Weight loss advice

[Guest guest]

Weight Loss - by Jane Clarke (BBC Good Food Magazine, UK)

 

There are so many diets being promoted that you may be feeling

confused about whether to opt for the sex, cigarette and black-

coffee regime (which sounds nutritionally diabolical, if fun), the

banana diet, or the latest dietary fad.

 

The first thing to do is to decide on one plan and then to stick

with it for a few weeks before dismissing it as useless. Everyone's

body is unique, so that what works for one person may not for

someone else. Try to lose a kilo a week, but be warned that you'll

probably lose a little more at first before hitting a plateau, after

which the weight should start dropping off again.

 

 

Don't make the mistake of believing that if you starve yourself

during the day you'll be bound to shed the kilos because you won't

(but you will feel ratty and so hungry that you'll eat yourself out

of house and home when you do allow yourself some food). Instead,

have three small, healthy meals a day, and you'll succeed in the

long run.

 

 

Good weight-loss strategies include drinking at least 2.5 litres of

water or herbal tea a day and boosting your intake of fruits,

vegetables, lean proteins (pulses, tofu and other vegetable

proteins). Reducing your consumption of starchy foods, such as

bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and cereals, and fatty foods, notably

butter, cream, cheese, pies, biscuits, cakes and chocolate, is a

good idea, too. I also believe that the most effective way of losing

weight (and keeping it off) is to steer clear of low-fat, reduced-

sugar, slim-line products. They don't taste that great and you won't

feel satisfied after you've virtuously eaten them, making you far

more likely to go on the scavenge a few hours later. But you'll feel

both full and satiated if you have a little full-fat cheese with a

high-fibre food like an oat biscuit, a crisp apple, a stick of

celery or some dried apricots. The same applies to salads: believe

me, a light drizzle of olive oil will liven up a salad or grilled

vegetables no end, without compromising your weight-loss goal.

 

 

 

Talking of vegetables, I often hear stories about the allegedly

miraculous, fat-melting properties of particular vegetables or

fruits (grapefruits, for example) through their supposed ability to

raise your metabolic rate. Yet there's only one way of raising your

metabolic rate safely: exercising. And as for thyroxine or

amphetamine-type drugs, which, admittedly, do raise your metabolic

rate, not only do they pose a significant risk to your health

(unless you have an underactive thyroid gland and your doctor's

prescribed thyroxine), but the moment you stop taking them the

weight will pile back on. All in all, the secret of staying slim and

healthy is to eat well and exercise.

 

My other tips are to have small, delicious meals and to savour them

slowly so that your brain can keep tabs on how much you've eaten and

tell you when you've had enough. Focusing on the taste and texture

of your food and taking the time to sit down and really appreciate

what you're eating, rather than grabbing a snack as you fly past the

fridge, will further increase the satisfaction that you derive from

food, encouraging you to continue down the weight-loss path. You may

find that it helps to keep a diary of everything that you eat and

drink, as well as why you're eating it (are you really hungry or

just bored?). This will tell you whether you're still on the right

nutritional track or whether you're using food to relieve your

boredom or frustration, in which case maybe you should consider the

sex-seven-times-a-day diet, as long as you forget about the black

coffee and cigarettes!