I‘m holding a free talk / seminar on Tuesday 24th Jan at Taunton’s College (room 402-4), and you NEED to attend!!!
Find out how to improve your fitness, get in shape and feel more motivated and happier in a few simple steps! It’s totally free and as well as loads of great prizes you all get ongoing online support and advice after the event to keep you on track!
Feel free to invite friends / family / colleagues…
* What you MUST eat every day to GUARANTEE you lose body fat.
* How to protect your precious metabolism – so you don’t yo-yo ever again!
* The top tricks of the trade Personal Trainers use to get their clients in ROCKSTAR shape!
* The surprising foods you MUST cut down drastically if you want to spot reduce fat: Love Handles, Beer Bellies & Chunky Thighs are lost in the kitchen, not by localised exercises!
* The BEST way to exercise to bust through a plateau or kick start your body transformation. And it’s not hours of jogging…
* The most effective ways to get your MIND on your side – no more self sabotage!
* Why you MUST be aware of clever marketing and advertising in order to lose fat and get healthy – they want to line their pockets and it’s your body that WILL pay the price!
If there was ONE thing you could do that would transform your eating habits for the better and help you lose weight and get in shape and stay there long term, what would you suggest?
Ditch carbs, drink green tea, only eat at 3 minutes past any hour, only eat things that begin with the letter ‘C’….
OK, so there are some wierd and wonderful things out there, but have you ever thought about the fact that HOW you eat trumps WHAT you eat in many ways?
This is not to say I advocate eating a load of junk, not at all, I am a definite proponent of eating fresh, unprocessed, natural foods – basing your diet on loads of veggies, meat, fish, eggs, nuts & seeds…
BUT, if you are eating the perfect diet but ramming it down your throat at hyper speed, especially when hyper stresssed, you will not be digesting and absorbing all the nutrients in the food anyway. Cortisol, the stress hormone, and digestion don’t mix, so there is an argument to support the fact that a less perfect food eaten calmly is better for you than a manically eaten food that is otherwise ‘perfect’ (ever noticed that you can eat bread on holiday but it makes you bloated in ‘normal’ life? That would be the stress factor in action…).
So, the simple magic step to take, is to SLOW IT DOWN!!!! This is a brilliant thing to use ESPECIALLY at hectic times, or times when food is too plentiful – hence me writing this in the run up to Christmas! If you can make sure that what you do eat you savour, enjoying every mouthful, you will enjoy more and naturally eat less. You will notice when you are full before you have over-stuffed yourself, so you will truly be able to enjoy the food and not have the awful consequences that invariably lead to guilt and a cycle of denial.
Which is the other part of the equation – feeling guilty about your eating then promising to be super strict, or punish yourself on Monday, in the New Year, when you get back from holiday or whatever, is another counter productive mindset. There are situations where you will eat more and times you will naturally eat less. Those who stay slim seeminly effortlessly usually have a more natural and less ‘willpower’ based approach to this. They don’t beat themselves up about the times when they eat more, they just naturally cut back a bit afterwards. And mostly they eat much more slowly than those of us who struggle…
I say those of us, as I have always been a fast eater! I have focussed on it at times, but default back to eating too fast very easily. So it is my personal challenge too.
The added benefit is, that when you eat slower and savour foods, you can begin to actually taste that junk is often not very tasty! The chemicals and the fat / salt / sugar drug-like effect keep us eating, and wanting more, but the actual taste becomes more noticeable when you slow it down.
Ever noticed that overweight people claim to ‘love food’ but then barely even let it hit the taste buds before wolfing it down and wanting more (as you don’t feel satisfied if you eat it so fast your body can’t register it has taken energy on board).
It seems hard at the start, but use the next few weeks to focus on this, and this alone. Eat, chew, placing fork (or food if finger food) down, finish mouthful then start on the next one, taking a small sip of water if need be to help with the feeling that your hands need something to be doing!
If you don’t have time to eat then eat less! And work on carving time to savour food. Avoiding distractions is good too (although I do find eating slow easier when I am reading at the same time, and it helps if you really are busy as you can justify the time spent eating better.)
Time how long meals take you and work on gradually extending that – you may end up exactly the same if you are currently eating fast, then having seconds, anyway…
The best thing is you can start right now, no special tools or foods or anything needed – just the intention! So whatever you are eating next, whatever you deem it on the scale of ‘good’ to ‘bad’ it doesn’t matter – slow down, savour and enjoy (and if you’re not enjoying it, get rid!).
The word ‘bootcamp’ may instill fear in the heart of most people, but it is an affectionate term of endearment for a programme that will support you every step of the way to achieving your fitness, weight & health goals (and helping you figure out what those goals are!)
Check out the new vid to see a bit more (thanks to Ross at Skysoclear for his handywork and forcing me in front of the camera, of which I have a bit of a phobia) and there is also the previous video below – all my handiwork which I am very proud of, especially as I managed to hide from view and let the bootcampers do the talking (for once, ha ha…)
So, the days are getting colder (finally!) and you want something warm and comforting to see you through the morning?
Instead of reaching for the usual bowl of porridge, try this alternative that is low in starchy carbs, super high in Omega 3 and good fats, super high in fibre and also boosted with a good dose of appetite suppressing, metabolism boosting protein, an essential yet mostly overlooked part of our daily morning meals…
This is soooo ridiculously easy, it is quicker than regular porridge, yet is so much better for you – I do love a good ‘win-win’ and this truly is one!
You can get chia seeds from various places, try the wonderful Raw Living where you can also get the Sunwarrior protein powder that gives this fab recipe its protein boost. They also sell all sorts of wonderful superfoods you could add in to this or your smoothies, such as maca and ashwagandha, and they do fantastic raw choclate bars and even raw cakes that make a fab alternative to a regular birthday, or even Christmas, cake!
So, once you have your chia, you can either use them whole or grind them in a grinder to make a smoother version.
Add 2 tablespoons of chia to about 250ml water, or use Kara coconut milk alternative (from all major supermarkets and health food shops).
Stir it well, and leave for 10 – 15 mins, the seeds absorb 10 – 15 times their size in fluid! Best if you stir a couple of times during, if not you will need to stir well after the time. You may need to add more fluid as you stir. At this point, you can actually store the chia ‘gel’ for up to 2 weeks in the fridge (depending on what you have used in it) so you can do this the night before for an even speedier breakfast.
You could use warmed milk, or you could soak in a pan then heat the mixture (my preferred method), heating gently to your preferred temperature. No need to actually cook it at all, this is simply to heat it for warming you up purposes!
Then add 2 level scoops of Sunwarrior – I prefer to use the chocolate, or vanilla if you prefer. This is all natural raw brown rice protein sweetened only with the natural herb sweetener, stevia, so is the only protein powder I recommend. Hemp is a great protein but not very tasty for this kind of recipe, but you could alternative try that or go half and half (or add ground hemp seeds for a different taste). Soy protein (and milk) is a no-no…
Stir it all up and add some berries, or grated apple and cinnamon, or whatever you like! You could sprinkle a few chopped nuts on top for added crunch. Add a teaspoon of coconut oil if you want, which can help boost metabolism and has lots of immune boosting properties, as well as increasing the satiety factor further.
Seriously simple – took me way longer to write this than to prepare a bowl, quite simply a brilliant way to start your day.
For more information about chia, as well as loads of great ideas on what to do with it – including turning it into a fruity gel for a kids (or adults’!) dessert, or topping, check out 40 Ways To Use Chia Seeds. I am going to be trying several of these ideas and recipes, and this will be a fantastic way to prevent weight gain over the festive period – filling up with a fibre and protein rich breakfast like this (or having as a snack or dessert, hot or cold) and using chia in many recipes to boost the Omega 3s and fibre.
This is a fab take on a childhood fave – serious comfort food but this version won’t pack on the usual comfort food pounds!
Cauliflower is a wonderful vegetable with a clever knack of being able to replace potatoes in pretty much everything, mashed (well you need to puree it with a hand blender to mash it) it goes well with stews & casseroles, sausages and onion gravy, as a healthy alternative to potato (perhaps along with some butternut squash) as a topping on a cottage / shepherds or fish pie, and the flavour goes soooo well as an alternative to rice with any home-made (or takeaway) curry – while doing some serious damage limtation at the same time! Win-wins are what I’m all about, and so is the mighty cauliflower!
To make mash you just steam the cauliflower in chunks, for 10 or so minutes till soft but not mush, then puree with a hand blender, adding some celtic sea salt & black pepper, maybe a little butter or olive oil, or some coconut milk if serving with curry. Cumin seeds or mustard also go really well, and you can mix it up with other veg such as squash, carrots or broccoli…
Anyway, that is one of cauliflower’s side dish roles, in this she is the main contender (in my view). Again, as with most of my ‘recipes’ they are really invitations to get experimenting with whatever you have to hand, there are so many variations I can only begin to suggest a few. Here’s the basic method, then it’s up to you!
INGREDIENTS:
Up to 1 small cauliflower or half a larger one per person.
2-3 eggs per person
Some other veg if you want to spice things up – I added some kale.
Butter and coconut oil.
Celtic sea salt & black pepper (feel free to try other herbs and spices, and garlic if you want!)
A very strong hard cheese, parmesan is great as you can get more flavour with less cheese…
METHOD:
If you want the cauliflower al dente then you don’t have to steam it, but if you prefer it softer then lightly steam cauliflower chunks for a few minutes to soften. Cut the cauliflower into fairly small chunks. I did this without steaming first and like the extra bite.
Heat the butter & coconut oil (I like a bit of both for this, nice buttery taste but also gets in the fabulous coconut benefits) then add the cauliflower. Saute until the cauliflower is nicely browned and softened. You could add garlic here, or some chopped bacon. Add any extra veg after cooking the cauliflower for a few minutes, if you add spinach add it very near the end as it doesn’t take long. Add seasoning to taste.
When the veg are done to your desired level, crack in the eggs. Jiggle it all about, for a few moments on the heat to begin to cook the eggs, then take off the heat to finish – this is better if the egg doesn’t get too hard. If you wanted extra creaminess you could add a dollop of Total 0% Greek Yoghurt at this point too, but the egg alone is great.
Transfer to a plate, you could have this alone or as a side dish (fewer eggs per person if a side dish than if that is the main protein) and then grate the cheese over the top – using a really strong cheese means you don’t need much, but you get all the flavour.
‘m holding a free talk / seminar on Tuesday 24th Jan at Taunton’s College (room 402-4), and you NEED to attend!!!
