We live in a culture of abundance and the only answer to remaining slim and healthy is to say no to more! So much has changed since childhood for adults today. Looking in my pantry, I see that I have six different brands of breakfast cereal. How different from my mother’s pantry that had only porridge oats or a loaf of bread. Times have changed so much; mothers work and we are now money rich, but time poor. No wonder that at times we reach for convenience foods to feed our families. The 1970s signalled a change in family life with the dual income family, followed by the rise in availability of convenience food. The more food we eat away from home, the more we lose control of what we are eating and its calorie content.
Those of us who have a memory of scarcity in the past and now live in an environment of abundance have to strive extra hard to learn to hold back and not over-indulge.The only way to prevent putting on weight is to develop self-control. Parents are responsible for teaching their children to eat healthy food and avoid a constant stream of carbonated drinks and snacks. Preach restraint, but remember that children are like little sponges and pick up on whatever is going on around them. Show them that you respect your body and they will learn to respect theirs.
Try These Self-Control Tips
• Say no to second helpings.
• Only eat regular sized takeaway meals.
• Only have two small sized treats a day.
• Don’t eat more at a meal than you could hold in two hands.
Join Me in My Weekly Task
Eat pre-dinner snacks wisely.
Why? Salty snacks such as chips and roasted peanuts are high in calories and fat and tend to make you want to eat more.
How? Have chopped vegetables (crudités) instead.
Recipe of the Week
Fresh Asparagus and Lime Dill Salmon Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 kg fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed
100 g watercress, washed and drained
250 g can corn kernels, drained
300 g smoked salmon, boned and flaked
65 g mayonnaise
1 lime, juiced
9 sprigs fresh dill, snipped
Method
Place asparagus in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover pan and steam 4-5 minutes or until bright green and just tender. Remove steamer basket and rinse asparagus under cold running water. Drain well. Arrange watercress and corn around the edge of individual salad plates. Lay asparagus spears in centre of plate. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with smoked salmon. Combine mayonnaise, lime juice, and dill in a bowl. Drizzle over salad.
Ask Alva
I would like to know some exercise for reducing my thighs because I have big thighs and a very thin waist. Since I am a working woman, I am very busy in the morning and cannot do my mini-morning exercises. I do brisk walking for 45 minutes in the evening but still I am not able to reduce. I am very addicted to coffee. Neha
It is lovely to hear that you have a nice slim waist. For your thighs, which is where you seem to store fat, reducing your food intake will help. The leg exercises in my mini-morning workout are very good — try to fit them in on a daily basis. To get nice, toned legs, the quickest way is to run for 10 minutes three times a week, for 6 - 8 weeks. If you don’t want to do that, buy a skipping rope. Start by skipping for 1 minute each day and add an extra minute each week. You can also email me for my special thigh exercises at [email protected]. Up to 4 cups of coffee a day is not harmful to most people but coffee is a diuretic. Water is essential to flush toxins and waste through the kidneys. If you don’t drink enough water, you can suffer the consequences of dehydration, which are loss of energy and tiredness and your metabolism will slow, which will not help you to lose weight. Alva