‘Fetch your body’ challenge

No one diet is a one-size-fits-all. But there are certainly many diets that do not fit anyone at all. Remember the to-do list that you wrote in the beginning of 2020. Yes, the one you diarised and solemnly vowed to adhere to no matter the costs. Prophecy is not required here, but deep down you know weight loss was one of the prioritised actions on the list. Twelve months down the line, how far are you from achieving the hyped “fetch your body” slogan? As God is your witness, many are still where they were when they first started engaging in the diet they thought would at least help them shed some few kilos. Others are far worse than when they first began. How did the “protein shakes” do in your fight to lose the weight? Did that training regimen given to you by a colleague help in anyway? How about those pills you bought that promised 10 kg loss within a month? Did that tight-belt help your belly from sagging after enduring 12 hours of laborious breathing? Then there is that article from your favourite magazine promising you that drinking a certain overpriced concoction will surely guarantee you lose weight within two weeks. You are now disappointed to realise that most of the items on your to-do list have worked out well except for weight loss promise. Then there is Lineo, who seemed to have her body weight in check despite the fact that she is always eating everything without gaining a kilogram. At one point you have tried so hard to mimic Lineo. Tried everything by the book to be like her, but to your utter disappointment you have just gained more. Lineo could eat three slices of cake, doughnuts, soda drinks, deserts and gobble up some muffins all in one seating, but her body weight still remain intact. “Why can’t I just be like her?” Your shaky disappointed voice whispered in your head as you dress up for work in one of those baggy-sized dresses that you hate. You realise that you look like a nine-month pregnant woman who might never give birth at all. Your figure is out of spec and you hate yourself for not having enough will and power to change how you look. You could be blaming yourself for all the wrong reasons. The secret lies in your body’s ability to deal with carbohydrates. Do not despair, you are not alone in this weight loss battle. Thousands and thousands of people around the world have a problem with obesity mainly due to a high consumption of processed foods that are mainly made of carbohydrates. Go to your nearest grocery store and bear witness to a fact that aisle after aisle is packed with highly processed carbohydrates meant to entice you into buying more. These foods were never created to satiate, but rather to hook you into buying more. The high consumption of these products was never meant to prioritise your health. The casino was never meant to enrich the one who bet, it was only meant to enrich the owner; so are the processed foods we see lining the isle of our local grocery stores. They are meant to make money for their maker, regardless of their detrimental impact on your health. Obesity is on the rise because we have placed our faith in the hands of others who might not have our best health interests at heart. A lot of money is at stake here and a lot more could be made due to your ignorance. The food industry wants you to eat more so that they can make more money. The pharmaceutical giants need you bed-ridden so they could milk you dry. This is a no brainer. This is not some conspiracy theories you have been hearing on social media. You have been battling with your weight for eons now, but the results are nothing nearer to what you have been anticipating. You are getting bigger and bitter by day. Here is a bitter pill to swallow; your weight is not your fault, but it is all in your hands to change it. Your being sick is making you poor, your future savings are depleted due to hospital visitations due to some problems you could just have remedied without a doctor. Guess what! Your poor nutrition is only poor to you and your health, but the same poor-quality food you are buying, is making someone rich. But all is not lost, you still have a greater chance of turning the wheel in your favour. Here is the 2021 golden challenge for you. Take it for the next four weeks and see if it will not bring some little change that could motivate you to continue. This is not a quick-fix to your weight problem and you are not going to have to fork out some money for it. It is absolutely free and very effective if you adhere to the regimen. This is going to be a life-changing experience if you have been battling weight loss for years. You are going to have to rethink your grocery list. Remember there are three micronutrients in which our body derive all the required nutrition. These are carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Of all the three, carbohydrates are the only macronutrients that are not essential for the proper functioning of your body. Meaning you can do without them as the nutrients they provide, your body can make in their absence. The other downside of carbohydrates is that they increase the glucose (sugar) content in your blood and conversely spike insulin, this is the hormone that is responsible for storing fat in your body. Does that ring a bell? The fat-rolls on your waist? The ever-bulging thighs? You must have been blaming the wrong foods your entire life till today. Unlike the carbohydrates, proteins will slightly spike your insulin levels in your blood and for a short period of time. So, the consumption of protein foods will not significantly interfere with the fat-burning process in your weight loss journey. Eat the proteins. The healthy fats that are found from animal-based foods such as meat and from coconuts, olives, avocados as well as dairy and eggs will not have any impact whatsoever on your insulin levels. In the absence of carbohydrates, you stand a better chance to lose weight. For your breakfast, eat eggs, green non-starchy vegetables, meat (beef, lamb, chicken, fish, etc) and these should be eaten together with their fat. Unsweetened tea or coffee is permitted. Sugar (white or brown) is a carbohydrate and it will still do what bread and potatoes do; spike your fat-storing hormone. Your lunch could be comprised of fried vegetables, or green salad, with unprocessed meats of all kinds. Avoid sugary beverages such as fizzy-drinks, juices and sweetened waters. Water, soda-water and green tea are ideal. For your dinner, you can still be a little creative by having similar or a mixture of what you had for breakfast and lunch. Take your green-tea, unsweetened tea or coffee if you like. This will not be an easy challenge, but if you stick to it for four weeks, a change will be noticed, small as it may look, but you will feel good about yourself. This is enough to push you further into this way of eating as you slowly but surely lose some weight. In the next articles, we will delve deeper into what you really should eat, what you should rarely eat, and what you should completely avoid if you are going to be serious about losing weight. Tšepang Ledia