08 Mar 2008 12:27:47 | Clare Evans
How many of us have been on diets at one or many times in our
lives. Basically diets don’t work. If you want to lose weight
permanently – adopt a healthy eating regime. Eat less and
exercise more!
1. Water. If you’re thirsty you’re already dehydrated. The
majority of us don’t tend to drink enough during the day. If you
drink a lot of tea and coffee to keep you going then these have
a diuretic effect so you should be drinking water to compensate.
Have a glass of water first thing in the morning and last thing
at night – your body loses a lot of water while you’re asleep –
not only if it’s warm and you sweat a lot but just going 8 hours
(if you’re so lucky) without food or drink it’s going to be
dehydrated.
Dehydration can also be mistaken for hunger – have a glass of
water first before reaching for a snack or eating a meal.
2. Fruit & Veg. Fruit and vegetables provide you with vitamins,
minerals and fibre to help keep your body healthy. Eat a piece
of fruit or drink fresh juice for breakfast. Fresh berries on
muesli or porridge or cereal. Have fruit as a snack during the
day and salad and vegetables with your main meals.
If you can, buy organic and wash fruit and vegetables before
eating unless your peeling them. Pesticide residues are more
likely to remain on the skin and fruits such as apples are often
treated in storage.
3. Avoid processed food. With the increased reliance on
ready-prepared meals, take-aways and convenience food to save
time there is an increase in the amount of processed food that
people eat.
Before you buy that convenience meal – check the label. How much
sugar, salt, hydrogenated fat, E preservatives, colouring does
it contain? Because it’s processed – a lot of the flavour and
goodness is lost and has to be added. Because it needs to
survive transport, increased shelf-life and cooking fats and
preservatives are added. And how much does it really cost.
Cooking simple meals such as stir-fries and casseroles are just
as convenient and so much better for you.
4. Juice. One great way to kick-start your day and gently wake
up your digestive system is to have a fresh juice every morning.
I don’t mean orange juice with your breakfast but fresh
vegetable juices. Invest in a good juicer, buy local organic
produce and find out how good fresh juice is.
An easy recipe you can have every day is one apple, one carrot
(peeled), stick of celery, cube of ginger and thick slice of
lemon (remove rind).
5. Fish. Eat fish at least once a week. It contains healthy
Omega 3 oils, which are good for your joints, and nerves. Flax
and hemp oils offer an alternative for non-fish eaters.
6. Eat regularly. Get into the habit of eating breakfast. Your
body has been without food over night – break the fast with a
glass of fresh juice (see above) and then a healthy bowl of
cereal, muesli or porridge (avoid those loaded with salt and
sugar). Try to eat every 2-3 hours – little and often – to avoid
your blood sugar levels fluctuating too much. Don’t eat a heavy
meal late in the evening. Your body will naturally be slowing
down at that time and food eaten late is more likely to be
stored as fat.
7. Alcohol. There’s nothing wrong with the odd glass of wine, in
fact these days it’s seen to be healthy for the anti-oxidants.
Alcohol causes your kidneys and liver to work overtime to rid
the body of the toxins.
8. Know what you’re eating. Be aware of the food that you’re
putting in your body. Read the food labels if you buy tinned,
processed produce to be aware of how much salt, sugar and fat is
in the food you buy. Buy organic meat whenever possible to avoid
the steroids, hormones and anti-biotics that are in factory
farmed meat.
9. Balanced diet. One of the most important ways to improve your
eating habits is to have a balanced diet with plenty of fruit
and vegetables, whole food, fish and meat, nuts and seeds.
Everything in moderation. Keep fatty and sugary foods low but if
you enjoy chocolate, cakes and curries there’s nothing wrong
with having one once in a while.
If you’d like help in putting some structure in place to
organise your time more effectively and get the most out of your
day – contact me for a consultation on info@clareevans.co.uk.
About Author :
Clare is a Personal and Business Coach who works with
individuals and small business owners to help them organise
their time more effectively and create a better work life
balance - enabling them to spend more time doing what they want
and less time doing what they don't.
