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Everyday,
without our knowledge, a faint little feeling in the stomach prompts us to
involuntarily look at the clock.
Then the revelation hits us – it is evening and we have not had the time to eat
our lunch. In today’s times, where a sedentary lifestyle is the rule, it’s
observed that the health of people is deteriorating day by day. They have
started taking themselves and their body for granted. They don’t even remember
when they last had a proper meal. Eating healthy just requires a little
planning. Here are some shortcuts to achieve a healthy body:
Breakfast is a ‘must’
Start your morning with some breakfast, be it a piece of fruit or a whole wheat
bread. Put oatmeal into a thermos of hot water, and you could even let it sit
overnight. In the morning, you shall have hot cooked oatmeal ready to eat.
Similarly, a hard boiled egg can be eaten. This will prevent your body from
going into starvation mode. Eating breakfast everyday will also help increase
your metabolic rate.
Five meals a day
Have at least five meals a day in which three can be the main meals – breakfast,
lunch and dinner, while other two meals can consist of foods which are handy and
nutritious at the same time. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs, provides
consistent energy, and maintains metabolism efficiency. Grab healthy foods such
as fruits that are high in fibre like apple, watermelon, muskmelon, orange,
sweet lime, papaya and peaches.
Ask for healthy food
Some people’s work demands frequenting restaurants for dinner. Always watch out
for hidden fats. Creamy soups, white breads, flaky pastries and mayonnaise-based
salad dressings add unnecessary fats to the food. Try consuming broths instead
of creamy soups. Instead of mayonnaise dressing, use variety of condiments and
flavouring agents such as lemon, vinegar, herbs, onion and garlic to improve the
palatability of your salad. Remember, a gram of fat contains more than twice as
many calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrate. Ask for grilled, baked,
boiled or broiled food rather than fried foods.
Hydrate when you’re travelling
Your work might involve a lot of travelling in which air travel is one of the
most dehydrating experiences. Because of this, people often complain of sore
throats and other respiratory illnesses. To avoid these, one should not drink
caffeine, cola or alcohol before or after the flights as these are diuretics and
can increase the water loss. Avoid salted snacks like salted peanuts or fried
foods in order to minimise dehydration. Try consuming lots of fluids in the form
of water, fruit juice, coconut water, lime water, etc. In any case, one should
drink at least 12 to 15 gasses of water everyday. The stress associated with
travel may slightly increase the protein requirement, so one should make an
effort to consume a little more protein each day.
Good quality of food
Always remember that the quality of food you eat determines your efficiency at
work. Avoid refined foods like white rice and those used to make white bread and
sugary breakfast cereals as most of their vitamins and minerals are stripped
away. They turn into blood sugar (glucose) so fast just like sugar; they can
cause a spike in our insulin level. Alternate refined flour with wholegrain
flour. Substitute white sugar with honey and jaggery. Remember, all this will
help us to remain healthy.
- TNN / Times of India
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