It's not a diet, nor a detox plan, but rather a plan to live in a lighter and more beneficial way this year. Together with nutritionist Lillian Barros, Frederica presents you with two nutritional challenges to improve your life. The intention is not to lose weight or gain muscle mass, but rather to feel better and be healthier.
Sometimes we think that improving our habits is an impossible mission, but it can be much easier than what we initially imagined. Small gestures can make a difference. Below, find our challenges, written by Lillian Barros.
1. Drink more water
Each person is different, but in the office there are many complaints that are repeated, such as the tendency to retain fluids, the desire to eat sweets at the end of the day, the hour of wolf when you get home or the accumulation of Localized fat that insists on not leaving the hips or abdominal area.
“I can't drink 1.5l of water a day”, “It's winter... I'm not thirsty!”, “I forget, and the next thing I know, another day has passed and I've practically not drunk water except with meals! ”. This is one of the most common complaints in nutrition consultations. And maybe the same goes for you. Because you can't do it, because you forget or even because you simply don't like it.
Although all the excuses are valid, we must hydrate our body daily, whether it is summer or winter. This consumption should be divided throughout the day and, depending on the outside temperature, body temperature, humidity and losses throughout the day, the seven/eight daily glasses should not be forgotten. If you are one of those people who only remember that they didn't drink enough water when they look at the almost full bottle when they leave work, take note of the tips below. There are some tricks that can help you remember this basic but important rule.
1. Flavor your water.
Associating a flavor and functionality with your water can be a way to drink it with much more pleasure. Cinnamon sticks, lemon slices, mint or red fruits can be interesting solutions that help not only hydrate, but also satiate, combat free radicals and improve digestion.
Ingredients:
4-5 strawberries;
1 lemon;
1.5 liters of water.
Preparation method:
Wash the ingredients very well, cut the strawberries into four and the lemon (keeping the peel) into slices;
Add all ingredients to 1.5l of water and set aside in the fridge overnight. Serve very cold.
2. Drink sugar-free teas and infusions.
In winter, drinking cold drinks is not as appealing. Choosing herbal teas or hot teas can be a good way to maintain our body temperature, hydrate ourselves and enter the world of medicinal plants, which have countless benefits for our health and well-being. Try an infusion of hibiscus and orange peel:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of hibiscus;
Peel of 1/2 orange;
1l of water.
Preparation method:
Boil water in a kettle until it boils;
Pour the boiling water over the ingredients for your infusion and let it rest for around 15 minutes.
Instead of peeling an orange on purpose, you can save the citrus peels that you use for different purposes, dehydrating them in the air and storing them in a closed container to prepare your future infusions. It can be consumed immediately or, if you prefer, let it cool to drink warm or place it in the refrigerator once it has cooled to drink fresh throughout the day.
3. Put reminders on your phone .
There are applications that help us remember to drink water, but a simple reminder can be all we need to divide our water throughout the day. Apps like Water Reminder , Waterbalance , Water Your Body , Hydro and Plant Nanny are some of the apps that can help you. If you're not a fan of apps, you can always set reminders on your phone.
4. Set goals .
If your goal is to drink 1.5l of water by the end of the day, take advantage and divide your bottle of water into consumption goals throughout the day, with set times. Just use a marker. The challenges we set ourselves work very well.
5. Adopt strategic routines .
Include strategic glasses of water throughout your day to create regular habits. Knowing that each glass of water contains around 200-300ml, your goal becomes closer and closer.
Try starting your day with a glass of warm water (add a few drops of lemon), accompany your breakfast with a sugar-free infusion. Before lunch and dinner, drink a good glass of water to help you feel full. Make your own five o'clock tea, accompany your snack with an unsweetened infusion, and drink a calming herbal tea before bed. With this distribution, you already have six glasses drunk. Try it.
You can also adopt the strategy of always drinking a glass of water with your usual coffee. How many do you drink? Two coffees a day with a glass of water is a bonus (practically) of half a liter of extra water. Simple, isn't it?
6. Keep water close to you.
If you have to get up every time you have to drink a glass of water, you might skip this routine. Don't forget to have water accessible, close to you, on your desk and ready to drink.
7. Include hydrating foods in your diet .
They do not replace water, but opting for hydrating foods can be a good strategy. Sugar-free gelatins, fresh fruits, vegetables, detox juices and cold or hot soups are some examples.
2. Sugar-free coffee
We started the year on the right foot in January and the first challenge is to eliminate the addition of sugar to drinks such as coffee, tea or milk. And when we talk about this ingredient, we are not just talking about white sugar, but any type of added sugar, such as honey, brown or sand sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, agave syrup, among many others. Have you done the math to get an idea of how much sugar you consume per year and which you voluntarily add to your drinks? Not to mention the one that is present in the foods you buy and that you don't even remember that you have, such as yogurts, vegetable drinks, juices, etc.. Note the following reasoning: a "typical Portuguese" who consumes an average of two coffees a day, if you add a packet of sugar to each of them, at the end of the year you will have consumed more than 4kg of sugar. Imagine what it would be like?
The same goes for the sugar we put in teas or gallons, which is added to that in coffees. There are two ways to get around this situation: if you have motivation and willpower, you can be radical and simply remove sugar completely (it's difficult, but you'll quickly get used to it); On the other hand, you can find healthier alternatives, such as stirring the coffee with a cinnamon stick or adding a little ground cinnamon directly. You can also add a little almond (without added sugar, of course) and add a little coconut oil or, on the other hand, gradually reduce the amount and educate your palate to the true flavor of coffee.
Try to think about what it would be like to start using just half the package for two months and then just 1/4 for another two months, until you managed to completely eliminate it. It would be a kind of progressive weaning. There is no formula that is more correct than another. The important thing is that you can reach the final goal: zero added sugar! If you fail halfway and only manage to reduce it by half, you have already won 50% of the battle. There are those who add sugar to their coffee simply because they don't like coffee and need a boost to wake up and increase focus and concentration. In that case, why not replace the coffee with black tea, green tea, matcha latte or golden milk ? Here's a suggestion. Do you accept the challenge?
Lillian Barros is a nutritionist and a national reference in functional nutrition. With a degree in Nutritional Sciences, during her academic career her desire to grow took her to the United Kingdom, where she attended the Nutrition and Food Science course. Lillian currently supports hundreds of people who are looking for an adequate weight, a more balanced life and a healthier, detoxified body.
