from fat to thin

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Your weight loss plan


A portion of cheese
We all know by now that a diet high in fat and sugar leads to obesity and that obesity can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.  Don’t you just hate those people that this doesn’t seem to apply to; to me it all seems a little unfair that one person can seemingly eat what they want and yet they stay slim and yet another person seem to barely look at a piece of chocolate and puts on a pound or two. I'm one of the latter. 

Unfortunately for most of us the real truth of the matter is, we lie. Oh yes we do. We lie to ourselves about how much we eat and what we eat and the problem with this is that eventually it all catches up with us and lands squarely on our butts and hips. Now let me just say this one thing, being too skinny is not good either unless you are naturally skinny, then I hate you, yes I do, I’m sorry. 

However for the rest of us here is a little advice from British Heart Foundation.

Your weight loss plan – BHF

Food groups                       1,500 cals             1,800 cals - per day
Fruit and vegetables             7                              8
Bread, rice, pasta                            
Potatoes, etc                         7                              8
Milk and dairy                      2                              2
Meat, fish, eggs,                   2                              3             
Beans, etc
Fats and oil                           3                              3
High fat/sugar                   100kcal                 200kcal

To me that seem like a lot of food to be eating in one day and you can still have a treat. Now that’s a perfect diet, which of cause and I haven’t yet achieved. With all the food scares in the news on and off over recent years we have all become confused about what is good and what is not, or is that just me? I think my advice to myself is this; if its natural food, such as an apple or even bread, eat it but if it’s a combination of ingredients, such as chocolate or cake, think about it first. I may still eat it but at least I’m not lying about the fact that I’m doing so, at least to myself.

A little word on portion size, our portion sizes are too big, we eat too much, even our dinner plates have got bigger and our breakfast bowls so we don’t even see the problem in front of us. So here is some advice from BHF: 

Fruit and vegetables: One portion is 3 heaped tablespoons of cooked vegetables, 1 small salad bowl, whole fruit – apple, pear, etc, 2 medium fruits, handful small fruit, slice of a fruit.

Carbohydrates: (no it’s not an evil word) 3 tbsp breakfast cereal, 1 weetabix, 1 slice bread, half a bread roll, 1 mini pitta bread, 3 crackers, 2 egg sized potatoes, 3 tbsp cooked pasta, 2 heaped tbsp cooked rice.

Milk and diary: 200mls milk, 150g yoghurt, 30g cheese.

Protein:  90g cooked lean meat, 150g fish, 3 fish fingers, 2 eggs, 200g baked beans, 4 tbsp cooked beans, 2 level tbsp nuts, peanut butter, 120g tofu, quorn or soya.

Okay are you bored now? No! Well I am. You can find all this information and more on the British Heart Foundation website - http://www.bhf.org.uk. You can also download and print out this information so you can keep it to hand. I think the website is a little confusing but I found what I was looking for eventually so the link will hopefully take you to the website from there it’s all under Heart and Health.

2 comments:

  1. wow yes confusing but soo true and helpful as always well i think i ate 5 veg in one with my nacon and sausage stew put in an oven dish topped with mashed potatoes and cheese and gravy nom nom love emily

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