There is a little trick with weight loss … while people often focus on what to take out of a diet it is actually what we put in that can provide us with the best results!
The key to a healthy weight loss is all in the goals! You should aim to lose around 1 – 1.5kg per week until you have reached your goal and create a lifestyle that is attainable and long lasting. Fad dietary tricks such as extreme fasting or a potato diet can cause the body short term weight loss. However more often than not result in more weight gain long term.
Here are some healthy weight loss tips:
- Apple cider vinegar and lemon. Two very simple ingredients that can have a massive health benefit and can stimulate your metabolism. Each morning 30 minutes before breakfast, try adding 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon of either organic apple cider vinegar or freshly squeeze lemon juice into warm water and drink. This helps to increase the digestive acids in the digestive system, allowing us to breakdown food more effectively and prevent food from just sitting in our tummy. It also helps with our detoxification pathways to help move toxins and waste out of the body.
- Love your guts! Enjoying fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and kombucha all support our good digestive bacteria and weight management! Just 1 serving of fermented foods a day can help to balance good bacteria in the digestive system, support weight management, aid immune health and overall wellbeing.
- Fibre, a little dust pan for your tummy. For general health and wellbeing as well as during desired times of weight loss, fibre is going to be your very best friend. When food stagnates it can result in weight gain, fibre helps to move waste and toxins out of the body, all the while helping to scrub our intestines clean. You can boost your fibre intake by enjoying a variety of fresh produce, legumes and beans or go a bit further by boosting your diet and adding a little chia seeds and linseeds into your diet.
- For the love of fat! Wholefood good fats are often the first thing removed from our diet for weight loss, however it has been shown this isn’t necessarily a good thing! Good fats such as nuts, small oily fish (eg sardines, mackerel), avocado and cold pressed oils can not only nourish our body, but it can also help us stay full! Just remember; a little bit can go a long way.
- Protein, not just for body builders. Protein has an amazing role in the body, not only does it provide us with the building blocks for our amino acids and minerals, it also helps balance our blood glucose levels, keeps us fuller for longer, supports hormone development and helps us transport our minerals around our body. Adequate protein is essential for a healthy diet. Try mixing things up with different animal proteins such as lean meats (kangaroo) and plant proteins such as legumes and beans.
- Keep hydrated! Sometimes we can get a little bit confused about what our body is trying to tell us, it’s not uncommon that we think we are hungry when we are actually thirsty! Try having half a glass of water, waiting 10 minutes and if you are still hungry reach for a high protein natural snack such as a nut and seed trail mix.
- Balance baby! Blood glucose levels are the usual culprit for sugar cravings. Enjoying a delicious balanced breakfast starts your day strong and can sustain you throughout the day! Two eggs, ¼ an avocado, a little baby spinach and some sauerkraut can help to balance your blood glucose levels throughout the day. For snacks reach for ones that the body takes a while to break down, this can be a small handful of nuts, a trail mix or a little hummus and carrots sticks can do wonders to balance our blood glucose levels.
- Time to get excited! The biggest key to a healthy lifestyle and weight loss is embracing healthy delicious food and not beating ourselves up if we want to enjoy a little treat every now and then. Now is the time to start exploring cook books, cooking shows and even joining a friend for a healthy cooking class!
- Up and about: the most influential factor for weight loss support and management is exercise! Aim for at least 30- 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each day. They key is to have a higher output of energy (movement) than your input of energy (food). Simple daily changes such as parking a little bit further away and walking, going for a walk with a friend or taking the stairs instead of the lift all contribute to your daily exercise.
