How can I lose weight and feel good too?

In my teens I was convinced I would be happy if I was skinny, happiness was wrapped up in another body that I had yet to attain. I was forever trying to eat less to the point that my blood sugars were low, and I was so hungry that I would crave high sugar foods.

I did not understand these things and was stuck in a vicious circle of not eating then eating too much. After trying numerous crash diets, well known and not so, I decided that diets just didn't work for me and that I had to work on my mindset first. However even in my twenties whilst slowly losing nearly 3 stone over a period of two years, I was still convinced that it was all about eating less, and my energy levels and moods would dip (really it was like a roller coaster!). Of course losing weight and achieving your goals is fantastic, the complements from friends are wonderful and the new clothes (such a great feeling), however achieving that weight loss is not a magic happy pill.

Embarking on a bachelor of Science degree in Food and Nutrition, I decided I wanted to learn more about nutrients and eating for wellness. It was such a fantastic journey and thinking of food as medicine was a completely new idea to me (but so true!).

There are so many diets and ways of eating and just because your friend or a celebrity eats a certain way, that does not mean that it will work for you. We are all so different and our dietary habits change as we age. I think the goals change too, reducing the risks of cancers, illness, looking younger, having energy and feeling healthy become the aims. 

Remember healthy weight and the number on the scales are just a side effect of eating for true wellness!

How do you know you are not eating the right foods for you? Do you feel well, or do you feel tired? Eating food should give you energy and make you feel well, happy and healthy. Feeling bloated and tired should not be a normal state of being.

However it is not easy to know which foods to eat. What is being marketed as healthy, is not always as good for us as it should be e.g. a low fat yoghurt generally contains high levels of sugar, also the amount of conflicting information and studies makes it difficult to know what to do for the best. 

Believe me slaving over a hot cooker is not my idea of fun. I love to prepare and cook easy quick healthy meals, and you can cook from scratch using spices in the same amount of time as you can open a jar of sauce. So please feel free to try out the recipes we post and have a look at the blog list for other recipe websites (if you haven't done so already, subscribe by adding your email on the bottom of our home page and we will send you a free food plan with recipes and a shopping list).

10 Tips to eating for wellness

1. Read food labels -  Avoid foods which contain over 5g per 100g of sugar (Opt for full fat greek yoghurt - yes full fat your body and brain need it).
2. Aim to eat naturally 90% of the time - this means avoiding processed foods (subscribe by email for the free food plan for recipe ideas).
3. Do not drink with your meals - this dilutes the digestive enzymes and causes bloating. 
4. Eat 3-5 different types of vegetables each day and no more than 2 pieces of fruit. (Also avoid fruit juices - the fructose levels are very high).
5. Eat no more than 2 slices of bread (choose wholemeal/Rye/spelt if possible) per day.
6. Swap pasta for brown rice, quinoa or amaranth - remember a portion should be the size of your fist.
7. Drink lots of water - being hydrated will show in your skin, energy levels and concentration. Every cell in your body requires water (approximately 2 litres/6 glasses per day - fruit and herbal teas can be included in this).
8. If you like coffee or tea, limit this to maximum two cups per day.
9. Give your taste buds time and try different textures, sometimes when you try foods for the first time the taste is so different you think you are unable to eat them. Especially if your typical diet includes high carbohydrate foods.
10. Use chilli, black pepper, garlic and trial different spices and herbs to flavour foods.

Remember it is a journey to find the best way of eating for you, so enjoy experimenting and be good to yourself.

Enjoy life!

Kelly x

Exercise...It's never too late to start

I was a late starter to exercise. Although I have always enjoyed skiing, I didn't really do any regular exercise until my early forties but am now totally addicted, enjoy the many benefits of a wide range of different sports and wish I had started sooner. 

So what are the health benefits of exercise?

There's an overwhelming amount of evidence confirming that exercise is a key player in disease reduction, optimal mental, emotional and physical health and longevity. After reviewing some 40 papers published between 2006 and 2010, researchers found that exercise reduces the risk of about two dozen health conditions, ranging from cancer and heart disease to type 2 diabetes, stroke, dementia and depression. What is more, exercise also slows down the rate of ageing itself, providing perhaps the closest example of a real life fountain of youth as we will ever find.

Research has shown that regular exercise - even initiated late in life - offers profound health benefits. Among those who started exercising at age 50 and continued for 10 years, the rate of premature death declined dramatically, similar to giving up smoking and mirroring the level seen among people who had been working out their entire lives.

Optimal health is dependent on an active lifestyle, eating fresh, whole foods, avoiding as many processed foods as possible, and addressing the stress in your life. Ignoring any of these basic principles will eventually lead to a decline in health and any number of diseases.

No excuses...

Women in their 30s and 40s are busy. We have families, friends, work commitments and not much time for ourselves. Often we give up time spent taking care of our own health to care for those around us. We give up our exercise programs and find we don't have the energy we once had. We gain some weight or feel our body starting to sag, or both! The good news is, it's not too late to regain your health, energy and body with exercise.

The government goal is 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on at least five days of the week, but at the beginning, your goal should simply be to start moving more. That might mean around the home, or in the garden - and it certainly doesn't have to be in a brightly lit, noisy gym.

But whatever you choose - whether it's Tai Chi, kick boxing or even cheerleading - the activity you do needs to be consistent and keep you motivated in order to reap the rewards. I would also advise a workout buddy to go with (friend, partner or fitness instructor both for motivation and support and safety. 

Start off slowly and gradually increase intensity as you grow stronger, avoiding activities that aggravate or cause pain. Just keep in mind that while you need to use caution, you do need to exercise at a level that is challenging to your body.

And what about exercise type? Aerobic activity - brisk walking, cycling or swimming - is the gold standard, as far as government guidelines are concerned, but strength, flexibility and balance training are also important and often ignored. 

One concern many women have as they age is the loss of bone density. While bone loss typically occurs more predominantly after age 50 (around menopause), it is wise to start incorporating exercises that will promote bone health earlier on. Weight-bearing cardiovascular exercises, such as walking or jogging are preferred over non-weight-bearing activities like swimming or cycling. Moderate or high intensity activities elicit the most bone-building benefits and should be added as tolerated to your workout program. As with all workout programs, consult your doctor before starting.

The importance of nutrition

There are several unavoidable truths about what you eat.

The first is, you cannot ‘out train poor nutritional choices’.

What this means is, regardless of how hard you exercise, if your diet is poor, you simply will never get the results you are longing for. The fact is, you will never actually see those muscles, or improve your trouble spots unless you make sound nutritional choices.

Secondly, going ‘on a diet’ is one of the most effective ways to GAIN weight!

Lowering your calories excessively can lead eventually lead to more body fat, and for most women, this is a recurring cycle. This will make you unhappy, and unhealthy. Making sure that your diet is jammed with nutritionally dense whole foods will multiply the results you will get from any workout regime you decide to use.

Top nutritional tips:

Include protein with every meal. This will help to stabilise blood sugar and help to control your appetite.

Steer clear of refined sugar.  

Eat your veggies!  

Eat bread and pasta in moderation.  

Never drink your calories, so stay away from soft drinks and fruit juice.

Physical exercise is particularly important to maintain a high quality of life, as limited mobility can take a great toll…So start moving, and don't stop no matter what your age!

Some useful ways to get you started:

Couch to 5K free NHS podcast and iOS & Android app running plan to get you started

Myfitnesspal free iOS & Android - easy to use app highly recommended by fitness instructors (Alison and Kelly have both used this successfully too)

Fitocracy free iOS & Android app that provides a reward system for anyone struggling with motivation

Garminfit 69p iOS & Android app which uses the GPS tracker on your phone to track your speed, distance and elevation whilst measuring how many calories you've burnt

Happy exercising 

Alison