A huge thank you to Natalia, for taking the time to answer everyone's questions so thoroughly! To make book a consultation with or directly contact her check out her website, OptimumNutrition4U.com
xoxo
Anna
1. I am really skinny. The media always focuses on weight loss but where's the focus on weight gain? How should I gain weight? What foods should I eat and how can I get bigger wrists?
Hi! I think, the media tends to talk more about weight loss because obesity has become a global epidemic and does need to be addressed here and now. However, I do understand your concerns regarding the weight gain issue because gaining weight can be just as challenging as trying to lose it.
It is very important to remember that if you lost weight suddenly and unexpectedly while your daily routine and diet habits remained the same and you are eating enough, you will need to see a doctor just to rule out any possibility of an underlying health problem.
If your GP is happy with everything, you can concentrate on your diet and lifestyle habits that may help you put on a few pounds.
You must make sure that you eat enough to give your body all the nutrients it requires to be healthy, so keep a food diary for a week or two and write down everything you eat and drink. Then make sure that you eat enough protein (chicken, fish, meat, natural full fat yoghurt, full fat milk, full fat cottage cheese, small quantities of cheese and cream), plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, good carbohydrates (wholemeal and rye bread, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, oats), and good amounts of essential fats founds in oily fish, nuts, seeds, avocado and olive oil. Proteins and good fats are the most important, so include protein in every meal and snack. Your best bets are oily fish, full fat yoghurt and cottage cheese, eggs, chicken and turkey. You can get enough good fats by eating seeds and nuts as a snack or sprinkled on your yoghurt or morning porridge, eating hummus and guacamole with chopped vegetables as a snack, using tahini and nut butters as spread on oat cakes or wholemeal toast and making salad dressing with extra virgin olive oil.
Do not count calories. Instead eat as much as you like until you feel comfortably full. Have three good meals and a couple of small snacks. Do your best to eat at regular times and have something every 3 hours or so.
Take good multivitamin supplement.
As much as you can, avoid junk food because it is often full of sugar and refined carbohydrates that are loaded with calories but have very little nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
You can also increase your weight by doing some strength training exercises because they may help you build muscles and muscle mass weighs more. If you’ve never exercised before I’d suggest that you ask a qualified personal trainer to help you.
2. Do you have a specific workout routine (like walking, running, etc.) to stay fit, toned and in good shape? Any tips? Thanks!
It is very important to eat right when you work out because you need to fuel your body before exercise and feel your muscles after your finish working out to improve recovery and increase muscle mass.
Make sure that you have a proper meal 2-3 hours before your workout. It should contain protein such as chicken, eggs or fish, vegetables and complex carbohydrates (brown rice, wholemeal bread, wholemeal pasta, baked potato etc.).
Make sure to drink plenty of water prior, during and after your workout to stay hydrated. Have a glass of water about 30 minutes before exercise, then sip water every 10-15 minutes and have another glass of water after your workout. Don’t allow yourself to feel thirsty.
If you strength train, then have some low fat protein and carbohydrates within 30 minutes after your workout. It is very important because amino acids in protein will be used as building blocks for the muscles and carbohydrates will work as a fuel (carbohydrates are stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen, a form of sugar we use for energy) and promote recovery. You can have a milk shake made with some semi-skimmed milk, a little natural yoghurt, banana or berries and protein powder (Solgar makes good ones) or have a low-fat natural cottage cheese or yoghurt and a fruit.
And remember that proper healthy diet means 85% of success, so if you want to stay in good shape and have a beautiful figure and healthy body eat clean, avoid junk and take good multivitamin supplement as well as vitamin C. If you unsure how to choose your supplements, find a nutritional therapist who could help.
3. I have problems with my eating, I am very small but I am starting to eat when I'm upset and that's a lot. Do you ever do that? What helps you?
4. Sometimes when I get upset over something I eat. I realise that it is only a temporary fix for things, but what other things can I do to keep my mind off of things?
3. I have problems with my eating, I am very small but I am starting to eat when I'm upset and that's a lot. Do you ever do that? What helps you?
4. Sometimes when I get upset over something I eat. I realise that it is only a temporary fix for things, but what other things can I do to keep my mind off of things?
A lot of people tend to turn to food when they are upset or stressed because foods, particularly, carbohydrates have a calming effect on the brain. Stress also affects our hormones that control appetite. When we are under stress, the body releases adrenalin and cortisol that provide support during stress, but high levels of cortisol may cause blood sugar to drop and lead to hunger and cravings.
You need to learn to evaluate the level of stress and how serious it is. Then you need to ask yourself what you can do to solve the problem that makes you feel upset / stressed. If there are particular situations that upsets you, but can be avoided, try to deal with it quickly, so it can be forgotten. Find activities that help you feel relaxed or take your mind off things. Go for a walk, listen to your favourite music (choose the one that makes you feel happy and gives you energy), have a shower or a bath with some essential oils like lavender, paint your nails or call a friend. Learn to take control over stress rather than let the stress control you.
5. Can you give me tips on how to lose weight for August but be healthy and not starve? Please, I would be really grateful.
Healthy weight loss is a moderate weight loss and you can achieve it by eating good quantities of balanced meals and doing some exercise or just being active.
Avoid anything that’s made with sugar and white flour as well as refined grains (white rice, white pasta, semolina) and replace these foods with wholegrain choices like rye and wholemeal breads, oats, brown rice, quinoa and buckwheat. Replace sweets and pastries with natural choices like dried and fresh fruits, nuts, fruit bars (I like Nakd and Fruit Break, you can find them in supermarkets) and some dark (60% or higher cocoa content) chocolate (10-20g per day is ok). If you miss jam, swap the regular sugary ones for St. Dalfour fruit spread. Trust me, you will love the flavour.
Eat regular meals Have three meals and a couple of small snacks every 3 – 3.5 hours, so you will never feel hungry. Make sure that your meals are made up of protein combined with vegetables and carbohydrates. Protein will make you fill fuller for longer and good carbohydrates will give you energy.
Eat slowly and chew your food well
Control your portion sizes The easiest way is to compare the serving sizes of particular foods to familiar physical objects. For example, a single serving of:
* Vegetables or fruit is about the size of your fist. * Pasta is about the size of one scoop of ice cream.
* Meat, fish, or poultry is the size of a deck of cards or the size of your palm (no fingers)
* Snacks such as pretzels and chips is about the size of a cupped handful (your own, not your friend’s).
* Apple is the size of a baseball.
* Potato is the size of a computer mouse.
* Bagel is the size of a hockey puck.
* Pancake is the size of a compact disc (but don’t have to be as thin as CD, though).
* Steamed rice is the size of a cupcake wrapper.
* Cheese is the size of a pair of dice or the size of your whole thumb (from the tip to the base).
Or you can use proper measuring cups and see what an exact portion looks like when measured and then on your plate.
Drink water You don’t have to drink 8 glasses of water a day if you’ve never done it before, but your goal is to increase your water intake little by little until you drink plenty of it or about 2 liters. Don’t worry, your body will adapt and learn to love water. You can replace some of the water with caffeine free herbal (not fruit) teas such as mint, chamomile or red bush.
Remember that you should never allow yourself to feel thirsty because it’s a sign that the body is already dehydrated.
Often we tend to confuse hunger and thirst, too. So drinking plenty of water may help you avoid those imaginary cravings.
Eat clean diet The thing is that the healthiest foods are the more nutritious and eating them may be one of the easiest ways to maintain or lose weight because they will supply your body with all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals it needs to be healthy. Make sure that you eat at least 250g of vegetables daily, if you can handle more, even better. There’s no limit when it comes to vegetables (except potatoes which are a vegetable of its own and counts towards carbohydrate intake). Eat veggies in your salads, soups, sauces or have them as a snack. Choose green or any bright coloured vegetables like broccoli, spinach, cabbage, carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, lettuce and courgettes. Have 2-3 fresh fruits every day – as a snack with some nuts or yoghurt or instead of dessert after your meals. Do not drink fruit juices, though as they are high in natural sugars and may disrupt sugar balance and lead to cravings and weight gain.
Replace red meat with chicken or turkey breasts or fish. Fish is the best option because it contains essential fatty acids Omega 3, which may actually help you lose weight while keeping your skin beautiful and your nervous and hormonal systems healthy. Other protein choices are natural low fat yoghurt (avoid fat free ones as well as any yoghurts with additives), cottage cheese, nuts, eggs, semi-skimmed goats milk. Lentils are a wonderful source of vegetarian protein, but 80g portion of dry lentils will also count as 1 serving of vegetables. Another good option is beans and chickpeas.
Reduce tea and coffee and avoid soft drinks and alcohol. Combine protein and carbohydrates at every meal and snack. For example, yoghurt with chopped fruit and no added sugar muesli or granola (PERFECT granola is the best one or pick any muesli that have no added sugar) for breakfast, chicken or fish with brown rice and plenty of vegetables for lunch, fruit & nuts or hummus and chopped veggies (celery, peppers, carrots, cucumber etc) as a snack and fish or chicken and vegetables for dinner.
Do not eat carbs after 4 pm By the end of the day our bodies naturally require less energy, so a lighter dinner of chicken, fish or lean meat with some bright vegetables (no potatoes) would be the best option, especially, if you would like to lose weight.
If you feel hungry after dinner, have a small natural yoghurt or some low fat cottage cheese followed by a cup of mint or chamomile tea.
Add multivitamin Yes, your diet is much better. And yes, you are eating healthy nutritious foods. But there are many factors that affect our vitamin and mineral balance including stress, lifestyle, age, and, of course, diet.
Treat yourself Don’t forget about little rewards. This will keep you motivated and give you a few happy moments, too.
6. Hi! I'm 16 years old and 5'8 and I am around 65kg (or more than that right now). I thought I should lose weight and tried to. However, it didn't work...and it got worse! I couldn't stop eating and eating and I gained extra weight! I gained like 5kg in summer!!! How horrible is this. I was 5'7 and only 52kg 3 years ago and I don't know how I can be so fat right now... :( It's not like I have to be 52kg but a least, I want to lose some weight. Please give me some suggestions on how I'm gonna solve this problem! Lilien
Hi Lilien,
First of all, your weight is within the normal range, so you are definitely not fat or should not refer to yourself as “fat”.
However, I am glad that you decided to do something about your current situation. You see, I have a feeling that you tried a diet that was unbalanced and therefore low in nutrients, so although you lost weight, it was more fluid and muscle loss, rather than fat. When the diet is low in nutrients, the body needs to find energy to survive, so it turns to muscle as the source of energy. Muscle is made up of proteins (amino acids) that can be converted into energy. Of course, fat can be used for energy, too, but the body leaves the fat as the last resort to spare.
So if we follow an unbalanced diet, we lose water in the beginning followed by loss of muscle mass and only then – fat. The problem is that once the muscle is lost, our metabolism slows down, so we naturally need less energy (and energy comes in a form of food, of course).
Once the diet is over or we choose to stop it because we don’t feel right and start eating normally, the body cannot burn all we eat for energy because it needs less of it. At the same time the rest of the food needs to be dealt with, so it is stored as fat.
This is how the yo-yo dieting begins. Next time we go on a diet, we start another vicious circle. The more circles we “make”, the most muscle we can lose and the more fat (and weight) we can gain.
The good news is that you can stop this process.
First of all, follow the basic steps from the answer above. Do not count calories, but rather concentrate on eating plenty of healthy foods at least 85% of the time.
Stay active – exercise or simply walk everywhere.
You are still very young and your body will gratefully respond to these changes, so you will not only lose weight, but remain a healthy bunny, too.
And please, do not try to get to this “ideal weight”. 52kg was probably a bit too low for you as well as unrealistic. Instead, measure yourself and decide what size you would like to be. Weight is such a questionable measure and, by the way, nobody can tell how much you weigh unless you tell them, but everybody can tell you how slim you look because this is a visual measure. So pick a realistic goal and remind yourself that you are unique and beautiful.
7. I am trying to lose weight. I am size UK 10 -12 but I feel so fat all the time. I exercise and eat healthy but it is such a slow process.
Girl, you need to be proud of yourself!!! You are already doing all the hard work. You need to think positive and remind yourself that slow weight loss is good. Fat doesn’t weigh much, so you cannot see quick changes on the scales. Perhaps, it’s a good idea not to weight yourself for a while, but use a measuring tape or even your favourite jeans to check the progress. As long as you are getting smaller, you are on the right track.
If you feel that you are stuck and nothing works any longer, I’d suggest that you book a consultation with a nutritional therapist to get a personalised plan of action.
8. I have gained 9 pounds. Before I was skinny, and I wore tight clothes. After gaining the weight, I am chubby, and my clothes are too tight, and it shows my new ugly body. Do you have any advice for hiding my weight gain? Do you have diet advice?
Hi! I wish you could give me a little more information about your diet and habits. If you eat healthy, but suddenly experienced a weight gain, please go and see your doctor for advice.
And if everything is ok, then follow the steps from the answer above.
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