Being Healthy - Practical Tips

Some practical tips to gain weight

Include more of the staple foods such as rice, bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams and bananas in the diet
Include all forms of meat, poultry, fish and eggs as often as possible. Minced meat, chicken and fish are easier to digest.
Eat snacks regularly between meals (See Snack ideas)
Introduce more dairy products such as full-cream milk, sour milk, buttermilk, yoghurt and cheese into the diet
Add milk powder to foods such as porridge, cereals, sauces and mashed potatoes
Add sugar, honey, jam, syrup and other sweet products to meals
Make meals as attractive as possible

Sample meal plan for weight gain

Breakfast:

2 slices of toast with peanut butter
1 banana
High protein milk drink

Snack:

Orange juice
Raisin bread with generous spread of margarine
Bag of roasted peanuts to eat for whole day

Lunch:
Spaghetti Bolognaise with grated parmesan cheese
Apple juice
Snack
Full fat strawberry yoghurt

Dinner:
Chicken casserole with rice
Small salad with avocado and walnuts
Canned peaches with cream

If I am overweight

Fat on meat, ,skin on chicken, butter and cream should be eaten less because they contain bad fats and are high in calories. These bad fats or saturated fats can raise LDL or bad cholesterol in the body. This can in turn, result in cardiovascular disease.

Clinical trials have shown that diet including mono and polyunsaturated oils can lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is the good cholesterol since it transports cholesterol back to the liver to be excreted. Mono and polyunsaturated fats (if eaten in generous mounts) can also keep your weight stable or help you to gain weight.

Which foods contain good fats?

Foods that contain monounsaturated fat

Avocados
Olive oil

Foods that contain Polyunsaturated fat

Canola oil
Safflower oil
Sunflower
Fish oils
Nuts (especially walnuts and macadamia nuts)

How do I add these good fats to my diet?

Use olive, canola or sunflower oil in cooking
Use a canola spread or avocado instead of butter
Snack on unsalted nuts and seeds
Aim to eat oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon or tuna at least twice a week

Margarines such as Flora pro-activ and Logicol stop the absorption of cholesterol and are good to add to your cholesterol lowering diet.

Lower your intake of salt

As you are you overweight you may already have high blood pressure, so it is important to reduce your salt intake to less than 1550mg a day.

Try to eat less:

Processed foods like, salted meats, such as ham, salami, bacon sausages
Salted potato crisps
Pickles
Olives
Tomato sauces

Adding fibre to your diet

Eating foods that are high in fibre can help to reduce cholesterol and help to keep you fuller for longer.

To increase fibre intake:

Include plenty of vegetables and fruits in your diet. Wash and leave the skin on if possible
Choose high fibre bread, such as wholegrain or high fibre white bread
Add legumes (e.g. red kidney beans, lentils or chickpeas) to casseroles, soups and salads
Try porridge or untoasted muesli for breakfast

Be careful about portion sizes

Super-sized food servings can occur when you are eating out or at home. One super-sized serving can equal a whole day calories and make you gain weight.

Tips to control your portion size:

Understand serving sizes.

The American Dietetic Association offers these comparisons:

1 medium apple/orange (the size of a tennis ball)
a medium potato is the size of a computer mouse
85g of meat is the size of a cassette tape
85g of fish is the size of your cheque book
30grams of cheese is the size of 4 dice

Don’t eat directly out of large packages

Such as potato chips, chocolate, buttered popcorn, the larger the package the more likely to eat whole thing. Eat from smaller packages.

When eating out:

Choose the entrée size meal

If you are eating a large meal, order a doggy bag save the other half for the next day.

Exercise

Keep physically active

Aim for 60 minutes or more of physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week.

For example, try:

30 minutes of walking, jogging, cycling or swimming each day, either spent in one go, or broken into 2 or 3 parts of 10-15 minutes each, PLUS
30 minutes of lifestyle/incidental activities – walk the last kilometre to work, take the stairs instead of the lift, park away from the shops and carry your shopping back to the car

Sample meal plan for weight loss

Breakfast

½ cup of wholegrain cereal (such as All BranTM or oats) with low fat milk and fresh or tinned fruit
2 pieces of wholegrain toast with lean ham, tomato and black pepper

Lunch

Wholegrain salad sandwich with lean meat or tinned fish, with a tub of low fat/diet yoghurt
Canned corn, tuna and salad leaves wrapped in flat bread
Baked potato topped with low fat cottage cheese and salad, with fresh or tinned fruit

Dinner

Stir-fry vegetables with strips of lean beef OR chicken OR tofu, served with 1 cup of cooked Basmat or Doongara long grain white rice OR brown rice
1 cup of cooked pasta with a tomato-based sauce, plenty of vegetable and topped with 2 tablespoons of grated low fat cheese
Fish baked with soy sauce and ginger, served with a steamed potato, peas and carrots

Albion Street Centre
150 - 154 Albion Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 Australia
Telephone: +61 2 9332 9600 Fax: +61 2 9331 3490