Tag Archives: low-fat

This is Why You Fail in the Gym, Part 3

18 Sep

Knock knock! 

Who’s there?

It’s me!

Me who?

Me Vs The Bulge telling you all about why you are failing in the gym again! :D

The last 2 parts of this series addressed goal setting and strength training.  This post is all about diet.  And I don’t mean Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers, I mean diet in the true definition of the word – “The usual food and drink of a person or animal.”

Source: fashionhealthy.tumblr.com/

It took me a long time to finally get my head around diet and what I should be eating.  I spent far too long trapped in “diet land” and was suckered in to all types of quick fix “solutions” to my weight woes.  I’ve tried shake diets, soup diets, diet pills, meal delivery services, Atkins, extremely low-calorie diets… you name it, I’ve most likely tried it.

If I had to only ever have one piece of advice to give to others it would be to DITCH THE DIETS.  They do not work, they are unsustainable, they mess with your metabolism, they do not provide you with enough energy to fuel you through exercise and the generally make you feel lousy and miserable.  It’s really not worth it.

So finally I got to the point of realising that diets don’t work and with the help of Nat I started changing my evil diet ways.  The first thing I did was I got rid of the majority of the processed foods I was eating – diet yoghurts, diet soft drinks, diet sauces and marinades… basically anything labelled DIET had to go and most things that come in a box, packet or bottle too.  Why?  Because these foods are usually full of nasty preservatives and hidden fats and sugars.  Just because something is labelled “low-fat” doesn’t mean it’s not full of sugar which will eventually store as fat in your body.  DO NOT WANT.

The next thing I did was start eating foods which were as close to their natural state as possible. My daily diet became full to the brim of fresh produce.  I’d never SEEN so much fresh fruit and vegetables in my fridge!  It got to the point that when we go grocery shopping we hardly enter the aisles at all except to buy tins of legumes and tomatoes and to buy practically the entire spice section. Spices and herbs are now my best friends!

I finally started to feel free from the constraints of diet hell.  I was training hard and seeing results.  But there was something else I needed to address that was holding me back from reaching my full potential… the weekends.

All week I would eat really well but then the weekend would hit and I would have a cheat meal.  That’s all well and good and perfectly normal, but that cheat meal would turn into another cheat meal, and then a cheat DAY and then I would go out and have a few drinks (hello empty calories!) and think, “Stuff it – I’ll go back to healthy eating on Monday”.  So before I knew it, the entire weekend was full of cheats. Which is to say, I was cheating myself out of reaching my goals.  Self-sabotage at it’s finest!

What people don’t realise is that whilst you may be eating at a calorie deficit during the week, falling off the wagon weekend can put you over your weekly calorie limit and therefore you find that you have eaten at maintenance calories for the week or even WORSE a calorie surplus!  This could basically cancel out all that hard work you did in the gym that week.  All that sweat and pain for NOTHING.

So if you are going to be spending all this time working out then you MUST address your diet as well.  They go hand in hand.

Source: cutandjacked.com

So my tips -

Consume fresh and unprocessed foods that are as close to their natural state as possible

Ditch the diets

Eat to fuel your body – steer clear of empty calories

Eat small meals and often to keep your metabolism humming smoothly

Limit sugar and starchy foods

Use fresh and dried herbs, chilli, garlic, ginger, lemon and lime to flavour your food

Make sure you get plenty of healthy fats – avocado, flaxseed oil, olive oil and unsalted nuts

Stick to low GI carbohydrates for slow release energy and to maintain healthy blood sugar levels

I could probably go on and on and on when it comes to diet but I’ll let you guys have a say too – what are your healthy eating tips?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken, Vegetable & Barley Soup

21 Mar

It’s raining, it’s pouring, I feel like SOUP!

And soup I shall I have!  Every damn day this week!  Why?  Because I feel like it!  And because it’s super healthy and easy.  And I made a huge pot so I gotta eat it all now!

This soup is full of goodness.  It’s packed with fibre and protein and is low in calories and fat.  A perfect lunch option!

Ingredients (fills 5 x 600ml containers)

1 leek (sliced)

2 carrots  (diced finely)

2 cloves of garlic (diced finely)

2 organic chicken breasts (diced into small chunks)

2L of salt-reduced chicken stock

1 cup of uncooked pearled barley

2 handfuls of flat leaf parsley (chopped)

1 teaspoon of dried tarragon

1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

3 handfuls of spinach, kale, cabbage or silverbeet (chopped)

Salt and pepper to taste

 

In a large pot saute the carrots, leek and garlic until softened over a medium heat.

Add the chicken and stir until most of the meat has turned white.

Add the chicken stock, barley, chilli, tarragon and parsley and cover.  Simmer gently for 1 hour.

Add the spinach, kale, cabbage or silverbeet and cook until softened.  Add seasoning to taste.

Your soup is now ready to slurp or pack into containers and freeze!

Nutritional info: 321 cals, 6.3g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 31.6g protein, 28.4g carbs, 7.7g of fibre

 

Do you like to cook in bulk?  What’s your favourite thing to make and store?

 

 

Moroccan Fish with Warm Quinoa Salad

19 Jan

This yummy fish dish is packed to the brim with protein and is low in fat. It’s very easy to make (as all my meals are!) and you can substitute the fish for any other meat you want (lamb would be perfect!).

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 cups of cooked quinoa
1 brown onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 tablespoon of moroccan seasoning
Olive oil
1/2 punnet of cherry tomatoes (halved)
1/2 a bag of baby spinach
1 can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
4 thick white fish fillets (about 150g)
Low-fat natural yoghurt
Lemon

Heat a little oil in a pan. Add the onion and garlic and over a medium heat cook until translucent. Reserve about half a clove of garlic for the yoghurt dressing. Add about a teaspoon of the moroccan seasoning and the cherry tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are softened. Add the cooked quinoa and chickpeas and stir to combine. Mix through the spinach and parsley just before serving.

To cook the fish, add a little oil to a pan and heat over a medium heat. Sprinkle the fish with the rest of the moroccan seasoning. Cook the fish for about 2 – 3 minutes a side or until cooked through.

To make the yoghurt dressing, in a small cup mix the yoghurt, garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice.

To serve, take about a cup of the warm quinoa salad and place it in the middle of the plate. Place the cooked fish on top and drizzle over the yoghurt dressing. Serve with lemon wedges which can be squeezed over the entire dish. Dig in!

Chicken Tenderloins with Creamy, Herby Sauce

27 Nov

ZOMG!  Nom nom nom.  I loved this recipe and so did my husband!  The sauce is just delicious!  You could have it on pork or beef or even stir it through a pasta or rice dish.

This dish weighs in at 383 calories and 13g of fat.  Pretty darn good in my opinion!

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 12 chicken tenderloins
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons plain flour
  • 1/4 cup light thickened cream
  • 2 tablespoons of finely chopped tarragon leaves (or herb of your choice – I used parsley)
  • Steamed baby chat potatoes
  • Steamed or grilled asparagus
  • Olive oil cooking spray

Spray a little olive oil cooking spray in a non stick pan and heat over a medium heat.  Cook chicken for 3 minutes a side or until golden and cooked through.  Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Add mustard and flour to pan and stir until combined.  Slowly add cream and 1/2 a cup of water, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat.  Add herbs.  Simmer for one minute.

Arrange chicken on plates and spoon over sauce.  Serve with potatoes and asparagus and DIG IN!

I’m Nuts for Coconuts!

19 Oct

Coconut water is being touted by celebrities and health nuts as some sort of miracle drink so of course I had to try it for myself!

Cruising through my supermarket I noticed cans of Ayam Coconut Water on sale so I grabbed one (albeit apprehensively) to try.

The label said:

- No Added Water
- No Added Sugar
- No Artificial Flavours or Colours
- Gluten Free

The contents were basically 97% coconut water and 3% pulp.

So what’s the deal? Why is everyone drinking it?

Coconut water is the clear liquid found inside a young coconut. It’s low fat, low carb, low in naturally occurring sugars and contains only 25 calories per 100ml. That’s an incredible difference to what most juices and soft drinks contain!

It’s naturally packed with vitamins and minerals too.  Zinc, selenium, iodine, sulfur, manganese, boron, molybdenum, ascorbic acid and B-group vitamins can all be found in coconut water.

It has great uses as a sports drink.  In fact, it’s better than the sugary, brightly coloured junk you find in the shops! Coconut is a natural isotonic and contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium.  Great for supreme athletes like myself *cough*.

You can find it in cans, bottles and juice boxes but the best way to get coconut water is straight from the source – the coconut itself.  Look for it at your local fruit market!

Wow – that all sounds incredible! But what does it TASTE like?

Cracking open the can I felt that ‘first taste’ anxiety.  I wanted so badly to like it — and I did!  I thought it was refreshing and delicious.  I especially liked the little bits of pulp floating around.  To be honest, I have been day-dreaming about it ever since… I really need to get my hands on some more!  It’s like a trip to a tropical paradise in liquid form.  And with all these nutritional benefits I’ll definitely be stocking up and drinking it regularly!  Just in time for summer!

Have you tried coconut water yet? What did you think?

ETA: I have just found out that Ayam stocks this in Woolworths Supermarkets only so head on over to your local Woolworths ASAP!

A Simple Guide to Being Healthy

19 Aug

This post is inspired by a comment I received from Mary on my recent Just Taking It Back post.

Mary says:

“I would love to see a post on what we should eat. ie. healthy food pyramid, what serving sizes and how much exercise. There seems to be a focus out there on diets, but not much concise information about what to do to follow a healthy lifestyle.”

Well, you are in luck my friend!  This one goes out to you and all you other readers that want to make some quick, healthy changes to their diet!  Don’t I sound just like a regular blogger now?  Do I love it?  Yes I do.

Before I continue, I am not a dietitian nor do I have any qualifications in the world of fitness, I am just a girl who has struggled with her weight for a long time and found the following to work.

To find out the amount of calories you need per day please visit this site.

HEALTHY FOOD

Everyone says it – your mum has probably told you, your Doctor, people on TV and in magazines – it’s important to have 3 well balanced meals throughout the day and 2 healthy snacks.   But what constitutes ‘healthy’?

In my opinion, healthy food is:

  • fresh vegetables and fruit
  • low in salt, sugar and saturated fat
  • whole grains and low GI carbs
  • minimal processed or packaged foods
  • low in calories

When you eat healthily you will see and feel the difference, from the outside in.  You will have long lasting energy, your skin will look radiant, your eyes will be clearer and you will sleep sounder.

The following are examples of the meals that I stick to.

Breakfast Ideas

  • 1/2 cup of instant oats with 1/2 cup of skim milk and a small banana
  • Low GI cereals  (3/4 cup servings of bran, natural muesli, Kellogs Guardian, Kellogs Sustain) with 1 cup of skim milk and a few sliced strawberries
  • 2 pieces of grainy (multigrain or soy & linseed) toast spread with 1 tablespoon of low-fat hommus and sliced tomato
  • 1 cup of sliced apple and orange with 200g low-fat yoghurt with 1 tablespoon of LSA
  • 2 pieces of grainy  toast with 2 boiled or poached eggs and one apple

The possibilities are endless – you just need to ensure that you are sticking with the correct serving sizes and you are getting a good mix of low GI carbs and protein to fuel you throughout the day.

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day so make sure it is a good one!

Lunch Ideas

  • Garden salad (can include any of the following – 2 cups of lettuce, 1 small tomato, half a small lebanese cucumber, half a capsicum, sliced stick of celery, 1/4 of an onion, 1/3 cup of shredded carrot) with 100g of lean protein (tuna, salmon, poached or grilled chicken, 1 boiled egg or low-fat cheese like cottage or ricotta), some ‘good fats’ (half an avocado or 6 olives) with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a slice of grainy bread
  • 2 slices of grainy bread with lettuce, tomato,  shredded carrot, a slice of low fat cheese, serving of lean protein (as above) and an apple
  • salmon and chickpea salad
  • garden salad (as above) with 100g of tinned tuna and a small tin of four bean mix with 1/2 an avocado

Again, endless possibilities.  Lunch should be slightly less calories or about the same amount of calories as breakfast as you will require more energy at the beginning of the day than you will require towards the end.

Dinner Ideas

Check out my recipe section for specific meals.

I basically stick with this rule:

  • 1/4 of the plate should be lean protein (about 15og – 200g depending on your daily energy requirements) such as grilled fish, steamed, grilled or poached chicken breast or lean cuts of beef, lamb and pork
  • 1/4 of the plate should be low GI carbs such as legumes, basmati or brown rice, steamed baby chat potatoes or thin varieties of pasta such as angel hair, risoni or spaghetti (again, this depends on your daily energy requirements but I stick to 1/2 a cup or 1 cup)
  • 1/2 of the plate should be filled with fresh, low GI vegetables

Dinner should be your smallest meal of the day (as you don’t require much energy overnight during sleep) but that doesn’t have to mean it’s not the most delicious!

Try not to rely too much on packaged or tinned sauces/marinades (full of sugar and salt) and where possible make your own.  To add flavour to your meals include the juice of lemons or limes, garlic, fresh or dried herbs, vinegars, ginger and chilli.  Let your imagination take over!

Snack Ideas

I like to include 2 snacks in my day but, sounding like a broken record here, this will depend on your energy requirements.

  • Diced apple with 100g of low-fat yoghurt (Jalna is a good choice – try to steer clear of yoghurts marked ‘diet’ as they often have loads of fake sugar which just tantalises your taste buds into wanting more sugary foods – bad, bad, bad!)
  • Celery or carrot sticks with 1/2 cup of low-fat hommus or tzatziki
  • Small handful of nuts or seeds
  • 1 slice of grainy bread with 1 slice of low-fat cheese
  • A piece of low GI fruit
  • A glass of skim milk
  • 1/2 cup of natural muesli with 100g of yoghurt

I steer clear of muesli bars and other packaged snack foods as they are often full of sugar and fat.  Fresh is best!

Because I’m on a weight loss path I don’t include ‘treat foods’ everyday but  I do like to have some dark chocolate here or there and I’m prone to a couple of lollies but I always know my limit.  Check the serving sizes on the back of the packet and do not go over them!

I also will add an extra workout to my week if I know I am going out to dinner or having a few drinks with friends just so I can relax a little rather than worrying the whole night about what I’m eating or drinking.

It’s all about balance for me.  When I eat well, I feel well and when I feel well I want to put 100% into my workouts.  So watch this space for a post on some great fat burning workouts!

What’s your FAVOURITE healthy snack?

Low-fat food is making you fat!

8 Jul

What do you think has more sugar per 100g?  Coke or low-fat yoghurt?  Many of you would pick the coke without a second thought…

But surprisingly enough, it’s actually the low-fat yoghurt that contains the most sugar per 100g.  Shocked?  I bet you are!  Here’s another shocking fact – low-fat food is making us fat!  Holy moly!  I sure hope you are sitting down because that one is a DOOZY.

Just because something is low in fat does not make it low in sugar.  The nifty people who manufacture these products add more sugar to compensate for the lack of fat.  Sneaky little buggers aren’t they?

So before reaching for that low-fat yoghurt check the label.  For weight loss limit your intake of added sugars to no more than 2og per day.  Some yoghurts contain this much added sugar in one serve! Added sugars can be found in soft drinks, candy, jams, jellies, soups and pasta sauces. If you have a sweet tooth try satiating the craving with fruit and aim for at least 2 serves a day.

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