By now you will have a number of questions. This section answer the ones that pop up most commonly amongst people who are new to the GDA Diet.
- Should I just eat as few calories as possible if I want to lose weight?
- Why 3 meals and 2 snacks?
- Why all the focus on portions?
- Why include starchy wholegrain carbohydrates at each meal?
- Why 2-3 portions of protein-rich foods?
- Why snack on nutrient-dense foods?
- Why do I need calcium-rich foods every day?
- Why do I need 5 portions of fruit and vegetables?
- Antioxidants and free radicals and why I love fruit and vegetables
- Why is fluid so important?
- Why oh why do I need to exercise?
Should I just eat as few calories as possible if I want to lose weight?
Absolutely not. Remember, this is not a crash or fad diet - this is a healthy diet to help you lose weight.
If you eat foods with fewer calories than your body needs, or too many foods with ‘empty’ calories – such as sugary or fatty foods, your body won’t get all the nutritional goodies you need every day like vitamins and minerals - that keep you healthy (see above).
GDAs help you to balance the things you need less of, with the things you need more of - and that’s how you balance your diet. It really is that simple!
Why 3 meals and 2 snacks?
You won’t go hungry.
A regular eating routine will help you to achieve your goal and meeting your nutritional needs is much easier that way.
Why all the focus on portions?
Defining the size of a portion helps to ensure you don’t eat too much in one go.
If you are consistent about the amount of food you eat at each meal-time you are more likely to avoid hunger pangs.
Careful portions mean that you eat until you are satisfied, not until you’re stuffed!
Why include starchy wholegrain carbohydrates at each meal?
These help you to feel fuller for longer – which means you are less likely to get hunger pangs and reach for the biscuit tin.
Wholegrains are a good source of fibre, to keep your bowels healthy and regular; soluble fibre helps to lower cholesterol and promote healthy gut bacteria.
People who eat wholegrain starchy carbohydrates like wholegrain cereals, rye crackers, oats and pearl barley on a regular basis, have a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Why 2-3 portions of protein-rich foods?
Foods like meat, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, pulses and Quorn™ are good sources of protein, which help build muscle.
Protein also helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Eat a variety of protein foods like pulses, eggs, fish, meat and poultry. They all contain the nutrients that help to make your diet more balanced.
Why snack on nutrient-dense foods?
A lot of us rely on vitamin and mineral supplements to top up our daily requirements. Nutrient-dense snacks like fruit, yoghurts, cereal bars, or unsalted nuts and seeds can give us just the nutrient boost we need to ditch the supplements and enjoy more great tasting food.
Small snacks between meals will help keep your energy levels up, and some studies suggest you will be far less likely to look for high-calorie snacks which can make you prone to gain weight if you have them too often.
Fruit can satisfy a sweet tooth, without all the calories, sugar and fat you’ll find in confectionery, cake or biscuits. It will also help you to achieve your target of 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.
Why do I need calcium-rich foods every day?
Calcium, vitamin D and are vital in maintaining bone mass, and help to prevent the development of osteoporosis.
Milk and dairy products, or fortified dairy-alternatives, oily fish, dried fruit and fortified breakfast cereals are all important sources of calcium.
We get much of our vitamin D by exposing our skin to sunlight during the spring and summer months. A few minutes each day is all that is needed.
Choose three servings daily of calcium-rich foods to meet your body’s needs. Examples of 1 serving include:
- 250ml milk
- 25g cheese
- 125g yogurt
- 1 small can sardines
- 100g tofu
Why do I need 5 portions of fruit and vegetables?
Fruit and vegetables are naturally low in fat, or contain healthier fats (avocado and olives, for example, contain mono-unsaturated fats).
They contain good amounts of soluble fibre – and can help to keep your bowels healthy.
Most importantly, they are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which help to fight damaging free radicals.
Fresh, frozen, canned (without added salt or sugar) and dried fruits and vegetables all count towards your 5-a-day; as does one glass of fruit juice.
Keeping a stock of frozen vegetables saves on fresh food wastage and means you can have a greater variety at mealtimes.
The colour of fruit and vegetables is a good indicator of the antioxidants they provide Green vegetables tend to be good sources of iron (folates); red fruits contain lycopene (a red pigment, and an antioxidant); and orange fruit and vegetables provide beta carotene (another antioxidant). Eat a rainbow of different coloured fruits and veg for optimum good health.
A word about antioxidants and free radicals and why I love fruit and vegetables
Free radicals are the bad guys in our bodies. They are unstable molecules that are produced naturally by the body, but we also pick them up from pollutants within the environment. Free radicals whiz around our bodies causing damage to our cells wherever they go. Damage by free radicals has been linked to heart disease, certain cancers and a whole host of other diseases and ailments.
Antioxidants are the good guys; they are the enzymes that roam around the body counteracting the effect of free radicals. They basically sacrifice themselves to stop the damage to our body’s cells. Fruit and vegetables are our best source of antioxidant vitamins and minerals and that’s the most important reason to aim for 5 portions a day.
A portion of fruit is:
- ½ grapefruit or a slice of larger fruit like melon and pineapple
- 1 medium sized fresh fruit e.g. apple, banana, pear, orange
- 2 - 3 smaller fruit e.g. plums, apricots, satsumas, kiwi fruit
- 1 handful of grapes, berries and cherries
- 3 heaped tbsp of stewed or tinned fruit (in juice not syrup)
- 1 small glass of unsweetened fruit juice (150ml)
- 1 tbsp dried fruit e.g. prunes, apricots, apple rings
A portion of vegetables is:
- 3 heaped tbsp cooked vegetables i.e. carrots, peas or sweetcorn
- 1 side salad (the size of a cereal bowl)
- 1 tomato or 7 cherry tomatoes
Why is fluid so important?
Water is essential for life. Each of us is made up of around 60 per cent water and we can survive only a few days without it. (Whereas we can survive several weeks without food.)
Drinks like tea, filter and instant coffee, no-added-sugar squash, low fat milk, some fruit juice and some carbonated drinks all count towards your daily fluid intake.
The nutrients from our food are transported around the body by water and most of the chemical reactions that go on in the body need water.
Waste products are removed from the body using water; without it we cannot get rid of waste products properly and they build up in the body.
Water also helps to keep our body at the right temperature. We constantly lose water by breathing and through sweat; if we don’t replace it, we’re in danger of overheating.
A lot of people don’t even realise they are dehydrated, because they have become so used to feeling below their best. Dehydration can leave you feeling tired, constipated, nauseous and can result in frequent headaches.
A good way of knowing whether you are drinking enough is by the colour of your urine. If it’s pale and straw coloured you’re OK; any darker and you would probably benefit from drinking more.
Most of us need around 6-8 cups or glasses of fluid each day to keep the balance right. In hotter climates this amount increases. Likewise if we take part in strenuous exercise we need more water than usual to help us keep cool. A good guide is to drink one litre of extra water for every hour of strenuous exercise.
Don’t wait until you are thirsty before drinking – you are already dehydrated by then.
Why oh why do I need to exercise?
You’ll only find me talking about ‘getting active’ rather than exercise, so I hope that puts you at ease. Getting more active is an essential part of your GDA lifestyle and in fact any healthy lifestyle and here’s why:
- Getting active will encourage your body to make new, lean, muscle tissue - that means your metabolic rate will speed up and you’ll burn more calories even when you are asleep.
- Exercising your heart muscle and lungs will improve your overall health and well being.
- You’ll tone up as well as lose fat.
- Your quality of sleep will improve.
- Activity helps to relieve stress and tension.
- Being active will increase your weight-loss result and make your body shape easier to maintain.
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