12:31 AM
Odelay
So you've been eating well, hitting the gym and watching what you put in the grocery basket — but either the scales are lying or you're still piling on the kilos. How can that be? Here is an article written by Candice Chung, addressing some surprising things that we should avoid in order to keep our proportional figure.
Fruit Juice
Fruit juice may seem like a healthier alternative to soft drink, but it's still packed full of sugar. A glass of OJ contains about 4.5 teaspoons of sugar, which is almost the equivalent amount in four Tim Tam biscuits. There is also very little dietary fibre in the juice, so you are much better off eating fresh fruit and quenching your thirst with water.
Tofu
Sure, tofu may be the poster child of health food, but how often do you actually eat the stuff in its plain form? Most tofu dishes served in restaurants are deep-fried, which means the once-healthy morsels are coated with saturated fat, sodium and other flavouring agents — making them delicious, but fattening at the same time.
Lack of sleep
Many people overlook sleep as a factor that affects their weight, but the truth is, inadequate rest can mess with our appetite-regulating hormones and slow down our metabolism, making us susceptible to weight gain.
Too much stress
Stress puts your body into a fight-or-flight mode, causing the release of a hormone known as cortisol, which affects your blood sugar level. Excess cortisol in the bloodstream has been linked to increased abdominal fat. Studies also show that long-term chronic stress can trigger comfort-eating.
Diet drinks
Soft drinks are fine as long as they are "diet" ones, right? Well, recent research has found that artificial sweeteners found in these zero kilojoule drinks may in fact lower your metabolism — indirectly causing weight gain. They also inhibit the hormone leptin, which is responsible for regulating your appetite.
Sushi rolls
While healthy at first glance, white rice sushi rolls are full of simple carbohydrates and could contain kilojoule-packed ingredients such as mayo and fried or tempura-battered filling. For example, a tempura prawn roll can have up to 2130 kilojoules and 20g of fat. Next time, opt for brown rice sushi with a fresh fish or vegie filling for a healthier lunch.
Your morning coffee
We are not suggesting you have to give up your caffeine fix, but it's worth cutting back on the milk and sugar you have with it. A Starbucks Grande Latte contains 925 kilojoules and 11g of fat, which adds up if you have more than a cuppa a day.
Low-fat salad dressing
It's sad but true: most things marketed as "low fat" are full of sugar or artificial sweeteners. And in the case of "lite" salad dressings, it also means fewer fat-soluble nutrients from the vegies will be absorbed by the body. Solution? Swap the pre-packaged dressing with olive oil (a source of good fat) in combination with your favourite vinegar instead.
Dried fruit
Turns out not all fruits are equal when it comes to the calorie stakes. Dried fruit may sound harmless enough, but because it is much denser and often contains added sugar in its dehydrated form, they often contain more calories per cup than their fresh counterparts.
