Guest post by Stephen Kelly
Do you eat too many sweets or other sugary snacks? You are probably not alone. With a more sedentary lifestyle at home for many people, together with an on-the-go and not stop work schedule, it is little wonder there is an obesity problem. Further, eating sugary foods isn’t just a problem for people’s weight. It is a recipe for tooth loss.
Reducing Weight
What then is the best way to reduce weight? You have probably tried all the fads going, and still not managed to control your weight. But have you ever thought that a sweet tooth is easily satisfied by eating other things? Not just that, yo-yo dieting isn’t the best way to reduce your weight. A combination of a balanced diet and a regular exercise regime is the key.
Unfortunately, with an unbalanced work-play lifestyle, this is often difficult. If you are really anxious about losing weight, and more importantly keeping it under control, then a long term plan needs to be worked out. Too many fad diets are short term methods, so no wonder you have difficulty maintaining a proper weight.
Long Term Plan
Dieticians will often recommend keeping a food diary. While for many people this could prove a major hurdle, keeping one ensures that you are focused. The diary should include all the foods you eat during the day making particular note of the high fat and high sugar products you intake.
When buying food, notice where sugar (in all its forms) is in the list of ingredients; the nearer to the beginning of the list the higher the amount. All products should also have a percentage figure, which is perhaps a better measure. Please note that Diabetics should look for foods which say 5% or less for both sugar and fat. Unfortunately, most processed foods are higher than this, but there are a growing number which are low.
Exercise
Are you able to walk rather than drive? Walking for just half an hour a day can have a tremendous effect on your fitness level, not to mention reducing weight. Better still is to take part in a physical activity that gets your heart racing. One of the best is all forms of dancing, but there are many other sports that increase aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
Replacing Sugary Foods
If you are serious about losing weight, not to mention improve your dental health, then you need to look at replacing sugary snacks which are not only better for you but also satisfy your sweet tooth. It might be very hard for you to do this at first, but it is paramount that you cut out sugary drinks such as lemonade and coca cola. You can replace these with no sugar versions but care should be taken since the sugar itself is generally replaced by sweeteners, many of which may not be healthy alternatives. You may also be allergic.
Fresh and dried fruit are much better alternatives to sugary snacks. Canned fruit is also useful but make sure you buy ‘in own juice’ varieties and not ‘in syrup’. As an aside, while Diabetics should ensure they eat a balanced diet, eating too much fruit can be a problem.
Eating your 5 a day is important to lose fat, but small amounts of fruit spaced apart during the day, together with as much ‘greens’ as can eat is much better. Losing weight for many people is difficult, but by keeping to your plan and monitoring behaviour you will see the weight fall off. It will also improve your oral health at the same time.