Healthy Resolutions

Keketso Mothibi

How many of you are making New Year resolutions for 2015? I have just finished writing my 2015 resolutions and one of them is to lose the baby weight that still hangs on my thighs and tummy. I wonder how many of you are with me on this. Instead of focusing on how many kilograms you want to lose, shift your focus on being healthy and leading a balanced lifestyle.

Well, whether you are trying to lose weight, want to become lean or want to start eating healthy and making the right choices in what you eat. This article might just be right for you.

I don’t believe in diet and believe you me when I say I love food. I do however believe in restricting certain foods in my diet. I will come out direct with you! The only way to lose weight, keep it off and be lean and fit is to reduce or eliminate SUGAR and refined and processed carbohydrate in your diet and exercise regularly. What I mean by refined and processed carbohydrate is breads, cereal, pastas and starchy
food. We all know what sugar is. It is not just the chocolates and sweets like most people think. Sweetened yoghurts, fruit juice (including 100% fruits), jam and canned baked beans all have high sugar content. There is a lot of sugar in the conveniently pre packed foods that you buy at most groceries shops. Unfortunately that falls under processed foods.

Surprised, I don’t blame you. I am over the shock and have adapted to making the right choices every day in terms of what I eat. I will confess it’s not an easy task but it’s worth every effort I make every day. The most amazing thing is how easily the body adapts to change. The mind-set is often the problem that needs more convincing.

Protein is naturally low in calories and helps suppress your hunger, so you feel full faster and for a longer. Vegetables are very low in calories and have high fibre content and small amount of carbohydrate. As for fat, it’s actually one of the most misunderstood and most nutritional  foods that your body needs. Fat has gotten a bad reputation because it was falsely associated with increasing cholesterol and heart disease. Fat is essential in your diet. I think it’s because of the name. Who wants to eat fat when you’re trying to lose fat? ‘Good’fat I prefer to call it is the Avocados, nuts and olives and oils. Fat helps to reduce or eliminates carbs cravings. I have read about this a while back and I am one person who tries on anything that I feel it makes sense to me. What works for me is eating the right protein portion for my body weight and top up with ‘good’fat, vegetables and limited fruits.

In a nutshell, stay away from pre packed foods such as pastries, biscuits, pasta, cereal because they are sugar. No sweets, chocolates, take-outs, soft drinks, juice and sweetened yoghurts. Learn to read the labels/ingredients of the food you buy carefully look at items such as sugar, sodium and fat in each item. Most carbohydrates are almost if not the same amount of sugar in each pre-packed food item and that tells us that carbohydrate is sugar. However, I do allow myself a cheat day only if I have been 90- 99% good in most  days of the week. I often allow myself to indulge on the 7 th day and this helps to eliminates cravings and shocks my body.

The saying is so true, you are what you eat. Make the right choices. Successful and sustained weight-loss happens when you decide to change your habits. By committing to a healthy lifestyle you improve everything about your health.