Muslimah
of water daily, there are lots of water
trackers that are available online and
can be easily downloaded for personal
use. Perhaps you can even invest in a
good ‘ole’ water bottle; it is more cost
effective than bottled water and more
environmentally friendly! Drinking
more water can definitely make you
feel like a healthy Muslimah!
Don’t Skip the Fibre – Increasing
your fibre would only contribute to
a plethora of health benefits. Eating
foods that are fibre rich such as,
oatmeal, beans, some fruits and
vegetables helps to regulate your
bowel movements. The benefits of an
efficient bowel can protect against
the risk of certain lifestyle diseases.
According to the US National Institute
of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases; “constipation is one of
the most common gastrointestinal
problems affecting millions of people”
and they list women as one of the
groups more likely to suffer from this.
So let’s ‘up’ the fibre in our diets ladies!
Sugar isn’t so sweet – At least health
wise it isn’t. Kicking that sugar
habit isn’t easy, as sugar has been
classified by some professionals as
an addictive substance. But there are
methods that can be implemented to
reduce the amount of sugar that one
consumes daily. Sometimes it boils
down to replacements, for example;
if you’re craving something sweet.
Instead of those highly processed
sugary wafers, biscuits or cookies
have a fruit instead. The natural
sugars are much more delicious and
satisfying. With consistency and
effort eventually you wouldn’t even
miss sugar in your diet. According
to the American Heart Association
(AHA), the maximum amount of added
sugars women should eat in a day is
100 calories per day (6 teaspoons). To
put that into perspective, one 12oz
can of coke contains 140 calories
from added sugar. Added sugar is the
single worst ingredient in the modern
diet. It provides calories with no
added nutrients and will damage your
metabolism in the long run. Eating too
much sugar is linked to weight gain
and various diseases like obesity, type
II diabetes and heart disease. Sugary
junk foods stimulate the same areas
in the brain as drugs of abuse .For
this reason, sugar can cause people to
lose control over their consumption
and suffer from Sugar Addiction. The
only true way to recover from this
is to avoid added sugars completely.
Drink water instead of soda or juices
and don’t add sugar to your coffee or
tea. A natural, zero-calorie alternative
to sugar is stevia. Instead of sugar
in recipes, you can try things like
cinnamon, nutmeg, almond extract,
vanilla, ginger or lemon.
Count those Calories – If you struggle
to incorporate a particular diet into
your lifestyle, e.g. Weight Watchers
or Paleo, the sisters at GFMTT highly
recommend simply counting those
calories. One sister managed to
lose 74 pounds using this method
together with exercise. If you’ve never
counted calories before, your first
week is going to be an eye-opening
experience! A lot of people don’t
realize how much they overeat. So, get
out the measuring cups, read labels
and familiarize yourself with portion
sizes. Most Trinidadians OVER
estimate what an actual portion size
is, and you may easily be eating 2-3
portions of pasta/rice/bread. To begin
calorie counting you may use online
tools to determine how many calories
you should be consuming on a daily
basis. Most women should consume
around 2000 calorie to maintain a
healthy weight. Of course this varies
by activity levels and body type.
Women should never consume less
than 1200kcal per day since this will
slow down their metabolisms. When
tracking your calories, ensure that
the quality of food you are eating is
nutrient dense. Fill up on an array of
colourful fruits and vegetables, chose
healthy carbohydrates such as whole
grains and ensure that you eats lots of
lean protein to keep away the hunger.
If you are new to calorie tracking,
your total daily carbohydrates
should consist of a baseline of 50%
carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20%
fat. Once you have a daily calorie goal,
the hardest part is being consistent
with writing down what you eat- and
TRUST us, once you start keeping
track of everything you eat, the guilt
from recording the unhealthy calories
will automatically help you to start
making better choices!
inspiration, incentive and healthy
competition. Sometimes we can be
our own obstacles to achieving our
goals. Our group will help to accelerate
your progress .The benefits of being a
part of a support gr