Eating fruit for breakfast helps women in their 50s stay in shape

Ho Chi Minh City Ms. Nguyen Quynh Mai, 48 years old, keeps her figure and slim waist by eating and exercising, including maintaining a breakfast of fruits with honey and lemon water.

After giving birth to her second child, Ms. Mai, in District 7, gained from 40 kg to 60 kg, which was not proportional to her height of 1.54 m. Due to the pressure of her business and her busy travel schedule, she lost weight by fasting or eating less. As a result, her weight decreased but the woman felt tired, hungry, and weak.

"After that, I ate indiscriminately so not only did I not lose weight, but my physical condition became even more tired," she said.

Fasting or cutting calories too much is also not recommended by nutritionists. According to Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung, National Institute of Nutrition, starch, protein and fat are substances that produce energy. When these foods are removed from the diet, it can cause rapid weight loss, but it will cause weakness, affect memory and work performance.

After a period of unsuccessful weight loss, in 2020, by chance reading a book on nutrition, Ms. Mai concluded a suitable diet for herself. In which, the diet still balances 4 groups of carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, but she eats according to the quantity of 50% fruits and green vegetables, 30% quality protein, 20% whole grain starch.

Specifically, as soon as she wakes up, she drinks 250 ml of warm water with lemon and honey to detox, then has breakfast with fruit. Apples, bananas, avocados, strawberries, red dragon fruit, cantaloupe, passion fruit, grapefruit, and some seasonal fruits are the main ingredients in the meal. Jackfruit, durian, and mango are fruits with high sugar content that are limited. In addition, she focuses on drinking 2-3 liters of water per day.

According to Healthline , all fruits are relatively low in calories and high in fiber and simple sugars. The fiber in fruit helps slow down the body's absorption of sugar, providing a steady source of energy. Depending on the fruit, you'll also get a variety of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A and C and the mineral potassium. Vitamin C is important for immune health, fighting inflammation; vitamin A promotes skin and eye health and fighting infections; potassium helps control blood pressure.

According to the Institute of Medicine, men need 38 grams and women need 25 grams of fiber per day. One cup of fresh blueberries contains just 84 calories and 3.6 grams of fiber—9 to 15 percent of your daily fiber needs. An apple contains 4.4 grams of fiber, as does a banana, which has 3.1 grams.

To balance nutrition, for lunch, Ms. Mai adds starch from brown rice and oats; protein mainly from chicken and fish, limiting red meat. For dinner, she cuts down on starch, eating mostly green vegetables and boiled eggs. "I have applied this diet for many years and have never felt tired or hungry because it still provides enough groups of nutrients," she said.

After three years, she maintained her weight at 48 kg, her muscle mass reached about 27-28%, and her waistline decreased from 78 cm to 68 cm.

Ms. Mai has been following a fruit breakfast for many years. Photo: Character provided

In addition to nutrition, Ms. Mai spends two hours every morning and afternoon practicing yoga. According to health experts, yoga not only helps relax the mind and supports health recovery, but also helps with weight loss. This discipline may not be as strenuous as gym or cardio, but it maintains long-term weight loss results.

"Practicing yoga to lose weight is an effective way to get back in shape and stay in shape, not to lose weight super fast or gain weight quickly," said Ms. Mai.

She introduced some effective exercises to reduce belly fat like a boat: sit up straight, bend your knees, put your hands on the mat or floor, slowly raise your legs, keep your legs still, slowly lean back, balance on your tailbone, 2 thighs. Next, take a deep breath, raise your legs, toes higher than your eyes, at the same time raise your arms up to shoulder level, parallel to the ground, palms facing each other to form a V shape. You hold this position for about 10 to 20 seconds, then slowly return to the starting position.

Or bow pose by lying on the floor or mat, relax your hips, bring your arms down close to your body and slowly bend your knees towards your thighs. Then, reach back and pull your neck, inhale, arch your chest, then lift your thighs off the ground and forward, relax your facial muscles. You hold this position for 15 to 20 seconds, pay attention to your breathing, hug your ankles with both hands and lift your chest up to create balance, your whole body bends and stretches like a bow. Finally, you gently exhale, place your feet and chest on the floor, release your ankles and relax.

Ms. Mai has been faithful to yoga for many years to maintain her figure. Photo: Character provided

As she gets older, she realizes that her metabolism declines due to changes in muscle mass. This condition causes the body to tend to retain more fat, reducing the metabolic rate, leading to excess calories absorbed into the body. Therefore, in addition to diet and exercise, women supplement with functional foods to help improve from the inside such as omega 3, collagen...

According to Ms. Mai, to lose weight sustainably, it is necessary to avoid unscientific diets such as fasting, cutting down on starch too much, and eating only one or a few certain foods.

"Understanding your body's condition is a prerequisite for good health. If you don't listen to your body's signals, you won't know how to eat and exercise properly, which will make it easier to get sick and harder to cure," she shared.

Thuy Quynh

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