5 Simple Steps to Losing Weight!

I did an article a while back about How to Not Look Fat {for photos}. That was about how to pose and hide the not so good bits with clever photography. But actually you can get rid of some of those wobbly bits just by following 5 simple steps in your daily diet.

Before we get to those steps let me tell you a little of my story.

After my eldest daughter was born I was diagnosed with acute post natal depression. I was put on anti-depressants for 10 months. During that time I gained a few kilograms but expected it was from the medication. Within 6 weeks of weaning from the tablets I had gained 8 kilograms. I was horrified! Mortified!

I went back to see the doctor and after a bevy of tests a whole host of things were found to be somewhat out of whack! Under-activie thyroid, h. pylori in my stomach, sleep patterns back to front and on the list went. And on and on the weight piled until I had gained 16 kilograms!

July 2011

Eek! Eish! Horrors! My clothes don't fit anymore! I have nothing to wear! I'm ugly! Heeeeelp meeeee!

I found help and boy am I glad that I stuck with it because I have lost 17 kilograms, my clothes fit, I am fit, I don't feel ugly and I can say with confidence, "I am Beautiful!"

January 2014

I didn't go on diet (I hate diets) but I did change my diet. 

Step 1: Eat one fruit meal a day
Whaaat? It is actually really quite easy. 

For breakfast I eat as much fresh fruit as I want to along with a quarter cup of raw, unsalted nuts and seeds. Fresh fruit is the easiest food to digest, it is very stabilising on blood sugar and it curbs cravings for sweet things like chocolates! If you crave something sweet in the afternoon you did not eat enough fruit in the morning! The nuts and seeds provide me with the most readily available form of protein that I need for the day.

Step 2: Snack only on fresh or dried fruit or veggies

This is the one thing that I was very bad at and once I changed this small thing the weight started falling off.

So stock up on some apples and carrots and snack away.

Step 3: Do not eat animal protein more than once a day

Say what?

Animal protein is actually not all that good for you. It puts unnecessary strain on your liver and kidneys and the protein is not as readily available as it is in nuts.

So just avoid having eggs for breakfast, a ham sandwich for lunch and spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. Not too difficult.

Step 4: Start all cooked meals with raw fruit or veggies

Why?

Raw foods are much easier to digest and when you eat something raw first it starts the digestion process which makes it easier to digest the cooked food and improves absorption of all the nutrients in the food.

This one is really easy…have a salad with your cooked main meal and eat it first.

Step 5: Do not eat a concentrated starch with a concentrated protein

Huh? No way!!

This one is a bit tougher but my family and I have been doing it for several years and it is just a part of our lives now.

Have you noticed especially after, say a braai, your dear husband lets off so much gas he could send himself into orbit? And then he parks himself on the sofa and passes out while snoring loudly? Read on for the quick explanation.

To digest protein the pH in your stomach needs to be 3 or less. To digest starch the pH needs to be greater than 4. So the hydrochloric acid in your stomach gets to work on the protein while the starch sits and ferments which in turn causes the protein to putrefy. 

Yuk!  Ew! Gross! Nasty! Don't think too much about it because you might turn green!

Anyway, this great big fermenting mess creates alcohol, acetic acid and ammonia…gas, bloating and heartburn.

So when you have a braai, for example, skip the potatoes and braaibroodtjies and just have meat and a large salad. You will feel so much better.

All in all it is not too difficult but it can seem quite daunting if you try to change the above all in one go.  I found something to ease the way: 100 Days to Health. This is an amazing programme (not a diet) where you get an email once a week with a small thing that you need to change in your eating habits. Then for the rest of the week you get a daily email to encourage you on your way. Once you have completed the 100 days you will not even recognise your diet and you will have lost weight along the way without even trying.

I hope this helps you out and you can lose those kilos that you have hated for so long.

Here's to a healthy future!

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