Thursday 25 / April / 2024
There is an increase in number of young people suffering from hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary disease, and high cholesterol. It is mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle, lack of exercise and eating junk food.
Pankaj, a 33-year-old man working as project manager was diagnosed with high blood pressure because of excess body weight. In order to avoid medicine at an early age he decided to adopt a healthy lifestyle. He wanted to lose weight in a healthier way without medicines and was advised by his friend to join a weight loss programme. Being vegetarian it was a challenge for him. He changed his eating pattern and ate small meals rather than three big meals. He was on home cooked meals and did not take any special meals, powders, and shakes. He learned to eat the right portions under the guidance of the dietitian. He started noticing improvement in his blood pressure. The diet plan made him lose 20kg and helped him get back his blood pressure to normal range.
Paresh, a 31-year-old man was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes, with high triglycerides and high blood pressure. He decided to take up the lifestyle challenge and got enrolled in a clinically approved weight loss programme. He gradually gave up his junk food, started eating healthy meals as planned and he lost 18kg reaching 85kg from 103 kg in just six months.
Maria, a 13-year-old secondary school teenager showed her will power by taking up challenge of weight loss in order to fight back pre diabetes and PCOD lost 8kg within a short time span. Her diet was mainly junk food, biscuits and chips without breakfast. She started eating breakfast, learned to eat healthy whole cereals, salads and lean meats and enjoyed chocolates and ice creams at times but in small portions. So how to achieve this? Here are few tips to help you achieve weight loss and control lifestyle diseases.
• Don’t skip meals or starve yourself for long hours without eating anything.
• Eat five small meals a day instead of three big meals.
• Eat low carb diet with more non starchy vegetables and lean meats which can curb the cravings.
• Always prefer whole grain cereals. Avoid white breads as they lack fibre.
• Do not lean towards bakery and junk foods as they might be smaller in size but very dense in calories, fats, and sugars.
• Sugar free labelled products do not mean its zero calorie or zero carbohydrate. Eat cautiously as it can affect sugars and can cause weight gain too.
• Watch the portion of food you eat. Know what is one serving of cereals, pulses, fruit, milk products as they all are carbohydrate sources. Anything in excess than needed will not let you lose weight.
• Learn to eat your own home cooked healthy meals.
• Avoid eating heavy dinner or meals late at night.
• Foods like green tea, flax seeds, chia seeds have various health benefits. They can boost metabolism and keep you full (because of high fibre) but cannot cause weight loss directly.
• Exercise at least 5 days a week for 30-45 minutes.
• Don’t think weight loss is difficult or impossible in vegetarians. —[email protected]
Sumaira Fatima is Dietitian and Diabetic Educator at Apollo Sugar IMC, Muscat.
