Almonds are the perfect healthy snack.
They can help curb your appetite and prevent you from eating too much at mealtimes.
So add a stash to your handbag for hunger emergencies!
Tag Archives: Healthy diet
5 GOOD FOOD VOWS.
1. Fill up on plenty of wholesome, fresh food
2. Try to cook meals from scratch as often as possible
3. Savour food, be mindful of every mouthful that you eat
4. Eat a balance of all food groups instead of cutting one out
5. Avoid eating in front of the TV or at the desk, as distractions can lead to overeating.
I’M LIKING…
Check out the Joseph Joseph TriScale.
The clever and compact scale opens out into a stable surface for bowls and plates, and keeps the screen and controls protected when folded down.
As well as a great example of product design, it is a must-have kitchen gadget. Top marks all round!
5 HEALTHY PLEDGES FOR 2014.
Make 2014 both a happy and healthy new year, with these 5 pledges to help you to look and feel greater than ever.
1. Get enough shut-eye
It is recommended that you get at least seven to nine hours sleep a night. This gives your body enough rest to repair, burn fat and ward off stress.
The main three factors causing lack of sleep are caffeine, stress and alcohol. As well as reducing these, try the following foods to help you get a goodnights sleep:
- Eggs – provide tryptophan, which our bodies convert to serotonin, then store as the sleep chemical melatonin. Start your day with eggs to reap the benefits at night.
- Kiwi – research shows that eating 2 kiwis an hour before bed increases the average nightly kip and boosts sleep quality.
2. Eat a healthy, balanced diet
A balanced diet starts with eating lots of fresh vegetables, protein, good fats and carbohydrates (yes some carbohydrates are actually good for you!).
Not all carbohydrates are an enemy. Many of us fear the consequences of this food group and their associations with weight gain have stuck with many dieters. It’s the refined carbohydrates (like white bread, white sugar, and sweets) that you need to avoid.
Complex carbohydrates, like whole grains, help to maintain well-controlled blood sugar levels. Keeping you energized, slim, and healthy.
And if you need another reason not to curb the carbs, this macronutrient is in fact the only fuel that our brains can utilise, so without this our brain health and memory deteriorate.
3. Get active
Hit the gym, take a walk or go for a bike ride. Whatever you do, just get moving!
Regular exercise is not only good for your physical health (helping to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and strokes, as well as maintaining bodyweight), but it can boost your mental health too.
When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins, which trigger a positive mood making you feel happier and increasing your self-esteem.
4. Drink more water
Staying hydrated is one of the easiest things you can do for energy. When you skimp on water, the cells in your body shrink, so they can’t function as efficiently. This triggers feelings of fatigue.
The signs of mild dehydration, such as low energy and sleepiness, can dupe your brain into craving food. Many people confuse that empty-pit feeling in your belly as hunger, but in fact it’s quite often triggered by thirst.
Water is the perfect hydrator and drinking plenty of it helps flush away toxins that build up in our cells. You should aim to drink at least 1.2 litres of fluid (six to eight 250ml glasses) a day.
5. Stand Tall
Good posture is probably the world’s simplest beauty secret. It makes you instantly look taller and slimmer. You take in more oxygen, improving your skin and creating a wealth of new energy.
The perfect poise will help you look and feel more confident. To improve your posture, just follow these simple steps:
- Look in a full-length mirror, from the front and the sides.
- Firstly, observe and get to know your natural stance. Check if you have slipped into bad habits (i.e. is your pelvis sticking out?, is your back arched?, are your shoulders rounded?, etc)
- Correct any deviations so that your feet are slightly apart, with toes pointing forward. Imagine pulling your body upwards, starting at your neck and pulling up through your chest to your waist and hips. Feel the gap between your shoulders and ears lengthening, and each vertebra spreading out from its neighbours.
- Now focus on engaging your abdominal muscles. Pull your navel back towards your spine, whilst continuing to breath normally and tucking your bottom in.
- Correct your posture every time you think of it. Soon your body will retrain and good posture will become automatic.
SUPPORT YOUR SYSTEM.
Prevent the sniffling cold this winter by stocking up on essential nutrients to support your immune system.
Vitamins A, C, D , E, iron and zinc, found in foods such as leafy green vegetables, oranges, nuts and seeds should help keep you fighting fit.
Incorporate hearty soups too, with beans and lentils. As these are packed with B vitamins, iron and magnesium, which are great for boosting energy!
TURMERIC FOR RUNNERS.
Did you know that turmeric boasts antioxidant compounds that could repair your body post run.
Curcumin, the spice’s active ingredient, fights inflammation, providing relief to aching muscles.
Try sprinkling it over roasted vegetables or adding it to soups and stir-fries.
PREVENT THOSE POST-WORKOUT CRAVINGS.
The more you work out, the more hungry you’re going to feel. However, far too often people overcompensate for exercise and that’s one of the main reasons women don’t get the weight-loss results they anticipate. Try these strategies to outrun your hunger so you can finally cross your weight-loss finish line.
- Pack a Snack
The most important window for refueling is also when you’re the least hungry. A common mistake women make is believing they can just wait for their next meal, so by the time they sit down, they’re starving. If you’ve worked up a sweat for an hour or more, have a little something within 30 minutes of finishing, even if you don’t feel like it. The ideal snack has carbs to refuel your energy stores and protein to help repair muscle tissue (150 to 200 calories) If you exercise for more than 90 minutes, you’ll need a more substantial snack (200-250-calories). - Avoid a Reward Mentality
Often, we feel that we’ve earned a treat or a big meal after a workout. The problem is that many women wind up taking in more calories than they burn. To avoid undoing all your hard work, stick with your normal fare and portions, then wait 10 or 15 minutes and help yourself to more if you’re still hungry. This will keep you from automatically supersizing your meals. Upgrade quality, not quantity: Treat yourself to fresh blueberries instead of your usual apple for an afternoon snack, or toast a slice of artisan whole-grain bread from the bakery instead of that supermarket loaf. - Clutch a Water Bottle
That empty-pit feeling in your belly may not be triggered by hunger. The signs of mild dehydration, such as low energy and sleepiness, can dupe your brain into craving food. And because these signals start before you’re even thirsty, it’s important to drink water early and often during your workout. Make sure you take regular sips one to two hours beforehand, during your workout (every 15 or 20 minutes), and drink up afterwards.
WATCH THE CONDIMENTS.
If you pile your plate with healthy salad and grilled fish or chicken, you may think you’re on a fast track to weight loss. However, it’s the bits on the side that can trip you up.
A dollop of mayonnaise (about 2 tablespoons) caries around 100 calories. Ketchup is better, but depending on how much you use, you could be adding around 50 calories and a whole lot of sugar to your meals.
Why not make your own dressing from fat-free Greek yoghurt instead? And swap normal ketchup for a reduced sugar variety, or use fresh, sliced tomatoes as a garnish instead.
BREAK THE HABIT.
You can break your bad eating habits one step at a time. Here are simple solutions for the 7 most common bad eating habits.
- Make a plan and stick to it. Consuming the same simple, locally grown or organic foods week to week will help prevent you from resorting to last-minute fast-food (and unhealthy) meals. Avoid using treats, such as ice cream or other sweets, as a reward for a hard day.
- Don’t munch on the run. Our brains feel deprived if we aren’t mindful of the food we’re eating. Make a point to eat breakfast and dinner at a table as often as possible. Otherwise, you may end up eating anytime, anyplace – like when you’re lying on the sofa watching TV.
- Avoid noshing in the car. You can quickly become trained to eat whenever you’re behind the wheel. Plus, it’s harder to keep track of what you’re eating if you’re driving and munching.
- Have a healthy snack, like fruits and veggies, 30 minutes before you eat a meal. It can take as long as half an hour for fullness signals to travel from the stomach to the brain. The sooner you start eating, the sooner your belly will get the message to your brain that you’ve had enough food.
- Downsize your dishes. Unless our plates are full, we tend to feel cheated, like we haven’t eaten enough. Try using a side plate instead of a dinner plate to help control those portion sizes.
- Bust your eating triggers. If watching your favorite reality show triggers a craving for bowlfuls of your favorite snack, give up eating in front of the TV.
- Exercise, exercise, exercise. It will help you maintain a healthy weight, and it can prevent compulsive eating because, like food, it produces stress relief and a feeling of well-being.
GO BANANAS!
I know I’m always going on about this super-fruit, but bananas really do make an ideal snack before your workout.
Not only are they loaded with digestible carbohydrates, to fuel your body, they are also packed with potassium and magnesium, which aid in maintaining nerve and muscle function.
Have a banana with 2tbs of Greek yoghurt 30mins to 1 hour before you exercise. It will prevent low blood sugar, which leads to light-headedness and fatigue.
This combination will also fuel your body with both the carbohydrates and protein needed to maximise your workout and performance.
And what’s better they’re cheap to buy, so you don’t have to break the bank! Another reason why I will continue to sing this fruit’s praises.