Nutritionist Julie Spegiht offers advice on how to use lockdown to plan a healthy you.
Castleford nutritionist consultant and trainer, Julie Spegiht hopes we can all kick off the new year as we hoped despite another lockdown.
If you had intentions to get fit and eat better in 2021, don’t write off the year just yet.
And why wait? Here’s Julie’s advice that will hopefully help you make healthy choices, and convince you not to lie on the lounge binge junk food and Netflix.
Crash diets don’t work, here’s why…
At this time of year many people embark on a ‘fad diet’. This can often lead to a roller coaster of going from one diet to another, creating a feeling of misery, hunger and tiredness.
These diets are about what you can’t eat, which can lead to negative thoughts. A recent study that followed a group of individuals over a two-year period found that 83% of participants gained back more weight than they’d initially lost.
So why don’t they work?
In evolutionary terms, the human body is designed to maintain your weight and that is one of its main focuses. Crash diets do not work long term, FACT!!
Crash diets are not sustainable and are often too low in calories.
This type of diet is often restricted to food choices and can become boring.
Dieting can cause elevated levels of cortisol which can promote weight gain.
They sometimes cut out entire food groups, which is not healthy and can lead to nutritional deficiencies and long-term health issues.
Body metabolism slows down to adjust to the restricted calories. Rather than going into fat burning mode, the body can enter fat storage mode.
Dieting can make you ‘food obsessed’, with food seen as a reward.
Will power alone often is insufficient to keep you on track.
It is important to realise that losing weight will also not necessarily make you ‘healthier’. Dieting can be stressful and doesn’t teach you to eat healthily.
In order to achieve and maintain health for the long term, you need to adopt lifelong healthy habits; thinking about what you can have, turning eating into a positive experience.
Here are my top five tips for long term healthy eating and avoiding crash diets:
Plan ahead
Making the decision what to eat when you’re hungry and tired can be where it all goes wrong.
Eat breakfast and never skip meals
To help keep hunger at bay and balanced blood sugar levels, ensure food consistency. Research shows that people who eat breakfast tend to have a more balanced diet overall.
So, start your day with a healthy breakfast which includes protein e.g. eggs or porridge with nuts and seeds will help you avoid you becoming overly hungry, avoiding snacking before lunchtime.
Portion control
Take a look at your portion sizes as it can be possible to eat too much of a good thing. A good guide is to divide your plate into four quarters.
Fill your plate with a quarter protein and carbohydrates (potato, pasta, rice), with the final half featuring vegetables, salad or fruit.
Exercise
Regular exercise will keep your metabolism high and is key for weight loss. It helps to improve glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity (which can lead to diabetes), burns calories and reduces abdominal fat.
Prioritise your sleep
Sleep is critical in weight management, as it controls the hormones that regulate metabolism and appetite.
Finally, getting the right support and having the right mindset is key to maintain a healthy weight to help you reach your long-term goals for health and happiness.
For long term success, it is important to adopt a healthy lifestyle rather than being on a diet, so that you feel good from the inside out.
Julie hopes this is an ideal opportunity for you to receive her expert support to beat those unhealthy eating habits once and for all.
She has supported many clients to successfully eat and live well. She offers support that would help to have a positive outlook during lockdown.
Julie Speight is a qualified and registered nutritionist with a wealth of experience in the food industry, and provides tailored nutritional consultancy services to meet your specific requirements.
Contact Julie on 07853313941, email julie.fabfoodies@gmail.com or visit her website www.fabfoodandnutrition.co.uk.
