My children were given alot, and I mean ALOT, of chocolate last week by well meaning friends and relatives to celebrate Easter. And of course being children they just want to eat it all at once and the 'pester power' starts to annoy pretty quickly I'm sure you'll agree!
Well, as we were on holiday, on a boat, and at times there was little to do we all (apart from Chris who was navigating the Norfolk broads) ate too much of this chocolate. It started off as my 80/20 rule but turned more into a 60/40 rule, and it wasn't even Green and Blacks!
I enjoyed it immensely for the first day, but on day two my tummy started 'talking' to me. It was communicating very strongly that it didn't like this alien invasion, and was reacting defensively against it. Won't go into too much detail as some of you may be squeamish but it wasn't pleasant. It serves me right, I know. It was totally self inflicted and I'm not complaining. It actually served as a rather useful experiment.
I love it when my body communicates with me because it means I'm in tune with it, and I can react before things get out of hand. It's taken me years to get to this position; I like it but it's still a steep learning curve.
Indigestion is just one of the ways your body communicates to let you know that all is not right inside. And if you take Rennie's, or some other over the counter indigestion tablet, all you're doing is masking the symptoms. They're still there and they are there for a reason. It's the cause you need to work on finding.
The digestive system is very important in detoxification of the body, if its not working you'll get symptoms such as acne, constant fatigue, indigestion, depression, body odour, bad breath, headaches, allergies, skin breakouts, hyperactivity.... the list is endless. It means the toxins inside you are being 'backed up' and have no where to go until your digestion can work efficiently again.
If we constantly eat junk, processed, food with no nutrients contained in it. Drink sugary fizzy drinks that cause tooth decay and blood sugar highs, or even worse diet drinks full of artificial sweeteners.If we don't exercise enough, don't get enough quality sleep and don't learn to let the stresses of life 'go' somehow, we are asking for very unhealthy insides.
To help keep your digestive system healthy you have to eat right - for your body. We are all different, and some of us suit foods that would not suit others. Metabolic Typing allows you to discover what type of body you have to work with, and how best you can do just that. No calorie controls or measuring, just working with a list of foods especially for you, and listening to your bodys reactions and making amends accordingly.
Obviously this list of foods is what I call 'clean' food. Food that has recently lived, whether it be fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, eggs, or whole grains, and good, clean, pure water too. Simple foods made up of one ingredient, not twenty and ten of which are unpronounceable (is that a word John?!). Foods that can pass through your body in the way they should, IE the body takes the nutrients out to utilise, and any waste is eliminated, swiftly.
If you're not eliminating swiftly, IE several times daily you are constipated; some of the foods you are eating are not working for you. Not rocket science, but you would not believe the millions of pounds spent on laxatives in this country. Again this is merely pushing the 'problem' under the carpet, allowing toxins to build up and show up in other ways; health problems. Whilst they may seem minor IE, body odour or recurring tiredness or headaches they should be addressed, and soon before they multiply.
The Metabolic Typing test takes an hour of your life to do. Its pain free, relatively inexpensive but I can guarantee it will change the way you view food, for the better, for life.
If you're happy to continue living with one, some, or many 'symptoms' of an unhealthy digestive system you probably haven't even go this far into this blog post!! If you are still reading its probably because you want to do something to enhance your well being in some way.
I hope so. You really ,really are what you eat, or even better you are what you digest.
Contact me through Balanced on Face book for more information on METABOLIC TYPING, or leave me a comment at the bottom of this blog, and I'll get back to you. Comments welcomed, whatever your view!
RX
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Bouncing Breasts....
..............ha bet that title got you reading didn't it?!
I went to Bath last weekend and during the half marathon on Sunday morning began a study on ladies breasts and how much they bounce whilst their owner is running.
Fascinating, as really the bounce should be minimal to ensure pain free exercise, but more importantly to discourage droop. Unfortunately, I saw a really high number of runners either not wearing a proper bra, not wearing a sports bra, or wearing an inadequate sports bra.
A little fact you may not be aware of: the breast ligaments are called Coopers Ligaments, and if they are continually stretched (IE by wearing inadequate support)they lose tone and it is impossible to regain it. Eventually, therefore, the breast tissue will start to sag. This is just as likely to happen if you are a B cup as it is if you are an F cup or bigger.
I went on a training course in London as part of my new role as a Sweaty Betty Wardrobe Consultant and was privileged to see and hear a really dynamic presentation by a lady from Shock Absorber (the sports bra market leaders).
She quoted an awful lot of figures to us, one of which was quite scary : seven out of ten women wear the wrong size bra. This can result in the breasts not receiving the support they need in the right places. Not only that, but it can look extremely unsightly when bits of boob are sticking out in strange places. I agree with the majority of the male species( and this is not meant to be at all sexist) that breasts are a fabulous part of a woman's anatomy - but in the wrong size bra this can quickly go out of the window!!!
She also told us, and this has been heavily researched, that an every day bra can reduce bounce up to 33 per cent and a sports bra can reduce bounce up to 74 per cent.
A sports bra therefore is a MUST for exercise unless its yoga or Pilates, and even then light support is needed. The more impact, the greater degree of support you need.
Shock Absorber have just launched the Run Bra, available from Sweaty Betty, and it holds the breasts very firmly in place. It's market leader and is truly fabulous, which is why its flying off the shelves as I write.
Sweaty Betty sell a range of sports bras - their own brand crop tops which come in many different colours and are good for impact up to a C cup,or on their own in the summer) and a range of Shock Absorber bras depending on the activity you participate in.
So, the moral of the story is :look after your important assets by getting kitted out with a fundamental piece of clothing ; a sports bra. This and a pair of good fitting trainers are all you really need to exercise in, but probably best to wear something else unless you're a complete exhibitionist ( I am at home, it saves getting clothes dirty!).
If you're guilty of not giving your breasts the support they need, but you'd like to start before it's too late and they start heading south, contact me on 0777 2613786 or through Balanced on face book or email me at c.goodwin114@btinternet.com for advice on the Sweaty Betty range. You will be amazed at how much better you feel in a good fitting, supportive bra. It'll make exercise feel so much more enjoyable too!
RX
I went to Bath last weekend and during the half marathon on Sunday morning began a study on ladies breasts and how much they bounce whilst their owner is running.
Fascinating, as really the bounce should be minimal to ensure pain free exercise, but more importantly to discourage droop. Unfortunately, I saw a really high number of runners either not wearing a proper bra, not wearing a sports bra, or wearing an inadequate sports bra.
A little fact you may not be aware of: the breast ligaments are called Coopers Ligaments, and if they are continually stretched (IE by wearing inadequate support)they lose tone and it is impossible to regain it. Eventually, therefore, the breast tissue will start to sag. This is just as likely to happen if you are a B cup as it is if you are an F cup or bigger.
I went on a training course in London as part of my new role as a Sweaty Betty Wardrobe Consultant and was privileged to see and hear a really dynamic presentation by a lady from Shock Absorber (the sports bra market leaders).
She quoted an awful lot of figures to us, one of which was quite scary : seven out of ten women wear the wrong size bra. This can result in the breasts not receiving the support they need in the right places. Not only that, but it can look extremely unsightly when bits of boob are sticking out in strange places. I agree with the majority of the male species( and this is not meant to be at all sexist) that breasts are a fabulous part of a woman's anatomy - but in the wrong size bra this can quickly go out of the window!!!
She also told us, and this has been heavily researched, that an every day bra can reduce bounce up to 33 per cent and a sports bra can reduce bounce up to 74 per cent.
A sports bra therefore is a MUST for exercise unless its yoga or Pilates, and even then light support is needed. The more impact, the greater degree of support you need.
Shock Absorber have just launched the Run Bra, available from Sweaty Betty, and it holds the breasts very firmly in place. It's market leader and is truly fabulous, which is why its flying off the shelves as I write.
Sweaty Betty sell a range of sports bras - their own brand crop tops which come in many different colours and are good for impact up to a C cup,or on their own in the summer) and a range of Shock Absorber bras depending on the activity you participate in.
So, the moral of the story is :look after your important assets by getting kitted out with a fundamental piece of clothing ; a sports bra. This and a pair of good fitting trainers are all you really need to exercise in, but probably best to wear something else unless you're a complete exhibitionist ( I am at home, it saves getting clothes dirty!).
If you're guilty of not giving your breasts the support they need, but you'd like to start before it's too late and they start heading south, contact me on 0777 2613786 or through Balanced on face book or email me at c.goodwin114@btinternet.com for advice on the Sweaty Betty range. You will be amazed at how much better you feel in a good fitting, supportive bra. It'll make exercise feel so much more enjoyable too!
RX
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
WEIGHT RELEASE
How many of you want to release some weight? I say release rather than lose because if you lose something you can always find it again!!
I'd say most all of my clients without fail (with one male exception) have at some stage , mostly ongoing, wanted to shed some pounds.
Today's blog looks at how you can do this - yes really! I've just watched a video by an Australian lady called Natalie,on the Four Steps To Success, and it appears to be one of the most simplest, effective ways of getting what you want/where you want to be. So, I want to share these steps with you. They don't just apply to releasing weight but to every aspect of your life where you'd like to achieve success.
Wow! I'm inspired and I've been on plenty of goal setting courses in my time.
STEP ONE
Be very clear about what you want!
Commit to paper what it is you want to achieve,lots of POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS, and always write it in the present tense IE. I am a size x, I enjoy exercising every day, I love and respect my body, I use my body in the way it was designed, I eat a healthy, fulfilling diet, I can easily maintain my clothes size.
Carry copies of this list everywhere with you. Stick it up on the fridge, in the car, in the bathroom, in your bedroom. Everywhere.
STEP TWO
Make a vision board!
Spend some time using drawings,photographs, pictures from magazines, diagrams, to make up a vision board of your goals IE. healthy food, healthy looking people doing exercise, the outdoors, mountain bikes, athletes, water etc. This brings the whole thing to life, and often is more effective than the written word. Again make copies to put in various places around the house.
STEP THREE
TAKE ACTION!
Step out of your comfort zone - this is a necessity if you are to achieve success. You'll soon get used to it!
Examples:
Step up your exercise, book a health assessment, book a personal trainer, go swimming, clean out your food cupboards, join a gym, check out your local exercise classes and join, ask a friend to run/cycle with you, write a food diary each day so you are eating consciously,read health and fitness books and magazines, google tips on the Internet, ask friends who have already succeeded.
STEP FOUR
Be a manifesting magnet!
Before you go to bed write down five things you are grateful for in your life, make at least two of them something to do with releasing weight. These will sink into your subconscious mind during the night. In the morning review them.
Discuss with your partner or a close friend or colleague what your life WILL be like when you have achieved your goal weight. This will keep you vibrating at a high level, and so make you a manifesting magnet!
Sounds pretty straight forward doesn't it, so lets go. I'm busy doing it for my new business venture, and am really excited already.
if you'd like to take a look at some of Natalies videos, and they are well worth watching go to http://www.mindmovies.com.
Good luck and keep me posted.
As always if you need assistance with your food, diet and exercise plans contact me, and I'll be more than happy to assist.
Have a great day.
Rx
I'd say most all of my clients without fail (with one male exception) have at some stage , mostly ongoing, wanted to shed some pounds.
Today's blog looks at how you can do this - yes really! I've just watched a video by an Australian lady called Natalie,on the Four Steps To Success, and it appears to be one of the most simplest, effective ways of getting what you want/where you want to be. So, I want to share these steps with you. They don't just apply to releasing weight but to every aspect of your life where you'd like to achieve success.
Wow! I'm inspired and I've been on plenty of goal setting courses in my time.
STEP ONE
Be very clear about what you want!
Commit to paper what it is you want to achieve,lots of POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS, and always write it in the present tense IE. I am a size x, I enjoy exercising every day, I love and respect my body, I use my body in the way it was designed, I eat a healthy, fulfilling diet, I can easily maintain my clothes size.
Carry copies of this list everywhere with you. Stick it up on the fridge, in the car, in the bathroom, in your bedroom. Everywhere.
STEP TWO
Make a vision board!
Spend some time using drawings,photographs, pictures from magazines, diagrams, to make up a vision board of your goals IE. healthy food, healthy looking people doing exercise, the outdoors, mountain bikes, athletes, water etc. This brings the whole thing to life, and often is more effective than the written word. Again make copies to put in various places around the house.
STEP THREE
TAKE ACTION!
Step out of your comfort zone - this is a necessity if you are to achieve success. You'll soon get used to it!
Examples:
Step up your exercise, book a health assessment, book a personal trainer, go swimming, clean out your food cupboards, join a gym, check out your local exercise classes and join, ask a friend to run/cycle with you, write a food diary each day so you are eating consciously,read health and fitness books and magazines, google tips on the Internet, ask friends who have already succeeded.
STEP FOUR
Be a manifesting magnet!
Before you go to bed write down five things you are grateful for in your life, make at least two of them something to do with releasing weight. These will sink into your subconscious mind during the night. In the morning review them.
Discuss with your partner or a close friend or colleague what your life WILL be like when you have achieved your goal weight. This will keep you vibrating at a high level, and so make you a manifesting magnet!
Sounds pretty straight forward doesn't it, so lets go. I'm busy doing it for my new business venture, and am really excited already.
if you'd like to take a look at some of Natalies videos, and they are well worth watching go to http://www.mindmovies.com.
Good luck and keep me posted.
As always if you need assistance with your food, diet and exercise plans contact me, and I'll be more than happy to assist.
Have a great day.
Rx
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
KitKats and bananas
Apparently you will be relieved to hear that Gordon Brown has stopped eating KitKats! This is with a view to looking 'radiant' for the forthcoming General Election! The mind boggles!
He has in fact replaced them with nine bananas a day. My God! His stomach must be wondering what the hell happened. He's also apparently taken up jogging. Is this all admirable stuff or has the PM lost the plot?
Well stopping eating KitKats is a good thing, IF he was doing it to excess (processed, refined, full of sugar, and unhealthy fats leading to blood sugar spikes, cravings, weight gain, sugar dependency.......... ).
Eating nine bananas is not so good, as this (still) only counts as one portion of fruit a day (you have to be eating different fruit to get the numbers up), and as they are rather carbohydrate heavy and full of fibre they will most probably give him the most terrible stomach ache.
One banana a day is great as part of the five recommended portions of fruit and vegetables for the following reasons :
- they are full of potassium, which we are often lacking in due to the large amounts of sodium we consume (mainly through processed foods).
- they're high in iron to fight anaemia
- they contain fibre which helps keep the body regular
- they are a natural unprocessed food
-they contain vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C
However, nine bananas - could anyone even contemplate eating this number? - is way too many! That's a heck of a lot of fibre for his digestive system to deal with. Likely to result in a very 'dodgy' tummy to say the least. Not sure I'd want to be sitting next to him for too long!
A better way to go would be to ask his staff to leave him a variety of fruit on his fruit bowl, a rainbow of colours/different types would count towards his five a day (some of these should be vegetables actually), and I'd say he'd be more likely to stick to this regime if he was eating a varied diet instead of a banana diet.
Fruit is best consumed with a small portion of protein to balance blood sugar, so maybe he could add nuts and seeds to his fruit snack. Fruit alone, depending on the type chosen can be converted quickly to sugar by the body, and lead to a spike in blood sugar and then a crash. This crash may leave him reaching for the Kitkats once again and he doesn't want to go there that's for sure!!
Think the moral of the story is BALANCE - we all need to eat a wide variety of foods in moderation. Apparently we tend to rely on a list as small as twelve foods as our staple diet. No wonder the body gets bored and doesn't react in the way we wish it would. Time to shake things up and provide a bit of creativity!
Come to me for some cookery sessions and take a look at the fabulously healthy and tasty food options we can create.
The fact that Gordon Brown has taken up jogging is good news, as long as he's building it up gradually - diet goes a long way to making us healthy but exercise as well,really gets things moving along.
I wish him luck, and hope that someone close to him soon recommends that the banana thing should cease. Wonder who came up with the idea in the first place?
RX
He has in fact replaced them with nine bananas a day. My God! His stomach must be wondering what the hell happened. He's also apparently taken up jogging. Is this all admirable stuff or has the PM lost the plot?
Well stopping eating KitKats is a good thing, IF he was doing it to excess (processed, refined, full of sugar, and unhealthy fats leading to blood sugar spikes, cravings, weight gain, sugar dependency.......... ).
Eating nine bananas is not so good, as this (still) only counts as one portion of fruit a day (you have to be eating different fruit to get the numbers up), and as they are rather carbohydrate heavy and full of fibre they will most probably give him the most terrible stomach ache.
One banana a day is great as part of the five recommended portions of fruit and vegetables for the following reasons :
- they are full of potassium, which we are often lacking in due to the large amounts of sodium we consume (mainly through processed foods).
- they're high in iron to fight anaemia
- they contain fibre which helps keep the body regular
- they are a natural unprocessed food
-they contain vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C
However, nine bananas - could anyone even contemplate eating this number? - is way too many! That's a heck of a lot of fibre for his digestive system to deal with. Likely to result in a very 'dodgy' tummy to say the least. Not sure I'd want to be sitting next to him for too long!
A better way to go would be to ask his staff to leave him a variety of fruit on his fruit bowl, a rainbow of colours/different types would count towards his five a day (some of these should be vegetables actually), and I'd say he'd be more likely to stick to this regime if he was eating a varied diet instead of a banana diet.
Fruit is best consumed with a small portion of protein to balance blood sugar, so maybe he could add nuts and seeds to his fruit snack. Fruit alone, depending on the type chosen can be converted quickly to sugar by the body, and lead to a spike in blood sugar and then a crash. This crash may leave him reaching for the Kitkats once again and he doesn't want to go there that's for sure!!
Think the moral of the story is BALANCE - we all need to eat a wide variety of foods in moderation. Apparently we tend to rely on a list as small as twelve foods as our staple diet. No wonder the body gets bored and doesn't react in the way we wish it would. Time to shake things up and provide a bit of creativity!
Come to me for some cookery sessions and take a look at the fabulously healthy and tasty food options we can create.
The fact that Gordon Brown has taken up jogging is good news, as long as he's building it up gradually - diet goes a long way to making us healthy but exercise as well,really gets things moving along.
I wish him luck, and hope that someone close to him soon recommends that the banana thing should cease. Wonder who came up with the idea in the first place?
RX
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Buttocks!
We are a nation of people who sit too much, whether it's in front of the TV, in our cars, behind our desks, in the pub etc. etc. and the bits of us that suffer the most when we do this for long periods are our gluteal muscles and our backs.
Our bottoms are part of the back ex tensor chain, as are our hamstrings, and so it follows that if we have weak butts our backs are more than likely going to be weak too.
How many people do you know who have bad backs? And how many sick days do we lose each year through back ache alone?
So how can we strengthen our glutes, and ultimately help our backs?
The best way to work your posterior is to move it! Surprise, surprise! With walking being up there as the number one movement for overall fitness for anyone, without risk of injury. Walking uphill will work it even harder. If we all hit the 10,000 steps it is recommended we do each day, our backsides and our backs would suffer less.
Fitflops/MBTs and Sketchers are all footwear that can help us whilst walking. They support the foot arch and have negative heel technology that helps posture, and so bottoms and backs - they also encourage glute activation. When you wear them for the first time you'll know about it the next day! They are also supposed to allow you to burn more calories!!
Superb exercises for the glute muscles are squats, and lots of them. Focus fully on the glutes as you come up to standing, and you'll feel it right where you're meant to.
One legged squats for the more advanced of you are even better, focusing more on glute activation than the traditional squat. I get first time clients to do this as part of the fitness assessment as it's a great indicator of glute strength. It's very unusual not to get some knee wobble!
The bridge exercise is also a good one, done lying on your back with bent knees, you lift your bottom in the air and squeeze. There are many variations, including pulsing and one legged bridges but focus your attention on your butt and you'll feel it.
The clam will assist particularly in the outer glute muscle. Lie on your side with knees bent and together. Open up the top leg as high as your knee will go without pulling hips out of line. You'll really feel this after a couple of sets if you're doing it correctly. (persevere if not it can take a while to get correct form on this one).
Power jumps on and off a step are fab butt strengtheners, and will get your heart going too. Use your arms for greater power and do several sets in one go, after warming up!
Start working your butt today and watch how quickly you can have lovely firm,pert cheeks! Try getting up from your desk for ten minutes every hour, and walking around, or do some body weight exercises that require no equipment and so can be done anywhere. Pedometers are cheap and will count your steps, giving you an idea of how many you're falling short and giving you a target to reach!
Go for it!
RX
Our bottoms are part of the back ex tensor chain, as are our hamstrings, and so it follows that if we have weak butts our backs are more than likely going to be weak too.
How many people do you know who have bad backs? And how many sick days do we lose each year through back ache alone?
So how can we strengthen our glutes, and ultimately help our backs?
The best way to work your posterior is to move it! Surprise, surprise! With walking being up there as the number one movement for overall fitness for anyone, without risk of injury. Walking uphill will work it even harder. If we all hit the 10,000 steps it is recommended we do each day, our backsides and our backs would suffer less.
Fitflops/MBTs and Sketchers are all footwear that can help us whilst walking. They support the foot arch and have negative heel technology that helps posture, and so bottoms and backs - they also encourage glute activation. When you wear them for the first time you'll know about it the next day! They are also supposed to allow you to burn more calories!!
Superb exercises for the glute muscles are squats, and lots of them. Focus fully on the glutes as you come up to standing, and you'll feel it right where you're meant to.
One legged squats for the more advanced of you are even better, focusing more on glute activation than the traditional squat. I get first time clients to do this as part of the fitness assessment as it's a great indicator of glute strength. It's very unusual not to get some knee wobble!
The bridge exercise is also a good one, done lying on your back with bent knees, you lift your bottom in the air and squeeze. There are many variations, including pulsing and one legged bridges but focus your attention on your butt and you'll feel it.
The clam will assist particularly in the outer glute muscle. Lie on your side with knees bent and together. Open up the top leg as high as your knee will go without pulling hips out of line. You'll really feel this after a couple of sets if you're doing it correctly. (persevere if not it can take a while to get correct form on this one).
Power jumps on and off a step are fab butt strengtheners, and will get your heart going too. Use your arms for greater power and do several sets in one go, after warming up!
Start working your butt today and watch how quickly you can have lovely firm,pert cheeks! Try getting up from your desk for ten minutes every hour, and walking around, or do some body weight exercises that require no equipment and so can be done anywhere. Pedometers are cheap and will count your steps, giving you an idea of how many you're falling short and giving you a target to reach!
Go for it!
RX
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
SALT
Too many of us are still consuming way too much salt and it can be detrimental to our health, causing high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease amongst other things. According to the Stroke Association, 150,000 people in the Uk suffer from a stroke - worth thinking about!
Our daily limit is advised at 6g - but many many people have no idea how much they are eating as it's hidden in many prepackaged foods from bread to biscuits (yes really).
Ways To Limit Your Salt Intake -
1. Buy fresh food.
Not only will you miss out on all those NON NUTRIENT nasty foods, but you'll gain on the antioxidants and vitamins and minerals contained in fresh, wholesome, unprocessed foods that do not contain added salt.
2. If you do buy 'processed' foods, always check the label. If the food in question contains more than 1.5g or .6g of sodium per 100g then its high in salt and should be avoided. Have a look next time you're shopping and you may well be horrified!
3. Pick a substitute.
If you do need to enhance the flavour of your food try natural sea salt or Himalayan salts which are unrefined and contain vital minerals for your body or use black pepper or herbs instead.
4. Break the habit
Many of us sprinkle salt on our food before we've even tasted it, and this is a habit more than likely learnt from our parents. Try leaving the salt in the cupboard rather than having it on the table. You may be pleasantly suprised to find your dinner tastes perfectly lovely without the white stuff!
Sea salt also makes a great addition to your bath, soak for 20 minutes in a warm bath with a tub of sea salt to aid the detox process, and ease muscles after a hard work out.
Hope this mini blog has been helpful.
RX
Our daily limit is advised at 6g - but many many people have no idea how much they are eating as it's hidden in many prepackaged foods from bread to biscuits (yes really).
Ways To Limit Your Salt Intake -
1. Buy fresh food.
Not only will you miss out on all those NON NUTRIENT nasty foods, but you'll gain on the antioxidants and vitamins and minerals contained in fresh, wholesome, unprocessed foods that do not contain added salt.
2. If you do buy 'processed' foods, always check the label. If the food in question contains more than 1.5g or .6g of sodium per 100g then its high in salt and should be avoided. Have a look next time you're shopping and you may well be horrified!
3. Pick a substitute.
If you do need to enhance the flavour of your food try natural sea salt or Himalayan salts which are unrefined and contain vital minerals for your body or use black pepper or herbs instead.
4. Break the habit
Many of us sprinkle salt on our food before we've even tasted it, and this is a habit more than likely learnt from our parents. Try leaving the salt in the cupboard rather than having it on the table. You may be pleasantly suprised to find your dinner tastes perfectly lovely without the white stuff!
Sea salt also makes a great addition to your bath, soak for 20 minutes in a warm bath with a tub of sea salt to aid the detox process, and ease muscles after a hard work out.
Hope this mini blog has been helpful.
RX
Boredom!
Well here we are into the third week of January already! And how many of you are sticking to your New Years Resolutions of eating less, drinking less and exercising more??!! My guess is that the weather hasn't helped at all. Who wants to be up and about and really active when its minus something outside? Actually, having kids helped me during the snow. They loved it and it renewed my zest for making snowballs/snowmen/igloos and sledging. We had a ball and burnt off a few calories at the same time.
Today's blog is really about watching what you put into your mouth and being conscious of it at all times. It's so easy to have a few snacks here and there and eat bigger portions than you should, without really paying much attention to it, or realising that when you add it all together your calorie consumption has far outweighed the amount of movement you have performed in any one day!
And as one of my gurus, Craig Ballantyne, says "you can't out train a bad diet". So even if you are exercising whilst eating too much of the wrong stuff you will not achieve the results you're after.
So, to begin with how about keeping a food diary. I know I've blogged about this before but it's where I start with ALL clients and we always get some results just through them becoming 'conscious eaters'.
It's a very interesting exercise and makes great reading a the end of the week. I can guarantee you'll be amazed at some of the foods that have passed your lips that you don't even remember eating. And most of that food will be non nutrient food such as biscuits/alcohol/crisps/sweets/chocolate/puddings/popcorn/fizzy,sugary drinks.
It's so easy whilst sitting watching TV to eat these foods, almost out of boredom. You're sitting comfortably, engrossed in your favourite programme and there's a packet of biscuits next to you. Without realising I bet some of us could put away most of the packet. Same goes for a bottle of wine, or a bar of chocolate, and it's quite often out of sheer boredom. Same goes for smoking!
Is there an option in your house to do something else whilst watching television? Could you iron, could you exercise? there are many activities that could be done, but perhaps the best way to stop eating and drinking out of boredom is not to have those non nutrient foods within reach at all. Or even in your house.
It's not too late to start a New Years Resolution! How about changing the way you shop? Take your time in the supermarket looking at labels, buying lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats and fish. A top tip is to shop just AFTER you've eaten. This will guarantee that you'll buy less junk food, and if it's not in your house then you can't eat it. Simple really.
So two things to try from today's blog - keeping a food diary and conscious shopping and eating. Exercise is next but really you can make a massive difference with the eating and drinking thing before embarking on an exercise regime. Try one thing at a time and you're more likely to make it a long term habit!
How about posting your food intake up on face book or somewhere public, it really focuses the mind if you know someone else will see it!
Lots of luck. Any advice needed contact me.
RX
Today's blog is really about watching what you put into your mouth and being conscious of it at all times. It's so easy to have a few snacks here and there and eat bigger portions than you should, without really paying much attention to it, or realising that when you add it all together your calorie consumption has far outweighed the amount of movement you have performed in any one day!
And as one of my gurus, Craig Ballantyne, says "you can't out train a bad diet". So even if you are exercising whilst eating too much of the wrong stuff you will not achieve the results you're after.
So, to begin with how about keeping a food diary. I know I've blogged about this before but it's where I start with ALL clients and we always get some results just through them becoming 'conscious eaters'.
It's a very interesting exercise and makes great reading a the end of the week. I can guarantee you'll be amazed at some of the foods that have passed your lips that you don't even remember eating. And most of that food will be non nutrient food such as biscuits/alcohol/crisps/sweets/chocolate/puddings/popcorn/fizzy,sugary drinks.
It's so easy whilst sitting watching TV to eat these foods, almost out of boredom. You're sitting comfortably, engrossed in your favourite programme and there's a packet of biscuits next to you. Without realising I bet some of us could put away most of the packet. Same goes for a bottle of wine, or a bar of chocolate, and it's quite often out of sheer boredom. Same goes for smoking!
Is there an option in your house to do something else whilst watching television? Could you iron, could you exercise? there are many activities that could be done, but perhaps the best way to stop eating and drinking out of boredom is not to have those non nutrient foods within reach at all. Or even in your house.
It's not too late to start a New Years Resolution! How about changing the way you shop? Take your time in the supermarket looking at labels, buying lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats and fish. A top tip is to shop just AFTER you've eaten. This will guarantee that you'll buy less junk food, and if it's not in your house then you can't eat it. Simple really.
So two things to try from today's blog - keeping a food diary and conscious shopping and eating. Exercise is next but really you can make a massive difference with the eating and drinking thing before embarking on an exercise regime. Try one thing at a time and you're more likely to make it a long term habit!
How about posting your food intake up on face book or somewhere public, it really focuses the mind if you know someone else will see it!
Lots of luck. Any advice needed contact me.
RX
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