By Judy Davie
For further information about food and nutrition, visit Judy Davie’s website at www.thefoodcoach.com.au
How much weight should I be able to lose in a week? I have my sister’s 50th coming up at the end of June and want to look my best.
Miranda — Scarborough
There are many radical diets where you may lose as much as 1.5-2kg in the first week, but the weight is rarely kept off and the diet never sustained. A well-managed long-term approach would be to aim to lose between half and one kilogram a week. This way you can enjoy a balanced diet with all the nutrients you need for a healthy day to day existence.
By the end of June you could have lost as much as 6kg; while that may not sound like much, if you equate it to 6kg of apples or equivalent weight in blocks of butter or a whole watermelon, it’s a significant loss and something to be very proud of.
After all, it’s better to be proud of accomplishing something achieved over a longer time than to fail at something over a short time and feel like a failure.
Why, when I don’t even like food, am I fat?
Jacqui — Adelaide
This is a common problem with people who eat for convenience rather than pleasure. They don’t take the time to appreciate their food or eat regularly. Missing meals and then eating large volumes of food is a surefire way to slow the metabolism down and prevent complete digestion. Incomplete digestion causes food to be stored as fat and toxins. Another problem is certainly the type of food you eat — many people who don’t enjoy food fill up on quick and easy high sugar and high-GI foods like soft drinks, muffins and biscuits. With these kind of foods, blood sugar levels are raised quickly, giving an immediate energy rush that soon drops, leaving you tired and hungry again. Similarly, high-fat foods like chips and fries, cheese and crackers and takeaway meals are energy dense and cause weight gain.
People who enjoy their food and look forward to mealtimes usually snack less as they don’t want to ruin their appetite and diminish the enjoyment of the meal ahead. They also tend to eat more balanced meals, combining vegetables for fibre and nutrients, carbohydrates for energy and fibre and protein for satiety. A small amount of fat may be used in the cooking but the net result is a meal high in nutrients, moderate in kilojoules and rich in flavour.
My advice is to get into the kitchen and try to find some pleasure in food. Vary the ingredients you use and make sure you eat at least three meals a day without picking in between. Exercising each day will also enhance your appetite.
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