A LIFESTYLE CHANGES- PALEO

I like to eat as "CLEAN" as I can, as often as I can.  I like to buy from the farmer’s markets when I am home and prefer my produce to be as organic as possible. My diet is usually full of healthy, lean choices but don't get me wrong, I like "treats" just as much as anyone else.  I also want my body to be as healthy and feel as happy as I can be.  I truly believe that what you put in defiantly shows on the outside and we all want to look and feel our best.  I have found in my many years of working with clients that your weight is 80% what you put in your mouth and 20% exercise, unless of course you are an athlete or a full on gym junkie.

I convinced my friend to read up on paleo and she and I decided to DO IT! This was nearly three weeks ago and we are going strong.  Let me explain paleo a little more.  Paleo is not only a way of eating, it is a lifestyle change.  Some people call it the Caveman diet, but I don't like that term because it is a change in eating and lifestyle and definitely NOT a diet.

When you’re eating paleo you don't eat grains, artificial ingredients, soda, junk food, hydrogenated oils, fast food, dairy, processed foods, legumes, potatoes and psuedograins. Oh and did I mention coffee, there is NO COFFEE.  I was a one coffee a day girl, and my friend was having a few cups a day, mainly for the energy and wake up benefits. There is no alcohol either. What I thought was going to be the hardest thing to give up was pasta.  I LOVE pasta always have, I often say I should have been born an Italian. As expat wives and mothers we quiet often have a wine or two so I thought that would also be hard to go without, but in reality it has been really easy.   I must admit it is much harder when my husband is home because we like to sit around after the kids are in bed and have a drink and chat about what has been going on. I have had a wine here or there but only two over the past three weeks so I would call that a success.

So what can I eat now I am paleo? I eat plenty of whole real foods, lean meat, animal proteins, fish, chicken, fermented foods, vegetables, fruit and healthy cooking fats and spices.  When I am talking real food I mean food that grew from the ground, walked over the earth or swam in the ocean once upon a time.

So you are probably asking why would we put myself through this.  Read on for the reasons we chose to undertake Paleo ...

Number one, I have always had problems going to do number 2's.   My mum still says to this day "I always knew when you had done a poo, you would come out with a red face and all teary".   Over the past five years it has gotten worse, especially when I eat bread. I never really eat a lot of bread and as a kid I never liked sandwiches so to cut out bread is not any great deal to me.

Diverticulitis is a digestive condition where pouches from the wall of the intestine get inflamed or infected; it can be very painful eating certain foods as they can irritate this condition especially things such as rice and small seeds from fruit. This condition is hereditary in our family. My mother was diagnosed in her 40’s and she is in and out of day surgery for colonoscopy’s every year. My grandfather was also around the same age when diagnosed. From what I can tell it is a condition that worsens as you get older so maybe if I make a change now I can prevent myself from getting it as bad as my mother and grandfather.

Number two, after reading the information available out there I was intrigued by  the benefits that people had seen since turning to paleo.  Paleo has been attributed to having more energy than ever before, better clearer skin, a leaner body and a better night’s sleep. These are only a few of the benefits suggested by the paleo gurus.

Number three, I have always been a health freak so why not step it up a level.

So what happened; the first few days were the worst.  No coffee, that was the easy part ...... but for the first few days you feel very tired and sluggish.   If you can survive this, after the first week you begin to feel awesome.  You feel like you have so much more energy which is always good.

Week two was the best week I have had so far, it was the easy week.  My husband was away so I had no food or alcohol temptations. I had heaps of energy, my skin was looking awesome and I was just feeling better in general. Oh and no bloating tummy, both my friend and I had FLAT bellies again, my friend said she has “found her waist again” and I have found my system is working much better.

 

I am now on week three and I haven't been well. Monday and Tuesday I spent with vomiting and diarrhoea from a bug I picked up so I kind of dropped the ball.  Before that I was doing great and had only two alcoholic beverages when we went to a BBQ and a couple of M&Ms but that was all for my transgressions from paleo.

To be honest it is really hard when you eat out, especially living in Asia. Rice comes with everything and the oil that is commonly used here is not paleo. I don't eat out a lot. BBQ's are easy, lean meat and salad equals a paleo WIN!

I've found the way to have success with paleo is through preparation.  If you have meals in the fridge and freezer ready to go you are less likely to drop the ball. There are a lot of great books out there that show you how to prep and get ready such as Nom Nom Paleo by Michelle Tam and Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo.  Also get rid of all the temptation, clean out your pantry and fridge throw away all the crap filled processed food, then you and your family you won’t be tempted to cheat just a little.

I will keep you all posted on the paleo change my friend and I have made J

Your Child Won’t Starve Themselves. - You’re not a diner.

Hello and Welcome to my first blog: I'm going to get straight into it. Kids and eating habits. 


We have all stressed at the dinner table.  As parents I'm sure we have all had children cry and have even yelled "eat your dinner", I know I have. Most of us have probably bribed kids with dessert or treats. 

Sometimes it just seems easier to give in and say "it’s OK" rather than make them eat what you think they need. 

When do kids know they are full? 
This is something that children have to learn. As parents we need to assess the situation: Are they just wanting to go off and play? How much did they really eat, is your child losing weight, are they growing, do they have plenty of energy? By asking these questions you can see if your child is eating enough.

We teach our kids, "Is your belly full?" if they say yes, and they have eaten a decent amount then OK.


If a child asks for food after dinner, but didn't eat their dinner.
What we do in our house is that there is never any more food unless dinner was eaten.  for the older boys if the good food wasn't eaten then there are NO treats the following day, including Milo, juice, cookies, flavoured milk or anything that is considered a treat.

I have other friends that keep the dinner and put it in the fridge. If the child is hungry later the dinner is reheated and offered BUT nothing else. This worked well for them.


What is serving size for children?

The plate below is what portions should be of everything (as long as there are no allergies)



What is serving size for children. 

The plate below is what portions should be of everything (as long as there are no allergies)

How much movement outside of school is recommended for children? 
The recommended activity time for children 5-12 is at least 60 mins, up to several hours. Ask yourself does your child move fortwo hours running around a day? 
How much time should my child  sit in front of the TV or play computer games?
Children learn through play, so anytime a child is in front of a screen is not exactly good. Children can become obese, and this can lead to learning difficulties such as anxiety and  attention problems. TV commercials can teach children that bad food is a good choice and the time they are sitting they aren't playing and running around children also tend to eat more while they are watching TV.
Current screen advice:

Children under two years should have NO screen time
and children over two years should be limited to 1-2 hours a day OF ANY SCREEN time, including games, TV and iPads. 


Children need to be taught what a healthy lifestyle is, and as parents we should be leading by example. 

FIT Vs SKINNY

Hello everyone and welcome to my NEW blog where I will be talking about exercise, eating, keeping fit, and lifestyle.
Today I just wanted to talk a little about the differences of being fit and healthy vs being skinny.

I hear all the time "I wish I was skinny" NO, NO YOU DON'T” I feel like shouting, "You want to be strong, fit and healthy".

What message are we sending to children at the moment? That being skinny is all that matters?

I think too many people are more concerned on looking like a supermodel than worrying about being healthy and fit. I watch what I eat, I always have. Just ask my mother, I was really a little over the top as a kid.

We need to focus on eating what our bodies need and what is good for them, and exercising enough. Building strong fit healthy people is the aim I think, NOT these fly by diets to make you amazingly skinny in 12 weeks with no chance of sustaining it.
If you are given tools that include, a very intense  diet (cutting out foods with nutrients that you need) and an exercise plan, and you lose a bunch of weight that's great, isn't it? Well no, it’s not great because for one in a normal world where you have to be a real person it’s really hard to maintain that kind of eating and exercising.  Secondly it’s really bad to cut out fruit and dairy (unless you have an allergy).   The rate of osteoporosis is on the increase  and it has a lot to do with lifestyle-but we will cover that in a different blog!

What we need to be doing is giving realistic eating and exercise plans that are sustainable and can be a LONG term lifestyle CHANGE.
Let’s try and change our mindset to "Healthy, Strong and Fit" Rather than "I want to be skinny".

Aussie model Robyn Lawley

  The lady in the two pictures to the left is classed a PLUS SIZE model? OMG, OMG, OMG.



I think she is beautiful, gorgeous and very attractive. 

BUT on the right is the woman we put on the catwalk, FAR TOO SKINNY AND UNHEALTHY in my opinion.
This is what we are telling children is healthy, and is attractive? This is what we are telling the little girls out in the world that they need to look like.....


Don't get me wrong some woman just can't put on weight no matter what they eat, and that's just as frustrating as trying to lose weight.

But when you class Robyn as a plus size model and put a -minus size on the catwalk and say this is what everyone should look like I think it is wrong.

Below are some articles I thought some of you might like to read on this topic.

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/health/diet-nutrition/article/-/21863333/whats-your-excuse-hot-mum-launches-no-excuses-program/


http://fox8.com/2014/03/01/real-life-barbie-says-her-new-diet-is-air-and-light/