
- Does not promise rapid results
Consult a registered dietician for a healthy weight loss diet that is individualized according to your lifestyle and specific requirements, taking your previous diet and medical history into account.
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FAQ
