HEALTH
The Easy Slim Diet
Looking for simple ways to improve your diet so you can slim up a little? Our Health & Nutrition expert, Greg Joynt is here with some handy tips.
Q: I am a mature student and find that I am putting on weight during term. Can you recommend any health tips for losing a few extra kilos over the rest of the summer break?
A: Here are 10 simple dietary and lifestyle changes that can help you attain a healthy body weight:
1. Start your day with juice from half a fresh lemon in hot water. It kick starts your metabolism and is like a mini detox, very important for loosing excess weight.
2. Always eat breakfast. It jump-starts the metabolism at the beginning of the day. If you find it difficult to eat in the morning, start off with something small such as a piece of fruit and gradually build up to a bowl of porridge with cinnamon to sustain even blood-sugar levels or boiled eggs with brown wholemeal bread.
3. Eat fresh fruits and an abundance of raw vegetables. Low-calorie vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, green beans, curly kale, lettuce, onions, radishes, spinach and turnips. Low-calorie fruits include apples, grapefruit, strawberries and watermelon.
When eating raw vegetables such as a mixed vegetable salad, it is importance to chew well to take pressure off your digestive system. Chewing also makes complex carbs taste sweeter and the art of chewing is very relaxing for the mind and body.
Add sprouted shoots to your salad such as lentil and bean shoots, which naturally boost your digestive system. You could also drizzle a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar over your raw salad to help with digestion and aid weight loss.
You could also try steaming your vegetables. Steaming is a great way to cook your vegetables while also maintaining their vitamins and minerals. Include some mixed beans such as chickpeas, mung beans, aduki beans etc. for protein. Or add lean good-quality chicken or turkey pieces for protein.
4. Snack on fruit in between meals, or natural live yoghurt, or some sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and almonds (about a palm-size serving a day). This will keep your blood sugar levels even, which means that you will be less likely to binge on unhealthy food.
5. Drink water – 6 to 8 glasses a day (more if you are exercising or if it’s a hot day). Drinking 20 minutes before meals may help reduce your appetite. Do not drink during a meal. It will dilute your digestive enzymes resulting in digestive problems. Have a few sips if necessary.
6. Be active. A 20 minute brisk walk four times a week or any activity that induces a cardio work out.
7. If you consume alcohol, be aware of how calorific it is. It also inhibits the burning of fat from fat deposits. It can also create a false sense of appetite. (148cals in 1 pint of beer/ 106 - 110cals in a small glass of wine or one shot of vodka.)
8. Become very aware of what you eat. Don’t eat while watching TV, if you are stressed or during and in-depth conversation. Enjoy the tastes, textures and aromas of your food and learn to realize when you are comfortably full.
9. Have positive mental attitude. Change the broken record of your old thoughts. Remind yourself that you now only eat healthy and nutritious foods that help you maintain your ideal weight and perfect health. This is good to say to yourself while food shopping or choosing a meal in a restaurant. Affirm it and actually believe it.
10. Drink herbal teas that may help achieve your weight goal. Two cups of green tea a day improves your metabolism; Yerbe Mate tea is known as the slimmer’s tea; it’s expensive but worth it); dandelion tea helps the liver to remove toxins from the body and helps with water retention.
Achieving an ideal weight is all about creating a continuous habit to eat healthily. If you indulge in something unhealthy, don’t throw the towel in. Just enjoy it completely, accept it and continue on with healthy eating. Please consult your physician before embarking on a new eating plan.
Shopping list:
Lentil & Bean Shoots – ‘Good 4 U’- €1.30, available in Tesco.
Apple Cider Vinegar – Organic range available in most health food stores - €3.10 or Kelkin Apple cider vinegar in Tesco or Supervalu
Herbal teas – choose brand names such as Clipper, Floradix, heath and heather, Rio Amazon. Available in Health stores.