Dietitian: If You Don’t Improve Your Stress and Sleep Levels, You Won’t Lose Weight

During the Wellness House activation at ESSENCE Festival of Culture, capsules stuffed with shades of purple and soft melon are placed throughout the space to offer guests with expert knowledge on all the pieces that can make them feel their best and live their best life. One of the topics covered is weight reduction and nutrition. At the booth, Kim RoseThe RDN (registered dietitian) was there very first thing Friday morning, teaching festival goers the way to eat properly to get slightly more meat off the bone. And by “properly,” there’s nobody perfect plate of food, but relatively a practice that individuals should follow in terms of how they prepare that plate.

“If you’re going to eat any type of beef, make sure it’s lean. You’ll still get the same flavor, but less fat,” Rose says for example. “I tell people it’s not about cutting out; it’s about what you can add. Add fruit, add more veggies, add more low-fat protein options instead of thinking you can’t enjoy the foods you love, your cultural foods.”

For those that think fruit is not the perfect alternative as a result of its sugar content, Rose says all of it is determined by how much fruit we eat with our meals.

“Fruit does have fiber. It does have vitamins. And you’re right, it does have sugar in the form of carbohydrates. But let me tell you why that’s important. The reason fruit is really good is because fiber helps break down our blood sugar. So no, it’s not going to make your blood sugar really, really high unless you eat a ton of fruit,” she says. “And fiber also helps people manage their weight. I know in our community we’re always talking about weight loss, weight loss, weight loss, and it does help manage our weight. It also has vitamins and minerals in it.”

When it involves weight reduction, Rose says all of it is determined by the way you eat. Setting a particular schedule makes all of the difference, because eating in all places definitely doesn’t help.

“Eat breakfast at a certain time. Eat lunch at a certain time. Eat a snack at a certain time and dinner at a certain time. I say that because a lot of us tend to snack throughout the day and then we don’t realize that we’re just eating a lot of calories,” she says. “We’re just mindlessly eating. It’s all about the food. Number two, make sure that half of your plate is some kind of protein. Getting enough fiber is the way to go for weight loss.”

When it involves the culture’s beloved rice dishes, Rose says the perfect serving is 1/4 cup, relatively than mindlessly pouring it onto your plate.

“When you have your plate in front of you, divide it up in your mind, and one-fourth of that plate should be your rice portion,” he says. “One-fourth. I know people say to me, ‘Kim, I’m going to get hungry.’ You’re going to get hungry if you don’t have enough fiber and protein. That’s why I like to tell people that if you want to lose weight, you need to increase your fiber. You need to increase your protein.”

In your weight reduction endeavor, it’s also necessary not to match your journey, progress, or success to anyone else. While those around it’s possible you’ll be shedding kilos in a way that seems easiest and fastest, nobody will succeed, especially in the long term, without also managing stress.

“Everybody’s body is different. Even if you saw a celebrity, your friend, someone at church or wherever, lose weight and look good, everybody’s body is different. That’s why I want you to take your time with your journey,” she says. “Realize that if you lose weight too fast, you can gain it back too fast. Healthy weight loss is one to two pounds a week. So definitely make sure you’re eating the healthy plate method.”

“And remember, food isn’t everything,” Rose adds. “If you’re stressed, if you’re not getting enough sleep at night, if you’re not hydrating in those hot summer months, your body can gain some weight. So, especially with sleep and stress, I tell people all the time, you can be a vegetarian, but if you’re not getting enough sleep and you’re not relieving your stress by going to a psychologist or finding a way to get rid of all that stress, your body goes into fight or flight. Hormones are released that keep that weight on.”