Article written by Helga Marin for Connector magazine in Dubai June 2008
I have been living in Dubai for few years and me and my family had to adapt to a very different lifestyle here from what we were used to back home. One of the major changes is that both me and my husband work until 8-9pm so we tend to eat dinner really late. This has of course led to major weight gain and the kgs just seem to pile on without us being able to control it. We eat quite healthily and both of us avoid eating greasy food or food high in refined carbohydrates. Do you have any solution for us?
This is a very common problem for lot of people in Dubai and unfortunately it is a fact that lot of people who move to Dubai pack on weight both because of the long working hours and because the weather doesn’t really allow lot of out doors activities. It is true that one of the most important factor to lose weight is eliminating food intake late at night as everything you eat late will eventually be stored as fat. Not only does eating late cause weight gain but it also keeps your digestive system working while you sleep so your body doesn’t rest as it should and you wake up tired the day after. But there is of course solution to this problem and you should be able to lose the excess weight without too much effort.
- Eat regularly or every 2-3 hours to speed up your metabolic rate. If you do that you will feel less hungry at night and you wont eat as much.
- Take with you an afternoon snack that is really filling, a salad or a soup will then be satisfying when you get home. Most people fail to eat in the afternoon so they feel starving when they get home and when you feel that way it becomes difficult to eat light.
- I understand that for most people dinner is a time when the family comes together to eat and that doesn’t have to change. The only thing that needs to change is what you eat. As vegetables speed up your metabolic rate (especially raw veggies), fill you up and are very low in kcal the best choice for dinner would be a salad or a soup.
- Even though fruits are very light and easily digested, I don’t recommend fruits at night. Fruits are high sugar that you don’t need late at night before going to bed.
Helga Marin
Health Mind and Body