Super snack me

Until the 1970s we did not snack between meals. There were official morning tea and afternoon tea breaks that usually consisted of a drink and maybe a plain biscuit or two. Afternoon tea may have involved something a little more exciting like one slice of bread and jam or on special occasions one sweet biscuit or even a slice of cake. Mostly you had to wait for the evening meal by which point you were pretty hungry and ate what you were given.

It was considered poor manners to eat in the street and if it wasn't on a plate whilst sitting at a table you probably didn't eat, unless it was a picnic or a trek through the local woods.

Snacking, as we know it today, did not exist. But that didn't suit the profit margins of certain companies who helped the developed world to feel guilt free and even good about snacking between meals. They didn't suggest fruit or chopped vegetables but instead offered tempting food laden with sugar and fat and salt. Food that our brains and taste buds found irresistible.

There are two main problems with this style of eating: your body doesn't compensate at meal time and want less food because you had a large snack a few hours ago and your body doesn't correctly calculate the amount of calories it has taken in for your fuel and nutritional requirements.

What this means in reality is that you will snack on calorie laden food and still eat the same amount of calories for each meal, which means that you will be eating far more than you need to eat, which of course your body will store for you in the form of fat until you do need it. But you won't need it because there is more excess than you need to get you through your next bought of flu or gastro virus.

And there's more. Your body will quickly learn to expect this new amount of food and you will be able to continue to increase your calorie intake by approximately 400 - 500 cals a day without noticing it when you eat. The only thing you will notice will be your tighter clothes.

To reduce the amount you eat as snacks there are a few simple rules that will help you curb your snacking and could even lead to some weight management:

• Eat mindfully: put the food on a plate (or in a bowl) and sit down to enjoy the food and do not go back for more
• If you have a snack work out how much less you need to eat at your next meal to compensate for your snack
• Choose snacks that have little or no sugar or salt and only a little fat such as whole fruit, unsalted nuts, one slice of toast with a little butter and yeast spread
• To really find out how much of your daily intake is from snacks keep a food diary for a week. This diary must include every mouthful from the chocolate bar you bought whilst shopping to the cube of cheese you ate whilst cooking

Choose one day to enjoy your favourite morning or tea time snacks like a slice of cake or a muffin.

warmest wishes
Sarah

Multitasking is bad for you

Most women cite multitasking as one of their skills. Women are known for their ability to multitask. Somehow a woman appears able to think about and carry out tasks simultaneously. However this is a myth.

It is not possible to 'multitask'; to think about and carry out several tasks at the same time. The reality is that women quickly change thinking about and performing different tasks in a short span of time. Women do this because they are rushed, busy and attempting to complete all their tasks. They believe it saves time, but the science shows that it takes longer than if each task were completed before commencing the next one.

Each time you 'multitask' your brain takes a second to change gear. A second might not sound like much time until you add up all the seconds as you switch between tasks all day. Instead of saving minutes you are increasing the number it takes in the long run.

There are more negative effects to multitasking. In addition to taking more time it also takes more energy, you are less likely to perform the task as well as if you had concentrated on one task at a time and it can lead to exhaustion, overwhelm and depression.

Society expects women to multitask including in their careers. Employers believe that this will be more cost effective but it is not cost effective and leads to employee stress and dissatisfaction. There are also the family expectations that the woman of the home will juggle all the domestic tasks, and in many cases this is done whilst working outside the home.

Stress can lead to weight gain as it causes your body to produce cortisol which helps your body store fat, especially around the abdomen. Stress also leads to a reduced immune system leading to more illnesses.

Next time you start to multitask it would be beneficial to your physical and emotional health to stop, reconsider how you are going to complete your tasks and then undertake each one individually.

warmest wishes
Sarah

3 Reasons why calorie based diets don't work

A while ago someone told me that many women have tried over 40 diets by the time they are 40. For many of these women this has meant at least two diets a year, sometimes more. If the first diet had been successful they wouldn't have needed to try yet another diet. These women will also tell you that whilst they were successful in the early stages of each diet the results were always the same: the diet was not as successful in the long term for a variety of reasons and to add to this they weigh more after each diet than they did before.

Logic would appear to dictate that weight management is simple maths: value of food in must be the same as the value of food used up by the body. In other words a large meal is going to require a lot of physical exercise to use up all the energy consumed. And there is some truth in this, but it isn't the whole story.

Dr Rick Kausman, a medical doctor specialising in healthy weight management, says that when people attempt to manage their weight by only focusing on their calorie control they are going to fail. There are many reasons why this is the case and here are 3 of them:

• When you start to deny yourself food to loose weight through counting calories your 'caveman' part of your brain interprets this as 'famine'. It thoughtfully changes how your body utilises the fuel you feed it and saves as much of the energy that it can through chemical changes in the cell, and it also ensures that you expend less energy. This way it can store a greater amount of the food that you eat as fat to help you get through the famine.
• Counting calories to loose weight is not resourceful in the long term. To be resourceful your eating habits need to be obtainable AND sustainable, and going without voluntarily is not sustainable in the long term. When you focus on your overall health and on developing life-long healthy habits you will be able to obtain and sustain these for permanent results.
• Motivation is very short lived. Many of the well-known fitness experts have shared the ways that they ensure that they exercise every day through routine and determination. They don't feel motivated to leap out of bed in the cold and the dark at 5am in the morning or to go to every training session. They have developed habits that assist them to maintain their routines. It is the same with weight management. Whilst most people start their calorie controlled diets with lots of motivation this is short-lived because by its very nature it feels like deprivation and hard work.

Developing habits that are holistic and include changes to encompass several areas of your life offer life-long opportunities to improve your health and weight management.

warmest wishes
Sarah

How big are your snacks?

When you get home from a long day do you snack whilst you get sort out the house, get dinner, do laundry and anything else that can't wait until your next day off? When you snack like this do you choose a small bowl of yoghurt or is it more likely to be several biscuits, some chocolate, a chunk of cheese or just what ever comes to hand easily?

When we are tired our brains demand glucose, which can be found in sugars such as table sugar. We also want comfort food which means high saturated fat added to sugar. This is why we are more likely to want hot toast with butter and jam or a slice of cake than a bowl of natural yoghurt or an apple.

There is often much to be done once we get home but we need to charge our batteries before we can start again with some renewed strength.

Whilst it may appear that there is no time to spare; we must dive straight into the household tasks, most of the time we could take 10 - 15 minutes to sit down with a cup of tea or a glass of sparkling mineral water and a snack that offers some energy for the next part of our day. This will help you to recharge your batteries, supply your brain the energy it requires and to relax a little.

A snack that contains some protein will help you with sustained energy until dinner time and some carbohydrates supply some sugar for your brain. You could try:

• cheese and crackers and/or an apple/pear/peach
• natural yoghurt with Cinnamon and/or a teaspoon of honey/maple syrup
• 1 slice of toast with a slice of ham and tomato
• 1 slice of toast with nut spread
• a banana and some nuts (non-salted)

 It is what we do 80% of the time that makes the difference, so if you change to a short break with a more sustaining snack during the week you can enjoy a slice of cake or crumpet dripping with melted butter and honey on the weekend.

Enjoy being slender
love
Sarah

The habits of slender women

Have you ever wondered how some women appear to do nothing to stay slender? Whilst there are women who can eat all they want, take zero exercise and still manage to retain their figure, most of us need to take a little more action to keep our figure looking slender, svelte and gorgeous.

There are several different ways to achieve a slender figure and these include a life-time of dieting or dedicated time exercising, and for some women a combination of the two.

But what if there was another way? What if you could maintain a slender figure without being on a permanent diet or finding the energy and time to exercise most days?

The good news is that there is an alternative option. The excellent news is that this option not only permits but actually encourages you to enjoy some of your favourite foods including chocolate and a glass of red wine. And there is the added bonus of choosing to do exercise for fun, enjoyment and pleasure if you chose. You don't have to spend hours working up a sweat or even putting on your gym gear unless you choose to do so.

What is this alternative option?

You can adopt the habits of slender women. These particular women chose to remain slender without dieting and without sweat inducing exercise for the sake of weight loss. These women can be found enjoying a desert after a meal with friends, relaxing and having fun and making the most of quality ingredients used to create tasty meals. These women have learnt certain habits from family and friends that allow them to maintain their figure and make it look effortless, because it can be when each of the habits become just that: a habit, which means that they don't need to think about it. They just do it.

Start today by being mindful of everything you eat in the next 7 days. Don't change what you eat and don't be judgemental. Just be aware.

love
Sarah

Hide the remote

Did you know that your TV remote is potentially responsible for an extra kilo of weight every year?  Remember when you had to get up off the couch to change the channel?

It has been estimated that just the simple act of getting up to change the channel, adjust the sound or to turn the TV off helped to use up enough energy for one whole kilo of body fat. People also watched less TV because there was less, a lot less. No breakfast programs or daytime programs and only three channels to choose from. Every station shut down over night and this was usually before midnight unless it was a Saturday night and the station was showing a black and white horror film.

Watching TV sends your brain into a relaxed state that is almost hypnotic. This is why it feels like it is more energy to turn it off and go to bed than to stay there watching the screen even though your eyelids keep closing and you know that you need to get some sleep. Then when you start to get ready for bed you find yourself more awake than when you were watching TV but this is only because you have been released from your hypnotic state.

With endless channels and a remote it is possible to remain motionless on the couch for hours at a time, only disturbed by the call of nature and to collect more high fat and high sugary snacks and drinks on the way back. Research also shows that you learn far more reading than you do watching TV, despite all those 'educational' channels.

Next time you watch TV make a note of how many times you use the remote and from this how much exercise you would have gained without one. Every time you use the remote you could do one squat or one press up or just stand up and wiggle on the spot and sit down again. Your cardiovascular system will thank you for it and so will your brain.

TV: watch responsibly!

love
Sarah

Enjoy Easter eggs without weight gain

I have just returned from my favourite chocolate shop, Chocolatier in Ivanhoe East, with a bag full of chocolate eggs and bunnies. There is one chocolate gift for each us. I always have great difficulty in chosing what to buy for whom and having bought it, worry that they might not like it. One of the great benefits of buying from Chocolatier is that the chocolate is always delicious and beautifully presented, which really helps for giving gifts.

If you are one of the many women who feel guilty after eating chocolate then let this be the beginning of guilt free, pure enjoyment chocolate eating. Eat your chocolate in your favourite relaxing spot, focusing totally on the chocolate aroma, texture, feel and taste. Take your time to savour every morsel and ensure that you are left in peach and quiet to fully experience your chocolate moments.

The other great benefit is the quality of the chocolate, which brings me to the the three ways that you can enjoy your Easter eggs without gaining weight.

1. Only eat Easter eggs that are made from good quality chocolate. This means that there is less sugar and more cocoa and therefore less calories and more taste. It also means that the chocolate will coat your whole mouth leaving you feeling satisfied with less each time (Choose milk or dark chocolate).
2. Divide your egg or bunny into approximately 8 pieces (an average Easter egg) and enjoy and savour each piece after one of your meals each day for the 8 days. 
3. Only eat chocolate and give away any additional lollies or filled chocolates that come with your egg or bunny. This is because those additional lollies or filled chocolates will have extra sugar in them causing additional calories without the luxourisous flavour and texture of quality chocolate.

 Happy holidays
love
Sarah

Savour little moments of luxury

Sometimes luxury can seem just out of reach for you on a weekly basis let alone a daily basis. Until  a few years ago luxury seemed out of reach on an annual basis for a very good reason: I didn't understand how important it is to savour little moments of luxury.

If you think that enjoying a little bit of luxury costs lots of money then think again. Even better than costing just a little bit of money, a little bit of luxury can be totally free.

Every time you savour a little moment of luxury you release endorphins which make you happy and this helps to fight the stress hormones that cause weight gain, poor health and fatigue. But savouring these little moments offers even more.

You only continue to make an effort when it rewards you with a result. This is one of the reasons that you may have given up going to the gym or eating less sugar or fewer biscuits; the rewards weren't big enough. When you savour little moments of luxury on a daily basis it offers a reward. Just think of all the things that you do during your day for others. Now imagine sitting back and enjoying a little moment of luxury.

Free moments of luxury can include:

• a quiet cup of tea or coffee outside enjoying the sounds of nature, fresh air and the feel of the sun on your skin
• two pieces of quality chocolate as it melts in your mouth, coating your tongue and palette, the aroma floating up to your nostrils 
• pampering your skin with oils or creams after your shower
• having a laugh over a lunch with a good friend

How many little moments of luxury can you create every day?

warmest wishes
Sarah

Comfort food can be just what you need

I remember the time that I dropped the children off at junior school and then popped back to the car to retrieve a lunch-box that one of them had left behind. For some reason, which I can't remember, I left my handbag in the car knowing that I would be back in a minute. I chose the day that two men were working the whole street outside the school. It took them approximately 10 seconds to break the window and steal my handbag.

I raced back to the school and told the lady who ran the kitchen/first aid and a whole heap of other activities (it was a small school) and one of my close friends was there. She told me to sit down, have a cup of tea and that she would be back in five minutes. True to her word she appeared with a small bar of chocolate. She told me that she found it helped when she had a nasty surprise. The tea helped as well and the chocolate made me feel a bit better and more able to cope.

Over the years comfort food has been given a bad rap and yet there are times when it offers a hit of sugar and fat just when we need it most. Mention comfort food and many people envision some lonely woman eating her way through a litre of ice-cream or a family sized box of chocolates or chocolate biscuits, or maybe all three.

However many of us turn to comfort food in times of emotional need. The sugar gives us an instant boost from which we benefit  because our body may have diverted much of our fuel resources to the fight or flight mechanism, which means that our hearts are pounding and our muscles are ready to go and we feel edgy. The endorphins found in foods such as chocolate help to elevate our mood and can help us to calm down and think more resourcefully. All our cells need fat to function and it can also help to keep us fuelled whilst we sort out and cope with the issue or situation that caused us to want comfort food. Psychologically we feel better when we indulge in some comfort food and this can be traced back to food our mother gave us to help us feel better when things upset us.

The problem only arises when we turn to comfort food every (or nearly) every day because the stressful and/or upsetting situation continues. If this is the case then having a plan can really help. A friend of mine went through an on-going stressful and upsetting situation for nearly a year and for that year she turned to comfort food on a regular basis. As she explained, she knew that it was increasing her weight to the point where she was uncomfortable in her skin and for her, getting through the situation to a conclusion and closure was the most important thing in her life. She decided that once she had closure she would go back to making better food choices. And this is what happened.

For the short-term comfort eating enjoy and savour every mouthful.

For long-term comfort eating there can be slightly healthier alternatives to chocolate, chips and ice-cream. Below are a list of suggestions which you can adapt to suit your taste and comfort needs:

• banana muffin 
• buttery popcorn
• strawberries dipped in melted dark chocolate
• thick sliced wholemeal bread with butter or peanut butter
• banana with thick creamy yoghurt sprinkled with Cinnamon

Enjoy the odd comfort food with all of your senses.

love
Sarah