By Diet Clinic , Dietitian/Nutritionist
Weight management starts with a sheet of white. It’s here where you draw out a plan to reduce and manage your weight. Weight management depends on a lot on good planning- not only about what to eat but also what to buy and how much, when to eat and an evaluation about physiological causes of weight gain, and eating behaviours.
Here are the 10 top things to do to manage your weight-
1. Evaluate your eating habits – You must know how you are getting more calories. Are you eating more margarine, sweets or you are suffering from bad eating behaviours like finishing off leftovers, eating late at night, nibbling while cooking? These need to be replaced by healthy eating behaviours ASAP.
2. You need to strategize for your meals and snacks – Always buy healthy snacks and so that you don’t binge on oily fries when you’re hungry. Also, plan to ban all junk and processed foods from your home. Having a daily eating plan also helps.
3. Make sure that your belly is full when you go food shopping for yourself – Research shows that it’s a recipe for disaster to go into the grocery store when you are hungry, as you will pick up more sugary and fatty snacks. Also, shop from a prepared list so that impulse buying is kept to a minimum.
4. Cut out junk foods and aerated drinks – Anything that comes out of a packet is dangerous for weight watchers as it could have added sugars and fats above what is declared on the packet.
5. Eat regular meals – Also, eat food cooked at home. Regular meals help prevent bingeing. This habit also stops snacking in between meals.
6. Eat your food sitting down at a table, and from a plate – Why, because if you eat out of a packet and standing up, you are more likely to forget about it and also overeat. But if you sit and have food, you will remember it and can be more conscious about portion sizes.
7. Serve food into individual plates and leave the rest of the food out of sight in the kitchen – It’s a good idea to not get bowls of food on the table as they beg to be eaten. Remember, it takes about 20 minutes for your mind to get the signal from your belly that you are full.
8. Eat slowly and chew every bite – This will slow down food consumption and will help you savour the taste of the food. Try resting your fork and spoon in between bites as well.
9. Drink water with meals – This will improve satiety.
10. Don’t eat after dinner – Eat an early dinner and stop food intake after that. This will prevent you piling up the extra weight on your frame.
