Eat more to weigh less?

Eat less calories = weight loss right? NO!  Unfortunately weight loss isn’t as straightforward as this.  While eating too much will potentially result in weight gain, eating too little may actually slow down the process of weight loss.  One of our body’s defense mechanisms to eating too little is to go into starvation mode: making sure that the stored body fat will not and cannot be burned off by the body until it is absolutely essential.  Despite torturing ourselves, eating too little is seriously slowing down our metabolic rate

Therefore it is essential to give your body enough of the right foods each day so it is constantly in fat-burning mode.  This theory suits me just fine.  For me, eating is very much a visual thing.  I like to know I can still eat big portions without it having a negative impact on my weight.  The only difference is that these portions are largely made up of fruits and vegetables.  By loading my plate up with these during mealtimes, I don’t need to (or even have the appetite to) eat excess amounts of carbs, proteins, or fats.

The key is to find vegetables that you actually enjoy eating and come up with yummy ways of preparing them.  Other than aubergines, I can happily eat any vegetable you put in front of me.  On a regular basis, I tend to bulk up my meals with a bowl of salad and some form of cooked vegetables.  Before moving to Mumbai, I stocked up on a Japanese sesame salad dressing (a smidgen of it is just enough) and various spices to sprinkle on cooked vegetables such as paprika and Jamaican Jerk seasoning.  Both make a real difference to the taste.  Whether it means adding peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli to my pasta or beans, carrots, and courgettes to my daal, I am always incorporating vegetables in my meals…and without a doubt enjoying them.

Additionally at the risk of sounding like a total cliché, you are what you are eat–> eat foods rich in vitamins and your body will reap the benefits.  To maximise these benefits, variety is key.  Like the Hindu festival of Holi, the more colour the better. 

The only person who doesn’t reap the benefits of this, however, is whoever foots the grocery bill at home (Sorry Mummy 🙂 ).

**Just for the record,  potatoes don’t count as a vegetable