Lasting Health

Once again it’s world mental health day.

Mental health is just as important as physical health, yet it is sometimes over looked because the symptoms can be invisible to others.

That's why it's even more important that we speak up and talk when we do not feel ok. It's sounds cliche but there really is strength in numbers.

It's - Amazing things can be accomplished from just a conversation. 💚

🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 The Nut Coach always provides straight forward, honest information.

Defo one to follow if you’re not already 👍🏼

This is prolly one of my favourite pieces of art of all time.

Seriously!

Because it is just so bloody well true.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard folks say things such as “I was so bold yesterday, I had a big dirty McDonalds”, or “I was so bad last night, I gorged on a box of Coco Pops”.

Listen up, and listen really hard.

You are not your food choices. Your food choices do not hold any moral value. Your self-worth is not dictated by your food choices.

So stop talking to yourself like it is.

Our health is not just physical. It also includes our mental health and our emotional well-being.

So while in the process of chasing “health” and trying to eat only “healthy” foods, we are also being an ar****le to ourselves just because we ate a McDonalds.

Being an ar****le to yourself is NOT healthy.

Yes, a bucket load of people talk to themselves like that, but just because this behaviour is common, that does not make it normal or OK.

If we say we have eaten “bad” foods then we are instilling a belief that we did something wrong or immoral. The use of our language may seem trivial but it can be problematic if it results in feelings of guilt over our food choices.

This style of black or white thinking inevitably leads to emotional distress as the feelings of guilt set in.

Or worse still, you can experience shame because you have regret your foolish food choices

Our food choices, our behaviours, AND our choice of language around food, largely affect our mental well-being also.

Ultimately, using phrases such as “I’ve been so bad” can imply a sense of being a bad person and a sense of shame, which can lead to diminished self-worth and poor mental well-being.

Down with that sort of thing!

Please remember this, all food is JUST food. There is no such thing as “good” or “bad” food. Our food choices do not hold any moral values.

It is perfectly OK and normal to make food choices some of the time that are not based purely on our health goals.

We can and should make some food choices because we enjoy the taste, the texture, how it makes us feel, and because it gives us great pleasure.

So the next time you choose to have a Micky-Ds, tell everyone the day after, “I had a McDonalds yesterday, it was delish!”

Same actions. Unbelievably different outcome in terms of how you feel about yourself.

We need to look at our eating behaviours on a whole instead of taking our food choices out of context and labelling them as “good” or “bad”.

Start disassociating morals and your self-worth as a person from your food choices.

And feel liberated, free and fabliss as a result.

Hooray!

Thanks for reading and interacting,
Karen

PS Please get in touch if you need any guidance when it comes to developing healthy food habits for life, I’ll do my best to help you out.

Art credit: @ Me and My ED

Ever get to that point where you need to do a food shop & you feel like there’s nothing in house you could make?🤔

Well, I’m like this most of the time 😂

I needed to make something for lunch tomorrow, something that’s quick & easy 🍽

So I raided the kitchen & threw together a soup with some veg, herbs, spices & stock while the dinner was on🥔🥕🌶👩🏻‍🍳

Lunch sorted for the next two days & shopping avoided for another day 👍🏼😂

Simple, easy & tastes good 👌🏼

Hope everyone had a great Paddy’s weekend. I know I ventured out to the pub more than once this weekend. 💃🏻🍻☘️💚

Now is the perfect time to drink plenty of water & try get some food full of nutrients back into your system. 💧🍝🍲🍛🥙

I also know plenty of people who will be waiting all day to get a takeaway & that’s fine too. 🍔🍟🍕🍗

Either way, both are fine. As long as you acknowledge that the drinks & takeaways will slow down your weight loss progress. But it doesn’t make you a ‘bad’ person and it’s not a ‘bad’ choice. It’s a decision that you have made about how you feel at this point in time.

We all have occasions and events that happen in life, so enjoy them. Whether it’s drink free & homemade food, drinks & a takeaway or a balance of both.

It’s all about finding your balance. 🙌🏼

I find this is one of the best tools to help coach people. 🙌🏼

I’d like to challenge YOU to be more mindful, even just for the next hour.⏰

Every decision, choice or action must have a thought process to it. 🧠

Why are you doing what you’re doing? If the answer isn’t ‘because I enjoy’. Maybe you shouldn’t be doing it then 🤔

👊🏼💪🏼🤣🤣🤣

Your new ‘healthy’ lifestyle starts right here 😉

Andy

Don’t be fooled by the barrage of ‘healthy’ pancakes.

There is nothing wrong with a good aul, flour, eggs & milk mix 🥞🥞🥞

Either way, enjoy which one you choose to eat with whatever toppings you like.🍓🍋🥓🍫

Here’s a basic recipe for anyone who would like it & the calories/macros for anyone who’s interested in comparing to the other ‘healthy’ versions.

I wouldn’t usually add oil, but that’s purely because my granny always made them with just the basics. 👵🏼🥞

BBC Good Food

When you come home wrecked 😴 & the thoughts of making dinner is killing you 😫, ordering a takeaway or picking at whatever food is in the house feels like the easiest thing to do.

And that’s fine some of the time, but this can easily become a habit and that’s when you start gaining weight 🙈📈

Discover meals that you can throw together quickly & easily. Food that fills you up, tastes good & you could see yourself making when you’re tired. 🍽

This is an example of something I’ve made before when I’ve come home after a long day & cooking is the last thing I want to do. 🙄

- chicken, peppers, onion & homemade sauce (or a packet sauce) in pan (15-20 mins)🌶🍗
- Homemade guacamole (less than 5 mins) 🥑🍅
- Wraps out of a packet, heated in oven (less than 5 mins)
- Grated cheese (out of the packet)🧀
- Spinach (out of the packet)
- Sour cream (out of the container)
- Oven chips (20 mins, weren’t even eaten in the end!)🍟

The entire meal took less than 25 minutes total to make. Tasted great & easy to make! 🤤🌯

@ Wexford, Ireland

🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

Here's a question (a brilliant one), the answer to which will shock a lot of people.

"Fridays are normally a chip day in the evening. I cook the chips in an air fryer to use less oil. Is that okay or should I look into alternatives? Like sweet potatoes to cut down on the carbs?"

First of all, sweet potatoes do not have less carbs than regular white potatoes.

White potatoes have 17g of carbohydrates per 100g (of which 2.2g is fibre and 0.8g is sugar).

Sweet potatoes have 20g of carbohydrates per 100g (of which 3g is fibre and and 4.2g is sugar.

Sweet potatoes have MORE carbs than regular white potatoes per 100g. Shocked?

Don't be.

The world is full of misinformation like this, especially when it comes to nutrition for fat loss. Get used to it.

I digress.

Let's say a serving size of spuds is 250g, then the total difference in carbs is 7.5g, not a whole lot in the grander scheme of things. So I wouldn't let that be the driving factor when it comes to your choice of spud.

Now let's take a look at some other values.

White potatoes have 77 calories per 100g. Sweet potatoes have 86 calories per 100g.

Again, the sweet potato has slightly more, but not a major difference worth writing home about. A total difference of only 23 calories in a 250g serving.

If we look at the micronutrient profile, white potatoes are a great source of Vitamin C and Vitamin B6, while sweet potatoes are an amazing source of Vitamin A (283% RDV).

Two very different micronutrient profiles, which means they actually complement each other. In other words, no one is better over the other, they are just different, so eat them both!

Last but not least, let's compare their glycemic index (GI).

The GI of a food measures its impact on blood sugar and is often sprouted as a measure of how "fattening" a certain food is.

Foods are ranked according to how they compare to ingested glucose, which is 100 out of 100. High GI foods have a higher effect on blood glucose levels and low GI foods have a lower effect on blood glucose levels.

High GI foods, when eaten on their own, won't fill you for very long. Whereas low GI foods are usually more satiating and will help to keep you fuller for longer.

Depending on how they are cooked, potatoes have a varying GI. Baked and boiled white potatoes both have a high GI, 111 and 92. Whereas baked and boiled sweet potatoes have very different GI's, 94 and 46.

Baked white potatoes have the highest GI and boiled sweet potatoes have the lowest. But do these numbers really mean anything?

No, not really!

They are only a teeny tiny part of the story. The truth is, GI CHANGES when other foods are introduced. When high GI foods are eaten as part of a meal, with protein and fats, then the GI becomes meaningless, as their impact on blood glucose decreases.

Rarely would we eat potatoes on their own, but instead as part of a meal. So letting GI be the driving factor when it comes to your choice of spud is kinda silly.

So if carbs, calories or GI shouldn't be the driving factor then what should?

Wait for it.... it's a real shocker...

Let personal preference be the driving factor for your choice of spud.

Hooray!

Choose to eat the spud that YOU prefer. Or eat them both.

To sum it up: Regular white potatoes and sweet potatoes are both awesome, they are both healthy, so eat them both. Or whichever one you prefer.

So, how are the shock levels?!

Losing weight simply comes down to balance.

Eat nutritious food most of the time & indulge some of the time. 🥚🍗🥩🥑🥦🍌🍏🍞🥞🍔🥙🍟🥗

Be conscious to be more physically active.🚶🏻‍♀️🏃🏼‍♂️🏌🏼‍♀️🤸🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️🏊🏻‍♂️🚴🏻‍♀️

Make time to rest, relax & get good quality sleep. 🛀🏼🧖🏻‍♀️💆🏻‍♀️💅🏼😴

Balance is the key to reach long lasting change for both weight loss & health.

If you don’t enjoy the process you won’t continue after the ‘diet’.

Happiness is...?

I have been feeling drained lately. Feeling tired all the time. Food has been all over the place, either too much or too little. 😴

Cold & flu season is in full swing and it seems like every other person is sick or has been sick lately, including myself 😷🤒🤧

That’s where the power of a home cooked meal with plenty of veggies, a bit of fresh garlic & chili too, helps me feel normal again 🍝🙌🏼

Never underestimate what the power of good food, quality sleep and time to relax & recover can do for you 👌🏼