One of the issues we face dieting is learning how to managehunger. Whether its that mid afternoon slump, or mid morningcravings, being hungry for too long is a fast way to derail allour good intentions to turn over a new lettuce leaf.
Different strategies have in the past been proposed to deal withhunger. Some people find drinking a glass of water every timethey are hungry helps. The model Gisele Bundchen is a realadvocate of this approach. And judging by her stunning figure,she's a good poster girl for increasing your fluid intake. Waterhas many benefits for the body, and people often simply don'tdrink enough. There's even a book on the subject that presentsthe view that many diseases in old age are related to a kind ofentrenched state of dehydration ("Your Body's Many Cries forWater" by F.Batmanghelid,MD).
Whilst diets composed mainly of soups are fairly common (thinkthe Cabbage Soup diet and Liz Hurley's favorite, the WatercressSoup Diet), this is not the healthiest way to approach soup. Noris it likely to lead to long tern success. Diets that focus onjust one vegetable or type of food are not only very boring togo on, they do not provide the range of nutrients that the bodyneeds to function well. Could hunger actually be the body's wayof saying, 'I need some nutrients'. Sustainable isnot achieved by setting up an unrealistic eating plan that ispainful to follow for more than a week and leaves youfantasizing about food all the time. Unless of course you don'tmind going to bed hungry for two years like Liz did after herson was born.
Starvation and nutrient restriction lead to loss of muscle massand bone density. Not to mention fatigue and other possiblehealth problems if followed long term.
The irony is that soups, including cabbage soup and watercresssoup, are really good for you. They are easy to digest, and canbe prepared ahead and frozen. That way you have a low kilojoulesnack that is often high in fiber ready at the helm as a quickpick-me-up when hunger strikes between meals.
And some soups have surprising health benefits. For example, theJapanese Miso soup has been linked with preventing liver cancer,breast cancer and skin cancer, with theories also proposed abouta benefit to skin due to linoleic acid. Whether this is found tobe true, it is a delicious base for your favorite vegetables,and very easy to prepare from scratch. It takes only about tenminutes to prepare, and when garnished with grated ginger is afantastic energizing soup when you are tired.
Neither soup nor water alone will lead to weight loss, andneither should these strategies be used to extremes and become asubstitute for following a healthy, balanced diet. But theyprovide a way to minimize excursions into old habits we aretrying to change as we address the lifestyle choices that led togaining excess weight in the first place. And by providing thenutrients your body actually needs, you'll be creating a changein the quality of life experienced day to day.
About the author:Discover the natural ways to boost metabolism in thisarticle. Rebecca Prescott provides information about popularsupplements with a philosophy that is grounded in getting yourbody working to its optimum.
