17th May 2012

Five tips on how to eat less

Eating less food in order to lose weight, for many, can be extremely difficult and no matter how hard we try we cannot seem to resist opening the fridge door.

If this sounds depressingly familiar and you’d do anything to be able to resist the harsh temptation the biscuit jar cruelly gestures then you may find the following tips on how to eat less surprisingly valuable.

Eat slower!

Eating slower and chewing your food more thoroughly can go a long way in your quest to eating less.

When we eat fast we do not give our bodies chance to digest the food and feel full and often end up eating a lot more than we actually need to. Eating slower counteracts this problem as your body will have chance to digest the food, feel full, meaning you are less inclined to reach for a second portion.

Drink plenty of water

If you are serious about eating less and losing weight then water is an essential component of your daily dietary consumption. Drinking water throughout the day not only helps to flush toxins out of the body but it can also make your feel full and be less partial to snacking.

Aim to drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

Chew gum

Chewing gum produces saliva and can help ‘trick’ the body into believing it is eating. So if you feel the urge to open the fridge and honk on a hunk of cheese, pull out some chewing gum to help curb those cravings.

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16th May 2012

The five hottest celebrity diet plans of 2012

From shrinking back to a size 8 just days after giving birth, to managing to remain cellulite-free even with the evil glare of the papparrazi’s lens scrutinising them from every angle, celebrities have an uncanny ability at making dieting look so easy.

To give you insight into how are favourite celebs manage to stay enviably slim, check out the five hottest celebrity diet plans of 2012.

The 5-factor Diet Plan

Created by the highly sought-after celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, who is renowned for gaining results fast and effectively, it is easy to understand why the likes of Katy Perry and Megan Fox are following the 5-factor Diet Plan.

As simple as its name suggests, this fashionable diet involves each meal including five different elements – fibre, complex carbs, protein, fluids and fat.

The Fresh Diet Plan

Fresh to 2012 the Fresh Diet Plan involves having fresh gourmet chef-prepared meals delivered directly to your door.

The meals prepared are customised to your personal weight loss goals and are supposed to taste so good, that you don’t even know you’re on a diet!

Sounds to good to be true? Well it certainly sounds expensive and is therefore likely to remain a diet among the rich and famous such as Paula Abdul and Olivia Munn, both of who are self-confessed Fresh Diet followers.

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25th January 2012

Rice, Bean and Veggie Bake – The benefits of a vegetable-rich diet

Health experts and advocators of vegetarian diets have long advised that we eat ‘five a day’ portions of fruit and veg.

Although the latest food guide at MyPyramid.gov is recommending that we eat between nine to thirteen servings of fruit and vegetables every day, alongside a healthy serving of legumes, such as dried peas, beans and lentils.

This vegetable-rich diet  may sound like an impossible task but it isn’t really if you combine multiple servings of vegetables and legumes in one dish.

One such dish is the Rice, Bean & Veggie Bake, which, as well as being packed with many vitamins and nutrients through the vegetables, the eggs in the dish provide us with much needed protein, while the rice gives us the carbohydrates we require for energy.

To make six servings of Rice, Bean & Veggie Bake you will need:

6 eggs

4 oz. shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack Cheese

3 cups cooked rice

3 oz. kernel corn

16 oz. red kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed

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20th December 2011

Three Cycling food tips

Before, during and after – Three Cycling food tips to make your ride the best ever.

If you’re going to spend a gruelling eight hours in the saddle, you’re going to need some energy in the form of food to keep you going and help you perform at your optimum ability. Without wanting to dismount your bike and eat a three course meal, we’ve compiled three Cycling food tips on what to eat to make the most of your time before, during and after your ride.

Before the ride

Approximately one hour before you go out on your ride it is important that you eat a nutritious snack that is high in energy but won’t ‘weigh you down’. Eating anything later than this may result in you feeling sluggish, contracting a stitch and not riding at your best. We recommend that you eat a Weetabix with chopped banana and semi-skimmed milk. Bananas are a fantastic pre-training snack as they contain high levels of potassium which helps to keep stiches at bay, as well as being an easily digestible carb that provides the body with a slow release of energy. Weetabix is a great source of magnesium, niacin, thiamine and B vitamins, which will also give you energy.

During the ride

Carrying a bag of soft sweets, such as jelly babies, with you is a great way to have an instant energy fix while still ‘on the go’. It is also sensible to carry a couple of bananas with you when you go on a long distance ride to help maintain energy levels.

After the ride

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15th September 2011

The health benefits of chocolate?

“But it’s good for the heart!” a chocoholic unconvincingly protests as she eagerly devours her third Mars Bar of the day.

The health benefits of chocolate have long been the subject of medical debate. Whilst its high content of fat casts a shadow of doubt of how chocolate could possibly be healthy, the benefits chocolate has on the heart have been researched, analysed and subsequently contested.

In an attempt to close the chocolate/health debate, scientists at the University of Cambridge, conducted an analysis and review based on previous research.

The study was published on the BMJ website and analysed data from 114,009 patients.

The researchers compared the risk to the brain and heart in people who ate relatively low levels of chocolate, no more than two bars a week, with those who ate a higher amount of chocolate each week. According to the report:

“The highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with the lowest levels.”

Despite the study finding that chocolate may help to protect the heart, it also warned that this ‘forbidden’ delight can also lead to Type 2 diabetes and people putting on weight.

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