Secret Snacking Habits Of Thin People

“It’s Christmas Time, Mistletoe & Wine”

Oh yes, and party time and snacking time!!

 

If you’re like the average Christmas party goer, then any thoughts of being good at this time of the year generally go out the window.  The array of snacks and drinks on offer are all tempting and the encouragement of “go on, it’s only once a year” reduces your resolve very quickly.  Peer pressure to conform is very difficult to resist!  Have you ever heard of the saying,

“it’s my party and I’ll eat if I want to”? 

So, that is a little bit of a changed saying, but, according to a very recent study on snacking behaviours, you are more likely to snack when it is a special occassion, or there is an opportunity put in front of you (think platters of food!).  And, let’s face it, Christmas is generally considered a special occassion, as are all the office parties, the family get togethers, the friend catchups!

 

The question then remains, how do you avoid these tempting snacks, or the drinks that are on offer, and remain true to your plan of healthy eating?

 

My plan

• Avoid Hunger

One way to be free from the temptation of the food platter is to go to the party with a full stomach.  This can be achieved by having a snack before you arrive, consisting of high protein and fibre and lower in calories. This will create the sensation of fullness so that you can still have one or two tempting treats, but you won’t be searching for something to overcome that inevitable hunger attack when you first arrive after being at work all day.

 

• Avoid Stress

Stress can lead to emotional and compulsive eating.  Christmas creates a lot of stress for many people and for a variety of reasons.  Remember this when you are heading into the Christmas season.  Some ways you can avoid stress are to incorporate meditation into your daily routine, complete a gratitude diary every evening before bed and to utilise adaptogenic herbs that can allow you to manage your stress better.  Personally, I use herbs such as ashwagandha, eleuthero, and shizandra daily to mitigate my stress levels.

 

• Have a Plan

Drinking alcohol, or even sweet cocktails, seems to be on the increase around the party season.  These are the hidden and empty calories that will ensure you become a statistic and increase your weight by 5kg (about 10lb) over the holiday season.  Plan to swap or replace these drinks with a healthy option.  If you don’t want to appear to be ‘the only one not drinking’, plan to have a spritzer (half wine, half soda water) and ensure you alternate this with a glass of water.  This plan will take you far into the holiday season without adding the weight to your body.  Other options available today include low (or no) alcohol drinks.  I especially love using bottle sparkling water, I always feel I’m having a special drink, add a slice of lemon or lime and some ice and an umbrella and I’m in party land!

 

• Use Balanced Snacks

Make sure you carry balanced snacks with you during the holiday season. By balanced snacks, I’m talking about snacks that contain carbohydrates, protein, fats and fibre.  Small snacks such as these will give you that full feeling and that extra energy you need to get through the hustle and bustle of food preparation, present buying and present wrapping, all while finishing up your work deadlines in time for the summer break!

• Be Gentle On You

Remember, it’s alright if you splurge once in a while.  Remember to have a plan to get back onto the road of healthy eating and living the very next day. Don’t allow a night of indulgence ruin your plans by the allure of, well, I’ve done it now, might as well really ruin it!!  Pick yourself back up the next day and get right back into your healthy eating plans, look forward and not behind you, it’s difficult to keep moving forward when you’re constantly looking over your shoulder.

• Begin Today

Avoid the temptation to start your New Year’s resolution to commit to a healthy lifestyle in 2015. Begin today!  Use your healthy lifestyle plans to begin your Life Journey today, every step forward is a step further ahead. By waiting until January 1,  you’ve wasted over 2 weeks of your precious life!!

To get started on your healthy Life Journey, using healthy balanced snacks and meals, contact me now!

Snacking, courtesy of Isagenix

 

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The secret to starting your day with a bounce!

A great way to start your day is with protein in your breakfast.

I do this every day with a serving of 26g of protein – so I decided to look out for recipes that also contain a similar amount of protein, also ensuring there is a balance of carbohydrates and fats and fibre too – you can’t forget those little beauties to begin your day!

 

Here is a selection that I have found for you to enjoy:

Protein Packed Oatmeal (borrowed from Live Fit)

• contains chia seeds for that extra nutritional boost
• 28g protein

 

Chia Oats, Live Fit

3-ingredient Peanut Butter Pancakes (borrowed from Fit Foodie Finds)

• grain free and dairy free
• no peanut butter was used, so lower in calories
• 20g protein

 

Pancakes, from Fit Foodie Finds

Salted Chocolate Oatmeal (borrowed from The Lemon Bowl)

• uses cocoa powder
• using the protein powder I use, I would take out the vanilla and yoghurt, still have high protein (well, 2 scoops of the powder will give you the 26g that I have)
• 17.7g protein
• next time I have my banana & chocolate smoothie, I’m adding some oats and salt to experiment – definitely tempted!

 

Enjoy these interesting and healthy ways to begin your day with bounce!

 

Muscle and Youth – Only for those under 30?

I was reading an article recently that was discussing how we look after the muscles in our body, and when is it okay to do this, in relation to how old we are?

Well, I personally think being able to look after your muscle growth and repair is something we can do every day, NO MATTER OUR AGE!!!

Ageless

The cells in our body are continually dying off and renewing, some do it quicker than others, and some do it slower. Example, the typical life of a red blood cell is 90 days, while the typical life of a bone cell may be up to 7 years.  So, some are slower to die off and regenerate and others are much quicker. We need to be on top of this every day, to ensure the nutrients are flowing to our cells on a regular basis to ensure they can rejuvenate in the best possible manner, and in the healthiest way they know.

Now, all the red blood cells don’t die on one day, they do it when their individual time is ‘up’, so this is a process that is occurring every day in our bodies.  We need to ensure that our body has the nutrients available to it to ensure an efficient clean up and rejuvenation process!

Typically, we consider the use of whey protein to aid in the ‘body building’ processes of youth. It is those ‘younger’ people that are into the field of building up their muscles and keeping their body fit and trim.

But who says it is just for the youth of our society? Doesn’t your body also deserve to benefit from being kept fit and trim?

The aging dieter also benefits from the use of whey protein in their diet as a complement to their healthy diet.

Whey protein helps burn age-related fat

This is what I always like to hear, how to burn age-related fat – I know that when I reached my mid-forties, the age-related fat was growing rapidly!!  Apparently, body fat accumulates as people age. That is an easy thing to see as we look around us today in our obesity challenged society.

Interestingly, the average person will gain 1 pound of fat every year after the age of 30. Not only is this extra fat unattractive and uncomfortable, its accumulation also poses significant risks to health. Visceral fat, or the fat that surrounds your internal organs, is particularly hazardous and has been linked to insulin resistance, abnormal blood lipids, and cardiovascular disease.

So aging healthfully requires burning excess fat and maintaining a desirable body weight. Eating a diet high in quality whey protein can assist in weight loss and subsequent maintenance by maximizing satiety, boosting fat burning, and increasing metabolism. Whey protein promotes fullness by stimulating gut and appetite hormones to tell the brain that it is satisfied (1). In addition, whey protein can actually rev up metabolism, helping the body burn fat. Whey protein is superior to other protein sources for promoting fat loss and has been shown to increase the body’s fat burning rate more than soy or casein in the hours following a meal (2).

Whey protein helps prevent age-related muscle loss

In addition to accumulating fat with age, people also lose muscle. So the fat increases, and the muscle decreases.  A worrisome thought, especially if you’re hoping to avoid this trend!

Muscle becomes progressively more difficult to build and preserve with age. In fact, the average person will lose 1/2 a pound of muscle every year after the age of 30.  So, we are gaining 1 pound of visceral fat, and losing 1/2 a pound of muscle, an overall weight gain of 1/2 a pound a year.  Where will you be by the time you are 60?

Luckily, the benefits of whey protein are two-sided, it gives both a greater ability to burn fat while building muscle and preventing breakdown. When it comes to building muscle, whey protein is superior to other protein sources. This is partly due to the type of amino acids making up the protein, which act as the key signal in regulating muscle growth (3).

Muscle is made of protein and is the only form of protein storage in the body. When sufficient protein is not supplied to the body through meals, muscle will begin to breakdown to accommodate the body’s needs. By eating whey protein in regular intervals throughout the day, muscle breakdown can be minimized and muscle mass can be maximized. Maximizing and preserving muscle mass is important for maintaining a healthy metabolism, supporting bone health (4) and mobility, as well as preventing chronic illness. Low muscle mass has been related to conditions such as poor blood sugar control and diabetes (4, 5). The less muscle a person has, the greater their health risks.  Something we are attempting to avoid as we age.

Protein needs are higher in older people

As we get older, we need more protein than younger adults to support our health, functionality, and recovery from illness (8). Older people are less sensitive to protein as the signal for muscle building and more is needed to stimulate muscle growth and to prevent muscle loss (9). Some studies suggest that needs may be as high as 40 grams per meal.

The current field of thought for a sedentary person is approximately 1g of protein for every kg of body weight, e.g., a 70kg sedentary person, requires approximately 70 g of protein per day.

Chronic inflammatory conditions and diseases that commonly occur with aging can also increase protein needs (8). It is critical that the right amount of high quality protein is eaten to offset some of the harmful consequences of chronic conditions and to compensate for a diminished anabolic response.

 

To sum up, no matter our age, the use of bioavailable protein to build our muscles and to enhance fat burning is vital.

 

References

1. Souza GT et al. Dietary whey protein lessens several risk factors for metabolic diseases: a review. Lipids Health Dis. 2012 Jun 7;11(1):67. [Epub ahead of print]

2. Acheson KJ et al. Protein choices targeting thermogenesis and metabolism. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Mar;93(3):525-34. Epub 2011 Jan 12.

3. Phillips SM et al. The role of milk- and soy-based protein in support of muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein accretion in young and elderly persons. J Am Coll Nutr. 2009 Aug;28(4):343-54.

4. Wolfe R. The underappreciated role of muscle in health and disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Sep;84(3):475-82.

5. Srikanthan P, Karlamangla AS. Relative muscle mass is inversely associated with insulin resistance and prediabetes. Findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Sep;96(9):2898-903. Epub 2011 Jul 21.

6. Bauer J, et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2013 Aug;14(8):542-59. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.021. Epub 2013 Jul 16.

7. Hulmi JJ et al. Effect of protein/essential amino acids and resistance training on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: A case for whey protein. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2010 Jun 17;7:51.

 

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Belly fat in your life journey?

Do you have belly fat?

Have you noticed that it is getting harder and harder to shift as the years click over?

I know I was certainly experiencing this until recently.  This made me wonder, WHY?? Does it make you wonder WHY?

Expanding waist lines

Research shows that as our age increases, the weight and our Body Mass Index (or BMI) also gradually increases (1, 2)! This increase peaks when we are between 50 and 59 years of age.

Now, I’m not sure about you, but for me that age band is beginning to approach rapidly, so it’s been time to understand why and to do something about it. I’ve spent the last 10 years watching the waistband expand, while still eating similar foods and exercising a similar amount as I did when I lost weight before.

This pattern of the increasing waistline with similar behaviour patterns was frustrating me, so ultimately I failed the determination and perserverance test, and I began the slippery slide down to less exercise and poorer food and alcohol choices – all this mainly due to the frustration I was feeling with the change of the belly fat and ultimately, my weight and waistline!

What research tells us is that as the waistline grows, the lean body mass, or muscle mass, decreases – this can result in tiredness and this in turn leads to lack of motivation, determination and perserverance with what we are doing – so the CIRCLE CONTINUES!!!!

This loss of lean body mass results in a redistribution of where the fat in our body lies, and it seems to accummulate on the belly – giving the typical belly fat look that we see often in ageing populations!  And of course, in me – however, since reducing my belly fat, a lot of my friends are beginning to notice that this is where I’ve reduced the weight considerably, and they are wondering how I’m doing it!

There has been a diet change.

The diet now has more good quality protein in it, and this is because the consumption of protein helps to fuel fat loss and stimulates the growth of muscle – this is always a good thing!

What tends to happen as we age, for various reasons, is that the consumption of protein tends to decrease, thus resulting in the increasing belly fat that we notice as we age.  A study was undertaken that shows that older adults eat less than the recommended daily intake (RDI) of protein (3) and further studies have proposed that older adults need to double their protein intakes, especially if they want to lose weight (4).

There has been an exercise change

I’m now going to the gym 3 – 4 times a week, with walking supplementing this routine (I love being in nature and will always love walking amongst it too!)

My first ever ‘selfie’ in the rainforest

Another aspect that contributes to the ever increasing waist line, and belly fat increase, is the reduction in energy expenditure.  Our body needs to spend energy to function, just to perform all the daily activities it normally does to survive, it also spends energy to digest food, and finally it spends energy to exercise.  These are further areas where there is a reduction as we age.  The energy to function can reduce by 2 – 3% for every decade we’re over 20 (5), the energy to digest food is reduced in older people and as we age we typically find other activities to undertake that are not as physical (I know my activities had changed to reading rather than gyming!!), or we become less agile and mobile.  The reduction in energy expenditure can result in less muscle mass, and ultimately more belly fat.

Hormonal changes can also occur as we age, and these can result in a reduced ability to make muscle as well and to recognise sensations of fullness, leading to increased calorie intake (along with poor food choices!).

There has been a supplements change

One area of concern that can occur when a change of routine occurs that results in weight loss, is the area of loss of minerals and resulting bone density loss.  To support my body through these changes I have increased my supplements to include Vitamin D, calcium and omega-3s, ultimately looking to minimise my mineral loss and to assist in building muscle mass (omega-3s will help preserve muscle mass).  I have included other supplements and herbs to assist my body in it’s functioning abilities also.  Sometimes the body can go slow when the exercise is non-existent and the food choices are poor. The herbs, vitamins and minerals I’m using support the body in functioning at the best it can for me.

There has been a motivational change

Motivation plays a big role in any change of life, whether it’s weight loss, muscle building, change of career, new adventures or any change you can think of.  My change of motivation has been much easier this journey than ever before, and I’m beginning to understand it’s about having a body that is functioning well due to well balanced nutrition. This appears to be changing how I think. Motivation and positiveness ultimately plays a role in any change you make, and my gratitude diary, my meditation, the support group I’m establishing, my vision boards and my energy levels are all playing a role in changing the motivation and thoughts that are surrounding my change.

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1. Mokdad et al. The continuing epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the United States. JAMA, 2001;286:1195-200.
2. Hedley et al. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999-2002. JAMA, 2004;291:2847-50.
3. Roubenoff et al.  Sarcopenia: Current concepts. J Geronotol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2000:55A:M716-M724.
4. Pasiakos et al. Effects of high-protein diets on fat-free mass and muscule protein synthesis following weight loss: a randomized controlled trial. FASAB J, 2013;9:3837-47.
5. Tzanknoff et al. Effect of muscle mass decrease on age-related BMR changes. J Appl Physiol, 1977;43:1001-6.

A journey to wellbeing

Due to a perceived lack of energy, a lack of motivation to undertake my exercise regularly, and the gradual creep upwards on the bathroom scales, I’ve finally decided to take action!

As my age has also been creeping upwards it has become more difficult to release those dreaded kilos/pounds. It’s just like all the books say, and also the ‘old wives’ tales. The older you are, the more stubborn the weight appears to be.

Today was the beginning of my journey, I’ve measured myself, including my weight. This is my baseline, and somewhere I never wish to be ever again in my life.

I began the day with a tonic, it contains some wonderful herbs in it. These herbs are considered to be adaptogens, and will assist with dealing with any stress that comes my way. That could be useful when I’m changing my diet – I’ve always been a food lover!!

Breakfast and lunch were deemed to be shakes today. The shake is a nutritionally balanced substitute for my usual breakfast and lunch. It’s based on a whey powder, but not any whey powder, one that is produced by ‘happy cows’ in New Zealand. I’m entrusting the ‘happiness’ will come with the powder!! It is also produced to result in a high bio-availability of the protein, so our body can utilise it more.

The shakes are actually quite nice tasting, and have a creamy texture to them. I was pleasantly surprised to be satisfied after each one. They were indeed filling.

I’ve tried a couple of different snacks today, I’m exploring which ones I enjoy more. So far I’ve tried a snack that reminds me of a chocolate flavour, and, along with all the water I’m remembering to drink (unusual for me as I’m not normally thirst) these are providing the carry through I have been needing.

I will keep you up to date with my progress and my enjoyment of the products.

These products are being introduced into my clinic, so if you wish to know more about how they benefit you, please contact me below and I will be in touch.

The lovely thing about these products is that they are for more than just weight loss.  My real goal is increased energy and motivation, looking for the weight loss to be a beneficial side-effect.  They are also useful for those athletes, or weekend warriors, who are looking to build their muscle tone.  An overall wellbeing sensation. Fits in well with my wellbeing programme.

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