Last Updated on 18th August 2021 by Charlie Walsh
The key to unlocking your inner potential is to understand that you don’t need to starve yourself or go to crazy lengths to meet your goals and expectations. You actually need to eat the right amount of calories for how active you are. It’s that simple! For those of you wanting to lose weight it can be a little more complicated, especially if you are an over eater.
Nutritional advice is helpful in every way, so let’s take a look at these bite sized tips and get you on the road to a successful, more confident you, today!
Meals
It is not necessarily true that you have to eat a set amount of meals a day. Everything is about calories. Focus on how many calories you need per day and then remember to eat your last meal around two to three hours before going to bed. If you are a person who is always busy, you would be probably satisfied with two meals a day. To make your life a little bit easier you can download one of the health based apps that can help you with counting calories.
Labels
Check the labels! Checking the labels on your food at the shop is a very sensible and helpful habit to teach yourself. One the most important things that you have to check is on the sugar content. Unfortunately, sugar is used usually frequently and is in almost every single food product, especially in highly processed food. Sugar in the form of fruits or veggies is healthier for you than in the form of cakes, sweets, pastries and candies. Sugar appears not only in foods only but also in drinks. Did you know that a can of Pepsi contains 35.1 grams of white sugar?? So now imagine how easy it to even drink too many calories a day. If you want to lose excess weight – cut out sugar from your diet and start with not adding it to your cereals, tea or coffee!
Shopping
Go food shopping when you are full. Why? When you are full, you crave less food – you won’t make decisions based on hunger – but on what you actually need, you will buy healthier foods because you are thinking clearer. Secondly, you can always try to make a list of products that you need at home, after a meal. It will make your shopping trip easier as it is well- organised. It is not only good for your health but also for your wallet!
Water
Water helps us with losing weight and our body to work better in general as well. Water gets rid of toxins from your body and when you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, your body will not retain water and you will avoid the feeling of swelling. If you feel that you want to eat something unnecessary – drink a glass of water with lemon or lime. Lemon water is very refreshing and prepares your digestive system for the day ahead. Lemon water also has some interesting effects on your sex life – intrigued? Click here to find out more!
TIP: do not drink half an hour before and after a meal, acids in your stomach are diluted so the process of digestion is slower.
Calories
Learn about good and bad calories. 2000 kcal that comes from proteins, healthy fats and carbohydrates are not equal to 2000 kcal from junk food and highly processed food. When you eat healthy products and your diet is balanced – your body takes all the best bits from that food and transforms it into fuel – microelements, macro elements, amino acids and vitamins. In the case of eating unhealthy foods, these are just empty calories that do not nourish your body at all. A well balanced diet contains proteins, carbs and healthy fats. Do not exclude any of those three components because every single one is important for your body to function to its full potential.
Soup
Eating soup can reduce your calorie intake up to 20 percent. The base of almost every soup is water and vegetables. You can create wide range of soups that you like that give you everything you need. Did you know that you can also eat a bowl of hot soup for breakfast? That is right, breakfast. It warms your body up and you feel full of energy. For example, chicken broth gives you energy and is good for those who have caught a cold, broccoli and vegetable soup gives you a lot of vitamins etc.
TIP: Try to use smaller bowls, smaller portions aid weight loss.
Spice
Spice up your food. Spices like black pepper, cinnamon, anise seeds, cardamom, cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic, ginger and turmeric warm up your body and boost your metabolism too (this process is called thermogenesis). You can add them to your meals, shakes or drinks. Ginger tastes great with lemon water, cardamom and cinnamon tastes nice in coffee and tea, and the rest of the spices you can add to your meals. Moreover, your healthy meals will taste better with those spices. Many people come back to their old eating habits because they find “healthy” foods tasteless. If you spice up your food, you will never go back to those unhealthy old habits again!
Salt
Try to use less salt. Ok, it boosts the taste of your meal but eating too much salt can cause a sodium level imbalance and as a result – your body will cumulate and store more water than it should.
