Home > Healthy Eating > Weight Loss

Healthy Eating - Weight loss, energy and better moods - how to shop and eat out

By Charlotte Watts Dip.ION BANT – Nutritional Therapist – www.totalbeing.com and www.healthyconvenience.com

Many nutritional factors connect the way our bodies regulate our weight, energy levels and good mental health, but we thought it might be time to consolidate what this actually means to you in terms of eating out and shopping – in other words, living in the real world!

Firstly, it is important to remember that we are all highly individual and as there are many factors involved in weight gain, it is important to ascertain our own particular reasons why with a qualified nutritionist. Poor ability to Balance Blood Sugar levels is usually always a factor in weight gain though and you can use the Glycaemic Index to help you do this. However, foods in shops and restaurants do not guide you in which foods are good or bad for good blood sugar balance and we will help you to make better choices here.

A quick recap on sugar

We use sugar as fuel and need to maintain this level to ensure constant energy levels, brain function, mood and weight. The level is regulated by hormones and controls your appetite to ensure that your body receives ample fuel. After eating, your body needs to make sure that this energy is used most efficiently to avoid it being stored as fat. Eating the right foods in the first place may avoid the need to have ‘quick fixes' of the wrong foods. Ideally, we should have constant and sustained energy release to avoid “highs and lows”. If levels of blood glucose are too high, the body releases the hormone insulin to take excess glucose from the bloodstream. If it is not used for energy, this excess glucose is stored as fat.

It is sugar, not fat that is the major cause of weight gain. Our bodies can deal with “good fats” as our cell membranes are made up of them, but we only use sugar for fuel. Sugar is dangerous in the bloodstream, so it is safer for the body to convert it into fat.

The more frequently blood sugar is raised, the more insulin is produced and the more fat is stored. This can lead to insulin resistance where sugar cannot get into the cells and the body signals that more is needed, leading to even higher blood levels and a tendency to store fat and difficulty losing it. If blood glucose is kept stable, the body produces little insulin and, when energy levels are low releases an opposing hormone called glucagon, which helps burn fat and reduce weight gain. Controlling blood sugar, insulin and glucagon is therefore vital to help manage weight.

Top Ten Tips for Balancing Blood Sugar – Shopping & Eating Out

1) Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper

· This old saying is true for good blood sugar levels and weight management as it ensures that you will use up the fuel source you eat as fuel and not store it overnight as fuel.

· Try to make lunch your main meal of the day and eat no later than 7pm in the evening; even aiming for this can make a big difference and if you eat enough at lunchtime it will be easier, so do not save yourself for that big meal, not eating puts the body into starvation mode.

· You don't need too many starchy carbohydrates, especially in the evening.

· Potatoes, pasta, rice, bread and noodles are all starchy carbohydrates. These can be a good source of energy, but can also provide more of the glucose energy source than we may need. This is particularly true in the evening, when it is unlikely after your evening meal that you will burn off this energy. It will of course be laid down as fat if not used. So save your starchy carbs for lunch and have more vegetables instead in the evening. If eating out ask for more vegetables instead of potatoes and avoid the bread.

2) Eat small, frequent meals preferably containing some protein, such as eggs, beans, lean, white meat, fish, tofu, nuts and seeds.

· Protein should be combined with complex carbohydrates at each meal - even snacks. A snack may consist of 1 apple (carb) and say 6 almonds (protein).

· Proteins can increase your metabolic rate by helping to mobilise fat from stored tissues and help to balance the release of insulin.

· Protein foods to be encouraged include lean poultry, nuts / seeds (in small amounts), tofu, lean meat, grains and pulses

· Complex carbohydrates that also offer good protein include tofu, lentils, sesame seeds, beans, brown rice, whole grains, skinless turkey or chicken breast and white fish (no shellfish).

· Always eat breakfast preferably containing some protein – eggs, no sugar beans, add raw nuts and seeds to cereals or if really busy choose a healthy snack bar as discussed.

· Make your own simple meals; do not rely on ready-meals. Some protein and loads of vegetables with lemon juice and olive oil is simple, tasty and healthy. You can add a small portion of starchy carbs mentioned above at lunchtime.

3) Cut down on refined carbohydrates:

· Avoid “white” versions of foods such as bread, pasta, rice and cereals. These have had the outer shell of the grain removed by processing and are low in fibre that helps to balance blood sugar and lose weight.

· Avoid cakes, biscuits, pastries and confectionary. If you need a treat, try a flapjack or fruit for the sweetness.

· When eating out, have a starter instead of a pudding or have a fruit salad or accept the fact that you may be full!

· Processed bars that claim to be low-fat and low calorie tend to be just full of sugar instead and a real marketing con. Look in the healthy section of the supermarket for bars that contain whole nuts and seeds and help balance blood sugar and provide sustained energy.

· Avoid overly processed cereals such as commercial brands. If a cereal says “fortified with vitamins”, it has had them previously removed and has had to put them back by law. The more a food is processed, the more nutrients are removed and the quicker it will release its sugars into your bloodstream. Look for “oat crunchy” types, try porridge and look at the sugar content of products.

· Eat whole, unrefined foods containing slow-releasing carbohydrates such as whole grains, beans and plenty of vegetables.

· Choose products that say “wholegrain” or “brown”.

4) If a label has an enormous amount of ingredients, many of which you do not even recognise as a food, do not buy it as it will be over processed and lacking in nutrients that you need to maintain good blood sugar balance

· This can be easier in restaurants than in supermarkets! Most menus have a fish option with vegetables or salad. Choose new potatoes rather than chips or a high GI baked potato and go for the simplest choice.

· Look at the vegetarian option, which can often be healthier and contain more vegetables and beans or pulses (but is also often just pasta or potatoes and little protein).

5) Avoid sugar and foods containing sugar - even honey

· Sugar is sugar by any other name! Manufacturers have many ways of fooling us about the sugar content of foods. See the list of hidden sugars below.

· Honey seems like a good substitute for sugar and is certainly has a lower GI score, but it still quickly breaks down into glucose and if you don't use this up for energy, you will store it as fat, so use sparingly.

· Remember that a sweet tooth is conditioned and you can break the habit. Reduce sugar in tea and in foods slowly and you will soon wean yourself off and even then find some foods too sweet!

· Fizzy drinks and drinks marketed to appear healthy often have a big sugar content. It is better to buy water or very natural smoothies when out or dilute fresh juice at home.

· Dilute any fruit juice at least 50% with bottled/filtered water and keep your intake of dried and citrus fruits to a minimum. Apple juice is the best choice.

6) Do not replace sweet foods with “diet” versions

· You need to wean yourself off your sweet tooth. Sweeteners keep this alive and are also said to raise the blood sugar levels as much as sugar itself.

· Diet versions of foods contain many chemicals that upset hormone levels in the body. Eat naturally.

7) Avoid “low-fat” products – adopt a healthy attitude to fats

· These are generally over processed and replace the fat with sugar or sweeteners. They also give the idea that these foods are healthy to eat and that fat is all bad.

· We need essential fats, the omega 3 and 6 oils found in nuts, seeds, grains and oily fish. Also, the monounsaturated fats in avocadoes and olive oil help to regulate fats in the body.

· Fats and oils release their energy slowly and help to balance blood sugar. Almonds are the best snack to carry around to help stave off sugar cravings because of their excellent omega 6 oil and fibre content. They also contain lots of the nutrients that help manage weight levels.

· It is high levels of saturated fats as in red meat and dairy products that aid to weight gain, especially if these are combined with refined carbohydrates as in crisps, cakes and pastries.

· Hydrogenated fats are highly processed and act like saturated fats in the body. Check labels to avoid them.

8) Rehydrate to help your liver balance blood sugar levels

· Reduce alcohol and drink it with food, preferably some protein - ultimately, you should aim to consume no more than three small alcoholic drinks per week.

· Alcohol is a source of great amounts of sugar in an instantaneous hit. Like sugar, alcohol can be rapidly turned to fat by insulin - the hormone responsible for blood sugar control.

9) Avoid coffee and tea including decaffeinated versions, which still contain other stimulants as they raise blood sugar levels.

· Choose peppermint or lemon and ginger tea instead; after meals they can help digest and help the absorption of nutrients and the metabolism.

· Wean yourself off slowly and try green tea as a replacement as it contains a little bit of caffeine, but does not overstimulate.

· Tea and coffee also dehydrate, so replacing with water and herbal or fruit teas can help you to lose weight as the body functions much more efficiently when fully hydrated. Aim for 2 litres of non-sugary or caffeinated liquids a day. Not much room for unhealthy drinks left!

10) Do all you can to manage and avoid continuously high stress levels

· Stress causes the ‘fight or flight' mechanism where the hormone adrenaline causes a flood of sugar into the system, to ready us for physical exertion that we may not use.

Some of the Nutrients Needed for Blood Sugar Balance and Weight Loss (these can be discussed for individual needs with our Nutritionists)

B vitamins

• Found in wholegrains, vegetables, pulses, nuts, seeds, fish, meat and eggs.
• Needed for an efficient metabolism and burning of fuel from the food that we eat.
• Without them we can find it difficult to avoid the “highs and lows” of blood sugar imbalances, cope with stress and avoid cravings.

Chromium

• A mineral found in wholegrains, meat, mushrooms, beetroot, black pepper.
• Needed for Glucose Tolerance Factor, which helps insulin get glucose into body cells.
• Without chromium we can crave more sugar, need food more often and get moody and irritable as the food we eat doesn't get used for fuel efficiently.

Zinc

• Found in eggs, fish, peas, seeds, nuts, beans and wholegrains.
• Needed for correct insulin production that brings down blood sugar levels if too high.
• Without zinc we can find it very difficult to regulate any of our hormone balances and regulate weight.

Total Being Opinion

As we have said before (and you must be getting the message by now!), blood sugar balance is such an enormously crucial part of our lives because modern society, eating, the abundance of food and attitudes to food are all working against it. The ensuing highs and lows are the most common underlying cause and effect of stresses which can send us straight back to needing 'comfort', and what do many of us associate comfort with? You guessed it; those very foods, drinks and habits that set us right back on the rollercoaster of poor blood sugar balance.

Our aim here is to provide you with the tools that help you take more control over your fluctuating and reactive hormones. Being able to resist those things that you may not really want or know you will feel guilty about after, will definitely help your feelings of control and self-esteem. Believe it or not, better blood sugar balance means that you may actually forget that you ever craved those cakes, sweets or colas!

See www.totalbeing.com for a Nutritional Assessment to choose the right diet and supplements to help you get in control of your weight and health!

See www.healthyconvenience.com for help remembering how to get healthy – for posters, shopping guides and recipes.

Bibliography

1. Clayton, P. Health Defence , Accelerated Learning Systems, 2001.
2. Lancet , March 2001, 357(9257): 657-663
3. Adapted from the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2000 http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/tips/quick_tips.htm "
4. Ronald Prior, James Joseph, Guohua Cao, Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts, Boston, Mass.