NewAfricanWoman Issue 35 - Flipbook - Page 81
S TA R V I N G
AND STUFFING
Going hungry all day tunes out the
body’s hunger signals and can set you
up for a late-night fridge massacre.
That’s a sign you’re setting yourself up
for overeating and making poor food
choices. The trouble is not only are you
compromising your health by creating
a nutrient deficit, but it’s really hard
to make good decisions when you are
hungry.
W H AT ’ S T H E T O L L?
When you are starving, blood-sugar
levels nosedive, which triggers an
insatiable appetite for quick-energy
foods (usually carbs). You end up
gobbling up carbs, which in turn makes
blood sugar rise sharply. It is big bloodsugar spikes and deep valleys that
compromise insulin sensitivity. A 2007
study published in the International
Journal of Obesity found a strong
correlation between starving and stuffing
and weight gain.
People’s caloric intake
skyrockets by up to
W H AT T O D O :
PLAN AHEAD
Meal prep for a week can be a pain and
take all the fun out of eating. To ease
the pain, consider the types of food you
would like to eat, and snack on, recipes
you want to try, and shop smartly. Make
up some healthy snacks like boiled eggs,
roasted vegetable, spiralise courgettes
and carrots and keep them in the fridge.
S N AC K O N P R O T E I N
Add protein to every meal and snack to
help keep your blood sugar steady and
keep hunger at bay. Top your salad with
a hardboiled egg or chicken breast, eat
your toast with avocado or hummus, or
add a protein powder to your smoothie.
MINDLESS
MUNCHING
You settle down in front of the TV after a long
hard day of working, coaching clients and
working out and you just want to switch off and
‘mindlessly’ watch some telly with a snack. One
hour and a giant bag of plantain chips later…
mindless munching happens to the best of us.
We use it as a decompressor. Notice I said ‘we’.
I am guilty of this too. My saving grace is that
most of the time I keep a really clean and tight
kitchen.
PLAN A PRE-EMPTIVE
STRIKE
W H AT ’ S T H E T O L L?
Life as a working mother is hectic.
Women are so busy taking care of
everyone and everything else that
we neglect ourselves and forget
nourishment. When the day is done and
the brain turns its attention inwards,
you are starving, and the overeating of
poor choice foods begins. Remember to
take care of yourself first because only
then can you be and give your best. Eat
a high-fibre, protein-rich pre-dinner
snack. This will serve as a pre-emptive
strike against late bingeing.
A physiology and behaviour journal study
showed that people’s caloric intake skyrockets
by up to 71% when they eat in front of the
telly. They don’t pay attention to whether
they’ve had four or 21 Malteasers or crisps
and most people don’t stop eating until the
end of the programme they are watching,
regardless of whether they are full or not.
Crucially, do this often enough and it becomes
hard to watch TV and not eat. Think why you
absolutely must have popcorn when you go to
the cinema.
71%
when they eat in
front of the telly
W H AT T O D O :
E AT F I R S T
If you are going to eat, serve up your desired
portion and eat it before you sit down to
watch your favourite programme. If you need
something else to do, have some tea or tidy up.
STOCK UP FOR SUCCESS
If your pantry is full of crisps and chocolate,
consuming a face full of all sorts will not
be that far behind because the groundwork
for mindless munching has been done. The
environment has been created. The answer?
Don’t buy junk!
WORK THE SYSTEM
You are up to four times more likely to eat the
first thing you see in your fridge, freezer or
pantry, so make the first thing you see the good
stuff. You are also more likely to go for several
helpings if you have not put the leftovers away...
so put them away!
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