CAN YOU EAT EVERYTHING & STILL STAY LEAN?

Well, Why The Hell Not.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am ‘healthy’ based on the fact that I have a balanced diet rather than a restricted one. I’ve always been known as that ‘skinny girl in the group that eats like a whale’. Well I was definitely nowhere near as comfortable wearing a swimsuit as I am now. The fact that I barely exposed my body did not meant that I didn’t have unwanted body fat. I was always slim, but never fit. I had belly fat & I was easily exhausted when involved in physical activities. It was only over a year ago when I started to really focus more on my health & fitness due to a desire to feel/look good inside-out. I wanted those visible abs & overall toned & healthy body, but there was one problem. I’ve got a huge appetite & thus I don’t want to go on a diet. The thought of cutting down my food selection for the purpose of achieving rock hard abs was by far tempting, but it just didn’t seem worth it. So when I learned that I could attain visible abs without jeopardising my love for food it was ‘HALLELUJAH!’. I’ve now;

○ Gained 5kg in muscle mass & at the same time,
○ Loss a great deal of unwanted body fat
○ Still eating everything & anything I desire; at anytime & all the time
○ Eating more now than I have before because when you exercise you tend to get hungry more often & thus eat more
○ Feeling happier & overall more excited about living life
○ More energised in the sense that I wake up earlier now & barely ever feel sluggish so productivity does reflect on what you eat

Strange? Well, it’s reality for me & I’m no different from everyone else so if I can make it happen so can you. The idea is to create an eating style that is balanced & suited to your interests, not restricted because you want to be in control of your body/life & feel happy rather than torturing it & feel miserable.

Lower Consumption of Sugar

I will not hide the fact that I love desserts because they are sweet sweet sweet, particularly ice cream & we all know that ice cream has plenty of sugar, calories & fat. Truth is that I have not cut down my level of intake on ice cream at all. However, I have lowered my intake on other sugars including;

○ Fruit canned in syrup
○ Jams, preserves & spreads
○ Pies
○ Dried fruits
○ Lollies
○ Home cooking flavouring (sugars & sweeteners)
○ Soft drinks (although I never really did drink much)
○ Processed junk food

Lets talk a little about 8. processed junk food cause they can be very tempting, but most of all ‘convenient’. I love pizzas, burgers & fries, but what I & my stomach have come to realise is that these foods taste so much better home made or at restaurants that are not known for being a ‘fast food restaurant’. However, on 3 occasions after making the switch I; (1) craved for fast food like you do every so often & (2) it was convenient during that time of hunger so I got myself some. Unfortunately, I was unsatisfied on all 3 occasions because I felt sick afterwards. What I haven’t realised was that my body had adjusted to my healthier eating habits & had rejected junk/processed food entirely. Now you’re probably thinking ‘this sounds horrible & I don’t want this to happen to me’, well your body & health is going to thank you in the long-term for it. I also started to reduce then eventually remove sugar/syrup when ordering or making juices/shakes which makes a huge difference. For one being, I now know when there are sugars in my ‘fresh’ beverage.

Increase Consumption of High-Carb Foods (that are good for you)

Quinoa is highly nutritious in the sense that it is rich in many minerals & plant compounds. It has a completely different texture to your average rice as it is very grainy, high in fiber & protein which makes it very filling upon intake. Not everyone (or anyone) has the pleasure of eating quinoa, particularly myself. However, it has certainly made me more creative in preparing foods that better suit my taste buds. My most favourable way to eat quinoa is preparing it as a salad; adding meat/vegetables/fruits/dairy products/nuts + a dressing.

Oats are a great source of many vitamins, minerals & antioxidants, & may just be the healthiest whole grain food on the planet. I really do have trouble eating oats as I do not enjoy the texture, available flavours.. well anything about it really. However, since eating oats may lower blood sugar levels, especially in diabetics it has made me a little more creative with my approach to consuming it. The idea is to make it look highly presentable & to include foods that I do love eating; adding in tropical fruits, crushed nuts & seeds. This will get you into the habit of ‘wanting’ to eat it rather than feeling as if you’re being ‘forced’ to.

There’s no doubt that fruits & vegetables are great for your health & fitness, but consuming them all may be much easier said than done. I’m not going to lie.. I get lazy at times to eat certain foods too, especially fruits & vegetables that I dislike. The trick is to make everything suit you; if you’re short on time or lazy to chew – juice it. I find juicing fruits & vegetables not only save time, but it also; (1) allows you to increase your consumption & (2) creates a new/different flavour each time. Fruits & vegetables that are considered as high-carb foods that are good for you include; grape fruit, apples, bananas, berries, oranges, beetroot & sweet potatoes.

Increase Consumption of Foods (that have low carbs)

You don’t necessary have to cut carbs aka start counting calories, the idea is to include/increase the consumption of foods that have low carbs in your diet. The following is a list containing SOME of foods that are low in carbs, click here for further details;

1. Eggs

2. Meats; beef, chicken, pork, lamb, turkey, veal, venison & bison

3. Fish & Seafood; salmon, shellfish, trout, sardines, shrimp, haddock, lobster, herring, tuna, cod, catfish & halibut

4. Vegetables; broccoli, tomatoes, onions, brussels spouts, cauliflower, kale, eggplant, cucumber, asparagus, bell peppers, green beans, mushrooms, celery, spinach, zuchinni, swiss chard & cabbage

5. Fruits & Berries; avocado, olives, strawberries, grapefruit, lemons, kiwi, mulberries, raspberries, oranges & apricots

6. Nuts & Seeds; almonds, walnuts, peanuts, chia seeds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, cashews, pistachios, flax seeds & sunflower seeds

7. Dairy; cheese, dairy cream, full-fat yogurt & Greek yogurt

8. Fats & Oils; extra virgin olive oil, butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, lard & tallow

9. Beverages; water, tea, coffee, carbonated water

10. Dark Chocolate

11. Herbs, Spices & Condiments; garlic, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, mustard & oregano

Now you may think that I’m being hypocritical with the above information, however the reason I’ve lowered & even entirely eliminate my intake on certain foods/drinks/ingredients is because my body chose to as a result of increased energy levels due to regular fitness. You’ll notice this change also when you undertake your fitness journey. I don’t refer this as ‘going on a diet’ because I’m never ‘hungry’.

Outfit Details: 
Reversible Bikini by Billabong