One of the most common factors that people tell me about why they fail in their weight loss campaign is that they find themselves in situations where they’re busy, hungry, and need food immediately. So they end up reaching for what’s convenient.
The key to your success is to be prepared. Here are 3 tips on how you can avoid eating foods that don’t help you reach your goals.
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1. Identify Shops That Sell Healthier Food Options
The single most important factor to your weight loss success is knowing what to do when the hunger pang hits while you’re out. Choose shops that serve healthy foods in areas you frequently visit.
For example, (if you live in Kota Kinabalu) let’s say you’re at Citymall and your stomach starts to growl.
Instead of going for kuih and fried gluten sticks at the famous Malaysian chains, Natural Green House has some healthy lunch and dinner options.
Kudos is a great restaurant (albeit a little pricy to go daily), because they use all fresh and natural ingredients in their food, and there’s no nasty MSG in anything they serve.
There’s also a little convenience store on the ground floor that sells fresh cut fruits. Giant hypermarket also carries all kinds of fruits and handy nuts.
If you’re at Damai, instead of going for the bread shops and noodles, consider eating fruit or organic snacks that are healthier.
There’s a cut fruit store a few doors down from Tong Hing, salads at Coffee Bean, and two organic food stores. Know where your “healthy” options are, so you won’t cancel out all the effort you put into your Zumba class.
2. Make & Bring Your Own Snacks
Prepare your own snacks and meals if possible. Here are just some of the snacks I take with me.
Mixed nuts
Savory kinds are more tasty, and sweet types have dried fruit in them. Almonds are high in magnesium and phosphorus, and walnuts are high in omega 3s, with makes for a really nutritious and delicious snack.
I started making these for traveling. These are great to keep in a ziplock bag and in your handbag to take with you when you’re on the go.
Oat Energy Bars
I used to buy commercial energy bars, but never found a bar that suited my requirements and tastebuds. Commercial bars use trans-fat, preservatives, sugar, or sweeteners like maltose, and high fructose corn syrup which is a no-no to me.
Energy bars are also expensive in Asia as they are usually imported from the U.S. and Australia and marked up so the importer and vendor makes something.
So to cut the long story short, I bake my own low GI oat bars using all-natural ingredients like pure butter and raw honey.
The entire family eats them, my dad takes them on the road and travels with them.
It’s so popular I’ve even serendipitously started a little bakery that sells them to customers who are health conscious or diabetic. (P/S: If you live in KK and want to order, you can email me at jackiemiao.my[at]gmaildotcom. They start from RM55 per tray).
Fruits
Choose easy to bring fruits like apples, oranges, bananas and the like. Otherwise, you could always just cut up any fruits you like and put them in containers to take it with you.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Make Special Requests
You have a life, and sometimes you have to eat lunch and dinner with your friends — they want normal food and that’s okay. If you find yourself in that situation, remember you can always make special requests for your food to be served the way you like it.
For example, when I’m at the wildly popular Bomber’s Burger, I tell the good chef to just serve me the beef patty with a side serving of salad. So my burger doesn’t come with the bun or fries.
Or when I’m at a coffee shop that serves noodle soup, I stay away from wheat-based products as much as possible and tell them to go easy with the meehoon or kuay teow portion.
I also tell them not to put MSG in my soup, and don’t make it too salty.
This may seem demanding, but it’s my body and I’ve decided I’m not going to bomb my organs with chemicals and salt and then act all surprised when cancer shows up.
I’d rather take the healthy route, and I hope that for your sake you think the same! 🙂
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