A few years ago I
subscribed to www.ivillage.com and get their healthy living updates (I
recommend them). Last week they sent Dr Oz’s 7 plans to boost metabolism (http://www.ivillage.com/try-dr-oz-s-7-day-miracle-plan-boost-metabolism/4-a-520728?nlcid=P1|03-13-2014|&_mid=5724833&_rid=5724833.35500.71984.2) and
I learnt so much I cannot not but share. I’ll just give a quick summary (will probably break this into two posts), if you
want more details – with links to cool widgets please visit the site yourself.
So
now to what I learnt:
1:
Know your basal
metabolism (yes, you can actually do
that using some calculator at http://calculators.epnet.com/View/Pages/BasalMetabolism.aspx?docid=healthcalculators%2flistofcalculators&CollectionIID=954&DeliveryContext=coe&token=1edc3d6e-4fec-4b20-baca-795e48830daa&hasHRA=true&frame=parent). Mine
is 1763 and this represents the number of calories my body needs to burn when
at rest, and tells me how many calories I can actually consume after which I
start adding weight.
2:
Cut 100 calories
daily. To do this I guess I will need to track how many calories I
eat each day (which seems very alien to me – because I do not want to be a
calorie counter). I guess the way forward for me is to identify some
foods/snacks that add up to 100 calories and if possible start
eliminating/reducing my intake progressively. Does that make sense? It does to
me…J So, what will get the axe?
·
4
Jacobs crackers =136calories
·
Kellogg’s
Special K (1 serving = 87 calories)
·
1
cup of white beans = 378 calories
·
1
cup of white cornmeal (tuwo masara) =
450 calories
·
Sardine
in oil (4 fish = 100 calories)
·
1
tablespoon of palm oil – 120 calories
·
1
bean cake ball (akara) = 75 calories
·
5
Dried Figs =100calories
·
1
cup of roasted cassava (garri) = 360
calories
·
1
cup of raw white rice = 693 calories
·
1
cup of jollof rich = 868 calories
·
1
evaporated milk tin sized portion of pounded yam = 400 calories
·
Baked
beans (130calories)
·
1
serving of Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur about 1 medium glass =147 calories
·
15
pieces of Cashews =100 calories
·
Seedless
grapes (33 grapes =100 calories)
·
1
serving spoon of Whole grain penne pasta (34 pieces) =100 calories)
·
13
large Shrimp =100calories)
·
2,
1 ounce Cheddar Cheese cubes = 100calories)
I
guess if you really wanted to take at this, you could get any of the
interesting calorie counting apps making the rounds now like www.caloriecount.com (it also has a mobile version – so
you can check them calories on the go!) An easier way to check calories is to
read the label of the item before you buy. You will look silly at first
checking labels in the shop, but think of the health benefit to yourself.
But
to be fair, this makes sense, and while it will take some discipline it could
give us some long term results! Guess there’s no harm in trying, right? (who am
I trying to convince, you or me? LOL)
3:
Add Protein.
You all know I am already a fan of protein – majorly because proteins keep you
fuller for longer and I appreciate their value to my health. Plus as someone
with a tendency to always feel hungry, I’ve found that having more proteins
have helped curb my appetite (generally speaking). Also, I hear that proteins could help boost metabolism. Okay now,
what’s not to love? Before I forget, the Dr Oz site also says you burn twice as
much calories digesting proteins than you do carbs – that’s a double whammy,
isn’t it?
Your
proteins will include: fish, lean beef, chicken, cheese, soya, nuts, eggs,
beans etc. But don’t overdo it…they do have calories as well. I recall when I was in secondary school and trying to lose weight; I eat so much beans and beans contained meals. To my chagrin I ADDED weight - someone told me years after that while I was eating protein, the quatity was far too much, and I discounted the calorie content of other ingredents used to prepare the meal namely the high fat oils. So please do remember that balance is key!
I've included the diagram below to highlight some more healthy protein food sources...
Personally
I try to eat 2 times more proteins than carbs each day. So I’ll opt for steamed
beans cakes (moi-moi) rather than boiled yams; grilled fish with veg rather
than rice. Again, balance is KEY! I check my quantity above all else! I think this is actually working for me.
4:
Eat every 3
hours! Yes! I like this one! LOL. In
a bid to lose weight, I was an expert in skipping meals for days on end, and
then I’d binge; then start the cycle over again. From my ‘before’ pictures you
can tell how that worked for me. L
Since I started my healthy lifestyle journey I make a point to eat at least 5
small meals each day (many times I don’t make it to 5, but I try to ‘eat little
but often’). When I say eat, a meal could actually be a couple of apples, a cup
of plain yoghurt, yesterday I had a mug of homemade mango juice, a cup of tea (yes, I see tea as a meal – it’s
me conditioning my mind to accept this as a meal so I do not binge – It makes
sense in my head J), a couple of pieces of grilled
chicken (suya) – nothing too heavy, but enough that I do not feel deprived. I
get all of these in before 6pm, coz after 6 pm I try not to eat anything. It
was difficult at first, but it is a way of life now.
According
to Dr Oz, your meals should be timed a bit like this:
6-8am
–Breakfast
10am
– Snack
12-2pm
– Lunch
3-5pm
– Snack
5 - 7pm - Dinner
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this on the right shows how your eating impacts your internal calorie burn-ability. Incentive to try eating more regularly but less each day? For me it is...!Apparently
there is research that shows that people who snack on 250 calories each day eat
less at regular meal times and have higher metabolic rates.
...next week...
Don’t forget to tell a friend about DROP IT 4 LIFE!
Don’t forget to sign up so you never miss weekly blog posts
(health information, recipes and things
to know about progressing towards a healthy lifestyle)
No comments:
Post a Comment