Celebrity Diet Fads
Here we explore some of the crazy celeb diet fads out there. Grapefruit sniffing anyone!?!
7 ways to lose weight subliminally in the kitchen
New research shows that if you’re finding it hard to lose weight it may not just be because of the food you eat, it could also be your kitchen. In his book Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink shows us how subliminal messages are affecting the choices and quantities of the food we eat.
Here are some of my top tips to make sure your kitchen is setting you up for success, not sabotage:
1. Out of sight out of mind
If you want to have treats on hand it’s important to keep them out of site. A great way to do this is to store them in a non-transparent airtight container, and if they come in a packet, make sure you can’t access them easily by securing them with a bull clip. This creates what we call a ‘barrier to entry’ and stops you from sneaky snacking.
2. Place healthy food on display
The only thing that should be on your bench is a fruit bowl. Research shows that when foods such as chocolate are visible, they may trigger the urge to indulge. That’s why snacks like biscuits, chocolates and muesli should be stored in your cupboard to reduce temptation. Instead, make healthy snacks more accessible and keep pre-cut veggies or fruit in the fridge.
3. Pre-portion out your meals
If you find it hard to resist seconds, portion out your meals in advance. The next time you serve dinner, store your leftovers right away by placing them in plastic containers and popping them in the fridge or freezer.
4. Serve dinner on a smaller plate
Brian Wansink revealed that serving sizes increased by over 20% when meals were served on larger plates. So next time you’re dishing out a meal, choose the smaller plate and reduce the temptation to overeat.
5. Drink from a skinny glass
it might sound hard to believe, but studies show that people poured and consumed a whopping 19% more of their beverage when they drank it from a short, wide glass. Stick to a taller, more slim-lined glass and keep the calories down.
6. Avoid the jumbo packs
You don’t need an expert to tell you that once you open a bag of chips, there’s a good chance you’re going to finish them all. Which is why it’s not surprising that studies show women served with a 170g bag of chips consumed 200kj more than those contained in the average 85g bag. So resist the jumbo-sized bags and go for smaller, portion-controlled sizes.
7. Never eat directly from a packet
The sheer time it takes to serve food can be long enough to switch the conscious mind on and the unconscious mind off. We often get “hand to mouth disease” not realising that it’s OUR hand attached to OUR body shoveling the food in. So take the time to serve your food properly and you might help curb mindless snacking.
Here’s to a healthy kitchen and a healthy body!
Can You Be Fit at Any Size?
Here we speak to three women of different sizes and fitness levels. Many don’t realise that it’s actually healthier to be fit and slightly overweight than unfit and a normal weight.
Tips to get motivated and stay motivated
Getting motivated and staying motivated can be tough, but once you make exercise and healthy eating a regular part of your routine, you’ll wonder why you didn’t get started sooner.
If you’re looking to get back into shape and lead a healthier life, you’ve come to the right place. So stop procrastinating and follow my top tips to get you motivated and keep you motivated.
Make a commitment
Make a commitment to yourself to stick to your plan to get fit and healthy. Identify what your main roadblocks could be, e.g. too busy or too tired – then sit down and work out a logical solution to all of your excuses.
Set your goals
Set yourself a BHAG – A Big Hairy Audacious Goal – to run a marathon, climb a mountain or trek the Inca trail. Whatever your goal, make sure it’s something that gets your heart pumping. It’s important to tie physical fitness challenges into your goal, because the quest for a great body shape won’t be enough to sustain long-term motivation.
• 1-month
The details are in your 1-month goal – how you’re going to get to your future goals, as well as documenting and time-lining what you do.
• 3-month
E.g. Book in to do a marathon
• 6-month
E.g. Run a half marathon
• 12-month
E.g. Run a marathon
TIP: Goals need to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based.
Break old habits
Once you’ve identified any bad habits you have, it’s important to replace these destructive habits with new repairing habits.
Here’s an example of some new habits that you could pledge to make:
Nutrition
• No sugar in tea
• Wine only on the weekends
• No snacking between meals
Fitness
• Exercise four days per week
• Learn how to run
• Join a gym
Repair a negative mindset
It’s important to repair any negative thought processes you may have and replace them with new positive empowering thoughts. A good way to check your attitude towards yourself is to listen to your inner dialogue. If you wouldn’t talk to a loved one that way then you shouldn’t be talking to yourself like that.
The five-minute rule
Your exercise program is never going to be perfect – you’ll miss classes and you’re never going to feel enthused to exercise every single session. But if you adopt the five-minute rule, it will help get you out the door on those low motivation days.
Tell yourself that you’re just going to do it for five minutes. Whether it’s a walk, a quick run or a few push-ups – that five minutes will more than likely turn to 10 minutes, to 15 minutes and before you know it, you will have completed an entire workout session.
MOTTO: There are two types of pain: the pain of training or the long-term pain of not training – you choose.
Get a training buddy
Most people think of a training buddy as someone that you actually train with, but that’s not always the case. A true training buddy is anyone who is committed to your journey to the same degree (sometimes even greater) than you are. This could be a running partner but it could also be a family member, a trainer, your twitter followers or a website forum buddy.
The best training buddies:
• Need you just as much as you need them
• Are reliable
• Always encouraging
• There for support when you need it
• Tell you to harden up when you’re wimping out
• Assist you with programming and advice
• Competitive but in a healthy, sportsman-like way
• Hold you accountable for your sessions
• Make workouts much more enjoyable
Stay in control
Everything you do should be from a place of love. You exercise because you respect your body, not because you’re punishing it for that bottle of wine last night. Reward yourself daily with non-food rewards like a hot bath, a good book, a massage, time with friends – anything that makes you feel good.
Remind yourself that by taking on this repair challenge you’re regaining control of all areas of your life, so you should be proud of yourself and feel empowered by this level of control.
Reset your goals
Come back to your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) and see if you’re on track for your 3, 6 and 12-month goals. Assess your timeline and make any adjustments if necessary, it’s important that you can see yourself making progress towards each benchmark.
Motivation is an ongoing process, just like a bank you always need to make deposits because undoubtedly life makes a whole lot of withdrawals.
Happy training!
Benefits of Potassium: Going Beyond Bananas
Learn why your body needs potassium, how much it needs and where to get it besides bananas!
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Healthy Halloween Treats
Try these healthier Halloween alternatives to make sure your family has fun without all the fat.
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- Ask Pam: Scary Halloween Treats
- Ask Pam: Have a Healthy Halloween!
- Is Halloween Candy Giving Your Children Cavities?
De-Stress for Weight Loss
Controlling your stress will make it much easier to control your weight.
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- Ask Pam: Speed Up Weight Loss
- Ask Pam: Stress and Weight Loss
- Ask Pam: Can Lack of Sleep Affect Weight Loss?
tips on setting up home gyms
When you do not have the time to go to the gym and you prefer to workout at your own time and pace then home gyms are perfect for you.
dont buy home gym equipment without reading this !!
A home gym can be elaborate and can include every part of home fitness equipment made, or maybe be considered a bit of empty floor space which allows you to do a bodyweight workout.
gym equipment essentials
The traditional way to stay healthy and slim is to train in a gym or do exercise classes in gyms. Usually, fitness enthusiasts have to enroll and travel to their chosen gyms to attend to their schedules.
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