Excess weight can be due to a multitude of reasons. There is more to getting weight in balance than simply eating less and exercising more. It is important to focus on the right nutrients and food for you based on where you are at right now.
My personal health profile asks you a series of questions about how you are feeling, what you are eating and what symptoms you are experiencing. This is all then evaluated to work out a programme that is unique to you and that will work for you.
It is best to lose weight gradually. We don’t recommend short term diets. Instead we recommend making lifelong changes to your diet and lifestyle. This means avoiding processed foods, sugar, refined fats and artificial sweeteners found in diet foods. Replace these with whole foods, plenty of vegetables, good quality proteins and cold pressed oils. Fibre helps to increase the diversity of organisms in the gut which play a big role in metabolism and weight. Fibre is found in whole grains, fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts, seeds and sea vegetables.
The basic principles are to eat nutrient rich foods that are cooked or pre-pared from scratch. Avoid processed foods, refined foods and fast junky foods. Every time you have something cooked, have something raw with it. Raw fruit, veggies or sprouted grains or seeds are packed with food en-zymes which are our life force. Enzymes help digestion, metabolism and weight balance. So, if you make soup, for example, add a handful of raw herbs or vegetables as you serve it. If you have a casserole, stew, fish or chicken dish, make sure you have a raw side salad with it or a few raw leaves, herbs or veggies. Most people do not eat nearly enough raw food. You need to make sure you do.
One of the most common causes of abdominal weight gain is a diet high in sugar or refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice and processed foods.These foods rapidly break down into. The glucose goes into the blood stream causing a dramatic rise in blood glucose levels. Insulin is released from the pancreas to carry the glucose from the blood into the cells where it is stored for later use, or converted to fat. The more insulin you produce the more likely you are to convert glucose to fat.
Diets high in sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods mean that insulin is constantly being called upon to carry the glucose into the cells. This can lead to the cells becoming “deaf” to insulin. More insulin is secreted until the cells let the glucose enter. As, by now, insulin levels are higher than they should be, more glucose is stored as fat and less is available for energy. This leads to the deposition of fat on the body, especially around the abdomen.
It’s best not to sleep in a room that is too warm as the body needs to cool down in order to sleep efficiently but sleeping in a cold room will not make you skinny.
Try to get to bed by 10.30 p.m. Studies show that getting to sleep before midnight and having regular sleeping and waking times is healthiest for the body. Sleep is a time of repair and rejuvenation, and a lack of it can cause a hormonal imbalance which can actually lead to cravings and weight gain. You have been warned!
It’s not so much particular vegetables that are important for weight management but it is important to eat a diet rich in a wide range of vegetables. Aim to eat some green vegetables or salads every day.
If your diet is poor, this can compromise your Immune system and make you more susceptible to colds, flus and poor health. We need a steady, balanced intake of essential vitamins and minerals via nutrient rich foods to support optimal immunity and enhance protection from infections and disease. An unhealthy diet high in added sugar along with poor food choices can lead to weight issues.
The McKeith Method ™ does not support the idea of constantly weighing yourself.
It’s all tied in with calorie counting and food number crunching. Weighing and counting calories is so last century. Weighing and scales lead to an obsession with numbers and very often a negative relationship with food. What you should be thinking about is how you feel about yourself, your health and energy levels.
Eat early! Late-night eating is a recipe for compromised digestion and potential weight gain.
Trans fats have absolutely no nutritional value – whatsoever. They will only harm you. Their purpose is to extend the shelf life of food and enhance its flavour – both unnatural processes. Trans fats have been linked with depleting stores of the good cholesterol that the body needs for optimal function.
Your body can’t process trans fats effectively. They interfere with metabolism and may indeed cause you to gain weight. Eat foods that contain them and they’ll literally end up on your hips (and stomach and thighs and bum . . . Trans fats are a disaster for your waistline. You’ll see these on food labels as ‘hydrogenated’ or ‘partially hydrogenated’ fat or oil. You may find them in some margarine, shortening, crisps, chocolate, sweets, pastries, biscuits, ice cream. Not all of them, granted, but many. Just be cognizant when reading labels.
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