Share

BeweegSA eating plan, week 1 to 4

accreditation

Dietitians put this easy eating plan together to help you shake off on average 3kg per month. Together with an exercise plan you can increase your weight loss to 4 to 5kg per month.  

Eat cleverer!

Mollie and Wors would not look like barrels if they ate correctly. Somewhere along the line they ate too many "wrong" foods and too few "right" foods. But they needn't starve themselves to lose weight. They (and all other overweight people) just need to eat "cleverly", and the fat rolls will melt away slowly but surely. This is the message from Celeste Naude of the Department of Nutrition of the University of Stellenbosch, and the Nutrition Information Centre at Stellenbosch University (NICUS).

Nicus dietitians put together the new, easy "clever" eating plan for participants of the big BeweegSA lifestyle challenge. This eating plan is a balanced, healthy weight-loss plan with unrefined carbohydrates for long-lasting energy, sufficient fibre-rich food for good intestinal health, small, but sufficient amounts of the right fats, sufficient protein even for a big, well-built man.

How the CleverPlan eating plan works:

  • It's a mix-and-match eating plan. Every day, choose one option from each of the four columns (breakfast, main meal, light meal and snacks); this is your meals for the day. Vary your choices as much as possible.
  • You can eat the snacks all at once in the middle of the morning or afternoon, or divide them between the two times. 
  •  If you placed all the food you're going to eat on a given day on a table, it would consist of the following (or a corresponding exchange portion):
    5  slices wholewheat bread for women, 7–8 slices for men and children
    3+ fist-sized vegetable portions (4–6 for men) 
    2–4 fist-sized fruit portions (4 for men, children and teenagers)
    2–3 cups skim milk – as is on your porridge or in your tea and coffee (minimum of 3–4 portions dairy per day for children and teenagers and active men)
    2 palm-sized portions protein like lean meat (3 for men taller than 1.7 m and for young children and teenagers)
    1–2 teaspoons butter or oil (You need 2–3 portions of fat per day, but we get most of it as hidden fat; always be on the lookout for extra fat and oils.)
  • The ideal meal (plate of food) consists of ½ vegetables and fruit, ¼ protein, ¼ carbohydrate and a teaspoon of fat/oil, plus ½ a glass of skim milk (or any other dairy product).  
  •  Eat fish or chicken at least 2–3 times per week. Remove the fat from meat and the skin from chicken and choose lean portions of meat (go slow on sausage, salami and processed meat for the time being). 
  • Gril, steam or microwave food that you would have deep fried and limit pies and various kinds of confectionary.  
  •  No treats are taboo, but overindulgence definitely is. For every six days that you stick to the eating plan you may reward yourself with half a Bar One or other chocolate, a piece of cake and a portion of desert. 
  • You should preferably eat six smaller meals and should never feel hungry.
  • You will learn to eat correctly. If you adopt the right mindset now, you will be able to follow this eating plan for the rest of your life and stay slim.  
  • You will lose between ½ to 1kg per week – the ideal rate of weight loss which will give your body the best chance not to gain the weight back again.   

Remember

  • Preferably use a medium size of small seed or whole-wheat bread and not the large breads that are cut into thick slices. 
  • Use as little margarine on your bread as possible. Use only a thin layer.
  • A portion of cheese is as big as a matchbox (30 g), and is equal to about 5 thin slices. Rather use low-fat versions. The harder and yellower, the more fat it contains.
  • Rather use fat-free yogurt and cottage cheese.
  • Refrain from adding extra oil, fat, sugar or sauces while you're preparing food.  
  • Try to drink about 4 glasses of water over and above your coffee and tea. 
  • Try not to drink more than 3–4 cups of coffee or tea. Don't use more than a ¼ cup of milk per day in your coffee or tea, and rather use artificial sweetener than sugar (if you don't ingest 3,000 tablets per day for three years, you don't have to worry about it being carcinogenic).
  • Other recommended drinks are black, unsweetened herbal tea and other artificially sweetened drinks like "Lite" ice tea.
  • Limit your alcohol intake to 2 glasses per week. For each glass of wine, beer or other alcoholic drink per week, you need to cut out a portion of carbohydrate. 

BeweegSA's CleverPlan eating plan – the first four weeks

About 5,400 kJ/ 1,300 calories for inactive women who want to lose weight, and slightly more for men, children and teenagers to fulfil their needs.

Abbreviations: t = teaspoon; T = tablespoon, med = medium; c = cup (200-250 ml)

This is how you exchange:

You can exchange any carbohydrate portion for another carbohydrate portion, a protein portion for another one, and fat for fat.

1 carbohydrate portion:

= 1 medium potato
= 1 c boiled rice/pasta/polenta/couscous/pearled wheat 
= 1 small mealie
= 1c beetroot/pumpkin/butternut
= 1 slice rye or whole-wheat bread
= 1 small whole-wheat bread roll
= 2–3 Provitas
= 3 whole-wheat crackers
= ½ pita bread
= ½ whole-wheat muffin
= 1 small piece whole-wheat rusk
= 1c breakfast cereal 
= ½ unrefined breakfast porridge (oats, mealiemeal or Maltabella porridge)


1 portion protein

= 1 palm sized chicken/fish/lean red meat
= 1 boiled or poached egg
= ½c baked beans/boiled beans/peas/lentils
= 2 slices low-fat ham or chicken
= 1c boiled lentils or dry beans

1 portion fat and oil 

(Stick to the minimum as there is already a large amount of hidden fat in food.)
= 1t canola, olive or sunflower oil
= 1t butter
= 1t soft margarine
= 2t extra-light spread 
= 1T mayonnaise or salad dressing 
= 1t “lite" mayonnaise or salad dressing 
= ¼ avocado pear
= 1T cream 
= 3 blocks of chocolate
= 2 t nuts

Vegetables

Make your plate as colourful as possible with a variety of vegetables. You can eat as much as you want of the following vegetables:

Asparagus
Brussels sprouts
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Celery
Cucumber
Egg fruit
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Broccoli
Radishes
Sauerkraut
Butternut
Onions
Spinach
Carrots
Tomatoes
N.B.: Potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes are rich in carbohydrates and are counted as carbohydrates.

1 Portion fruit

= 1 ½c strawberries
= 1 medium peach 
= 1 medium apple
= 4 apricots
= 1 med pear
= 1 med banana
= 10–12 grapes
= ½ grapefruit
= 7 passion fruits
= 2 large plums
= 1 large guava
= 4 pineapple rings
= 1 slice watermelon
= 1–2 large slices sweet melon (spanspek)
= 1 med orange
= 2 med naartjies
= ½ mango
= 1½c fresh fruit salad
= 2 large figs
= 1 dried fruit

1 Portion diary

= 1c skim milk 
= 1c fat-free yogurt 
= 100ml low-fat yogurt
= 3 T fat-free cottage cheese 
= 5 thin slices low-fat cheese

Teengagers, women and men need at least 3 cups of milk per day to supply them with sufficient calcium for healthy bone growth. 

Fat-free milk can make a big contribution to your weight loss:

graph


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE