The Blue Tree Clinic’s resident Super Nutritionist gives you her top ten tips if you are trying to lose weight.
Skipping Meals
By skipping meals you are wreaking havoc with your blood sugar levels, this can cause huge dips in energy, mood, poor skin and overall health. You are more likely to get cravings for foods high is sugar, salt and refined carbs if you miss a meal as your blood sugar (glucose) levels are low, so to avoid cravings eat regularly.
Sports Drinks
These are not good for you, they actually contain high amounts of added sugar contributing to tooth decay and weight gain, even top sportsmen do not require these drinks and get their electrolytes from natural sources such as, coconut water.
Caffeine
In small doses caffeine can be OK but it will never be great for your body. Caffeine found in tea and coffee stimulates the release of stress hormones from your adrenal glands, which also contributes to weight, gain and fatigue.
Dieting
YoYo dieting is the worst thing you can do to your body, by confusing your bodies metabolism you alter its natural set point. The best way to stay healthy is to eat a balanced diet with good portion control. Diets cause your brain and your body a whole lot of confusion.
Excluding whole Food Groups
We need an array of micronutrients and macronutrients to function and perform, you can only get this from eating a balanced diet. Always seek advice from your nutritionist before giving up a food group so you can replace the lost nutrients elsewhere.
Fizzy Drinks
If you are thirsty avoid the calorie and sugar laid beverages, which your liver find hard to process. Your liver turns fructose and sucrose into fat, our bodies need water to function so aim for your 2-2.5L a day.
Processed Food
Avoid food high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and chemicals. The worrying thing about processed food is that it has become the norm in today’s society to buy food on the go in a packet. Take time to read the ingredients in your food. If you can’t pronounce it then don’t eat it!
Juicing
If you embark upon a juice diet ensure it is cold pressed and predominately made from vegetables, avoiding an insulin spike and retaining the fibre.
Chocolate
Try to train your taste buds to like the 75% or more cocoa percentage, even better, opt for raw cacao which contains no extra chemicals, fat and sugar and is full of antioxidants.
Tropical Fruit
Ditch the tropical fruit as part of your regular diet, berries and apples contain more antioxidants and have a lower GI.