10 TIPS I KEPT TO LOSE 20 KG

One or two kilos, more than my usual weight, are enough to keep me for hours in front of my closet, undecisive on what to wear and how to feel. Nevertheless, during my second pregnancy, I decided not oppress my cravings for any food or sweet, as I was so against all that media coverage on women getting so quickly an easily thin, just a few days after giving birth! Having done that, I gained 20 kilos and stopped weighing myself after my 8th month. So you can imagine how heavy I felt, when I first started jogging, 2 months after delivering. It was like carying on my feet two of me!

One year after, I both managed to slowly and steadily lose my baby weigh, and got pretty closer to two nutrition specialists: Michael and Nick. During my contact with them, I particularly appreciated the fact that not for one moment did they make me feel fat or bad about what and how I eat. On the contrary, they achieved to adapted their rich knowledge on my busy kind of life, having really heard my own thoughts on food and dieting. This was very important for me, as a previous diet experience, had left me believing that diet equals deprivation and tough rules to follow.

For me now it is clearer than ever that:

1. The best thing you can do by consulting to a nutritionist – dietitian, is to try to learn how to eat in general and on the long run, and come up with a custom made daily schedule to keep you keep you healthy and active. It is also very important to discuss with him your particular taste on food. If you don’t like what you eat, then it is more likely to give up on your diet.

2. Aerobic exercise is the one thing that always gives extra boost to any weight loss effort. Personally, I prefer running outdoors (not in the gym) because it offers extra motivation, and acccording to research is more efficient.

Michael’s tips were very helpful, even from our first session:

3. Forget the express diets. They will only help you lose your patience! Fix a long term goal and achieve it with the right program.

4. Add some extra physical activity, emphasizing in aerobic exercise that will help you dramatically reduce fat, not forgetting exercises for muscle strength, that will make sure you maintain your body muscle.

5. If you crave a dessert, eat a serving of what exactly you want. You can do this no more than once a week. Eating substitutes will only give you the illusion of not eating, while their calories can be much more. Also, if you eat what you really want, you will be able to discipline to your weekly program much easier and without any psychological pressure. (very convenient ha?)

Nick on the other hand advised me to:

6. Sleep well! I know you’re a mom of two, but the lack of sleep means that ghrelin secretion causes cravings for sugar and other fatty foods. The later you sleep, the more chances are for a late night fridge raid. Moreover, the next day you will be more tired, therefore less active, slowing down your metabolism .

7. Don’t underestimate the calories you consume, especially the liquid ones. A fruit juice with your breakfast, a sports drink after running, a cola at lunch, a glass of wine at dinner and a coffee, which can be a typical sample of your daily fluid intake, may altogether exceed 1000 calories! Replace it with water, skimmed milk or sugar free tea.

8. Drinking a lot of water is given. What you don’t know for sure, is that water acts as a natural appetite suppressant and that the brain often can not make a clear distinction between the feelings of hunger and thirst. So thirst can easily lead to unnecessary eating.

9. Don’t use food as a reward. 70% of people consum food for psychological reasons, eating more than they need. Find something else to spoil yourself

10. Eat 3 main meals and 1-2 snacks (fruit) a day, and make sure about the timing. Eat before you get hungry and stop eating before you feel full. Start every meal with a salad, eat slowly and leave the table the minute you finish your meal.

Michael Tzoulis (Sports nutritionist M.Sc., Trainer, 6974788681 )

Nick Kafetzopoulos (Clinical Dietician Nutritionist, www.nutribase.gr, 6942 842 463)

Kakia Kaffa (kakia@arnica.gr)