New Year Resolution

Opinion

As the new year 2024 is getting closer, a common topic in many chatting groups at this moment is probably the New Year Resolution (NYR). And the most common NYR is probably losing weight. There are all kinds of strategies to lose weight, from using weight loss drugs to a special diet, to exercise, to changing eating schedules, etc. To be honest, I don’t plan to lose any weight. I think it is not hard to keep the body weight constant over the years and be in good health if we develop a good eating habit or routines and eat healthy nutritious food. I am strongly against using weight loss drugs, some of these drugs may cause diarrhea, and these kinds of drugs may cause other health problems in the long run.

In general, a good eating habit and routine exercise are the key to keeping in shape. A good eating habit includes eating more proteins for breakfast, such as eggs, fish, and meat. I usually eat a big breakfast, and I like to have vegetable and meat soup in the morning too. Lunch is important too; it could be a simple sandwich. Finally, eat a small dinner, and sleep early. You may say: I have kept this for a long time, what else should I do to lose weight? Well, as an outsider, I have observed some common bad habits that contribute to weight gain, and I will give a few examples here.

The number one contribution to weight gain is too much sugar in cakes and cookies from grocery stores or bakeries. I simply cannot handle that much sugar and my teeth feel pain when I eat them, and that is why I don’t buy these often. When I plan to bake something using a recipe, I usually cut the sugar amount to one-half or one-third. You may ask what if we use no-calorie artificial sweeteners? That is even worse for our health. Sugar substitutes can cause weight gain, brain tumors, bladder cancer, and many other health hazards from animal studies, and it is a carcinogen [1]. Don’t you think it is ironic when we consume so much sugar in desserts and drink Diet Coke at the same time? Why can’t we just simply cut back the amount of sugar in baking cookies or cakes? This alone will help a lot in weight loss. I like natural food better than man-made food in general. I usually bake sweet potatoes directly in the oven and that is disserts for my family.

The number two contribution is probably consuming too much meat with fat, and then drinking non-fat milk or low-fat milk. We can substitute meat with fish to cut back on fat, or simply remove the fat if it is a pot roast. On the other hand, I am strongly against drinking non-fat or 2% milk; it tastes worse than water and the nutrition is damaged. If you check online, almost all the websites on how to make skimmed milk will tell you that no chemicals are used. But the fact is, when manufacturers try to remove the fat from the milk, they are not only using centrifugal separation (a process of spinning very fast so that the fat content separates and can be sifted out), but also putting in some chemicals to subtract fat from the milk, and that chemical will be left in the milk, which can cause lots of health problems. That’s why we should only drink whole milk. Sorry I cannot find suitable references, and this website only explains partially why we should drink whole milk [2], but I have friends who worked in the nutrition area and told me the truth.

The next contribution to weight gain is constipation. Most people think it is only short-term weight gain. But, no, constipation can cause long-term weight gain and many other health problems. To fix that, there is a simple routine. You can drink plenty of water with honey in the morning, or a big cup of apple juice, and then go to bowel movement. This will get rid of the waste and toxicity from your body first thing in the morning, and make you feel light and bright the whole day. I would suggest eating sweet potatoes as dessert in winter and watermelon in summer. These two are superfoods with lots of fiber to fight against constipation. I usually bake a whole tray with 6 to 7 sweet potatoes these days, put them in the oven, and bake at 450F for one hour will make it good to eat. This is to make sure all family members eat at least one yam per day. Other fruit works well too. I usually joke that God never warned Adam in the book of Genesis to watch how much he should eat from the fruit tree. So, all fruits are good to eat today.

In summary, developing a good routine to eat less at dinner, or eat an early dinner will greatly help lose weight. In an old Chinese saying, “No eating after 3 o’clock”. But that is not very realistic in today’s world, so maybe we can change it to no eating after 7 pm or eat lightly for dinner. And sleep early is important too, so you won’t feel hungry in the middle of the night. And you will become an early bird, with lots of benefits and good for your health. And don’t forget the part about exercises. Swimming probably is the best one, as cold water will take away lots of calories and help with weight loss, and it will help you in good shape too. Finally, I pray that God blesses you and your NYR and that you will have a blessed new year.

Acknowledgement

None.

Conflict of Interest

None.

References

• Kirtida R Tandel (2011) Sugar substitutes: Health controversy over perceived benefits. J Pharmacol Pharmacothe 2(4): 236-243.
• https://nutritiouslife.com/drink-up/why-you-need-to-stop-drinking-low-fat-milk/.