Five Steps, Seven Days: How to Clean Up Your Diet

If you feel like you need a fresh start with your diet, you’re not alone. Whether you’re feeling fatter and sluggish after Christmas, or you’re just having one of those weeks where you just abandon wellness in favour of convenience, it’s time to clean up your diet and take control of your wellbeing! Below, we’ve got a seven-day clean eating challenge that can help you on your journey to a healthier diet but, don’t worry, it’s not as strict as it sounds.

 

‘It’s easy and the payoffs include skyrocketing energy, weight loss, better control over your appetite, and even better looking skin,’ explains registered dietician Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, author of S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches. ‘You don’t have to stick to a strict meal plan—we know that’s not realistic for everyone. Instead, we’ve outlined five simple rules to follow…You’re free to pick and choose your favourite recipes or create your own (as long as you stick to the rules).’ A diet plan where you have the freedom and control? Sounds like a winner to me! Try implementing the following five rules for just seven days, and see what a difference it makes to your diet and overall wellness.

 

1. Eat whole foods only: Rule number one of this challenge means that you need to ditch your blueberry muffin in favour of eating oats and blueberries in their whole forms. Sass instructs, ‘When you eat packaged foods, only buy brands that contain “real food” ingredients—ingredients you easily recognise, can pronounce, and would use to make a “from scratch” version in your own kitchen. If a food contains even one ingredient that makes you think “huh?” skip it, at least during the clean eating challenge.’

 

2. Keep meals simple: ‘Delicious, healthy food doesn’t have to contain a lot of ingredients,’ Sass asserts. ‘Keep your meal ingredients to a minimum—just be sure to include a source of whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fat at each meal. For example, veggies and shrimp stir fried in sesame oil over a bed of brown rice seems restaurant quality but can be whipped up faster than takeout.’

 

3. Eat more slowly: If you grew up with brothers and sisters, you might have learned to eat quickly to stop irritating siblings nicking the food off your plate. However, you’re not in survival mode anymore, and eating slowly and mindfully has been proven to help with weight loss. To help you eat more slowly, Sass advises, ‘Put your fork or spoon down between every bite, and focus on the flavours and textures of your food.’

 

4. Schedule your meals and stick to your routine: Not only does this mean eating your meals at regular times; you also need to schedule in your snacks so you don’t stray off the path. ‘Try not to let more than about four hours go by between meals or snacks,’ Sass recommends. ‘Steady meal timing helps regulate your digestive system, blood sugar and insulin levels, and appetite.’

 

5. Listen to your inner compass: Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight will attest to the fact that you need to pay attention to what your body is telling you. So often, we binge on unhealthy foods not because we are hungry, but because we are bored, sad or simply not paying attention. Sass urges, ‘Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full, meaning satisfied, not stuffed…get used to relying on your hunger and fullness cues to tell you when to stop and start eating.’

Categories: diet, Eat Slowly, eating, eating challenge, Food, nbsp, Routine, sass, Weight Loss, whole foods

Night-Time Snacking: Is Your Internal Body Clock to Blame?

Night-time eating may not seem like a major health concern, but it’s one that a lot of people struggle with. According to registered dietician Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, author of S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches, ‘Over the years, many of my clients on quests to eat healthier and lose weight have told me, “I do great all day, but at night, everything just seems to fall apart.” Sometimes this happens because evening hours are less busy and structured, or because we create patterns that once formed, are difficult to break, like nibbling while cooking, or always eating a sweet treat after dinner.’

However, a new study, published in the journal Obesity, has suggested that craving cookies after dark is physiologically programmed into your body. The researchers blame your circadian system – or internal clock – for tampering with your wellness, as it prompts you to reach for sweet, starchy, and salty foods in the evenings, especially around 8:00 pm. There may be an evolutionary element involved here, with your ancestors developing this built-in need to feed in order to store fat for survival when food was scarce. However, today you’re not going out of your cave and throwing a spear at a mammoth; you have everything you need at your local supermarket, and so your night-time cravings can take a hefty toll on your health and your waistline. So, how do you stop yourself going overboard in the evening?

1. Use your head: ‘For many people, eating in general, regardless of what time, tends to be mindless,’ Sass notes. ‘But when you start thinking about food as fuel for activity, it can help bring the importance of quality and balance into focus. In a nutshell, the fate of a meal or snack depends on what’s going in your body during your post-noshing hours. Eating the bulk of your food in the evening, when your activity level is low, results in winding up with far more fuel than you body needs, and the surplus gets sent straight to your fat cells.’ While you sleep, your body does the bulk of its maintenance, healing, and repair work, so processed junk food isn’t what you need to build muscle tissue, maintain a healthy immune system, or keep your skin looking radiant.

2. Break the pattern: Making a conscious effort to break the pattern of routine night-time eating can help, even if you just change the order in which you perform your evening activities. Sass explains, ‘Simply breaking the connections between certain activities and eating can help your brain let go of the notion that it doesn’t feel “right” not to follow through. Setting up new routines may seem forced or awkward at first, but before long, the healthier pattern will become your new normal.’

3. Pre-plan your meals: If you get home after a long day and there are no healthy options ready and waiting for you, you’re more likely to make a meal out of less than optimal snacks, or reach for comfort foods. Sass advises, ‘If you don’t feel like being creative, keep the ingredients for a few quick go-to meals on hand, so you can whip them up in a jiffy. One of my favourite quickies is a simple lentil salad. I always keep my fridge stocked with organic greens, and steamed vacuum-sealed lentils (you can find these in the produce section). I simply toss the greens with balsamic vinegar, add a scoop of lentils, sprinkle with sliced almonds, and pair with a serving of 100% whole grain crackers (or crush them on top).’

 

Categories: body, circadian rhythm, eating, night, Night time, sass, Snacking, time, time eating

How to Be Just Like Your “Naturally Skinny” Friends

You’ve got that one friend who can eat like a pig and still say slim – why are you friends with her again?! Sometimes, weight wellness can seem like one giant lottery, in which your friend was given the “skinny genes” while you got lumped with the dumpy DNA. Such thinking can put you off making any effort to diet or take care of your wellbeing at all; what’s the point? Still, is it all a case of luck-of-the-draw, or can you actually learn from your slim friend’s subconscious weight loss habits?

 

According to registered dietician Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, author of the New York Times best seller is S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches, ‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned in 15+ years of private practice, it’s that weight management is about far more than calories in, calories out. In addition to genetics, there are dozens of patterns that day after day, week after week, influence our shapes and sizes. Many of the habits of seemingly “naturally slim” people aren’t deliberate, but you can consciously adopt them. Over time, they’ll soon become second nature, and work for you too.’

 

1. Fidgeting: People who are always tapping their toes, talking with their hands and shuffling in their chairs can burn as many as 350 extra calories a day, which is the equivalent of talking a daily 60-minute walk at four miles per hour. Sass advises, ‘Stand up while you talk on the phone or brainstorm, get up from your desk every hour on the hour to sip water, stretch, or just walk around the room…For one of my clients, this change not only resulted in weight loss, but also a surge in creativity, which makes sense, since movement enhances circulation.’

 

2. Eating without distractions: Sass notes, ‘The other day, I saw a woman strolling through Target, placing items into her card, while simultaneously eating and talking on the phone. While it may be efficient to do several things at once, people who eat mindfully and without distractions tend to eat less and feel more satisfied.’ You can naturally consume 300 fewer calories a day simply by taking a few deep breaths before you eat, and focusing on the aromas, flavours, and textures of your food.

 

3. Ordering what you want, even if it’s not on the menu: While asking for a customised meal in a restaurant seems like the most un-British thing to do ever, it’s a major habit of naturally slim people. Sass recommends her clients do the following activity: ‘recall a recent meal that left you feeling stuffed and sluggish, then write down how you would modify your order to result in what I call the “Goldilocks effect” – not too little, not too much, just right. One hundred percent of the time, the imagined do-over meals are more balanced, far lower in calories, and much more “sensible.” Apply that logic every time you dine out, and you’ll end restaurant eater’s remorse.’

 

4. Rethinking waste: Sass recalls, ‘Through keeping food journals, one of my clients recently discovered that she nearly always finished her kids’ leftovers. When we talked about why (e.g. what was she thinking and feeling while doing this?), she realised it was because she couldn’t let the food go to waste. This mindset also resulted in frequently eating until she was uncomfortably full.’ However, the client soon realised that stuffing leftovers was equally wasteful, as it wasn’t going to help anyone in need and she was just wasting calories. Instead of gorging on leftovers, save them for tomorrow’s lunch or make smaller portions in the first place.

Categories: calories, Fidgeting, Mindful Eating, Naturally Slim, nbsp, people, sass, Slim, slim people, Weight Loss

Why Should You to Treat Your Diet Like Your Relationships?

in a man can help you to finally find your prince – and the same can be said for your diet. After all, the way to weight loss wellness is through a harmonious relationship with food, while that love-hate thing you have going on can be detrimental to your wellbeing.

 

Registered dietician Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, author of the New York Times best seller is S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches, urges, ‘I encourage you to create your list, one that includes what you really need from an eating plan, as well as attributes you’re certain just don’t work for you. I’ve seen this exercise help clients finally stop the vicious cycle of starting another diet that fizzles out after a few weeks or gaining back fifteen pounds after losing 10. In fact, this upfront tactic is actually one of the most effective ways to lose weight for good, because it will help you find an approach you can stick with, which in my experience is the most important ingredient for success.’

 

So how do you create this list? On one side of a sheet a paper, write down the characteristics that are vital for your eating strategy. According to Sass, ‘Some of my clients will list things like: must include foods I enjoy; must be easy to follow; and must allow for splurges and dining out.’ On the other side of the paper, jot down any of the things you’ve tried in the past and thought “never again.” What eating techniques have just made you feel overwhelmed, tired, hungry, irritable, or basically like throwing in the towel? ‘On this side of the page, I frequently see things like: too complicated; too boring; not flexible; too repetitive,’ says Sass.

 

While it’s unlikely to find the perfect diet plan to fit this list, you can use it as a tool to evaluate the weight loss programmes that you come across. ‘I once had a client who was considering starting a diet that only allowed one type of fruit,’ Sass remembers. ‘She was enticed, because a co-worker following the programme appeared to be shrinking by the day. But this client loved fruit, and in the past, she eventually gave up on any diet that deprived her of foods she knew she couldn’t live without. And by giving up, I mean she binged on forbidden foods, and wound up right back where she started.’

 

Sass continues, ‘We talked about the fact that she probably would lose weight on this plan, but in her gut, she knew that shunning winter grapes, spring cherries, summer melons, and fall pears (all no-nos) was going to make her resentful enough to eventually dump the diet, and fall right back into the old habits that led to her 40 pound weight gain. To break the cycle, she had to find a strategy that would not only help her shed pounds, but also allow her keep the weight off, because it felt good enough to stick with. In other words, much like dating, if you can’t see yourself in the relationship six months from now, it’s probably not going to work, and in both love and weight loss, stick-with-it-ness is ultimately what matters most.’

 

So if you’ve been unlucky in dieting, why not try the list approach? It’s far better to work out the pros and cons of a diet plan before you waste your time, money and energy on something that just won’t work. Get wise to your “must-haves” and “never-agains” and do dieting your way.

Categories: diet, eating plans, list, Lose weight, nbsp, sass, weight, Weight Loss