Portion Distortion

If your health goal is to lose body fat and reduce your overall body weight, the only way to do this is to put less energy into your body than you use each day.

There is no magic pill or product that will make it effortless; you need to eat less than you currently do while making sure all that you do eat is fresh, unprocessed, healthy food.

People who are obese or morbidly obese are likely used to eating portion sizes that are larger than average and more than their body actually needs. Portion sizes have increased, while our daily activity levels have dropped, making it more difficult to accurately judge a normal sized portion and easier to gain unnecessary weight.

From cookbooks reducing the amount of servings per person to "quick-service restaurants" Super-Sizing their "meals" for an extra $1, the amount of food that now constitutes a "serving" has increased. Look through your mother's or grandmother's cookbooks and you will also find the portion size of meals was less than today.

The only place this may change is in the serving size on the nutritional panel: eg. 1 serve of corn chips equals about 5 chips... this is still approximately 200 calories, and I ask you, when have you ever stopped at 5?

In this context, the large proportion of our population that are obese, have heart disease, type II diabetes and other "lifestyle diseases", is no great mystery.

This link to the US Department of Health & Human Services shows how portion sized in America have increased in the past 20 years. Take the quiz & see how accurately you can judge the energy in each portion and how much activity is required to match that energy intake.

I encourage you to think critically about the portion size and composition of the food you eat and make appropriate changes to reduce your food intake, do more physical activity and watch your health & body change... for the better!

Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Salad

WARNING!! Actual dinner is even more delicious than it appears!!

I made this last night with homemade turkey burgers and Husband asked where I got the burgers from :)

Roast veggies are delicious cold in a salad and the carrots & sweet potato work well with the crunch and flavours of the green salad

As always, substitute your fresh vegetable preferences so that it is delicious for YOU!


Ingredients:

1 roasted sweet potato
2 roasted carrots
4 generous handfuls of mixed salad leaves
4 mushrooms, pre-cooked
6 slow roasted tomato slices*
1 lebanese cucumber, sliced
1/2 an avocado
sprinkling of sunflower & pumpkin seeds

300g turkey mince
2 small leeks & 2 small carrots, chopped finely in a food processor
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons cumin

Method:

Mix mince, finely chopped carrot & leek, Worcestershire and cumin, by hand and season lightly
Form into patties and fry in a non stick pan

Use the salad leaves as a base and add layers of vegetables, finishing with a sprinkling of seeds.

Top with turkey burgers and enjoy each and every bite!



Serves 2

Tasty Tomatoes & Gorgeous Garlic

These two recipes can be cooked together in the same oven, slowly roasting over an hour, leaving you free to do something fun and have roasted tomatoes & sweet garlic that store in the fridge for a week.




Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Pre heat your oven to about 120C and put some baking paper on a tray for the tomatoes.

Ingredients:
1kg of tomatoes (I use the cheapest I can find, as the end result is still delicious)

4 - 5 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped

fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon of olive oil

a pinch of salt


Method:

Slice tomatoes in half, remove the flesh and place on the baking tray, skin down

In each tomato half, sprinkle some garlic, and a basil leaf

Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle salt over the entire tray


Slow Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:

2 - 3 garlic bulbs (yes, the entire bulb)
Olive oil

Method:

Place each garlic bulb into a square of cooking foil & drizzle with olive oil

Seal the foil into a ball and place into oven pre-heated as for tomatoes.

Remove both tomatoes and garlic from the oven after an hour, leave to cool and chop tomatoes and store in an air-tight container.

Squeeze garlic out of cloves into an air-tight container and they will both keep well for a week, saving time while adding flavour to your dishes all week long.

Perfect Potato Salad

Ingredients:

4 large desiree potatoes
2 spring onions, finely chopped

2 large handfuls of green beans, par cooked & chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

1 small tub of natural yoghurt

1 tablespoon of horseradish paste or wasabi (optional)

Method:

Wash & dry the potatoes and chop into chunks.

Leave the skin on as it contains most of the nutritional goodness of the potato.

Boil in a saucepan of water for about 10 minutes or until you can easily put a fork into the potato. For convenience, you could par-cook the green beans in the same pot, but remove the beans after 5 minutes.

Drain and put into a bowl to cool in the fridge.

Add onions, celery & beans to the potatoes and spoon in the yoghurt (and horseradish or wasabi) a tablespoon at a time until all ingredients are nicely coated.

Serves 4.

Sensational Salads

This gorgeous spring weather has inspired me to get out and about with my family, riding bikes, swimming and running around in our local park.

Top Tip: if you have kids and want a cardio boost, start a game of chasey, you'll have fun & get a quick burst of exercise as well.

I'm also looking forward to summer for the great range of fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season, most of which can be included in a salad.

Salad does not have to be boring, tasteless or as a side to your main meal; a salad can be a meal in itself, especially if losing body fat and keeping blood glucose levels stable are among your health goals.

You can include as many vegetables as you like and be sure to top with a handful of lean protein as well like beans, lean meat, canned tuna or salmon, or tofu to ensure nutritional balance in your meal.

Start with salad leaves or spinach as a base, chop up some crunchy veggies like cucumber, capsicum, celery, snow peas, green beans or spring onions and sprinkle them generously over the leaves.

Tomatoes of all shapes & sizes add juicy flavor, especially if you use this recipe.

Grated carrot is gives a lovely sweet flavour and added to shredded cabbage, with some natural yoghurt mixed through, makes a wonderful coleslaw. Supermarkets usually have a pre-made coleslaw bag and pre-washed leaves in the salad section, saving you time.

Lightly cook some veggies like carrots, green beans to soften them slightly and keep them in the fridge to use later, but a good general principle is to go for as much color as you can for maximum taste and nutritional value.

Spring and Summer are the perfect seasons to lighten your load at dinner time and get adventurous with your salad selections.

Staying On Track - What's Been Stopping Me?

This post is more of a confessional.

I have been eating more rubbish this past month than usual and my energy levels & waistline are proof.

Sure, I can put it down to the 'special occasions' in life where we celebrate with family & friends and (usually) food, but with such busy lives, this month has been far more than "occasionally".

Part of the problem has also been that I haven't been shopping as well as I usually do; having healthy food in the cupboard is vital to eating well.

I'm only human and despite being a trainer with a conscious desire to eat healthy, I have taken a long hard look at my own habits over the past month.

Since the start of September I've been to:

• 4 Kinder/kid-related events (not renowned for healthy fare)
  
  
• 1 wedding, (delicious & fair enough too)
  
  
• 9 nights out to dinner/takeaway (don't get me started on the added sugar, salt & fat that you wouldn't add at home, but hey, restaurants need their food to taste amazing, and that's how)
  
  
• 2 weeks of school holidays (and the subsequent "treats" that have been in the house, damn you multi-packs of potato crisps!!!)
  
  
• 1 Royal Melbourne Show (and the crap I eat there once a year, never again!)

All of this has resulted in my favourite jeans feeling tight in places they shouldn't, excessive 'muffin top' and a general feeling of not enough energy, which in turn has led me to more poor food choices.

Workouts help, but as I say to my clients, you can't out-train a poor diet.

So, rather than ignore the reality of my situation, or continue along the same path with a sense of resignation & unhappiness, I'm sharing this with you in the hope it helps.

I'm also getting back on track with good healthy eating, making a meal plan for each week, shopping accordingly and really thinking about what I'm doing and what my options are.

If I'm starving, I'm far more likely to make a cheese toasty (or four!) than a salmon salad with 5 different veggies & healthy protein.

Like you, I am a splendidly imperfect human being who doesn't always do what I know I should.
Thinking about what I know and why I don't make better choices give me space to be deliberate, to choose what nourishes me and to feel good every day.

If it's to be, it's up to me.

The Good News

There are all kinds of products, fads & gimmicks that will try to convince you that by purchasing them, you will automatically have the body, waistline, or life you've always dreamed of.

If you've ever been seduced by the late-night infomercials into believing the "Ab-Master-Pro-6000" will make you look like the person on the commercial "with only 3 minutes a day!", this article may not be such good news.

You may believe that eating, or not eating certain foods, at certain times is the magic solution you've been looking for.

You may believe you have a "slow metabolism" and that losing weight is harder for you than for other people.

The truth is, YOU are responsible for what you do with your health, and this IS good news, because you are also the only person able to make the changes you've been wanting to make, but are maybe waiting around to "feel like it" or for them to "happen to you".

First of all, stop all the self-criticism & negative self-talk that you tell yourself; with that kind of thinking is it any wonder you don't take better care of yourself?

Why would you feel you deserve better food, better energy levels, better relationships, if you're always down on yourself for all of the reasons you come up with?

Now, imagine someone was talking about your best friend, or your partner, the way you think about yourself when you're being negative; you wouldn't tolerate it, you'd argue back, stand up for your loved one and point out all of their great qualities.

Do this for yourself, as the saying goes, "be your own best friend".

There is no magical solution to your weight-loss goal, you do not have a "slow metabolism"* you CAN achieve your goals, but YOU need to be actively working towards it.

I didn't expect to have gained 40kgs during pregnancy, (although with all the crap I ate, it should not have been a surprise to me), nor did I realise the amount of thought, planning, consistency & effort involved in losing that weight over the next 2 - 3 years.

I know it's not easy, but it is simple; if you are consistent in making nutritious food choices & find at least 30 minutes a day to move at a pace that puffs you out, over time you will see the results that YOU are responsible for achieving.

You CAN do it and I'm here to help.

* if you are seriously concerned about this, see your GP and possibly get a referral to an endocrinologist