How many of us, time after time, have used the phrase ‘I’ll start on Monday’ when you’re fed up of the way you feel and look and are sick and tired of trying to squeeze yourself into those skinny jeans that you bought with the ‘I‘ll start on Monday‘ in mind but never really got past Sunday night??. My God, if only I had a euro for every time I used that sentence in my life!!! I don’t know about you but every time I made that revelation I would go whole hog on all the rubbish food I could think of that weekend before!! Sure how could it hurt…I’m starting Monday remember….. until weekend after weekend those binges added up and whilst before I was talking about losing 5lb had now doubled to 10lb or tripled to 15lb simply due to my mindless eating and never following through.
Accountability, Discipline and Preparation are vital when it comes to changing your dietary habits. It’s all very well saying you’ll start on Monday but if you’re anything like me you will soon grow tired of starting and never achieving anything more than disappointment month after month and added pounds and inches! The first thing my trainer Aidan did when I started this program was to take all my measurements, my age, weight, height, water, body fat and muscle percentage and with this information and my goals he was able to calculate where I needed to improve and by how much and therefore created an exercise program to meet these requirements. Something that had a huge impact going forward was my diet. I really was tired of trying all the ‘fad diets’ out there, I knew it was time to make the ‘Lifestyle Change’ we read so much about but that I fervently tried to ignore for too long because all that it screamed to me was the word DEPRIVATION. Without it consuming my life, I knew I had to reign in my calorie intake so I had to figure out just roughly how many calories I should be consuming for my age, height and sex and how active I was. I never realised until then, the mindless amount of calories I was munching my way through each day just from picking at this and that between my meals. I began to track everything and I mean everything that I ate, picked at, drank, pretended I didn’t really have and all that I shamelessly devoured!!
This was a major wake up call for me because all the times I thought I was ‘eating healthy’ I never thought about the portion size and actual calories intake and WOW does that add up!! I got great food plans from Ozone and with some of the foodstuffs that I didn’t particularly like I changed for another healthy alternative, it was great to be able to ask the trainers for their advice as they have a vast knowledge when it comes to nutrition. Getting into the swing of it I then found myself researching a lot about nutrition. I was eager to know what I should be eating pre and post workout i.e. the foods that were good for my body, that gave me energy that repaired my muscle after a tough workout, foods that are high in protein and low in saturated fats etc. There have been many hits and misses along the way but I have now found my new dietary habits are serving me well, hence the results so far.
Every weekend as I am writing up my grocery list I take the time to firstly decide what I am going to eat that week… yes that sounds a bit regimented but boy does it pay off!! I know what I’ll be having for breakfast lunch dinner each day and what I can snack on etc. I just make sure the food that I need to be eating is readily available so that I am not grabbing the first thing I see to stop the h-ANGER pangs!! I try not to eat the same things daily as I know that would totally bore me so I make sure I have several choices of breakfasts, lunches and dinners and also snacks and I also ensure that all of these meals are flavoursome.
Breakfasts are usually a choice of Oats with berries and flaked almonds with a wee smidgen of real maple syrup for good measure, or EGGS!! Eggs are my Godsend, anything from poached, boiled or scrambled to omelettes or frittatas’, all depending on how much time I have, when I am stuck for time there’s nothing like a green protein smoothie to keep you going for the morning! 
Brunch at the weekends can be smoked salmon (or ham) eggs benedict with the tastiest healthiest hollandaise sauce!! I always try to experiment with everyday recipes to keep it exciting. This is my version, it’s just a toasted half wholemeal bagel, some steamed asparagus, smoked salmon topped with a poached egg and then drizzle over this amazing guilt free hollandaise…trust me it’s worth the effort (if you can call it effort)!!
GUILT FREE GREEK YOGURT HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
I hope you give this sauce a try, it’s delicious over so many recipes that use hollandaise and you don’t have any of the guilt of all that butter!!! I will try and add a recipe here and there just of some dishes that are so easily reduced in calories and fat with just a little know how. No one wants to feel deprived by choosing a healthy lifestyle and honestly there is no need to. When I have the cravings to have something ‘bad’ I usually end up googling healthier alternatives and trust me there are tons, so no excuses!! I love making my skinny pizza which has a fraction of the calories of a Domino’s pizza but tons more flavour and none of that ‘Oh God I really shouldn’t have done that’ regret!! Life is too short for regrets!!!
Since I had my 12 week review my exercise program has been changed and OMG has it advanced!! I am loving it, I love that you are never stuck with the same routine the whole time, the variety is fantastic and you never know what’s coming next which means you don’t have that dread of maybe an exercise you aren’t dying about….it’s just tough luck if it happens to be next in your session, you gotta suck it up and battle through!! Having that encouragement from your trainers makes the world of difference…I will have to show you next week some of the new exercises that are now on my program, exercises I never thought I would be able to do, until now that is! Bring it on I say, bring….it….on!!
Until the next time,
Louise
