Tips to curb sugar and carb cravings!

Sugar and carb cravings are the worst! That feeling you get where you need sugar now and nothing you can do will stop it. For me, it isn't even about needing the energy. I just like the taste of sugar and sugary things and if I have them in the house, I need to eat them. At one stage I could polish off several chocolate bars a night. Then, I looked at the calories in each of my favourite chocolate bar and it wasn't good. With this in mind I have compiled a list of my own and other tips to stop you needing that energy boost!

1. Have a plan or a goal. This always makes me more motivated, I have something to aim for. Make it visual, write your calorie intake down, pin it up (this is a good general weight loss tip anyway!). This way, you are thinking about what you eat and when you eat it. I prefer to use MyFitnessPal App (on Apple and Android) - it is super easy to use, you just type in your food or scan the barcode and hey presto. 

2. Eat more protein. You will be fuller for longer and sometimes our bodies can confuse the cravings for protein for that of sugar.

3. REMOVE TEMPTATION! This is possibly the most important one. If you have a cupboard full of chocolate bars and crisps (or whatever your guilty pleasures might be!) then it will be easy to cave in. Last night my other half brought me some chocolate from Paris. Of course I had to eat it because it was in my house and then I had a massive sugar high, followed by crash, followed by guilt. Not good. But when it isn't in the house, I don't think about it. When I first started to diet I scoured the house just for some chocolate in my desperate times but eventually it went away! 

4. Distract yourself. Every time you want some chocolate, do something else instead! If it is active, even better. Take the dog out, go for a walk, read a book, have a bath. Anything to take your mind off the need for Jelly Beans. 

5. Check labels. If you are eating pre-packaged food, check the nutritional labels, you would be surprised how much sugar is hidden in some foods. This will make your addiction harder to kick. 

6. Sugar free gum is a lifesaver. Trick your brain into thinking you are eating sugary treats! 

7. Reach for fruit. Keep fruit handy for when sugar cravings hit. You'll get fiber and nutrients along with some sweetness. And stock up on foods like nuts, seeds, and dried fruits.

8. Eat regularly.  If you wait a long time between meals you are likely to need something to keep your energy up. There is a reason a lot of celebs eat a little more often. It stops the need to snack between meals and keeps the waistline small. 

9. Cold Turkey. Sugar is an addiction and like other addictions, a good way to kick it is to stop it altogether. Those first three days are horrendous but it does get better. I promise. I would survive on chocolate if I could and I managed it. 

10. Don't think that artificial sweeteners are the way forward. They don't stop you craving sugar and have been linked to some nasty illnesses. Train yourself to drink your tea without sugar or use honey instead. 


Hope some of these tips help you. try to mix it up, try them and see what works for you. Share your tips below. :)

Carbs. The Good, The Bad and The Tasty.

Any one who knows me will know that I love a carbohydrate. And carbs are a necessary part of any balanced diet but they are quite often overindulged in! I am the worst one for this. My fat girl diet used to include mash or bread or pasta. Every meal had to have one of these elements in abundance. 

The Good: 
The right carbs are essential for your health and wellness. Cutting them out completely is not a good idea. There is a massive different between wholesome 'good' carbs that our bodies are designed to eat and the refined, mega processed ones we eat every day! So, here is a list of what you should be eating to help you feel fuller for longer with out the bloat that bread can bring. If you do need to have bread or pasta, make it whole grain!

• whole vegetables
• whole fruits
• beans
• legumes
• nuts
• seeds
• whole cereal grains

The Bad: 
Bad carbs are those which are refined and processed and have usually had all of their nutrients and fiber removed. This is done basically to make them taste better and be more consumer friendly.  Most baked goods, white breads, pastas, snack foods, candies, and non-diet soft drinks fit into this category. Bleached, enriched ‘white’ flour and white sugar – along with an array of artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives – are the most common ingredients used to make ‘bad carb’ foods. The human body simply can't process them! While the human body has evolved over millions of years, refined carbs have only been on the menu for about 100. Our bodies just can't cope. Our hormone levels go through the roof, insulin and blood sugar are all over the place. This is why we feel tired after eating an unhealthy meal. And for those who calorie count, bad carbs are 'empty' calories. They have little or no nutritional value. Lots of these and you get fat. Simple. Then, on a longer term basis there are so many illnesses which come with continued bad carb heavy diets: obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and other long-term problems. Try and cut them out for a week or so, I promise you will feel better! 

The Tasty:
So, what can you eat instead of bad carbs? Here are some healthy alternatives! 

Squash

Summer squash (the football-shaped yellow kind) tastes similar to potatoes when cooked—but has just a fraction of the carbs. Grate the squash, mix in an egg as binder, make patties, and fry them in olive oil, says Mary Dan Eades, M.D., coauthor of The Low-Carb Comfort Food Cookbook.

Lettuce 

 

Yes, skip the rolls, tortillas and bread slices and instead make a sandwich inside lettuce leaves. Go Mexican with a sprinkle of Cheddar cheese, salsa and chicken; or Chinese with sesame seeds, peanuts, bean sprouts, sliced green beans and shrimp with a touch of soy sauce; or deli style with turkey, cheese and mustard.

Zuchinni 

 

 

Slice four to five medium-size zukes lengthwise into three-quarter-inch-thick strips, instructs Lise Battaglia, a New Jersey chef whose past clients include Jon Bon Jovi. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on the strips, place them in a single layer on a nonstick cookie sheet, and bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. You want them firm, not crisp. "Then simply make the lasagna as you normally would, replacing lasagna noodles with the baked zucchini," she says.

 

Oatmeal and Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Here's a can't-fail recipe from The South Beach Diet. Mix together half a cup of old-fashioned oatmeal, a quarter cup of low-fat cottage cheese, two eggs, and a dash each of vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Process in a blender until smooth. Cook the mixture like a regular pancake.

Polenta

 

 

My personal favourite, Polenta is a golden-yellow Italian cornmeal made from dried, ground maize (corn), and also the name given to the savoury cornmeal porridge that’s made by mixing cornmeal with water and simmering and stirring until it thickens - a staple dish of northern Italy. Polenta can be ground coarse or fine and is widely used in the southern states of America to make a variety of dishes, including cornbread, because maize is a major crop in the US.

 

Quinoa 

 

While quinoa is usually considered to be a whole grain, it is actually a seed, but can be prepared like whole grains such as rice or barley. Try a quinoa pilaf salad recipe, or serve a vegetable stir-fry over cooked quinoa instead of rice. Quinoa is my favorite whole grain for three reasons: First, it takes less time to cook than other whole grains – just 10 to 15 minutes. Second, quinoa tastes great on its own, unlike other grains such as millet or teff. Add a bit of olive oil, sea salt and lemon juice and - yum! Finally, of all the whole grains, quinoa has the highest protein content, so it's perfect for vegetarians and vegans. Quinoa provides all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Quinoa is a gluten-free and cholesterol-free whole grain and is almost always organic.

There are some more ideas on http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/cut_carbs/ but also, share your own ideas below!

30 Day Squat Challenge... here we go.

One thing you may have noticed about me so far is that I don't particularly like exercise. I have tried, don't get me wrong. I enjoy the idea of swimming, low impact, big results. In reality, every time I step in a pool a lifeguard mistakes my 'swimming' for drowning. I just don't like it. Same with running, whenever I try to run I manage to the end of my street (I live at number 12, so 6 doors down!) then I feel like my lungs are going to explode and my legs turn to mush. The gym is a despicable place, there are the germs! Urgh. Also, the lechy men trying it on while I am sweating like an ape. Also there are the really fit people who just make you feel bad about yourself! Exercise DVDs are a little better. I like the privacy but I don't think I do them properly and my living room is pretty small. Another massive problem I have is that I have no one to do these things with. I took up Spin class and enjoyed that and bought a bike, but I have no one to ride with which is sad! 

Anyway, point is, if I am going to be blogging about things, I need to try some new things, almost review them for those of you, who like me, just do not enjoy exercise. My biggest area that needs work is the mid-section, especially the derriere. So I am going to try to 30 Day Squat Challenge from tomorrow - see below. Try with me? Leave me your comments if you do and let me know how you are getting on. I will keep you posted!

Healthy Breakfast Ideas.

 

I have spoken to lots of people on the topic of breakfast. When I was at my largest I wasn't eating breakfast at all, by lunch I was having a chocolate bar and by lunch I NEEDED carbs. Even when I was dieting and skipping breakfast I wasn't losing a pound. Breakfast is super super important! It breaks the fast and boosts your metabolism. And in my experience, it puts you in a better mood! So I thought about the things I like for breakfast and had a gander online and have compiled some ideas to get you started! 

My personal favourite is fruit with yoghurt, sprinkled with some seeds or oats for extra goodness and texture. Natural yoghurt is best but I do not like it so I went with Muller Greek style. YUM! As for fruit, be careful what you are eating, most of it is good but some of it is high in natural sugar and can be just as bad for you as sweets. More to come on fruit. 

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Another thing the personal trainer advised us to give up was dairy. So that meant cereal was out! For me, my belly felt much better when dairy was out of the equation, I wasn't so bloated or queasy. Plus, there are some great alternatives out there, and once your insulin has leveled out (after about 2 weeks of living like a caveman), you can introduce a little back in. Porridge made with water is a good starter if you can eat it, I personally did not enjoy at all, even though the smell was divine!

Also, avoid energy bars! Just no good at all. 

 

Green smoothies are one of my favourite breakfasts - stick some spinach and fruit of your choice in a blender and wahey. I found lots of recipes online but in the end I just experimented with fruits that I liked, my favourite was spinach, pineapple and mango. Don't be put off by the idea of drinking spinach, you can barely taste it. The health benefits to these are amazing and definitely worth a try, especially if like me you aren't especially keen on greens. Here are Four green smoothie recipes but remember to experiment with your own! 

Another nice idea from BBC Recipes is Asparagus soldiers with a soft boiled egg. Good if you want to start the day with something a bit more substantial than fruit juices!

And of course, everyone needs an alternative to the cooked sunday breakfast. For me it was all about the omelette. This is a great start to the morning and keeps you full for hours! 2 eggs, add a little water, fry up. A good tip for frying is coconut oil instead of olive oil or vegetable oil. Coconut oil actively helps you to burn calories. And it doesn't taste at all like coconuts! Give it a go! It is available in Hollands and Barratts but is about 3000 times more expensive. I picked up a cheap bottle in the foreign food section of Asda. 

 

As for fillings you can add what you want but I always liked Turkey Rashers (super low calorie alternative to bacon and tastier because there is no fat!) and mushrooms but you can add what you like. I do know people who prefer their omelette without the yolk because it is healthier but my opinion is that as it is in the morning and you are going to be using up all your energy, then go for the yolk! 

Hope these ideas are helpful! Please comment with any of your own breakfast ideas below. The more we share, the better this blog will become! :)

What 200 calories really looks like!

I found this article on the Daily Mail's wall of shame! Really interesting what 200 calories actually looks like.

 1425 grams of celery!

496ml of regular coke

Plenty of apples

 

331ml of whole milk

 

Smoked Turkey

 

226grams of ketchup

 

3 large eggs 

 

Handful of pasta 

 

Whole avocado

4 slices of flax seed bread

 

73 grams of french fries

 

Just over half a bagel

 

One and a bit hot dogs

 

Krispy Kreme? Just under one glazed! 

 

51 grams of cheddar 

 

Lots of Splenda

 

10 Gummy Bears 

 

handful of Doritos

 

30 M&Ms

34 grams of fried Bacon 

 

34 grams of peanut butter

 

Butter

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280846/Revealed-What-200-calories-looks-like-different-foods--results-surprising.html for full article!

Tips and diet ideas!

Lots of people asked me what I did to lose the weight, what gimmick I used, what diet plan. For me it was simply about changing my habits and cutting out that which was unhealthy.

- gluten and wheat: for a couple of weeks I cut this out completely. A large proportion of the population are intolerant and it makes you build up ft around and below the belly button. Cut it out! It is difficult but you can buy lots of nice gluten free alternatives in supermarkets! It's also really present in premade sauces!

- sugar: probably the hardest one for me but the key is to stick with cutting it out. I think for me personally it takes about three days and my sugar cravings go. I also get a headache when I cut it out but after that I feel amazing.

- E numbers : I am more and more inclined to agree that prepackaged food is not good. The more natural the better. It might be convenient but the chemicals are bad for us. Spend time actually cooking. I felt all kinds of smug when the horsemeat scandal broke because I hadn't touched a ready meal in at least a year! Even the weight watchers ones are packed with preservatives. If it has a long date on it, it is no good. (For example, today I had curry super noodles. Good idea at the time but now I am shouting at Kev for not gettin the boiler to work and I feel hungry again! Lesson learnt!)

- alcohol: I really struggled here. Everyone knows I love a drink. For the first couple of weeks I didn't drink at all. I felt glorious. Then I decided on low cal drinks: reduced alcohol wine, vodka an diet coke were the best for me. Stopping the things you enjoy just makes you want them more. The key is moderation.

- carbs and fat are good! But they have to be the right kinds! I love bread and cheese but as I was keeping a food diary I noticed that bread makes me angry and cheese gives me migraines. It's all about the right choices: rice, Cous Cous, brown pasta as for fats olive oil is a miracle worker, nuts and humous was surprisingly good for snacking on. Don't jut cut these out. Nothin good will come of it.

- weigh yourself daily. That way you can track what's going on and what does and doesn't work for you. However, the scales don't mean anything. I also measure myself and look at the fit of my clothes. That is way more telling. This should be at the same time every day! I fluctuate between the morning and evening. You are usually lightest in the morning!

I think I will shut up for today. I am by no means an expert. Just sharing what has worked for me.