Six tips to help you stick to your diet
Dietitian Sylven Masoga gives us six tips that will help you complete your diet.
Whether you are dieting for health or cosmetic reasons, it's never easy.
We spoke to dietitian Sylven Masoga, who studied at University of Limpopo and has been practicing for over 10 years, on tips to help you complete a diet.
"Before engaging on a diet, you should always consult a dietitian. One of the dangerous things people do is just go on a diet because they read about it on the internet or saw it on TV. Although some of these diets might see you losing weight, they may cause you health complications in the future," warns Sylven.
Here are his tips:
- Let your family know
"The first thing you need to know is to let your family know that you are going on a diet. This will not only help them support you, but they can be more sensitive to the kinds of food they eat in your presence."
- Get a support group
" It's easier to stick to a weight loss plan when you have support. So find people who are engaged in the same diet as you so that you can motivate each other when the getting gets tough."
- Avoid going to tempting places
"When possible, avoid attending functions where you know you will be tempted to eat. This might mean even cutting off from visiting family and friends. "
- Carry healthy snacks when you travel
" Whenever possible, when you travel, put healthy snacks in your bag so that you can indulge in little bites now and then."
Drink lots of liquids
" Liquids will help suppress hunger. But be careful of having unhealthy drinks. Rather stick to water."
- Be patient
"It will take months before you can see the results of your diet. Ideally a person should lose 1-2kg a month. This means even though the scale might show you that you have shed a few kilos, friends and family might only start noticing after six months or so. Be patient. "
Sylven cautions that "if any diet makes you feel dizzy, gives you fatigue and makes you feel heavy or restless continuously, especially after two weeks of starting, it should be stopped. This might mean you are not having balanced meals and your body is suffering. Rather consult your dietitian to have the diet changed."