5 Guilt-Free Ways You Can Enjoy Your Favourite Food While Keeping The Extra Weight Off

Whether you're in the mood for some local cuisine, craving for some American junk food, want to eat like an oppa from your fav K-drama, or just want to indulge in some fresh Japanese seafood, we have it all here!

Being Malaysians, we all have an appetite as big as our food culture amirite? To enjoy all of these foods guilt-free, it's important for us to take better care of our bodies and our food intake so we can maintain a healthier lifestyle.

Do a quick Google search and you'll find hundreds of easy recipes of your favourite food that you can easily replicate at home. This is a healthier, guilt-free way to enjoy yummy food, as you get to control what goes into your food.

You'll find that your favourite foods will be much tastier and healthier when it's home-cooked, using fresh ingredients instead of preservatives and without excessive amount of oil and salt (as restaurants normally use). On top of guilt-free eating, you can impress all your loved ones with your new cooking skills! 

Tip: Use more herbs and spices instead of sugar-loaded sauces to enhance the flavour of your food.

Contrary to popular belief, it's healthier to have six meals a day instead of three. Besides your big breakfast, your next five meals are supposed to be well-portioned, and planned three hours apart from each other. This benefits you by stabilising your metabolism and helps your digestive system work more efficiently throughout the day (you also won't feel too hungry before your next meal).

Ideally, your meals should be varied but consumed in moderation. Portioning your food better will curb any overeating habits and also help you sustain a long-term diet without feeling demotivated. Once you've established this new eating habit, you'll find that you won't ever have hunger pangs again!

Tip: Your veggies should take up half your plate, while your carbs are supposed to equal the size of your fist.

Packed with antioxidants and nutrients that are beneficial to our body, green tea is one of the healthiest drinks in the world, particularly because it contains a natural flavonoid called catechin. This aids us by boosting our metabolism. Best part? You'll get all these benefits from drinking green tea at a cost of ZERO calories!

Tip: Drink a cup or two of green tea an hour before your meals, so that your body can better digest your food, and get rid of toxins and free radicals more efficiently.

Note: Hydrate the body by drinking green tea (99% water, without milk and sugar).

Now before you go running off from this suggestion (see what I did there? :P), cardio doesn't default to running. But cardio does help you to have a fitter lifestyle. Since cardio exercises burn a lot of calories, you would need to replenish your body with more energy, a.k.a more guilt-free eating!

There are various other fun and heart-pumping activities such as swimming, cycling, dancing, jazzercising, kickboxing, and more that you can pick up today to burn those calories. Even simple activities such as skipping rope is an effective cardio exercise that yields the same benefits as running.

Tip: Plan your cardio workouts in the morning as you'll be more fresh and will feel more energetic while going through the rest of your day.

Like munching on fresh fries? Try oven-baked fries instead. Look out for healthier versions of your favourite food the next time you're online shopping or visiting the supermarket. Many brands now offer guilt-free alternatives that are not only yummy, but are free from extra calories! 

Tip: Look out for healthy alternatives to your favourite junk food, such as air-fried chips, sugar-free ice-cream, natural peanut butter, and more while browsing the grocery aisle.

One cup of green tea (200ml, without milk and sugar) actually contains an equivalent amount of flavonoids as eating 144 portions of cooked broccoli or 16 red apples!

Get more info on their nutritious and delicious green tea here.