Do You Struggle With Tracking Your Calories?

If you have started a healthy regime, whether to lose weight or gain weight, you need to know what you are eating and the calories and micronutrients and macro nutrients that they are laden with. There are not many calorie counters out there that can track your calories, your fitness activity levels, your water intake and provide you with a journal and a community of people willing to support you. 

My Fitness Pal Calorie Counter

This one tool has helped many of my clients including myself understand how to control their daily food intake as well as putting in an adequate exercise regime.

You can put in your weightloss or weight gain goals, your height and your current weight and how much you wish to lose each week, the app will then calculate how much calories you need to eat and burn each week to help you achieve your goals.  Recording food is easy to do, you can barcode scan items, or you can find items on the huge database that is included.  

When I first started of using the tool, I just basically entered everything I ate.  Which really shocked me at how much calories I was eating, or not on some days, and also the high level of fat in the food I was putting into my body, as well as the lack of major micronutrients that the body needs in order to improve your health, lose weight effectively and to help with health conditions in general.   

Now for getting the most out of this tool, I input my food for the start of the day, and then review the amount of calories, and micronutrients in the food I have entered.  If I have too much fat in my diet for that day, then I look at what foods contain fat, and remove them, I can then add something else like a vegetable or fruit instead.  By going through this process of adding and removing certain foods on a day to day basis, I know it is a bit picky and time consuming, but it has helped considerably with knowing the true value of foods and nutrients you are getting from them in the first place. 

Work with a nutritionist to get the most out of using myfitness pal as you will get better results, use this as a food diary and pass to your nutritionist weekly, for them to adjust and advise and comment on what changes you could make in order to help you reach your goal quicker. 

Click Here to Learn More About My Fitness Pal Calorie Counter          




+++++++++++++++++++++++



Do you feel you want to change your current circumstances, Health, general outlook on life? 

Why not book a FREE 20 minute consultation with Colette to see how she can help you. 

Click HERE to complete 

5 Minute Fat Burning Kettlebell Workout

Exercise is really important in the journey to help you burn fat and create lean muscle. 

Try this quick Kettle Bell work out at least 3 or 4 times in the week, and see a different in your lean fat burning ratio.


 


Colette Morris
Nutritional Therapist, IICT,  SacDipl, (Diet & Nutrition)
Health Coach

=============================================

Click the button below to change your lifestyle and JOIN us on the Project 10 Challenge to get fitter healthier and more active.

Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Diabetic Friendly, Kosher Approved

  JOIN THE CHALLENGE  NOW

Lose Weight and Have Fun Doing It!

Losing weight can be fun!  

Try getting together with a bunch of friends and help cheer each other on. Or join us on the Challenge....

I try to make it a competition on who can find the tastiest low calorie menu / meal for the week. It gets even better, when you can find low calorie deserts and cakes which are home made and you know all the ingredients that you personally put in them are healthy and low fat!

Going back to basics, cooking food from fresh produce makes dieting interesting and fun and not to mention healthy too!  I recently did a 10 day detox many of you have since followed and completed this too, and I found it fun buying all these vegetables I would not normally buy and making a meal out of the various combinations. 

You can control what you put in your meals, how you cook your meals and the portion size,all  of which are important to successful weight management.  Of course the fun begins when you invite friends around for a 'healthy four course meal', all freshly cooked by yourself. Who would imagine losing weight and cooking delicious food all in the same sentence!

Exercising is also made easier when you have friends to do things with, to goad you along and to encourage you when you feel like you don't want to get out there in the cold,wind or rain! Come check out our Challenge Groups, which are designed to help provide support for those of you on the 90 day challenge. 
You may also want to look at taking up activities you would not normally do, like line dancing, salsa or badminton something where you can have fun with others while building new friendships and support networks.

Don't get into the trap of weighing yourself too often. I would say once every two weeks is adequate enough, more importantly is measuring the inches you lose as this is a good indication of fat loss.  After all, that is why you are losing weight in the first place.

Have fun losing weight don't make it a chore and watch it all drop off!  After all you are now undertaking a massive lifestyle change,one that will stay with you long term.

If you want to join us on our next 90 day challenge click here and fill in the form for more info.

If you liked my post feel free to share this by email or twitter or facebook

I would love to hear your techniques on keeping yourself on track,post them in my comments box below…

All About Raw Food Diets

As we are about to start our Raw Food Detox, I thought it would be good to share some background to Raw Foods.

Why Eat Raw Food?

The Rawfood diet has been around for a few years now, it is a diet based on the beliefthat eating raw foods are more healthy for your body.  Cooking foods can diminish its nutritionalcontent and value. Certain vitamins are destroyed by heat.  Although most food is eaten raw, heating foodis acceptable as long as the temperate stays below 104 to 118 Fahrenheit.

A raw food detox can be very energizing and appealing. Instead of eatingprocessed foods that only ten to fill your body with toxins, on a raw fooddetox you will eat lots more fresh fruits and vegetables that will help yourbody get rid of these toxins, and which will help you feeling more energisedand healthier. 

Your body is always in the process of cleansing out the toxins, but it canonly do so much, especially if you continue to consume the foods that containthe toxins your body has just cleansed itself off.  However, a raw diet helps to replace thetoxic foods with clean foods, and helps to speed up the detoxification process.

On this diet, you are consuming only fresh fruits and vegetables, which aremade up primarily of water. Because the body doesn’t need to work very hard todigest these foods, the body has the ability to remove the toxins at thecellular level. But this is not going to be easy, your body will still cravethe toxins that it has become accustomed to, such as cakes, sweets,coffee.  You may experience skin problemsin the first few days, headaches, tiredness and some nausea.  The first few days can be rough, but bydrinking lots of water, continuing to eat and exercise you will find you feelbetter than you did before going on the programme.

What Do I Eat On a Raw Food Diet?

There are different ways that people follow a raw food diet. Most people whofollow a raw food diet are vegan. Some consume raw animal products, such as rawmilk, cheese made from raw milk, sashimi, ceviche (raw fish), or carpaccio (rawmeat). Some people eat only raw foods, while others include cooked food forvariety and convenience. The percentage of raw food is usually 70 percent ormore of the diet.

Fruits

Staple fruits include:

• Apple
• Avocado
• Banana
• Blueberry
• Dates
• Grapes
• Lemon
• Lime
• Mango
• Orange
• Raisins
• Raspberry
• Strawberry
• Young coconut

Vegetables

Staple vegetables include:

• Bell peppers: red, orange, yellow
• Celery
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Jalapeno pepper
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Onion
• Spinach
• Tomato
• Zucchini

Nuts and Seeds

Dried, raw, and preferably organic.

• Almonds
• Cashews
• Macadamia nuts
• Pine nuts
• Flax seeds
• Chia seeds
• Hemp seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Raw almond butter
• Nut "nutter"
• Nut "milks"
• Seed crackers (e.g. chia, flax)

Grains

• Millet
• Buckwheat
• Quinoa
• Oats
• Cereal
• Granola
• Bread

Beans and Legumes

Dried, raw, and preferably organic.

• Lentils
• Chickpeas
• Adzuki beans
• Mung beans

Oil

• Cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil
• Raw, virgin coconut oil
• Raw coconut butter
• Chia oil

Beverages

• Water
• Vegetable or fruit juice – freshly squeezed or frozen, unpasteurized
• Young coconut water
• Herbal tea (made with water heated to less than 118 F)

Miscellaneous

• Young coconut
• Carob powder
• Raw cacao nibs
• Raw protein powder
• Raw vegan ice cream
• Fermented foods such as miso, kimchee and sauerkraut

Herbs, Spices, and Condiments

• Bragg’s raw apple cider
• Bragg’s liquid aminos
• Cayenne pepper
• Celtic sea salt
• Chocolate, raw
• Cinnamon, ground
• Cumin, ground or seeds
• Curries
• Dill
• Nama shoyu (raw soy sauce)
• Raw honey
• Himalayan salt
• Seaweed
• Sundried tomato
• Vinegars

Sweeteners

• Raw honey
• Agave nectar
• Coconut nectar
• Stevia
• Date sugar
• Yacon

Animal Products

**In addition to plant foods, some raw foodists eat raw animal foods such asraw eggs, fish and meat, and non-pasteurized, non-homogenized milk, yogurt andcheese.

• Fish
• Beef
• Spence and Co. gravlax
• Proscuitto
• Milk
• Raw milk cheese
• Organic egg

**Consuming raw or undercooked meat, fish, milk, or eggs products mayincrease your risk of foodborne illness.

Colette Morris
Nutritional Therapist, IICT,  SacDipl, (Diet & Nutrition)
Health Coach

=============================================

Click the button below to change your lifestyle and JOIN us on the Project 10 Challenge to get fitter healthier and more active.

Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Diabetic Friendly, Kosher Approved

  JOIN THE CHALLENGE  NOW

Join Me For The Drop A Dress Size Before Christmas Challenge

It's that time of the year only 90 days or less left until December 'the feast season' is upon us. 

December is the one month of the year where people just go crazy for food. It all starts with office celebrations, with friends celebrations, family celebrations before you know it you're absolutely stuffedsolid ate way too much and have drunk too much than you should have and by the time Christmas day comes you just think 'oh sod it I  might as well go all in!'

  It's normally about this time of the year that I go on my Christmas day challenge diet. And this really is for me to lose weight before Christmas so that I don't have to worry about those December binges.  I normally try and lose about 3-5kg  before that fatal time comes, so that by the time New Year Eve arrives  and its the night of the new years ball , I can rest assured that I can fit into my dress comfortably and not have to worry about my weight. 


So who wants to start the drop a dress size before Christmas Challenge?  

If you do this with 3 friends you can get your programme for FREE.... If you're interested please do leave your name and details with me in the form below.   

Colette Morris
Nutritional Therapist, IICT,  SacDipl, (Diet & Nutrition)
Health Coach

=============================================

Click the button below to change your lifestyle and JOIN us on the Project 10 Challenge to get fitter healthier and more active.

Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Diabetic Friendly, Kosher Approved

  JOIN THE CHALLENGE  NOW

Try This Green Shake Recipe from Doctor Seidman

The last Dr. Seidman recipe we featured was such a hit with the Vi Community, we thought we’d share one more! Shake up your shake with another favorite from Dr. Seidman. It includes mangos, strawberries, cucumber and lime—another summer blend packed with flavor and nutrients!

Ingredients:

• 2 scoops of Vi-Shape^® Shake per serving
• 1 avocado
• 1 cup frozen mango or 1 fresh mango
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• ½ cucumber
• 4 tbsp. chia seeds
• 3 big handfuls kale, spinach or both
• Juice of 1 or 2 limes
• 2 cups of filtered water for blending

Makes 4-5 servings

Directions:

1. Slice the avocado in half and remove the seed. Scoop the avocado out and into a blender.
2. Add the mango, strawberries, cucumber, chia seeds and leafy greens.
3. Slice the limes in half and squeeze the juice into the blender.
4. Add the filtered water and blend. Add more water depending on the desired consistency.

Try it and let us know how you put your own creative spin on it! 

This was taken from the Visalus hub, more can be found here;
Colette Morris
Nutritional Therapist, IICT,  SacDipl, (Diet & Nutrition)
Health Coach

=============================================

Click the button below to change your lifestyle and JOIN us on the Project 10 Challenge to get fitter healthier and more active.

Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Diabetic Friendly, Kosher Approved

  JOIN THE CHALLENGE  NOW

Weightloss and PCOS

So what is PCOS?

Polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, is a condition in which a woman’s levels of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone are out of balance. This leads to the growth of ovarian cysts (benign masses on the ovaries). 
PCOS can cause problems with a women’s menstrual cycle, fertility, cardiac function, and appearance.

Symptoms of PCOS

Symptoms of PCOS typically start soon after a woman begins to menstruate. The type and severity of symptoms varies from person to person. The most common characteristic of PCOS is irregular menstrual periods.

Because PCOS is marked by a decrease in female sex hormones, this condition may cause women to develop certain male characteristics, such as:

• excess hair on the face, chest, stomach, thumbs, or toes
• decrease in breast size
• deeper voice
• thin hair

Other symptoms include:

• acne
• weight gain
• pelvic pain
• anxiety or depression
• infertility

While not symptoms of the disease, many women with PCOS have other concurrent health problems, such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. These are linked to the weight gain typical in PCOS patients.

How Is PCOS Treated?

Treatment for PCOS is not curative. Treatment focuses on controlling symptoms and managing the condition to prevent complications. The treatment will vary from woman to woman, depending on specific symptoms.

A healthy diet and regular exercise is recommended for all women with PCOS, particularly those who are overweight. This can help to regulate your menstrual cycle and lower your blood glucose levels.

*Research taken from www.healthonline.com

How Healthy Nutrition Can Help

Each person is different, and working with individuals as a health coach I can work out a plan for you to help with weightloss and to ease some of the other symptoms that come with PCOS through improving your diet and through exercise. 

I will leave you with a feel good story, this is the story of a family who lost over 600 pounds between them, and what is so special about this story is that Katie and Luis Aranda wanted to have a baby, but in order to do so her doctor informed her that she would need to lose weight.  Losing weight can be difficult for anyone but for Katie's health condition, PCOS, makes it especially difficult. You can read their story by clicking here.

If you found this post useful, please share and leave a comment below

Colette Morris
Nutritional Therapist, IICT,  SacDipl, (Diet & Nutrition)
Health Coach

=============================================

Click the button below to change your lifestyle and JOIN us on the Project 10 Challenge to get fitter healthier and more active.

Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Diabetic Friendly, Kosher Approved

  JOIN THE CHALLENGE  NOW

Waiting for a friend!

Waiting  for my next client having a pot of OOlong Tea! Great health benefits;  sharpen thinking skills and improve mental alertness. It is also used to prevent cancer, tooth decay, osteoporosis, and heart disease  #longerlife

Diabetes and Diet Is There A Connection?

Once again the government raise the fact that ever increasing waist lines are the cause for type 2 Diabetes increasing in the UK.  This has been a known fact for the last 15 years, and yet the fact that diet is a major contributor to this avoidable illness has been a slow one to tackle. 

It is shocking to find out that most Doctors have minimal nutritional training, and therefore are unable to give suitable advice to a patient with diabetes type 2 or who are borderline.  However, if they began working with their health colleagues who are trained in nutrition, such as Nutritionists and dieticians this can be overcome.  

A Nutritional Therapist may be working with a healthy individual in order to prevent disease, or they be working with a sick individual to ease and minimise symptoms of a developed disease. 

One way of distinguishing dieticians and nutritionist from nutritional therapists is to under that that the nutritional therapist often help minimise health system as opposed to focussing on the cause and treatment of the disease itself (like that of registered dieticians and medical doctors). 

One thing I would observe having been on the end of the health service  with my mother who was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic in her early 70's many years ago, was the diet she was given to follow by the dietician did not reflect her west indian cultural foods. 

This caused me to look at her diet, and indeed my own also, makes sense right, if my mum was diagnosed, then there is a high possibility I might be too in the future! Through Nutritional training and online research  I changed how and what she ate, and when, as well as swapping bad things out and good things in, knowing what food combinations to put together and including more exercise in her regime.  Over a period of time my Mother was removed from off her diabetic medication by her GP as she no longer appeared to have the illness, it was and is still being controlled through her diet.  

Other clients who were borderline type 2 have come to me for advice, and support and through looking at their habits, foods they eat, and when and how often we have managed to change their health outcome, lose weight and lose the threat of diabetes. 

I help clients from different cultural backgrounds who have diabetes and work with their own cultural foods and ways to help them improve their symptoms, along with them working with their GP. 

If you suffer from Type 2 Diabetes or are borderline, or it runs in your family,  contact me to see how I can help you. 

Early Symptoms: 

• Increased thirst
• Urinating more often, especially at night
• Extreme tiredness
• Blurred vision
• Genital itching or regular episodes of thrush
• Wounds and cuts that take a long time to heal
• Losing weight without trying
• Many people have Type 2 Diabetes for years without realising it because the early symptoms can be mild. If you think you have Diabetes, see your GP as soon as possible. Early diagnosis and treatment may reduce your risk of developing complications later on.

Sourced from NHS website.
Here is the article from the BBC news around Diabetes, what are you thoughts or your views on this? 
BBC NEWS ARTCLE

Colette Morris
Nutritional Therapist, IICT,  SacDipl, (Diet & Nutrition)
Health Coach
=============================================

Click the button below to change your lifestyle and JOIN us on the Project 10 Challenge to get fitter healthier and more active.

Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Diabetic Friendly, Kosher Approved

  JOIN THE CHALLENGE  NOW

Benefits Of Chia Seeds

I recently started using Chia seeds in my smoothies for added health benefits.  I had recently completed some research online looking for ways in which I could reduce my body fat and also cholesterol. Chia Seeds came out on top.  They are pretty versatile, and you can put them in your smoothies, and also in cereal all on top of yoghurt. 

Don’t be fooled by the size… these tiny seeds pack a powerful nutritional punch.

A 1 ounce (28 grams) serving of chia seeds contains: 

• Fiber: 11 grams.
• Protein: 4 grams.
• Fat: 9 grams (5 of which are Omega-3s).
• Calcium: 18% of the RDA.
• Manganese: 30% of the RDA.
• Magnesium: 30% of the RDA.
• Phosphorus: 27% of the RDA.
• They also contain a decent amount of Zinc, Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Potassium, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) and Vitamin B2.

This is particularly impressive when you consider that this is just a single ounce, which supplies only 137 calories and one gram of digestible carbohydrate!

Just so that we’re all on the same page, 1 ounce equals 28 grams, or about 2 tablespoons.

Interestingly… if you subtract the fiber, which may not end up as usable calories for the body, chia seeds only contain 101 calories per ounce.

This makes them one of the world’s best sources of several important nutrients, calorie for calorie.

To top things off, chia seeds are a “whole grain” food, are usually grown organically, are non-GMO and naturally free of gluten.

Chia Seeds Are Loaded With Antioxidants

Another area where chia seeds shine is in their high amount of antioxidants 

These antioxidants protect the sensitive fats in the seeds from going rancid 

Although antioxidant supplements are not very effective, getting antioxidants from foods can have positive effects on health and immune system.  

Most importantly, antioxidants fight the production of free radicals, which can damage molecules in cells and contribute to ageing and diseases like cancer 

Because of all the fiber, chia seeds can absorb up to 10-12 times their weight in water, becoming gel-like and expanding in your stomach 

Theoretically, this should increase fullness, slow absorption of your food and help you eat fewer calories.

Fiber also feeds the friendly bacteria in the intestine, which is important because keeping your gur bugs well fed is absolutely crucial for health. 

Chia seeds are 40% fiber, by weight. This makes them one of the best sources of fiber in the world.

If you found this post useful, please like and share and leave me a comment below :)


=============================================

Click the button below to change your lifestyle and JOIN us on the Project 10 Challenge to get fitter healthier and more active.

Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Diabetic Friendly, Kosher Approved

  JOIN THE CHALLENGE  NOW