My favourite weight loss hack

Helloooooooooooooo

 

I know some of you have been dying to read another post from Ndudu tales... We're baaaackk!! I've been dying too...

 

I hate to disappoint anyone who was waiting for another recipe from the first Bake Off... kaaa* worry (don't worry), I got you covered. It'll come soon.

 

Now on to this post! My favourite weight loss hack...

 

Now you can take it from me. I have struggled with weight gain from when hit puberty to date. I have a slow metabolic rate so a little food goes a very long way. I stopped playing and running and just being a very active child because, well, we all grew up and we didn't feel like it anymore. I love my food. I love that I love my food and can love myself for loving my food. However, I love rich tasty and most often unhealthy food so that doesn't help much with active weight loss either. I can say no most times, but sometimes the 'leniency' does get out of hand. I don't exercise as much as I should, like most people, but with the above, I am constantly a weight gain 'surprise' about to happen. So do trust me, my battle with weight gain won't be going anywhere.

 

Another thing I learnt soon after puberty was the constant pressure to lose weight. Sometimes it was me, because honestly some clothes just look nice when I'm slimmer. Plus it's easier to adjust a dress too big than one too small... lol... I learnt that more when I started to sew. I became very aware that the diseases that often killed my maternal and paternal family were all weight related, or aggravated by unhealthy weight: hypertension, diabetes, etc. I had family members and friends who would constantly remind me that I needed to lose weight even if I couldn't be bothered. And yes, being curvaceous adds to the fatty look if you aren't fully aware of that yourself. So the pressure has come in all shapes and sizes (I just really enjoyed my own pun) and so has my figure. I have lost and gained so many times I have stopped counting.

 

I could go on and on about truly understanding and accepting that I needed to lose weight and decoupling it from enjoying being me no matter my weight, body fat, or metabolic rate but this post is not about that. So I am glad to move on to why we're here.... my favourite weight loss hack

 

It's water. Yes, water. No fizzy water, no flavoured water... plain water...

 

 

And not just water, but water at periodic times coupled with food portions that have been halved in size. I lieth to you not! It works like magic.

 

It requires discipline, like everything new, but you would see the wonders in weeks if you are really up to the task.

 

The best weight loss combo is a healthy diet and a sound exercise routine that works for you. For me, who loves my sweet things and tends to fall and rise on diet for different reasons, I realized this really came through for me anytime I fell short in the healthy diet or exercise. It also did real wonders with the diet-exercise combo!

 

The plan

Set an alarm!

Yes, you are not that weird if you are that determined. See my most recent alarm set below or on my Instagram post

An alarm works. It works because well, you're reminded and two, you only need to finish one new full glass with after each bell. Whether you will gulp it down like me or sip it all before the next alarm is really up to you. I love an hour and a half after each meal, a glass with each meal and preferably a glass 30mins before each meal. Luckily for me, my alarm often clocks 30mins before my set meal times so it's convenient.

 

Drink at various temperatures

I learnt quickly that drinking one glass of water frequently through the day was very very very boring. So what I do now is I drink it at different temperatures throughout the day.

 

In the morning, it's often chilled water with a steamy hot breakfast I often need to gulp down fast. In between it's lukewarm and warm water. At lunch and supper, especially if I am home, I love to have my water hot just because it relieves indigestion more easily.

So whatever your temperature, make it suitable for you. Just mix and match till it's no longer a drudging process for you. Temperature can make a significant difference... turn up the heat or just chill 😎 Either way, this emoji will still apply to your water 'fun'... lolllllzzz

 

Drink water whilst cooking

In our bid to taste our food, we may end up overeating our food before it's finally cooked. Water is a good way to avoid the chef nibbles that make us gain unnecessary weight.

I mentioned this in my Surf cakes post under #HEALTH HACK - Don't consume too many calories in the process... Have a glass f water with you whilst cooking and keep drinking till you're done.

 

Drink a glass at a time

You know, in our get-it-all-done-at-once world, we will be tempted to drink a gallon for the day and forget about it. Unfortunately, I've tried and it isn't as effective as a glass every hour or so. I did mention the glass in the previous points but I really feel the need to re-emphasize this. This is because drinking a lot of water at once can be discouraging if you aren't used to it.

 So if you really want to drink a lot of water eventually, please start with a glass, or even half a glass every 1-2 hours, and do stick to this time frame. If your intervals are less than an hour it can get tiring and if too far apart, well not as effective. After a while as your body gets used to it, you can go up and before you know it, your ambitious self (if you are that ambitious) can do three glasses at a go.

 

Don't kill your water journey prematurely, start small, and increase the quantity per regular drink. You may just be glad I told you this.

 

The other benefits aside weight loss

I must confess, I am getting tired of typing so much, and want to conclude soon. So what I am going to do is try and list a few from the top of my head and then encourage you to find out more on Google. Here's my Google search link on benefits of water. You may adapt it to get more and more specific. It's interesting when you know why you're doing something than just what you're doing. So all the best with your search and enjoy my list below 😁

• You're more hydrated so your skin and body systems just work, and look, better.
• You're less hungry when you reduce your meal size since hunger pangs are number one enemy to keeping that up.
• Since you're less hungry you can more rationally make choices on what you want to eat and not just what your body craves.
• Did I say a more hydrated you... yhup, I'll say it again, you're a more hydrated you with this hack.
• If you have indigestion or any tummy issues, water is a good way to curb the symptoms.
• You are less prone to headache and cold symptoms. Water helps flush the stuff that cause these out of your body as you use the washroom a lot more.

 

A word of caution

Drinking more water more regularly would make you use the bathroom/washroom/little girls'/boys' room a lot more. Be prepared for that.

 

And do monitor it since knowing the pattern of your bladder and water intake will come in handy on days you cannot use the washroom as much as you are free to on the average. Say you need to be more active at an event or you just don't have access to a washroom, stuff like that.

 

I, for instance, have a two hour lag so I know that if I have a major event at 6pm that will last for hours and I can't be getting up every hour or so to use the washroom, I put a halt to my drinking spree before or by 4pm. It's useful to know. It helps me, I hope it does too.

 

 

 

Finally!!!!! We're done with this post. Congratulations for getting to the very end. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, or learnt anything new, please share this with others 😊

And do remember to let us know at Ndudu tales what you think of this post, or if you tried any of our hacks here. From us here at Ndudu tales, we hope to see you soon, and have a wonderful water-ful experience.

 Footnote
*kaaa worry is an English-Ga combo which means don't worry. Ga is one of the many Ghanaian languages