How to make sustainable lifestyle changes and stick to your diet …

Recently I lost about 17 kgs (37 pounds) in less than 5 weeks. It was after the ceasarean birth of #4. I lost that much weight that quickly by following a gut-health program that targets adipose fat loss from around your organs. This program has 3 stages: detox, restriction and maintenance. In stage 3 maintenance you learn to eat to in a way that sustains weightloss. The end results are better overall health, improved mood and of course 10-15kgs (22-33 pounds) weight lost in 30-40 days.

One of the most common questions we get asked about the program is whether it is sustainable.

Will the weight stay off when I no longer take the nutritional support or follow the eaying regime?

Of course if you ate cream donuts every day, did the program, then went back to eating cream donuts everyday, you will gain weight. That’s a gimme, a no-brainer. But if you kick the sugar addiction to the kerb, remove the cravings and change your taste buds then the weight loss won’t just be sustainable but will continue to decrease over time. And you won’t feel like eating cream donuts anymore but if you did, they won’t taste the same.

One “trick” to sustainable weightloss is to drink water. Another, and the focus of this post, is to apply the 80/20 rule to how you eat. So to break it down for you … 80% of the time eat healthy by applying eveything you learnt about gut-health on the program to all your meals and snacks. The other 20% of the time, eat whatever you like, like we did today.

My mother-in-law has come to visit us all the way from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Each time she visits we head out to an outdoor BBQ restaurant off the Great Northern Highway a.k.a. the middle of nowhere. If you miss the turn off you could be headed for desert country.

It’s called Burnt Barrel Outback Brewbq. It is an American style barbecue eatery that also serves it’s own homebrew.

0411374301.

Burnt Barrel is set in a tin shed with mostly outdoor picnic tables for seating on grass surrounded by grapevines. The motto is “cooked slow”.

We ordered the Barnyard Platter for 2 and split it among three adults. It came on a large tray with 3 salads, corn on the cob, 2 sliders with pulled pork, chicken wings, and various pork pieces cooked in different ways with a variety of sauces.

We washed it all down with a couple of handles of onsite lager and took home a couple of pieces of “ugly pie” – banoffie and key lime. None of this is “on-plan”. Not.one.item. Basically everything we put in our mouths past the first 100grams was “strongly not recommended”.

The last time we were here with Mil it was 17 July 2015. It may appear that she only visits us when a new grandchild turns 3 months old. This is in fact correct as of the last 5 years (or 3 children). At this rate we’d need to keep having babies when we want her to visit … or not.

Family photos #12, mil, #1 #2 #3 #4 Inset 17 July 2015

It may not be obvious in these photos that I have experienced health benefits from being on a program. But I have. It is more apparent when you compare my Mil’s photos from July 2015 to July 2018.

She’s lost 25 kgs (55 lbs) since May 2017.

We’ve found we don’t eat as much as we used too. When we experience weight gain we know what to do to achieve balance. Yet it doesn’t mean we have to take supplements for the rest of our lives if we don’t want to. It doesn’t mean we never get to eat “naughty” foods ever again and it doesn’t mean we can’t have a lazy beer on a sunny Friday afternoon.

So that’s the long answer to the question of “how to make sustainable lifestyle changes and stick to your diet”. Eat in moderation. Follow the “rules” 80% of the time, the rest of the time eat whatever you like.

How was your Friday afternoon?

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Huia xx