It’s that time of the year again where we make New Year’s resolutions. According to a recent survey, it was revealed that the top three New Year resolutions were to lose weight, exercise more, and eat healthier.
[caption id="attachment_182023" align="alignleft" width="342"]
Dinendra Jayasinghe[/caption]
In addition to looking good, which can give our self-esteem an instant boost, there are several other health benefits of losing a few extra kilos – up to 5% of your body weight – especially if you are overweight. Some of the key benefits include prevention of diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance, lowering the blood pressure and prevention of heart diseases, improved mood, sleep, and mobility, and less pressure on the lower joints, which can reduce chronic pain.
Hence, in case you want to join the “New Year, New You” bandwagon, we spoke to an expert in the field of health and nutrition so that you step into the New Year with your best foot forward. Dinendra Jayasinghe holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science and Sports Coaching from Deakin University, Australia, a Diploma in Advanced Nutrition and weight loss from the Centre of Excellence, the UK, and Certificate 3 and 4 in Fitness from Fit College, Australia. She also has over 12 years experience in the nutrition field.
Following are excerpts from our interview:
What is the most sustainable way of losing weight and keeping it off?
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Simple Workouts[/caption]
To achieve weight loss, a calorie deficit is required. This is the one method that will work for everyone and is safe and sustainable for your health. Weight loss is 70% diet and 30% physical activity. Therefore, if you can control your number of calories in versus calories out, you will lose weight effectively.
Do weight-loss strategies differ between males and females?
Weight loss strategies are the same, but men tend to lose weight faster than women for a few reasons:
Physiologically, women have a lower metabolic rate than men, which means the body uses fewer calories for normal body functions like breathing or blood circulation, and unfortunately, stores the leftover calories as fat. Men have more muscle than fat in terms of body composition than females, which allows them to burn more calories. Increase in muscle mass inevitably causes burning of more fat even at rest.
The definition of nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. Therefore, we should be fueling the body with the correct foods, which are wholesome, unprocessed, and aid your body to function at optimum capacity. Eating a well-balanced diet can help you get the calories and nutrients you need to fuel your daily activities, including regular exercise.
Exercising will increase the number of calories which is burnt that will then add a calorie deficit needed to lose weight. Regular strength or resistance training is good for people of all ages and fitness levels to help prevent the natural loss of lean muscle mass that comes with aging. It can also benefit people with chronic health conditions, like obesity, arthritis, or heart conditions. Strength training is a vital part of sustainable weight loss as it will increase the amount of lean muscle of an individual. Compared to fat tissue, lean muscle will burn more energy at rest. This means more calories burnt at the end of the day that will help sustainable weight loss. Strength training will also increase joint mobility and strength, aid in the prevention of falls, increase overall body strength, and decrease the risk of osteoporosis in women and increase overall bone strength.
Along with strength training, your body needs cardiovascular exercise, which can come in many forms such as walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling to name a few. Regular cardio exercise can strengthen the heart and blood vessels while improving the flow of oxygen throughout the body. It can also lower your blood pressure and cholesterol.
What are your recommendations on improving someone's overall nutritional goals?
Dinendra has recently put together a nutritional program with chef Kay Seneviratne called “Nutrition for wellness” which gives recipes and exercise routines to add in the weight loss process.
Regarding macronutrients and calories, how important is it to track them?
Macronutrients are made up of carbohydrates, fat, and protein, which are components of food that the body needs for energy and to maintain the body’s systems. Calories are the amount of energy released when the body breaks down food. These two are linked together and it is important to have a basic knowledge of how different foods will contribute to the calories that are consumed within a day. One gram of carbohydrate and protein has four calories each, and one gram of fat contains nine calories. In order to lose weight, you need to track where your calories are coming from. The general rule of thumb is as follows when counting macros for calories – 45-65% carbs, 20-35% from protein, and 10-35% from fats in your daily consumption. Focus on nutrient-dense food which are high in nutrients but relatively low in calories such as beans, legumes, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean meat and fish. Foods you eat can impact your fat loss efforts, therefore, consume food that is nutrient-dense and high in protein but limit food that contains a combination of carbs and fat as this combination is addictive. It stimulates the reward center of your brain and increases craving, which leads to overeating and weight gain. A good example is French fries, pizza, and cookies.
[caption id="attachment_182022" align="alignright" width="331"]
Nutrition for wellness plan in collaboration with chef Key Seneviratne[/caption]
Key point – calories supply the body with the same amount of energy irrespective of the way they differ in the way they affect your health and our ability to lose weight. For example, if you eat 1,500 calories worth of cookies versus 1,500 calories of nutrient-dense food per day, you might lose weight if you’re within a calorie deficit. However, the latter will have more health benefits and you will feel satiated for longer which will aid in sustainable weight loss. Therefore, where the calories you consume come from plays a major role in weight loss, not just the number of calories you consume per day.
If someone wants to jump-start their weight loss process, where should they start?
Start by making simple swaps in the diet.
Dinendra Jayasinghe[/caption]
In addition to looking good, which can give our self-esteem an instant boost, there are several other health benefits of losing a few extra kilos – up to 5% of your body weight – especially if you are overweight. Some of the key benefits include prevention of diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance, lowering the blood pressure and prevention of heart diseases, improved mood, sleep, and mobility, and less pressure on the lower joints, which can reduce chronic pain.
Hence, in case you want to join the “New Year, New You” bandwagon, we spoke to an expert in the field of health and nutrition so that you step into the New Year with your best foot forward. Dinendra Jayasinghe holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science and Sports Coaching from Deakin University, Australia, a Diploma in Advanced Nutrition and weight loss from the Centre of Excellence, the UK, and Certificate 3 and 4 in Fitness from Fit College, Australia. She also has over 12 years experience in the nutrition field.
Following are excerpts from our interview:
What is the most sustainable way of losing weight and keeping it off?
[caption id="attachment_182024" align="alignright" width="181"] Simple Workouts[/caption]
To achieve weight loss, a calorie deficit is required. This is the one method that will work for everyone and is safe and sustainable for your health. Weight loss is 70% diet and 30% physical activity. Therefore, if you can control your number of calories in versus calories out, you will lose weight effectively.
Do weight-loss strategies differ between males and females?
Weight loss strategies are the same, but men tend to lose weight faster than women for a few reasons:
Physiologically, women have a lower metabolic rate than men, which means the body uses fewer calories for normal body functions like breathing or blood circulation, and unfortunately, stores the leftover calories as fat. Men have more muscle than fat in terms of body composition than females, which allows them to burn more calories. Increase in muscle mass inevitably causes burning of more fat even at rest.
- Genetics: Your body shape and composition is passed down from your mother, grandmother, and so on, which means the body has set weight ranges that are passed on to each generation. Hence your body theoretically will try to stay within that range
- Psychological: Women want immediate results which means they yo-yo diet or cut out complete food groups for quicker weight loss. This method will cause loss of weight, but it is more likely to regain the weight back and put on even more than before. These methods also affect the metabolic rate and interfere with female hormones which can make it harder to lose weight in the future
- Social: Female and male calorie intake is different. In fact, calorie intake per individual varies. Therefore, if you have the same portion sizes as your partner when you dine out, what do you think will happen in the long run?
The definition of nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. Therefore, we should be fueling the body with the correct foods, which are wholesome, unprocessed, and aid your body to function at optimum capacity. Eating a well-balanced diet can help you get the calories and nutrients you need to fuel your daily activities, including regular exercise.
Exercising will increase the number of calories which is burnt that will then add a calorie deficit needed to lose weight. Regular strength or resistance training is good for people of all ages and fitness levels to help prevent the natural loss of lean muscle mass that comes with aging. It can also benefit people with chronic health conditions, like obesity, arthritis, or heart conditions. Strength training is a vital part of sustainable weight loss as it will increase the amount of lean muscle of an individual. Compared to fat tissue, lean muscle will burn more energy at rest. This means more calories burnt at the end of the day that will help sustainable weight loss. Strength training will also increase joint mobility and strength, aid in the prevention of falls, increase overall body strength, and decrease the risk of osteoporosis in women and increase overall bone strength.
Along with strength training, your body needs cardiovascular exercise, which can come in many forms such as walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling to name a few. Regular cardio exercise can strengthen the heart and blood vessels while improving the flow of oxygen throughout the body. It can also lower your blood pressure and cholesterol.
What are your recommendations on improving someone's overall nutritional goals?
- Keep it simple and eat wholesome, natural food that is unprocessed and clean
- Avoid processed wheat flour as its devoid of any nutritional benefits
- Swap your afternoon sweets for a serving of fruit
- Decrease the amount of sugar in beverages, especially in your tea/coffee
- Limit or stop alcohol consumption, as alcohol can hinder your progress
- Avoid takeout – most often they can be high in calories as we don’t know what is in it and how it has been prepared
- Increase your daily vegetable and fruit intake
- Increase your water intake to 3l per day
- Avoid excess oil when you prepare food – oil is high in calories for e.g-1tbs of olive oil is 120 calories.
Dinendra has recently put together a nutritional program with chef Kay Seneviratne called “Nutrition for wellness” which gives recipes and exercise routines to add in the weight loss process.
Regarding macronutrients and calories, how important is it to track them?
Macronutrients are made up of carbohydrates, fat, and protein, which are components of food that the body needs for energy and to maintain the body’s systems. Calories are the amount of energy released when the body breaks down food. These two are linked together and it is important to have a basic knowledge of how different foods will contribute to the calories that are consumed within a day. One gram of carbohydrate and protein has four calories each, and one gram of fat contains nine calories. In order to lose weight, you need to track where your calories are coming from. The general rule of thumb is as follows when counting macros for calories – 45-65% carbs, 20-35% from protein, and 10-35% from fats in your daily consumption. Focus on nutrient-dense food which are high in nutrients but relatively low in calories such as beans, legumes, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean meat and fish. Foods you eat can impact your fat loss efforts, therefore, consume food that is nutrient-dense and high in protein but limit food that contains a combination of carbs and fat as this combination is addictive. It stimulates the reward center of your brain and increases craving, which leads to overeating and weight gain. A good example is French fries, pizza, and cookies.
[caption id="attachment_182022" align="alignright" width="331"] Nutrition for wellness plan in collaboration with chef Key Seneviratne[/caption]
Key point – calories supply the body with the same amount of energy irrespective of the way they differ in the way they affect your health and our ability to lose weight. For example, if you eat 1,500 calories worth of cookies versus 1,500 calories of nutrient-dense food per day, you might lose weight if you’re within a calorie deficit. However, the latter will have more health benefits and you will feel satiated for longer which will aid in sustainable weight loss. Therefore, where the calories you consume come from plays a major role in weight loss, not just the number of calories you consume per day.
If someone wants to jump-start their weight loss process, where should they start?
Start by making simple swaps in the diet.
- White bread to wholemeal bread
- Reduce addicted sugar intake
- Reduce excess oil consumption
- Switch from juice to eating the fruit
- Avoid processed foods – biscuits, sweets, cakes, and bakery treats
- Reduce the quantity of rice and increase vegetables and protein intake
- Start walking 30 mins, four to five times per week
- Sleep eight hours per day
- Eat two hours before going to sleep
- Meal prep
- Plan your daily meals and have them ready to take to work with you
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake with rice/pasta/bread with more vegetables and protein
- Make it a lifestyle choice and get the whole family to join
- Keep a food diary be accountable for your food intake
- Keep a workout diary and record your daily exercise
- Swap your normal plate for a smaller plate – this will reduce your portion size. We eat with our minds first so your brain will think you have a big serving
- Drink a glass of water 20 mins before eating. This will help to stop you from overeating
- If you are going out for a function fill up on healthy snacks or meals before going then you will not snack on the unhealthy options
- Learn to say NO to the food you know that will hinder your weight loss goals