Category: Food and Diet

Thanks to much of what we hear in the media, detoxing has earned a reputation for being unhealthy and even unsafe. When you hear the word “detox,” so you immediately think of all-liquid diets, expensive supplements, and short-term deprivation for short-term gains?

The truth is, a detox doesn’t have to involve any of the above—and if you detox in a healthy, supportive manner, you can achieve lasting results in weight loss, energy gain, and full-body health.

The following are four myths you may have heard about detoxing. Understandably, these myths may cause you to be hesitant to try a detox.

Keep reading to find out the truth behind these myths and why detoxing might be just what your body is craving.

Myth # 1: You won’t enjoy anything you’re eating while on a detox.

While you might have to eliminate certain foods that you enjoy, detoxing isn’t all about eating lettuce with a drizzle of olive oil. There are many delicious recipes that can be prepared using healthy ingredients that not only taste amazing but nourish and detox your body.

The best part is, many of them don’t involve any fancy ingredients and can be prepared even by a cooking novice. In fact, my detox participants always discover new foods and recipes that they absolutely love that have become staples in their diets long after the detox ends.

Myth #2:  You’ll constantly be hungry while detoxing.

While you might end up consuming fewer calories while following a detox, you shouldn’t feel deprived or hungry. Going on an extremely low-calorie diet can actually disrupt your hormones and metabolism, making your body less efficient in the long run.

Everyone’s caloric needs are different, so a detox should never dictate how many calories you consume. By consuming whole foods that provide you with the right nutrients, you help detox your body while feeling satisfied.  My participants are always amazed that they never feel hungry during my detoxes.

Myth #3:  You need to do an all-liquid detox to remove toxins from your body.

Liquid-only detoxes have had more than their fair share of popularity. These types of detoxes can backfire: Not only do people often gain the weight back as soon as the detox ends, but such restrictive eating for several days can be detrimental to your health. An effective detox will include a variety of whole foods to help nourish your body and produce long-term results.

Myth #4: Detoxes are just a way for people to make money on expensive supplements.

Supplements involved in a detox should be just that, a supplementary part of the program, not the primary source of your nutrition.  While on a detox, you get most of your vitamins and minerals from whole-food sources.

Supplements may be recommended to help your body make the most of the nutrients it receives from these foods.  For example, by including probiotics in your diet, you help your body produce vitamins, absorb minerals, and remove toxins from the body.

Aside from the benefits discussed above, detoxing is an incredibly effective way to identify if you have any food sensitivities, balance your hormones, and establish healthy habits for the long term.

I’ve worked with detox participants who not only have lost weight and kept it off but who have also seen their energy level skyrocket, their skin clears up and even their allergies disappear.

Are you ready to discover the benefits of healthy detoxing for yourself?

Click here to learn more about my upcoming 21-day Metab Jumpstart.

Get started here: 21 Days Metab Jumpstart

It starts on the 15th of June.

What questions or concerns do you have about participating in a detox?

Before you try something new, like a detox, it’s normal to feel hesitant.  I want to hear from you, email me at hafsah@slimfitu.com.

P.S: I read every email that comes into my inbox and I promise to email you back personally

Don’t forget

Having a healthy attitude towards food means loving what you eat and maintaining a healthy eating habit. This concept is not about dieting or eating superfoods for a short period because you want to lose weight. It has more to do with eating a balanced diet, eating moderately and putting your health first when you eat.

How to master healthy attitude towards food

If you have a complicated attitude towards food or struggle with your eating habits, consider using these points as an improvement strategy.

1. Choose balanced diet over dieting

Balanced diet is a diet that contains the proper proportions of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water necessary to maintain good health. – Dictionary.com

Always add the right classes of food to your meals so that you get the required nutrients when you eat.

2. Plan to eat good food

Avoid eating on impulse. Impulse eating can make you eat unhealthy foods that will make you go fat in the short run and cause damages to your health in the long run. Learn to use meal plans to plan your foods and use substitution to replace unhealthy food ingredients with healthy ones.

3. Be conscious of what you eat

Being conscious of what you eat will bring you happiness and satisfaction when you eat. It is easy to attain consciousness as regards to food if you set your mind on it. Some tips you can follow are:

1. Chew your food properly to aid digestion
2. Stop eating when you feel full
3. Always eat at the right time
4. Do not skip meals to avoid feeling very hungry and subsequently over-stuffing your stomach.
5. Be thankful to your food for providing you the nutrients that you need to function properly as human

When you practice the above tips and get used to them, you will always look forward to eat because of the benefits you stand to gain from eating good food. This will in turn help you to pick only healthy options when you plan your meals.

Related post: The concept of mindful eating for weightloss

4. Put yourself first

Instead of starving yourself because you want to look slim, you should rather eat to feel good both within and outside your body system. If you eat the right food, at the right time and in the right proportion, you will always feel smart, healthy and active which are the qualities that matter as against looking skinny and being able to wear certain clothes.

Your well-being comes first at all times. A good weightloss regimen will not require you to starve or eat wonder diet, neither is it wise for you to be required to binge eat or stuff up on fatty food if you are looking to gain weight.

Having a healthy attitude towards food is a lifetime habit that will help you love yourself and have a good health. It will also keep you in good shape which is neither overweight nor underweight but in a perfect-you shape.

Are you in a complicated relationship with food? Talk to me, let’s make it work together.

Stress is an intense attack which could cause emotional, psychological, physiological or behavioral exertions on the human body.

Stress can modify your eating pattern and also determine the type of food and frequency at which you eat. All of these are not ideal for your fitness or weightloss goals.

Effects of stress on the eating habit

Investigative studies have shown that stress can affect the eating habit in diverse ways and they can be grouped under four major headings. They are

• Emotional
• Physiological
• Psychological
• Behavioral

1. Emotional effects

Stress can affect your emotional state and modify your eating habit in the following ways:

• Preference for energy dense snacks, which means intake of excess calories
• Snacking without limits
• Impulse eating i.e., eating on-the-go, not necessarily out of hunger
• Overeating especially for depressed people just to while away time

2. Psychological effects

Just as stress is able to affect your state of the mind, it is also capable of changing your eating habits. An unstable person cannot think straight and as such the below factors are noticeable with psychological effects of stress:

• Poor eating habits which could be the end result of nervousness, loneliness or boredom
• Substance abuse such as taking alcohol or drugs
• Nutritional vulnerability because of lack of dietary requirement in your foods
• Skipping meals
• Heavy consumption of unhealthy food

3. Physiological effects

The major effect of physiological stress on eating habit is binge eating. Read more about this eating disorder here.

4. Behavioral effects

• High dramatic shift in food choices which could be detrimental to your well-being
• Higher levels of stress might make you choose unhealthy foods such as fatty foods or baked foods over wholesome meals

Way forward

It will be beneficial for your health if you keep stress at bay. Always remind yourself that the key to a healthy mind is a healthy body. So, be mindful of what you eat and how you eat regardless of the situation.

Consider the suggestions below to alleviate the effects of stress on your eating habit

• Identify the root cause of the stress and solve it once and for all
• Have a record of these stressors and know how to avoid them when you see signs

Above all, do not hesitate to see your doctor if you have symptoms of stress that refuse to go away.

Have you considered using a meal plan to organize your diet? Contact me now for a free meal plan. Offer valid while it lasts.

References

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Losing weight is no longer rocket science, as it has been discovered that little changes to diet content, mild exercises and modified lifestyle can do the magic.

Have you been depending on weightloss drugs, surgeries, and advanced technology to lose weight? Worry no more because the following minor tweaks and adjustments can add up to save calories and help quicken your goal of fast and lasting weightloss.

Here are eight eating habits that will help you lose weight fast

1. Prepare healthy meals ahead of hunger

Change or modify your eating habit of preparing foods only when hungry. With the intense of hunger you may grab whatever is available, which are mostly unhealthy options. So to consume more weightloss friendly foods, prepare your foods ahead of mealtime.

2. Eat in smaller bowl

Putting foods in big plates naturally means heaping your plate with more calories. So load foods in smaller bowl, that way you trick your brain to believe you are eating a lot, which results in the consumption of fewer calories.

3. Add flavor to your water

The role of water in weightloss journey cannot be over-emphazied. Apart from cleansing, it makes you feel full without taking in calories. But some people claim that water is tasteless, they’d rather take more of tasty liquids. The trick to take in tasty liquids without calories is to add flavour to your water. You may squeeze in lemon, lime or berries so as to add some cool taste to it.

You may also like: The concept of mindful eating for weightloss

4. Quench hunger with water trick

Most times hunger masquerades as thirst. The secret is when you feel hungry in-between meals, you might just need to drink a glass of water and wait for some minutes to see if you still feel hungry. If you feel full afterwards, you would have saved yourself from consuming unwanted calories.

5. Avoid eating too fast

If you eat in a haste, you are more likely to gulp down more food than necessary and of course the satiety rate from the brain kicks in late. So the trick is to eat slowly, take smaller bites and spend time to chew. Within a short period, the brain will trick the body to feel full even when you have just ate little food.

6. Add more metabolism revving veggies

A recent study has postulated that adding spices, salsa or chilli pepper to food does not only add flavor but can actually speed or rev up your metabolism. So take advantage of this trick daily by adding more of chilli veggies to your dishes.

7. Use the portion control trick

Be a winner in your weightloss journey by apportioning your meals. Let whatever you want to eat be your hand fist size. Eat whatever you want but take more of the healthy options and maintain recommended portion size.

8. Flee from temptation

Get yourself off places, event or people who add more damage to your weightloss goal. Try to avoid living in the kitchen, attend get-together only when necessary, organise fruits party if there is need to party. Let fast food joint be the last place on your mind. Basically, keep all temptation at bay.

Reference link

Organic protein refers to dietary proteins which are in the form of whole food or supplements. They are organically grown and usually free from chemical induced soil, pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics and artificial additives.

Organic protein is available in powder form and you can mix it with milk or water to form a shake, you can also blend it into smoothies or add it to oatmeal. It is quite healthy for the body and nutritionists have recommended it for various health benefits which include but not limited to:

• repair of muscle cells damaged during exercises
• repair of wornout tissues
• a good source of nutrient for vegetarian diets
• help with quick recovery after surgery
• help with fast healing of injuries
• support the building of muscle mass

Vegans whose diets are lacking in animal protein may be recommended to take plant-based protein. The below listed foods are good sources of organic protein.

Soybeans and soy products

Soy beans are grown organically, that is, without chemical or additives. Soy bean and its products contain amino acids. It could be made into soy protein powder, tempeh, soymilk, roasted soybeans and shakes.

Hemp seed

These nutritional seeds are good source of organic protein. Studies have recorded that hemp seeds are good for fighting heart diseases, reduction of obesity risk and metabolic syndrome. Hemp seed is rich in fiber and omega 3.You can make hemp seeds into protein powder, unsweetened hemp milk and bars.

Quinoa

This food contains a higher dose of protein along with healthy unsaturated fat more than the other sources. It helps make you feel full throughout the day because of its abundant fiber and it also contains a good amount of amino acids.

Amaranth

This organic protein source is a natural gluten-free grain or seed, which studies shows, is a good source of digestion assisting fiber. It also contains calcium and bicep building iron. You can prepare porridge with Amaranths for easy consumption.

Eggs

Eggs are good source of organic protein. They are very good for vegans and others, who want to stay healthy all year round. The protein in eggs helps to preserve the muscles, promote metabolism, keeps hunger under control, thereby aiding weight loss. You can eat eggs on its own, take it with sandwich or diced in salad.

Spinach

Spinach contains organic protein just like the other sources of protein. You can retain its nutrients by steaming it, which in turn  will cause it to keep its vitamins. These vitamins boost the absorption of calcium and cut away any bloating effect from vegetables. You may add spinachs to your salads for a healthy diet.

Beans

This is also a good source of organic protein, and its nutrients help the heart, brain and muscles to function properly. Beans digest slowly keeping one full for a long period of time. You can eat it  as porridge or soup.

There are several ways to prepare these proteins into yummy looking foods. Like I said in my previous post, get creative and eat healthy.

The hard truth is that letting go of pastries is a really tough one. Think of it, the deliciousness ?, the sumptuous look and oh! the beautiful colours. But, here is another hard fact, indulging in pastries without slowing down will do you more harm than good. Sorry.

However, if you are a lover of pastries, here are some healthy ways you can indulge in them without too much compromise to your healthy diet.

Prepare the pastries yourself

This gives you the power to add or subtract ingredients that are detrimental to health, unlike when you order them from your favorite fast food joint where they come with loads of calories, unhealthy toppings, dressings and preservatives.

When preparing them yourself, you can eliminate or substitute some ingredients like swapping trans fat with healthy oil. If you are frying, a good non–stick pan should be used to dry fry instead of deep frying. This gives you the advantage to cut down calories, fat and oil, unhealthy dressings that are usually not required.

Eat a little portion a time

Moderation is always important. Do not stuff your system with too much junks. Avoid valued sized items and go for small sizes when it comes to snacks with a lot of dressings and toppings. Satisfy your appetite with little at a time, i.e. eat a slice at a time and save the rest for later.

Customize your orders

If you do not have the time to prepare the pastries yourself at home, then, you can take advantage of special order offer granted by some fast food restaurants. Order for healthier options that are tweaked to suit your desire. You could swap a hamburger for a wheat bun, or a white flour pizza for a wheat pizza.

Go for quality

Go for pastries with quality ingredients, like pastries with more fiber, whole grains and high quality protein. If it means paying more, then don’t hesitate to pay instead of gping for cheaper options that are loaded with unhealthy oil, fats, sugar and calories.

Weightloss? Start here free of charge

Steer clear of cheap pastries that are kept fresh with trans fat. Eat healthy pastries with quality toppings of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cottage cheeses etc. Alright, these recommendations do not come cheap, however, your health is safe when you eat quality food instead of cheap alternatives.

Load up on veggies

Do not be confused about this. Ignore the baseless rumours that adding loads of veggies to your pastries reduces taste and crunchiness. Rather adding veggies is really an easy way to add loads of flavor and vitamins to your food. Load your pizza, pies, buns, hamburger etc, with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, green, red, pepper, mushroom, spinach, broccoli and so on.

Eating healthy is actually fun and it can help you unleash the creativity in you. Now go create some healthy recipes.

Last week, I posted about ‘the whats and whatnots of weightloss smoothies’ and I promised to post weightloss smoothie recipes that I know of this week.

And just as I promised, I have a few weightloss smoothie recipes here that you can start with.

Each of the recipes here are for a one-time serving for an average-size person. Some of these recipes may seem high in calorie but know that they are high in good calorie that will help you shed weight and feel full until your next meal.

1. Mango Avocado Green Tea Smoothie

– 1 cup green tea
– 1 cup fresh or frozen mango chunks
– 1/2 medium avocado
– 1 cup spinach
– 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
– A dash of sea salt
– A little honey (optional, mango provides enough sweetness already)

Nutrition information

– Calories 329
– Fat 22g
– Protein 4g
– Carbohhydrate 35g
– Fiber 10g
– Sugar 23g
– Vitamin C 131% RDA
– Vitamin K 216% RDA
– Calcium 6% RDA
– Iron 14% RDA

2. Berry Banana Smoothie

– 1 cup water
– 1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries
– 1/2 fresh or frozen banana
– 1 cup spinach
– 1 tablespoon coconut oil
– 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
– 1 tablespoon gelatin (optional, for protein)

Nutrition information

– Calories 251
– Fat 14g
– Protein 3g
– Carbohydrate 32g
– Fiber 5g
– Sugar 18g
– Vitamin C 43% RDA
– Vitamin K 181% RDA
– Calcium 10% RDA
– Iron 10% RDA

3. Blueberry Greek Yogurt Smoothie

– 1/2 cup water
– 1/2 fresh or frozen blueberries
– 3/4 cup of plain, Greek yogurt
– 1/2 table spoon chia seed or chia seed gel
– 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1/2 tablesloon honey (optionally use 1/2 banana to sweeten)

Nutrition information

– Calories 327
– Fat 20g
– Protein 8g
– Carbohydrate 31g
– Fiber 5g
– Sugar 21g
– Vitamin C 13% RDA
– Vitamin K 86% RDA
– Calcium
– Iron

To prepare each smoothie recipe, place the ingredients in your smoothie (highspeed) blender. Blend for 30-45 seconds or till it is as smooth as you like. With lowspeed blender, blend everything else before the coconut oil to avoid clumping.

Feel free to vary ingredients to your preference if you wish. Every new variation you make will just be another great weightloss smoothie as long as you use the right ingredients. Enjoy!