Little things can make a difference!

It doesn’t need to be extreme to make a difference. Little changes in your daily living can help you lose weight, and be in a better shape without much effort. So here we go!

 1- Drink water whenever you’re hungry 
Often, we think that we are hungry, but in fact, we are just thirsty. It’s the same message that we get. If whenever you feel like snacking, you start by a big glass of water, you‘ll be able to know whether you was hunger or not, and in turn avoid excessive calories in the latter case.

2- Get off the table instead of adding more food
Whenever there’s food on the table, we are likely to add more even if we’re almost full. A good strategy would be to get up, go do something else, and then assess if you are still hungry and want to eat. Keep in mind that your brain needs 20 minutes to register the fact that you are full. So, if you finished your meal in 10 minutes, you might add more to your plate thinking you’re still hungry, while in fact, you‘re not.  

3- Washing your hands while snacking
Let’s say you’re seated in front of the TV, your mouth full of chips, and your hands full of grease. Get up, wash your hands, and come back to watch TV. You will probably not want to dirt your hands again now, and will stop snacking. This works for me!  

4- Brushing your teeth after food
Now, let’s say you’ve finished your dinner, and you’re seated watching a movie. You feel like having a little dessert, or snacking on something. We all know that TV is an appetite trigger, especially with its endless food ads. Now go brush your teeth right after dinner, and watch your movie. You’ll feel fresh, and going back to the fridge will means eating, losing that clean feel, so there will be less chances to succumb to the urge to snack!  

5- Shopping for less candies and chips
It’s a fact. If you open your closets, and your fridge, and find candies, chocolates, chips, desserts, you will most probably eat them. If not, you will spend 20 minutes looking for something sweet, end up eating a tiny piece of whatever you find, then go eat something healthy, since this is all what’s available. Now you may be frustrated for half an hour, but tomorrow, you’ll be happy!  

6- Not postponing exercising
You’ve decided to work out 4 times per week. On Monday, you came back home tired from your first day at work, so you postponed it till Tuesday. On Tuesday, you remembered that you needed to go meet some friends. On Wednesday, you got lazy. And finally on Thursday, you get up and exercise. Then, it’s the weekend. You’re tired? So are all those who are actually exercising. It just takes the effort of starting to be able to sustain any kind of physical activity for an hour. Unless you’ve got a fever, a broken ankle, or are going to vomit, you owe it to yourself to get moving.  

7- Cutting down on the alcohol I will never say it enough. Alcohol is fat, and alcohol is calories, so drink wisely. If not for your health, then at least for your waistline! Again, go for simple drinks, not cocktails or sugary drinks. In addition, drink sparkling water or diet soda between drinks. The end result will be: less dehydration, less hangover, less fat from alcohol, and of course, more energy the next morning.

Let's start applying the new year resolutions!

Dear readers, we’re finally back after all the holiday madness.

Around this time of the year, we’re full of new resolutions, low on cash, have some post-holiday blues, as well as a lot to worry about for the New Year.

Today, let’s give a thought to our New Years resolutions, andhow to pick reasonable plans with regards to health and fitness. I will not promise you that you will be Adriana Lima by the beginning of the summer. I will not promise you that you will be the healthiest of your friends. What I hope to teach you is self-improvement on your level, and most importantly, living without guilt on your journey to fitness and health.

Rule No. 1: Exercising progressively

When it comes to exercising, and post-holiday resolutions, we always aim for the impossible. We start by wanting to exercise almost every day of the week for at least 1 hour, and end up exhausted and in pain after week 1 or week 2; which makes us lose our drive after a short while. Why don’t you start according to your fitness level? If you haven’t moved your ass in a really long time, start by scheduling a work out twice a week. It doesn’t need to be overly intense since you are a “beginner”. If you are already used to exercising, then add a few sessions or increase the level of fitness, and find some way to make them fit into your schedule. You are less likely to give up if your exercising schedule is compatible with your lifestyle and fitness level. For instance, I’m not a morning person; I will never be able to sustain a morning jog, so I keep it till the afternoon.

Rule No. 2: Aim at healthy and not skinny

Please girls, don’t stick the picture of a model on your fridge to motivate you to lose weight, and most importantly, don’t aimtowards anyone’s body! First, getting as skinny as a model is not healthy (it’s no scoop). Second, not all bodies are designed to be skinny. Aim for healthy, fit, and muscular; it will be easier to obtain and maintain, plus it will never make you look or feel sick. Write down your goal, and put small reminders somewhere, so that you don’t forget what you are after.

Rule No. 3: Listen to your body

Sometimes, you just need a break and it’s no shame! You may have been able to work out as much as you planned to, stuck to your diet plan perfectly, and then comes the day where you feel like having a burger and munching in front of TV. On that particular day, don’t overdramatize, don’t fill yourself with guilt feelings, just give yourself a break on that day, and tomorrow you’ll be back on track. One cheat meal won’t waste all yourefforts!

Rule No. 4: Frustration is your diet’s number 1 killer

The problem with dieting, especially after the holidays, is that you are coming back from wonderland, and going straight to the military service with no transition period, and no time to adapt. You go back to work and bury your social life, along a very restrictive food menu. How long can one remain deprived of the many joys of life? Not so long actually. I’m not suggesting letting go completely and forgetting about your health, but rather, having a daily treat. For example, if you are a carb lover, don’t go on a high protein diet! Have your piece of bread daily, or your little piece of chocolate. It doesn’t fit into your ideal plan? Never mind, it will allow you to sustain your weight loss plan for longer, since you are satisfied. You adore snacking in front of TV at night, well; allow yourself a bowl of fat free pop corn, instead of hating carrots and salads after a few days. You hate to work out every morning? Allow yourself a morning inbed, and enjoy your coffee quietly. Be flexible, and let your resolutions be bliss and not a nightmare.

Any extra tips that you think might be helpful? Share them with us!

And we're drinking and eating and thanking the lords of nutrition!

Are you ready to eat, drink, and party?

Here we go! Our friends just came back from abroad, our homes are stuffed with all the Christmas goodies in the world, and we’re psychologically prepared to all the extremes.



Prioritize:



Well, not everything served is worth trying. For example, you can easily skip the nuts and mini bouchées served before dinner. They will only pack on calories, and you are very likely to forget you ate them once you’re seated at the dinner table. In addition, you can easily skip the liqueur, hot chocolate, and digestif that are offered to you, and stick to sparkling water and your regular drink in moderation.



Only eat your favorite foods:



Tonight is Christmas dinner, and you are overwhelmed with all the good meals available on the table. Guilt won’t help, and frustration will only make you weaker. Therefore, the best strategy is to eat, but only what you really like. Meaning, if you’re not a turkey lover, don’t have it, stick to the beef filet or any other item. If you don’t like the buche then don’t eat it! On the other hand, if you’re a fan of salmon and foie gras, and whatever saucy dish is available, go for it instead of looking at it all night and ending up eating more nuts and dessert just because you’re frustrated!



Alcohol can be managed:



Starting the 20th of December, drinks and alcohol are all over the place. You will find some reason to indulge in it every single day. First advice I would give you is to skip drinking at home when you’re not going out. Next, drink smart! Even if the weather is bad and you’re cold, you’re still not in Moscow, so there’s no need to have one vodka drink after the other to “warm up”. Have some wine, it’s lighter in calories and alcohol, plus nothing warms you up as gently as red wine!



Cheat the smart way:



Now let’s say assume that the Christmas goodies are your favorite foods in the world. In that case, remember that you have at least 3 dinners to indulge. What I’m trying to say is, you are not going to face a period of famine in January, so you can eat what you like, but do it moderately. There’s no need to eat every meal as if it’s the last time you’ll have those foods.  You can make cheating smart by asking your hosts about the foods served. That way, you will know ahead of time what items not to be missed during each lunch/dinner, and you will be able to cut down on other less interesting foods during that particular seating.





Merry Christmas to all of you!

Rescue recipes for the holidays

Dear readers, today I will share with you some of my personal light yet yummy home recipes. They will come in handy during the festive seasons, and will help you avoid overeating.

Spicy Shrimp Soup:

Ingredients:

·         2 Carrots
·         4 zucchini
·         1 Small onion
·         4 Scallion
·         A Handful of green beans
·         1 Chili
·         ½ pack frozen baby shrimps
·         1 tbsp. diet butter
·         ¼ Cup soya sauce
·         1 tbsp. sweet and sour sauce
·         1 Medium can sliced mushrooms
·         1 Sprinkle thyme
·         1 Sprinkle black pepper
·         1 Lemon squeeze
·         ½ Bouquet parsley

This is my after yoga recipe, I start preparing it just after exercising, then shower and its ready!

Dice the vegetables into the shape you want. Place the light butter with the vegetables in a big saucepan (Start with carrots, green beans and onions, zucchini, mushrooms, then chili). When they start becoming soggy, add boiling water.  Add in the rest of the ingredients including the shrimps. Keep the parsley and the lemon till the end of the recipe. Let it all boil on medium heat half covered for about 30 to 40mins. Finally, add the lemon and parsley. Et voila!

Broccoli Pasta:

Ingredients:

·         1 Cup cooked whole wheat pasta
·         1 ½ cup boiled broccoli
·         100ml light cream
·         2 Spreadable light cheese
·         1 Slice light cheese
·         Shredded cheese
·         Salt
·         White pepper
·         Black crushed pepper
·         Oregano
·         Garlic powder

The magic in this recipe is the broccoli. It is full of fibers and will help you get the impression of having consumed a big meal, while it is very low in fat, and contains a small portion of pasta.

In a saucepan, place the freshly boiled broccoli with the cream and the spreadable light cheese. Leave them on medium fire until the cheese melts completely. Add to it the sliced cheese, ½  Tsp. garlic powder, salt ,white pepper, and black pepper to taste. When the mixture is boiling, add in the pasta, and mix well. Add a sprinkle of oregano, and some light cream if the sauce is not enough. When it is completely hot and coated, you can start eating.

My very own omelet:

Ingredients:

·         1 egg
·         2 egg whites
·         1 tbsp. shredded light mozzarella cheese
·         2 tbsp. 0% fat liquid milk
·         1 Big tomato
·         1 Small onion
·         ½ cup mushroom ( fresh sliced)
·         ½ bouquet minced parsley
·         Salt and pepper to taste
·         Spray oil

This recipe is perfect for a quick lunch on a Christmas Eve. It is very filling, low in calories. Served with a small bowl of salad, this can be a very tasty meal full of vitamins.

Dice the onions and tomatoes. In a bowl, mix the egg and egg whites with the milk and mozzarella cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste (you can add dried herbs as well). Add the mushrooms. Add the parsley. Spray some oil on a pan. Add the tomatoes and onions first into the saucepan and start cooking on medium fire. Add in the egg mixture when the tomatoes and onions tender. Keep on mixing (since it would be hard to flip the omelet because there is no fat) for 3 to 5 minutes. Finally, transfer the omelet to your plate with a small lettuce salad.

Holiday muffin top!

Dear bloggers,

Now that the holiday season has started, people are in a very joyful mood.  With plenty of occasions to meet friends and family, go out, and plan dinners, our fear of gaining weight multiplies. Today, I will hand out some dieticians’ tips to manage to stay in shape during the end of year festivities.

Here are my tips to get though the food madness without much damage!

No. 1: Plan ahead of time

During the holiday seasons, we are all booked ahead of time for various social events. The bad thing is the overdose of calories. The good thing is that it leaves room for planning the other meals of the week. Let’s say you are invited this week to threedinners; well you got 18 meals left during the week to make it up. Exclude from your regular meals the desserts, threats, afternoon snacks, or the portion of fries you indulge in sometimes. In addition, decrease the size of your plates, or opt for a 50/50 plate (50% vegetables and the rest the regular meal). That way, you would have spared a few hundred calories dailythat can compensate for the other three heavy meals.

No. 2: Work out wisely

If you are not the working out type, try to initiate in some type of light activity. For example, go for a walk every day or every other day for at least 30 minutes, at any pace since something is always better than nothing. If you are the working out type, now is the time to cut down the chitchat sessions at the gym and focus fully on the work out. Increase your cardio, and if you can,increase the number of trainings. What I am doing is that I have increased my training from three to five times per week, by adding 40 minutes of treadmill at home or at the waterfront twice per week. Surprisingly, it’s not as hard or as complicated as I expected, since it is only replacing TV time!

No. 3: Decide which ones will be feast meals and which will be regular meals

By knowing details about your invitations, you can manage your meal pattern more wisely. For example, if you are invited to a friend’s or relative’s house, you can ask about the food that will be served. That way, you can decide, based on the options offered, if that meal is going to be a cheat meal or not. Samething applies for dinners in restaurants. If you are going to one of your favorite restaurants, of course this is going to be a cheat meal (within limits, no need to overdo it), and if it’s not, you will control your intake more since it’s not really worth it to engulf extra calories on that specific meal.

Now, I hope you are armed to embrace the holiday seasons with grace and slender. Any other tips that are working for you?Please share them with us!

Let's lunch box!

Nowadays, with our hectic schedules, we have so little time for cooking and preparing meals. Most of us go to work foodless, and end up ordering some fast food. Once we’re back home at night, we feel so lazy to cook that we either end up preparing a sandwich or relying on chips and nuts along with other snacking items instead of having a decent meal.

My goal is to make your life easier. Cooking is not supposed to be a hard task. You can, with a few constant ingredients, prepare an easy and quick healthy meal for dinner or to pack for work.

Today, I will give away some of my recipes:

Step 1:  Shop right

Always have some fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables available. Get sliced, processed, light mozzarella or emmental, a shredded mix of both (light of course!), and some spreadable light cheese. In addition, have some turkey, tuna in water, brown rice, brown pasta, frozen tortilla bread, and whole wheat pain de mie. In the meat and co. section, keep some proportioned cubed meat filet and chicken breasts in your freezer, to be able to defrost individual portions. And let’s not forget, light cream, light soya sauce, tomato coulis, low fat yogurt, mustard, and light mayo.

Step 2: get ready to cook!

First recipe: Brown rice and tuna salad

Mix in a bowl brown rice, green pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes cut into small pieces, black olives ( preferably sliced), a bit of corn, lemon, and oil. If you fill a medium sized lunch box of this mix, you’re ready to go!

Second recipe: Very cheesy pasta

Boil some whole wheat pasta. On the side, heat some light cream, with white and black pepper and salt. Add two tablespoons of light shredded cheese mix and some oregano. Add the pasta to the sauce, and add to it some sliced turkey. If you plan on taking this meal to work, make it a bit juicier by adding a bit of light cream to your lunch box once the pasta is cold, and keep the turkey on the side to add it after heating your dish in a microwave.

Third recipe: Beef or chicken casserole

Now is the time to use your cubed meat or chicken. Defrost your frozen portion, and add to it some lemon juice, any types of spices available, and a bit of soya and leave it to marinate for 30 mins. Half cook on the side some vegetables (usually frozen broccoli along with some fresh carrots and sliced zucchini) in a microwave. Just put them in a plate and cover them for around 3 to 4 minutes. Heat a frying pan and throw in it the meat with the juice at high temperature. When the meat is cooked from all sides, decrease the heat; add in the vegetables, and some extra soya/lemon/spices along with some water. Cover your pan for a few minutes, and its ready! For those of you who can’t live without carbs. Make your plate 2/3 meat and vegetables and 1/3 brown rice.

Fourth recipe: Quick and light quesadillas

Get your chicken pieces defrost them. Cut them into smaller pieces, add to them some chili powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slice some onions and green peppers. In a non stick pan sprinkle some spray oil, and add the vegetables. Keep on stirring to avoid burning on low fire. When the vegetables are almost ready, add in the pieces of chicken with the marinade and increase heat and cook for a few minutes. If you want to make sure your meal’s ready, take a small piece of chicken and cut it in two. If it remains pink or bloody in the middle it means it’s still not ready. When all is cooked, pre heat two tortilla breads in the microwave (around 30 seconds max). Place one tortilla bread in a plate and add to it some shredded light cheese, then the chicken mix, and finally some more shredded cheese. Cover it with the second piece of bread, and put it back in the microwave for 1 min max, or on a grill for a few minutes. And there you go. Ideally, share it with someone with some salsa and homemade light sour cream.



Fifth recipe:  Cheesy vegetables

In a bowl, pre cook some frozen broccoli, sliced carrots and zucchini, or any other type of vegetables (if you’re using green beans, boil them instead because they dry out in the microwave). Once cooked, add some salt, pepper, and herbs of your choice, along a tablespoon of shredded cheese, a bit of light cream, and two slices of light cheese on top, and cook for 2 more minutes in the microwave. This meal is perfect the way it is for dinner. If you want to pack it for lunch, cook it in a microwavable lunch box, and eat it with a side of brown rice or quinoa.

Try them, tell me which one is your favorite.

More recipes next week!

Bon appétit.

Snack time!

Everyday around 4 or 5PM, I feel the urge to nimble on something. I'm not very hungry, but I still feel like eating. It has become such an anchored habit, that trying to avoid it is almost an impossible mission.

Almost everybody likes to snack. It's a break in the middle of the day, a moment to relax and forget about work or duties. The problem with snacks is that they are very badly planned for. It's going be a chocolate bar, a bag of chips, salty crackers, or sometimes even dessert.

Sometimes, the harmless snack turns into an eating binge. For example, if you're tense, have a lot to do, or simply enjoy snacking, you’ll end up eating a multitude of items in between lunch and dinner. By dinner time, you are already stuffed, and yet, you eat more, because you haven't had a decent meal.

The main problem with snacking is that it's a "fake" meal. It's not around a time where people actually sit at a table for a meal. So whether you’re hungry or not, you will usually eat something that's swallowed quickly, doesn't need much preparation, and that can be eaten from a box.

Now let’s reverse all these habits:

Since you already know you will snack, be ready for it! Get rid of the chocolate bars, chips, and other processed food items you keep around, and go for a light snack. Instead, keep a Tupperware of washed fruits around. All houses and most offices have a fridge, so it will be easy to keep them fresh for long. You can stock up on fruits on Monday, and it will last all week long. You can also get some spreadable light processed cheese, whole wheat toast, rice cakes, or fat free crackers. Snacking on two toasts with light cheese, or on one or two pieces of fruits is ideal. You will be getting from fibers and proteins from the first option to keep you full until dinner time, and fibers and water from option two from fruits, which will help you last a bit longer as well, and not to forget the vitamins provided.

Now, you don't think that these items are your thing. You get really hungry in the afternoon, and have no time to get off your desk, to grab an apple or spread some cheese. In that case, go for nutritious bars. If regular cereal bars won't satisfy your hunger, try picking something that contains oat, peanut butter, or athletes’ protein bars. In fact, the fibers in the oat, and the proteins in the peanut butter and the athletes’ bars will fill you up. Always go for a bar that contains no more than 200 calories, and stick to one! Accompany it with a big glass of water, or sparkling water, to create a volume effect in your stomach. This snack will keep the very hungry ones full until dinner time.

If you’re the sweet tooth type of snacker, and all that matters to you is the rich chocolate taste, then pick a very flavorful item, and stick to it. Go for a low calorie hot chocolate drink, or two pieces of flavored dark chocolates(orange, mint, raspberry...) with decaf coffee. Some would prefer a wafer for its light texture and rich chocolate flavor, so the same rules apply here; Pick something low oncalories (nothing above 150 calories).

Now, if you're the kind that snacks just to fill some time, and end up eating bits and pieces all afternoon long, then replace the foods with very light items. Have some light Jell-O, herbal teas, or sugar free candy lying around to keep you busy. Also, aim at "quitting" snacking all in all, since it never ends with one item.

Now tell me? What type of snacker are you?