Do you know your portion sizes?

I imagine you're looking at this photo and thinking, god she is restricting herself.

What about this one?

Looks like a good plateful of food, doesn't it?

Well, there is exactly the same amount on that plate as the first one. The point I am trying to get to is that a lot of people often can't understand why they aren't losing or have put weight on.

Did you know that since the 1960s plate sizes have increased by 36%. An average plate used to be between 7-9 inches and now they are up to 12inches. I guess that doesn't sound like much but if that means the size is now over 30% bigger than what it was, chances are you're eating a third more food than necessary.

Food is very visual. The average person would look at the first plate and think, I am still going to be hungry after this. But the second one might leave you feeling over faced. Ever heard the expression your eyes are bigger than your belly? It has some merit.

It takes about 20 minutes for you to start feeling full. So, if you had a big plate like the first one and filled it, you could keep on eating not realising you have eaten enough until it's too late. We have all had that feeling where it hits us suddenly and we are uncomfortably full but we don't know why because we didn't think we ate that much. You might have eaten more than you realised if the plate was big.

However, if you eat from the small plate, you may think you're still hungry when you've finished. Just wait for half an hour and see how you feel then.

By all means, if you are still hungry, listen to your body and eat some more. Go for seconds but try to make it a celebration of veggies, salad or fruit as the main body of the plate. The fibre should fill you right up then, with fewer calories.

I'm not saying you should bin your lovely expensive plates, but just be more aware the next time you dish up that it doesn't need to be full to the rim.

A good rule of thumb is that the protein should be about the size of your fist and the carbohydrate should match. Then the veggies should be twice that amount. See what that looks like on your plate and it might surprise you.

Just have a little more awareness about portion sizes and you should see a reduction in dress sizes.

Walkies for Weight loss

I have received a few compliments about my weight of late. However, my gym time has significantly
reduced as a lot has changed in the last couple of months.

The big changes being we have a dog! We have also moved house which is, as everyone knows, quite stressful.

Kendal, the six-month-old black labrador joined us two months ago and now our lives revolve around her. We walk for half an hour in the morning and for 45 minutes to an hour on an evening.

This is the only thing I can attribute to any type of weight loss as I am doing nothing different other than reducing my hours in the gym.

The point to this is, if you are struggling with your weight and you find it tiresome spending time in the gym, perhaps you should start putting the miles in? Is that something you had ever considered?

I'm not suggesting everyone goes and gets a dog, they are exhausting but find yourself a walking buddy, or you can even sign up to walk someone else's dog if you think that would motivate you more.

It is such a sociable activity and there is nothing like a bit of fresh air to perk you up. As mentioned before, I am an avid Fitbit user and mine sings me praises every day now, I tend to reach all my goals which even on gym days was something I didn't always meet.

So if you are struggling, and you don't want to spend days on end in the gym, give walking a go and see if you notice a difference.

Kendal loves to play, it's such a joy being in the fresh air watching her play

Full Body Blast!

For those of you who don't know me, we recently got a puppy!

Now getting a puppy isn't all fluff and rainbows, it is exhausting. Our darling Kendal, sleeps through the night but other than that, she takes all of our energy.

She wants to play constantly and she needs lots of walkies as she is a labrador. Where the walking is a fantastic way for us to keep active and enjoy being outside (unless its snowing and 7am!) we are finding that it is more difficult than ever to get to the gym.

As we both work full time, evenings are her time with us and we would be guilt ridden if we left her for another hour to go and work out, especially as we can do it at home. That's for another blog at a later date. But the rare opportunity came yesterday and I was able to enjoy a strong hour and therefore, I wanted to share with you my workout.

This is for anyone who struggles to find time to go to the gym. This full body work out is a great one for hitting all the tough spots and to continue the burn throughout the next day. It is broken down into three parts.

Do this a couple of times a week and you're golden.

15 minute cardio Hiit
I did it on the cross trainer by following this format but you can do it using the treadmill / bike / rower, or whatever cardio machine you want really. Just get sweaty, get your heart rate up and feel the heat.

Lots of weighted exercises (I do between 12 and 15 reps depending on the weight. If I want to move up a weight I reduce it to 8-10 so I get comfortable and keep good form and slowly work up to 15 reps over the course of the next few weeks)

Rest for about 30 seconds between each action

15 clean and jerk x 3 (beginners use a very light weight for this, it's brutal) I used 15kg

15 deadlift x 3

15 chest press x 3

12 shoulder press x 3

15 seated row x 3

15 squats x 3

20 bicep curl x 3

15 tricep dip x 3

Abs!
25 crunches straight into 25 leg raises
rest
repeat.

Feel the burn!

High Intensity Low Impact Workout

Sore knees? Or just low on time?

Let me tell you about the new grueling routine Matt and I have been going through a couple of times a week.


20 Minute Cross Trainer Intervals

Disclosure....
1. I hate the cross trainer
2. Anyone who thinks 30 seconds isn't a long time, has never done a Hiit session
3. You will feel great afterwards, so persevere


We both tend to go through phases when we get sore knees for some reason or another. So this cross trainer work out is easier our joints (I know we sound like pensioners, not twenty somethings).

If you do it for 20 minutes, each round should be between 2-2 1/2 minutes. Train at a medium intensity for 2 minutes and then push your feet forward as fast as possible for the next 30 seconds. Then repeat the whole process.

If you really feel like burning some cals, make the regime 1 1/2 mins medium and 30 seconds intense.

It is worth noticing your RPM when you are pushing yourself to see what you can get up to and then aim to keep it at that each time you go at full throttle.

You will definitely appreciate the next 2 minutes as a  slower pace and you will get off nice and sweaty.

I find doing intervals makes the tedious job of using cardio machines go much faster.

Of course you can apply this to any of the machines, I love doing it on the treadmill but I don't have as much recovery time.


Here is a rough guide (based on my abilities so adapt to suit eg, Matt's RPM is much higher than mine, some people's may be lower)

0 - 2 mins 70 RPM
2 - 2.30 mins 103 RPM
2.30 - 4.30 mins 70 RPM
4.30 - 5 mins 103 RPM
5 - 7 mins 70 RPM
7 - 7.30 mins 103 RPM
7.30 - 9.30 mins 70 RPM
9.30 - 10 mins 103 RPM
10 - 12 mins 70 RPM
12 - 12.30 mins 103 RPM
12.30 - 14.30 mins 70 RPM
14.30 - 15 mins 103 RPM
15 - 17 mins 70 RPM
17 - 17.30 103 RPM
17.30 - 19.30 mins 70 RPM
19.30 - 20 mins 103 RPM

Cool down... or keep going to 30 if you're brave enough.


Let me know if you try it and how you get on.

K x

Top tips for sticking to a healthy diet

Well it is the New Year and I know many of you, myself included will be more focused on your eating habits after enjoying a lovely Christmas feast, (for 4 weeks, ooops).

The key to success is habit and repetition.

If you do something every day for 21 one days, it should stick and become a new habit. There are ways of implementing this new scheme into your daily life and I have some tips and tricks to help.

You could possibly try eating at the same time each day.

In terms of repetition, if you do one thing the same every day, be it eating an apple at 3pm or having one of your three meals at exactly the same every day it will make life easier because you won't over think what to eat and when.

Perfect at least one healthy tea, that way you can eat it once a week safe in the knowledge that you can do it, fast and easily and it will be good for you.

We have a couple of go to's in our house, including omelettes, chicken and rice, stir fry and fish with sweet potato wedges and veg. 

As you can see, all quick, easy and healthy options. Monday is egg night, so we know, every Monday we will be having omelette or some kind of egg variation, like my Mexican eggs  which can also be found on my recipes page.

Keep fruit and nuts in sight or within reach. That way if you feel snacky you can just grab a handful. If you don’t want them, then you know you’re not really hungry you just want to snack. If the snack is there you are more likely to eat it.

Pre prepared yoghurt and blueberry pot

Chorizo and cous cous salad - meal prep

This tip will also stop you buying extra goodies in the shop as know you already have something at your desk so you don’t need to.

And finally, meal prep. We have all heard it all before but it really does make a difference.

It saves you wondering into the shop on lunch time hungry and more likely to make bad decisions. This way the decision is taken away from you and you are likely to eat healthier.

Just dedicate an hour of your time on a Sunday to cook a big batch of soup, or chicken to throw onto a salad, or a quinoa pilaf. 

Chicken and Pearl Barley Soup 

Chicken and Quinoa salad

Cooked shredded chicken

I hope these tips help you get 2017 off to a good start and if you have any others, do let me know!