Whelehans pharmacys aisling murray weight loss tips part 2

This is a continuation of last week. When eating heathier its recommend to develop a diet that you can maintain for life and not for a short period of time or until you hit you ideal weight. Changing to a more balanced healthy diet is a lifetime alteration.

Make the foods you love healthier

Don’t consider certain foods to be “off-limits” as this will just increase you desire to eat them making you feel disheartened if you do give into temptation. Instead make these foods healthier or eat them in moderation. A sausage sandwich for breakfast once a week could be considered moderation; to make it healthier exchange the pork sausage (which contains 6.6 grams of total fat, 3.2 grams of saturated fat and more than 0.3g of sodium) for turkey sausages (which contain less than 4g of fat). Use wholemeal bread and limit the sauce you add to the sandwich.

Choose lower versions of the food you crave like low fat cheese, and trim the excess fat of certain foods. Increase fibre intake by selecting vegetables or opting for the whole grain or whole meal foods (eg. Brown bread, rice and pasta instead of white varieties). Finally ditch fizzy drinks; they add unnecessary calories to your diet. Opting for water with a dash of cordial is a much better option or even fresh fruit juice. If your diet is healthy the majority of the time, then eating something unhealthy once a week will have little or no effect on your overall health. By reducing your intake of unhealthy food you may find yourself craving less of this type of food.

Eat little and frequently

Eating little and often will reduce hunger pangs, stabilise your blood sugars and keep your metabolism functioning to the best of its ability. Do not skip meals as this can cause a tendency to over eat, as you become very hungry throughout the day.

Try not to let yourself get weak with hunger this will cause your blood sugars to become low and you will need a quick fix which is often a food high in fat or sugars which is not advisable. The most important factor to remember when eating little and eating regularly is to select the correct foods and to try eating every 3 to 4 hours.

Watch your portion sizes

Eating of a smaller plate will help you eat less. A white plate sized 8” will give the impression there is more food present; this is called the portion size illusion. If you still feel unsatisfied after your meal, try adding more leafy green vegetables or having some fruit. Check visually to see your portion sizes; your meat portion should only be the size of a deck of cards and your carbohydrates (eg. Potatoes, rice, pasta) should be half the size of your vegetable portion. Eat slowly and enjoy your food.

Weekly weigh in clinic

Currently I am offering a weight loss program where your BMI and waist measurement is calculated and I check your weight weekly. You get tips and motivation weekly to help you lose weight all at a great weekly rate of €10 per week. Drop into the pharmacy for more details regarding this program or call Aisling at 044 9334591.

Whelehans Nutrition Service

Whelehans nutritional service is a private one to one advice service with our nutritionist Aisling Murray. Aisling’s areas of interest include weight loss management, nutrition education and food intolerance. Our nutrition service offers you the chance to change your life in a positive way by focusing on your overall wellbeing as well as the chance to follow up on your progress.

 

To be continued…..next week I will give further weight loss tips.

Aisling Murray has a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and offers a one to one specialist nutrition service at Whelehans

Pharmacy. Call Whelehans at 04493 34591 for an appointment