Difficulty in Maintaining Ideal Body Weight? This is Doctor's Advice!
Friday, June 5, 2020
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Just being at home during a pandemic doesn't just bore us. However, the potential for weight gain due to lack of physical activity and irregular eating. This weight gain makes us uneasy, because of the high risk of triggering diabetes, high blood pressure, and even heart disease.
So, what should be done so that the weight remains ideal in a situation like now? Check out the explanation from Dr. Raissa, a Clinical Nutrition Specialist from a well-known hospital.
1. Healthy eating, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle are the secrets of a successful diet
In theory, the secret to a successful diet is simple, eat-sport-healthy lifestyle-repeat. According to Dr. Raissa, this means we have to manage our diet, physical activity must keep going even at home, and adopt a healthy lifestyle. All this must be repeated continuously until the results are seen.
For a healthy diet it refers to four principles, what do you eat, when do you eat, where do you eat, and how do you eat.
How is the explanation?
As for where do you eat, where we eat also has an influence on diet. When we eat out, we have a tendency to eat more. And for how to do you eat, pay attention to how we eat. According to Dr. Raissa, don't chew food too quickly and choose smaller plates so that smaller portions are taken.
2. Processed foods can increase body weight faster than fresh foods
Apparently, the selection of fresh or processed food has a part of our body weight. According to Dr. Raissa, nutrition in processed foods tends to decrease, while the calories are excessive and can increase body weight.
Based on a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism and quoted by The New York Times page, it was found that people who eat processed foods such as cereals, white bread, potato chips, processed meat, and canned foods will significantly increase body weight.
3. Follow and apply the "balanced nutrition cone" guide
Besides that, Dr. Raissa encourages us to follow and implement the "balanced nutrition cone" guide. According to the Ministry of Health, balanced nutrition cone is designed to improve the principles of 4 healthy 5 perfect. Balanced nutrition cone not only contains guidelines for healthy food, but also physical activity and hygiene.
In terms of food, we are advised to consume grains, tubers and vegetables as much as 3-4 servings. Do not forget to consume 2-3 servings of fruits and 2-4 servings of fish and meat. Most importantly, limit your consumption of sugar, salt and oil.
In addition to choosing healthy foods, we must also compensate by washing hands and physical activity (for example, walking, gymnastics, cycling, or playing football).
4. We also have to monitor weight at least once a week
Seeing the numbers on the scales might be a scourge for some people. But, like it or not, we are encouraged to monitor body weight regularly, at least once a week, advises Dr. Raissa. Its function is not only to monitor the increase and decrease in body weight, but also to detect the presence of certain medical conditions or diseases.
Another way to find out whether our body weight is ideal or not is from a body mass index. The formula is to divide the weight (in kilograms) by the height squared which is changed in meters. The ideal body mass index is 18.5-22.9. If the body mass index is above 27, then it can be categorized as obesity.
5. Limit the use of gadgets and avoid sleeping above 2 o'clock in the morning
Besides that, Dr. Raissa also suggested reducing screen time because it had links to obesity and diabetes. Screen time is the amount of time spent using devices such as smartphones, computers, televisions, and others. This is reinforced by a study entitled "Screen Media Exposure and Obesity in Children and Adolescents" published in the journal Pediatrics in 2017.
From these studies, it was found that exposure to screen media can trigger obesity in children and teenagers. An increase in high-calorie and low-nutrition foods while watching or using gadgets.
It is recommended to sleep with a duration of 6-8 hours per day and do not sleep past 2 o'clock at night. Why? Because at this hour, we experience a deep sleep phase. If we have messy hours of sleep, then it can disrupt the circadian rhythm, which is the body's internal processes that regulate the sleep-wake cycle.
Diet does not mean you have to torture yourself by not eating at all. We are advised to keep eating 3 times a day and interspersed with healthy snacks such as fruit, vegetables, yogurt, low-fat milk, and nuts.
Thermic effects will occur when we eat. The body will release heat when eating and can help the process of burning calories. This heat arises due to metabolic processes that occur in the body. That's why, eating is still necessary even if we are on a diet!