Food

What does litter have to do with nutrition?

It’s a question that I have struggled to answer – not least because today is my 100th litter pick this year – whoop whoop!

I have struggled to answer these question around the link between nutrition and litter simply because I don’t want to sound like the kind of person who tells you off for eating a bar of chocolate. The kind of nutritionist that makes you feel bad for you brown bubbly caffeinated soft drink habit. The kind of dictator that expects you to do what I say, when I say it, without question.

But, I’m starting to feel like I’m failing you if I don’t at least highlight the link a little.

Read more

Counting calories is not the way to deal with childhood obesity

When it comes to eating better, one of the very least useful things you can do, in my opinion, is count calories.

Counting calories, and specifically reducing calories might seem like a great way to become healthy and to lose weigh. But the simple fact is that calories alone are not a good way to place a value on a food.

In this podcast – number 5 (whoop whoop!) – Lisa Beasley, the amazing mindful eating coach and I, a slightly ranty nutritional therapist, get stuck into the latest campaign around reducing calories for children to reduce childhood obesity.

We do get a little bit feisty about this one – probably because my experience as a nutritionist is that dieting, and counting calories as a child never works and Lisa remembers being worried about foods when she was younger, and realises that it simply didn’t help.

Read more

Alternative New Year Resolutions

I mentioned in my last podcast that New Year Resolutions are rubbish – especially ones relating to fitness and health.

Which is why I feel a tad hypocritical writing a post for New Year with some alternative New Year resolution suggestions for you.

But there you go.

I wrote these in a hurry: based on conversations I’ve had with family, friends and clients over the past few weeks, and also influenced by some of the craziness of life that inevitably happens around Christmas time.

Read more

Your New Year Weight Loss Resolution is rubbish – Podcast Episode 3

Your New Year Resolution to lose weight this year is a rubbish one. It really is. And even though you really mean it, you are probably going to fail.

Why?

Because many resolutions – up to around 60% of them, depending on what you read – fail within one month. ONE month.

And if you are planning on losing weight, changing your eating habits or starting a fitness program, that figure goes even higher – up to 80% of fitness and health resolutions fail.

So why bother? Why even think about making changes if those changes are going to fail before the first month of the year has come to a close?

Read more

Podcast Episode 2 – Survive Christmas

“How am I going to get through Christmas?”

“What will do I about all the chocolate/mince pies/crackers in the house?”

“Why can’t I leave the nibbles alone once I start?”

These are exactly the kind of questions I get asked by my clients at this time of year (well, actually, they ask those kinds of questions all the time, but the frequency definitely picks up as we head towards the festive season!)

Read more

Chocolate v Willpower: why disruption is better than diet

I recently had the opportunity to speak at the TEDx event held here in Bristol.

It wasn’t at the recorded TEDx show itself – although it was amazing to be in the audience for a number of really amazing talks. This time, I was running a short session in the brilliant Wellbeing Area which was where everyone headed during the break times. The theme for the TEDx event was Disruption and so us healthy types in the wellbeing area were tasked with talking about disrupting wellbeing.

My talk wasn’t recorded (thank goodness!) but I thought you might be interested in what I said that day. So here is (more or less) the kind of thing that I talked out.

Read more

Apple and blackberry crumble (wheat-free too!)

As we move from the Summer to the Autumn, it’s time to start thinking about Apple and Blackberry Crumble (in fact, it’s time to think about any kind of crumble, if I’m totally honest with you).

I’m not into making things overly fancy – which is why my wheat-free crumble which features in my Five Day Autumn Reboot might be just what you need to top your lovely autumnal fruit. You can play free and easy with this recipe – the amounts aren’t set in stone, so just go with what works for your Apple and Blackberry Crumble.

 

Apple and Blackberry Crumble (wheat-free too!)

(I’m going to assume that you’ve already sorted the bottom half of your crumble – you know, the fruity part. If you want to reduce the amount of sugar you use in the fruit, try adding cinnamon and/or some raisins – sweetens it up a treat!)

Read more

Tasty coleslaw

Summer is here and one of my favourite things to eat when the weather gets warm (and especially at a barbeque) is this simple yet bloomin’ marvelous coleslaw which my hubby (Steve) often makes.

It takes just a few minutes to make, keeps for a couple of days in the fridge (if you don’t eat it all, that is) and is better than any coleslaw you could get from the shops.

It’s just one of the recipes featured in my seasonal Five Day Reboot – so if you fancy trying a few more recipes to get you eating a bit more healthy again (and want some support from me and a lovely gang of people!) then click here to sign up and really kick start your eating this year!

Read more

Post-exercise chocolate milk

People, especially runners, talk about chocolate milk as being a great ‘post exercise’ refueling drink, and I have to agree. It is pretty fantastic.

It tastes good, it quickly gets protein to where it needs to go, and it is super convenient – no need to start cooking an omelette when you have chocolate milk around. In fact, when I talk with clients about exercise, one of the ways I recommend refueling is to have chocolate milk.

But when you look at the ingredients of most commercial chocolate milk drinks, there is a lot of random stuff in there which isn’t exactly what you need. Added sugars, sweeteners, flavourings etc. Those are things that don’t help rebuild muscle.

Read more