Eat More, Yet Lose Weight!

In 12 Steps...Eat More, Yet Lose Weight!

By Hoda Nassef

Forget about eating ‘three meals a day’ and do like babies do; eat more small meals throughout the day! This is the latest trend to help you shed your unwanted kilos and transform your body into a slim fat-burning machine!

1. Rise and dine?
If you think skipping breakfast will help you shed a few pounds, think again. Not eating a morning meal can actually trick the body into thinking it is starving, which makes it hold on to fat or cause you to eat more during the day. To keep your metabolism up to speed and blood sugar levels steady, eat breakfast within 45 minutes of rising. The healthiest choices contain a balance of fat, protein, and carbs (carbohydrates), such as porridge with a handful of nuts or a vegetable omelette.

2. Eat more often.
If eating more often in order to lose weight sounds too good to be true, listen to this. Your body needs calories in order to burn fat. So, to turn your body into a fat-burning machine, eat small meals throughout the day. Ideally each mini-meal should consist of lean protein, good fats, and complex carbohydrates. For example, 4 ounces (113 grams) of chicken, 1 cup (150 grams) of brown rice, and a green salad.

3. Combine carbohydrates.
If a carbohydrate wasn’t grown, picked, or harvested, don’t eat it. That means shunning refined breads, pastas, cakes, and pastries, and choosing good carbs (carbohydrate substances) like brown rice, sweet potatoes, or an apple. And while you’re at it, try to never eat a carbohydrate by itself. Simply adding a bit of good fat, such as olive oil or lean protein will slow digestion, steady blood sugar, and keep the body from storing fat.

4. Drink more water.
Even if all you did was start drinking more water you would likely lose weight. That’s because the body needs to be fully hydrated in order to maintain a healthy metabolism. Try drinking about 30 ml of water per kilo of body weight every day, and see the difference.

5. Muscle, or Fat?
You’ve heard that muscle weighs more than fat, but did you know that muscle burns more calories? That’s right, building lean muscle through weight training causes the body to burn more calories throughout the day. When combined with regular aerobic exercise, weight training can help you lose more weight.

6. Cheat a little!
You know what they say about all work and no play—well, that goes for weight loss too. Giving up all the foods you love can backfire and sabotage your efforts. Be sure to allow yourself a day each week when you indulge in conservative amounts of your favourite foods. Remember, a serving should be about the size of an average apple.

7. Glowing grains!
You are what you eat and drink and breathe, so consider this:
• A healthy diet full of anti-oxidants A, C, and E helps fend off free radicals from everyday exposure to air pollutants, sun, and stress. Foods rich in vitamin A and vitamin C include brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, such as squashes, sweet potatoes, carrots, leafy greens, tomatoes, strawberries, and kiwi. Vitamin E is found in a variety of nuts and their oils and wheat germ.
• Exercise increases circulation, which helps nourish collagen fibres that give skin its appearance of plumpness, while perspiration from your workout cleanses the skin.
• Water hydrates the skin from the inside out, so practice drinking enough water that you rarely get thirsty.
• Avoid smoking and breathing second-hand smoke, which causes blood vessels to constrict, inhibiting blood flow and starving the skin of oxygen.

8. Growing Pains?!
It's true that you are what you eat, but your health is also a reflection of what you do. That’s why making healthy lifestyle choices can drastically affect your ability to keep illness at bay. So consider the following to optimize your immune-system strength:
• Exercise regularly
• Limit alcohol, caffeine, and sugar
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Drink lots of bottled water

9. Don’t miss meals and take your vitamins.
Even if you never eat junk food or miss meals, your body will still need a bit of help getting all the nutrients it needs to stay strong. That is where supplements come in. A good multivitamin is a must. In addition, boosting your intake of the nutrients below can help prevent deficiencies that make you a target for infections:
• Vitamin C
• Zinc
• Beta-carotene

10. Build good bacteria
Making sure the good bacteria in your body outnumber the bad is one way to help fend off infection. Healthy probiotic bacteria stimulate the intestine’s immune system and slow the growth of infectious organisms in the digestive system. Good sources of healthy bacteria are yoghurt and other foods containing live cultures, and supplements containing 10 billion colony-forming units a day of acidophilus or bifid bacteria.

11. Relax
Excessive stress essentially cripples the immune system, making the body less able to fend off everything from bacteria and viruses to serious diseases. Finding ways to relax is essential for your good health. Give the following a try:
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Warm baths with soothing oils, such as lavender
• Walking
• Reading
Whatever you choose, look for activities—or pass-times—that give you a real break from everyday work and home obligations.

12. Take forty winks
Skimping on sleep can cut your immune defences in half, so be sure to snooze a full eight hours a night. If you can’t get a full night’s sleep because of time constraints, try to squeeze in a 15- to 30-minute nap during the day. Although not as beneficial as night-time rest, a nap can help stave off illness. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying that way, try some remedies for insomnia.

H.N.