User's comments:
I would like to shed a few kilos in a healthy way, but don’t want to sacrifice any of my nutrients in doing so. Any ideas? Also let me know if there is anything I am excluding from my daily diet that I should consider. Am I including enough fruit, vegetables and fibre in my diet to get all the nutrients and vitamins? Is my food intake low enough in fat to lose weight?
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An example of my daily menu looks like this:
Morning:
Glass of water and a cup of coffee
Mixed fresh fruits and small yoghurt
Snack:
Raw carrots or green beans
Lunch:
Mixed salad – lettuce, tomato, onion
Carrots with balsamic vinegar OR veg stir fry (in Spray and Cook with dash of chutney) OR couscous salad
Snack:
Ceres Fruit Juice
Dinner:
Grilled chicken fillet with one of the following to accompany - gem squash and raw tomato OR green salad with balsamic OR brown rice OR baked potato with butter OR beetroot
I drink 8 - 10 glasses of water a day and about 4 cups of coffee. I exercise for about 20 minutes, 3 times a week.
Expert's comments:
When achieving weight loss, it's important to ensure that you are losing fat mass and not muscle mass and water. The combination of exercise and correct food will help achieve this.
Your meals generally seem to lack variety, however. I feel your main problem areas include limited intakes of fibre-rich carbohydrates and healthy fats. Each meal should ideally consist of a fibre-rich carbohydrate (starchy foods), moderate amounts of low-fat protein, small amounts of healthy fats, vegetables and/or fruit.
Your total energy intake is important and should not exceed the energy that you burn up through daily activities and exercise. Look at the amount of food on your plate. Dish up as much as you think will satisfy you, but remember that your eyes may be larger than your stomach – rather underestimate than overestimate your needs.
Enjoy meal times and the plate dished for you. Avoid going for second helpings. Below is a helpful guide to visualise portion sizes without having to measure any of the food:
CARBOHYDRATES/ STARCH: Approximately the size of your fist; a tennis ball; 1 slice bread
PROTEIN: The palm to length 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 low fat milk; 1 small tub low fat/ fat free yoghurt; matchbox block of cheese; 250-300 ml drinking yoghurt
FAT: 1-2 level teaspoons oil (canola/ olive), ‘lite’ margarine, butter, peanut butter, regular mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon reduced oil/ ‘lite’ mayonnaise and salad dressing; ¼ medium avocado; any spreads ‘thinly’ on breads/ crackers; 1 small handful of nuts or seeds
Don’t forget that fat is an essential component of our cell membranes and brain and is necessary for fat-soluble vitamin absorption and essential fatty acids which the body is unable to produce.
Regarding your fat intake, try to aim for ‘lower fat eating’ rather than no fat – overall fat intake should be limited, but not eliminated. Limit unhealthy fats, i.e. saturated fats (those fats obtained from animal products and coconut) and trans fatty acids (hard margarine, coffee creamers, biscuits).
Include more healthy fats, i.e. monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, from plant oils (canola oil, olive oil, avocado pear, peanut butter). Here are some helpful hints for lowering your fat intake:
Choose low fat or fat free milk and dairy products e.g. yoghurt, cottage cheese, evaporated milk. These options could replace cream in recipes.
Choose soft rather than hard margarines. Wait until toast has cooled down before spreading margarine or butter and spread it thinly. Never use two ‘fats’ to spread on your bread i.e. margarine/ low fat mayonnaise/ peanut butter/ avocado pear – spread thinly and use alone.
If you use fat, choose low fat options for mayonnaise, salad dressing and margarine and use sparingly.
Remove all visible fat from meat before preparation. Avoid the skin of the chicken and ideally remove prior to cooking.
Aim to eat less red meat (2-3 times a week). Use lean meat options, e.g. lean mince, lean beef or lamb, ostrich, venison or soya mince. The fattiest meat is lamb, followed by beef, pork, chicken, ostrich and then venison. Avoid processed meats such as sausages, polony, salami.
Eat fish (fresh or canned) 1-2 times a week.
Use low fat cooking methods: boil, steam, grill, braai over coals, bake in the oven, poach, stir-fry. Do not fry food. Limit the addition of any form of extra fat during food preparation (e.g. margarine, butter, cream, mayonnaise, oil, cheese). If you do need to fry food, use very little oil (canola or olive oil) or try to prepare with no oil at all by means of ‘fat-free frying’ (see below).
Limit the amount of gravies and sauces over your food.
Read food labels to assess fat content. A product is considered low fat if it contains < 3g fat/ 100 g and fat free has < 0.5g fat/ 100 g. Practically, choose foods that contain fat between 3 – 10% and try to keep to about 10 – 13 g fat/ meal. This can be achieved by adding only one fat to a meal and following the above-mentioned cooking methods.
I would not suggest fruit juice on its own as a snack. It contains fruit sugar and the effect on your blood sugar level will be an undesirable energy rush followed by an equally sudden drop in energy levels. Always dilute fruit juice with water and rather eat a fruit. This will mean you benefit from the fibre in the fruit and feel more satisfied for having eaten something. Below are some ideas for 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
175 ml 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, Corn thins, Provitas, Rye Crackerbreads or Digestive biscuits with peanut butter and / or honey. Other toppings could include low fat 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 canola or olive oil)
Biltong (no fat - ostrich, game meat, lean beef)
Congratulations on drinking good volumes of water. I would suggest you don’t exceed 2-3 cups of coffee a day and try not to drink coffee on an empty stomach.
Although you are eating enough fruit and vegetables (always try to meet the five-a-day rule), I feel your fibre intake is still low. Other fibre-rich foods to incorporate into your meals are wholegrains and cereals (e.g. brown rice, brown bread, wholewheat bread, oats, oat bran, Weetbix/ Nutrific, Wholewheat Pronutro, High Fibre Bran) and legumes (fresh, dried or canned beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils).
In order to achieve and then maintain weight loss, you should try to exercise for 45-60 minutes at a time, at least 4-5 days a week. Choose physical activities which you enjoy so that your routine will be sustainable.
The combination of cardio and weight exercises is most beneficial for increasing your metabolism, building muscle and burning fat. It is also helpful to look at where you can be more active on a day-to-day basis, e.g. climbing the stairs vs. lifts, walk or cycle to the shops, park far away from the entrance to the shopping mall, do chores around the house, gardening etc. If you struggle to find a whole hour a day, the same benefit can be obtained from breaking your allocated exercise time up throughout the day, e.g. three sessions of 20 minutes instead of one session of 60 minutes.
Ultimately, consistency is key when it comes to achieving and maintaining weight loss. It is achieving an appropriate weight through optimal health that should be paramount and the driving force to keep you in a healthy and balanced lifestyle routine. Here are 12 easy checks in having a balanced approach:
Enjoy a variety of foods
Eat three balanced meals daily with two healthy snacks in between meals.
Be active
Make starchy foods the basis of most meals – try to make them fibre-rich
Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit every day – aim for five-a-day (two fruits and three vegetables)
Eat legumes such as canned/dry beans, peas, lentils and soya regularly
Chicken, fish, meat, milk or eggs can be eaten daily
Eat fats sparingly
Use salt sparingly
Drink lots of clean, safe water – 1.5 to 2 litres a day
If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly and in moderation
Use foods and drinks containing sugar sparingly and not between meals, but rather as part of a meal or snack
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