Know what changes you can make to your diet to lose weight, live healthy

T Subhashi

Do you want to shed those extra kilos, but find it tough to change your food habits? We all know what we consume is what we become, and it is important to change your diet if you want to become lean. Don’t worry we will tell you a simple way in which you can begin your journey of diet change. Read on:

Add an extra vegetable to your meal
Add an extra serving of vegetables to your meal. Pick up a brightly-coloured vegetable for the maximal nutritional benefit. It can be Broccoli, Bell Pepper, Lettuce if you want to fee; exotic but it can be the simple bottle guard or cauliflower even. And it is always better to take in some locally-available vegetable – local veggies don’t just suit your pocket but also gels with your body better.

Fresh veg salad
Make salad a must in your daily diet, and increase its portion gradually. You can take it at any time of the day.

Eat Fresh Fruit
Whenever you feel hungry, grab a fresh fruit instead of a cookie or biscuit or some savoury snack.

Reduce the portion size of sweets
You don’t have to give up your sweets, just reduce the amount you take in. Cut back on your bowl of kheer or custard. This way you can slowly move away from sweets that are artificially-sweetened. By reducing sugar you hugely cut back on the calories.

Take water instead of coke or cola
A lot of excess calories from sugar and fat come from the beverages you consume. Replace these drinks with a refreshing glass of plain water. If you want to make your glass of water interesting, put in some think slices of lemon or cucumber or pineapple. Water helps to lubricate your joints, it is important for digestion, it carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, and helps to regulate body temperature.

Go for whole grains
Whole grains are rich in fiber so consume wholegrain wheat instead of normal atta; whole wheat or multi-grain bread instead of white bread. If you are habitual of porridge add some veggies to it instead of taking it with milk and sugar. Choose brown rice instead of white rice and whole wheat pasta instead of white pasta.

Apart from all this, what is most important is to not over-eat. For this, you must eat slowly and wait for stomach to send signals to your brain. Often we eat in hurry and unmindfully which leads to over-eating. It’s easy to load up a bigger portion of food than you need, especially when you’re hungry. So, always eat slowly and mindfully. Your plate should be composed of one quarter protein, one quarter carbohydrates and half of fresh veggies.