I hate cooking and don’t like vegetables. Would I lose weight by taking those meal replacement drinks?
Theoretically, yes, but in practice it’s most unlikely. Why? Because you, like the other 99.9 percent of quick-fix dieters, will most likely get bored with the same meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner and give up. Once you give up (again, like 99.9 percent of quick fix dieters), you’ll probably want to satisfy your taste buds with everything you’ve denied them — until you’re even bigger than when you started.
Consider the child who never learns the skills of reading and writing. For the rest of his/her life they are disadvantaged. Similarly, you will always be disadvantaged until you learn good eating habits or skills. The person with poor eating habits is more likely to fall prey to disease later in life than someone who eats well. And as the metabolism slows through hormonal change, weight will continue to increase. Not only that, there’s absolutely no pleasure in a lifetime of on-again, off-again dieting.
The radical diet (for instance, the cabbage soup diet) is only effective in emergency situations, for example, prior to surgery when an extremely overweight person is at risk going under the anaesthetic. The risk of carrying the excess weight far outweighs the risk associated with the method of weight loss.
Food is much more than energy. It contains numerous micronutrients — for instance, vitamins and minerals essential for healthy life. The nutrients you receive from a well-balanced diet control every single bodily function, from the head to the toes. It affects cramps in your toes, inflammation in your joints, the strength of your bones, the speed of the metabolism, lung function, heartbeat, memory, even hair loss. Every cell, tissue and organ is in some way influenced by what goes in the mouth and what comes out (or doesn’t) the other end!
Like learning to read and write, there’s no quick fix. Start today and learn to like vegetables — like wholegrain foods, they provide fibre and play a vital role in the body’s elimination process. You can’t hate all veggies. Experiment with different cooking methods. Perhaps take up a short cooking course to learn a few basic skills. You don’t have to eat something different for every meal, but variety with one meal a day keeps the metabolism stimulated and should be pleasing enough to keep you motivated.
Eat three meals a day — breakfast and lunch could be the same if it’s easier to manage, but vary the dinner.
Eat a maximum of two snacks a day: a small handful of mixed unsalted nuts with a few apricots; a piece of fruit; a small piece (30g) of cheese with a wholegrain cracker or oat biscuit; one skimmed milk coffee.
Drink water throughout the day.
Stop eating anything three hours before going to bed.
A multivitamin is a useful supplement to take in conjunction with a balanced restricted diet.
