Danny Painter's top tips to help complete your diet

Your only pursuit should ever be health and wellness and when that becomes your focus, you won’t feel like you’re depriving yourself. 

Instead, you feel as if you are making yourself a priority. Once that shift happens, anything is possible. I don’t believe you should make changes for aesthetic reasons and most of the changes I made in my diet were for health. 

You know what makes you feel alert, alive and sharp and what makes you feel sluggish and low. Remove the latter and I promise you that you will change your whole life. The small changes I made resulted in a 30kg weight loss and I have never felt better!

 Above the normal “exercise for 30 minutes” my biggest diet tips are:

Eat more vegetables. 
Eat them with every meal. Hide them in stews, soups and pasta dishes. Eat all the colours, experiment with them and eat them all. The more veggies you eat, the less you worry about calories!

One meat-free meal a day.

 Or one day a week. Just embrace your inner vegetarian and try new tastes and textures! Vegetables, especially from a market, are cheaper than meat and contain all the goodness you need!

Don’t fear the carb! 

This low carb craze is not for me. However, when I talk of carbs, I mean the good kind. The kind from rice, potatoes and fruits. Nothing natural will ever be bad for you. Eat the carbs, they are your energy.

Throw sugar in the bin immediately. 

I haven’t consumed sugar in about a year, research it and then throw it all away. Replace it with raw honey if you have to. Dates are a great substitute for a sweet tooth. Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants.

Water

I have never not drank water and drink up to 4l a day. Hydrate. You won’t need Botox and you will glow from the inside. If you’re feeling ‘lus vir iets lekker’, it might be dehydration

The biggest change we made in our house is that when we shop we avoid large supermarkets and instead take a full morning to go to the local butchery and veggie shop. We do this because there are less processed food available, so you’re less likely to make bad choices and generally, the food you buy is of a better quality, lasts longer and is cheaper. 

I try to buy in season only and spend Sundays cooking massive soups, stews, curries and baking treats, so when life gets hectic towards the middle of the week, there is no excuse for a takeaway!

If all of this seems too much for you, my two biggest tips would be eat more vegetables and drink more water!

Do you have any tips to share with me?