Here at the HCG Diet NZ, we quite often get asked for advice on maintaining after the HCG diet or any diet is finished. Probably the most common thing we hear is “ I eat pretty healthy so why am I starting to put some weight on again.”
There is also misconception amount people that if you lose the weight fast, you will pack it on faster and even more. This is far from the truth. Many of these myths are spread about from people that benefit financially the slower you lose the weight. But I can assure you that no matter how you lose the weight, whether it is through Jenny Craig, running every morning, person trainers or the HCG Diet how you go after any weight loss is entirely up to you. But knowledge is key…

 Healthy eating is great, even healthy-ish eating good. But the problem we have and this is solely from a simple lack of understanding, is portion control.

Like many Kiwi families growing up, I was told I had to finish everything on my plate before I could leave. So I had to eat it regardless of how hungry I was. Now, while this may be beneficial to a growing teenager or child that climbs trees and rides bikes everywhere. The same cannot be applied to adults. In most cases, our lifestyles demand us sitting at desks or even in traffic. Even relatively active jobs cannot burn off the excess amount of calories that we put into our bellies. The only thing our bodies can do is store this as fat.

“Remember Carbohydrates such are rice and pasta ARE sugars. The sugar is then stored as fat.”

Healthy Eating and Portion Control
When you go to a restaurant, you get a plate that is usually enough for two or three people. But society now sits down and eats the whole thing in one sitting. What is the right amount when it comes to portion sizes? Even when it comes to eating ‘good’ foods, there seems to be an issue as to how much to eat. We are gaining weight even when we are eating better for us, but why? After all the stuff we see on the news, Facebook and tv about weight gain, sugar, the obesity epidemic, fat, junk food …aaaaaarrrrrrrgh!! Make it stop; it’s everywhere!
Surely after all this, people should be getting thinner, right? Well, no.

Portion Sizes are out of Control
Have you ever thought about eating from a cake or dessert plate?… Hang on, bear with me here.
In the 1950’s we were looking at plates that were about 22 cm in diameter and covered half in vegetables, and the other half was split into protein and carbs. Now we have plates that are more than 26 cm+ in diameter. Why? Because they look cool and they were half price at Briscoes that week. We then load these plates up a quarter of double protein, a lot more carbs, and not nearly enough vegetables. One-Quarter of New Zealanders are over-weight with a further 820,00 considered obese.  (BMI over 30). Coincidence? I think not. The more room you have on our plates, the more we apparently feel the need to fill it up, and we shouldn’t be.

What’s Ideal
The ideal is the 1950’s version of the plate and the 1950’s version of food. Back in the day, you could literally taste the fat of a burger, now do u know what you are tasting? Do you know what you should be eating, how much? According to the ministry of health, we should be eating six services of grains, three servings of vegetables, two servings of fruit, two servings of milk, and no more than 500g of red meat per week. It seems like a lot to think about, but it’s not.

How to Keep Weight Off
You have to eat the right foods and the right amount of food as well. Instead of packing on the plate with the mashed potatoes and the meat, but also introduce the vegetables. When you eat more vegetables, you will also feel fuller. Think of the saying, your eyes are bigger than your stomach, and it’s usually true. The smaller the plate, the less you inherently eat. Even when you think you are eating the right foods, if you are packing them on a plate that is too large, you could be eating too much.

When you are getting ready to fill your plate grab a dessert plate or a small dinner plate instead, and fill it up half vegetables. The rest should be one-quarter starches (or carbs i.e. rice, grains or pasta), one-quarter meats (and don’t pile them up. Use the measuring sizes of your hands as judgement; vegetables should be two palms full, fish one hand, grains are a fist. Poultry is the palm of your hand, fruit or nuts is the palm of your hand cupped.  Try this when you are making a plate of food, and hopefully eating this way will help you maintain those goals you reached while on the HCG Diet.

Thinking of trying the HCG Diet For yourself. Give us a call and speak with one of our succes team on 0800 035 594. Or visit out online store.