Nutrition Q&A

Here are the answers to this week's questions courtesy of certified nutritionist Natalia from OptimumNutrition4U.com  Let me know your thoughts and if you have a question for her, please submit it through my Formspring.  If you already asked a question this week and it wasn't answered, feel free to send it again as Natalia has to pick a few from a very big bunch and you'll get a better chance of getting yours answered if you do!

xoxo

Anna

1. I'm of moderate weight and exercise occasionally but I crave carbohydrates! Anything from potato chips, bread to sugar, everything! I guess I like the feeling of being full, how can I change that? Are there certain foods I should eat?

It sounds like you tend to go for refined carbohydrates (white potatoes, sugary foods, white breads, biscuits etc.). These have high glycemic index and can affect your blood sugar balance. Every time you eat something made with sugar and/or white flour or white rice or potatoes, it causes a rise of blood sugar, which then drops very quickly. This leaves you feeling low in energy and hungry within a short time. Once this happens, you are likely to develop a craving for more carbohydrates in order to get the energy back and deal with hunger.

It’s ok to eat carbs, but choose them wisely. Make a few small changes. Swap regular white rice for brown or wild rice, replace white potatoes with sweet potatoes, eat wholemeal or rye bread instead of white, have oat or brown rice cakes, white or milk chocolate for a dark version, and learn to enjoy fresh and dried fruits instead of sweets.

Remember to eat proteins and carbohydrates at every meal, add a pinch of cinnamon to your foods daily and use a little balsamic vinegar, too as this will help to control blood sugar better.

2. I hate water. Like seriously, when I drink it I want to throw up it tastes so disgusting. And I know I'm supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but I literally can't even drink half a cup day.  What can I do?

You need to slowly re-train your body and trust me, in time you will enjoy water. Until then, you can add a few drops of lemon or orange juice to your water to give it some flavour or drink herbal (not fruit) teas like chamomile, mint or redbush to name a few. They are caffeine free, so will count towards your daily fluid intake. Hope this helps.

 3. I used to be skinny and have really nice legs, and then I thought that eating more would give me big boobs, but in the end it all went to my thighs and 3 years later they look HUGE. I've gained so much weight and when I look at my legs, all I want to do is eat!

Please don’t let your present situation upset you. Instead look at it as a new challenge with a positive happy ending. Yes it may take you a while to shift the weight, but as soon as you stop getting upset and start making changes, you will sure turn things around.

Check Anna’s first post on nutrition. I wrote a few tips that you could use here and now.

4. When you come back home from a club and are very hungry, what is the least bad thing to eat?

You can grab a small pot of natural yoghurt or have some cottage cheese and a cup of herbal tea like mint, chamomile or redbush. Protein in yoghurt/cottage cheese will deal with hunger and tea will help you relax and have a good night sleep.

5. Do you have any tips on controlling crazy appetite? I LOVE food and cannot stop eating!

Eat small meals every 3 hours, so you will never allow yourself to be hungry. Chew your food very well and enjoy every bite. Use smaller plates and serve your meals so that they look pretty. Do not watch tv or read a book while eating. Concentrate on the food in front of you. If you LOVE food, learn to love the flavours and textures, so then a small amount will be satisfying. Do not turn you LOVE into OBSESSION.

6. Dear Natalia, could you give some advice for vegetarians? Because I don't eat meat/fish etc... so am I missing something essential? I try to swim everyday, but the problem is that I'm not losing weight because of my diet. Any suggestions?

Hello! It would be very useful to see your food diary otherwise my advice may not hit the right spot as there are several types of vegetarians including lacto-ovo (dairy and eggs are still on a menu), lacto (people do not eat any foods of animal origin, but do eat dairy) or vegan (no foods animal origin). If I knew what type of vegetarian diet you follow, I would be able to give you better information on menu planning and nutrients you need to pay more attention to.

If you are in the UK, you can always get in touch with me. If not, find a nutritionist in your area.

Planning your menus is essential as it ensures that your diet will provide the nutritional needs for maintaining healthy body and systems. You may want to use the Vegetarian Food Guide Pyramid for guidelines for selecting foods and portions sizes (you may find this article helpful). If you reach plateau and stop losing weight (what about your measurements? are they the same?), this may mean that you either exercise too much or do not eat enough.

Using a variety of foods is very important to get a good supply of vitamins and minerals on a daily basis. Make sure that you eat up to 10 servings of vegetables and fruits daily, recommended 5 servings just wouldn’t do. Ensure that your protein intake is also good – aim for about 1-1.2g of protein per 1kg body weight. Take good multivitamin supplement to support your body on a daily basis.

7. Hi, I was wondering if eating high wheat content foods, or foods like yoghurt actually increase chances of breaking out as our bodies have difficulties digesting wheat?

Well, yoghurt isn’t a source of wheat, so I have a feeling that the break outs may be caused by sugar that may be added to flavoured yoghurt and all kinds of pastries that are made with wheat. If you do eat these foods, I’d suggest that you swap flavoured yoghurts for plain natural yoghurt, avoid sweets and pastries and replace them with wholegrain bread or even better, rye bread that’s made without sugar and/yeast. Do it for 4 weeks and see if your skin gets better.

I would not blame wheat for breakouts because I didn’t see your food diary or run any tests.