What would be your advice for making healthy choices in restaurants when you go out to eat?
There are loads of unhealthy choices out there, especially in Abu Dhabi. Watch what you have as a side dish because often things come with a side of fries – you can change your order to have a side of salad, vegetables or even roast potatoes.
Which restaurants would you recommend visiting if you want really healthy food without having to scan the menu too hard?
At lunch time actually there are plenty of options. The restaurant Eat Smart in the Marks and Spencer building do great fruits and juices and that sort of thing. Also at Jones the Grocer you can get great salads and nice sandwiches, most of the food there in general is pretty good. When it comes to dinner I think you have more options because there are so many nicer restaurants. Ordering a nice piece of fish or chicken with vegetables or something like that is much easier at dinner time in Abu Dhabi.
It seems to be that Friday brunch is the real killer meal, where we all let ourselves down a bit sometimes…
Yes! That’s mostly because of the drinks consumption. Actually if you look around the food at brunch it’s not that unhealthy, you know there is lots of sushi, healthy Saudi dishes and Arabic Mezze – none of that is unhealthy food and it’s all natural food. So it’s not necessarily what people eat it’s the quantity that people eat at brunch which causes problems.
So what would be your tips for not overdoing it then?
Well what a lot of people do is, in the mornings before they go to brunch they starve themselves until they get there, but what they should do is have breakfast, to start your metabolism going – then when it comes to brunch you’re going to be much more able to digest the food that you are going to eat. When you’re there pace yourself, eat slowly, really make sure you’re chewing your food well. If you chew your food then you naturally eat slower and your body can digest the food much easier. That way you’ll also recognize when you’re full before you go over the limit.
What kind of tips and advice are you giving this year to people who want to lose a lot of weight or just to eat healthier?
I try to get most of my clients to become mindful of exactly what they are eating, when they are eating it and why. If you don’t know those things then you can’t make positive changes because you don’t know what you are essentially dealing with. When you become mindful, it also helps to make better choices without there having to be a massive overhaul – instead you can just put in some easy swaps or alternatives that are much healthier. In that case it doesn’t have to necessarily be a life-changing eating plan, it can just be something that is already suiting you.
Can you give some example of what you mean by ‘why’ you are hungry? Do you mean stress or comfort eating?
Yes, lots of people do not eat just because they are hungry, there are a whole host of reasons why people eat. If you’re a person who struggles with your weight, struggles with your health, then I guarantee that there are some other elements in there that drives your eating other than just hunger.
What are the most common ones you have come across?
Stress, loneliness and comfort eating.
Have you noticed any that are specific to Abu Dhabi?
Lots of people eat out of loneliness which is really sad, there are a lot of people who live on their own in Abu Dhabi that come here to work and don’t know anybody. So for them it’s either take out for one just because they are there on their own, or just sitting in front of the TV eating because there is nothing else and they are away from their families.
What advice do you give to people in those situations then?
I bring to their attention how important they are, how important their health is and how much better they would feel if they could start to make choices that were really good for them as oppose to choices that will make them feel worse. At the end of the day if they are feeling low, and then what they are choosing to eat is really making that feeling worse, then they end up repeating the pattern. The opportunity is there when you’re on your own to eat whatever you want. You can take the chance to add to and enhance your health and wellbeing because you deserve it, basically, and that will then make you feel better, raise your confidence then make other things much easier.
Laura Holland runs nutritional therapy sessions one-to-one as well as group work, particularly for families, and corporate worshops. She also teaches one-to-one yoga classes. Find out her rates and more information on her website www.inshallah.org.uk
