If you expect to lose weight on a weight-loss diet of any kind, then it isn’t just the type of food you eat, it is the quantity as well that needs to be brought firmly under control. If this isn’t done properly, you can still be gaining weight constantly while eating almost any diet plan, even with the most sensible and nutritionally-balanced foods.
It is all a matter of consuming less fuel/energy from food and drink than we use up (burn) as expended energy. And fat or overweight people don’t have habits which allow them to burn much energy. We feel too unmotivated or lethargic most of the time. Or we tell ourselves we have more pressing things that need to be done, such as writing another article for this website. And besides, it is cold and raining outside.
It is far too easy to make excuses, isn’t it?
Portion control is already done for you when you eat at a restaurant (not a fast-food joint), or in a hotel or a workplace canteen or if you are in a hospital. And when you were growing up, if your parents weren’t fatties, overeaters or food addicts themselves, they probably decided how much to put on your plate. But when we cook for or buy our own food, especially if there’s nobody watching over our shoulder, then we tend to serve ourselves more food than we actually need. Maybe it just tasted so good we had to go back for second-helpings…
So a strict weight-loss diet or food plan needs to have measured amounts of the right kinds of food. And don’t forget that any drink apart from water usually contains some calories or chemicals that can affect you adversely. Alcoholic drinks have calories too. Caffeinated drinks make us more hungry, so we eat more. Sugared drinks are full of calories as well, and sweet-tasting (but “no sugar” or lite or “diet”) sodas or soft drinks contain sweeteners that are either chemically-altered sugar or else they are just bad for you and even harmful to your health.
So, decaffeinated tea or coffee (black, with no milk or creamer), or herbal teas are the only beverages you should be drinking, whether that’s before meals, after meals or during meals. And please try to drink your liquids at room temperature, not chilled, because very cold temperatures (or even very hot ones, for that matter) are not good for your digestion or for your stomach. But clean drinking water is your absolute best-possible drink. It is what your body needs, and any additives are bad for any weight-loss diet or weight-control plan.
Food-measuring tools
To measure your food portions accurately, you need a set of kitchen scales and a set of measuring cups. The cups will be used for measuring portions of grains, such as cooked brown rice or potato, or chopped and uncooked salads. The scales are used for weighing your portions of cooked meat or fish before serving.
Another great way of measuring food can also be used to store the food until you are ready to eat it. These are the 1 cup and two-cup size clear plastic microwave-safe resealable food containers you can find at your local supermarket. To all intents and purposes, a one-cup container holds 250 ml in volume, while a two-cup container measures 500 ml (milli-liters). I recently discovered that the food containers available from K-Mart here in Australia are considerably cheaper than the ones from Woolworths or Coles… Like a quarter of the price!
I find it especially effective in my own weight loss diet or food plan to cook up a batch of meals that then go straight into the refrigerator.
For brekky (that’s breakfast to you non-Aussies), I can have one piece of fresh fruit, one portion of grain cereal, and one portion of protein. The fruit can be one medium apple or orange, or a cupful of fruit salad. The cereal can be any cereal except wheat, but it must contain no added sugar. I like to cook porridge or oatmeal, and store it in the fridge in a 500 ml (1-cup) container, so it is ready to heat in the microwave oven and serve. I find 1 minute 20 seconds works fine for me. Your protein portion can be two medium-sized eggs (steamed, boiled or poached). Occasionally I will do an omelette or scramble the eggs, but in a non-stick pan with just a tiny spray of oil. If you don’t want eggs, you can substitute one portion of meat, fish or dairy, and vegetarians can make do with tofu or tempura. You could also have a cupful of unsweetened cooked beans, lentils or chickpeas. (All the varieties of Baked Beans I have seen are full of sugar, so don’t touch them.)
For lunch, I fill 2-cup containers (500 ml) with chopped salad vegetables, including tomatoes. I try to make the mix as colourful and tasty-looking as possible, but I leave the protein and dressing out of the container. I can take the container with me to work or eat at home. Then, when it is mealtime, I dribble a small amount of balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil on the salad and add my protein. This can be a small can of tuna or chopped chicken. A small can of sardines in brine is also 100 percent okay to eat. Other proteins could be a cup of plain unsweetened yoghurt or half a cup of ricotta cheese or cottage cheese.
For dinnerI am allowed one cupful of cooked brown rice or other grain food. A medium sized potato, cooked in its jacket, is also okay as my daily carbohydrate portion. You can squash it into the one-cup measure to be 100 percent sure the amount is strictly right. Then I can have one cupful of salad, plus one cup of cooked vegetables, such as carrots, cabbage or broccoli. (You may substitute salad for cooked veggies, but not the other way around. So a two-cup salad with no cooked veggies is perfectly okay.) Add a single serving of protein, such as a couple of boiled or poached eggs, and you are all set to go.
Bon appetit, and here’s a toast to your successful new eating plan.
