When autumn comes, our body, following the dictates of nature, seeks to create a fat reserve. How to eat at this time of the year so as not to gain excess weight and not harm yourself, advises Anna Poplavskaya, a nutritionist at the Institute of Nutrition in Warsaw.
Almost all of us have the impression that in the fall there is an increased appetite. With what it can be connected?
As a rule, in the cold season we really eat more high-calorie and nutritious foods. In this way, our body prepares for winter. Although we are not bears and are not at all obliged to store fat during hibernation, the climate and time of the year have an impact on our energy needs. If we are cold, we are easily dressed and are in a poorly heated room, then we, of course, willingly consume more high-calorie foods to make up for the energy we lack.
Is there any way to prevent the collection of excess calories? For example, go on a rigid diet?
Energy metabolism is an individual trait of each person. Some can eat a lot and burn everything, others must limit themselves in calorie intake if they want to maintain a constant weight or achieve what they want.
Those people who repeatedly used different rigid diets for weight loss, severely limiting the energy needs of the body, usually have many problems. After all, their metabolic processes are tuned more to the accumulation of energy, rather than its consumption.
Is it possible to lose weight in the autumn season?
This must be done carefully. Indeed, in principle, any organism strives for a certain constant weight, which can vary at different periods of life. However, if someone maintains overweight for a long time, that is, makes him the norm for himself, then it is very difficult to lower this level.
That is why it is so important to lose weight not too fast, while maintaining reduced weight for a long time. In this case, the following principle works: if for three months you lost weight, say, by six kilograms, then this weight should be kept at the same level for six months. Simple calculations will help: we multiply the time of losing weight by two. This is the period during which the body will get used to reduced weight.
How can you prevent increased appetite and limit yourself to high-calorie foods?
If we are cold and we are hungry, then it is worth getting warmer to dress or take a warm bath. Move more actively and, oddly enough, eat more. But at the same time, food should be low in calories. It is also good to drink warm skim milk. All this will allow us to warm up and satisfy the feeling of hunger.
And if you do not leave a distinct desire to eat more fatty foods?
So, the body needs it. In this case, it is better to dwell on oily fish or dishes with the addition of vegetable oil. For metabolic processes, this type of fat is more useful than animal fat.
What to do if there is a feeling that low-calorie foods “do not warm”?
Every overweight person should enjoy feeling a cold. This is proof that he loses calories and draws energy from his own resources.
But if the feeling of cold is very annoying,
you can get out of the situation by remembering about soups. You can recommend this dish in terms of weight loss, although there is an opinion that soups increase weight faster than other dishes. This is not true. Soups are also useful for those who are losing weight. But only on condition that they do not add sour cream and do not season them with flour roasting.
Warm but not hot soups containing a lot of vegetables, including potatoes, are especially good. But remember that soups should not be too salty. After all, it is known that salt prevents weight loss by retaining water in the body. Therefore, it is better to season soups with herbs and avoid adding salt.
What other dishes are “safe” for those who keep a figure or lose weight in the autumn?
Potatoes are very useful at this time. Do not be afraid that they get fat from him. It is not the potato itself that increases the weight of the body, but various additives to it. For example, fatty sauces, butter, fried meatballs. Potatoes contain a lot of potassium, vitamin C. Jacketed potatoes and a small amount of low-fat cottage cheese with dill are a very tasty, nutritious and low-calorie dish. Do not also forget about sauerkraut. It also contains a lot of vitamin C and very few calories.
An important feature: in the autumn you need to try to eat only warmed food. If we do not want to get better, then we need to forget about snacks. If you want something to eat, you can eat raw carrots, apples or some fruit. But nothing more! It must be remembered that a diet for weight loss should be a model of proper nutrition. It should include all the valuable and affordable products in the required quantity. If we are losing weight, then there should be less of them, but if we maintain our weight at the same level,
then their number should correspond to the energy consumed.
Autumn is a period of blues. Is it possible to prevent it with a diet?
When the rain pours outside the windows, it gets dark early, we sit down at the TV and improve our mood with sweets. And then we are surprised that in the spring it will be difficult for us to wear summer clothes.
The fact is that in the fall, in many of us, the serotonin content in the body decreases. And we are willing to start consuming foods containing sugar, which increases the level of serotonin in the body. Then we experience a temporary improvement in mood, while quietly gaining weight. Therefore, it is better to consciously limit yourself to sweets. Gymnastics and walks in the fresh air will correct your mood much more effectively, and the additional benefits of this will also be obvious.
Recipes that may be especially helpful in the fall
Eggplant croquettes
Medium-sized eggplants rinse, peel, cut the stem. Each cut lengthwise into 8 parts. Salt, roll in ground breadcrumbs and lightly fry in sunflower oil. Prepare a nut sauce: half a glass of walnuts with 5 cloves of garlic, salt, add a slice of bread soaked in water, stir, add a teaspoon of sunflower oil, a spoonful of vinegar and a few tablespoons of yogurt or yogurt to make a sauce of medium density. Pour the eggplant into the sauce, sprinkle with finely chopped herbs.
Capsicum salad with yogurt Bake half a kilo of sweet bell pepper in the oven,
peel and chop. In a separate bowl, mix half a glass of yogurt with half a glass of crushed walnuts, 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley. Pour the chopped pepper into the mixture, add lemon juice, mix well.
Spinach casserole with rice
Sort, rinse and finely chop 1 kg of spinach, stew with a tablespoon of sunflower oil and a few tablespoons of water until soft. When it becomes soft, mix with a glass of ground crackers. Put the cooked rice in advance on half spinach, put the rest of the spinach on top and pour two eggs whipped with a glass of milk. Bake until browning in the oven.
Soup from zucchini with feta cheese
Stew 2 tablespoons of flour with a spoonful of sunflower oil, without browning. Dilute with 6-7 glasses of water and salt. Bring to a boil, add two medium-sized zucchini, peeling and dicing them. Remove the soup from the heat and add 3-4 tablespoons of crushed feta cheese. Season with egg and half a glass of kefir or yogurt. Sprinkle the soup with finely chopped dill.
Carp with sauerkraut
Stew half a kilogram of sauerkraut with a tablespoon of sunflower oil for 2-3 minutes. Bring cabbage to softness and add 1 coffee cup of washed rice. Pour 1 cup of hot water and simmer until tender. Put on a baking sheet, sprinkle with black pepper. Put fish prepared, salted and greased with lemon juice on top. Pour half a glass of cold water, add a spoonful of sunflower oil. Bake in the oven.