| Here are 5 nutrition tips to help you | | | | pasta/rice, and frustratingly... |
| lose weight quickly, safely, and without | | | | alcohol! Cutting out all of these foods |
| the risk of rebound weight gain... | | | | would make life miserable, so set |
| 1) Forget fat... focus on your | | | | yourself some realistic nutrition goals. |
| carbohydrate intake. | | | | How about keeping your alcohol intake to |
| So many dieters make the mistake of | | | | the weekend? Or only treat yourself to |
| following a rigidly low-fat diet, but | | | | chocolate on a Sunday? Or cut down to |
| don't realise that the underlying cause | | | | one bag of crisps a day instead of |
| of their weight gain is eating too much | | | | three! Whatever your goal, make it |
| carbohydrate - usually in the form of | | | | realistic, sustainable and reward |
| chocolate, bread and alcohol. Sounds | | | | yourself for sticking at it! |
| familiar doesn't it?! The real cause of | | | | 4) QUANTITY - watch your portion sizes. |
| weight gain is raised levels of insulin | | | | Portion control is an absolute must for |
| - a hormone that promotes fat storage | | | | keeping your blood sugar levels down, |
| and blocks the hormones that trigger fat | | | | especially at dinner time when there's |
| burning. Your Insulin levels rise the | | | | less chance of it being burned off. |
| more you eat carbohydrate, so the only | | | | Low-fat spaghetti bolognese, reduced fat |
| way to achieve lower insulin levels is | | | | shepherd's pie, 10% fat sausages and |
| to stop focusing on low-fat, fat-free, | | | | mash... mountains of pasta and potatoes |
| or 10% fat foods and start watching your | | | | are an insulin nightmare just waiting to |
| carbohydrate intake. | | | | happen! Take your Friday night curry |
| 2) Be realistic about your carbohydrate | | | | with rice, naan bread, a potato dish, a |
| intake. | | | | pudding and the usual booze... easily |
| As a rule, the more you reduce your | | | | 2000 calories of insulin surging |
| carbohydrate intake the faster you'll | | | | carbohydrate in one meal! Be realistic |
| lose weight, even with a high fat diet. | | | | and have the Friday night curry, but get |
| But before you reach for your Atkins | | | | into the habit of having just two types |
| cookbook try to keep in mind that all | | | | of carbohydrate, not five! |
| very low-carb diets (a) ruin your social | | | | 5) TIMING - eat less and less as the day |
| life, and (b) always result in rebound | | | | goes on. |
| weight gain. If you've got a wedding or | | | | You should breakfast like a king, lunch |
| a holiday in a month then banishing | | | | like a lord, dine like a pauper. The |
| carbohydrate is great for a quick fix, | | | | ideal timing of carbohydrate intake is |
| but be prepared to see your weight fly | | | | to have a high-carb breakfast, a |
| back on... and more! If you're looking | | | | moderate carb lunch, but a low-carb |
| to lose weight long term then the only | | | | dinner. Loading your carbohydrate intake |
| sustainable approach is to set goals to | | | | before 3pm is important because you need |
| improve the quality, quantity and timing | | | | fuel in the morning and daytime, but by |
| of your carbohydrate intake. | | | | 6pm it's like putting petrol into a car |
| 3) QUALITY - eat less of the junk food. | | | | that's already got a full tank. If you |
| When you eat poor quality, refined | | | | get your carbohydrate balance right you |
| carbohydrate your blood gets flooded | | | | should wake up feeling ravenous, your |
| with sugar leading to huge insulin | | | | appetite should lessen as the day goes |
| spikes and increased fat storage. The | | | | on and you should head to bed on an |
| worst offenders are sweets, crisps, | | | | empty stomach - forcing your body to |
| biscuits, chocolate, cakes, white bread | | | | burn fat as you sleep. |