Tips to look good and feel great

27^th March 2013

Pooja Sahny

Pooja Sahny

27 March 2013

Let’s face it; we all like to indulge in yummy things. It’s just about identifying what is yummy and healthy, and yummy and fattening. With birds chirping and spring time supposedly underway, we all want to look and feel great before summer begins. 

Here are some foods to consider:

Grapefruit

Eating half a grapefruit before each meal or drinking the juice three times a day is adequate enough. The secret ingredient is the fruit’s phytochemicals which reduce insulin levels that stimulate your body and convert calories into energy. Goodbye flabby fat!

Cinnamon

This super spice regulates those post-meal insulin spikes, which make you ravenous. Studies reveal that just a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon a day helps lower blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Sprinkle cinnamon on your breakfast cereal or morning latte to feel the effects.

Chillis

Personal trainers tend say you need to feel the burn to get the results. Studies show that having a spicy start to your breakfast can make you opt for a smaller lunch. So, try eating chillis. It’s the capsaicin found in chillis and red peppers that has appetite suppressing properties.

Fennel tea

Perhaps not an obvious choice, but fennel tea boasts a list of benefits – packed with good levels of potassium, magnesium and calcium as well as vitamins B and C. Fennel also works as both an appetite suppressant and a metabolism booster. 

A study carried out by the Journal of Nutrition claims that drinking five cups of green tea per day can help you lose twice as much weight. As a pre-workout drink, it increases stamina by about 24% allowing you to exercise longer and burn more calories.

Salad

A large portion of salad prior to your main meal will fill up your tummy, preventing you from pigging out. Avoid fatty dressing; a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar makes the perfect accompaniment to a fresh salad.

Celery rates well as a weight-loss food as you can end up burning more calories eating it than your body will take on consuming it. But by no means does that make celery low in nutritional value; it’s super-packed with fibre.

Lentils

Lentils are a great weight-loss food, as they have the power to really satisfy your hunger without packing your body with loads of calories and fat. Lentils often feature heavily as a meat substitute, making you feel like you’ve eaten a meaty dish without the calories and saturated fat that come with eating meat.

Dark chocolate

Dark chocolate has two major dietary positives that can lead to long-term weight loss. First, it’s quite difficult to consume massive quantities of high-quality dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate. Secondly, dark chocolate is very high in health-promoting antioxidants.

Quinoa

Quinoa, the “mother grain” by the ancient Peruvians, has the power to keep you feeling fuller for longer due to its high protein content. 

Keep in mind that you may need to indulge, dare I say it, in healthy food to drop a few pounds. 

Pooja Sahny