Losing 20kg and keeping it off

I started my weight loss journey in November 2015, I reached my goal weight in 2017 and I found my sweet spot in 2018. My body in 2018 has been nothing short of flames and perfection, YES, I just said that! I love my body and that is something I have learnt to be unapologetic about.

In 2017 I wrote a blog post about how I reached my goal weight so I won’t dwell on that on this post. To read more about how I lost 20kg in less than 2 years, please click here

In this post I want to talk about all the questions people have been asking – my main detox recipe, what’s on my shopping list, maintaining my body as well as the misconception some people from the black community have about health being viewed as “expensive“. Sometime in 2016, I wrote a blog about all the stereotypes associated with weight loss/weight gain in all the different cultures.

I was in King Williams Town in November/December, and people who haven’t seen me in years are always startled when they see me. The occasional:

“Yho nimbonile? Inoba uyagula sana”

“Akabhitye umtana kaNophumezo bethunana. Abantwana basekapa batya amagqabi kaloku”

“Bathandana nabelungu kaloku abantwana ngoku benza ezi zinto zimhlophe”

Loosely translated losing weight is often associated with being sick/unhappy in some parts of the black community and it is frowned upon. A healthy lifestyle has always been associated with a certain culture and status, hence why so many people who aren’t exposed to different cultures still see it that way and don’t understand the thrill of climbing up a mountain or running.

Losing weight and keeping it off requires two things – Discipline and Self – Control. In church we are taught fasting and most people can’t do it because they lack these two traits. The late Dr Myles Munroe gave a sermon about fasting where he said such profound words:

“if you can’t overcome the power of your belly, how can you overcome the power of a demon?“

The great thing about discipline and self – control is that it comes in handy in almost every other area of your life – career, academics as well as relationships. You will not get to where you want to be in life if you lack discipline. It is imperative that you do not succumb to your cravings if you want to lose weight and keep it off.

So how am I maintaining my body and ensuring that the 20kg I lost doesn’t come creeping back in?

The first thing I do when I feel bloated is to take a liquid detox:

I only drink liquids for those two days (Green home-made smoothies, vegan soup with only water and salt – no oil or flavorings. I ONLY drink water and green tea – No coffee/ store-bought juice or sodas).

What’s on my detox smoothie:

• Apples
• Spinach
• Kale
• Cucumber
• Green Tea – Frozen into Ice Cubes
• Kiwi
• A pinch of lemon juice
• Water

What’s on my vegan soup?

• Broccoli
• Split Peas
• Carrots
• Celery
• Onion
• Mushrooms
• Baby Marrows
• Garlic
• Almond/Coconut Milk
• Water
• Salt
• Vegetable Stock to taste

As an alternative, Woolworths also sells great soups but be sure to read the label to ensure they don’t have any milk or animal products. When doing the detox, it is important to ONLY drink fruit and eat vegetables.

 

Out of all the diets I have ever tried, the two that worked well with are the Vegan Diet and the 3 Day/Military Diet. Now I go vegan every month for a minimum of 5 days a month. The only reason I go vegan is that after I joined the vegan diet for a total of 3 months my body was never able to fully appreciate meat like I did before, so if I eat meat all the time I get sick PLUS when I am on the vegan diet I feel most alive and refreshed, the reason I didn’t fully transition to a full-time vegan is because of my egg-white omelette obsession!! Oh! That’s another thing – I don’t eat egg yellows because I have to balance my cholesterol levels.

A normal day for me is:

• Wake up at 5am and go to the gym for an hour
• 07:00am Drink a Cup of Green Tea
• 08:00/08:30 Drink a Cup of Hot Water with Apple Cider Vinegar/Lemon
• 09:30 – Drink Coffee (A bad habit I’m struggling with letting go)
• 10:00 Eat Breakfast (Egg-White Omelette or Plain Yoghurt with Fruit)
• 11:30 -Have a snack (Raw Almonds/Apple/Banana/Sweet Melon)
• 13:30 – Eat Lunch (Yummy Home-made Vegan/Vegetarian Bowl)
• 15:30 – Drink a cup of Peppermint Tea
• 17:00 – Prepare Dinner (Finish water for the day)
• 19:00 – Eat Dinner (Chicken Breast/Salmon with Spinach and Mixed Vegetable)

I don’t eat after 20:30 and 80% of the time I don’t eat breakfast before 10:00am. The other 20% is when I’m stressed and starving – I listen to my body. Guys listen, I EAT cake. I LOVE pizza. I think McDonald fries are life. I need my Speckled Eggs to survive. I don’t deprive myself – EVER!

Now, for all my friends/family and acquaintances who say being healthy is expensive. What are the basic necessities of being healthy on my grocery list?

• Apple Cider Vinegar (Around R20 something)
• Broccoli (R30 something)
• Apples (R20 something)
• Spinach (R20 something)
• Eggs (I buy egg whites) (R40 something)
• Grape Fruit (R20 something)
• Raw unsalted Almond Nuts (R100 something)
• Cucumber (R10 something)
• Virgin Oil (R100 something – Canola one is about R30 something)
• Green Tea (Invest in two different ones for R40 something)
• Oats (R30 something)
• Water (If you’re not based in Cape Town then you can have free tap water)
• Basically fruit and LOTS of Vegetable

It is quite possible to get all your basic necessities for under R600.00 and you are well on your road to being healthy. If you can’t afford gym, get a group of people and start walking or running together, you’d be surprised at the number of people who WANT to start living healthy but need a partner or some motivation. There is absolutely no such thing as health being too expensive, that is if you want it bad enough. A meal at McDonald is R50 or a R100 and it has millions of calories whereas a nice chicken salad at Pick ‘n Pay is R30 something with fewer calories and is also quite filling. Better yet, a homemade salad is much cheaper and is guaranteed to be healthier if prepared with all the right ingredients.

To maintain a healthy body one also needs to be active, everyone knows I am a gym/active freak so I go to gym quite frequently or I run outside – anywhere between 5 to 15km and I also do lift/ weight training. By now you should know me and my SQUATS!

There are people who are referred to as “AskHOLES”, those are the people who ask you something like…

“Oh how did you lose weight I definitely want to start leaving a healthy lifestyle”

…and then they go around and do the opposite of what you tell them. Don’t be that person!!

I know there are so many people with weight loss/healthy lifestyle resolutions this year and all I can say is that it is very possible. I will always motivate people to be happy and that should never be based on the number that reflects on the scale. True happiness is feeling your best and doing all the things that contribute to your overall health. As a women you literally don’t owe anyone a summer body or a flat stomach. However, as a person who has been overweight and had a eating disorder I will always share tips on how to get the body you want because I know what its like to feel miserable because of how you look, especially feeling like there’s nothing you can do. There is ALWAYS something you can do to be the best version of yourself there is, and, a healthy lifestyle contributes SIGNIFICANTLY to being happy.

AND! Since I didn’t write a “2018 In review” post, I thought I’d compile a little 2018 slide show for you all  🙂

 

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