Hi wellness enthusiasts,

Last weekend, we had a successful run of the “once-in-a-lifetime” workshop for some of our readers who made some time out of their busy Hari Raya. From their positive faces, we know they left gaining valuable information and knowledge on the “7 Weight Loss Miracles” to help them lose the extra weight.

For those who could not make it, no worries! Here are some information that we shared for the benefit of every reader.

Do you know that your body is a smart machine? Imagine your body as your car. Every six months or so, you would have to send it to the workshop for maintenance and fuel has to be topped-up ever so often, especially when the car is used more frequently. When the red light comes on for the fuel, we quickly look for a petrol kiosk to top up the fuel. Most car owners will also take it upon themselves to take care of the interior look so that the car is clean and smells fresh all the time.

If you take so much time out for your car, how about your own body? Our body too has red lights to signal its needs. Have you ever heard your stomach grumble? This happens especially when you skip meals in the office and while at work.

In our workshops, we constantly remind clients to take their breakfast and meals at 3-4 hours interval. The idea is not to have the body give you the red light signals. By then, it might be too late. What is the rationale for this?

Just like a car, your body needs energy to run daily activities such as walking, typing, talking, running, thinking, driving and the list goes on and on. Our fuel is our food. Every 3-4 hours, you should take a pit stop at the filling machine and fill it up with fuel. Without food, our body fails to run properly and might contribute to you feeling lethargic and lack of concentration during those meetings.

One of the main food groups, according to the Singapore Healthy Diet Pyramid, is carbohydrates. Today, we shall just cover on carbohydrates. Carbohydrates is important as your basic fuel supply, energy balance for your liver and acts as an emergency fuel for your heart when fatty acids are no longer available.

Fresh fruits and vegetables

You have 2 types which are complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates comes from food sources such as bread, sweet potatoes and cereals. Simple carbohydrates are your cakes, ice cream, sugar and drinks. In your quest to lead a healthy lifestyle, you should always strive for a balance with all kinds of food.

Some good examples of starchy but low-fat food are rice, noodles, pasta, bread, cereal or cereal bars, chapati, naan, thosai, fruits, milk, yoghurt, potato, yam and corn. Do take note to consume these food with less oil, butter, low in fat and boiled and steamed instead of fried. For sweet, low-fat carbohydrate food, we have sugar, honey, syrup, sports drinks, lollies and sweets.

You should try to cut down or avoid high-fat food such as pastries, chocolates, ice-creams, puddings, chips, cream biscuits and cakes. When you consume high-fat food, the body takes a longer time to digest them and without the proper nutrients, your body will not be able to function well.

Do take note that 50-60% of your total daily energy requirements come from carbohydrates and there should be a combination of simple and complex carbohydrates in one meal. For example, you can take oats in the morning with a small amount of sugar.

Some might ask about artificial sweeteners. They do not provide you with any energy because artificial sweeteners has negligible or zero calories. They are highly recommended for diabetics and weight loss clients because it makes the food sweet without the guilt of extra calories. Most artificial sweeteners are made up of chemicals instead of the usual carbohydrates and thus are 200 time sweeter than normal sugar.

Make smart choices when you eat and always think of VMB. Variety, Moderation and Balanced.

Live life Smartly!

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