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Below: Article by Dr Nik Mazlan, dietitian, is the Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity. He also lectures at a university hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

For the best results, use the dual approach of eating healthy and exercising more.

Losing weight healthily means that you have to adopt healthier eating habits. You will have to take less of certain foods, more of others, and control your overall food intake. However, there is absolutely no starving necessary!

Choose low-energy foods over high-energy foods. High-energy foods are usually high in fat and sugar, but contain little fibre and water.

Take less fat and sugar in your diet by modifying your cooking and preparation methods.

Eat four or five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, as part of a well-balanced diet.

Make gradual changes to your daily diet. Don’t turn into a health food fanatic. You don’t have to spend all your time or money on special foods that will help you lose weight. Neither should you live on vegetables or salads alone.

Aim to lose about 1kg or 2kg in the first two or three weeks. After that, you can lose about 0.5kg a week.

You can achieve this weight loss by cutting down on 500Kcal of energy a day, through a combination of a healthy diet and physical activity.

Try not to be lured by sudden crash diets. Cutting down on what you eat drastically within one or two weeks may help you lose weight. But it will not solve your weight problems in the long run. Your body weight will increase again as soon as you go back to your old eating habits. This means that your body weight will be going up and down like a yo-yo, which is very dangerous.

Take time to exercise daily. Jogging, swimming and cycling and indulging in other sports are great exercises that can help you lose weight healthily while releasing stress. In everyday life, little things can help you use up more energy. In the workplace, use the staircase instead of the lift.

If you’re going somewhere within walking distance, don’t use the car. Instead, walk or cycle.

Play sports or games during the weekends with

your family. Exercising with the family makes it more fun and meaningful.

As you can see, the recommendations for losing weight healthily did not involve bouts of starvation, spending exorbitant sums of money or going through arduous workouts.

Just eat healthy and make it a point to exercise regularly … you’ll soon be shedding those pounds.

• http://www.nutriweb.org.my/modules/foodpyramid/index.php
• http://www.nutrition.moh.gov.my/nutrition/media_risalah.html

This entry was posted on November 26, 2008 at 12:12 am and is filed under Info.