I love eating out...
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| the pantry :: manly |
I love restaurants...
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| nield avenue :: rushcutters bay |
I love not cooking and I love not having to wash up...
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| date night :: harlem on central |
For someone that loves food as much as I do I sometimes feel I have a very strange relationship with it. A relationship that at times I think is healthy and at others unhealthy. My diet is controlled, pretty much how the rest of my life is. My life is planned, co-ordinated and managed; this is my personality and I am happy with this and have accepted this part of me.
I have pretty much followed the Body for Life eating plan since my first 12 week cycle in 2007. A portion of protein, a portion of carbohydrates, veggies and good fats; five to six times per day. I find it easy to follow and I never feel like I am missing out on anything nor do I crave anything. The only things you cut out are processed sugar and bad fats and manage the frequency and size of your meals.
Since working with Chris we have changed my diet a few times. I lost weight in the first three weeks which, for me, was not my goal so now he has me eating more; I am not complaining! I weigh my food, something I swore I would never do, but if I want to achieve my goals then this is something I realise I need to do.
To get your head around that eating healthy does not mean eating boring is half the challenge. If you can make tasty food that at the same time gives your body what it needs then you are on to a winner and on the right track to getting the body you want.
I wanted to share a few of my favourite meals. They are yummy! I look forward to eating them and Simon cooks and eats them to. We are on to a winner!
Breakfast of champions :: oats with berries, one whole egg and two egg whites scrambled
Rump steak salad with peanuts and white wine dressing
Soy and garlic chicken salad with almonds and butter beans
Chicken mince with chilli, garlic, spinach and coriander :: add brown rice and steamed veggies
BBQ fillet steak with roasted garlic and veggies and chick peas
BBQ lamb, cannellini beans with roma tomatoes, asparagus and coriander with lemon
Salmon fillet with zucchini smash (add lemon and garlic) and steamed bok choy
I am hungry just looking at those photos! All simple, easy to make meals that are super healthy and full of all the nutritional goodness your body needs to run effectively!
One of my top tips for staying on track with your healthy eating plan is to cook two dinners for yourself and take the second one to work with you the next day. If you are like me and you need to eat five proper meals then make three or four meals. If not then one meal can be your lunch and morning and afternoon tea can be something like rice cakes (carbohydrate) with peanut butter (protein and good fat) or a banana (carbohydrate) and a hard boiled egg (protein and good fat).
Then comes your cheat meal! Also affectionately known as a treat meal, off meal, permissive meal. What ever you call it, this is the meal I look forward to. It is the reward I get for staying focused and on track with my eating and it helps re-set myself for the new week ahead.
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| anti-pasti plate with bruscetta |
This was my cheat meal choice for the Saturday night just passed and it was heaven!
This was followed by...
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| maggie beers ice cream |
...which I highly recommend; eat it straight from the tub!
A cheat meal is physically beneficial if your goal is fat loss.
We have in our body an anti-starvation hormone called Leptin and it's job is to hang on to fat when your body thinks it is being starved.. When we start a new diet or eating plan our leptin hormone levels decrease and our body can think it is being starved. Our body will work hard to hold on to the fat; this is known as starvation mode. When we consume the extra calories during our cheat meal our body recognizes that it isn't being starved and the leptin levels increase allowing us to continue to lose weight. Make sense?
It is only Tuesday and I am already thinking about what my cheat meal will be on Saturday night...mexican I think! :)
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