arlenesway.com.au Loose weight with Arlene Normand

We are addicted to junk food because it is easy to reach for when that energy slump strikes.  The trouble is it is high in sugar, fat and kilojoules, and low in fibre.  Remember “Quick on the lips, straight to the hips”. Even if you’re slim now, junk food will eventually catch up with you and you’ll be battling the bulge.  By then your heart and general health may also have paid a hefty price.
Solution: Excellent junk food replacements include fruit salad, low fat milkshakes and smoothies, wholegrain crackers with low fat cheese and low fat ice cream/frozen yoghurt.

Crash diets offer quick weight loss, but often leave you feeling hungry and tired. The weight lost is usually water and lean muscle.  This can reduce your metabolic rate so the food you eat is burnt less efficiently.  The problem with this approach is that it doesn’t teach you healthy eating habits and over a long time could leave you deficient in essential nutrients.
Solution: For permanent weight loss, follow a healthy food regime that focuses on changing your eating habits for life. Choose an eating plan that focuses on the long-term outcome. Find one that is scientifically proven and aimed at improving your lifestyle and health forever.

Too many people choose unrealistic ways to lose weight and they make drastic changes to achieve quick fix fat loss.  They are setting themselves up for starvation and failure. These diets are hard to stick to and can result in low energy and moods, and cravings.
Solution: Understanding the role of food and making healthy choices is the key to success. Find a realistic diet that lets you have foods you enjoy so you can stick to it.  Make sure it has a maintenance program so that you do not go off the rails when you do reach your goal weight.

People often binge-eat to ease emotional pain, but the result is usually more pain and guilt.  You need to ask yourself if you are really hungry or if you are eating for other reasons.
Solution: Eat balanced meals combining less processed carbohydrates with lean proteins.  Good meal choices include spaghetti bolognaise (make the bolognaise portion greater than the pasta, or serve the bolognaise on a jacket potato) with a garden salad or a salad of sweet potato, lean chicken, or tuna and vegetables.  Most importantly, find another way to deal with emotional crises.  Try talking to a friend, exercise, meditation or counselling.

If you are craving something sweet or salty, chances are you could be experiencing low blood sugar.  You are more likely to crave sweet and salty foods if you are not having balanced meals regularly.
Solution: Feed your body regular low fat, unprocessed carbohydrates and balanced meals to stabilise your blood sugar and avoid cravings.  Dehydration can also cause cravings, so drink up.

Stress can cause us to eat when we are not hungry. You forget to eat meals, and then you are suddenly hanging out for chocolate.
Solution: Eat regular, balanced meals to get you through the stressful times.  Also focus on other ways to relieve stress by exercising, having a bath, or a cup of tea.

There is nothing wrong with snacking. In fact people have longer-lasting energy when they eat six small meals a day instead of eating three big ones.  However, choose your snacks carefully.
Go for snacks that sustain you such as low-fat yoghurt, wholegrain toast with low fat cheese or a piece of fruit with a small handful of nuts.

Often people crave carbs because they don’t eat balanced meals or because they eat too many processed carbohydrates which are not filling.  Once people get on the roller coaster of their glucose and energy levels going up and down, they feel like they need to keep topping up and they crave carbohydrates and sugar all the time.
Solution: Foods which are less processed such as whole grain breads, pasta and legumes will help curb carb addiction.

If you skip meals you are more likely to over-consume food – and at the end of the day when you are not doing anything to burn it off.  Skipping meals may help you lose fluid, but you are also losing lean muscle. Your metabolism will slow down and once you return to regular eating you will start to put on weight fast.
Solution:  Try to have unprocessed carbohydrates with lean protein food, and eat meals that are low in sugar and fat.

Wine and chips is not a balanced meal. The sugar and the alcohol in the wine together is very high in energy and can shoot your blood sugar levels sky-high, while chips are very high in saturated fats. In the long term you will put on weight, your cholesterol will be high and your heart health will be in bad shape. Your liver function will also suffer, with fatty liver a likely result.
Solution: Replace the chips with a small amount of unsalted nuts and then grab some healthy takeaway on the way home. You could socialise with friends at home, instead. You can still have a glass or two of wine, but accompany it with a healthy meal.