How to lose weight and have long term results

Hi everyone...lately I have many friends asking me how I did it or how I manage to lose the weight that I have lost.. Some of them are expecting me to tell them about a magic pill or a drink that have helped me in my weight lose. I wish that there was really some kinda magic pill that had helped me loss my weight.So they will be happy to hear my answers.... Fortunately I did not fall for any weight loss diet pills scams that is widely sold in the market these days. Instead I opted for a more natural and holistic approach to heal my body and thus aiding in weight loss. All these years of abusing my body with sugar filled, insulin spiking food that I have been eating have created a long term damage in my body and that is including my metabolism. I used to eat to satisfy my taste bud rather than feeding myself healthy nutritious food what my body actually needs. I have came to realize that losing weight is so damn easy. You just need to know the secret to eating the right food and avoiding certain food at all cost. Life is meant to be enjoyed.....How are we to enjoy life when we have an unhealthy body to live in at the first place. Our body is the only place which we will ever live in,,,so why not make it healthy and beautiful. Today I want you to go to the mirror and stand there naked. I want you to look at yourself and ask yourself - Are you happy with what you see in the mirror? Be honest with yourself. If you are, then you have done a good job in taking care of yourself and your body. Bur if you are not,,, if you have trouble areas such as fats around the thighs, bingo wings, tummy, stubborn back fats or even love handles....then you are not alone. Cos many people struggle with this. High fat levels is gateway to many diseases. The key point is to love yourself and the will to strive for a better YOU for tomorrow. The only way to do this is to have a strong will power, a solid change in your eating habits and patience. Here is how you will lose the weight and have long term results.

Change your eating habits

Change the way you eat and you will have greater results. If you are eating any pills or drinks to lose weight then throw them out of your window right now. You are only creating further damage to your body. Yes some diet pills are so powerful that it can aid in a speedy weight loss but once you have achieve your weight goal and you stop eating those pills, you will experience  a YOYO effect, Meaning you will gain back double the weight that you have lost. So why not do it the natural way. Eats healthy food such as vegetables, fruits, meats, healthy fats and little carbohydrate. You are what you eat, if you eat junk, then you will definitely look like one. Start taking yourself seriously and do these changes. You should have a diet that consist of high protein, moderate amounts of healthy fats and low carbs. Your carb intake shouldn´t exceed more that 35g a day if you want to lose weight. If you are already skinny then this advice is not for you. This is only for people who are over weight, obese or even people who are skinny fat( people who look skinny but actually have lots of fats in hidden area).

You should follow this food pyramids.

Cut down carbohydrates.

The secret to losing weight is to remove processed carbohydrates completely from your diet.

Carbohydrates equals to energy,,,, the same goes to body fats. Both body fats and carbs provide energy to the body thus we need to stop eating carbohydrates in order to let our body to use its own body fats as fuel for energy. This is the simple formula. 

CARBOHYDRATE = ENERGY = BODY FATS 

By cutting down carbs, you are allowing the body to use its own body fats as a source of energy thus aiding in weight loss. If you keep feeding your body bad carbs such as rice, Bread, pastas, pizza, cakes etc etc....you are only creating more body fats. cos whatever  carbs that you consume which is not used for energy will be converted to fats. Our body don't need so much carbs for energy. Admit it, these days our lifestyle is much more relaxed. We have cars to take us from point A to B, We sit in our offices and face the computer half of the time, we don't make time for exercise, Our lifestyle have became so idle that most of the carbs that we consume end up being stored as fats when not being used for energy. Back in the days people use to go hunting or even work hard to grow their own food, a full day of labor outside but nowadays everything comes easily. We eat more than what we actually need. We rely heavily on Processed food. This is the reason why obesity is on the rise especially in children. We need to start changing our lifestyle. We need to start feeding ourselves and  our families more healthier nutritious food. Our Carbohydrate source should come from starchy vegetables such as cauliflower, carrots, sweet potatoes, aubergines and from fruits.. 

Here is how your daily meal plating should look like

Drink lots of fluid

Often we mistake thirst for hunger, And this is why we end up over eating. Which is absolutely wrong and sabotaging our weight loss efforts. Drink at least 1.5 litres of water in a day. If you hate the taste of water maybe you can try flavoring your water with lemon slices and a drop of honey. This method will ease your efforts in drinking water. You can also opt for herbal or fruit teas or even home made bone broths. When your body is burning fats, it needs lots of fluid to ease the fat burning process. thirst is a good sign that your body is burning fats. So keep drinking more water from time to time just to stay hydrated. One tip that really helps is to keep a jug or a bottle of water by your side at all time. There are even apps that helps to remind you to drink water. The more water you drink, the more easier it is for your body to flush out the burned fats and toxins from your system.

Do not starve yourself

Many people think that losing weight is done by starving and going on juice diets etc etc. This kinda diet does noting but only more harm to the body. It increases  your stress hormones and increases cortisol's level in the blood which a bad thing for your body. So eat 3 main healthy meals following the plating diagram above . Have a small snack in between the main meals. Snacking is not bad for you if you do it right. It helps you to curb hunger and not to over eat during your main meals. 

Eat early dinners

I can´t stress this enough,,, It is important to eat early dinners. I usually have my dinners by 5 pm. And that will be my last meal for the day. Thru out my evenings till I go to the bed I normally only drink herbal or fruit teas. This way helps me to stay hydrated and as well as full till the next morning. My next meal would be at 10 am, which is my Breakfast. So if you calculate, I have fasted for at least 17 hours from my last meal till my next meal. In this 17 hours my body have used pure body fats as energy, as the body still continues to burn fats even while you are sleeping especially when u go to the bed on an empty stomach. And you will realize that you will have a much better and deeper sleep at night when your stomach is least full. 

Have a good quality sleep

A good 7-9 hours Sleep is very important for you, A well rested body perform better the next day. If you are sleep deprived then you will see a lot of side effects such as lack of interest in doing anything, fatigue, extreme hunger and the list goes on and on. Sometimes you sleep enough but you are still tired, because often we sleep in a full stomach. So while we sleep our body system is still working to digest the food that you just ate before you go to bed. The body did not get enough time to rest.So as I have mentioned above, always eat your dinner earlier...7 pm should be the latest. A good quality sleep will make a better you the next day. So when you are preparing to sleep keep your room dark, and keep all phones and gadgets away. Focus and learn to fall  asleep without distractions.  

Fats don´t make you fat

It is a recent trend to eat everything low fat and skimmed. Everywhere you go, you only see low fats this and low fat that, It is so annoying but this is the sad reality. It is so sad to see Margarine winning the votes of the people over nutritious butter. Did you know that margarine is actually grey in colour and then it is bleached to make it white and then they add yellow colouring to make it look like butter. Gasp!!!!!! Yah I know, I was also shocked when I found out about this!!! Our body needs healthy fats from grass fed butter, ghee, nuts, coconut and avocados. If you cook opt for ghee, lard or coconut oils. Use olive oils or nut oils for salad dressings, Fats do not make you fat. Don´t be afraid of it. Your body needs fats. They can help your brain to function well especially the ones which are high in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon. Fats also helps to regulate your hormones. 

Preparing is the key to success

Preparing and planning is very important if you plan to have a successfull weight loss. First thing, you need to clear your pantry of all the unhealthy processed stuff. If you have the regular bread, pasta, biscuits, cakes etc etc throw it all in the bin. Next thing to do is to go grocery shopping. Go only to important isles such as the vegetable lane, fruits lane, meat lane and finally the isle for condiments and spices. Avoid processed food lane at all cost. Prepare a weekly meal plan in advance. So you know what exactly to buy and you don't over shop. Eat seasonally and organic if it is possible, Always have a pot of soup in the fridge or freezer for days where you have just no mood or too tired to cook. Always have a healthier version of low carb and refined sugar free treat just for the days where you will have sugar cravings. Sugar craving will happen a lot especially at the beginning.So it is always a good idea to be prepared. Failure to prepare is a plan to FAIL,And we don´t want that to happen, Don´t we? 

Exercise  

Exercise is at the bottom of my list because what I have come to realize is that workouts are useless if your eating habits are bad. So first fix your eating habits and then work on working out little by little. Start slow and light and gradually build your stamina and start increasing the intensity of your workout. Start by going for a light walk for at least 20 mins first thing in the morning cos your stomach is still empty and it will use body fats as source of energy. Take the stairs instead of lifts or escalators. Own a dog!!!! My puppy keeps me fit. I have to walk him three times a day and I live on the third floor and we take the stairs instead of the lift. During advertisements while watching TV, just do a set of 30 squats or jumping jacks. You don't need gym to exercise. There are so many workout videos on YouTube. Just do any one of those that looks good to you, I started  with  Zumba and then I worked my way up by doing higher intensity workouts. You don't have to workout everyday. I started by 3 times a week and slowly increased the number till at one point I was working out every single day. I was enjoying every single workout of mine. Do what you love. If you love swimming then go for a 30 min swim. If you love dancing then do zumba for 45 mins. If you love nature then just go out for a jog or a walk. The key point is that you should move your body. Be active and enjoy it at the same time. 

Measure and weigh yourself 

On Day 1 of your diet you should  measure your body parts in inches, stand on a weighing machine. Write down all the numbers in a diary. Take a full length photo of yourself from different angles. Do this weekly. Sometimes you don´t lose the kilos or the grams but you have loss in the inches. Document every changes in your body, you will be glad that you did it. You will fill proud when you look back at all your hard work.

Stop eating from outside

Cook your own food. Be your won chef. This way you control what goes into your food. Pack your own lunch from home. Always carry healthy snack such as nuts or fruits with you for healthy snacking. That is the reason why planning and preparing is so important, You just have to train yourself and you will get use to it in no time. Remember that. excuses are only for unsuccessfull people.

Counting calories is a waste of time

When you start eating healthy and stop eating packaged processed food, you will realize that you don't need to count calories anymore. It is all about eating nutrient dense meals. Just remember that moderation is the key here. Do not skip on your meals. If you eat every meals with lots of vegetables, a choice of meat, some healthy fats...you are doing it right. And if you have a choice of fruit or a handful of nuts for snacking then you really don't have to count calories anymore. Just keep track of your carb intake and that's about it. 

Allow yourself a cheat day

Allow yourself a cheat day every once a week. Indulge but don't over indulge that is the key ingredient here. Ever if you started to have cheat days everyday because sometimes we get carried away isn´t it.... But the most important thing is that we realized this and we must go back to the right track. Its better late than never. I usually have my cheat day on Sundays where I can have a good heavy brunch or dinner with my husband and family. When Mondays comes I am always back on track. 

Stay motivated

You need to stay motivated at all times. I kept myself motivated by reading motivational quotes and also by  reading real life inspiring stories on people who have lost weight, Their stories inspire me to be stronger and more determined to lose my weight. I also always set up mini goals and challenge myself to achieve it. For example I will buy a dress which is a size or two smaller than my real size so I will be motivated to fit into it. So do find a way to keep yourself motivated. Strive to be the better version of who you are. What you eat and do today decides what you are tomorrow, So trust me it will be all worth it. 

Do not give up!!! Just keep your determination strong and keep going. Pat your back every time you loss a 100g. The first week will be hard but you will pass that. In 3 months from now you will thank yourself for doing this. So keep your motivation high and get started. You are your own competition. Do share your weight loss journey and success in the comment section below. I would love to hear them. Happy healthy eating guys. Till next time...tchuss