There is no denying that a majority of Nigerians, especially the female folks, are obsessed with losing weight, keeping fit and dieting. On Instagram, as well as other social media platforms, you will find pictures, videos, and posts showing their efforts and their journey. A majority of these posts show the kind of food people eat to stay healthy and usually, and if you read the comments, you realise that most times, these food types are not what they really want to consume.
The truth is there are ways to eat what you desire and still be healthy. You do not necessarily have to starve yourself of certain meals or suffer the major inconvenience that comes with having to prepare a healthy home-cooked meal before going off to work rather than just grabbing a fries on your way. Luckily, with the tips below, Jumia Travel, Africa’s No.1 online hotel booking portal reveals that eating right does not suck.
- Eat small portions
You can eat almost anything you desire that augurs well with your body and stay healthy by ensuring you ration your intake. Do not eat more than you need to. Stick to small portions. Again, always look at the nutrition info for the amount you actually should take per serving, although, what is sometimes considered a single serving on a nutrition label is not always what a reasonable person would eat in one sitting.
- Eat slowly
Sometimes you find yourself eating too quickly and then consuming more than your body needs. Eating too quickly basically keeps you from hearing satiety signals from the brain and causes overeating which is surely unhealthy. Again, you do not actually taste and enjoy your food when you’re rushing it; slowing down helps you savour it all.
- Stay away from processed foods
Processed foods seem to be an easy option, but to stay healthy; you may want to make your version of the food yourself. For instance, rather than buy a bottled dressing, you can easily make it yourself. Avoiding processed foods ensures you avoid ingredients that may not be healthy for you. If however you must buy already processed food, look for products with fewer ingredients, as the fewer ingredients an item has, the less processed it is.
- Eat a decent ratio of fibre to carbs
In as much as you want to eat what you want, try to make sure you keep a decent ratio of fibre to carbohydrates. Carbs are the major culprit when it comes to “unhealthy” eating, however, fibre has a way of offsetting its effect on the body. Fibre helps you feel fuller and slow the absorption of sugar, helping to regulate your blood sugar. To make sure that you are getting a relatively balanced meal, despite your choice of food, have a ratio of carbs to fibre no greater than 10 to 1.
- Don’t eat alone
Eating with people is a sure way to get the motivation you need to eat healthily. Also, when you are with people, you hardly eat too much or more than you need to. You could invite people to eat with you in your home or go out with you to a restaurant.
Contributed by Nkem Ndem, PR Associate, Jumia Travel
Skype: live:nkemndemv, Twitter: @ndemv, Instagram: @kem_dem
