She’s keeping it 100 by revealing the sacrifices she made to drop 100 pounds — and keep it off for 17 years.
Tameika Gentles, who describes herself as a holistic weight loss coach, says she weighed 230 pounds in her 20s thanks to yo-yo dieting. She wasn’t able to enjoy theme park rides and struggled to fit in airplane seats.
The Toronto native shed 100 pounds in 2007, bringing her waist size down from 38 inches to 24 inches.
On Instagram last month, she shared the four “realistic” dietary “sacrifices” that kept her on track. Gentles says she only eats one “fun” meal a week, reserves alcohol for special occasions, avoids mindless snacking and limits her sugar intake.
Consume only one ‘fun’ meal a week
“I love my pizza and I will never give it up, lol,” Gentles wrote in her July 17 post. “I do thoroughly enjoy the meals I eat throughout the week, and I understand that 1 treat meal is not going to derail my whole process, so I allow myself to indulge without feeling guilt around it.”
Dietitians are divided on the benefits and consequences of “cheat days” or meals. Advocates say it can help a person not feel deprived, and it can temporarily increase metabolism.
Research has found that your body increases production of the leptin energy balance hormone by as much as 30% for up to 24 hours after an unusually large meal.
But critics say cheat meals can trigger a harmful binging-fasting cycle and promote an unhealthy relationship with food.
Limit alcohol to special occasions
“I capped alcoholic drinks to special occasions,” Gentles penned to her 234,000 Instagram followers. “I’d limit myself to only a few drinks while keeping in mind the sugar content.”
Alcohol can make it much harder to lose weight because of its calorie content (especially in cocktails) and its ability to slow digestion while increasing appetite.
Ditch mindless snacking
“Instead of buying chips, crackers, and cookies at the grocery store, I got more intentional with my snacks and opted for things with protein and fiber,” Gentles shared.
“I also limited the sauces and oils I was using on my foods,” she continued. “This really helped me get through the stubborn plateaus.”
Nutrition experts recommend limiting condiments like mayonnaise, which can be high in calories and fat, barbecue sauce, which can contain loads of calories, sugar and sodium, and ranch dressing, which is often high in calories and fat.
Reduce added sugar
“My sugar [dependence] was honestly holding me back,” Gentles admitted. “As much as I wanted balance here, the addiction was real. So I created a boundary here (less than 25g) and stuck to it.”
The US Food and Drug Administration recommends limiting added sugar to 50 grams a day.
A study published last month found that eliminating added sugar from your diet can lower your biological age, which is the age of your cells and tissues.
That number, which is influenced by genetics and lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise, may differ from your chronological age, which is the number of years you’ve been alive.
