WHAT ABOUT DIET?
The only ‘diet’ you should be on is an everyday healthy living diet.
Eating healthily every day should be a lifestyle choice. Of course, you can allow yourself a little indulgence sometimes. The problem starts when that little indulgence turns into over indulgence.
For some of us, the line gets a little blurred and the over indulgence carries on for too long before you recognise the impact of this behavior pattern.
Thank goodness you now have your Figure 8 bodychain to let you know long before this happens.
Utilising the drug-free, pain-free and effortless process of operant conditioning, it will become second nature to you to be both aware of your weight management and to be in control of it.
If your Figure 8 bodychain gets too tight and you have to take it out a link you have allowed yourself to put on approximately two kilograms.
If your Figure 8 bodychain gets loose and you have been trying to lose weight then great, you have just lost about 2 kilograms. Just keep taking it in a link at a time until you get to be where you want to be.
So what is a healthy diet?
Feeding our Futures New Zealand says that a healthy meal should consist of:
* 50 per cent vegetables - such as broccoli, cabbage, peas, cauliflower, pumpkin, celery, puha, lettuce, tomato, carrots;
* 25 per cent carbohydrates - such as potato, kumara, pasta, rice, taro or other starchy vegetables; and
* 25 per cent protein - such as meat, chicken, fish, eggs.
Sounds good to me.
Feeding our Futures New Zealand also advises that the whole family needs vegetables every day, saying: “Serve a mixture of colourful vegetables; for one-pot meals mix in extra vegetables during cooking; canned or frozen vegetables are just as good as fresh; buy vegetables in season or when they are cheaper; and microwave or steam your vegetables to lock in their flavor and goodness.”
Q. So what is a good reason not to be overweight?
A. To live a happier, healthier, longer life.
Q. How is your being overweight affecting you?
A. Your body is not designed to carry around too much excess weight.
Imagine walking around all day with a bag of potatoes strapped to your back – it would make life difficult wouldn’t it? But that’s exactly what hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders are doing in carrying 5, 10, 20 or even more kgs than their healthy body weight.
It is up to us to each of us to be as healthy as possible so we can enjoy life to the max.
Here are some tips to help you on the way:
Prevention is better than cure.
High fibre foods - wholegrain bread, cereals, fruit and vegetables - keep your bowels regular and help reduce the risk of bowel cancer.
Too much salt can increase blood pressure.
Make the time to prepare your meals. You can make quick, easy and healthy meals in minutes. For example beef/chicken stir fry with lots of vegetables.
Make sure you have breakfast. Include fruit with your breakfast and read the labels on breakfast cereals before you buy.
You can make your meals go a lot further if you add vegetables to it i.e. add mushrooms, onion, peas, tomato and peppers to your omelette.
Do not overeat at lunch. A tuna/chicken salad is good. Make sure the salad dressing is light, not creamy.
Put some sliced and diced vegetables with your salad to mix it up a bit.
Get inventive in the kitchen and make delicious healthy meals for yourself and your family.
Add herbs and spices to enhance the natural flavours in your food.
Make a low fat curry or butter chicken. It is all in the sauce.
Keep a supply of tinned fruit - in its own natural juices, not syrup - in your cupboard.
Keep healthy snacks in your cupboards so you are not tempted to over indulge too much.
Read the labels on ready made snacks to see how healthy they are. Keep carrot and celery sticks in the fridge, chopped up and ready to eat.
You do not have to cut out all vices. A little bit of what you fancy does you good - just make sure it is a little and not a lot.
When it comes to our diet, most of us want to have our chocolate cake and eat it too.
Now that you have your Figure 8 bodychain you can - not all the time though, just sometimes.
Let your Figure 8 bodychain let you know whether you can have your cake and eat it too. Is your Figure 8 bodychain, comfortable, loose or tight? Where do you want your Figure 8 bodychain to be?
Your Figure 8 bodychain has the answer for you, just one link at a time.
If you want to know more about healthy eating, go to the Ministry of Health’s (the healthy eating/healthy action section). Also check out feeding our futures.