Dear Fave,
Being a foodie and wanting to stay in shape at the same time should not be so difficult if you follow these fitness foodie diet journey (heheee), at this stage I am not talking about you counting the calories present in each food item which can be so frustrating if you are not a dietician, though its good to know,
Personally I have an athletic build which makes it presumed that its easier for me to maintain fitness, but the general idea of fitness is way beyond the physical appearance, it transcends to the mind, protects the body organs and ensures proper functioning, so regardless of your size fitness is encouraged a lifestyle. Breath exercise all through the day improves the respiratory function and ensures oxygen gets to the brain via blood flow.
EATING FOOD CLASSES RIGHT
The food classes, eaten in proportions that is well balanced is considered a balanced diet, and like suggested in the first part of this article, your diet should be weighed according to your physical activities, the energy generated from that food shouldn't exceed what you exhaust at the moment if not it is stored and converted to excess fat, therefore eat only when you are hungry because that is your body asking for energy (calories).
A rough sketch of how to eat right is to eat vegetables and fruits first.
Starters are mainly salad because they contain vegetables which are a great source of nutrients, have you stopped a child from drinking lots of water before eating their food to avoid overfilling their stomach, yea similar but the real idea here is to eat a lot of your vegetables and fruits this way you flush down your system and get filled up faster, reducing intake of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
Main course should contain a high value of proteins because it is what generates the needed energy converted in your body and excretes the rest, while carbohydrates are mostly stored in the body. Eating a large amount of carbohydrates turns into sugar in the blood and can cause a rise in insulin.
As un-popularly considered, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are healthy fats necessary for a good health.
Monounsaturated fats are present in foods like avocado, olive oil and some nuts.
Polyunsaturated fats are present in foods like fish, seafoods and some plants.
Tip- Eat fruits, drink natural fruit juice, smoothies and drink lots of water always.
Why? It gives the necessary sweetness you crave, so you revitalize your system healthily and kill a bad craving habit with a new good healthy habit.
PERSONAL TIME-TABLE
I bet you have a favorite way of eating meals you have generated over the years for breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper and dinner, mostly influenced by family, social life, location or environment and the type of work you do, but I advise you switch it up if you aren't already doing this.
Eat breakfast-like food (lighter meals) at night for dinner.
Then have heavier meals for lunch (e.g swallows of eba, amala, tuwon-shinkafa, pounded-yam , e.t.c) this in itself reduces/prevents a protruding pot belly.
For breakfast, have a medium sized meal, tis like switching the time of the day but only for your diet.
Tip- I usually eat snacks, chocolates, candies, biscuits, desserts after I have a full meal.
Why? because the body processes sugar better after a full meal.
MYTH
It is necessary to eat dinner before 6pm.
TRUTH
Eat at least 3hours before bedtime. Fatty, greasy meals digest slower and cause digestive issues, give enough time for digestion to avoid bloating, heartburn and a reflux of your food. You should be more concerned about what you are eating and how you eat this, than the time you eat.
MYTH 2
Fats are bad.
TRUTH 2
Not all fats are bad, and fats are even necessary for various functioning of the body, but if eaten in excess, fats may lead to gaining of weight and health issues related to weight gain like diabetes, heart problems, blood vessels disease, liver diseases and many more.
MYTH 3
I will lose weight if I do not eat (starve)
TRUTH 3
Except in crucial states like fasting for a long while, which should always accompany a medical advice. If you eat when your body does not need energy, the body will store this as fat but this is no excuse to starve yourself either because the body will break down the stored fat in the body and when next you eat it will store everything as fat in preparation for your starving moment, which is a mistake most people make when seeking to lose weight, Your brain is a smart box which explains why its more of a repeated cycle and you wonder why you are not loosing weight.
MYTH 4
If I eat one big meal at a time, I do not need to eat again.
TRUTH 4
As discussed above, your body is smarter than you think so eating one large meal when seeking to lose weigh only makes a storage of the energy converted to fat, than when you eat in smaller portions which quickly exhausts, because of the anticipation of the next meal however small it may be, (Tip- great for patients suffering from peptic ulcer).
For Example; Eat 5 divided meals in place of 3 joined meals of the same quantity.
MYTH 5
Sleep on a full stomach
TRUTH 5
Sleep is when the body shuts down, restores and regenerates itself, think of food as energy and why would you need so much energy while you sleep? So, instead of a regenerative process to go on while you sleep, digestion occurs then you feel tired and un-energetic when you wake up in the morning.
PHYSICIAN’S ADVICE,
Go grocery shopping after a good meal and you will spend less.
The idea of being filled makes your brain and mind think straight; you are less attracted to junk foods which accompanies stress and more attracted to healthy food stuffs.
Do you have your own share of myths and/or truths, even if unsure share and we will help you with the truth.
Please endeavor to share this article through the social media buttons to your social media page, a fave on your page might just need this. Leave your comments, questions below or send a private email. Thanks
Love,
F.P.
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