5 steps to lose weight for beginners

I want to lose weight for Tet but have never done it before. Is there an easy way for beginners? (Thuy, 29 years old, Hanoi )

Reply:

For beginners, you can refer to the following 5 steps:

Step 1: Eat in order.

First, drink a small glass of water before meals to completely eliminate hunger, then drink a bowl of vegetable soup to cover 2-3 parts of the stomach. Then, eat more protein, and finally eat less rice. With this order of eating, it is easier for you to control your calorie intake.

Step 2 : Add more vegetables and protein to each meal.

Eating too little vegetables and protein makes the meal unbalanced, lacking filling elements that make you feel full for a long time, making you feel hungry quickly and crave snacks - one of the reasons why it is difficult to lose weight. A standard main meal will help you feel full for 4-6 hours. To do that, for a person weighing about 50-70 kg, each meal needs to eat at least 20-25 g of protein, two servings of vegetables equivalent to a full bowl of boiled vegetables or 2 hand-sized salad plates.

You should always have a plate of vegetables and a bowl of soup on the dining table, and have some easy protein sources available such as eggs, seaweed, healthy dried chicken, and dried shiitake mushrooms to increase the amount of protein in each meal.

Step 3: Replace refined starch with whole grain, practice chewing thoroughly, and extend eating time to at least 25 minutes.

Starch is one of the three macronutrients that need to be consumed every day, accounting for 30-60% of essential energy. Therefore, replacing refined starches (without bran, without shell) with whole grains (brown rice, bran, shell) is the number one priority in the journey of practicing healthy eating. The simplest way is to replace white rice with brown rice, milled rice (dry, sticky, fragrant...). In addition to brown rice, you can combine it with corn, cassava, oats, quinoa or add beans and nuts when cooking to diversify and avoid boredom.

Practice chewing thoroughly, extending your meal time to at least 25 minutes. Chewing thoroughly will help you reduce your gluttony and keep you full longer. 25 minutes of each meal is the time it takes for your brain to receive the fullness signal from your stomach, helping you stay full longer.

Step 4: Exercise before eating less healthy foods.

If you want to eat braised or fried dishes with a lot of oil, you should exercise at least 30 minutes before eating. Oil has a high fat content (9 kcal/g of oil), so the body can easily have excess energy, not creating the necessary calorie deficit according to the weight loss goal.

Step 5: Practice cooking every day with healthier spices.

You should limit the use of industrial, dried, and overly refined spices such as seasoning powder, industrial MSG, dried refined salt, and refined sugar. Instead, switch to creating flavors with natural foods such as dried shrimp, cooked with bone broth, meat broth, white radish, carrots, seaweed, healthy seasoning powder (burdock, vegetable sauce, etc.). This is a difficult step because the taste buds are too familiar with the way of cooking with industrial spices, but it is a very important step and for intestinal health.

Doctor Phan Thai Tan
HomeFiT Weight Loss Health Coach

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