YOUR 7 BEST FAT SOURCES

Fats.... lovely fats. Including good fats in your diet is so important for your body to function properly. It also helps your body get rid of bad fats. I made a simple list of my favourite sources of good fats -- make sure to include some in your everyday diet.

 

  1. Oily fish (salmon, mackerel... great for your brain)
  2. Extra virgin olive oil
  3. Nuts (not peanuts, nuts like walnuts, cashews, pistachios, almonds or hazelnuts)
  4. Seeds
  5. AVOCADO (the best possible types of fats found in nature... Eat your guacamole)
  6. Nut butters
  7. Eggs (the yolk is super nutritious and the egg white provides loads of protein)

 

There you have it! Do you think there's anything missing from this list? Just comment below. You can also add yourself to my team's Facebook group for all fat loss nutrition and exercise related support xx

5 SIMPLE NUTRITION RULES (for better health and fat loss)

I'll make it as simple as possible, because it's not supposed to be complicated. Nutrition is a topic which often gets people confused - there's so much contradicting information out there, and advertisers are shoving all sorts of bullshit (on top of the good information) your way constantly. No, you don't need the latest fat loss pills, superfoods, supplements or bullshit shakes they make you believe are good for you (often quite the opposite, actually). So how are you supposed to know how to eat to be healthier and to aid fat loss as well as you can? I want to make things clear and straightforward, so here's a list of the things that'll guarantee you'll get better fat loss results from training, as well as nourish your body optimally. No starvation, no restrictions, no fad dieting. Ever.

  1. Minimum 2.5 litres of water daily (plus tea/coffee on top if you like)
  2. Protein with every meal
  3. Vegetables (or fruit/berries) with every meal
  4. Healthy fats every day (avocado/oily fish/nuts/extra virgin olive oil...)
  5. REAL food 80% of the time (you'll recognise real food by checking out the ingredient label in the supermarket. If there's a single ingredient in it, it's real food.)

Dedicate the next 2 weeks to following these principles. You'll notice just how easy it is to lead a healthier lifestyle. Note, that I'm saying REAL food 'just' 80% of the time?! That's right, you can have #naughtyfood freely, as long as it's not the basis for your diet. It means being able to eat chocolate and drink beer, guilt free, WHILST losing body fat.

[[More about the Freedom Diet here]]

 

/Erika

5 tips for a healthier life

Hiya,

I just sat down to wait for dinner to cook and decided to write this

I totally live by 'the 10 minute body' stuff as I can't be bothered to waste my time in the kitchen (despite the fact that I love cooking) or doing 2-hour-long workouts

So I've just done a 10 minute prep, it's my first time ever making MAKARONILAATIKKO in the oven, which is a Finnish dish that nearly everyone loves.

Directly translated it's macaroni casserole, and I filmed making it so you can see how to make it yourself on my YouTube channel later (you'll get a notification when I've uploaded it if you've subscribed... Unless I have majestically fucked it up and it turns out shit :D)

Today I wanted to remind you of 5 things that I know majorly helps you be healthier... Check 'em out and make sure to incorporate them into your lifestyle before this summer.

[Make sure to also start the summer challenge {if you haven't yet} to give you a bit more structure with food and at-home exercise]

 

1. Drink a lot of water. 2 litres a day is your absolute minimum.
2. Increase your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). This is ANY activity throughout the day that's not classed as exercise. What can you do to be a little bit more active tomorrow? Make sure to at least feel your core muscles activate when you're sitting down and standing up.
3. Focus on positive things, and stop negative self-talk. I hate fad dieting with a passion, because they destroy people's self esteems and just make most fatter in the long run. Stop punishing yourself and denying the foods you love eating. Doing it the freedom diet way makes eating anything possible, you just have to be within your personal calorie limits. Listen to this inspiring TED talk I also shared on Facebook.
4. Eat many different (natural) colours. Mixing different coloured veg in your diet makes your body get more vitamins and minerals. Ditch the vitamin tablets, get your nutrition from real food.
5. Make sure you know what it feels like to be hungry. I've spoken to so many overweight people who don't remember the last time they were hungry. Just plan your meals ahead of time so you know what you're having when you get hungry to avoid resorting to junk you don't need. Listening to your body is a key factor in learning what makes you feel good. Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're satisfied. There's an increasing amount of scientific evidence to suggest that letting yourself get hungry results in improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and also in better insulin sensitivity.

My food's nearly ready..... I'm excited to see if it's anything like the stuff I used to love at school!

Take action to be healthier TODAY.

Talk soon,
Erika

Lose weight easily with these swaps

Here's my quick list of simple food swaps that you can easily take advantage of, starting now.

What's crossed over is your TREATS - they should not be your everyday diet staples.

(There's nothing wrong with having them, but remember moderation. If you go for the crossed over options habitually, you've got some work to do.)

 

SO:

ONLY AS A TREAT - HAVE THIS INSTEAD

 

Cereal - nutty muesli (less sugar than fruit muesli), porridge with fruit, low sugar cereal (e.g. Weetabix), or go for a cooked breakfast of eggs, beans and brown toast.

Chocolate - have a glass of water, then eat a piece of fruit. You get natural sugars from fruit, which is far better than refined sugar from sweets and chocolate. If you still find yourself craving sweet, distract yourself by going out for a walk or doing housework.

Creamy sauces - tomato or vegetable based sauces

Fatty red meat like bacon and sausages, chicken thighs and wings - chicken breast, turkey breast, lean red meat. At least trim the fat off your bacon. Fatty fish like salmon and mackerel you should still have!

Flavoured yoghurt - plain yoghurt (natural probiotic yoghurt/Greek yoghurt)  with fresh berries/fruit if you want sweetness in it

Main meal at a restaurant - go for a starter or a soup, or ask for a doggy bag if you're going for a main meal. Portion sizes in most restaurants are mahoosive, rarely under 1,000 kcal, so save half of it until later.

Dried fruit - fresh fruit. With dried fruit, you'll quickly have way too much sugar. It's still better than sweets, but the fresh stuff is the real thing.

Juice - water. If you really want a bit of sweetness in your water, infuse it with berries or lime/lemon

100% fruit juice - fresh fruit. Not only does it satisfy you more, you'll end up consuming fewer calories and getting much more fibre from the real thing.

Fizzy pop - sparkling water (infused with fruit, berries, cucumber, fresh mint leaves etc. if you like)

Latte/hot chocolate etc coffee shop high calorie drinks - swap for an espresso or an americano, and add a bit of milk yourself.

 

You can also consider whether you need to use oil in cooking. If you have a good teflon pan, chances are you don't. Or grill your meats, no added fats needed!

Note! Do not go for advertised diet products. Low fat items are often higher in sugar, low calorie meals won't keep you satisfied and will make you more likely to crave naughties, and just generally bear in mind that the flavour has to come from somewhere. Food manufacturers want to add as much (addictive) flavour to foods as possible so they can make more money when you buy their products again. Also, Artificial sweeteners are added to tons of processed foods, and some research suggests they're even worse for you than pure sugar, so do your best to steer away. Science has also shown that people who consume more artificial sweeteners and 'diet foods' are heavier than people who don't, so

focus on eating real, unprocessed food.

 

The best and worst breakfasts

People who have breakfast are slimmer on average: FACT

You need to have breakfast if you want to be fit and healthy: UNTRUE

 

Breakfast is just as important as any other meal during the day. You don'd need 5 meals a day, just have as many as suits your lifestyle. Just log your foods to make sure you're not overeating, i.e. putting on weight.

 

The most important thing to have in the morning: A pint of water.

 

The worst breakfast options:

  • Most cereals (too much sugar. Have a look at the ingredient list!)
  • Granola (packed with sugar)

Best breakfast options:

  • Eggs
  • High protein dairy (plain yoghurt/fromage frais/cottage cheese)
  • Porridge (if it keeps your hunger at bay... Also make sure your portion isn't too big)
  • Nutty muesli

 

My best tips to go by:

  • Always include a source of protein
  • Minimise sugar
  • Keep fat content in check

 

So

A full English wouldn't necessarily be a terrible option, but the super high fat content easily makes it exceed 1,000 kcals. So only have it if you're not intending to eat much else during the day to keep your waistline in control.

If you really don't feel hungry in the morning, you don't need to have breakfast. Just grab a pint of water and go, and eat when you get hungry.

High sugar breakfasts like most cereals do the most havoc to your diet. They're more likely to get you derailed with nutrition from the start and won't make you feel satisfied.

/Erika

 

P.s. In case you were wondering which cereals are nutritionally slightly better... My faves are Weetabix, Shredded Wheat and Shreddies. Purely because there's less added sugar. But I'd still personally rarely have cereal because the high carb and relatively low protein content makes my belly scream with hunger within an hour, and that's not great for insulin levels and makes silly snacking more likely.