Weight Loss Hacks: 7 unique ways to eat your cake and have it!

The biggest struggle most people have with losing weight is dieting and exercise, both of which are the two major aspects of weight loss. Its’ hard, I know. It’s like you’re making all these sacrifices and for the most part, your body isn’t rewarding you for the big gains you think you deserve.

Think about it for a minute. You’ve spent years piling on the weight and you want it all gone in a month or two? Be realistic! It’s going to take way longer than that for the body to visibly shrink in a way that your weight loss is visible to all. What’s frustrating about the whole journey? Working your ass off and adding weight! YES… that happens to…or working hard and the scales won’t shift…urrrrrgrhhhh so frustrating.

You’re probably wondering what am I doing wrong? Why won’t this damn weight just come off! Sometimes you’ve got your nutrition all wrong. Such as not eating in a targeted way to lose weight or you’re working out like an ox but eating it all back.

I’ve tried everything…. but in the end, I’ve discovered that weight loss has to be adjusted to fit your body, tastes and your comfort level. Someone could drop a generic diet plan on you but it won’t work if it’s not customized to fit your personality and weight loss goals.

Recently, I found out I could eat my cake and have it…literally. I’ve been living on a diet of beer, akpu, rice, fried yam/plantain, noodles and southern fried chicken. You’re thinking, how can she eat all the high calories food and lose weight? Proportion baby!

Lets’ go over the rules first…the list of foods you should never ever eat when you’re trying to diet or not gain weight

The things to avoid when trying to lose weight.

Do not eat white bread

White bread is the enemy. Stay away from white bread. In fact, stay away from bakeries. Giving up white bread is hard for people who love bread. Substitute it with wheat bread. I’ve been eating wheat bread for about three years now. Every time I gained weight, I was eating some form of white bread. The concentrated starch in bread doesn’t allow your body to burn or break it down quickly.

Do not eat egusi soup or any soup cooked with loads of palm oil

When you’re trying to diet, the goal is to eat 1200-1300 calories a day. How can you do that with a bowl of egusi soup that contains around 350 calories toppled with wheat/semo/akpu, containing 400-500 calories? Unless you’re planning to eat once a day, not later than 4 pm, I advise you to stick to okro soup. Its’ a winner for any diet plan on any day. Taste great with or without oil. One spoon of palm oil is enough to cook a small pot of okra soup. The rest…. slide and dash baby!

If you drink beer, forget about dinner

This point is for beer lovers like me who drink alcohol on any diet. What works for me is having a big brunch (about 700 calories) then grabbing a drink around seven and no dinner afterwards, just lots of water before bed. I wake up the next morning feeling extra light and weigh at least 0.5kg less than I did the previous day. The trick is to summon control and only take ONE bottle of beer. That way the calorie count aligns with your food goals for the day. If you can’t control your liquor intake, stick to watermelon/pineapple juice.

Everything else is game!

I didn’t stutter fellow countrymen! You can eat anything you want and lose weight as long as you don’t go over your food count for the day. The question is, would you eat small portions of high-calorie food that won’t fill you up or larger portions of filling low-calorie meals?

 Ice cream, one scoop

Pizza, one slice

Cake, a tiny slice

Coke, 35cl

Use my fitness pal to work out the exact measurement of the calorie count for whatever you want to eat so you’re certain you’re not going over your food count for the day.

Now we’ve gone over what to avoid, let’s look at what you can actually eat

BEANS, chicken/turkey and other protein

I kid you not, beans is the secret to happiness. Maybe I’m partial because I am a beans lover, but it’s the cornerstone of every happy diet plan. One plate of beans is under 400 calories. Its protein, sustaining and so yummy! Win-win for everyone. Same as chicken. You can roast it in your electric oven and eat it with a side of veggie sauce. That’s a full meal on its own. Protein burns fast metabolizes quickly and gives you more energy for the day. Start your day with protein.

Drink lots of water

Aaaaah…. water, the fountain of youth. I drink lots of water after a meal and throughout the day because water makes a small meal bigger. If I pack a lunch of jollof rice and fried meat to work. I’m going to eat it around midday to optimize the food burn. Eating in the morning means I’m going to be hungry by 1 pm. If I hold off until noon, I’ll be okay until dinner which I eat no later than 6 pm on most days. In between, brunch and dinner, I drink around 1.5litres of water.

Walk

Walking is therapeutic, for me at least. I try to take the staircases at work three times daily. I walk a lot. Walking helps me burn calories after brunch and opens me up for dinner. Even when I can’t run for weeks, I try to move a lot in the office and at home. Staying active hastens the metabolism process, which is what you need to lose weight fast. Aim for 6k steps a day or an average of 42k steps every week. Your body will thank you for it.

Eat ugwu two days a week

Ugwu makes me purge. When I add it to my meals, chicken sauce, fried yam, fried plantain, white rice or beans, everything comes right out the next morning. Ugwu is my natural purgative and body cleanser.  I eat it from Saturdays-Mondays when I know am home stuffing my ass out. Ugwu ensures all the food comes right out of my system by Monday. My body keeps only what it needs to function and expelling the rest.

Conclusion

This is what works for me. You can try some of the tricks to see what works for you. Dietitians give you healthy plans because it’s easy to calculate the low count of calories and helps you build healthy eating habits that sustain long-term weight maintenance. Well, diets suck! Having to eat veggies all the time suck! I can eat it all and not gain…. if weight loss doesn’t motivate you to lose weight…. get motivated with food!