As January draws to a close, are you still tracking well on your weight loss New Year’s resolutions? 

Weight loss is one of the resolutions that make it to most people’s To-do lists in the New Year. Let us revisit scientific facts and see what we do know about weight loss benefits;

1. Losing at least 5 – 10% of your current total body weight is likely to produce health benefits, such as improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugars
2. Maintaining weight loss for a while, improves not only physical health, but energy levels, physical mobility, general mood, and self-confidence
3. Making sudden, radical changes to eating habits such as eating nothing but cabbage soup, can lead to short term weight loss
4. Significant weight loss restores normal menstrual cycles, reduces high androgen levels, and reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Weight loss particularly helps reduce symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which contributes to infertility in many women
5. As you lose weight, sleep apnea symptoms (long pauses between breaths or shallow breaths) decrease dramatically. Your symptoms may even stop altogether

The above mentioned weight loss benefits are amongst a long endless list of weight loss benefits that a person can experience, especially if they are clinically overweight or obese.

The big question is “how can I lose weight”?  The GOLDEN answer is: Avoid drastic diets.

Drastic diets may show some quick results, but unfortunately these disappear as soon as you start eating the “wrong” food again. However, this is not the only reason why you should avoid these regimes.
Usually, this method is detrimental to your health. Research show that is harmful is for your health to gain and lose weight too fast and repeatedly.
This is why it’s far better to lose weight in a healthy and gradual way and then maintain it with good habits.

Remember that calories are not the only thing that matter for your weight loss. Healthy diets must include nutrients in each meal, including protein, carbs, vitamins, and fibre. Focusing on behavior modifications is also a good idea. For example; sitting down at meal times, chewing your food thoroughly & taking at least 15- 20 minutes to finish a meal, avoiding distractions e.g. TV,  phone etc. at meal times.

Remember, January is drawing to a close but that does not mean your weight loss journey must and will end in January as we know that long lasting results are seen with maintained weight loss.

Here are my five tips that you may add to your weight loss journey:

1. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, make these the bulk of your meals
2. Drink plenty of water – at least 6 glasses of water
3. Meal planning is important, for example – if you know that breakfast will be rushed, instead of skipping it & eating high quantities at lunch later, make a quick smoothie with added shake or use a shake as a meal replacement
4. Seek help from a healthcare professional  to assist you with your weight loss journey
5. Remember, Quality & Quantity of foods

Yours in health

Mbali

Xx

Our weight management offerings: 

1. Nutritious Shake to use as meal replacement or snack 
2. Floraplex – Probiotic for good gut health 
3. Healthy eating sample menu
4. Range of vitamins & minerals to suit your nutritional needs 
5. Customer service support through “We Care”