What to eat??

So you have decided to say NO to fat, and said YES to a new and healthy lifestyle! But you don't know where to start, well the toughest and sometimes least obvious place to start any weight loss journey is in the kitchen!! YES if you didn't know 80% of weight loss starts in the kitchen

A lot of times people get weight loss wrong! They think by spending hours in the gym they can reach their goals, well you got one thing right being active is definitely a stepping stone to better health and weight loss. However if you want to lose weight and keep it off you need to retrain your pallet, you can not keep eating junk and think by going to the gym you will some how counteract your unhealthy eating. You are just wasting your time and your money!

So here are my useful  and simple tips:

• Caloric intake: Let me get this one out of the way first; you need to be aware of the amount of calories you are taking every day! Yes its annoying to count calories, but whether you like it or not, in order to lose weight you need to be eating at a caloric deficit (i.e eating less calories a day). I suggest download 'myfitnesspal' that will give you a rough estimate of how many calories you should eat to lose weight healthily.
• Water: You must get rid of all the sugary and fizzy drinks and make water your best friend! I carry a 1 litre bottle with me every where, even when I'm just at home. It is pointless drinking your calories...even diet soda needs to be kicked to the curb! 

• Fruit and Vegetables: This is fairly obvious to everyone, we have been constantly reminded of this by doctors and nutritionists. I can't stress how much this will help you during your journey! Just check out the Vegan community, I don't think I have seen one overweight Vegan yet! Fruits and Veg are low in calories and full of fibre which will keep you full and they are healthy! I always say you cant go wrong with lots of it on your plate! (I will post a meal idea at the end of the post so you have an idea)
• Meat: Try and cut out red meat, it is very fatty! If its a must then opt for the lean option such as the extra lean mince stocked in Tesco or Shoprite for my readers in Nigeria. You should stick to white meat as the fat content is much less in comparison to red meat. Chicken or turkey breast (boneless and skinless- healthiest part of the meat) fish is also a great source of Omega 3 and Salmon has GOOD fat which we need in our diet! 
• Sweet Tooth: Yes how do you cure a sweet tooth whilst on a new lifestyle? There are lots of things you can replace those cravings with, the most simple and most natural is FRUIT it is healthy, low in calories and won't expand your waist line. If you do like your chocolate, why not opt for 70% dark chocolate? One square and your craving is gone! It is much healthier than the sugar filled chocolate we are all used to! Read more about the health benefits here: http://www.naturalnews.com/035035_dark_chocolate_health_benefits_cacao.html    there are also some natural sweeteners out there like  'stevia' that you can add to your tea, instead of granulated sugar. I don't use either in my tea! I stick to herbal teas and of course water. 

• Alcohol: I have cut this out completely, although on some occasions where I have had reason to go out, I would stick to 2 glasses of red wine. You can also opt for straight Vodka with water and lime as this is low in calories. HOWEVER don't make it a regular thing, think of it as a treat or make it part of your 'cheat day' (I'll discuss cheat days in a later post!), but don't go over board!!! DON'T drink your calories!! One glass of red wine is 150kclas

The 6 tips above are the main things that you need to revise in your current diet, once you start that you will see the weight fall off! Stay active too even if you start by walking for just 10 minutes a day it makes a lot of difference especially now that you have thrown away all the junk food in your cupboard! 

Carbohydrates

Now a lot of people are scared of carbs, we all believe if we get rid of it, we will lose weight, and yes you do I have been on a diet where I cut out all carbs however the point is I was unable to sustain this lifestyle! Carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function as well as being part of a healthy diet! So please throw away all those fad diets that tell you they are not good for you! 

The key to carbohydrates is to choose the ones that are good for you. The best source of carbohydrates come from whole grain, fruits, vegetables, and beans. These promote good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, fibre to your body. So throw away all those simple fast digesting refined carbohydrates like: white rice, white bread, pastries and soda which are all highly processed and aid you to not only gain weight but put you at risk of heart disease!

There is brown rice, whole wheat pasta/rice, bulgur wheat, sweet potato, steel cut oats and as I said beans! 

Don't deprive yourself of carbohydrates just be smart about it! As I said you need them to fuel them intense workouts that will help to sculpt your body ;-) 

I will be posting more nutritional tips and I will actually provide you with suggested healthier options for your favourite foods! Below is a healthy burger recipe which is about 415kcls!! 

Burger Recipe

You can make meal times fun! I love burgers so what do I do when I feel like one? I grab the following:

200g Lean Turkey Burger (226 kcls)

1 small egg (70 kcls)

Whole wheat Burger bread  (Optional) (110 kcl)

and Herbs your like (I like garlic, chilli powder and Italian seasoning) 

Sauce:

dash Worcester sauce,

Tea spoon Dijon Mustard

half teaspoon: Low salt Low sugar ketchup

How to make:

Mix all ingredients together (Bar bun), shape the mince like a burger and place in the oven until cooked. 

Mix your source together and spread on bun. Once turkey cooked place in bun and your ready!! You can add a side of vegetables to this which at most will add another 100kcls to the meal!! 

On low carb days remove the bun from the recipe and just fill with more veg! Or you could wrap the turkey with lettuce.

Below is a picture of a meal I ate during one of my eating windows

turkey burger, prawn cooked with coconut oil and chilli, mixed vegitables, blueberries, pineapple, and an apple
this meal was about 550kcls. I also had a protein shake and I had some beans and a healthy snack to get up to  1200kcl

I will post more meal ideas as well as snacks which are nutrient and calorie dense especially for those of you that are thinking of starting Intermittent Fasting.

Stay blessed!! 

B xxx