I, for one, don’t believe in drastic steps to lose weight. Small sustainable changes to your routine can go a long way in getting the body you want without overwhelming you. Read on to see how you can get fantastic results by switching to a light dinner.
Why light dinner?
What do most of us do after dinner – watch tv and then hit the bed….. sometimes just hit the bed. We don’t undertake any kind of activity that requires the body to spend the energy obtained from our dinner. The only thing the body does is digest the food. So, whatever we eat is going to get stored in the body (as – ya, you guessed it right – FAT!) for future use. So, the heavier our dinner the more fat our body is going to store. After a heavy dinner, have you ever woken up in the morning feeling full – as if you just ate something? That’s again because of lack of utilization of the energy obtained from the previous night’s meal.
So, a sure shot way of storing less fat is by having a light dinner – preferably stuff that requires the body to spend more calories digesting it than the calories obtained from it.
What constitutes a light dinner?
The ideal dinner would comprise of salads, soups and fruits.
The salad can have lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, beet, onions, bell peppers – pretty much any vegetable you like to eat raw. Avoid meat in a dinner salad – even if it’s only chicken. The most important thing to remember is the salad dressing. There is no point sticking to salad if you are going to have a very rich dressing. Try to have salad with salt, pepper and lime juice. Or if you like vinegar, that’s great too! If all these sound too plain to you, choose dressings that are light – for instance, Italian is lighter than Ranch.
Opt for water based soups as opposed to cream or cheese based ones. Home made soups with veggies are the best. You can also buy canned soups that need very little preparation – but be sure to check the calories.
Fruits – You can have a little bit of a whole variety of fruits or choose one for each day. Berries, melons and citrus fruits are the best. The juice content in them would give you a feeling of a full stomach without the extra calories. Avoid bananas or mangoes for dinner.
If you are used to having a lot of carbs, meat or cheese for dinner, you might find it difficult to switch suddenly to a lighter meal. So you can start with a general reduction of your dinner calorie intake and then progress gradually to a salad-soup- fruit dinner.
Believe me, once you get into the routine, it wouldn’t seem like such a big deal. And soon, you would be at a point where the thought of a heavy dinner makes you uneasy :
Get the satisfaction of having eaten a full meal
As a general rule, it takes about 20 min after you have eaten enough for your brain to realize your stomach is actually full. So, unless you give those 20 min to your brain, invariably, you are going to end up eating a lot more than you really need. It’s a little impractical to eat some and then wait for 20 min and then continue eating if you don’t feel full ;-)
A more sensible way is to eat very slowly, chew the food well and preferably concentrate on your plate and not be engrossed in a book or TV.
This way you are aware of the amount of food intake and are not hurrying up to finish everything on your plate. You would be amazed to find out how satisfied you feel with a lot less food when you take the time to chew and eat slowly.
If you are the kind who doesn’t like to waste food on the plate, take small servings at a time. Only if you are still hungry, you should go for the n
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
The key to weight loss is consuming fewer calories than you burn. Putting your body in a calorie deficit triggers your fat stores to be used for energy. If you eat a low-calorie diet throughout the day, only to come home after work and binge on food, weight loss will be impossible. Choosing a light dinner can ensure that you finish your day the healthy way. This will help you rest easy and stay motivated.
Set Up For Success
If you know that you want to stick with light eating at night, obtain sufficient nutrients and calories throughout the day. If you are not eating enough during the day, you will set yourself up to be ravenous come dinnertime. This puts you out of control and makes good choices very difficult. Be sure to have breakfast and lunch every day. Depending on when you eat lunch, try to fit in a healthy afternoon snack to moderate your hunger until dinner. Eat several fruits and vegetables throughout the day to keep your energy up without consuming excess calories.
Satisfying Low-Calorie Options
"Physiology and Behavior" published a 2009 study based on the concept of low-energy-density eating. This study found that foods with a high water content were very filling because, despite low calorie amounts, people tended to consume a consistent weight of food. Prepare clear soups or salads with light dressing for dinner. Try to fill up on vegetables and stews with a high water percentage. The extra water in foods like lettuce helps you feel satisfied but does not have many calories. Choosing low-energy-dense foods is an effective strategy for preparing a light dinner.
Be Prepared
Plan your meals. After a long day, it can be tough to get home and try to come up with creative, filling, light meals. Make sure you have ingredients on hand that are fast and easy, such as frozen steamed vegetables or microwaveable brown rice. Take time on the weekends to prepare large dishes, like a pot of low-calorie soup. That way when it comes time to make dinner, you have a foolproof light meal option.
Watch Desserts
Sometimes extra calorie intake is not from dinner, but happens after dinner. Late-night snacking is a surefire way to sabotage your day. If you know you are vulnerable to this behavior, keep sweets and snacks out of the house. Come up with an alternative that fits into your calorie plan. A 2004 study in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" found that replacing late-night snacks with cold cereal and low-fat milk helped support weight loss in regular night-snackers. If you prefer to eat a little something extra before bed, make sure you plan for it and count it as part of your totals for the day.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
The best way to lose weight is to eat. The body needs constant nourishment in order to function at its top capacity and to burn fat more efficiently. The ideal way to do this is to eat four to six small meals a day, of which lunch is one of the most important ones. Not only is the type of food consumed important, but how you combine it and how much you eat will also have an effect on your weight loss efforts.
Calorie Count
When planning lunch, aim to keep your total calorie count between 400 and 600 calories. Women should aim for the lower end of that number, while men and those who are severely overweight should start at the higher end of the spectrum. Cutting calories too much too quickly will result in loss of lean mass (muscle) rather than fat loss. If you normally eat lunch out, try looking through online databases to figure out the caloric content of the foods you normally order.
Mixing It Up
Filling up your plate with a mix of carbohydrates and proteins will help you reduce the amount of total sugars you eat. Since most carbohydrates, including fruits, are high in sugar, you need to compensate by adding protein and fiber to the meal. Good protein choices include chicken, turkey and fish, while beef and pork fall into the group that is better avoided as much as possible. Other great sources of protein are eggs and low-fat dairy products. For fiber, stick to whole grains and darker carbs, such as picking brown rice over white and whole wheat over plain bread.
Eating Out
Choose ready-to-eat meals that are low in fat. Since lunchtime is most likely the time when you'll be eating out, make sure you pay careful attention to the items in the menu before ordering. Stay away from anything that is fried, battered or with added creams, as these are likely high not only in calories but also in fat. Instead, choose meals that are baked, grilled or steamed. Don't be afraid to ask for substitutions. If your meal comes with a side dish of French fries, ask for steamed veggies or a baked potato instead. If you're having a sandwich or wrap, skip the mayo or ask for it on the side, so you can add just a teaspoon of it. Switch to whole wheat or rye bread if possible.
Bring Your Own Lunch to Work
This is probably the best way to ensure that you will be eating a low-calorie meal with just the right balance of carbs, fats and proteins. Some easy-to-make, low-calorie lunches include a pita pocket sandwich (fill it up with anything from chicken salad to grilled veggies), wheat crackers and peanut butter, wraps made with multigrain flour tortillas and lots of veggies, a BBQ chicken sandwich and all types of salads. Even pasta salad is fine if you add lots of green (spinach works great) and some lean meat into the mix. Noodle soup can be brought over in a thermos, or you can search for ready-to-eat cups at whole food stores, where brands sold are likely to be lower in sodium and calories. If you're in a rush, bring some hummus or bean dip and some baked chips or wheat crackers.
Drinks
Be careful with liquid calories. Sodas, fruit juices and sport drinks are all high in calories and sugars and should not be consumed when trying to lose weight. Instead, choose diet sodas, seltzer or other calorie-free drinks. Tea and coffee are fine if you skip the sugar and use just a little milk. If you prefer juice, fill up a third of a glass with juice and then add water to complete. This will be enough to keep the flavor intact but reduce the sugary content considerably.
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