Simple
things are the hardest to follow. Given the hectic times we live in,
managing even a simple three-course-meal diet becomes a task, banished
to our ‘To-(never)-do-list’.
Here are the five basic nutrition mistakes we commit and tips on how to stay in line with our health goals.
NOT EATING ENOUGH
Calculating your weight comes down to a simple logic:
(calories in) minus (calories out). Not eating enough can seriously
mess up your body’s ability to control your appetite. When people
restrict their recommended calorie intake, the body’s metabolism slows
down and it goes into starvation mode. This affects our body’s ability
to conserve energy. Less calorie intake also shrinks the lining of our
intestinal tract hindering our body’s ability to digest food properly.
The basic foundation of sustainable fat-loss is building muscle, so
restricting calories - intentionally or otherwise - can have side
effects. It can sabotage your weight-loss programme even before it
starts.
The Fix: It
might seem like too much effort, but using a calorie counter helps in
sustaining your weight-loss/weight gain goals more effectively. Although
no calorie counter can provide you with the exact calories associated
with foods, it does a pretty good job to help you track your calorie
intake. Make sure to derive 30 per cent of your calories from fats, 40
per cent from carbs and 30 per cent from protein. According to a
research by Mayo Clinic,
a protein diet may help in weight-loss and boost muscle growth because
protein makes you feel fuller. But prolonged protein diet is also not
advisable since it can lead to nutritional deficiencies, especially if
you restrict carbs that provide fiber. Focus more on weights over
cardiovascular exercises because when you’re building more muscle you’re
also burning more weight.
DITCHING FAT
Consuming
fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat. But obviously, if you chow down
boiled chicken breast and quinoa but spend all day glued to your chair,
your collar will start feeling tighter. Belt down two Maharaja Chicken
Macs with extra cheese but do 50-100 push-ups, your sleeves not your
collar will start pinching. We’re not suggesting you have a burger, but
you get the point. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.
The Fix: Ditching it completely isn’t advisable, according to experts at the Harvard Medical School.
Fats help us absorb vital minerals and vitamins. It’s also important
for inflammation, blood clotting and muscle movement. However, not all
fats are created equal. For instance, good fats include monounsaturated
and polyunsaturated fats derived from sources like seeds, nuts, fish and
vegetables. Bad ones are trans-fats, usually found in commercial
cookies to french fries and burgers. In short, without fat your body
can’t build the hormones that tell your body to convert protein into
muscle. So, up 30 per cent of fat intake (of the noble kind) and hit the
gym hard for some real gains.
SPEED EATING
The
need for speed doesn’t work here. Eating is a psychological process.
What, when, where and how we eat affects how we feel. For instance,
almost all research point towards a more moderate speed of eating to
derive the most satisfaction. The point is to eat slowly and consciously
so that we don’t keep eating even when we’re full. Here’s a case in
point: In an experiment conducted by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism,
17 healthy men ate 300ml ice cream (675 kcal) in two different
sessions. They either took 5 minutes to scoff it down or took almost 30
minutes to savour it. The study found that the levels of fullness
causing hormones (PYY and GLP-1) that signal the brain to halt eating,
were significantly higher among the 30-minute men.
The
study's author Alexander Kokkinos notes: “The notion that eating
quickly may lead to weight gain used to be considered an old wives’
tale. Anecdotal evidence does suggest that faster rates of eating may
not induce satiety as thoroughly as a moderate rate, thus leading to
overconsumption.”
The Fix: Slow
down and enjoy your meal, says Kokkinos. Eating slowly favours satiety.
The study concludes by saying that “There was a trend for higher
fullness immediately after the end of the 30-min meal compared with
immediately after the 5-min meal.”
EATING BIG, EATING LATE
It’s
a story we’re all too familiar with: late morning breakfast, rushed
lunch meetings and late night bingeing means we’re eating most calories
later in the day. Piling more on your plate later in the day also means
there’s a bellyfull of food you’re not burning off. A study published by
Northwestern University
in Chicago suggests that people who eat after 8pm are more prone to
weight gain. The study showed that aside from calories consumed
throughout the day, the timing was equally important. It concluded that
people who ate after 8pm were more likely to have a higher Body Mass
Index (BMI) even after controlling the timing and duration of sleep.
The Fix: Eat
most of your calories earlier in the day because front-loading your
calorie intake makes more energy available throughout the day and
adequate time for our body to process it. It could also be your answer
to why you’re still not losing weight.
Nutrition
expert Neelanjana Singh agrees. “When you wake up your metabolism is
fastest and slows down during the day. It’s always good to keep in sync
with your metabolism. If you eat big and late, you will store
carbohydrates and fats, which will be difficult to burn at night,” says
Singh, who is a nutritional therapist at Heinz Nutrilife Clinic, New
Delhi.
CUTTING CARBS, COMPLETELY
No
doubt you should be cutting down on carbs, especially if they’re
triple-fried and refined. But banishing them out for good will deprive
your body of much-needed pre-and-post workout fuel.
The Fix: Spread your carbohydrate intake
throughout the day and avoid easily digestible ones like french fries or
sugary food, says Singh. “40-45 per cent of your daily nutrients should
come from complex carbs which are fibrous in nature such as millets,
ragi, jowar, etc. Ideally, take your carbs early in the day and opt for
wholegrains. And as a rule of thumb, reduce your intake of carbs that
are white - be it breads, pasta, rice, cookies or crackers. This can
also prevent a lot of chronic diseases and metabolic problems.
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