Category: Weight to go (Page 1 of 4)

Ten Day Turnaround – Why so successful?

26th November 2015 / amanda / 0 Comments

What is it? Who’s it for? Why is it so successful? Read on for the no-nonsense answers.

What is it?

Online no-measuring no-counting weight loss programme (Facebook or via email) with LOTS of frills and strings attached;

The strings? You have to follow the rules! There are ten!

The frills? You will have to put up with more energy, not being hungry, sleeping better and a serious lack of bloating

Ten rules. Ten compulsory workouts for EVERY level of fitness (yes, there are even walking workouts so if you can walk you have NO excuse!). Ten motivational texts or emails. Optional (but highly recommended) secret Facebook group.

Suitable for carnivores, herbivores (?), …. vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians …

Compatible with any other weight loss plan

Who’s it for?

It’s for those who have lots and lots of weight to lose and don’t know where to start …. or who just want to lose a pound and feel less bloated. The workout choices range from tough to easy (for those new to exercise) to purely walking (for those who seriously struggle).

It’s for anyone frustrated at being stuck on a weight loss plateau.

It’s for anyone who’s tried all the diets under the sun, lost the plot, ended up heavier than before and is currently in a ‘Nothing-works’ mindset. Try this. You’ll find out where you’ve gone wrong AND why you’re heavier now than previously.

It’s for those who generally eat healthily already but could do with cleaning things up a bit and maybe getting back into an exercise routine.

Why is it so successful?

Constant measuring and counting leads to food obsessions and takes the joy out of eating. No measuring. No counting.

There is often ‘dread’ at the beginning of a diet – the dread of giving up this and giving up that and having to force down meals with foods you don’t particularly like! There is no ‘dread’ on the Ten Day Turnaround plan. There are some challenges, yes – but within a ‘group’ these can be fun and rewarding, too. You don’t eat anything you don’t like – and anybody can avoid anything ‘just for ten days’, right? (Note use of ‘avoid’, not ‘give up’!!)

Compatible with any other weight loss plan, many success stories have come from the knowledge that comes with the Ten Day Turnaround plan – explaining WHY a certain diet has come to a standstill or why some ‘pounds’ just never seem to shift …

It is ONLY ten days. Not four weeks, not three months, not a lifetime membership. EVERYONE can do ten days – and there’s only ONE WEEKEND to get through!

Last but not least, Ten Day Turnaround success has come from the almost-instant noticeable changes – in energy levels, in weight loss and, most of all, from the consistent clinking of pennies dropping. I’d love to count the number of ‘OMG really?’ and ‘Ahaaaaaa!’ posts as people are suddenly learning the simplest tweaks they can make to their eating and exercise – with life-changing consequences.

And the best sign of success?

Not just the comments and testimonials – but the fact that people keep coming back. Because the Ten Day Turnaround is not about reaching your lifetime goal in ten days! It’s about knowledge – and support. It’s about me being that little voice in your head saying ‘STEP AWAY FROM THE FRIDGE’, it’s about encouragement from group members (optional but recommended), it’s about trying new things. And it’s there for you to come back to again and again – to continue your weight loss journey – or to get you back on track – or to kick those few pounds in time for that party/wedding/holiday.

Every weight loss journey tends to begin because you’re unhappy with how you look, but the journey is really more about how you feel. The Ten Day Turnaround will help you ‘feel’ GREAT!

For more information or to sign up for the next one … email amanda@youchoosefitness.co.uk or find me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/youchoosefitness/

Please PLEASE feel free to comment below if you’ve completed a Ten Day Turnaround. Let us know what you thought/how you got on.

LOSE WEIGHT AT THE SUPERMARKET – PART 2

6th November 2015 / amanda / 0 Comments

Hello – and thank you for coming back for more. I hope you found something in Part 1 that might at the very least make you stop and think for a few seconds before reaching for the easiest supermarket option – even if ultimately you choose not to change anything! You always have a choice and there’s no one size that fits all, but we all know the saying ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got.’ Perhaps I can urge you to ditch the habit of a lifetime – even for a couple of weeks – and see what happens? Outside the supermarket, the biggest ever key to successful weight loss is variety and change – so why not inside, too?

Remember that warning about being a bit blunt? Erm …. a few of the points set out below are particular bugbears of mine – traps that people have been tricked into via clever marketing. Excuse the occasional hint of a rant.

Happy shopping!

• If you can’t pronounce the ingredients on the back of a jar or packet, put it back on the shelf.

• The closer the words ‘sugar’ or ‘syrup’ are to the top of the ingredients list, the greater the sugar content. Have you checked where it is on that ‘supposedly’ fabulously healthy, fibre-filled cereal you’ve been breakfasting on for years – like Weetabix, for example? And you wonder why you’re hungry a couple of hours later?

• Diet sodas. Seriously? You want to lose weight but you’re still buying these? Time to reassess your goals. Let’s be honest. You’re obviously not THAT committed to losing weight. Does YOUR weight loss company promote these as acceptable drinks? Calorie-free? Great option with a meal? Hmmm. I wonder why these companies are still in business. Let’s think about THAT for a moment. Moving on to the next aisle …

• Beware celebrity brands. They’re not always best – and certainly not the best for your wallet. More expensive does not mean better – not when you’re in the supermarket. If you’re buying sauce in a jar, for example (because this blog is not about judging cooking skills!), read the ingredients. Some of the celebrity brands are packed with salt and sugar – compared to supermarket brands. Do your research. Your body will thank you.

• There is absolutely no reason – EVER – to walk down the Frozen Meals aisle. If you can’t cook, eat raw food. No problem! Don’t have time to cook? Oh! You work 24/7? You NEVER have time off? Cook up a batch of YOUR meals (including your rice or whatever) and freeze in portions. Frozen meals should only ever be frozen by YOU. End of.

• Remember that fresh food is stacked with the shortest shelf-life items at the front – because naturally these are the ones they want to sell quickly. Delve a little deeper and find the longer shelf-life.

• Speaking of shelf-life … it’s important to know the difference between BEST BEFORE dates and USE BY dates. BEST BEFORE is about quality. The products are perfectly fine to use after these dates. They just won’t be at their absolute best. A USE BY date is not one to be ignored. This date is for safety reasons. Even if a product looks or smells fine, you should not be tempted to eat it after its USE BY date.

• If perchance you’ve left your shopping list at home but absolutely need to get the essentials, enter the supermarket and work your way around the outside. You’ll find the fruits, veggies, meat, fish and dairy generally line the outer areas of most well-stocked supermarkets. The further in you travel, the more junk food you’ll find, so for quick ‘essential’ shops, stick to the edges. Those inner stocks are designed for impulse-buying and will be your downfall.

And there you have it. Be prepared and let your shopping do some of the work for you!!

Do PLEASE comment if any of the above has helped you in any way. Feedback is always welcome (and don’t forget YOUR tips for successful supermarket shopping).

I will say cheerio, good luck with your weight loss journey (and your shopping, of course) – and I’ll leave you with this:

Foods for thought – by Amanda Hyatt

Tomatoes and onions and carrots and yams,
Oysters and artichokes, mussels and clams,
Salmon and spinach and lemons and lime,
Rosemary, pumpkin seeds, sprigs of fresh thyme,
Coconut flour, rye crackers and, best-of-all,
Ripe avocados – to lower cholesterol,
Full-fat Greek yoghurt and almonds galore,
Bananas, nut butters, trail mixes and more,
Such fun, packing trolleys with all that is healthy,
There’s everything here – and not just for the wealthy,
Good food’s changed my life. Now, I must get some fish,
(Did I mention I’ve got a new man? What a dish!)

***

Fish fingers and nuggets, fried deeply in oil,
With potatoes and peas – turned to mush as they boil,
Served with Camembert (battered) and mountains of chips,
And crisps and roast peanuts and crackers and dips,
And chocolate and chocolate and chocolate and sweets,
And puddings and cream cakes and all sorts of treats,
And packets of soups and tinned this and tinned that,
Well, who the hell cares if I’m going to get fat?
He left me, the weasel, went off with some tart,
So why should I bother with food for my heart?
It’s already broken. I’m not in the mood
To think about healthy, nutrition-packed food!

The message here, Ladies – Have you already guessed?
Do NOT do the shopping when feeling depressed!
It’s bad for the heart and not good for the figure
And worse – ALL your problems will only get BIGGER!

LOSE WEIGHT AT THE SUPERMARKET – PART 1

4th November 2015 / amanda / 0 Comments

Because without a single doubt both weight gain and weight loss start at the supermarket. Forget the baby steps. Get your shopping right and you will already be taking a giant leap towards your goal. This cannot be stressed enough. I struggled with my weight for years (still have my moments!!), did the big-weight-loss-company thing, even became a leader for one of them! I started to delve deeper into the whys and wherefores of losing weight so I could pass on something a little more modern and a little less ‘standardised’ to my class members – and only THEN did the lightbulbs start burning! I resigned as leader (the last straw was when the weekly magazine advertised a fried white bread jam sandwich as a suitable snack!!! Yes! Really!), I made some informed changes and I reached the goal weight I’d been chasing for years! Go figure!

This is not the place for the science. That’s a whole other blog. I am simply here to help and I think I can make your weight loss journey a little easier if you keep the following tips in mind the next time you’re browsing around the supermarket aisles (Tip 1: Never ‘browse’ in a supermarket).

Warning: If you’re serious about your weight loss you won’t mind me being VERY blunt in places, will you?

Here we go, then:

• If you can afford the charge to have your shopping delivered you will already be avoiding countless supermarket tricks to lure you in and buy lots of food you might ‘think’ you need – but you don’t! Make a list and shop online.

• The key to successful shopping is to have meals planned and to WRITE THAT LIST! After that, all you need to do is put blinkers on and STICK TO YOUR LIST! Nothing more, nothing less.

• Never shop when you’re hungry – or when you’re craving ‘treats’ – and try to avoid your main shop when you’re stressed, sad or grumpy. Mood is crucial to shopping success.

• The more fresh food that’s in your trolley the better your shop. If tins and packets outnumber the proteins, fruit and veg, it’s time to reassess your meal plan.

• More vegetables than fruit (with the exception of berries – feel free to indulge). It’s easy to fall into the trap that you can eat loads of fruit because it’s healthy. Yes, it’s healthier than other options, but in terms of weight loss it is still full of sugar. Less processed, perhaps, but sugar is sugar is sugar.

• Put the blinkers on when you see the 2-for-1 offers and/or BOGOFs. If budget comes before health, we’ve got a problem! Remember that the supermarket offers are not there to help you. Really! They’re not! They’re there to help the supermarket! Do NOT be a victim! There are exceptions (naturally) – but beware. If it’s fresh food and you’re sure you’re going to be able to eat it, fine. If it’s a ‘treat’, do you really want two of them in the house? How is that going to help you? And before you put them in the trolley, do the maths. Calculators at the ready (if your mental maths abilities aren’t up to scratch). You might find that buying two of those products separately actually costs less than the ‘offer’. Sad, but true.

• When you’re moving down the aisles, remember to look up and look down! The products that are easiest to reach are the ones they want you to buy – and are often the least desirable in terms of weight loss. Shop from top and bottom shelves.

• Avoid branded weight loss products and anything that says FAT FREE. There’s a reason these companies are all still in business!!! This is quite possibly the most significant change you could make to your shopping – and the most beneficial in terms of your weight loss. Branded weight loss products are frequently more expensive than other similar products – and are often loaded with hidden ingredients (‘fat’ is what gives these products flavour and has to be replaced with something to make them palatable). Since these products are lacking in vital ingredients that serve a real purpose in our diets, you will also find you eat more of them because they are not nutritionally balanced and don’t fill you up. Time to challenge the brain-washing and start eating food that hasn’t been tampered with!

• Don’t be fooled by seemingly healthy options like ‘Reduced sugar’ or ‘No added sugar’! Reduced from what? 6 teaspoons instead of 7? Is that what you consider healthier? And pause a moment to think what ‘no added sugar’ really means. Not added to what? The original version of this product? The one that already has 7 teaspoons in? Ah! No need to ‘add’ any, then.

That’s all for today. More tomorrow. In all honesty, I hope you’ve read this and have been able to say ‘I do all that already!’ Perfect. You’ve got this shopping-thing sorted and given yourself the greatest chance of success. Weight loss is not just about following rules. It’s about learning – all the time. If there’s anything here that’s new to you then that’s brilliant news, too. I hope it helps. Look out for Part II. Till then, stay focussed, shop smart and keep questioning!

Five Excuses and It – The story of weight gain

29th June 2015 / amanda / 0 Comments

Chapter X

Admit it! How many times have you looked at the scales, thrown a tantrum and headed straight for the biscuit tin screaming ‘What’s the point? It’s not working!’?

I’d be a liar if I said I’d never done that. However, that was before I ‘needed’ to lose weight. In those days my goal was to ‘lose a few pounds’ or ‘tone up a bit’. What can I say? Fluffy goals will only be backed up by fluffy thoughts. ‘A few pounds’ is not a goal. ‘A bit’ is not a measurement. And ‘it’ can never ever EVER be blamed for your lack of success. Once you’ve got that straight, you’ll already have increased your weight loss chances.

So before you lay all that blame on ‘it’ …

1. Did you set yourself up with a number on the scales? (i.e. 3 lbs, 7 lbs, 1 ½ stone)
2. Did you set yourself a deadline between 2 and 6 weeks? Your goal must be achievable within this time scale. Remember, you can always set another goal afterwards but setting a 6-month goal is, for me, too demoralising. Do it in steps!
3. What plan are you following? Are you sure the balance of food is perfect – between complex carbs, proteins and fats? Are you working this out yourself or do you ‘know’?
4. Have you been following the same plan for X weeks?
5. Have you lost weight before and/or have you regained weight formerly lost and/or how much weight have you lost to date?

Now ……. things are not going to plan so you are blaming ‘it’. This tells me a number of things:

1. You have not stopped to think what ‘it’ is. ‘It’ is such a wonderful, easy scapegoat, eh?
2. You have not truly answered the question ‘How much do you want this?’ – otherwise you’d be approaching this from a different angle, rather than immediately laying the blame on ‘it’!
3. How much DO you want this?
4. You can’t understand why you’ve suddenly gained some weight (or plateau-d) since you’ve been doing exactly the same as before? I rest my case!
5. You’re not actually truly committed to losing weight. You’re not prepared to put in the work. You want ‘it’ to do it for you, right? So much easier to blame ‘it’ instead of working out what you did or didn’t do to get you to this place.

The solution?

Easy-peasy. Let’s clear this up once and for all and you will nail this weight loss battle.

1. IT = YOU
2. ‘It’ didn’t get you to this place. ‘You’ did! (How much do you want this?)
3. Change ‘It isn’t working’ to ‘I need to change something’.
4. Change ‘It doesn’t work’ to ‘I need to change something’.
5. Change ‘Sod it! Where are the Hobnobs?’ to ‘ I need to phone my trainer and find out what I need to change!’

You know where I am.
amanda@youchoosefitness.co.uk

THE ULTIMATE 7 DAY MEAL PLAN

26th May 2015 / amanda / 0 Comments

It’s out. It’s ready and it’s waiting for you. For just £2.99 a complete 7-day ready-made, balanced, fabulously varied weight loss plan can be in your inbox. Then all you have to do is stick to it. IT’S JUST SEVEN DAYS. How hard can it be?

Well – not THAT hard. My testers, my husband and myself have all continued with the same plan for several weeks, it’s still working AND it’s getting easier and easier every week. Here’s what one of my testers had to say the other day:

‘Just to say Amanda Hyatt it’s the weekend of my daughters christening and thanks to you and almost 4 weeks on your amazing 7 day meal plan hubby and I are well over 2 stone lighter and a dress size or 2 smaller. It’s been the easiest and most enjoyable way to lose weight ever and has totally changed the way we look at food. X’

I have to say I am THRILLED with this plan – with the layout, the options and most of all the results. The plan caters for all ‘weights’ so you choose one of three calorie ranges and the rest is laid out for you. The shopping lists are done, the recipes are there, the pictures are colourful and reflect exactly what the meals look like (even when I cook them – which is a first!). Success, however, lies very much in the planning side of this programme. No ready meals on this menu. Everything is fresh and I warn you that for the first week it seems like a LOT of work (so plan your days and get the basics all done early!). We all agreed, however, that somehow by the time we got to a second week everything already seemed so much easier – perhaps because we were now familiar with the main recipes? If I was to give you a few tips – I would say, firstly, to plan at least 3 days in advance and check out any lunches that require cooking and prepare those the evening before (when making dinner) or while you’re making breakfast. This cuts out cooking in the middle of the day. The other thing I would say would be to bake both sets of protein bars and make up a few jellies right at the beginning of the week, so that’s all done and dusted, too. After that, it’s a breeze!

Yes, there’s room for options but really not many. You want this to work, then do what it says. You start playing around with options, you’re messing with the balance, with the calorie counts and you may well be disappointed at the end of the week. Logical, right? Of course, if you have any major issues, then let me know. We can always come up with an alternative somehow that’s going to work for YOU.

That’s it, really. Do email me with any questions at amanda@youchoosefitness.co.uk OR find the YCF 7 Day Meal Plan page on Facebook – specifically set up for this plan and everything related to it.

If you are interested in buying it, please email me or find me on Facebook. Payment can be via Paypal or directly into the You Choose Fitness business account.

Are you ready to get your weight loss journey off to a fantastic start …. OR to leap right off that weight loss plateau?

I will start my diet when the time is right!

9th March 2015 / amanda / 0 Comments

Ah yes … when the time is right. Tell me, when IS that exactly? Is there a perfect time? Well, perhaps, sometimes, occasionally, just by chance … something happens at ‘the’ perfect time – but meanwhile, just how much time are you wasting while waiting for yours? Read through this little story and you will realise just how pointless it is to sit and wait for that ‘perfect time’. It’s a brilliant eye opener and needs to be shared (all credit to Weight Watchers who use this regularly in meetings).

In reality, if you’ve got targets to hit and/or dreams to chase then the only time to start chasing them is right now. And when it comes to weight loss goals, the only perfect time there is is right now! Own up! How many times have you decided to diet (ugh – what a ghastly word!) – but no point starting Easter week – or before your birthday – or until after the weekend? Anything there ringing true? Let’s face it – if that’s the case then you don’t really REALLY want to lose weight, do you? Because you’re waiting for some ‘perfect time’ to come along – in which case you’d best go hide in a little bubble on another planet where there is no ‘reality’ – because there are only 365 days in a year, of which 104 are weekend days and one can’t diet at weekends, can one?? That leaves 261 days to diet. But weekends start on Friday, don’t they? Well, that’s another 52 days gone. Never mind – still another 209 days to lose weight – except for your wedding anniversary (God forbid you should ‘diet’ on your anniversary!!) – or Christmas and New Year! Impossible, right? And with parties etc. etc. Christmas and New Year basically last a month – and Easter takes up another week but hey, still 170 days to lose that target of a stone/2 stone/3 stone …
Oops! Hang on! Bank holiday coming up … best wait till that’s over, then … (another 8 days lost) … and I am sooooooooooooooooooo not going to diet while I’m on holiday (besides, hols only take up four weeks out of every year – that’s not much!) … (134 days left)!
PAHAHAHAHA You think I’m going to lose any weight when it’s ‘that time of the month?’ DON’T BE RIDICULOUS!!! And in case you haven’t added that up, ‘those’ days come to roughly 84!!!
Holy crap – only 50 days left!
Ten days of birthdays (at least) – between family and friends?
And Mother’s Day.
And Father’s Day.
And another 12 days to take into account Halloween, bonfire night, barbecues etc. – eeek!
26 days left.
But I go out AT LEAST 26 nights in a year! What? You think I don’t deserve a social life? I’ll start my diet at the perfect time – when there’s nothing coming up. Oh. Oops.
Yes! Think about that for mo. You’ve just come up with 365 perfectly plausible reasons to put off that diet.

Of course, it’s a slight exaggeration but it’s not massively far from the truth, is it? There really IS an excuse for every single day of the year so if you want to lose weight, quit waiting for a perfect time. It will never happen because you’re alive and ‘life’ happens and weight loss is not about sacrificing 365 days a year. It’s about dealing with them, coping when the going gets tough, living life and enjoying it and simply being the person you want to be.

So don’t put off your weight loss journey because something’s there, around the corner, waiting to sabotage your efforts. The only person who’s going to sabotage anything is YOU. Don’t be afraid. Don’t fear falling. The greatest champions fall. The difference between success and failure is not the number of times you fall but the speed at which you pick yourself back up and carry on. Life is supposed to get in the way. Don’t hide from it or try and push it away. Embrace it, deal with it, find ways around it, challenge it, live it.

The only perfect time to start a journey is RIGHT NOW.

Jump off the weight loss plateau

1st May 2014 / amanda / 0 Comments

I cannot count the number of times I come across men and women who are thoroughly committed to their weight loss journey, have been doing brilliantly and suddenly they are upset and demotivated as they hit the infamous ‘weight loss plateau’! I agree that it can be very demoralising to find that the numbers on those scales have suddenly ground to a halt for seemingly no reason – but time and again, when we get down to the nitty gritty there is ALWAYS a reason! Here are three common explanations for that ‘plateau’. Next time you hit one, look carefully and see if you can identify with any one of these …

1. You can’t understand why your weight is staying the same when you’ve done twice the amount of exercise as last week!

There are lots of reasons why this can affect the numbers on scales (and why – seriously – you should ALWAYS rely more on body measurement rather than scales, which are never a good indicator of weekly weight loss). Firstly, if you’ve been exercising frequently and have now increased it, you may just be building up wonderful lean muscle fibres – what we’re all aiming to do. Think of this as ‘toning’. Now, fat does NOT turn into muscle, but muscle weighs more than fat – so if this week you’ve lost half a pound but your exercise is now really kicking in and you’re consistently ‘toning’ (building muscle) – then yes, the scales are not going to tell you anything that looks ‘right’!! Body measurements, however, WILL!

Another possible reason is that if you’re new(er) to exercise it may be that when you’ve doubled your exercise time you’ve also doubled your water intake. Yes – everyone’s always yelling ‘drink drink’ blah blah but actually it’s too easy to drink TOO MUCH! The body cannot cope with an overload of water. You need to hydrate BEFORE your exercise and then simply top up – not drink an extra 2 litres per day! Water weighs heavily, too – so check your wee!! If it’s transparent, you’re drinking too much and this WILL affect numbers on scales. It should be very pale – but not see-through!!

Lastly, exercise increases metabolism and makes you hungry. Double check those portion sizes. Very VERY often, when you increase your exercise, your appetite increases too – and with it the portion sizes start expanding. Maybe you’ve squeezed in an extra snack, an extra portion of pasta (because you have, after all, just worked twice as hard!) … Tiny increases in a day don’t matter – but if those meals are increasing just a little bit every day, you’ll find that in a week you’ve probably eaten 2000 calories extra … calories that you haven’t actually burned off. Result = not much going to show on the scales J

2. My food is spot on. Everything is healthy. How come my weight loss has stopped?

It’s fantastic that everything is healthy but chances are that if you’re struggling with weight you’ve been eating a lot that’s ‘unhealthy’ – or simply ‘a lot’ for quite some time now. The switch to healthy food can be very empowering and can make you feel great about yourself – never mind your body loving you for it. Beware the ‘healthy’ demons, though. It is VERY common to think that if something is super healthy then you can eat twice as much! Fruit is extremely healthy and certainly a better choice than a packet of biscuits but it IS still full of sugar (albeit of a healthier kind) – so eating loads of fruit is going to affect your weight loss. The same goes for ‘traps’ like sugar-free jelly, for example. It might be sugar-free but no, you can’t eat buckets of it. It still has calories!! Ditto for fat-free yogurts (you shouldn’t be eating these anyway) or diet drinks (absolute no-no if you’re trying to lose weight) (in fact, an absolute no-no if you’re trying to stay human, but I’ll leave that for another day haha). In short, just because it’s super healthy doesn’t mean you can eat as much as you like. It’s all about balance.

3. I’m following a plan, I’ve stuck rigidly to it, I haven’t changed a thing and suddenly my weight won’t budge L

The key here is the phrase ‘I haven’t changed a thing’. If this is your problem then it’s easily fixed. Your body is simply BORED BORED BORED. Have you got a routine of a smoothie for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, fruit for snack and meat/fish and veg for dinner? Sounds pretty good on the surface and compared to what you were eating prior to your weight loss efforts this is reasonable food day – but how long have you been sticking to this? Imagine waking up every day to listen to exactly the same radio programme, followed by exactly the same workout, then in the afternoon you find you’re watching the same film … over and over and over. How long would it take you to get bored? So why think that your body doesn’t react the same way? If it’s been getting a smoothie EVERY DAY, chances are it opens one eye, yawns and thinks ‘here comes the smoothie, any time now …’ and promptly goes back to sleep. Imagine if every morning (or at least every three) it is suddenly faced with a boiled egg – or porridge … Don’t you think it’ll suddenly wake up – and I mean ‘really’ wake up – eager to find out what it’s going to be using as fuel today? Yes, your body gets bored very easily. Make sure that you rotate at least three breakfasts and change up those lunches, dinners and types of snack (fruit one day, rice cakes and peanut butter another …) to ensure that your body is wide awake and properly fuelled so it can do all the work that you’re asking (eliminating fat, for example??)

Any of these ring any bells with you? Do please leave a comment below if you’ve found it helpful – or feel free to ask a question.

Do Vegans Dream of Electric Friends?

3rd November 2012 / amanda / 0 Comments

I say this because I could imagine they must struggle to ever be invited anywhere … I’m thinking ‘robot’ friends might be the only option HAHA That said, It’s been an incredible eye-opener, my vegan journey. And not just from a nutritional standpoint, but it’s given me a whole new perspective on society and how we think about food. Fascinating.

I completed my two-week vegan adventure on a massive physical and emotional high. It forced me to so radically think about my nutrition and my body loved me for it. I had more energy than I knew what to do with, which in turn had an enormous positive impact on my state of mind. Wonderful.

But while my mind and body were loving me, my friends weren’t. Tell somebody you’re a vegan and they look at you in shock, horror and total incredulity. Seriously. I never realised it was a sin, but apparently it’s pretty close to one. On one level I ‘get it’. Veganism and the real world just don’t mix. It’s fine if you’re at home and do all your own cooking and don’t have families to cater for, but in the real world it’s impossible. This was quite interesting in itself. I never realised just how reliant we are on dairy. You can get vegetarian meals everywhere nowadays – but try and find one without cheese and you’re stuffed (or not, fact!)! Even more interesting, there are products all over the place which are labelled ‘vegan’ but when you look at the ingredients they’re not vegan at all! Yet another lesson that one should always read the ingredients! I was reduced to hysteria (in a good way) on more than one occasion during my steep learning curve as I looked for what I thought might be reasonable ‘quick fixes’ for easy meals …. and discovered that so many foods that I thought (obviously without enough thought!!) would be vegan were nothing close: quorn (why did I think that might be an occasional safe substitute?), protein shakes, tinned vegetable or lentil soups, granola, nut breads … the list is endless because I’d go shopping thinking of the best of vegan nutrition but forget how difficult it was to find what’s good without the presence of dairy! Fascinating!

Most interesting of all, though, was people’s perception that veganism is unhealthy. It’s not unhealthy at all. Quite the opposite – but it’s not for the uncommitted, the unadventurous or the idle! That was the key problem. Veganism is hard work – and in a world that relies on fast food, fancy food and/or quick results it doesn’t fit in. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not sitting on a high horse here saying those things are wrong, either. Give me a break – that’s what I eat, too (usually) – but veganism also requires a certain amount of targeted and intelligent focus which most would not be prepared to give. Not to mention that veganism is, frankly, hassle! As a society we eat far too much protein on a daily basis, but a ‘lazy’ or ‘faddy’ vegan will soon see the consequences of probably not getting much protein at all and I can understand that’s a massive problem for the majority of the population. Again, a healthy vegan needs to be on top of their nutrition and I have to admit I spent a lot of time researching exactly where I could get all the protein I needed and making sure I had constant balance in my diet. Combine that with the fact that a healthy diet has got to have variety and yes, veganism takes effort! A daily portion of falafels and lentils just isn’t good enough!

So there you have it. This is the end of any ‘record’ of my vegan travels. ‘Was it worth it and what was the point?’ you ask. Well, the initial ‘point’ was to renew my own interest in food by challenging myself to think about what I was putting into my body. I think I can definitely say that the journey certainly accomplished this and I’ve come away with new knowledge, new tastes and plenty of new meal ideas!

And was it worth it? Well, this week I went back to eating along with the rest of the family – the usual variety of healthy, balanced nutritious meals including meat, fish and dairy. I can’t be arsed to get up off the couch, I feel bloated and I’m grumpy. What can I say!! Lol

WWVD: Week 2 and beyond …

9th October 2012 / amanda / 0 Comments

Just over two weeks has passed of my dedicated vegan adventure (foodwise, at least!). 10 lbs gone without a single thought – so that’d be 10 lbs that my body simply didn’t want or need. I can’t believe the scales but my knees, my waistline, my energy levels, sleep patterns, general strength and yes, even my ring fingers say they’re telling the truth! It’s just fab and I feel fantastic. I’m just not sure what I’ve done to deserve this buzz. I started out simply trying to renew my interest in food. I was stuck in a rut, eating rubbish, feeling horrible inside, starting to look horrible outside – and it was back to the old spiral of eat-feel rubbish-comfort eat-feel even more rubbish-eat more anyway … Sound familiar?

Calorie-counting, points-counting, call it what you will … just don’t work on a long-term basis. Yes, of course it’s a case of calories in v. calories out – but you can eat three Mars bars daily and stay within your calories. You can also eat nothing but fruit and vegetables all day and stay within your calories. Neither diet is healthy and neither will lead to long-term sustainable weight loss. The only reason people lose weight with these ‘counting’ systems is because subconsciously they’re becoming more aware of what they’re eating, they cut down portion sizes and cut out some of the rubbish. Of course, that’s also a good thing – but ‘subconscious’ acts mean people are unaware of the real reasons they are losing weight and will therefore not be able to keep it off long-term or, indeed, know what on earth to do when the weight stops coming off. And that kind of demotivation and disappointment is the fastest way back to that eating spiral (see above) that I can think of.

Of course, I am in no way saying that vegan is the way to go LOL Absolutely not – particularly for a family, unless everyone is vegan to begin with. I’m very fortunate that I have a very supportive family who think my vegan adventure is nothing short of hilarious. Frankly, I think I have them to thank for my weight loss. It helps when the simple things like asking for a cup of tea remain simple – neither kids nor husband think twice about using soya milk for my tea and dairy for their own. Besides, this has turned out quite educational for the kids, too – they’re constantly asking why I can’t eat such-and-such and learning about carbs, proteins, fat and their role in keeping health at its maximum. Who can say that’s a bad thing, eh? They may not be eating vegan but they’re certainly learning from it, so another brownie point (dairy-free, of course) goes to my WWVD journey.

I said I’d only do this for two weeks – enough time to learn about it and get my eating back to something close to nutritional (yes, it really was that bad for a while!). Well, my two weeks is up … and I’M STILL GOING!! The first week was tough and I missed lots of my favourites (fish, eggs and milk were the most difficult) – but once I’d had a good talk with myself and reminded myself that instead of wasting time moaning about stuff I was missing my time might be better spent discovering new tastes, my vegan adventure soared to new heights and I am LOVING IT! Am I going to be ‘difficult’ and resort to beans and chips every time I go out to eat? That’d be an absolute NO! I’ll eat whatever’s available (that’ll be an extra treat!) – but neither will I forget how much energy I’ve gleaned from a new perspective on food, and surely that’s what eating should be about, isn’t it? Finding ways of extracting maximum taste but not at the expense of maximum nutrition? When did nutrition stop being about taste? Hmmmm. Personally, I blame the casual warping of the word ‘diet’ to its current meaning: hunger, boring food, fat free (responsible for more weight gain than anything else), sacrifice, a chore, dread, …).

My vegan adventure taught me lots about nutrition, introduced me to new tastes that I simply would never have touched before – and gave me a new and wonderful energy to do what I love to do: train and support my clients and train myself to the best of my ability. I’m loving life right now. If you’re struggling, then you know what to do: contact me and arrange your own 1-to-1 nutrition consultation (no, don’t be silly, I’m not going to suggest you go vegan LOL). Details on my website: www.youchoosefitness.co.uk

Some very basic vegan days …

9th October 2012 / amanda / 0 Comments

Favourite breakfasts:

Porridge with blueberries, chopped nuts and pumpkin seeds

Smoothie: frozen berries, banana, homemade juice, topped with granola

Lemon and buckwheat pancakes

Favourite lunches:

Spicy Moroccan chickpea soup w/ soya and linseed bread

Watermelon, avocado and mixed beans and shoots salad with chilli flakes

Baked potato w/ homemade tofu-veggie burgers

Favourite dinners:

Homemade falafel with mixed roast veg

Nut roast w/ quinoa

Lentil and aubergine curry w/ brown rice

Favourite snacks/treats:

Homemade peanut flapjacks

Orange sponge cake (just kidding: this was HORRIBLE but highly entertaining!!)

Spelt crackers w/ vegan cheese (OMG the salt/sodium content of that cheese is frightening!)

Homemade coconut ice cream

Dairy-free chocolate (yum yum yum)

Trek/Cliff bars (for long runs)