Understanding How Weight Gain Happens:
Most often, weight gain happens when we eat more calories/energy than we need. Our bodies then convert these excess calories into fat in order to store them for later. The buildup of these fat deposits is what creates weight gain.
Skipping meals during the day = Eating more at night
We are mostly active during the day and less active in the evening. This means that our bodies need more energy during the day and less in the evening.
If we miss our day meals, we often get home tired and hungry, and could end up eating too much in the evening
Since we spend most of our evening hours sleeping, all that energy from our food won’t need to be used and will go to storage as fat, leading to weight gain.
Avoid skipping breakfast and lunch. If you can’t find time to eat a full meal, practice healthy snacking. This simply means spending 10 minutes to eat a fruit salad, yoghurt or maziwa mala, or even tea and sweet potatoes. It will serve as a good break to get the energy you need to continue your daily activities.
Increasing your vegetable & fruit intake
Vegetables and fruits contain less calories and their fibre helps us feel full with smaller portions of food. This is why it’s important to serve half your plate with a vegetable or fruit.
Plan to prepare vegetables once and then use leftovers later in the week.
Buy what’s in season - they’re usually cheaper.
Buy vegetables and fruits in their simplest form for convenience. You can get pre-cut, peeled or juiced fruits from your local Mama Mboga or in some supermarkets.
Cutting out junk food & managing your cravings
Eliminate what’s in your kitchen and take note of what you buy. Junk food and high sugar foods like crisps, biscuits, cakes, donuts, sweets, chocolate, sodas & juice need to be banned from your kitchen.
Replace these foods with similar flavours, textures and healthier options like sweet fruits, crunchy vegetables like carrots or cucumber, popcorn, fresh blended fruit juice or some hot cocoa.
Reminder: A Handy Guide To Portion Control as a Healthy Habit
Using the healthy plate portions below can reduce your calorie intake by half for every meal you eat! Here’s a reminder on how to do this: