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Is it about calories?
- Indu Khurana
- 22 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Yesterday I was speaking to a friend about eating habits and he related to me that many young people seem to be more aware of health and what to eat – perhaps more aware than some older people. He went on to speak about his son who would be in his late teens or early 20s keeping an eye on calories and going to the gym. He commented that we never used to have such awareness when we were the same age.
For me, healthy eating is about eating the right food in the right quantity for your body and your levels of activity rather than calorie counting. This is the rule of thumb I use for myself and what I use with my clients. I find it a useful guideline with people who struggle to manage their health due to chronic health conditions like MS. But I am very clear that diet (not dieting) is only one of the jigsaw pieces – not the whole story.
Many of us who have mobility issues, understandably, move less. Even if you don’t have mobility concerns but have a sedentary job that keeps you chair-bound a lot of the time, it is worthy of following a similar guideline.
So for myself, I break fast from the night with a coffee with perhaps 3-4 Brazil nuts to start the day. Then, around 12noon – maybe later at times depending on my calendar, I have my 1st meal. The picture below is typical of that first meal, composed of lots of vegetables (in my case usually raw) that provide roughage, with a quarter of the bowl having protein and very occasionally I might have a quarter of the space filled with natural carbohydrate (rice or potato).
The evening meal is generally in similar makeup and quantity but cooked.
My ‘treat’ tends to be either a handful of nuts (may be 2 if I’m being naughty) or 2 squares of 90% cocoa chocolate by the Swiss manufacturer that excels in this confectionary.
I have found this size bowl is an excellent size for me as you can never have too many vegetables and if two quarters of the bowl is filled with vegetables – raw or cooked - then I know I cannot overeat on the wrong foods. I tend to cook or prepare my own food most of the time and I cook simple recipes. This means that I am not spending huge amounts of time I don’t have, in cooking but I am feeding myself nutritious foodstuff. Sure I could do with losing a couple of kilos, but it would literally be that tiny an amount. My natural eating pattern takes care of the rest.
I don’t get the mid-afternoon slump, and I feel that this diet contributes to ensuring my fatigue is not as bad as it could be. It also fits with an anti-inflammatory eating regime.
I don’t say that this is the only way, or even the best way to eat if you have MS. But it is the way that I feel contributes to my keeping my symptoms at bay much of the time. And again, it is just one part of the picture that supports my immunity system to keep as strong as possible.
Ever had a craving for raw vegetables? 😊