JUNE Newsletter

Keeping up with healthy eating and your weight goals during winter

Hello everyone J

Even though the weather is becoming cold and very wet, there are many ways to continue staying fit and healthy during the winter months. Winter doesn’t need to mean extra weight around your middle!

So what is the safest and best ways to keep off those extra kilograms?

The basics:

Even if you choose not to count calories, understanding the maths can help guide you to safer weight loss or healthy lifestyle. Generally, experts recommend between 1200 – 1800 calories a day (depending on your size and activity rate).

Losing half a kilogram is the equivalent of eating 3,500 less calories, so if you can cut 500 calories each day for a week, you should lose 0.5kg.

Researchers have found the more tools you use the more likely you’ll be in successfully losing weight or keeping your ideal weight.

• Counting calories
• Increasing daily exercise (aim for 150 minutes a week or more). This may feel daunting in winter, especially if a gym isn’t your idea of fun! So turn your lounge into your own private gym! Do lunges, squats and tummy exercises while watching your favourite program. Do triceps dips and push ups during the commercials, or if you have a stairs, run up and down the stairs during the advertising breaks to get your cardio work out! An exercise bike, treadmill or elliptical trainer can be a great asset too. Use the stairs at work or in shopping centres rather than the escalator or lifts. Get out there and breathe that cool winter air even if it is only for a few minutes. Every single minute of exercise helps and you’ll be amazed how quickly they add up!
• Cutting out sweets & unhealthy snacks. Keep an eye on those sneaky calories in winter drinks (leave off the whipped cream or marshmallow in your hot chocolate, or insist on low fat milk instead of full cream milk when having those winter treats at restaurants).
• Reducing fat intake to less than 30 % of your daily calories. Fat takes very little energy for your body to digest and it has more than twice as many calories per gram compared to proteins and carbohydrates.
• Keep an eye on alcohol calories too! Cocktails, liqueurs and coolers are loaded with sugar, while beer is filled with carbohydrates. Try stick to sipping red wine, dry whites or having your spirits with sugar free mixes (Woolworths has a good selection) or sip water between alcoholic beverages. Remember ladies, a biological fact, our bodies don’t have the same capacity or ability to metabolise alcohol as well as men can!
• Increasing fruit, vegetables and wholegrains.
• Decreasing portion sizes (work on an average size dinner plate being half vegetables or salad, a quarter protein and a quarter carbohydrates or starchy vegetables like potatoes and butternut.) Pile the vegetables on your plate; not only are they nourishing and helpful in keeping flu and colds at bay, they will fill you tummy without adding many calories to your meal.
• Looking at life-style changes (like a sustainable eating plan) rather than quick fixes. Be adventurous in trying new tastes that are healthy while satisfying your taste buds too!
• Keep a food diary as in general most people underestimate the number of calories they eat by 30-50%. Yes, I know it can be a pain however trust me, you will be amazed how much more you eat and drink that you think you do!

And the most important ingredient of all:

• Persistence. With a slower and steady approach you are more likely to develop the long-term healthy habits that will help keep the lost weight off forever!

Think health, think long term positive effects of decreasing your chances of osteoporosis, heart disease and diabetes (to name a few), think increased mental and physical performance from balance eating and exercise AND then just aim for even one thing a day that leads you towards that goal!

Every step in the right direction is exactly that: a step in the right direction!!!

The reality is that slow and steady wins! By focusing on long term life style changes that you can maintain will not only aid you in achieving your health and weight goals but, more importantly, maintaining it.

There are loads more tips on healthy eating, exercise and changing limiting behaviour patterns on my website: www.weight-masters.com

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or queries.

Keep warm and wishing you all a wonderful peace filled June.

Best regards

Lesley Wood

021-4182843

082 3 782 782

www.weight-masters.com