How to take the ‘die’ out of dieting

The word starts with ‘die' so how can we expect anything good to come from dieting?! Find out how to reach and maintain your ideal weight without dieting... 

There was the time I tried a zero carb diet (vegetable carbs included – don’t try this!), while a good friend of mine went on a crazy restrictive diet (there’s something a little bit sad about your biggest treat being an apple), and a former colleague periodically did a grape fast and would only eat grapes for a week. The list of extreme diets goes on! 

What do all these extreme diets have in common? 

They’re all short-term, quick fixes to weight loss and even when they work - the weight loss doesn’t stay off for very long! Many diets are unsustainable. 

Maintaining my ideal weight has been one of my goals during my Comrades training. With less than two weeks to Comrades, I have been able to reach my goal. Find out how I did it…

Balance is key

Being on a diet is difficult - your mind-set changes and you immediately feel deprived. 

So instead of trying another ‘diet’, try a ‘healthy eating plan’.

I adopted a balanced eating plan that includes the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fruits vegetables and even the occasional treat! 

A healthy eating plan is one you can maintain wherever and whenever. If you’re at a dinner party where pasta is the main dish you can immediately switch from ‘I can’t have’ diet mind-set and start calculating how much you can eat while maintaining your healthy eating plan.

Get to know food calories 

Knowing how many calories different foods contain (and how many you need to consume) will help you eat a wide variety of foods while maintaining your healthy eating plan. 

Being able to identify the number of calories in certain foods will also help you make wise food choices. For example, you could allocate 300 calories of your daily snack allowance towards a chocolate bar but it won’t fill you up for very long. A wiser choice would be a delicious 182 calorie Peanut Chia granola bar or two satisfying 115 calorie Quinoa muffins instead.

Read my article on calories for more tips. 

Treat yourself!

My picture of red velvet cupcakes probably gave it away - I love treats! In fact, I swear by them as part of my healthy eating plan. 

I believe that you shouldn't deprive yourself. In moderation, treats may even be of benefit.

Knowing you have a delicious treat to look forward at the end of the week will make sticking to a healthy eating plan seem a little easier! 

Do you struggle with healthy eating? Share in the comments below. 

Feige’s past two weeks of running…

• Mileage (May 06 – May 19): 79.6km

• Longest Run: 21,1km (Last pre comrades LSD! For a more detailed view on my training, follow me on twitter @feige)

• Total money raised for the Pink Drive: R3 630 raised – R6 370 left to raise in just over one week! Thank you to everyone who bought the pink velvet cupcakes pictured above! Help me reach this goal by joining the pink cupcake drive, spreading the word and supporting the Pink Drive and breast cancer awareness by either smsing race 628 to 42030 (R30 charged) or sponsor my Comrades run here. 

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