Weight Management is more than
just reduction of weight, it means:
1.
Feeling energetic throughout the day
2.
Your medical condition does not interfere with
your daily activities
3.
Quality of life is not compromised
Management of weight can be done
using many traditional and modern methods. Let's start discussing these methods
one by one.
1.
Drinking water and clear liquids is the
easiest and convenient tip available right in our own home kitchen. Our bodies
are about 60 percent water. Each drop of this fluid works hard to promote
proper blood circulation, food digestion and elimination, temperature regulation,
and the flow of nutrients. A suggested study from Food & Nutrition Board at
the Institute of Medicine says a healthy woman should intake 11 glasses (91 oz.)
of water while a healthy man should intake 15 glasses (125 oz.) of water
normally every day. This depends on person's age, body weight, activity level,
environmental factors such as altitude and of course medical conditions.
Fresh fruit juices
can be an alternative but again they
have sugar and have to be limited to a glass a day. Making a habit of drinking
more water is beneficial but sometimes consuming plain water can be
boring.
We can make it interesting by
making our own infused water. Fancy your water by adding slices of lemon,
cucumber, grapefruit, and strawberry and give it a flavor of mint or basil.
This will help keeping body hydrated and lessen your urge to have sugary soda.
Soups also help in intake of water. Instead of biting veggies from
soup you can also purée it and drink.
2.
Fruits and Vegetable - Fruits like watermelon,
cantaloupe, oranges, grapefruits, and strawberries have good quantity of water.
According to University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, watermelon is made
of 92 percent of water and 6 percent of sugar. Intake of such fruits will help
in keeping you full without increasing calorie intake. Vegetables like cucumber and lettuce top the list of hydrated vegetables
with 96 percent. Others are zucchini, radish, celery with 95 percent. Then
comes tomatoes and green cabbage with 94 percent of water weight. Water
quantity is high in cauliflower, red cabbage, spinach, fresh fenugreek leaves,
carrots and broccoli.
A 2009 research study
at the University of Aberdeen Medical School says reaching for a watermelon or
cucumber after finishing an intense workout may hydrate your body twice as
effectively as a glass of water. Substituting high-calorie food with
water-based food will reduce in calorie intake. Research from Rush University
Medical Center says eating four servings of fruits and five servings of
vegetables may reduce your risk from cancer as well as many other diseases
other than keeping your body hydrated.
3.
Green tea is a very good option to
have more water intake. It is a zero calorie drink rich in antioxidants and
flavonoids. It can boost the metabolism with other health benefits. The
advantages of green tea include weight loss, regulation of blood sugar level
thus helping control on diabetes, healthy teeth, mucous related problems, skin
care, cholesterol management, prevention of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's disease
and even deadly cancer. Why saying no to a cup or two of green tea with so many
benefits.
4.
Protein-based diet helps to reduce weight. The
word protein comes from Greek word proteios that means of prime importance.
There are many nutrients that our body requires. They are protein, fat,
carbohydrates known as macronutrients making most of our food weight. Remaining
known, as micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, water. According to a research
published in Nutrition Journal 2010 in BioMed Central, meal replacement diet plan
of a fixed macronutrient composition yielded clinically weight loss of 93%.
Since protein takes longer time to digest than carbohydrates, helping feel
fuller for longer on fewer calories. Replacing a grain based breakfast with
protein based diet helps eat fewer calories and lose more weight and body fat.
The highest amount of proteins are present in animal sources and dairy products
. They hold all the essential amino acids required to make new proteins in the
body. Daily intake of all protein diet is not necessary and can be replaced by
other macronutrients. Proteins are in adequate amount in meat, poultry, eggs,
dairy products, seafood, sprouts, and legumes. Vegetarian diet has choices like
milk, yogurt, paneer, and legumes. Some fruits and vegetables like avocados,
dried figs, melon, nectarines, peas, spinach, kale mushrooms have high protein
content.
5.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid
(CLA)
products results in weight loss. CLA is produced naturally in digestive tract
of cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep and to lesser degree in pigs, chicken and
turkeys. This is also found in ghee, milk and other dairy products. But these
products should come only from grass fed cattle. Research shows in human, CLA
alone in combination with physical exercise reduces the percentage of fat while
increasing the lean mass. This results in overall lower body fat for long term.
6.
Buttermilk is an excellent drink for lactose
intolerant trying to loose weight. Lactose in milk is transformed to healthy
lactobacillus bulgaricus or lactic acid bacteria turning it into buttermilk.
This drink offers all essential nutrients like protein, calcium, potassium,
magnesium, iron, phosphorus, zinc and sodium which helps in satisfying hunger
while maintaining energy levels for people yearning to loose weight. This keeps
them away from binge eating or eating junk. It can be taken along with other
liquids or as a dietary product. Evidence based studies say that probiotics
present in buttermilk helps in weight management. This drink also boosts
immunity preventing body to fight against various diseases. According to International Research Journal
of Pharmacy, buttermilk has 2.2 grams fat and only 99 calories whereas whole
milk contains 8.9 grams of fat and 157 calories. The fat content and calories
may change according to the different versions of buttermilk.
7.
Cooking in Coconut Oil is the best alternative oil
in our kitchen. The composition of this oil is made up of excessive amount of
healthy medium chain saturated fatty acids that increases metabolism for
immediate energy. Some of the benefits of coconut oil is it's easy to digest.
Since it is processed by liver immediately and converted to energy, there is no
body fat deposition if taken in moderation. Restricting carbohydrates and
increasing coconut oil in the diet helps losing weight and revs up metabolism.
This oil is also given to athletes and fitness trainer to sustain their energy
levels without drugs and any other stimulant. Its anti-microbial and
anti-fungal property makes it endearing cooking oil in our kitchen.
8.
Cutting down sugar and refined carbs. Reducing
the intake of sugar in form of candies and desserts is not all. There is hidden
sugar in refined flour or all purpose white flour, white rice, pasta sauce,
canned soups, soda any kind, shakes, smoothies with added sugar coffee drinks.
The Dietary Guidelines of Advisory Committee refers sugar as one of our major
health concerns. The American Heart
Association recommends about 100 calories from sugar for women and 150 calories
from sugar for men that are from six to nine teaspoons. In its natural state,
sugar is relatively harmless. Plenty of sugar is found in fruits, vegetables
and dairy in the form of fructose or lactose. Adding sugar by processing to
enhance flavor, texture or color causes problems. These should be avoided as far
as possible. Slowly reduce sugar in your diet giving time to your taste buds to
get adjusted & try to maintain this level. Reduce your taste levels to
negligible or no sugar. Try to include more sweet fruits after your meals
instead of eating sweets, cake etc. to satisfy your sweet tooth.
In General - Eat healthy instead of dieting. Restrained eating or
dieting may help loose weight temporarily but can bring back the food cravings
ending up eating more. Nourishing the body instead of depriving it is the main
goal to get a fitter, happier, healthier person. Tips are keeping healthy
snacks at your reach. Roasted peanuts, roasted almonds, fruits and vegetables
salad, fruit smoothie with no added sugar, low-fat granola bar or walnut
granola bar, hard boiled eggs, whole grain sandwich legumes and lentils soaked
and garlic and lemon juice can be good options.
Our bodies are about 60 percent water. Each drop
of this fluid works hard to promote proper blood circulation, food digestion
and elimination, temperature regulation, and the flow of nutrients. A suggested
study from Food & Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine says a
healthy woman should intake 11 glasses (91 oz.) of water while a healthy man
should intake 15 glasses (125 oz.) of water normally every day. This depends on
person's age, body weight, activity level, environmental factors such as
altitude and of course medical conditions. Fresh fruit juices can be an
alternative but again they have sugar and have to be limited to a glass a day.
Making a habit of drinking more water is beneficial but sometimes consuming
plain water can be boring. We can make
it interesting by making our own infused water. Fancy your water by adding
slices of lemon, cucumber, grapefruit, and strawberry and give it a flavour of
mint or basil. This will help keeping body hydrated and lessen your urge to
have sugary soda. Drop 4-5 leaves of fresh Mint (you can also mildly crush and
put) in your glass of water, leave the water for 2-3 minutes and consume it.
This soothes the digestion and skin irritation.
