NEW YEAR … NEW YOU? BUT WHO SAID THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE OLD YOU?
- By Sue Crabtree
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- 03 Jan, 2016
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WHY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS DO NOT WORK!
As we reflect over the past year, most of us want to do better and live fuller. We believe to get that bounding health, energy and happiness it all begins with losing weight …
The problem is that setting unrealistic goals is the quickest way to fail in the year to come. Only an estimated eight per cent of people achieve their resolutions for the New Year. So what went wrong with the ninety two per cent of us?
Why do New Year’s resolutions not work?
The New Year is the perfect time to look back over your life and make necessary changes but these changes must be realistic and long-lasting if you want to maintain them. I always ask my clients. Can you CONSISTENLY make this change? Can you consistently go to gym or cut sugar out your diet, or give up alcohol, or go running, or give up bread, or pump weights? Most people will say no. And that is good. Because they are telling the truth. Anyone can give up for two to six weeks and then go back to their old ways. But to make healthier changes you have to do it for life – not just for January.
The good news is that you may not need New Year Resolutions. How about a step-by-step recovery plan that you can consistently use for the rest of your life?
Make 2016 Count … Create a plan that will work for you over the long term.
Want to lose weight but feel that you cannot get the weight off no matter what you do? Despite other people on the internet or TV claiming to be losing weight fast, you keep beating your head against a brick wall? Well you may be buying into common weight loss myths. Contrary to what the fitness industry says, healthy, sustained weight loss is not just about calories in and calories out. It is about the food - especially the nutrients found in that food – that you put in your body. The food that you eat matters so much more than the calories that your count.
Most diet products compromise of processed, high carbohydrates and high sugar foods. They can make you feel tired, sluggish, depressed and it will be difficult to lose weight. These foods are not only low in calories and taste, but extremely low in good nutrients. Missing nutrients in your diet can also inhibit weight loss and contribute to chronic disease. For example, low iodine levels may cause hypothyroidism (sluggish thyroid) and make it even more difficult to lose weight. Symptoms for a thyroid not working at its full capacity: depression, tiredness, dry skin, hair loss, brittle nails and weight gain.
Weight loss may be your ultimate goal for 2016, but it will not be possible without making important lifestyle changes. These vital changes will restore your health, improve your quality of life and possibly prevent diseases in the future.
So instead of setting unrealistic goals, use these five amazing tips to embrace 2016:
Ditch That Diet: Most low calories diets will trigger hunger and rely on will-power to maintain it. But you can only hold your breath for so long. And you can only starve yourself for so long. Starving ourselves will dramatically increase our cravings, make us hungrier for all the wrong foods and slow our metabolism way down. Eating certain foods (low fat, higher carb or sugary foods) actually increases hunger and slows metabolism.
Did you know that the average person gains eleven pounds for every diet they go on? Even worse, when they lose weight, they lose muscle and fat. When they regain weight, they gain back all fat. And since muscle burns seven times as many calories as fat, their metabolism is slower than when they started the diet. The cruel fact is that they then need even less calories to maintain their weight.
Do you know someone who is very overweight and claim they do not eat that much? They may not be lying. They have just damaged their metabolism by yo-yo dieting. Dieting will make you fat, tired and grumpy.
Clean your Cupboards Out: Go through your cupboards, refrigerator, freezer and give away foods that contain hydrogenated fats. Read the labels, you may find them in margarine, biscuits, foods from the bakery counter, ready meals, salad dressings and so on. Hydrogenated oils are used in foods because they are cheap and have a long shelf life. They are extremely unhealthy for you.
Eat Clean Food: Now fill your cupboards with fresh produce. Yes that means you may have to shop on a weekly basis. Eat local foods in season and when possible choose organically grown produce, diary, poultry and meats whenever possible. Frozen vegetables and fruit are just a nutritious as the fresh fare. So ensure you have a few bags of organic frozen veggies and fruit for those days when the cupboard is bare.
Plan for the Future: Being spontaneous in life is great. But not if you want to keep your energy levels lively or lose weight. If you bring homemade lunch you know it will be healthy – low in salt and sugar. If you don’t bring your packed lunch and snacks, you are at the mercy of what is available within five minutes of your workplace, which in many cases limits the healthy options, and harder to resist the temptations on display.
Drink Clean Water: What do I mean by clean water? I mean just that. Plain water. No concentrated juice. No tea or coffee, just clean, fresh water (you can spice it up with crushed herbs or chopped lime and fruit). Despite the fact that we know how important drinking water is for our health, we still don’t drink enough. For every cup of tea; coffee; alcoholic beverage we consume we should have a glass of water. A mere 2% drop in our hydration levels can impair our concentration and energy levels by 50%. That is a big drop in energy levels. Without a doubt, you are going to feel tired and grumpy. Water not only increases energy and vitality, it will get rid of toxins.
The New Year is a wonderful time to reflect and plan for a healthy future. This is your year. This is the perfect time to make new choices and start a healthy plan that you can use for the rest of your life.
There is nothing wrong with the Old You, make this year all
about You - but better. Remember eat well, feel good and live life.
Sue Crabtree Nutrition Blog
Or in my case, a wooden gate got in the way and left a corker of a bruise.
Can anyone relate to how frustrating it is when you feel motivated to do things and then something gets in the way? Flu; visitors, childcare; a black eye?
I felt so good on Saturday. The sun was out, the weather feeling warmer and my energy levels were rocking. I felt like the fug of winter was slowly lifting from my brain.
It may be the end of Amazing 12 but my Amazing Menopause journey continues.
For me, the whole point of the Amazing 12 was to prove to myself that I didn’t have to have a shitty menopause. I knew I was getting a hormonal belly (yes, you can see by the “before” photo that I really was getting one (and I was sucking my belly in because I am not comfortable wearing crop tops. I was quite shocked at my before-belly).
We tend to only put photos up of ourselves looking good. If I had known that Claude (Abrams from Intelligent Strength and Amazing 12) was taking my picture I would have: sucked my belly in, sorted the double chin out, opened my eyes and moved under a more flattering light. But I love this photo for all its warts as I see some muscle peeping out of the arm. Woo hoo results are starting to show. I am finding this programme tough because we are so brain washed to look at instant results … have the scales gone done or is there a six pack yet? I have to dig deep and look at my rewards. I feel stronger. When I train my hot flushes go away. I feel more mindful and I am a lot nicer to myself.
Week 5 was mentally tough as my hormones were all over the place. I didn’t want to train, I didn’t want to go to work and I wanted to take my dog, Robby, and just have a duvet week. But I didn’t. I moaned to Claude about how terrible I was feeling but it fell on deaf ears (I was hoping he would ease up on the training) and incidentally I did my best training that week.
Diet wise. I am eating lots of salads and fish and taking a herbal tincture of red clover, salvia, rosa, borage and dandelion root to sort out the flushing and the nausea. I had to stop taking the black cohosh as it was giving me headaches.
Mood wise I think I am fine apart from last week when I felt sad. But I don’t feel irritable and I think that is thanks to slamming a 5kg sand ball as part of my training that really helps.
I can’t stress enough the importance of taking ownership (I love that word and have to credit Claude for planting that seed into my head). Taking ownership for my moods, my body, my time. I realised that I was using my busy life as a badge of honour. And it wasn’t anything to be proud of when you don’t have time to look after yourself. The best part of my amazing menopause is that I am taking ownership of my journey.
Menopause The ceasing of menstruation.
I wish it was as simple as that. You wake up one day and your periods have ceased. You skip into a new phase of your life. Shiny hair, bright eyes, clear skin, great energy and strong bones. Yes? Sadly no. Well for most of us.
Menopause can be a bit shitty time. You are tired, irritable and you develop a jelly belly overnight. You can’t remember words or where you parked your car.
And so it begins for me. A new phase in my life. I am starting the menopause. As a nutritionist and strong believer in taking responsibility for my own health, I really want this to be an amazing experience.
The physical changes to your body: weight gain, big boobs (not always a bad thing), extreme tiredness, dry skin, thinning hair, and the list goes on, is bad enough. It is the mental side that I am scared of the most: depression, forgetfulness, irritability, low energy, apathy, feeling invisible. And so on.
My history of endometriosis and mood swings are pretty intense (my husband once described me as a Tasmanian devil when it was “that-time-of-the-month”). Research suggests that people who suffer from bad mood swings and painful periods are likely to suffer through menopause. This is the bit I am scared of.
I really don’t want to feel shitty. I don’t want to roll over and let the hormones take over my life.
Although I have only just started the menopause, I am surprised at the changes in my body. Hot flushes during the day and at night. I know I am going to get hot and sweaty before it starts because I get a wave of nausea before the flushing begins. If it is at night I simply cannot sleep. If it is during the day, it will normally “attack” when I am standing up teaching a wellbeing class. Great for morale: standing in front of a group of twenty clients, wanting to throw up, sweating and looking vacant because I can’t think of that word ….
I know that as my body is changing I need to change. What may have worked for me in my early forties is not going to work for me as I approach the feisty fifties. I want to be feisty in a cheery way, not a hormonal way.
So this is what I am doing. Several tactics.
Good nutrition; supplements; herbs; quality sleep; me time; work time; fun time and weight lifting.
Why the weights? What has this got to do with menopause?
Well I am fit and I love running. But I have to change according to my body’s needs and running isn’t working for me at the moment. I need to change my exercise plan. I don’t enjoy weight training. I find it dull and boring. That is until I signed up with Claude Abrahams and the Amazing 12 programme. The Amazing 12 involves specific weight training from Monday to Friday for 12 weeks. I have completed 3 weeks of training and I am loving it. It is very different to the exercise I am used too. Claude is being incredibly patient with teaching me how to do a dead lift properly and keeping me focussed (I like to chat).
I am not doing this to lose weight. I don’t need to lose weight. I want to gain muscle.
Why Turmeric?
Did you know that Turmeric is one of the most studied spices – mainly for its massive anti-inflammatory properties?
It helps with all with all inflammatory conditions, from arthritis to muscle soreness.
A couple of points to remember if you want to get the best health benefits from turmeric it needs to be:
Heated.
Eaten with fat.
Add black pepper! It increases Turmeric absorption which means it will work faster.
You need to be consistent with taking Turmeric. Let it become a good habit. Don’t expect to take it once and expect miracles.
Turmeric Latte Makes 1 Ingredients: 1 cup semi-skim milk or coconut milk 1 tsp. of turmeric organic powder 1 tsp. of peeled and grated finely fresh ginger (optional, but another great herb to reduce inflammation) ¼ tsp. of cinnamon Pinch of Nutmeg ½ tsp. of locally sourced honey (again optional – the sweetness from coconut milk dairy milk should be sweet enough) Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (must be freshly ground as black pepper goes rancid quickly) Method: Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Place on hob and simmer for a few minutes. Whisk until frothy. Serve and Enjoy.
Following the news report this morning that people are recommended to take Vitamin D supplement in the winter months, here is why, how and what to do …
The best supply of vitamin D is sunshine, but always remember to cover up or use sun cream to protect your skin.
- Vitamin D helps calcium absorption, which helps with bone strength.
- Vitamin D has shown in some cases to prevent falls and muscle weakness.
- Vitamin D supports our immune system.
- Vitamin D helps prevent osteoporosis.
- Vitamin D supports moods (especially in older people).
- Vitamin D prevents chronic fatigue.
Our nutrients should primarily come from foods … but Vitamin D is only found in a small amount of foods. Good sources of vitamin D include:
- Sardines, Salmon, Tuna (fleshy fish)
- Cow and goat milk (full fat, semi and skimmed). Although UK milk is not a good source, since it is not fortified as it is in some countries
- Eggs (the yolks especially)
- Liver
It is important to remember that Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin; this means that the risk of overdosing may be high. And with most things in life, too much of a good thing can be bad for us. Check with your doctor or a registered nutritional therapist if you are not sure what dosage to take.
To celebrate Picnic Week we are going to make this picnic an occasion and put a bit of effort into our picnic hamper. We have the Posh Picnic where thought and preparation goes in to this delicious meal. And then we have the Spontaneous Picnic. The sun is out, five minutes to grab some great tasting food and get outside ..
The Posh Picnic …
Chocolate Grapes
Ingredients:
1 1/5 cups black grapes
175 grams high-quality dark chocolate, melted
½ tablespoon coconut oil,
Directions
Wash and dry the grapes thoroughly. Melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil together, stirring well. This is to create a firmer coating.
Skewer 4 or 5 (or more, if you want more!) grapes on bamboo skewers. Dip the grapes into the dark chocolate and use a spoon to pour the chocolate over the grapes, covering them all, and then let the excess run back into the bowl. Place on a sheet of parchment paper to firm up. Once the dark chocolate is firm, place in the fridge.
I thought I would dedicate this week’s blog to Robby and his new haircut.
His coat is shiny and soft, a sign of a healthy body and mind. Did you know that hair is often the first thing to suffer from any bodily upset? It can be a warning that something is not right even when there are no other symptoms of illness?
So if you want to get a glossy head of hair to match the Robster then carry on reading …
I’ve just made myself a zingy green vegetable juice: spinach, big chunk of ginger, mint leaves, a wedge of lime and a big handful of parsley leaves freshly picked from my garden.
I didn’t bother washing it because it is organically grown.
It was whilst I drinking my juice I saw Robby cock his leg on my parsley and do the longest wee.
Note to self: wash it before eating!!!
Ingredients
➢ ¾ cup of melted coconut oil
➢ 1 cup of raw organic cacao
➢ 1 tablespoon of honey
➢ A few: raisins, walnuts, pecans, coconut chips, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, chia seeds.
➢ Cacao powder for dusting.