Some tips from the mouths of babes :)

Posted on Feb 6, 2006

So we’re already in February, which generally means that the fallible amongst us have to face the facts about our New Year’s resolutions – yet again. Did you also let them fade into the blurry holiday memories? Do you also have another set of broken promises to try and forget about? How depressing.

Our guess is that losing weight and getting healthy was yet again at the top of many a South African’s New Year top 10 and we understand how challenging this one is.

BUT WE WANT TO HELP YOU! (Besides wanting to help ourselves to shift the excess December blubber that wobbles around our tyre area.) But this year we have decided – NO MORE DIETING – no more following of wafty and impossible-to-achieve regimes where we set ourselves up for failure and are surprised to find ourselves giving up yet again on day six… (Saturday). We actually love our bodies – but we do need to get healthier.. so that’s what this posting is all about.

We have tried to take a refreshing, new approach to promoting healthy eating… Represent contacted a whole bunch of our favourite women and asked them for their tips on how to stay healthy and feel good. Thanks ladies for your wonderful words…

You will pleased to know that all the ladies that have sent in their tips have NORMAL BEAUTIFUL bodies – there are no extra skinny women in this list. Our only criteria were that the tips are simple and easy to achieve without too much hassle… We hope you enjoy our tips to a healthy new you! We know we love them!

TO PUT YOU IN THE MOOD – START OFF WITH MISS NEW YORK AND HER PLAN BEFORE YOU SEE THE OTHERS..

MISS NEW YORK SAYS STUFF ALL THE RULES:
Well mine is really quite simple. I eat what ever I want, because otherwise I go crazy. Deprivation of any kind freaks me out. Just the thought of not being allowed to eat something will send me diving right into the nearest garage store to pig out on disgusting oily sugary calorie bombs. I chow regularly and whatever I like, but only a small meal at a time. Snacking is the deal. A chocolate will replace a meal every so often. This keeps your metabolism going. I’ve lost about 8kg this way. OK a few yoga dog-stretches with you bum in the air helps as well. Tonnes of cigs and coffee is also very helpful. Wine actually replacing meals or a hearty Guinness is a great and apparently healthy meal replacement. F*ck the protein bars and rice cookies. Sorry girls I’m a decadent bitch.

TIPS FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES…

WHEN AND HOW TO EAT
ýDon’t eat after 8pm (Khanyi)

ýDon’t eat after 7/7.30. (Nicole)

ýOnly eat when you are hungry (Jezebel)

ýEat like a French woman. It is said that they savour whatever they eat and turn it into a feast. (LERATO)

ýBEFORE BREAKFAST – 1 Cup of boiled water & lemon – works like a dream – cleans the system and break down fat (Tried this for 2 weeks every day – it WORKS!) (Del)

ýTry to eat only fruit before 11am – I’ve been told this over and over and it does work! (Nicole)

– Eat 5 meals a day i.e. breakfast at 7am, healthy snack at 10:30am, lunch at 1pm, healthy snack at 3pm, dinner before 7:30pm. Eating healthy snacks mid morning and mid afternoon will fill your tummy and stop you from binging at your next meal.(Michelle)

– DO – try and eat 6 small meals a day (DEL)

– Do not starve yourself , you can eat up to five meals a day as long as this is in small portions-this keeps your metabolism rate higher (Khanyi)

ý PREPARE – I find that if I prepare a “meal” list every Sunday and pack food every night/am I stick to it 90% of the time. (DEL)

– DON’T – Eat carbs after 3pm (DEL)

DRINKING WATER

– Always Drink a full glass of water before you eat (Khanyi)

– DRINK – Lots of water everyday (DEL)

– Drink a lot of water – seriously have a bottle of water with you, or at least on your desk at all times. (Jezebel)

– Don’t drink too much water before or after a meal – try wait – it waters down your digestive juices and makes it harder to digest. (Nicole)

– We all hate this but…drink lots of water! Feeling hungry is often one of the first signs of dehydration. Water also flushes out toxins and impurities thereby assisting the body in doing it’s job properly and speeding up metabolism. (Michelle)

– Always wait about 5 min before you go for seconds (Khanyi)

PORTIONS

– Your food portions should be no bigger than your closed fist – this is roughly the size of your stomach. (Michelle)
– Fill your plate up with 70% salad or veg, and 30% meat/fish. (Michelle)

BREAKFAST

– 1 and a half Weetbix with fat free milk and some nuts or apple chopped into it – tastes bland but its so fat-free and weight-loss friendly (Sarah)

– Prepare smoothies every day using lots of fruit and juice or fat free yoghurt/milk. Keep some on hand to sip away at during the morning. (PENNY)

– BREAKFAST – Most important meal of the day. I try to do a protein breakfast 3 times a week – 1 x boiled egg / 2 x grilled bacon without fat – fills you up until lunch time. (DEL)

– BERRY SMOOTHIE – handful of blue berries (or a mix), 1 x small yoghurt, crushed ice – fills you up and cleans out that system. (DEL)

– Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day – most people with weight problems (male and female) tend to skip breakfast – DON’T. (LINNY)
……..If the idea of breakfast is a bit much – force yourself you’ll get used to it – here are some breakfast ideas (if you get the impression that brekky is my favourite meal of the day then you’d be right!) (LINNY)
……..Stewed Apples with Fat Free yoghurt. This a low-fat version of an old favourite. Core and chop up 4/5 green apples (the slightly sour ones are the best) – leave skins on – place in pot and cover with water – add cinnamon (lots) and a little bit of sugar (I don’t but then I like sour stuff). Bring to the boil and then simmer for 45mins or so or until apples all mushy. Drain the excess water – put in tupperware in fridge. Keeps for a week and is delicious hot or cold. Big dollops of fat free yoghurt and maybe a sprinkling of bran or oats and that is one healthy energy filled breakfast! (LINNY)
…….Oats with cinnamon and fruit – place oats in a bowl. Add a few dashes of Vanilla Essence, a few pinches of cinnamon, raisans/ other dried fruit – NB not to many as they are high in sugar. Cover with water. Leave overnight to soak in fridge – the oats absorb all the water – you can heat them up in the microwave or have them cold – DELISH (LINNY)

LUNCH

– Eat Tuna – its so good for you and low in fat… but remember to get the tins in BRINE or WATER not oil. (Sarah)

– SALADS – Make your salads interesting! There are loads of delicious things that you can add to make salads tasty or interesting i.e. spring onions, red, yellow and green peppers, peanuts, sprouts, avo (it contains good fats!), feta, different kinds of lettuce. If your salad is bland, you’re more likely to fill up on whatever else is on your plate first…….and then serve up more of that. (Michelle)

SUPPER

– Make a pot of soup using “potjie” packof fresh veg and add tin or fesh tomatoes. Blend in smoothie mixer and cool down and have for lunch and supper every day for week. To make it a little more interesting cut up apple or have celery sticks to dip in and enjoy. (use hot or cold.) This is filling and nutritious and works brilliantly. (PENNY)

DRINKS
– COOLDRINKS – Cut out COKE FANTA etc drink only Coke lite, Sprite Zero or water – fruit juices often have a lot of sugar so water down if you do have (Sarah)

– BOOZE – there’s only one surefire way to do it – STOP DRINKING – but knowing that won’t work, I recommend SPRITZERS – I also recommend really light wine – Drosty Hof very light wine – Spritzers tend to all taste the same anyway so why fuss over which wine you’re having – but one glass of Drosty hof as a spritzer is the equivalent to about 4 of normal wine in terms of carbs etc. (Sarah)

– BOOZE – Drostdy-Hoff Extra Light Wine with Soda (DEL)

– BOOZE – Gin and slim line tonic is a ‘fatter free’ drink (bearing in mind
Alcohol just isn’t in any way fat free) (GEORGIE)

SNACKS
– FRUITS – eat lots of apples and pineapple and grapes. Don’t be fooled by dried fruit – you know those fat bags of dried mangos from Woolies? They’re fine if you only eat a third at a time – the whole bag is quite high in sugar! (Sarah)

BILTONG – get some non-fatty biltong – don’t eat the whole bag – just eat half…(Sarah)

BILTONG also works for me as a snack – snack on it to prevent you from buying a pie until you get to a place where you can actually eat healthily (DEL)

CARROTS – carrots are great for you – Woolies have these large bright orange ones that look so tempting… keep them on you for snacks (Sarah)

CARROTS – baby carrots are ideal to munch on during the day at work to curb those snack cravings – Woolies do lovely ones and there is a brand in Spar called Bunny Bites which I love! (LINNY)

CARROTS – Those woollies carrots are the best snack – and sooo tasty (Jezebel)

ALMONDS are an excellent snack and a great detox food. But eat them alone, at least half an hour after a meal. (Nicole)

BOILED EGG – boil a whole lot and eat them over a week – but only one a day – keep it in your bag with a little salt (Sarah)

NO CHIPS – Don’t eat chips (HOLLY)

DAIRY

– MILK and yoghurt = use fat free – it makes a huge difference – Woolies has the best BULGARIAN FAT FREE YOGHURT – delicious (Sarah)

– Fat Free yoghurt is totally the way forward (I know it’s been mentioned already but you can’t say enough good stuff about it!) substitute natural yoghurt for dips/ mayonaise – you’d be amazed at how yum it is! (Spar does an amazing Natural Fat Free Yogurt which is a bit cheaper than the woolies one and just as delish) (LINNY)

WEAKNESSES / FATS

– Cut out all unnecessary fats i.e. margarine, oil etc – you’ll be suprised how you won’t even miss them. (Michelle)

– Eat avo’s (HOLLY)

– Cheese – do you love cheese? Cheese is my weakness – instead of eating normal cheese I buy Melrose Low Fat cheese triangles – eat up to 3-4 a day without feeling guilty (Sarah)

– Butter / Margarine – you have no idea how fattening these two are – if you have to have it on bread buy the VERY VERY Lite floro and use sparingly (the blue one) (Sarah)

– SWEETS – Woollies fat-free liquorices – it’s FAT-FREE and half a string at night prevents you from snacking other sweets. (DEL)

ABSOLUTE NO NO’s

– PIES – yes, you’ve been working late and you need a bite – DON’T BUY A PIE> For that matter NEVER buy Macdonalds or KFC either – bad bad bad. (Sarah)

– FRIED FOODS – As we all know Fried foods are a no no, NO FRIED FOODS, yes this includes potato chips – try and have these as a treat once a month-it’s something to look forward to. (Khanyi)

– FRIED FOODS – Grill or bake – frying foods is out! (Michelle)

– FAST FOOD – Don’t eat any fast food – it is too quick, too easy and too fill of rubbish (Has anyone actually been able to sit down and watch that supersize me movie without throwing up?????) (Jezebel)

EATING OUT
– If you have to eat out go for sushi or pizza – if you get pizza try and get non-fattening toppings and only have two to three slices. Sushi is a much better option. (Sarah)

DETOX
– Your first day of every week should be a liquid detox day. Have a smoothie made of Fat Free Vanilla Yoghurt and a banana / berries / mango. Lunch is a Lite soup and dinner soup / smoothie. Do not have a glass of fruit juice – tpo much sugar. If you get hungry, add some meal replacement to the smoothie. It is only for one day! This way you feel detoxed and healthy and anything you eat after that day fills you up! (GAYNOR)

– Try and have one day in a week where you only eat fresh Veges ( not frozen) and Fruits and drink loads of water no juice or any drink with preservatives, this gives your body time to recoup and get rid of toxins and get your liver in a good working condition. You can do this for up to three days. Re -introduce other foods slowly i.e do not go on a meat binge the day after. (Khanyi)

– HOME DETOX – Mandarin drops, Grapefruit drops, Bergamot Drops = 10 drops of each in bath water (This can irritate the skin if you put too much in) – it stimulates the skin and makes bloodflow faster that improves fat burning. (DEL)

– Have a never fail me diet for when you need to fit into THAT outfit pronto. (LERATO)

EXERCISE
– Walking never hurt anyone, do take the stairs instead of the lifts/elevator. Any form of exercise counts it all depends on how frequently you do it. (Khanyi)

– Do squats while you are brushing your teeth and push-ups on the kitchen counter while cooking – you’re just standing around anyway!

– If you can, go out dancing one night a week. Lose control on the dance floor, jump, get down….do whatever you want to, as long as you do not look like you are having an epileptic fit.(Lerato)

– Always exercise in the morning. It jump-starts your metabolism and keeps it elevated for hours. You’ll find you’re also more alert and energized afterwards – and the best part about it – you’ll be done for the day! No more making excuses because something comes up after work or you’re too exhausted after a long day.(Michelle)

– Choose an exercise routine that suits your lifestyle and most importantly, that you enjoy. Exercise can be fun! If you prefer to exercise at home, buy an exercise bike or stepper and do your exercise while you watch TV or read a book. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the time goes when your mind is occupied. If you prefer gym to keep motivated, try out all their classes – there are lots of different classes and many are really fun. (Michelle)

– If you go to gym, choose a gym that’s on your way home and go to a class that is right after or before work i.e. don’t wait around for a class to start – you’re more likely to talk yourself out of it if you get the chance. (Michelle)

– Walk around your neighborhood block with a friend once a week. Talk about everything and nothing, peek in the neighbors gardens and avoid talking about work. (HOLLY)

Find a type of exercise that you enjoy, that is fun and that doesn’t feel like torture. (JEZEBEL)
1.Those lucky ladies in Durban – Go body surfing! Go surfing! Learn how to dive – The water is gloriously warm and you should appreciate that!! Or if that doesn’t rock your boat – Walk / run along the beachfront.

2.If you are Cape Town with the arctic ocean – Walk up the mountain / lions head after work / on a weekend – it is easier than you think – and a quick 2 hours up and down. Just remember to take water.

3.If you are in Jo’burg…I don’t know… join a gym and find a class that you enjoy – kata box / yoga… it is harder for you I admit. Why not start salsa lessons???? That’s exercise you can do while finding yourself a latin lover…

Speaking of lovers…you do know what the best form of exercise is don’t you?? Get steamy ladies. Exercise in bed is the best way!!! (Jezebel)

– A sex marathon has never failed anyone (LERATO)

SUPPLEMENTS
– Kelp is a great supplement for digestion. It’s sea-weed and you can take up to 8 a day. (NICOLE)

– Green tea speeds up your metabolism – drink 4 cups a day and it’s the equivalent of a 6 minute cycle ride. Yeah! (GEORGIE)

[REPRESENT DOES NOT HOLD ITSELF RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY OF ANY OF THE INFORMATION WITHIN THIS ARTICLE NOR THE ACTIONS OF ANYONE THAT CHOOSES TO FOLLOW THESE TIPS – THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT PRETEND THAT IT IS FACTUAL NOR PROVEN INFOMATIOIN