Four simple tips to improve your health!
Have you ever wondered “What am I doing wrong?” when it comes to your diet? If you are trying to lose tummy fat, stay awake through the work day or have clearer skin and your diet is not helping the situation, follow my four tips below and you will feel happier, healthier and lighter!
Drink warm water during winter
It is easy to forget about water when it is so cold! Yesterday whole working in my Sydney clinic, when testing the blood of each patient who came in, every single patient was dehydrated! Warm water in an insulated stains steel bottle or herbal teas are a great way of hydrating and keeping warm. If we don’t drink enough water it can easily cause dry skin, wrinkles, constipation, immunity issues, digestion problems, urinary tract infections and fatigue. We do not expect our car to function without petrol, so why do we allow our body to function without water? Many people ask me ‘How much should I drink?’ To calculate this, for females, every 50kg of body weight requires 1.42 litres with sedentary daily activity. for males it is 1.72L for 50kg. This means, if you are a 76kg female, you will need a minimum of 2.2 litres a day. No matter what your health goal is, whether it be healthy skin, weight loss or more energy, water is a necessity.
Eat only half a plate of dinner four nights a week
We eat too much. Losing weight can be a lot easier than you think with some self control. We conducted an experiment in our Queensland clinic where we asked a group of people to pick four nights a week, and on these nights to eat exactly half the amount of dinner they would usually consume. In only one month, patients lost between 3-7 kilograms! They did not do anything else, no exercise program or tablet, they simply ate less on four nights a week. On the first few nights, I told them that even if they feel a bit hungry, remember that hunger is not a bad sensation, they should feel proud that they can feel the sensation of hunger and not give in to it. They were allowed an apple before bed if they really needed it. Eating this way over one month trained their stomach to be happier with less food at night time and the weight loss continued into the second month even though the experiment was over. Food is energy, therefore we should eat well during the day, and reduce our intake at night, because we don’t need extra energy before going to sleep.
*Seek medical help if you are diabetic before trying any diet.
Eat protein for breakfast and afternoon tea every day
Breakfast is an important meal, but did you know that afternoon tea is just as important? If we do not eat a protein-rich, healthy afternoon tea, it can leave us starving at night time, which can make many of us overeat. Healthy afternoon tea ideas include hummus (chickpea dip) and rice crackers, a boiled egg, a can of tuna or a handful of almonds and cashews with a banana. It is important that the snack you pick contains protein so that it stays in your belly longer, takes time to digest and keeps you satisfied till dinner time.
I often find that people forget to add protein to their breakfast. Eating a bowl of cornflakes will digest too quickly. So will a piece of toast. This is because they do not contain protein. To power up your cereal, you could add nuts, seeds and yoghurt which are all protein rich foods. To the toast you could add an egg or almond paste. These simple additions create a breakfast that will bring better energy and mental clarity to your day.
Remove sugar from your tea/coffee/drinks
I once has a patient who drank 4 cups of tea a day. Each cup had two spoons of sugar. I asked him for one month to not use sugar. He lost 4kg! If you are serious about losing weight or improving your health, sugar must be eliminated. The best way to start is by removing sugar from tea, coffee and substituting soft drink or juice with water or herbal tea. If you feel like to need the sugar for energy, I encourage you to follow the above three recommendations first, maybe you are not adding protein to your meals? Maybe you are dehydrated? Sugar not only makes us put on weight, it increases our chances of blood sugar irregularities and even diabetes if we are not careful.
Don’t hide under your winter coat this season. Any day is a good day to start the journey of a healthier life!
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