If it’s to be …. It’s up to YOU!

Another weekend gone and another week ahead ….. and the Festive season is around the corner!

As the Festive Season approaches, I would like you to consider this …

It’s that time of year for office parties, end of year functions & get togethers with friends & family. Temptations are everywhere! It is probably the most difficult time to be on a weight loss journey but with some focus, positive self discipline & preparation it can be a fun time AND you can stay on track.

I remember a particular time when I was on the Slender Challenge – we were invited to a friend’s 60th. My 1st reaction was to look for an excuse not to go, as I had memories of past get togethers and I KNEW this was going to be a challenge for me.  Or was it …………?

I thought about it and realised that my reaction was based on a memory and NOT on REALITY. After all, I am in charge of me and I had absolute control over my experience. There was NOTHING stopping me from making a NEW memory.

It is very often the PORTION DISTORTION that causes the weight gain, as well as WHAT we eat and drink.

·         Do you have to mix your proteins (steak & chicken & wors) or could you have just 1 type of protein?

·          Is there ANY nutritional value in that Garlic bread? Just think of the fat in the butter feeding those fat cells you are trying so hard to get rid of and the starch being stored as fat because let’s face it, at a braai you are hardly converting the starch into energy!

·         The same goes for the pap & gravy.

·         The glass or 3 of wine/beers also has no benefit to you – ESPECIALLY if you want to lose weight.

Perhaps it’s time to reframe the way you look at the type and amount of foods you eat & drink. They might be “nice” but is it smart & healthy? The saying “a moment on the lips, forever on the hips” has never been truer. Have your eating habits this far kept you slim & healthy, or has it contributed to your overweight, unhealthy, unhappy state? How can behaviours that make you happy for a short period of time but unhappy long term be in your best interest??

So how do you stay on track over this time and minimise damaging all the good work you have done so far?

1.       If you are injecting, stay away from:  alcohol, green peppers, mushrooms, green beans, carrots.  These things will stop your weight loss in its tracks for 3 days as they neutralise the effect of the injection. What are the consequences … you might experience hunger pangs and cravings as you will be eating very low calories every day and your body will  not be releasing the abnormal fat, so your energy levels will be low and you will feel hungry.

2.       Stick to 1 protein per meal – do NOT mix your proteins. The body only recognises 1 protein at a time, so if you mix your proteins 1 will be utilised and the other will automatically be stored as fat!

3.       If you are eating out, order a 200g steak for instance, cut it in half, eat half & take the rest home. Ask for a salad without dressing and make sure you eat only the salad ingredients from the allowed list. I am sure there will be someone else at the table who can eat the forbidden ingredients (feta cheese, olives, peppers etc).

4.       If you go to friends/family prepare your own little salad and take along your protein for the braai. I am sure they will respect and understand and if they don’t, remember, YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOU! Remember the reasons why you started the Slender Wonder Program in the 1st place and where you would like to be and then stay strong!

5.       Have a Sprite Zero or Coke Light in a wine glass with a slice of lemon.

REMEMBER, this is for a period of time in your life, and once you have achieved your goal weight you can, IN MODERATION, have the “cheat foods”.

I have found over the 2 months since I have reached my goal weight, the healthy Slender Wonder way of eating has become the way I approach food now. In hindsight I can now clearly see how I got to be 18kgs overweight!

When I am at functions I look at the food on offer. I think about what I WOULD have eaten in the past and look at what I put on my plate now and the difference is amazing! I do have the odd glass of wine, perhaps the odd slice of bread but it is the exception rather than the rule and it has had no effect on my weight – in fact I have lost a further 1 kg since!

I have learnt to enjoy myself without having copious amounts of food and drink and I am certainly a much happier, slimmer, more confident, vibrant person.

This festive season can still be a fun, happy, festive time – just in a different, smart, healthy way!