It’s no longer a secret that restrictive diets that ban this or that food or product category are ineffective in the long term. Be careful not to confuse them with dietary rebalancing. The aim of the latter is to review the basics of a healthy diet and incorporate them into everyday life, adapting them to your metabolism and your professional activity. What exactly is food rebalancing?
Food rebalancing : eating better, not less !
Food rebalancing is a complete overhaul of your lifestyle. It involves adopting new daily habits. It’s not for a set period of time, like dieting, but for the long term. It involves watching and understanding what you eat. Anticipating the positive or negative effects on our body so that we always choose the best. Once you’ve found your balance, we won’t talk about rebalancing your diet any more, because it will have become your eating routine, your new way of looking after yourself.
Get off to a smooth start
So as not to upset your habits too suddenly and risk not sticking to them, it’s best to exclude the ‘bad’ foods one by one and replace them with vitamin-rich products. Eat a proper breakfast (savoury rather than sweet), stop snacking between meals, ban fast food… Rebalancing your diet gradually is the key to long-term success.
- Exclude processed foods : i.e. industrial foods found in supermarkets. To spot them, just look at the packaging: the more it’s wrapped up, the more industrial it is. Most of these foods are full of salt and unhealthy fats. By changing your shopping habits, you’ll see that this will naturally shake up your eating habits. The planet will also thank you for using less plastic.
- Reduce artificial trans-fatty acids: like ready-made meals, salt, sugar, alcohol… In short, eat fruit for dessert rather than cheesecake, prefer to take a few minutes to cook vegetables rather than buy a preparation to heat up in the microwave. Opt from time to time for squeezed fruit rather than juice from concentrate, which is devoid of fibre and vitamins. Foods rich in sugars and poor-quality fats are very difficult and time-consuming for your body to digest, which can lead to fatigue.
But be careful ! Reducing does not mean banishing. That’s why it’s important to keep a balance in mind at all times. Eating a little sweet treat like a cereal and fruit bar from time to time is essential for your morale and for sticking to your new lifestyle over the long term. If you don’t have the time, or if you get the munchies, opt for a healthy, balanced snack rather than an industrial chocolate bar.
Food rebalancing : choose unprocessed aliments
If you’re wondering what types of food should be part of your kitchen from now on, it’s very simple. It’s all about natural foods. Fruit and vegetables (raw, cooked, steamed, compote, smoothie, juice, etc.), animal proteins (meat, fish, egg, etc.), plant proteins (soy, peas), dairy products (yoghurt, cheese, etc.), complex carbohydrates (black rice, wholemeal bread, oats, etc.), unsaturated fats (oily fish, nuts, avocado, almonds, etc.).
With this good foundation, you’ll be able to create some pretty gourmet dishes to balance out your daily routine.
Food rebalancing : hydrate well to lose weight
For good daily hydration of organs and cells, it’s recommend to drink between 1 and 1.5 litres of water a day. Water is a fat burner because it stimulates the metabolism, optimising fat burning.
Water helps to reduce hunger and increase satiety, which can lead to a reduction in food consumption and weight loss. Even better if it replaces sugary drinks. Drinking water before meals can also help you eat less because it will reduce your appetite by taking up space in your stomach. This is key in dietary and food rebalacing
Practising a physical and sporting activity
Another key element in rebalancing is sport. Simple physical activity (at least walking) every day is very important for staying healthy and getting back to your ideal weight. In addition to this, you should opt for a sporting activity several times a week. Cycling and swimming are two fairly gentle sports to start with, and have the advantage of working the muscles of the abdominal belt. Belly fat will rapidly diminish.
For the more athletic, it’s advisable to eat well during sustained effort to maintain physiological balance, particularly glycogen, the main fuel for muscles. Depending on the type of sport and whether or not you can chew, you should opt for energy bars, energy gels or energy compotes.
Sport is also an opportunity to clear your head and meet new people. Physical activity causes the brain to secrete endorphins, also known as the “happy hormone”, which take your mind off stress and everyday problems. You feel lighter, calmer, more relaxed and even happier. So go for it !
The importance of sleep in loosing weight
When we want to rebalance our diet and lose a few kilos, we all too often focus on food and energy expenditure. But doing sport when you’re tired isn’t very motivating, nor is it the best way to lose weight. Better to take a little nap.
Daily life (working, thinking, chatting, looking after your loved ones, coming and going…) requires a lot of energy. If you lack sleep, you’ll be less motivated and you’ll take less time to cook natural, balanced meals. The easy thing to do will be to nibble on sweets and industrial food, quickly prepared and filled with harmful ingredients that your body will gradually store. It’s a real vicious circle!
