Happy new year!
If you want to make real changes for you and your family in 2017 how can you identify your goals and begin taking those first steps? It may sound funny to ask about goals but often understanding what you really want is the cornerstone to making change. Do you want to lose weight or is it really about being healthy, or feeling fit, or strong, or confident or something else?
Ask yourself “What will losing weight (or your goal) get for me?” The reply may be “I’ll be thinner”. And then ask again. “So what will being thinner get for me?” And then ask again and again? Often the final answer may surprise you? Coaching is a great way to identify goals and build motivation so for a free 30 minute trial consultation contact me at clairesambolino.com to arrange a skype session.
Back to 2017 and let’s talk about healthy eating which is something Kalila is passionate about. As women we are often multi-tasking and have a huge responsibility to look after ourselves, our partners, our children and later in life often our parents and grandparents, as well as juggling work, home, garden, pets etc etc. If we don’t take care of ourselves we risk running on empty and just as a car needs fuel we need to fuel our bodies with the right foods. In resolutions overload we talked about life in the slow lane and making gradual, more permanent changes instead of short-term resolutions and promises which are difficult to keep. I am always telling my children to “slow down” and actually I should listen to my own advice sometimes! Slow and steady wins the race as the saying goes.
There are many diets and weight-loss plans out there tempting us to lose weight in the fastest way possible. But let’s move away from talking about weight and simply talk about “eating healthily”. Weight is one aspect of being healthy and there are risks associated with being severely under or over weight. But there are many other aspects to being healthy which are often overlooked such as feeling full of energy and having healthy skin, shiny hair, strong nails, a strong immune system meaning fewer illnesses. How we eat affects all of these things as what we put into our bodies influences how we feel. If you put diesel into a petrol car it won’t work. In just the same way our body needs the right fuel to function properly.
The British Association for Nutritional Therapists publish a series of wellbeing guidelines which are a great first step towards “eating healthily” (http://www.facetofacewellbeingcentre.co.uk/wellbeing-guidelines). Most countries will have an official association so it’s always worth looking online to see what they suggest.
I love the fact that they start by telling us that everyone is unique! What works for one person may not work for another. They also talk about the importance of sleep and exercise. As a mother of two children under the age of five I suffer from regular sleep deprivation thanks so recognising the importance of sleep is fantastic news. Kalila’s Kathy is a yoga teacher and runner and is passionate about exercise and making it enjoyable. The other guidelines refer to eating a wide selection of colourful fruits and vegetables and choosing good sources of protein, fats and carbohydrates and over the coming weeks we will focus on each of these to understand what that really means.
- Everyone is unique but whatever your goal similar nutritional principles and health and well being guidelines will apply.
- Eat a Rainbow: a varied diet of 7 differently coloured fruit and vegetables per day.
- Stay hydrated with water, herbal teas, green and black teas. Avoid excessive alcohol, sugary drinks and too much caffeine
- Ensure protein is lean: fish, poultry, eggs and vegetable sources. Limit red and processed meat.
- Include healthy fats: avocados, nuts, olive oil. Cook with healthy saturated fats: coconut oil and butter.
- Choose root vegetables and whole grains (Wholemeal bread, pasta and rice) instead of refined carbohydrates and grains (processed foods such as cakes and biscuits and white bread, pasta and rice): Eat sparingly.
- For Weight Loss: include exercise, limit portion sizes, don’t eat between meals. Avoid: Sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and refined carbohydrates (processed foods such as cakes and biscuits and white bread, pasta, rice).
- Sleep and Exercise are an important aspect in overall Health and Wellbeing and Weight Management.
Eating healthily really begins with understanding food and choosing foods which fuel our body and give us the energy we need. In our series on “Eat Healthy” we’ll look at all of the guidelines above as well as providing recipes and suggestions for the family. Our journey begins here and we are happy to be travelling in the slow lane.
