Kickstart your Health !
There has never been a better time to kickstart your health.
How many of us have unhealthy eating habits that we do most days, without thinking about them? …. Until our clothes are feeling tight or we are feeling sluggish.
Healthy changes are about little changes. When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s tempting to want results as fast as possible. But fast weight loss is unhealthy and unlikely to keep the weight off. The most successful way to lose weight and keep it off is to lose the weight steadily. Safe rates to lose weight are around 1 lb – 2lb a week.
Long-term weight loss takes time and effort and a long-term commitment. Although you don’t want to put off weight loss forever, you ought to make sure you’re prepared to make permanent changes to eating and activity habits. Ask yourself the following questions to help you determine your readiness:
- Am I motivated to lose weight?
- Am I too distracted by other pressures?
- Do I use food as a means to cope with stress?
- Am I ready to learn or use other strategies to cope with stress?
- Do I need other support — either from friends or professionals — to manage stress?
- Am I willing to change eating habits?
- Am I willing to change activity habits?
- Do I have the time to spend on making these changes?
Also check with your GP if you have a long-term health condition before starting a diet. Or to determine the best way for you to lose weight, consult your doctor for recommendations.
Low carb diets and whole food, lower calorie diets can be a successful way to lose weight and may be simpler to stick to than other diets:
Apart from weight loss, a low carb diet can improve your health in a few ways, though the long-term effects are not yet known:
- blood sugar levels tend to significantly decrease on low carb diets triglycerides tend to go down
- LDL (bad) cholesterol goes down
- blood pressure improves significantly
Cutting back on refined carbs such as white flour, white bread, white rice, pastries, sodas, snacks, pasta, sweets, breakfast cereals and added sugars. They are also added to all sorts of processed foods. And replacing them with wholegrains. With a low carb eating plan you will utilize burning stored fat for energy instead of carbs. By consuming more complex carbs such as wholegrains you’ll benefit from higher fibre and digest them more slowly, intern by reducing sugars and starches, your hunger level will reduce, and you will usually end up eating fewer calories and help you lower insulin levels, and make you lose weight.
If you choose a low carb eating plan, it’s not needed to count calories as long as you keep your carb intake very low and stick to protein, fat, and low carb vegetables.
If you find yourself not losing weight, you might want to keep track of your calories to see if that’s a contributing factor.
Each one of your meals should include:
- a protein source
- fat source
- vegetables
- a small portion of complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains.
Protein
Through swapping carbs and fat with protein, you decrease the hunger hormone and increase numerous satiety hormones. This leads to a major reduction in hunger and is the main reason protein helps you lose weight. It can make you eat fewer calories automatically. Eating a recommended amount of protein is also crucial to help preserve your health and muscle mass while losing weight.
An average person needs:
56–91 grams of protein per day for the average male
46–75 grams of protein per day for the average female
Healthy protein sources include:
Meat – beef, chicken, pork, and lamb
Fish and seafood – salmon, trout, and shrimp
Eggs – whole eggs with the yolk
Plant-based proteins – beans, legumes, quinoa, tempeh, and tofu
Low carb and leafy green vegetables:
Don’t be scared to pack your plate with leafy green vegetables. They’re bursting with nutrients, and you can eat very large quantities without greatly increasing calories and carbs.
Vegetables included for a low-calorie diet:
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- spinach
- tomatoes
- kale
- Brussels sprouts
- cabbage
- Swiss chard
- lettuce
- cucumber
Healthy fats
Don’t be afraid of eating fats.
A small amount of fat is essential even when on diet, fat helps the body absorb vitamin A and vitamin E and vitamin D. These vitamins are fat -soluble, which means that they can only be absorbed with the help of fats.
Healthy fats include:
- Avocados and avocado oil. …
- Nuts. …
- Nut and seed butters. …
- Flax seeds. …
- Hemp hearts. …
- Chia seeds. …
- Olives and cold-pressed olive oil. …
- Coconuts and unrefined coconut oil.
Assemble each meal with a protein source, healthy fat, complex carb and vegetables.
Ensure to incorporate fruit in your diet:
Fruits tend to have a higher carbohydrate content than most vegetables because they contain naturally occurring sugars. However, this does not mean that people should avoid them.
Individuals examining their carbohydrate intake should also note that some fruit has more water content. This means that they provide fewer carbs per 100 g serving.
The following are some low carb fruit options.
Peaches have an unexpectedly low carbohydrate content, bearing in mind that they are among the sweeter fruits available. For every 100 g of fruit, a person gets 9.54g of carbohydrates.
Watermelon. This summer fruit has the lowest carbohydrate content, with only 7.55g per 100 g of fruit. It is also a good source of vitamin A and has a high-water content, making it a great high-volume food. Watermelon can also lead to feelings of fullness while providing fewer calories.
Strawberries. Strawberries are a well-liked and a great choice for people watching their carb intake, and strawberries have the smallest amount of any berry. Each 100 g serving of strawberries provides 7.68g of carbohydrates. They are also exceptional sources of potassium and vitamin C.
Avocados are fruits with a relatively low carbohydrate content. For every 100 g of avocado, a person gets an estimated 8.53g of carbohydrates. Avocados are also a great source of monounsaturated fats.
Honeydew is a type of melon, honeydew, provides around 9.09g of carbohydrates for every 100 g. It is also an excellent source of vitamin C, as well as potassium. Potassium is an electrolyte that helps maintain good blood pressure, balance acid levels, and encourage healthy metabolism.
Here are some tips to lose weight:
- Drink water before and during meals, as this can reduce your calorie intake and be affective in weight loss.
- Avoid Sugary drinks and fruit juice
- Eat soluble fibre, soluble fibre may promote weight loss
- Base your diet on whole foods as they’re healthier, more filling, and much less likely to cause overeating than processed foods.
- Eat slower, eating quickly can lead to weight gain over time, while eating slowly makes you feel fuller and boosts weight-reducing hormones
- Get good quality sleep, sleep is significant for several reasons, and poor sleep is one of the biggest risk factors for weight gain
- Eat a high protein breakfast, this can reduce cravings and calorie intake throughout the day.
Physical activity is important to lose weight:
Everybody knows that eating a low-fat, low-calorie diet and getting regular exercise helps reduce pounds. When it comes to losing weight and body fat, diet and exercise are most effective when done together as compared to either strategy alone.
Walking – is one of the greatest exercises for weight loss — and for good reason. It’s a convenient and stress-free way for beginners to start exercising without feeling overcome or needing to purchase equipment. Also, it’s a lower-impact exercise, meaning it doesn’t stress your joints.
Jogging or running – Are great exercises to lose weight and keep fit. To get started try and aim for 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week.
Cycling – improves your fitness and helps you lose weight.
Swimming – is a fun way to lose weight and get in shape. It is estimated that a 155-pound (70-kg) person burns approximately 233 calories per half hour of swimming.
Sample meal ideas to try:
High protein low carb, breakfast suggestions:
Eggs, cottage cheese, tofu, bacon, peanut butter & other nut butters, salmon or trout, Greek yogurt, nuts, seeds or low carb fruit.
Lunch ideas:
Vegetable soup is naturally low in carbs and calories, which makes it the perfect snack to heat up through the day and eat between meals. It helps keep you full until the next meal without adding too many calories or carbs to your daily intake. You can add some lean meat to get your protein.
- Smoked salmon with avocado and a side of asparagus
- Lettuce wrap with grilled chicken, black beans, red pepper, and salsa
- Kale and spinach salad with grilled tofu, chickpeas, and guacamole
- BLT wrap with celery sticks and peanut butter
Evening meal ideas:
- Turkey meatballs are made from ground lean turkey meat and with other simple ingredients. So tasty and served hot with vegetables.
- Enchilada salad with chicken, peppers, mango, avocado, and spices
- Ground turkey bake with mushrooms, onions, peppers, and cheese
- Antipasto salad, with white beans, asparagus, cucumbers, olive oil, and Parmesan
- Roasted cauliflower with tempeh, Brussels sprouts, and pine nuts
- salmon baked with ginger, sesame oil, and roasted zucchini
Low carb snack ideas:
- Cauliflower hummus and vegetables
- Healthy homemade trail with nuts and dried fruit
- Kale chips
- cottage cheese with cinnamon and flaxseeds
- Spicy roasted chickpeas Roasted pumpkin seeds
- Strawberries and brie
Recipe:
Egg in a hole, peppers with avocado salsa
Colourful bell pepper rings stand in for bread in this healthy version of egg in a hole. Cook the eggs inside the pepper rings and top with a vibrant avocado salsa for a healthy high-protein, low-carb breakfast.
Meal-prep this recipe: Make a double batch of the avocado salsa the night before-serve with dinner and save some to use in this breakfast recipe.
