If you want to feel great and full of energy then you need to eat foods that are lively and full of goodness. There are many foods on the market that may not necessarily be ‘unhealthy’ for you but they aren’t healthy either. If you think you eat pretty well then take step back and analyze how much packaged foods are in your pantry of fridge. Again, you may think you are doing well with not having chocolate biscuits in the house but do you live on other dead foods such as rice crackers, corn flakes, 2 min noodles, white flour crackers, some muesli bars etc. The reason I call them ‘dead food’ is that they have been under heating processes which kills off many food enzymes and nutrients (just like what happens if you leave vegetables in a boiling pot of water for too long). Dead foods usually lack the vitamins and minerals our body needs per day thus, many of us are falling short of meeting our Daily Recommended Intakes. Everyday your body needs a certain amount of nutrients coming in to support metabolic processes in the body; we get this from our food. If we don’t get this from our food our body retrieves it from our stores and thus slowly deficiencies can occur. For example if you don’t have enough calcium in the blood stream, your body will take it from the bones therefore deteriorating your bone health.
Moral of the story….eat foods that are full of nutrients and life, everything you eat has a consequence, make it a positive one.

It’s that time of year again when the weather is getting warmer, the clothing layers are decreasing and the end of year functions are on the rise. Lifespark has a few tips on how to get yourself looking great for these occasions and a guide on how to prevent throwing your ‘Get ready for Summer’ routine out the window!

Firstly, start early if you have an event coming up, don’t leave getting in shape to the last minute. Depending on your goals, give yourself at least 8 weeks to get into a healthy exercise and eating routine, last minute diets are not good for the body and you are likely to put that weight back on after the event.
Write your goals down and how you will achieve them. Have it somewhere visible like on the kitchen door, pantry cupboard, on your dressing mirror or anywhere you will see it often so it is always in the front of your mind. Too often we say we will do things but without the constant reminder, motivation can go astray- make it a reality!

Having a rise in the social life shouldn’t be blamed for any weight gain. Yes it can make losing weight a little harder but at the end of the day you are in control of your OWN ACTIONS! Having the right action plan can help.

Tips for the jolly season:
1.       Free alcohol at functions does not mean drink excessively.  Alcohol is high in calories and is usually the main culprit for weight gain over this season. 1 glass of wine equates to around 130 calories- about a 30min walk per glass.
a.       Drive to the functions. If you do want to have a few, make an effort to count the drinks, have water in between them , exercise the day of and the next day to burn off excess calories.
2.       Watch your food intake; you will eat again. You do not need to scoff everything just because it is free or available.  If you do over eat, make an effort with exercise and food the next day. McDonalds will not help the situation.
3.       Have a plan of attack- think about what could possible jeopardize your weight loss routine and have a plan for it. For example if you are foodie, then avoid standing next to the nibbles table. Involve yourself in conversation and don’t think about it. Have some healthy snacks before you go so you are not hungry.

Meal ideas for the day after:
Breakfast:
Mixed fruit salad with low fat yoghurt sprinkled with bran flakes and mixed seeds.  Or a vegetable packed omlette.
Lunch:
Large mixed green salad with a variety of your favourite raw veges, piece of wholegrain toast and a protein source such as a boiled egg, lite cottage cheese, tin of tuna/ salmon, chicken, etc.
Dinner:
Keep it light with half your plate being low starch vegetables, watch your portion size with carbohydrates and meat. Go for something like grilled salmon with a rocket and pear salad and small kumara or potato. See more recipes on the website.
PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

If you need help with accountability or motivation give Lifespark a call today and we can help with a tailored food plan to suit your goals and timeframe so that you can look great and maintain it.

1.   Write down the goals you want to achieve and stick them somewhere that is always in your sight like in the bathroom or on the fridge. Having your goals always in front of you keeps you motivated; it also means your friends/family will be more supportive in helping you achieve your goals. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

2.      List your strengths or things you do well already and congratulate yourself on that. Then list your weaknesses or aspects that are or may be a barrier to achieving your goals. Then come up with strategies to overcome these barriers. Identifying these will help you have a clearer path to achieving your goals.

3.      If you haven’t already- start an exercise routine and keep to it. Write it in your diary when you can schedule it in during your day and week, that way you have a plan and plans help you succeed.  If you haven’t exercised in a while, don’t panic, just start small with something you enjoy like walking, then build up the intensity or duration.

• If you are doing regular exercise maybe just change up the routine and try new pieces of equipment or increase the intensity or duration of your workouts to get desired goals.

4.      Get your 5-7+ per day! Healthy eating starts with fruit and vegetables. Make this your core focus if you don’t do this consistently already. 2-3 pieces of fruit and 3-4 serves of a variety of vegetables. Remember ½ cup steamed veges = one serve or 1 cup salad= one serve.

5.      Drink at least 2L of water, more if you are exercising. If you don’t drink enough water to flush the toxins out of your system, your body will use the water from the colon (lower bowel) to reuse around the body (this just re-circulates the toxins the body has tried to extract).

6.      Watch your portion size and make sure you are getting balance of nutrients. ½ plate vegetables, ¼ plate protein source and ¼ plate carbohydrate source.

7.      Watch your saturated fat intake- reduce takeaways and start cooking! Use trim milk, cut fat off meat and skin off chicken and watch cheese intake.

8.      Get enough sleep! Very important for rejuvenation of the body- let it rest and repair and you will see the benefits. Try for 8 hours of quality sleep.

9.      Watch the alcohol or little ‘extras’. Every glass of wine is 15mins extra on the treadmill running. Or a chocolate muffin is 12mins intense boxing/ uphill cycling.

10.  Make healthy living easy and fun! Time to look after yourself.

The CLM Health&Fitness 8 week challenge kicked off on the 2nd August with the challengers getting the Brett Elliot’s Herbal Slim kit which is a compilation of specific herbs to increase metabolic rate and detoxify the body. The challengers also listened to myself on how we need to irradicate processed or ‘dead’ foods and get back to our dietary basics. Good fats, complex carbohydrates and quality proteins. This will be the hardest aspect for the challengers, no diet just good food. Make the effort and plan your quality meals and you will feel fantastic!

Stay up to date on how the challengers are going.        CLM 8 Week Challenge Mt Wellington

I like to be creative with all my meals, it is always fun to try something new every day to keep breakfast or lunch fun, interesting and of course healthy!

Savoury

Poached, fried, scrambled or eggs on top of wholegrain toast with steamed spinach and sliced tomato

Eggs on top of wholegrain toast with smear of lite cream cheese and avocado on grain toast.

Lite cottage cheese with sliced tomato on toast

Baked beans on toast with sprinkle of Edam or mozzarella cheese

Lite cream cheese with tin of salmon or smoked salmon, try tomato too on top.

Breakfast Burrito- You can use any tortilla but Mountain Bread is very nice for a low calorie wrap. Slice tomato and place in centre and/or spinach. Then add scrambled eggs on top. Fold each side up so ingredients are enclosed- best to use knife and fork to eat this.

Sweet

Honey and peanut butter with sliced banana

Any fruit e.g. sliced banana or tinned peaches or defrosted berries with few tablespoons of yoghurt(I love plain yoghurt) on top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and pumpkin seeds

Honey, lite ricotta cheese and tinned peaches or grated apple (steamed apple goes very nicely)

Breakfast burrito- Mountain bread wrap with honey smeared over it with sliced apple and banana (can use other fruits) placed on one side with 3Tblsp yoghurt and 1Tbslp seed mix (pumpkin, sunflower and linseed) on top. Carefully role the wrap so all ingredients are enclosed. Best to use a knife and fork to eat this.
Can also use a wholegrain pita bread to add all ingredients into.

French toast- You can still use wholegrain toast for this. Whisk two eggs and little milk together then dip bread into the mixture until well soaked. Place on hot pan and grill each side for about 2mins. At the same time grill banana. Smear abit of honey over toast and grilled banana. You can make this a savoury option with adding a Tuscan seasoning to the egg mixture and then grilling tomatoes or mushrooms with the bread.