User's comments:
"I am trying to lose weight. For lunch, I ate Sea Harvest hake fillets and butternut together with baked beans (tin). The fillet and butternut were steamed. Mornings, I eat Kellogg’s High-Fibre Bran with strawberry low-fat yoghurt."
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Expert's comments:
Firstly, well done! You seem to be on the right track with the correct and healthy food choices and food preparation methods.
As far as your breakfast goes, you made a great choice! Making breakfast part of your daily routine has numerous benefits not least of which will include weight loss and maintenance and your overall wellbeing. High-fibre bran with low-fat yoghurt is an ideal low-fat, low-sodium, high-fibre breakfast. For a bit of variety, add some fruit and/or seeds. Chunks of apple or pear, sliced banana, mixed berries or a handful of raisins will increase the vitamin, mineral and fibre content of your breakfast.
Your choice of breakfast is endorsed by the Glycaemic Index Foundation of South Africa as it has a low glycaemic index (GI) and is low in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol. The low GI means that the food is digested and absorbed slowly, resulting in a gradual blood sugar increase and sustained energy levels throughout the morning.
Other examples of great breakfast cereals include:
Kellogg’s High-Fibre Bran
Bokomo Wholewheat, Original and Apple Bake Pronutro
Pick 'n Pay No Name Brand Shredded Bran
Nature’s Source range of low GI mueslis – Mixed Berries, Orange & Spices, Apple & Cinnamon
Bokomo Maximize cereal
Fineform muesli
Morning Harvest muesli
Jungle Oatbran (raw)
Bokomo or Pick 'n Pay No Name Brand Oats
* All should be served with low-fat or fat-free milk or yoghurt. Fruit, seeds and nuts can be added for variety.
Breakfast ideas could also include:
Smoothies (ingredients should ideally include at least two fruits, oats/oatbran/fibre-rich cereal, low-fat dairy)
Scrambled eggs on 1-2 slices wholewheat or low-GI toast (‘Albany Best of Both’ bread can also be used)
175ml low-fat yoghurt, fruit cut into chunks, tropical fruit muesli (see recipe)
Oatsoeasy with low-fat (2%) milk and berries
Cereal (All-bran flakes, Weetbix, Pronutro or Cornflakes), low-fat (2%) milk and sliced banana (or 1 cup of fruit juice, diluted with water)
Cooked porridge (Jungle oats, Tasty wheat, Kreemy meel or 1-minute Maltabella), low-fat (2%) milk and sliced banana or mixed berries (or 1 cup of fruit juice, diluted with water)
Secondly, your choice for lunch. Fish is an excellent source of the omega-3 fat, which is an essential fat and must therefore be obtained from external sources (food and supplements).
Omega-3 fats have been shown to be linked to protection against heart disease, maintenance of a healthy blood-cholesterol profile, improved brain power and concentration, management of ADHD and potentially minimising the effects of eczema and food allergies. Aim to eat fish at least twice a week. Other sources of omega-3 include avocado pears, olive and canola oil, omega-3-enriched eggs and walnuts.
Beans are an excellent source of vegetable protein, fibre and various vitamins as well as being low in fat. They also have the effect of moderating (slowing) glucose release into the bloodstream, thus helping to achieve stable blood sugar levels. A whole tin at one meal is probably a bit much though and might cause bloating, flatulence and abdominal discomfort. I would suggest a starch added to your meal as well as more vegetables, e.g. dark green options or a salad.
In order to maintain any healthy eating pattern, you should avoid decreasing or completely removing a specific food or food group. Try to make a mental shift away from ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods and rather view every food as having a place, in varying quantities depending on its overall nutritional value, within a healthy lifestyle.
People generally have the perception that some foods, like carbohydrates/starches, are more ‘fattening’ than others. Labelling foods in a bad light and denying them a place in your eating pattern can often lead to over-consumption of other foods as compensation. Ultimately, the question whether something is fattening depends on your total energy intake and the energy used (physical activity). Carbohydrates contain almost no fat. The portion sizes and the other foods eaten with starches are important.
Make sure you're eating enough fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables are fantastic fillers with incredible health properties. We should all be eating at least 5 fruit and vegetables daily (2-3 fruits and 3-4 vegetables).
Remember to be as colourful as possible and always include a variety of different vegetables and fruit in your day to provide the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals. Fruit and veggies are also excellent sources of fibre, which is necessary to keep your bowels regular and has the effect of keeping you satisfied for longer as well as moderating (slowing) glucose release into the bloodstream.
Eating healthy, nutritious meals should by no means be tasteless. Try grilling, baking, poaching, braaing, stirfrying as well as your current method of boiling when preparing food. Obviously, aim to use very little oil (canola or olive oil) and no added fats such as butter, margarine, mayonnaise or cream. Limit the amount of gravies and sauces.
Remember to remove all visible fat from red meat and pork as well as the skin of chicken before cooking. Use lean meat options, e.g. lean beef or ostrich. Minimise salt when cooking and try to rather add salt either in the kitchen or at the table, not both. Herbs and spices can be used liberally to add flavour to your meals.
To achieve weight loss, you need to set yourself realistic goals and, once met, be content and maintain them. The most important mind shift for you will be to concentrate on achieving good health, losing weight should almost become a ‘secondary’ goal. Losing centimetres rather than kilograms is usually a better reflection of losing fat mass.
Remember, losing weight sensibly will ensure maintenance of weight loss over the long term. Acceptable weight loss equates to approximately 0,5 to 1,5kg per week.
Please never miss a meal. Ideally, you should eat 5-6 times a day as it helps to control blood sugar levels and will limit mid-morning or mid-afternoon dips in energy levels, cravings, hunger pangs, fatigue and lapses in concentration.
For implementing a balanced eating pattern and ultimately losing weight, remember the following points:
Be consistent and develop permanent healthy eating habits including 3 meals spread throughout the day with small snacks between meals
Meals should consist of 50-55% carbohydrate (fibre rich), 15-20% protein and 30% or less fat
Include a wide variety of foods from all food groups (dairy, meat, fish, poultry and eggs, starches, fruit and vegetables, and fats)
It should be practical and implementable for your individual situation and needs
Always combine with increased physical activity and behavioural changes where necessary
Practice moderation and set the tone for permanent lifestyle changes
Portion sizes are as important as ensuring a variety of foods. Your portions, particularly of carbohydrates and fat, seem small and your choice of food, although generally healthy, might be quite limited. Eating healthily should by no means be boring or meagre.
Portions should neither be too big nor too small. Bear in mind that if you are active, you have to obtain energy from somewhere – healthy food!
Here is an easy and helpful guide to a few portion sizes that won’t require any measuring of food:
CARBOHYDRATES/ STARCH: Approximately the size of your fist; a tennis ball; 1 slice of bread
PROTEIN: The palm of your hand (no thicker than the ‘pinky joint’); 1-2 packs of cards
FRUIT: Size of your fist; a tennis ball
VEGETABLES: Unlimited
DAIRY: 1 cup of low-fat milk; 1 small tub of low-fat/fat-free yoghurt; matchbox block of cheese; 250-300 ml of drinking yoghurt
Examples of healthy snacks:
Fresh fruit or fruit salad. Low-fat/fat-free yoghurt and mixed seeds can be added over the fruit
Dried fruit rolls, sticks and bars – e.g. SAD mebos sticks/bars
Health bars – e.g. Woolworths Cranberry & Almond Bar, Apricot & Sesame Seed Bar, Yoghurt & Nut Bar; Mixed Seed Bars, Jungle Oats Berry/Yoghurt Bars
1 small muffin (banana, carrot, date & nut or bran) and a fruit
175ml yoghurt or 300ml drinking yoghurt (low-fat/fat-free) and a fruit
Peanuts and raisins or dried fruit and nut mix with a fruit
A slice of wholegrain bread, rice cakes, Cornthins, Provitas or digestive biscuits with peanut butter and/or honey. Other toppings could include cottage cheese, cheese, Oxo, Marmite, avocado pear, fish paste, jam (obviously adding tomato, lettuce and cucumber to the topping will increase the nutritional value)
Vegetable bites, e.g. tomato wedges, cucumber or carrot sticks, celery sticks, baby tomatoes (fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese will add some taste variety)
Popcorn (made with minimal oil)
Biltong (no fat – ostrich, game meat, lean beef)
Don’t forget to drink enough clean water – 1½-2 litres daily (6-8 glasses). This may be more if your activity levels increase.
The combination of dietary changes as well as exercise has been shown to be the most effective way to achieve and then maintain weight loss.
Exercising at least 4-5 times a week is necessary to ensure you are burning adequate energy compared to intake, to increase your metabolism, increase muscle mass (metabolically active tissue) and reduce fat. Try to add some weight training to your daily routine. This, in combination with aerobic exercises, will help achieve the maximum effect.
Good luck and stay focused to your ultimate goal of being healthy for the rest of your life!
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