No fasting or too drastic diets to eliminate extra kilos – “on average 3 or 4” – accumulated during the Christmas and New Year holidays, a period in which few escape food excesses. “5 or 6 small meals a day, rich in fiber, low in fat and with a balanced amount of carbohydrates, are more effective.” This is the advice of Giorgio Calabrese, a nutritionist specialized in food science who explains to Adnkronos Salute how to deal with the post-Christmas 'remise en forme', also with practical indications.
“The problem of 'heaviness' after the Christmas holidays – continues Calabrese – is not exactly a question of diet but of 'rebalancing' food. Even the most willing between December 25th and the beginning of the year can exaggerate in quantity, quality and frequency of meals, as tradition dictates. Now we just need to 'realign', with sustainable, non-punitive meals. It is therefore not necessary not to eat, but it is necessary to eat less and better, distributing the calories over several meals rich in fibre. So more plant products – vegetables, fruit, legumes, all naturally seasonal – low in fat with the right amount of complex carbohydrates, preferably of wholemeal origin such as pasta, rice, bread. And without increasing proteins.”
By eating only proteins, as many do to lose weight quickly, continues Calabrese, “the liver and kidneys are overloaded. Furthermore, foods that contain a lot of proteins, such as meat, also have a lot of fats and therefore cholesterol increases, so we we tame the calories but we increase the fats which then dirty the arteries”. Regarding intermittent fasting, which is so fashionable, Calabrese recalls that “fasting is not a diet, it is the elimination of a meal. Those who say that at 4pm they have finished eating basically skip dinner and start eating again tomorrow. The real balance, however, is in what we put in the meals we make.”
For Calabrese, the use of intermittent fasting also has other limitations. “If I skip one meal and then overdo it in the other two, reassured by giving up dinner, I risk eating double, triple. And therefore it's useless. But even if I remove one meal without increasing the calories of the others, it's not an ideal choice because it is not educational.”
It is more useful to focus on a simple diet, starting with “a breakfast made with a little milk, perhaps partially skimmed, a wholemeal toast with a drizzle of jam or honey and a fruit juice. For lunch you can focus on a salad, with a little protein which can be white meat, red meat or fish, thus varying every day. And finish with a fruit. During the day – she recommends – never forget to drink water. In the afternoon you can take a hot drink without sugar: a tea, a barley with a toast without jam. Or you can eat some dried fruit (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts), 15 grams maximum. In the evening, minestrone and vegetable creams are excellent, adding a little pasta or rice and a good quantity of legumes.” With this system, concludes Calabrese, “in a month you can eliminate the 3 or 4 kilos accumulated”.
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