Tips on Good Nutrition

To lose weight in a healthy manner, we need to eat healthy, wholesome foods that support and nourish our bodies in the right balance and without overfeeding ourselves.

The following nutritional tips can help you in your efforts to reduce your weight when considered as part of a complete weight management program.

Anyone wanting to lose weight should seek advice from their health care practitioner to ensure that they do not have any underlying medical problems such as diabetes, thyroid malfunctions etc. that need to be addressed.

Foods to Reduce and/or Eliminate From Your Diet

• Refined sugar products like cake, pie, cookies, ice cream, chocolate bars, candy
• Refined and highly processed foods like French fries, potato chips, white bread, deep-fried foods.
• Pop and alcohol.

Foods Good To Eat

• Water with a spritz of lemon juice (the lemon tastes refreshing and helps to make your body more alkaline rather than acidic). 8 glasses a day.
• A wide variety of fresh vegetables and fruits
• Protein in meat like chicken, fish, beef, pork, lamb as well as dairy, eggs and tofu and other soy products
• Complex carbohydrates like whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, kamut, spelt cereals and other products and beans)
• Healthy fats like olive oil, grape seed oil and nuts in small portions.
• Dairy products, especially low-fat milk, cheese, yogurt

Did You know?

• You can stop cravings for sugar by weaning yourself off sugary food products and caffeine products. Slowly reduce the caffeine so you don’t get headaches.

• Eat well balanced meals that include: protein; “good” complex carbohydrates like vegetables and fruits and some grains and beans; and healthy fats like olive oil, some nuts and seeds.

• Protein helps to moderate your appetite and to burn off excess calories. It also increases muscle mass if combined with weight resistance training.

• When overweight, eat 25% less each day and you can and will lose weight!

• Exercise in the morning helps to decrease carbohydrate cravings (breads, pastas, rice and potatoes).

What else can help me?

• Plan ahead. Shop for healthy foods and prepare home-cooked yet easy meals. Make your own healthy lunch and take it to work. Carry healthy snacks with you like walnuts, almonds, strips of peppers, carrots. This is an important step to weight loss success. You are worth it!

• Eat three meals per day and two snacks.

• Don’t eat after dinner. You will find that you sleep better and this will help you lose weight. You won’t be digesting the excess food while you sleep.

• Become of aware of your food associations…ice cream and rest or maybe you associate ice cream with play and fun, buttered popcorn and movie, driving by the donut shop for a coffee and while you are there you pick up a donut or two. Try taking a new route or don’t stop for coffee if you know that you have a weakness for donuts.

• Get enough Essential Fatty Acids in your diet. By eating salmon, mackerel, sardines and flax seeds you can get Omega 3 fats and by consuming Evening Primrose and Borage oils as well as sunflower and safflower oils you can get Omega 6. We can also get these essential fatty acids through supplements at the health food store or at your local pharmacy.

Essential Fatty Acids either in food form or in supplements such as an Omega 369 formula support healthy weight, hormonal balance and improved circulation. They also help us to have healthy nerves and provide nutrition so our brain works well.

Besides eating healthy foods and exercising what can I do?

• Do self-hypnosis to reinforce positive suggestions about your goal to lose weight and to lead a healthy lifestyle that includes eating healthy foods and exercise. Imagine how you are getting slimmer and fitter, healthier. Imagine how you look, feel and what sounds you hear (maybe compliments about how you look). Imagine how good it feels to be relaxed, calm and in control.

• Have compassion and patience for yourself as you develop new healthy habits. Remember it takes time to lose the excess pounds.

• Determine if your food “craving” is a physical or an emotional one. If you are really physically hungry then you may need to eat something.

It’s not good to skip breakfast, miss a meal or eat hours later than normal as it adversely affects your blood sugar levels and then you are so hungry that you eat more than you should or you eat unhealthy foods.

• If you have an emotional craving or desire to eat foods that generally cause you to eat too much, then you can deal with that by examining what is it that you really need in your life. Is it more love? Is it learning how to deal with stress or loneliness? In other words, what’s eating you.

You can choose new behaviours and activities that you enjoy instead of eating.

§ Exercise including going for a walk in nature, yoga, tai chi, weight lifting, biking, tennis, golf, soccer, dance, aerobics.

§ Deep, calm breathing

§ Practice positive self-talk. Are you thinking I can’t lose weight or do you criticize yourself. Monitor those negative thoughts and cancel them when you are aware of them. Next think positive thoughts about yourself and your efforts to lose weight.

§ Write in a journal to express your feelings

§ Visit a museum, take in a play, sign up for a class

§ Participate in hobbies that you enjoy

§ Talk to a positive and supportive friend. In fact have a whole support group that you can call on to help you be responsible to yourself.

§ Feel the feeling instead of masking it by eating. Get help if you need it.

§ Celebrate your successes along the way. No that doesn’t mean going out to a restaurant for a big meal…. When you lose 5 or 10 pounds and you still have 15 or more to go, then reward your 5 pound success by buying a relaxation or hypnosis CD or buy yourself a new t-shirt in your favourite colour or pamper yourself with a massage. Remember to celebrate when you’ve reached your goal weight. Really do something that reminds you of how proud you are of yourself.