How to curb your hunger

I have a friend who recently complained to me that she had put on weight on a ‘See Food’ diet. She had put on weight by eating, not because she was hungry, but based on the foods that were being thrust in her face each day.

Most times, we are bombarded by images of food by food commercials, adverts, newspapers and magazines and because we have easy access to supermarkets, fast food joints and restaurants, we feel hungry and eat even when we really aren’t.

We also eat based on our response to how we are feeling. For example, when we are sad and depressed, we reach out for some ice cream and chocolates.

So, how do you stop yourself from eating when you are not hungry? The answer is really simple. By listening to your body! Your body actually tells you when you are hungry, full, or have an appetite. Here’s what you can do to aid your weight loss:

·         Never sit for a meal when you are hungry

This is very important. If you are ravenously hungry, you can curb your appetite before your meal by drinking water or sipping on herbal tea. If you are hungry and your meal time is not anytime soon, have a small snack such as an apple and a handful of nuts.

·         Keep a Journal

Keeping a log is very simple. All you need to do is write what you ate, how you felt before and after the meal, where you ate it at and the time of the day you had the meal. After a week of recording, go through it and see if there is any pattern that needs correcting.

·         Always ask your self certain questions before you eat

Why am I eating? Am I truly hungry? Am I really eating because the clock says its time for a meal. Am I craving sweets because I am upset? These questions will help you make an informed choice on what to eat.

·         Be discerning about Sweets

Studies actually show that if you eat chocolates when you are hungry, you have less control, so you will eat faster and eat more. It is better to eat your sweets at the end of your meal  as dessert as it reduces the strength of cravings.

·         Eat Slowly

It normally takes your brain about 20 minutes to figure out that you are full, so eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly, savor the taste of your meal and drink water whilst eating.

·         Practice Interval eating

If you are trying to lose weight, this one is for you. Eat mini meals every 3 or 31/2 hours throughout the day. This helps rave your metabolic rate and helps you lose weight faster.

 

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My Lover?...........Alcohol!

I love alcohol! And my choice of ‘poison’ is red or white wine. I have never been worried about my love for my alcohol as I figured I do not drink everyday, I also drink ‘healthy alcohol’ after all, red wine contains lots of antioxidants and flavinoids, which are magic words to a health conscious woman like me. Plus, I do not like to drink alone and would never even consider drinking a glass of wine on my own at all. How wrong I was with my assumptions.

The truth is, alcohol is good for you. YES, if you stick to the recommended Units, which is :

Women: 2/3 units a day

Men: ¾ Units a day; with at least 2 or 3 off alcohol days in a week.

1 Unit is however: Half a standard glass of wine      

                                Half a Pint of beer

                                A measure of spirit

Alcohol has some health benefits such as reducing the build up of fat on the inner walls of your arteries and it may reduce the risks of developing a heart disease, reduce the risk of you having a stroke and may reduce the risk of gallstones and diabetes.  It is also said to reduce the risk of developing stomach ulcers as alcohol destroys H pylori which causes ulcers and alcohol raises good cholesterol levels which in turn prevents plaques from causing blood clots.

So, with all these good deeds, why does alcohol have a bad name?

I recently gave up Alcohol for Lent and boy, did I not just suffer? Apparently, I never realized that I was addicted to alcohol on a social level. Just because I was not drinking everyday, did not mean I wasn’t abusing the bottle, engaging in drinking bottles of ‘booze’ with my girlfriends. I was in love (and still am) with the immediate altering mood that alcohol gives me, making me a happier, relaxed and sometimes euphoric feeling. Alcohol was my Friday bestie, turning me into a fun lady who could dance all night till morning never tiring, hopping from one club to another.

Within 20 minutes of guzzling my red wine of choice, it would get absorbed into my bloodstream and not only would I feel beautiful, I would be the sexiest girl in the room, with a lovely, charming personality to go with it, when in reality I hate talking and can be quite antisocial.

So, how am I coping without my’ choice of poison’?. Well, it’s only been with the Grace of God as my Lent pact on abstaining was made in Church before God and I am quite fearful of my God. Hence, I am counting down to the 30^th of March, when Lent ends and I can finally have a drink.

Alcohol in excess can have some real serious consequences though, and some of us forget this! These are a few:

·         Excessive drinking can cause cancer of the esophagus, liver, breast, Pancreas, Pharynx, Larynx (Scary right!)

·         Sudden death in people with cardiovascular diseases

·         Heart muscle damage which can lead to heart failure

·         Brain shrinkage

·         Cirrhosis of the Liver

·         Miscarriage in women

·         Fetal alcohol syndrome in newborn ( applies to women who drink whilst pregnant)

·         Accidents

·         Suicide

Alcohol is a gift from God and should be used in moderate amounts for enjoyment, pleasure and health, the Sin being ‘getting drunk’. So, when I do start drinking again, I shall be drinking more responsibly!

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Healthy Meal of the Day- Oven fried Sweet Potatoes with Catfish sauce

I got home starving and needed a quick meal to deal with my hunger. I found this meal very satisfying and filling as well as tasty. It was quite easy to make too.  Check out the ingredients:

1 medium size Sweet potato cut into chip like size
1 tablespoon Olive oil
Garlic salt

Fish Sauce
Catfish
onion powder
Cameroun pepper
salt
ginger powder
Maggi cube

Peel potatoes and wash after chopping. Place in plastic bowl. Sprinkle olive oil and garlic salt and then toss so that it spreads and covers all the chips and then place in the oven. Grill for about 20-30 minutes until chips are soft inside.

For the sauce, place catfish and mix all the powders together. Add a maggi cube with small water in the pan and steam the fish on medium heat. Let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes till fish is properly cooked and sauce thickened.
Serve hot.

My Favorite Health Tonic - Wheat grass Powder

I drink Wheat grass powder….that strange, murky looking green drink that some of you may look at with disgust on your face…..LOL! Well, I love myself and will take care of this thirty something year’s old body in order that it may take care of me in my old age.

Wheat grass is the grass of young wheat plants and it is a powerful health food supplement that’s packed with a high concentration of vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll and enzymes. In fact, it’s said to be one of the foods that are regarded as ‘Complete Foods’ containing 98 out of 102 earth elements.

Why do I take Wheat grass?  I suffer from serious acne and tend to break out during my period. I find that wheat grass helps clear my skin by increasing my healing process.

Aside from my skin’s vanity, there are more important reasons why you should take wheat grass each day such as :

·         It’s a powerful antioxidant and helps aid cancer prevention

·         It helps increase weight loss by aiding appetite reduction…..yep!

·         It is a superior detoxification agent and neutralizes toxins in the body

·         It purifies your Liver

·         Improves blood sugar problems

·         Its an instant energy booster, no kidding!

·         Reduces Inflammation in the body

·         Improves eyesight and night vision.

There are so many more benefits of Wheat grass and if you’d like to discover them, the internet is a good place to start!

EATING ON THE PALEO PLAN

 

Once you know the different kinds of foods allowed on the diet, it’s quite easy to prepare and stick to the diet.

On the Plan, you abstain from eating processed and refined foods that are huge parts of our modern day diet. Instead of eating grains, dairy and vegetable oils, your diet is focused on Protein from meat, fish, chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, healthy nuts and seeds, coconut oil and olive oil.

Breakfast should no longer consist of your regular traditional cereals, oatmeal or toast, rather eggs, bacon, lean meats, avocado, spinach, broccoli etc. If you do crave some cereal, make a natural one from chopped bananas, grated coconut flesh, apples, sprinkle some nuts on it and drink with almond milk or coconut milk. You can use honey to sweeten.

Lunch is usually a salad made from vegetables and you can prepare your salads ahead of time. Don’t forget to add your proteins. You can add some ham, bacon, nuts for extra flavor and use vinegar and olive oil with black pepper and sea salt for more flavor. Lemon juice is also good.

For dinner, a steak with a little sweet potatoe or boiled plantain or a salad is good enough and if you are craving some dessert have some sweet fruit such as pineapple or ripe pawpaw!

Snacks are also allowed to keep your energy levels between meals.

The key foundation of your meals though are Protein, vegetables, fruits and nuts with some olive oil or coconut oil.

Hi all,
Sorry theres been no word from me I was down for a while. But id did keep up with my diet and everything is going quite well. I have been eating mostly paleo meals and exercising every other day. Nothing too daunting for my body. This is what I eat mostly:

Breakfast - 2 boiled eggs. If I wake up hungry like I did today, then I have 2 boiled eggs and 3 susages with a cup of coffee. Sometimes I do a scrambled egg and a cup of fruits such as grapes or an apple.
Lunch- I am usually out at lunch so I do anything simple such as fruits like pawpaw, pineapple, an apple or two depending on my hunger level. I go for easy fruits I can get on the run.
Dinner- Now this is usually fun. I do spinach with garlic onions and peppers with chicken or Steak and vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and green peppers, last night I had a craving for chicken and had chicken in coconut milk curry which was so delicious to eat. I also do grilled catfish which can be very tasty. In fact, I just might be having some of that tonight. I am craving carbs so thinking I may have a little sweet potatoe or boiled plantain with it, but remember when doing the starchy carbs, aim for little portions in order to maintain the calorie deficit necessary for weight loss!

I will try and be more conscious and take pictures of my meals in order to give recipes out. Enjoy!

DAY 1- What i ate yesterday!

 

I started this Plan yesterday and will be logging what I am eating and drinking each day.

Day 1:

Baeginning Weight –

Breakfast : 2 hardboiled eggs + Medium sized apple

Lunch :  2 bits of boiled chicken from already cooked stew + 2 cups of pineapple chunks

Snack: A cup of Grapes

Dinner: 2 Pork chops cooked with spices +  Cup of grapes.

Drinks: Lots of water, a cup of Herbal tea at night ( promeganate + berry)

As you can see my food for the day was pretty simple as I really didn’t want to bother my head too much. To be fair, by night, which is when I get most of my cravings, I did not get hungry. I’m pretty excited and cant wait to see how the other days go. I will try to take pics of what I’m eating so I can upload

My 30 Day Paleo Diet Challenge!

                             Average Homosapien 10,000 yrs ago = healthy, athletic build

                                                       Average Homosapien Now = Fat, Unhealthy

I need to lose 2 to 3kg and firm up my body, so after going online and doing some research on the best fitness program that would suit ME, I decided on the Paleo /Primal Nutrition, which is based on eating as God intended for our ancestors. I chose the Primal Nutrition Plan based on the fact that not only did it make sense to me, it is a cleansing diet and the Rules seemingly easy to follow.

So, for 30 days I am going to follow the Paleo Diet to the letter and keep a Food log of what I am doing as well as my weight loss, my mood while on the plan etc. I will log this on my blog. Please feel free to follow me and even join me on the Plan. We can swap meal ideas and I can give advice on it.

As mentioned earlier, the basic concept of Paleo diet is to eat food that our ancestors did – if a Caveman could’nt eat it, neither can you. On this Plan, you can eat anything our ancestors could hunt or gather – meat , fish, nuts, leafy greens, vegetables and seeds.

A plus for me is that on the Paleo plan, you do not need to count calories or keep track of what you are eating as most of what you are eating is relatively healthy.Neither do u have to remove the fat in your meats except you really are adverse to it. I mean think about it:

            The Average Homosapien over 10,000years ago = Tall, muscular, energetic, athletic

 

The average Homosapien now = Overweight, out of shape, stressed out, sleep deprived   & dying from a myriad of preventable diseases.

So, what happened to us? How did it happen? Ans: Evolution in the form of Agriculture. We advanced from Hunters-gatherers to Farmers. Instead of loading up on Meat, vegetables and seasoned fruits, we have become a species dependent on grains – bread, pasta, rice corn, beans etc.

Now enough of the long discussion. If you would like to get more info on the Paleo diet you can read the following:

Nerdfitness.com

Marksdailyapple.com

Robbwolf.com

Everydaypaleo.com

Or google the term ‘Paleo diet for beginners’.

For those who hate reading and just want to get right on to it, this is what you’ll be eating for the next 30 days

Meat – lamb, goat, cow, deer, antelope etc

Fowl- Chicken, turkey, guinea fowl,

Eggs

Vegetables – as long as they are not deep fried

Oils – Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil

Fruits – as much fruits as you’d like but remember, if it’s weight loss you are after, fruits have natural sugars so may be higher in calories. Be careful on the portions

Nuts- high in calories so only have them as a snack

For the next 30 days, i’ll be following this Plan as from my research, you need to give yourself a full 30 days before passing judgement as your body needs to adjust from fueling itself on carbs and sugar to burning your stored fat for energy which can take a few weeks.

REMEMBER: To plan your meals and keep it simple! Meals should consist of a good Protein (Meat, eggs, steak, chicken, pork etc) along with vegetables or fruits. That’s it. Very Simple, right?