Change your dietary habits for a healthier you

POLOKWANE – We are in the new year and many of us have sworn to go into it with iron-clad discipline to reach our dream body goals, disregarding the fact that this is a tune we dance to at the beginning of every year.

Here is a challenge for 2023: Work towards your dream body and make a long-term commitment to maintaining it.

What we eat counts a lot towards how we look therefore diet is important.

You might also want to read: How to transition to a plant-based diet in South Africa

Review spoke to Thapelo Serumula, a University of Limpopo graduate and consulting dietitian at Dietitians24, about changes one can make to start a weight-loss journey.

She explained that in order to attain your desired weight loss, you have to make sacrifices and that means letting go of some of the food we love.

Here are nine tips to shed the weight excess weight:

1. Limit sugar intake: This counts for things like fizzy drinks, sweet sugar containing foods and unhealthy takeaways.
2. Say no to alcohol.
3. Avoid red meat but make sure you consume enough protein daily. Replace it with foods like eggs, chicken, fish and beans.
4. Consume whole foods such as vegetables, fruit and wholewheat.
5. It is vital to drink 2/3 litres of water daily.
6. Make a habit of reading nutrition labels (where it tells you if a product is high fat or low fat etc).
7. Change your cooking methods: Reduce frying your food.
8. Adjust portion sizes: Aim to eat small portions and don’t eat while watching TV.
9. Exercise and hydrate yourself with drinks containing sodium.