In the past we have been led to believe that losing weight is all about what you eat and how much exercise you do. But actually this is only one element of weight control, and one that fails and frustrates many dieters. Of course there may be medical conditions that pertain to weight gain, such as an underactive thyroid, and lifestyle factors such as stress and sleep play a part, but we are now beginning to understand that our digestive systems are key when it comes to our ability to lose weight.
Author Emma
As a nation, we’re becoming fatter – that’s a fact.
Worldwide, rates of obesity have doubled since 1980, and The World Health Organisation has predicted that in the UK, 74% of men and 69% of women will be overweight by 2030. But there is a type of obesity that is especially harmful when it comes to raising our risk of health conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
Low carb diets are now so fixed in our dieting consciousness, it’s hard to remember a time when we didn’t fear carbohydrate-rich foods like bread and pasta. The truth is that as a nation, we eat far too many carbohydrate-rich foods throughout the day, with cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, then pasta, more bread or rice for dinner, plus constant snacking on cereal bars, chocolate, crisps and biscuits in-between.
There is much debate in the workout world about whether to eat before or after exercise, or both, and what to eat when you do. Much of this will depend on the type of training you’re about to do, your health and your goals. But for now I want to focus on the best post-workout foods to fuel recovery.
This may seem like a simple question, but actually the answer is far from it. We have been led to believe over the years that we must never skip breakfast because it’s the most important meal of the day, but what, when and how we eat all play important roles in making or breaking this meal in terms of its impact on our health and wellbeing.
Macronutrients are the protein, carbohydrate and fat that we take in from our diet. How much of each we should consume varies widely depending on our gender, age and state of health. The important thing to remember is that we are all unique, and what works for one person may well not suit another.
Insomnia has reached epidemic proportions – this isn’t surprising in a culture that values productivity and activity above all else, and shuns the idea of rest and relaxation. For many people, resting means watching TV, browsing the Internet or engaging with some kind of electronic device that is anything but restful for the brain and the body.
Milk and other dairy products form a large part of the Western diet – whether at breakfast time, in tea and coffee, puddings or sandwich fillers, we tuck in believing it to be a healthy food, essential for delivering the calcium we need for strong bones. So successful has the milk marketing board been in delivering this message that most people couldn’t imagine how they could be healthy eating a diet that doesn’t include dairy.
This warm, comforting recipe involves a little prep, as you make the paste from scratch, but using a food processor makes it super quick and you retain all the fresh flavours from the herbs and spices which can sometimes get lost when using a ready-made version.
It is possible to make delicious cupcakes without all the refined, carb-laden ingredients. This recipe couldn’t be easier and combines healthy, nutrient-dense alternatives that deliver all the flavour without the guilt.