Home > Diet & Fitness > Weight watching > The magic is moderation GA_googleFillSlot("sitagitarectanletop"); Tip1
TRY AND UNDERSTAND THE WAY YOUR BODY WORKS

Do not eat too much of low calorie food, or too much of high calorie food. Just avoid extremely high or extremely low food intake. If you make a habit of consuming fewer calories than your body requires, your body will automatically go into 'starvation mode'. In effect, your body says, 'If I am not getting enough food, then I'd better slow things down by burning fewer calories until there's enough food again.' Your weight will certainly drop, but you will be losing water and muscle (not fat). The results? Lethargy, hunger pangs, headaches, early fatigue and loss of concentration.

Tip 2
BALANCE YOUR FOOD INTAKE

a. Eat more of low calorie, high fibre foods such as salads and fresh fruits (with-low fat or non-fat dressings) with each meal. Opt for more whole grains (freshly baked breads, pasta) in the form of great tasting foods. Hot 'n' spicy foods can help you to slim down! Clear soups, vegetable soups are highly recommended.

b. Cut back on the portion sizes of red meat, and substitute with lean meats in the form of skinned chicken, fish, egg whites, etc. (egg yolk is a concentrated source of saturated fats). Note that red meat (beef pork, ham, sausages), organ meat (liver, brain and kidney) and egg yolks fall into the 'saturated fat' category.

c. Saturated fats, oils and sweets are foods to be kept to an absolute minimum. Dry fruits and peanuts, puddings, jellies, marmalades for breakfast, sauces, oily parathas, for lunch, and pizzas, croissants, pastries, wafers and chips as snacks are a strict no-no!

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IDENTIFY WHEN TO EAT AND WHEN NOT TO EAT

If an individual is exercising for weight loss, it is advisable not to consume any food for 1-2 hours prior to the activity, because then the body preferentially uses the circulating blood sugars and not the fat as a source of energy. Watch your caloric intake and count your calories.

Breakfast is one meal that's very important. This is because as the first meal of the day, breakfast helps you to raise your energy levels and provides you energy for the rest of the day. Dinner should always be the lightest meal of the day because the body burns only a few calories while you sleep. Hence the excess calories that you consume, particularly in the form of rich desserts, fried foods etc., can easily get stored in the body as fat.

TIP 4
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING

Use past failures as learning experiences on the way to successful weight control. Pick yourself up and restart, this time better equipped to manage the next bump on the road to permanent weight loss and good health. As the old saying goes, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." The decision is yours. In fact, it could be one of the biggest decisions you ever make!