In the last article, “Your Weight Loss journey”, we discussed why losing weight is so difficult. It needs determination, motivation and perseverance. But there’s another important reason why weight-loss is so challenging.
When we’re overweight, the body decides that it wants to maintain this weight no matter how unhealthy it is. That’s because it believes that it’s stocking up fat during a feasting period so that the body can survive during the famine, which may be just around the corner. Of course, this is extremely useful when we’re living in a more primitive environment, but not at all helpful in our modern day society. So, when you’re trying to lose weight, the brain will tell you to eat even when you’re trying not to. This means that trying to take those kilos off means going against your body’s physiology. That’s what makes losing weight difficult.
… Yet nothing is impossible!
So we need to challenge our body’s physiology with something equally as powerful. And that is the power of habits. In fact, the most effective and sustainable way to lose weight is to change our eating habits. But trying to change several habits at the same time is too difficult for most of us. So the best thing is to just pick one or two habits to begin with. We can place all our focus on those new habits. In my book, So Fat Lah! 30 Perfect Ways to a Slimmer You, you’ll find many new healthy eating habits. You can then pick and choose what works for you.
One particularly strong habit, which I diligently follow is what I eat for breakfast. Some of us have cereal, toast, noodles, nasi lemak, roti chanai or eggs for breakfast. How about eating fruits instead? This has been my breakfast for many years. Fruits are one of the healthiest foods you can ever have. Fruits are filled with vitamins, minerals and fibre.
All this is wonderful for your body. Some people worry that fruits are filled with sugar. But there’s really no danger in the sugar in fruits because, when you eat fruits, the fibre in them slows down the digestion of sugar so that it does not enter the blood stream quickly. This is in contrast to fruit juices or eating anything which contains processed sugar. The best fruits to eat are local fruits. That’s because they haven’t had too far to travel and so will retain their wholesome nutritious goodness.
They’re more delicious too!
Fruits are also digested quickly and so it’s best to eat them before you eat anything else. That’s why fruits should ideally be eaten for breakfast. Some people worry that fruits won’t fill them up enough. If after having fruits for breakfast and yet you still feel hungry then eat a banana or two. This will help fill you up. Having fruits for breakfast can be more expensive but it can save you from all those expensive pharmaceutical and medical bills in the future.
If you find eating fruits for breakfast every day too boring, in The So Fat Lah! Cookbook, you’ll find some creative fruit recipes. So now imagine that you’re eating fruits, and only fruits, for breakfast every day. Instantly, if you eat three meals a day, a third of your meals have become healthy. Isn’t that wonderful?
Another habit that can make a huge difference in our lives is to cut out all sugary drinks from our lives. This definitely means getting rid of our national beverage, the dreaded teh tarik that’s made with condensed milk and filled with sugar. It also means dropping all soft drinks, juices, frappes, energy drinks, 3-in-1 beverages, bubble teas and anything else that has sugar in it. Sugar is so bad for us. It’s Enemy Number One. If sugar was introduced as a new ingredient in food today, governments would promptly ban it. That’s because it’s effect on the body is so negative that you could even call the substance a health hazard!
So what’s the alternative?
The best thirst-quenching, natural and wholesome drink you can ever have is that wonderful substance called water! Plain old sky juice is so good for us and, what’s more, it’s free. You can drink as much of it as you like and as often as you like. You don’t even have to buy the bottled stuff as studies have shown that tap water is just as good as expensive bottled water. Nowadays, it doesn’t even have to be boiled.
How about sugar-free soft drinks instead? The trouble with these drinks is that chemicals are added for sweetness. We don’t know what the long terms effects of such chemicals in our bodies. It’s possible that these artificial sweeteners may actually disrupt our metabolic system and cause weight gain. So it’s best to avoid sugar-free drinks!
If you’d like to take the kilos off, one new habit is to avoid eating anything with processed sugar added. Yes, this means biscuits, cakes, ice-cream, doughnuts, sweets, chocolates and a whole assortment of pretty-looking snacks. Processed sugar, whether in confectionary or drinks, once consumed will spike the blood sugar in your blood circulatory system. If this sugar, which is energy, is not used up in physical activities it will then turn to fat. So sugar is one very dangerous substance.
What’s more, sugar addictive. If you eat or drink sugary products today, it’s more than likely you’ll have a craving for it tomorrow. A lot of weight-gain is caused by this chemical, even though it’s a naturally produced substance. So beware!
In the next article in this series I’ll be covering even more weight loss habits. I look forward to catching up with you then.
By Tunku Halim
