Nutritional Summer Cleanse for Food On Tap
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and are enjoying the summer holidays. Have you made a New Year’s resolution? Is it to eat healthier or lose weight?
Every year, thousands upon thousands of people have good intentions to make this the year to lose weight or get their eating habits back on a healthier path. But how many people really succeed? Normally we all start off quite well, but it is hard to keep the momentum going and even harder to know the best foods to eat, with so much conflicting information in the media.
Australians are becoming fatter and our eating habits are leaning more towards fast and fatty take away foods. It is reported that two thirds of Australian adults and one quarter of our children are now overweight and obese. Weight gain occurs when you eat and drink too much while limiting physical activity. As we get older a few kilos creep on every year until you find you have gained so much weight, you are outside the healthy weight range. So how can you accomplish your resolution this year to eat healthier and lose weight? The answer is tomorrow never comes, so you need to start today, right now, not tomorrow, not next week or next month, but right now!
Like all changes such as moving house, organising holidays and preparing celebrations you need to PLAN. Sit down and make a list of all the things you could do to improve in your life, for example, eat more fruit, drink more water and increase your exercise. Now list all the things you should change, such as cut down on take away meals, and reduce sweets and alcohol. Number each of these changes. These are now your Goals, to be successful this year. The best idea is to work on one goal each week.
So lets say you have two improvements (drink more water, include daily exercise) and two changes (cut down on daily chocolate and reduce alcohol) you want to work on:
• The first week you should look at increasing the water,
• The second week, focus on reducing chocolate,
• The third, start increasing the exercise.
• By the fourth week, you can start cutting back on the alcohol.
Each week continue with your previous goals and add a new one in. Before you know it, you have been making healthy choices for a month. You will start to feel better and the changes have been gradual so you do not feel too deprived.
Avoid jumping on the bandwagon to try the latest fad diet – “No Carbs”, “Juices only”, “Diet Shakes and Bars” etc. These gimmicks may lead to 2-3 kilo loss initially, but these diets are hard to maintain and often the weight re-appears when you come ‘off’ the diet. Many of these diets are unhealthy; cutting out essential food group and nutrients, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Going on and off these diets can lead to weight gain year after year. These diets do not teach you how to enjoy real foods and create your own health eating plan.
The best idea to lose weight is to make small, sustainable life changes which lead to long term weight loss. If you need some help trying to lose or have a healthier lifestyle, you may like to get some professional support.
This January the Dietitian’s Association of Australia (DAA) will be launching theAustralia’s Healthy Weight Week (AHWW) for the sixth year running.Australia’s Healthy Weight Week is an initiative which encourages Australians to be a healthy weight by eating better, feeling better and moving more now.
For more information on AHWW go to: www.healthyweightweek.com.au.
Seeking professional advice from an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) may help you achieve your 2013 goals – Finally.
Enjoy the rest of your Summer fun and good luck with those health eating goals.
Published in Nutrition 101 for Food On Tap
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT THE FOOD ON TAP WEBSITE: www.foodontap.com.au
I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and are enjoying the summer holidays. Have you made a New Year’s resolution? Is it to eat healthier or lose weight?
Every year, thousands upon thousands of people have good intentions to make this the year to lose weight or get their eating habits back on a healthier path. But how many people really succeed? Normally we all start off quite well, but it is hard to keep the momentum going and even harder to know the best foods to eat, with so much conflicting information in the media.
Australians are becoming fatter and our eating habits are leaning more towards fast and fatty take away foods. It is reported that two thirds of Australian adults and one quarter of our children are now overweight and obese. Weight gain occurs when you eat and drink too much while limiting physical activity. As we get older a few kilos creep on every year until you find you have gained so much weight, you are outside the healthy weight range. So how can you accomplish your resolution this year to eat healthier and lose weight? The answer is tomorrow never comes, so you need to start today, right now, not tomorrow, not next week or next month, but right now!
Like all changes such as moving house, organising holidays and preparing celebrations you need to PLAN. Sit down and make a list of all the things you could do to improve in your life, for example, eat more fruit, drink more water and increase your exercise. Now list all the things you should change, such as cut down on take away meals, and reduce sweets and alcohol. Number each of these changes. These are now your Goals, to be successful this year. The best idea is to work on one goal each week.
So lets say you have two improvements (drink more water, include daily exercise) and two changes (cut down on daily chocolate and reduce alcohol) you want to work on:
• The first week you should look at increasing the water,
• The second week, focus on reducing chocolate,
• The third, start increasing the exercise.
• By the fourth week, you can start cutting back on the alcohol.
Each week continue with your previous goals and add a new one in. Before you know it, you have been making healthy choices for a month. You will start to feel better and the changes have been gradual so you do not feel too deprived.
Avoid jumping on the bandwagon to try the latest fad diet – “No Carbs”, “Juices only”, “Diet Shakes and Bars” etc. These gimmicks may lead to 2-3 kilo loss initially, but these diets are hard to maintain and often the weight re-appears when you come ‘off’ the diet. Many of these diets are unhealthy; cutting out essential food group and nutrients, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Going on and off these diets can lead to weight gain year after year. These diets do not teach you how to enjoy real foods and create your own health eating plan.
The best idea to lose weight is to make small, sustainable life changes which lead to long term weight loss. If you need some help trying to lose or have a healthier lifestyle, you may like to get some professional support.
This January the Dietitian’s Association of Australia (DAA) will be launching theAustralia’s Healthy Weight Week (AHWW) for the sixth year running.Australia’s Healthy Weight Week is an initiative which encourages Australians to be a healthy weight by eating better, feeling better and moving more now.
For more information on AHWW go to: www.healthyweightweek.com.au.
Seeking professional advice from an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) may help you achieve your 2013 goals – Finally.
Enjoy the rest of your Summer fun and good luck with those health eating goals.
Published in Nutrition 101 for Food On Tap
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT THE FOOD ON TAP WEBSITE: www.foodontap.com.au