You can dance, you can jive or just go for a walk!

18^th April 2013

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one. Dolly Parton

Well I feel a little better today than I did yesterday!  Yesterday I felt like I’d been run down by a truck, every part of me ached, a lovely case of the lurgy I’ve had creeping on since the weekend but hopefully I’m over the worst and on the mend, you’ve got love a Night Nurse night cap to help sleep. 

My pedometer proves how active I am, the last two days I’ve hit 26,000 steps, that earns me an extra ten activity ProPoints each day by the way, so guidelines have always said to aim for 10,000 steps a day, this was apparently originally promoted in Japan by pedometer companies but there was no research to back it up!  Numbers as low as 6,000 steps a day were shown to be correlated with a lower death rate in men in the Harvard Study and the Weight Watcher Pedometers are set so that an individual reaches what they class as ‘healthy’ before earning, this varies depending on your height and weight.  Of course if you do 3000 steps a day, your aim would be to add to that in anyway possible, it all helps.

Have you ever wondered when you’re looking at those ‘health’ type questionnaires whether you have a Sedentary lifestyle or an Active one?  We were the other day and my mate found this information which helped us;

Based on the best evidence as of the end of 2003, Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke recommends the following:

Classification of pedometer-determined physical activity in healthy adults:
1) Under 5000 steps/day may be used as a "sedentary lifestyle index"
2) 5,000-7,499 steps/day is typical of daily activity excluding sports/exercise and might be considered "low active."
3) 7,500-9,999 likely includes some exercise or walking (and/or a job that requires more walking) and might be considered "somewhat active."
4) 10,000 steps/day indicates the point that should be used to classify individuals as "active".
5) Individuals who take more than 12,500 steps/day are likely to be classified as "highly active".

Source: http://walking.about.com/cs/measure/a/locke122004.htm

Now I’m not doing 26,000 steps everyday, but I reckon I still on average do more than 12,500 steps a day over the week, so I’m pleased to realised I’m considered ‘highly active’ which one are you?

Are you pleased with the answer?  If not, what could you do to improve your activity levels?  I’m lucky that my job involves moving somewhat, it also involves lifting, I empty my car of all the boxes to set up (I did that on my own last night it took 12 minutes and I walked half a mile back and forth from the car so that’s my weight lifting sessions sorted I reckon).  This is why I don’t do classes, because together with all the dog walking, which is at least an hour a day most days, I’m earning on average I do 15,000 steps a day, which because some research has told me makes me ‘highly active’ I’m chuffed because I’d guessed I was ‘somewhat active’ as I didn’t do ‘classes’ nor work every day.

Anyway this highly active individual with a cracking head cold is off to get ready for work, I feel a heck of a lot better today than I did yesterday, I’m relieved to say and it will soon be my weekend and I can relax and recover fully then.

Oh before I go, I felt really rough yesterday but I watched this video on YouTube and it really made me smile,

http://youtu.be/SiJi1uc5rmY  She absolutely made my day I sat there thinking “Go Girl” what can I say - see you can dance, you can jive - having the time of your life! No excuses folks, we can all move more, we may not have her rhythm but we can do something.  

Have a fab day, take care of you and EatGorgeous. xx

It's perfectly fine to be flawed!

17^th April 2013

 

You were born to be real –not to be perfect.

 

In a perfect weight loss world I would stick to my daily allowance whilst spending my ProPoints on a nutritionally balanced intake of food. I would partake in the occasional treat which of course I would use my weekly allowance for whilst saving the rest for that night out when I enjoy a ProPointed meal and glass of wine whilst staying within my allowances. Of course there would be exercise involved, yes definitely I would do a couple of classes a week, swim too and leave the car at home as often as possible. I'd be happy and in tune with my life every day in every way, smiling and giving whilst earning a living.

 

Do you like my ideal world?

 

Shame real life's not always that simple isn't it! Some days you don't find it so easy to stay on track, that could be for a number of different reasons such as you're kids were off school so you were out of you usual routine and they wanted to do this, that and the other and eat here, there and everywhere. It could be you were feeling hormonal and no matter how much you felt you wanted to lose weight on Monday, today you couldn't give a stuff and you want chocolate and woo betide any fool who stands between you and your galaxy! It might just be that you're rushed, stressed or feeling over stretched, maybe lifes a little difficult fo you at the moment for whatever reason, family illnesses for example.  Or on a happier note, maybe you're having a fab time with friends and calories are the last thing on your mind as you're too busy giggling over cocktails or walking through the park eating ice cream.

 

I almost forgot how some days cooking sounds like a fantastic idea whereas other days you walk in the house and you just want food and to be honest you don't even care what that food looks nor tastes like as long as it makes you feel super full and quickly!

 

I think what I'm trying to get across is we're only human, we're not robots that have been programmed to behave in a certain way. Yeah with repetition you can create habits and routines to ensure you behave a certain way most of the time but can you change in a way that the "perfect weight loss world" becomes your world? Maybe, possibly, for some probably - BUT do you want it to be your norm? I don't, I love that sometimes my behaviour is out of control. I like that I have mood changes because when my low mood lifts I really appreciate those good feelings.   I like being human and flawed.

 

I love those times me and my besties get giggly drunk and share sod it moments. And I believe life wouldn't be complete without the odd Maccy D moment!

 

Hey but that's just me....

 

You may feel differently and that's just fine, it's what makes us all unique because EveryBODY is different.  How about I won't judge you if you don't judge me ;)

 

What I hope and pray you don't do is beat yourself up and feel that you're just not good enough because you aren't always a member of the "perfect weight loss world"  Deal?

 

Enjoy your day - EatGorgeous and remind yourself that it's okay not to be perfect, you're still beautiful xx

 

 

Enjoyed my 'MomDay' yesterday...

16^th April 2013

 

Never get so busy making a living, that you forget to make a life.

 

Tis good to support & help each other!

I really enjoyed yesterday, it was my idea of a perfect day at home, I walked Alfie twice for 40 minutes and it was actually warm enough not to wear gloves, we walked different routes to normal so it was also a little interesting.  I spent time  chatting with mom and I also spent some time cooking and thoroughly enjoyed it, no rushing about just taking my time with everything - perfect. 

 

Both recipes I made were delicious, I’ve never thought of doing a soup in the microwave but it worked well, and I really enjoyed the time it took to make the risotto, just standing there stirring for what seemed like an age but wasn’t that long really.  I have been told you can leave them risottos to their own devices but I enjoy the stirring, it’s quite therapeautic.  Recipes for both are below.

 

Microwave Butternut Squash Soup

Takes about 15 minutes Serves: 2, 1pp each

225g cubed butternut squash,

1 onions, chopped

15g low fat spread (2pp)

400ml chicken stock made using 1 oxo cube

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

a bit of ground nutmeg

a bit of ground cinnamon

In a large microwave safe dish combine squash, onions and butter. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir in stock and cook on high for another 10 minutes, or until squash is tender.

 

Puree squash, onions and stock in food processor or blender. Add salt and pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon to taste.  Serve.

 

Butternut squash & parmesan risotto

 

Serves: 2, 10pp each
For the risotto
50g low fat spread
100g Risotto Rice
25g Parmesan grated,

For the stock
1 litre vegetable stock – use 4 oxo cubes
2 cloves garlic
Pinch of saffron strands
2 tbsp white wine
1 tsp tomato puree
300g peeled & diced into 1cm cubes butternut squash

1. For the stock, place the vegetable stock in a large pan with the garlic, saffron, white wine and tomato puree. Bring it to the boil, then simmer for 5-10 minutes.
2. Add butternut squash to the stock. Continue to simmer the stock for about 10 minutes until the squash is just tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the squash to a plate and set aside. Then remove and discard the garlic cloves.
3. To make the risotto, melt half the low fat spread in a heavy-based pan, add the rice and stir it well with a wooden spoon on a low heat for 1 minute.  Gradually ladle in the hot stock a little at a time, stirring constantly and ensuring that each addition has been fully absorbed by the rice before adding another ladleful. 
4. When the rice is just tender, about 15-20 minutes, stir in the cooked squash. Keep adding the remaining stock for about 5 minutes, or until the rice is creamy and the stock is absorbed.  Stir in the parmesan and the rest of the low fat spread. Season and serve  

---

 

So I better get moving, got a busy day and I’m swapping my broadband too, that’ll be fun – not, there appears to be a lot of wires to contend with and I’m not feeling very techy!  I’m sure it’ll be ok though, if not I’ll call for help.

 

Enjoy your Tuesday & make sure you EatGorgeous.

 

If hunger is not the problem, then why eat?

15^th April 2013

 

“If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution.”

Oh I do love a good quote, if you read my blog you’ll already know that, quotes and affirmations have helped me a great deal over the years, to think I can be so inspired by one sentence is phenomenal. I love the wisdom of people and how they get me to think about something with just a few words.

And the quote at the top of this page is so true, because if you sit with a huge bowl of crisps because you’ve got a problem and eating them is distracting you for a few minutes, by the time you get to the bottom of the bowl – whatever you’re trying to ignore is still there only now you’ve just eaten a large bowl of crisps and probably feel a bit sick too!

I used to do it all the time, you know how it goes, you go open the fridge to check the light still works and stare, gazing mindlessly into the abyss, now depending on how bad your problem is and where what mind frame of your diet you are in will depend on whether you close the door and walk away or grab something, eat it and return ten minutes later for a repeat performance!

So if you play the ‘what’s in the fridge’ game a lot, then it might be time to address why?  Cos I’m guessing hunger hasn’t got a fat lot to do with the reason!  Are you Bored? Lonely? Stressed? Unhappy? Nervous? Apprehensive? Excited? Tired?

Now I’m a foodie, I’m also an emotional eater, so learning the difference between the two eating behaviours for me is vital.  I love to eat, no seriously do you understand quite how much I love the whole experience of food, planning/shopping/cooking/preparing/eating/talking about it!  All of it, everything that goes into experiencing food makes me happy, and it’s a bit of a hobby.  However I know I can do all this and lead a realistic life which includes this pastime but doesn’t mean I have to gain weight because I eat constantly.  A stamp collector doesn’t spend 24 hours a day collecting stamps and I don’t have to spend my entire day eating food!

However the emotional eating side of it is harder to nail down and control, a great place to start is a journal, tracking everything you eat but also your reasons for doing so.  Asking yourself if you are emotionally eating is it helping you at all.  Writing it all down will help you remember your actions but also give you time to think about them too.

I believe for long term weight loss success, it’s important to realise that you are completely free to choose what food you eat, but if you want to be healthy and take care of yourself, then there has to be a level of ‘self care’ involved and you need to realise that each food decision you make has either a positive or negative effect on your health, and there is no right or wrong, good or bad.  The food you choose to eat sometimes might have an undesirable effect on your body but you like the taste some much you will choose to eat it anyway, and that’s ok if you’re doing it occasionally – if you’re choosing to eat that way all the time then you know it’s going to have a negative effect on your body which in turn will have a negative effect on your mood.

So how do you stop the emotional eating?  I don’t know lol, I still do it ;) just not as often, and when I’m doing it I’m aware of that fact.  Mostly though if I find myself emotionally eating, I face the problem!  I acknowledge the issue and feel the emotion, rather than trying to quash it down with a doughnut or two.  Some things are easier to sort than others, if I’m stressed - I’ll go for a walk to calm myself down, if I’m tired – I’ll go to bed, if I’m sad or a bit down – I’ll watch a comedy.  If I’m overwhelmed by the dump that is my house – I’ll make myself tidy it up!  And if it’s a bigger life issue then I’ll work out what needs to change – that’s the real scary one but it’s doable – honest. Xx

Yeah when I eat these days, 98% of the time it’s because I’ve thought about it, planned it and I’m hungry.  The other 2% I’m still working on.

 

 

Stress Free Sunday ahead....

14^th April 2013

Sometimes people are beautiful, not in looks, not in what they say, just in what they are. Markus Zusak

Well I had a stonking migraine come on yesterday afternoon and my mate informs me that it could be why I couldn’t sleep Wednesday night, apparently they start long before the head pain hits – well all I can say is they suck and I’m glad its gone now.

I did manage to cook yesterday though; I fancied chicken with apricots in some for

I wanted to cook with chicken and apricots and after searching for lots of ideas, and thinking maybe a Moroccan tagine, I ended up making a curry!  It was tasty though and easy which was what I needed yesterday, couldn’t be doing with lots of ingredients.  Here’s the recipe;

Apricot Chicken Curry

Serves: 4 people, 9pp each

1 tbsp vegetable oil (4pp)

200g onions, sliced

4 chicken breasts, diced (16pp) (I used leftover cooked chicken and threw in at end)

3 tbsp (45g) Balti Curry Paste (4pp)

300g chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp single cream (2pp)

150g dried apricots, chopped (8pp)

150ml water

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions for 2 minutes. Add the Balti Paste together with the chicken and fry for 3 minutes to seal the meat. Add the chopped tomatoes and dried apricots and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked (add water as and when to get the consistency you want). Finally add the cream and gently heat for a further 2 minutes.

Serve with rice (60g dried = 6pp) or I used half packet of microwave rice already flavoured.

Because of my head I had another early night and I woke up ravenous and wanting to eat the remaining sausages in the fridge that I’d bought for my lasagne earlier in the week, I was thinking sausage sandwich but as I started with it, it turned into this; 

I realised I didn’t need the bread at all it was the sausage I wanted plus onions and mushrooms, I even threw in courgette and spinach to give it a healthy edge.  A chicken oxo cube with some hot water was how I cooked the vegetables and the sausage went on George. 12pp and I couldn’t finish the last sausage.

So today has no plans at all, fabulous, the weathers not pleasant so I won’t be venturing very far but I will be enjoying my relaxing Sunday, off for papers first.

Have a super Sunday. x

 

 

Do you lie to yourself?

13^th April 2013

Maybe it’s time to start accepting yourself as you already are – maybe you’re already awesome!

Well I’ve caught up on my sleep, I may have only had 4 hours Thursday night but I’ve just had 13 hours to balance it out, yes I feel asleep at 4pm yesterday afternoon and got up at 5am this morning, I did wake a few times in between but mostly slept straight through ;)

I didn’t do the cooking I had planned, so will do that tomorrow now as I froze the chicken yesterday and will take it out today, it said ‘use by 12/4” so I thought it was for the best.  I cooked the other one in one of those Magi bags garlic and thyme and that was all I ate before falling asleep, had chicken sarnie for lunch and a bag of crisps – nice and easy.

I did watch ‘Secret Eaters’ on the tv though and oh dear, I can’t decide whether it’s actually scary or sad that people are so ‘unaware’ of their behaviour.  I know when I’m overeating because I do the shopping/cooking etc, I know how much I drink because I bin the empties!  I know when I look at the bottle of sweet chilli sauce my friend gave me about 6 weeks ago that I’m half way down the bottle which means I’ve used it not the ‘invisible magic sweet chilli fairies!”  I’ve just gone downstairs to make a cuppa and my chicken is legless ;0) which tells me someone ate 2 legs and I know as there’s only me and mom in the house, that’s likely to be me!  How can people be so unaware?

I do believe that every ‘body’ is different, I do believe we all work similarly but different so I’m open to the fact that not everyone burns calories in the same way, I see different speeds of weight loss and hear different stories when I talk to my members, but if you are struggling to lose weight then you have to be honest with yourself and that’s 100% honest!  If you haven’t done so – watch an episode of this programme, it’s interesting.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/secret-eaters/4od

They all are very similar so you only have to watch one to get the drift!

So why do we lie to ourselves?  Do we even realise we’re doing it?  I really don’t know but if you’re guilty of it, acknowledge it and in the words of Shakespeare, “To thine own self be true.”

Right I’m aware of the fact I don’t want to walk the dog and I let mom do it yesterday, so today I’m going to get my backside out there and do it despite the fact I’m comfy sat here ;0)

 

Plan - shop - cook - eat! Food, I love everything about it.

12^th April 2013

Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher.  Opray Winfrey

You’ve got to love the human body, I felt so tired yesterday morning, when I was getting all my stuff together in my bag to leave I almost put my cup of tea in there too!  Yet I went to bed at ten last night and I’ve been awake since 2am, wide awake, not tired, can’t got back to sleep so after an hour of lying there, I decided to get up and do something useful, I can always go back to bed later in the day if I get tired.

Despite being tired yesterday morning, I still prepared my lunch before leaving the house for work and I’m so glad I did because I ended up having it for lunch and dinner, was delicious, recipe below, I know if I hadn’t I would have probably ate junk when I got home on the night.

This week in my meetings we’ve looked at portion distortion and how easy it is to eat more without even thinking about it.  I hadn’t realised until my bestie pointed it out that since changing to square plates I’m eating less because they are smaller than my old white round plates.  Eating less and not even noticing, that’s the kind of diet I want I have to say, so if your dinner plates are on the large side maybe it’s time to consider downsizing them, same with your glasses, tall thin glasses are the way forward.

Someone suggested if you weigh and measure and ProPoint everything you eat then it doesn’t matter what size plate you eat it from, mmm think about it, psychologically you’ll be more satisfied if you’re plate looks fuller however much you’re eating.  However the other reason it’s good to downsize your plates is because I know none of us weighs, measures and ProPoints EVERY DAY, we all get the odd case of ‘sod it syndrome’ and when we do we just pile food on the plate, at least if those plates are smaller you’ll pile less without thinking about it, so you’re controlling your portions whether you’re ‘in the zone’ or not.  Food for thought there.

We were chatting yesterday morning in my meeting and my fabulous helpers reminded how much I’ve changed, I’m stood there saying how food is now this complete experience, it’s starts in my head with the planning, then moves to the supermarket for the browsing and shopping before coming back to the kitchen for the cooking and finally the sitting down at my dining table and eating, it’s a huge part of my life that makes me happy, where as once upon a time I used to cook everything on gas mark 9!  If the packet (yes everything was pre-packed for quickness) said 40 minutes at gas mark 5, I would cook it at 20 minutes on gas mark 9!  Speed was essential, minimal cooking time, minimal preparation time, just cook, eat, and move on!  And before that, before losing my weight and becoming a leader I was probably even worse, because I was rushing, eating and not even tasting, so I ended up eating more and more and more to try and get some kind of satisfaction from something, I used to think I loved food but I didn’t – I just ate, sorry I mean I just OVERATE!  These days I taste everything and since getting the dining table the eating experience has improved even more.  I can’t recommend sitting up a table, focusing on and tasting your food enough for satisfaction and relaxation, even if I only sit down for 5 or 10 minutes, I still stop and pay attention, even manage a bit of conversation with mom rather than sitting with it on our laps whilst watching television, yes a much more pleasurable experience.

So today once my work is done, I’m creating in the kitchen I think, I have 2 whole chickens and I’m going to cook scrumptiousness, thinking chicken and rice casserole maybe, had contemplated slow cooker but changed my mind, perhaps a curry of some sort.  No rush to decide, planning is all part of the pleasure.

Enjoy you’re day, the weekends on its way, and try this recipe it was delicious;

Chorizo & Cheese Mash, served 3 at 10pp each

 

600g potatoes per person (12pp)

Splash skimmed milk (1pp)

100g cheese (11pp)

50g chorizo sausage chopped (4pp)

5 spring onion diced

150g mushrooms sliced

1 diced yellow pepper

10g sun dried tomato chopped

1 tbsp of garlic salt

10g parmesan

Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until cooked & mash with half the cheese and a splash of milk.

Meanwhile fry chorizo together with spring onions, pepper, sundried tomato and mushrooms.

Put the mash in a dish and top with chorizo, onions, mushrooms and remaining cheese & parmesan, then grill till brown & serve.

 

Always Eat Gorgeous - you're worth it.

I feel the NEED, the NEED to FEED!

11^th April 2013

 

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou

 

So yesterday for my breakfast I had a 3pp slice of toast, a dry fried egg 2pp and baked beans 2pp.  The beans were from one of those snack pots on offer in Asda, I’d planned to have the pot but as I was putting it out, I realised I didn’t need them all.  As always I posted a photo on my Facebook page and one of the comments I got was “I admire how u only have 1 toast Bev I NEED 2”, mmm, this made me think about the word “NEED” and about that sentence, ‘need’ or ‘want’ or just plain habit.  Could I have eaten two slices of toast with 2 eggs and all the beans – hell yeah of course I could, did I want to, not yesterday no!  Does Rachel really need 2 slices of toast for breakfast?  It depends on why she needs them I suppose, we eat for two reasons mainly to give us the energy we need to get us through the day and to satisfy us emotionally because food is pleasurable.  So I know a lot of people who would have two slices of bread for breakfast and be fine till lunchtime, or two weetabix, 30g porridge and a banana, the list goes on and all of those breakfasts are under 5pp.  My breakfast was 7pp so I’m obviously having more food which means more energy so from a ‘getting me through the morning’ point of view, my breakfast was more than enough.  Habit, it all boils down to habit, my 1 slices of multigrain taste the difference was the same weight and ProPoints as 2 slices of Weight Watcher bread, some people just like to see two slices on their plate – neither is right or wrong, it’s personal preference.  I eat again at 12ish most days so it’s only 4 hours to get through, I don’t need lots of food to keep me going.  So today in addition to ditching the guilt and enjoying everything you eat, ask yourself how much do you really NEED, if you listen honestly to the reply, it’s probably not as much as you think.

 

On my way to work I got a little carried away in the cheese department of Asda, Extra Special Spanish Manchego 5pp for a 40g serving – ouch!  It’ll be okay though if I use it sparingly, I ended up using parmesan in my recipe instead, not because of the ProPoints but because the flavour of the Manchego wasn’t strong enough.

 

When I got home at lunchtime I got creative in the kitchen and decided to cook a really super dooper lasagne, it all started off with some veal meatballs I’d bought reduced in Waitrose and some fresh lasagne sheets that where getting close to their sell by date.

 

Well I went a little crazy and used lots of cheese and posh Spanish sausages and by the time I’d got it in the oven I was sure it was going to eat away at the majority of my daily allowance, I’d also bought tear and share garlic bread from Asda to really go the whole hog.  So you can imagine I was amazed to find this meal worked out at 12pp for the plateful and it was delicious.  Below is the recipe, of course you can swap and change anything to suit your own tastebuds or to use what you have in your fridge.

 

 

Veal meatball & sausage lasagne

67pp total, I served 8 portions at 8pp each.

300g Veal meatballs (Waitrose) 17pp  (I’m guessing any meatballs will do these were reduced)

3 debbie & andrew’s Sicilian sausages 13pp (from Asda but again any good sausage would do I’m sure)

300g fresh lasagne sheets 13pp

250g ricotta 9pp

1 egg 2pp

100g mozzarella 7pp

20g parmesan 2pp

Mushrooms

Samphire (it’s a coastal vegetable from Asda) you could use spinach

2 tins tomatoes (I used posh Italian ones from sainsbury’s 1 red / 1 yellow)

Jar Ragu sauce tomato & sweet pepper 4pp (on offer in Asda £1)

 

Mix tomatoes & sauce together, put a layer on bottom of dish, with 4 sheets of pasta on top, then put meatballs and remove sausage from skins and make balls out of those too and space them out between the meatballs.  Pour a little more sauce on these.  Layer another 4 lasagne sheets, slice mushrooms on top and add packet of Samphire, put remaining sauce on and dot half of the mozzarella evenly over the top.   Put last 4 lasagne sheets on top.

 

Mix ricotta with egg, and pour over lasagne, dot remaining mozzarella on top and sprinkle with parmesan.

 

Cover in foil and bake for 20 minutes on gas mark 5, then remove foil and bake for a further 30 mins or until cooked.

 

I think I’ve remembered to include everything I did; I was making it up as I went along.

 

Right I’ve got a few things to do before I’m ready for work so have a fabulous day, it’s almost the weekend.

 

Eat Gorgeous, BeYouTiful and listen to your bodies true needs.

 

YOU ate what! NO, that's bad....... Is it really?

10^th April 2013

If you’re going to regret it – don’t do it!

That was the best piece of advice I’ve ever been given, it was said to me when I was 18 by a friends mom, she was talking about sex but I’ve used that motto in every aspect of my life ever since and it’s served me well.

I see so much guilt in my work and it saddens me, as guilt is such a negative emotion which ultimately leads to a vicious cycle of eating/starving, good foods/bad foods.

I often hear statements like, “I was so bad at the weekend and I’ve been trying to be good ever since”, or “This isn’t going to be good, I had ______ (chocolate or MacDonalds or fill the gap with what you consider to be ‘bad’ food”

All this guilt and pressure to eat ‘good’ foods take away the pleasure of our eating experience and eating is one of the great things in life that we have to do!  Carrots = good, chocolate = bad – who decided that?  Heck I remember times in the past when I’ve felt guilty for having a glass of pure orange juice because it isn’t the ‘whole’ fruit and there are calories in it – I’m so glad my brain doesn’t work that way now and I realise I can eat/drink anything I want to, as long as I find a balance and I’m healthy.

It’s way to easy to get obsessive about it all and this together with constantly feeling guilty will ultimately lead to ‘sod it’ syndrome because you’ll have been craving the ‘bad’ stuff for so long, then you’ll either have a binge or fall off your weight loss wagon completely.

Is your idea of a balanced diet trying to eat ‘good’ after you’ve eaten ‘bad’, if you’re nodding it’s time to change.  Because food isn’t morally good or bad, food isn’t sinful, a doughnut does not conspire to make you fat and a carrot will never knight you!  Ignore foods that have ‘guilt-free’ written on them as all food should be eaten ‘guilt-free’!

I have a weight problem - actually it’s not a problem, a problem isn’t a nice thing and my enjoyment of food is a very nice thing, no I have a challenge to keep my weight at a healthy place because I really do like eating, I could easily overeat most days, or have an extra glass of wine because that’s how I’m wired and also because that’s how my environment is set up, it’s constantly trying to tempt me to have more.  The way I’ve learnt to control this challenge is by giving myself permission to eat/drink anything I fancy, to ensure that what I do eat/drink is delicious and of the highest quality I can afford and most importantly I’ve lost any guilt about eating or drinking because I reckon psychologically the guilt will do you much more damage than the ‘bad’ foods!

Don’t eat porridge because you think it’s a ‘good’ breakfast, eat it because you actually like the taste and it’s likely to keep you satisfied for longer than a bowl of sugar puffs plus the nutritional benefits on your body will be superior.  Don’t eat low calorie bread because it’s a ‘good’ choice, if you want to opt for low calorie bread do it because that works for you, it’s saving you from ProPointing your bread or because it means you can have 4 slices instead of 2 slices of another bread so it looks more on your plate.  When you choose what to eat lose the question “is this good or bad?”, think of a better question to ask such as, “What do I fancy to eat?” or “What will I enjoy eating today?”, or “What food will give me some energy today as I need it?”

Stressing yourself out about your weight loss, feeling guilty about the foods you eat, punishing yourself with a day of zero soup to counteract the KFC you ate is totally counterproductive, you’re more like to find that stress will ultimately cause you to gain weight not lose it.

So today, let’s ditch the guilt and enjoy everything you eat, Eat Gorgeous don’t Eat Guilty. 

Have a good one. xx

 

Holding your breathe - you have to let go eventually!

9^th April 2013

 

The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.

 

So you are what you eat so I must be delicious :) seriously though I don’t eat anything I don’t fancy just because I should and I eat what some would consider strange concoctions or odd food choices for the time of day but do you know what it works for me.  As we’re all different how I eat wouldn’t suit how others necessarily eat, although I think a few could learn from my approach to food.

 

I eat with passion, I see food as a pleasure and not as the energy, I don’t battle with it anymore I embrace mealtimes rather than dreading them.  HOW did this happen, well I started to listen to my body and trust my mind.  Yesterday consisted of;

 

Breakfast – slice of toast (3pp) with ½ tin tuna and low fat mayo (3pp)

Lunch – left over gnocchi (12pp recipe below) with olive bread (4pp)

Dinner – 50g clotted cream ice cream (3pp) Walkers ready salted crisps (4pp)

Snack – crust (3pp) spread & ketchup (2pp)

Glass of wine – 6pp

Total 40pp

 

Another day might look a whole lot healthier because that’s the way I’ve wanted to eat that day.  That’s because now I find when I eat what I fancy my body naturally balances itself out with what it needs, I still use the ProPoints as a way of seeing if that’s true but as you can see 40pp isn’t bad for a day when I chose to eat crisps and ice cream.  I’ve also realised I don’t need a huge amount to be satisfied but I do need to be eating the foods I adore.  This way of eating doesn’t mean I binge on any old rubbish, because remember I’m a Happy Owl which means taking care of myself is a priority!

 

For example bread, if I eat low calorie bread I want more because I’m not satisfied where as if I eat good wholesome wholemeal stuff I am, I just need to be aware of the fact I don’t need to eat as many slices, I now find one slice of toast is plenty it’s no different to 2 slices of low calorie bread. 

Both of these were 6pp for 100g, it’s all down to personal preference, I just prefer the none diet versions, but as I said at the beginning of my blog we’re all different and it’s finding a way that works for you, if having low fat versions or having someone else work the ProPoints out for you is working – great, it’s doing what works that matters.

 

I couldn’t stay on a healthy eating plan if it didn’t include the foods I adore or if I couldn’t include the foods I fancy or crave now and again, for example ice cream, I haven’t had ice cream for months I just fancied it and I probably won’t have it again for a good while, but I could because that’s how my eating plan works.  We need to eat certain foods for no other reason than because we adore them, for you that might be chocolate, it might be crusty white bread, whatever – it doesn’t matter if it has no nutritional value to your body at all, it will I’m sure have a great deal of value to your mind, your emotional state and your taste buds!  So if you’re trying to ‘resist’ your favourite foods – stop it because it’s highly unlikely to last and if it does it’s not much fun is it?

 

Resisting temptation, mmm not easy is it, it’s a bit like holding your breathe, you can only do it for so long!  And when you let go oh it feels so good initially doesn’t it then you’re back to how you used to be, now if I was talking about breathing still it wouldn’t be a problem but if you’re talking about how you ate when you were gaining weight that’s not so much fun because you end up with the weight gain and everything that goes with it. 

 

So what are your EatGorgeous happy foods, what would make your diet complete if it was included – think about it, then work out how to include those foods.

 

Here’s the recipe I mentioned;

#EatGorgeous Gnocchi St Agur Scrumptiousness (59pp, 12pp each total, serves 5 easily)

 

1 x 400g packet fresh Gnocchi 20pp

½ bag spinach

50g chorizo 4pp

20g Pine nuts 4pp

15g (tablespoon) parmesan cheese 2pp

4 or 5 Spring onions

cherry tomatoes

150g pack st agur cheese 15pp

Tablespoon Parmesan 2pp

 

White sauce – 12pp total

450ml skimmed milk

40g plain flour

40g low fat spread

 

 

Fry chorizo and spring onions for a few minutes until the juice / fat of chorizo has got into the onions. Remove from heat.

 

Make white sauce by putting all ingredients into a saucepan, place over medium high heat and cook; stirring all the time, it will become a smooth sauce.  When sauce thickens, add a few chunks of the cheese, let it melt a bit then take off heat.

 

Get cooking dish and place spinach in bottom them top with gnocchi, cherry tomatoes and remaining cheese broken into lumps, pour white sauce over the top then top with spring onions & chorizo finally sprinkle pine nuts and parmesan on the top then pop in oven on medium high for about 20 minutes or until it looks cooked.

 

It was delicious, although I’m not sure about gnocchi, I’ve been told home made is much better so that is my next task to make my own from scratch to see if it’s better.

 

Have a BeYouTiful day. xx