Eating aloo can help lose weight - Author: By The LifeAtWork Team
Potatoes not only give your body the fuel to burn fat, but satiate you too.
LEAN@WORK
If you are on a weight loss mission, rice, potatoes and pasta are probably banned from your shopping list, kitchen and plate. Author Porter Shimer writes why you might be making a big mistake, in his book, More Fat-burning Foods. We borrow the author’s shopping secrets, appetite-taming tricks and a list of top ten foods, to turn you into a lean, mean fat-burning machine.
Meet the carb-o-phobe
Himesh Reshammiya’s blue-eyed girl, Hansika Motwani avoids rice and roti in order to lose weight.
In Hollywood: Friends star Jennifer Aniston has sworn off carbs.
What it can do to you: Swearing off good carbs will deprive your body of fat-burning fuel. The high-fat, high-protein, low-carb Atkins Diet results in high cholesterol, high triglycerides and affects kidney functioning.
Fat-burning fact: There’s more fat in a single tsp of butter than in 10 pounds of potatoes.
Diets teach fat to fight back
Fad diets or calorie restrictions fail not just because they ask us to accept feeling hungry, but because they undermine the very biochemical process on which fat loss depends. To burn fat effectively, our bodies need energy - something that’s short in supply when dinner is little more than a salad or cup of soup. Without energy from the right food, your body cannot generate enough heat to get the fat burning as energy. In fact, the less we eat, the more stubborn our body fat becomes. The fewer calories we consume, the more inclined our bodies get to store these calories as fat.
Eat these top fat burning foods
Complex carbohydrates: This one’s for all carb-o-phobes, who can’t tell good carbs from the bad ones. Bagels, beans, oatmeal, pasta, rice and whole-grain breads, unlike simple carbs contain nutrients and step up the body’s metabolic rate.
Fruits: Apples, citrus fruits, kiwi, melons, peaches and strawberries.
Veggies: Asparagus, beetroot, broccoli, carrots, brinjal, onions, green beans, potato, yam.
Low-fat proteins: Chicken breast, egg whites, low-fat paneer, white meat.
Fat-burning for the health of it
Weight control aside, there’s another reason fat-burning foods should be on your table every day: They can be your meal ticket to better health. Studies by reputed organisations like American Heart Association and American Cancer Society show that a diet centred around these foods can help reduce risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancers of the cervix, prostate and breast, and high blood pressure.
Tricks for a leaner lifestyle
Mind games for taming your appetite - Research shows that we can help put our appetites at rest, by soothing our brain.
Here are some hunger-taming tricks:
Dim the lights: Studies by the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore show that people tend to eat more in environments where lighting is bright and colours, vibrant. Try dimming the lights or using candles.
Dine from plainer plates: Plates with busy patterns tend to be appetite stimulants, according to studies.
Develop a taste for tepid tunes: The faster the music, the faster we eat, so, make your stereo selection accordingly.
In your kitchen
Best fat-fighting weapons:
Arm yourself with these utensils:
Non-stick frying pans and bake ware.
A ridged grill pan for cooking burgers, fish.
Steaming baskets for steaming veggies.
A fat-skimmer for skimming the surface fats from soups and gravies.
A blender for low-fat soups, sauces and shakes.
A good collection of low-fat cookbooks.
Fight fat at the supermarket
Don’t shop when you are hungry: Shopping on an empty stomach can lead to a heaped shopping cart. Try to shop after eating a satiating meal.
BUY fresh or frozen food rather than canned: Not only will you get more nutrition, you’ll also reduce sodium intake.
Know your best low-fat bargains: Your low-fat diet can also be a low-cost diet, if you keep track of this.
