Health

If you’ve sailed through winter in great shape this year, consider yourself lucky.

The rest of us will reluctantly shed our baggy clothes and assess the damage. I’m going to blame my three-kilo gain on the fashion industry. It’s been easy to think thin in a tunic dress, a swing coat and a million layers of winter clothes. Trouble is, now I’m having anxiety attacks over swimsuits. Spring is fast approaching and I need an overhaul. I’ve spent most of winter hibernating like a bear, self-medicating my seasonal affective disorder with dark chocolate and wine. I did read somewhere that the correct medicinal dose of dark chocolate is only one square. Perhaps that’s where I slipped up. For the last three months, I’ve reduced my activity levels massively and simultaneously increased my calorie intake by around 800 calories a day. In hindsight, I should have kept up with a regular exercise regime and used natural supplements to support my moods. I should have kept an eye on my weight and cut back when necessary. I didn’t. I ate for the recession, the swine flu and to beat the cold. I ate to calm my moods, to help me sleep and to soothe my soul. So, here I am, spring is on the doorstep and I have three kilos of ugly fat to deal with. I’m ready to take action. Here are my top ten tips for health and wellbeing this spring:

1. Stop stressing
When we are stressed and tired, we tend to breathe shallow and fast. Oxygen is our number one nutrient. Learning deep breathing techniques is one way to counteract the stress response. Deep breathing can relieve headaches, insomnia, lower blood pressure and boost our feel-good hormones.

2. Start a food diary
A good way to re-learn healthy eating is to keep a food diary for a week or two. Most of us are surprised when we look at what we really eat and drink, as opposed to what we think we eat. It is easy to forget about the extra helping we had for dinner, the large latte we had for morning tea or the wine we drank at dinner.

3. Drink more water
Increasing your water will help you control your weight by preventing you from confusing hunger with thirst. Water will also keep your body systems, including metabolism and digestion working properly and give you the energy necessary for exercise. Water helps prevent constipation and moisturises your skin from the inside out.

4. Start exercising
Exercise helps increase blood flow to our cells. Our blood carries nutrients from our food around our body to nourish our vital organs. Exercise helps with immunity and keeps our detoxification systems functioning well. Exercise builds muscle too, which helps us burn more fat.

5. Watch those killer carbs
Exchange white bread for whole-grain bread, eat kumara or pumpkin instead of potato or pasta, choose brown rice over white rice and eliminate as much white flour or sugar from your diet as you can while increasing all of your green vegetables.



6. Make lunch
Invest a short amount of time at the beginning of the week to organise lunch and you’ll receive massive returns in energy and vitality. Get into the habit of stocking the fridge at home or work with fresh salad ingredients and fruit. In the evening, cook extra root vegetables like pumpkin, potato, kumara or rice and pasta. These make excellent fillers for salads.

7. Pack a healthy snack
A protein bar should contain 150-250 calories, no more than 12 grams of sugar per serve and 12-25 grams of protein. For busy woman on the go, these make satisfying snacks and are a healthier alternative to a muffin, which could easily pack a 500-calorie punch. Another great option is fresh fruit, a low fat yoghurt or a small handful of nuts.

8. Drink less
When your goal is to lose weight, calories count and two big glasses of wine could add up to 400 extra calories. If your body doesn’t use these calories in the evening they will be converted to fat. Use smaller wine glasses and drink less often. Try to halve your normal intake. Sometimes, just being aware of how much or how often you are drinking is enough to bring about a positive change.

9. Eat fat
You need to include some fat to burn fat and the best fat to include for weight loss and health is Omega 3 fish oil. Omega 3 is found in fatty fish. Supplementing with good quality fish oil in capsules or soft gels will provide you with essential DHA and EPA fatty acids.
Nutritionists know that weight loss of more than one kilogram per week is detrimental. Any detox program that provides less than 1400 calories or less than 80 grams of protein each day is merely a drastic starvation diet. Without supervision, these kinds of programs will cause a loss of muscle and bone and will lower your metabolism. In short, we could end up fatter in the long run.
A well-balanced diet, high in plant food and low in refined sugars will have you well on the way to long-lasting health. Behaviour modification, including stress management and physical activity, will result in improved health and energy. Spring is a great time to take action; start now and start slow. It has to be enjoyable to be sustainable.

By Jacquie Dale
Visit: www.realnutrition.co.nz