Did you hear about the US airline that is bringing in a new policy to charge obese travellers more to fly?
Well, it seems to me that this is yet another ploy to treat overweight passengers as second class citizens. Apparently, if the said passenger cannot fit into their alloted seat, then they will have to purchase an additional seat and pay for TWO seats so they can fly. If there is no room on the plane they wish to fly on to provide 2 adjacent seats then they will be bumped off the flight and have to rebook - no doubt at an additional expense over and above the cost of the second seat- - and to heck with the inconvenience and maybe embarrassment!
Well, could this be the motivator and trigger to do something positive about being overweight? I would like to think so.
Why not start with counting calories?
Its easy and straightforward and should bring some prompt and positive benefit.Couple it with some easy exercise.
Go about it this way.
Think of calories as the fuel of the body, providing energy to enable us to move and live our life and do the things we want.Women need fewer calories than men as proportionally they have more fat than energy burning muscles.Try to balance what you expend on energy with your food intake - exercise more to build muscle at the same time burning energy.
Don't skip meals - binge eating and crash dieting won't help. Eat a balanced meal - breakfast is very important - have an idea of total number of calories you eat in an average meal. Don't snack -it piles on the calories!
If you over indulge take exercise.
A 30 minute session in the swimming pool works wonders.
Half an hours backstroke burns 275 calories
front crawl 281
breaststroke 320
butterfly 387
even treading water burns 140!
If you can't face that - 30minutes walking - at a gentle and not a fast pace 2/3 times a week will be a very effective substitute.
Don't forget - consult your doctor before embarking on any exercise regime if you're not used to taking any - start in a small way and gradually build up.
Don't like the idea of any of this? Tried it before and got nowhere? You need encouragement. You need to join in with thousands of other like minded people - you need to join a weight loss forum. These on-line communities have hundreds of different ideas on how to help, providing iner-action with other members, new ideas, diets, but above all encouragement.
Just google "weight loss forum" - you never know, it might be the answer you've been waiting for.
Showing posts with label calories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label calories. Show all posts
Monday, 4 May 2009
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Food labels - a vital friend in the fight for easy weight loss
It is very easy to under estimate the benefits of the information found on food labels these days, and it certainly pays to understand the basic concept behind this idea, as it is a very simple way to understand both the good and the bad of the food that we eat.
With food labels you can clearly understand the amount and kinds of nutrients provided in the food that you buy.Usually it contains information on sugars, fat, saturates and salt (sodium) and possibly cholesterol as well. This can be specified in either information per serving (say 45 grams) or per 100 grams, either in the form of "traffic light labelling" or % of the Guideline Daily Amounts for adults.
It is natural when you first being to look at the various labelling techniques to become easily confused about how much a normal serving should consist of, how much is in 100 grams, or indeed the different styles of label. You will find that supermarket chains stick to one form of labelling or the other on a consistent basis, but it doesnt make it any easier for the consumer if you are in the habit of visiting various different stores.
At the start you will probably be very surprised by how different you think a normal serving should be compared to what is stated on the label.Obviously you cannot measure every morsel that passes your lips, but it is a good idea to measure more foods and beverages until you get a feel for portion sizes - most people are surprised to find that their idea of a single serving in actually two or three.The only tools you really need are a simple and inexpensive gram scale, dry and liquid measuring cups and an idea on reading food labels.
To have a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the items stated on the label, here is a list of things you need to know:-
1.Traffic Light Labelling
Consists of a chart in three colors - red orange and green.
Shows sugars, fat, saturates and salt per 100 grams.
Shows what content is high (red)- Take care - should be eaten in moderation - possibly infrequently and not on a daily basis. Maybe a treat?
Be aware how often you chose these foods.
Eat in smaller portions.
Shows medium content (orange) - Will not be particularly beneficial but neither will it cause any problems.
Can you change from orange to green?
Shows low content (green) - Beneficial content. Always look for labels showing much more green than the other colors.
The more green the healthier the product.
This is very easy guide, and with very little practice you will soon be able to pick out the healthiest and most beneficial foods without too much difficulty.
2.Guideline Daily Amounts
Slightly more difficult to follow and usually shows the % GDA per serving and per 100 grams.Usually shows calories, total sugars,fat, saturates, salt and fiber.
Both systems can also show energy (kJ), protein, carbohydrates and vitamin and iron content.
All very useful for watching your weight and helping you to assess whether to buy or not!
3..Serving size
Tha amount shown on the label refers to the quantity of food people usually consume.It might not, however, reflect your own food intake, and say you ate a pack equivalent to 4 servings and the lable say 250 calories per serving then you would have eaten 1000 calories!
You do need to understand quickly portion sizes!
4.Ingredients
This refers to the list of ingredients used to manufacture the product.
Usually arranged by weight or % of total from the largest to the smallest.
This simply means that the actual quantity of the food includes the biggest of the main ingredient (or the first item) and the minimum amount of the very last ingredient
You must also be aware of the nutritional claims made on labels.
For instance, if a product says it is sodium-free, it has less than 5 milligrams per serving of salt, or a low fat product actually contains 3 grams of fat or less per serving.
It is understandable that reading food labels can initially be time consuming, tedious and confusing.
Nevertheless, once you get the hang of it you will be able to regulate your diet with confidence, as you will control the amount of food you eat.
Dont, however, forget to watch the drinks as well, as these can be very high in sugars, and these labels need to be read and actioned just as much as the food labels.
You will find the effort is well worth it.
With food labels you can clearly understand the amount and kinds of nutrients provided in the food that you buy.Usually it contains information on sugars, fat, saturates and salt (sodium) and possibly cholesterol as well. This can be specified in either information per serving (say 45 grams) or per 100 grams, either in the form of "traffic light labelling" or % of the Guideline Daily Amounts for adults.
It is natural when you first being to look at the various labelling techniques to become easily confused about how much a normal serving should consist of, how much is in 100 grams, or indeed the different styles of label. You will find that supermarket chains stick to one form of labelling or the other on a consistent basis, but it doesnt make it any easier for the consumer if you are in the habit of visiting various different stores.
At the start you will probably be very surprised by how different you think a normal serving should be compared to what is stated on the label.Obviously you cannot measure every morsel that passes your lips, but it is a good idea to measure more foods and beverages until you get a feel for portion sizes - most people are surprised to find that their idea of a single serving in actually two or three.The only tools you really need are a simple and inexpensive gram scale, dry and liquid measuring cups and an idea on reading food labels.
To have a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the items stated on the label, here is a list of things you need to know:-
1.Traffic Light Labelling
Consists of a chart in three colors - red orange and green.
Shows sugars, fat, saturates and salt per 100 grams.
Shows what content is high (red)- Take care - should be eaten in moderation - possibly infrequently and not on a daily basis. Maybe a treat?
Be aware how often you chose these foods.
Eat in smaller portions.
Shows medium content (orange) - Will not be particularly beneficial but neither will it cause any problems.
Can you change from orange to green?
Shows low content (green) - Beneficial content. Always look for labels showing much more green than the other colors.
The more green the healthier the product.
This is very easy guide, and with very little practice you will soon be able to pick out the healthiest and most beneficial foods without too much difficulty.
2.Guideline Daily Amounts
Slightly more difficult to follow and usually shows the % GDA per serving and per 100 grams.Usually shows calories, total sugars,fat, saturates, salt and fiber.
Both systems can also show energy (kJ), protein, carbohydrates and vitamin and iron content.
All very useful for watching your weight and helping you to assess whether to buy or not!
3..Serving size
Tha amount shown on the label refers to the quantity of food people usually consume.It might not, however, reflect your own food intake, and say you ate a pack equivalent to 4 servings and the lable say 250 calories per serving then you would have eaten 1000 calories!
You do need to understand quickly portion sizes!
4.Ingredients
This refers to the list of ingredients used to manufacture the product.
Usually arranged by weight or % of total from the largest to the smallest.
This simply means that the actual quantity of the food includes the biggest of the main ingredient (or the first item) and the minimum amount of the very last ingredient
You must also be aware of the nutritional claims made on labels.
For instance, if a product says it is sodium-free, it has less than 5 milligrams per serving of salt, or a low fat product actually contains 3 grams of fat or less per serving.
It is understandable that reading food labels can initially be time consuming, tedious and confusing.
Nevertheless, once you get the hang of it you will be able to regulate your diet with confidence, as you will control the amount of food you eat.
Dont, however, forget to watch the drinks as well, as these can be very high in sugars, and these labels need to be read and actioned just as much as the food labels.
You will find the effort is well worth it.
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