Sustainable lifestyle changes and weight loss

After the holidays, some of us may have indulged, and now, the clothes we wear are just a little too tight… oops! What we have to realise that weight loss is not a quick fix, found in a pill. The honest truth is what we all don’t like to hear/read: Weight loss means good diet, exercise and supplements. What we also need to consider is a mind- body link. When we nourish the body, reduce the physical, mental and emotional stress, and accept ourselves for all that we are, weight loss occurs in a sensible and sustainable way.

Here are some practical lifestyle habits to adopt, long term:

1. Food choices: Our bodies are designed to process healthy, real food. This may sound obvious, however, many of us are unaware of the fact that modern diets contain ‘dead’ foods. Dead meaning they contain substantially less nutrients than natural foods. These include: Junk and fast foods, pizza’s, pasta’s, chips, sweets and chocolates etc. What we lack from daily eating is live foods, which are fresh and natural. Our bodies crave the foods that are nutrient dense and of superior quality. I always tell patients- an old fashioned diet is the best diet- boiling beans, salad, raw veg, low wheat and more rice/quinoa/millet/amaranth etc.
2. Probiotics: Absorption of nutrients depends on the health of our intestinal system. The gut needs to be healthy in order to extract the nutrients from the food we eat. This requires the use of a very good probiotic, as well as having cultured foods (yoghurt etc.). This will not only aid in absorption, but also cleanse the colon and allow our bodies to release toxins easily.
3. Stress: Cortisol and inflammatory hormones run rampant when your body is stressed. These hormones lead to constant cravings and sometimes we make the wrong food choices. This is what causes our bodies to store excess fat. We have to realise the importance of how to reduce stress in our lives. The power of spending quiet time alone, having a soak in the bath, sleeping an extra hour, meditation, gardening, hobbies and exercising are invaluable to stress reduction. What also comes to play with stress is by living a sustainable life. Not overspending, living on what you need, not what you want. Find a way to lower your expenses, and live simpler.
4. Detoxing: The more excess fat we carry on our bodies, the more toxins we harbour. The body naturally uses fat as a storage tank for toxins it cannot eliminate! It is therefore, vital that we live a detoxifying diet, continuously. This means increasing lots of fresh, raw foods (salads and sprouts), increasing water intake, green juicing, and in general, alkalising the body.