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Eat Right at School

Eat Right at School

Every parent has a nightmare in planning what should they give their child in his or her Tiffin box so that their child gets healthy and adequate nutrition. Similarly, the child thinks how yummy his or her Tiffin is going to be today.

As a mother of a 2yr old, I am too concerned about how my child could eat the right type of food at school. But, being from the field of nutrition the knowledge gained has empowered me and I would like to share this knowledge with all of you so that you can plan and healthy and balanced meals for your children.

We as parents need to instil in our children healthy and good eating habits right from the start. Looking at the current scenario kids eating habits are poor and they spend lot of time indoors playing on computers and watching TV thus increasing their sedentary time which in turn increases the incidence of childhood obesity in school going kids.

We all know that kids during their growing years require eating adequately nutritious food for their overall development. Lack of any nutrient can cause deficiency and stunted growth. Also considering that high level of concentration is needed to be maintained at school in order to grasp what is taught, kids need to be fed well and this is not only in terms of quantity but quality too.

3 meals which the child eats at school can be considered as

  • Breakfast
  • Snack
  • Lunch

As we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day – but you will find many kids skip this meal. Kids who tend to skip breakfast happen to have low concentration levels in class. They also lack energy for physical activity and they tend to eat lot of junk available within the campus or outside.

Eating breakfast every day we will only build a stronger immune system and these good habits are carried through in life. It also helps in keeping the weight in check in kids. Breakfast also boosts body metabolism, the process by which the body converts food to energy. It also provides power to the brain therefore as parents it is very important to decide what exactly kids need to choose for their breakfast. Foods chosen for breakfast should be rich in whole grains, fiber and protein while low in added refined sugar which will increase the attention span and will boost the kid’s memory helping them grasping more knowledge.

Many a time kids skip breakfast due to reasons such as no time, tired, wanting to sleep little extra, no availability of quick readily available breakfast at home. Therefore, it is important as parents that we need to be well organised, and plan ahead for the next meal so that you don’t need to be rushing doing the same in the morning.

Examples of healthy quick fixes for kid’s breakfast are various Dosas like carrot/beetroot, small and cute coin Dosa, yummy chapatti roll stuffed with veg, idli upma, fruit smoothies, sandwiches, milk, and yoghurt

We need to prepare innovative, colourful breakfast which helps in engaging the little tummies. Another important aspect is that parents should be a role model to their child. Breakfast should be made a family affair where in all family members eat together. So if parents have a healthy balanced breakfast at the start of the day, kids too will follow you in forming this good habit.

Another hurdle why kids skip this meal is that they do not have appetite for morning breakfast so parents need to pack a healthy morning snack like sandwich, fruit bread, whole wheat or multigrain biscuits or dried foods etc.

Next we come to lunch which many kids eat at school. Lunch re-energizes our body several hours after eating our breakfast. Also many kids tend to skip their breakfast so their lunch becomes all the more important meal as it helps the child remain active for the entire day and also carry out after school activities. Lunch should be a combination of proteins and carbohydrates like chicken salad wraps, veg noodles, whole wheat pasta etc

Another aspect about eating right at school is that school canteens should have healthy menus approved by kids. The canteens should be monitored for hygiene and food quality and taste. Oily and fatty foods should be not sold in campuses. Salads should be part of the menus.

Finally, kids need to know what they are eating and therefore it is important to have nutritional healthy eating as a part of the core curriculum through which kids can develop their taste buds and understand the importance of balanced and healthy meals on the go

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Control Diabetes with Lente Carbohydrates

diabetes

Diabetes has become a common ailment today. There are more people being detected with diabetes than ever before.

Diabetes is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by increased sugar levels (hyperglycemia) resulting from relative/absolute deficiency of insulin or impaired action on target tissue or both. The chronic nature of diabetes is associated with long term damage, dysfunction and failure of various organs. Hence, effective self- diabetes control is essential.

Along with the use of appropriate medication/insulin as required, a diabetic should also pay attention on to his/her dietary pattern. Few measures well taken could prove beneficial for their sugar and insulin levels.

The primary concern for a diabetic is the intake of carbohydrates because the body uses them as the primary source of energy. Simple or easily digestible carbohydrate foods like refined flour products, juices, sugar should be limited/ avoided within the diet, since they tend to increase the post- prandial levels.

Hence, intake of lente carbohydrate should be included within the diet apart from complex carbohydrates. Lente carbohydrates  are slowly absorbed within the body, due to the presence of high amounts of viscous fiber within them, thereby delaying gastric emptying time. They also reduce the glycemic response of a meal.

Slow absorption has been shown to have beneficial effects such as  improved insulin sensitivity (i.e. easy acceptance of insulin by the target cells within the body), thereby lowering the insulin requirements; decreased LDL/ Bad cholesterol, decreased clotting factors leading to reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD’s).

Lente carbohydrates are readily available in the foods such as  legumes (viz lentils,Split grams, Kidney beans, green peas etc. ) soaked pulses, cereal oat bran & barley; most of them being a part of the staple diet.

Thus, lente carbohydrates would not only help in maximizing diabetes control but also provides preventive measures against CVD’s…

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Change your workout, change your diet and overcome the Plateau

Change-your-workout
When I started exercising, I lost about 13kgs but, my target was to lose eight more kgs but, that was not happening and it was stagnant. I realised initially with exercising I could easily gain muscle weight but after a while it was not showing any results. If you have encountered a similar situation and stopped going to the gym or given up exercising …don’t …do not run away from such a situation. If your body is not responding to your workout routine or diet routine it’s known as plateaus.

Here are some reasons for the plateaus

  • Same workout routine

If you have been working out for a long time, initially you will get the results you want but, later after a while you will not get it because your body will become used to with the same workout routine. If you want changes in your body you must have changes in your workout routine every four to six weeks. A change is either in the progression of exercises or you can change your entire workout schedule if your body is not responding at all. While, changing your workout schedule be specific on your fitness goal whether it is fat loss or Muscle gain. When you work out continuous progression in the workout is required.

  • Same Diet

If you continue with the same diet plan with no modification, the diet body will not respond after a while. As a result your body will become stagnant. If your goal is weight loss then based on your BMR drop your calorie intake. If your intake of calorie is 2500 in the first month of training cut down by 250 and make it 2250. Bringing about continuous changes is very important. For the muscle gaining add 250 calories in your diet.

  • Same workout routine and same diet

This also results in body plateaus. When your workout routine and diet remains the same your metabolic rate remains same. And when your metabolic rate remains the same you will end up being where you were before e you started exercising. Therefore, change your workout routine and change your diet to break the plateau.

If you are doing the same thing you will be getting same results. It’s important to constantly change the routine in order to break the plateaus.

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Use this tool to eat Right and Lose Weight

portion-control
The concept of weight gain and weight loss will always remain the same, irrespective of any new theories on molecular science and diet, blood group diets, fad exercise programs, restrictive diets etc.

‘ Your body will only use how much it needs of the food you eat, for it’s functions Anything extra will get stored away, leading to possible fat gain’.

If you are very hungry, and your only option is a slice of pizza, you should eat it. Your body will break it down for the energy it needs.

What it may not be able to do is break down a couple of slices of pizza, with a portion of pasta and a tiramisu. It may if you’ve just burnt like 1500 cals and your body is craving replenishment of energy.

It is all about controlling your food portions. How much is enough for your body?

Only you can tell by being aware. Eating 2-3 rotis at night or at lunch is probably out of habit. It’s what you have done since you were growing up. But the situations are different. You ate more when you were probably more active and younger with a quicker metabolism.

Things change. Everything changes, including the way your body works and breaks down food, year on year.

What if your body really can do with just 1 roti instead of 3?

What if your body can do with a small scoop of ice cream instead of a large or super-sized portion?

What if you really don’t need 6 small meals in a day?

What if you could still enjoy your dessert or piece of cake, but share it, so you don’t get into a deprivation mode?

Most humans eat more than their bodies require. Especially with the massive choice of culinary delights available, the eye appealing desserts, the way food is plated etc…it works on our minds to a level that we crave it. And that’s OK. I love good food too, who doesn’t.

The problem is, we eat too much of it and there reaches a point when the body does not know what to do with the crazy amounts of food we eat, so when you see your belly/tummy, mid riff, waist starting to expand, that’s your body telling you, ‘ you are eating too much’  OR

‘ Your not exercising sufficiently, your not using all this excess energy that you are feeding me ‘

And what takes months or even years to develop into abdominal fat, as humans we always want things to happen for us quickly. Instant gratification, Instant results, and then we get crazy and desperate to lose that tummy, choosing options that can create more harm than good for the other parts of our body.

We get into intensive exercises, and damage our knees and backs..we get on crazy diets and lose a little weight along with bone density, and key nutrients.

PORTION CONTROL is difficult, yet the easiest way to lose weight, keep it off and moreover, it’s a lifestyle change, something that can change this whole obesity epidemic. We all struggle with food. This may be the solution to eating our favorite food, yet controlling the portions and being fair to our bodies.

When my friend Vishal Gondal brought back a portion control plate from the U.S  to show the entire GOQii team, I had a look at it and realized, this is what India needs.

Such a simple tool that will teach people how to eat, How much to eat without feeling deprived.

It can teach children all about the right portions that they should serve themselves, and I envision families using this portion control plate to serve themselves and build a culture of eating clean and right.

I used one for a month, serving myself everyday using this portion plate and at first I thought the quantity was too less, but quickly figured I was eating more than I needed.  I used a 1 cup portion serving for a few days and then cut back to a half cup serving at dinner.

Like all habits, it took a few days getting used to, but all I can say now is, I am eating lesser for sure and I don’t feel hungry after doing this.

It beats all fat loss pills, which anyway never work. This teaches you to eat the right way and anything that works towards making a shift in your lifestyle, is worth it, is sustainable and is the right way to go.

Once you get into the habit of controlling your portions and knowing how much your body really needs, you then begin to automatically apply the same when you eat out.

You can try this simple yet effective tool to change the way you eat and control or lose weight.

Moreover, using this will ensure you eat a balanced meal of carbs, protein, fats and veggies.

Get it at: http://purenutrition.co.in/meal-measure.html

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