Food Temptations

It was someone's last day at my company yesterday and as a goodbye she brought in massive cakes (yes two of them!!!!)  Oh man!!  I was surrounded by mouths munching on these all day yesterday.

It was hard!

However I made it and didn't succumb to temptation by having a giant slab of sugar disguised as a red velvet cake.  I know from personal experience it can be very difficult to avoid temptation when they, aka naughty treats are literally put under your nose. What I usually do which sounds very weird is I sniff the food.  Doughnuts, cakes, chocolate, biscuits whatever is, I'll take a deep breath through my nose...I take in the smell of it and that's enough for me.  Strange I know, but there is no calories in sniffing, only when you eat it! True story.  I'm quite lucky to have a strong will power but I know others can struggle..here are some of my tips for you to avoid temptation.

The bigger picture
There is a very good saying... A moment on the lips, a life time on the hips.  Just guesstimating, but I think you'll need to do approximately 500+ burpees to burn that slice of cake off.  You fancy doing that really? No?  Then put the spoon down my friend!  If you eat it then remember have to burn it off!  Keep in mind the bigger picture, don't let one piece of cake ruin it for you... If you eat it you might cave and want more bad things!

Do you really want it?
Just because it's there does not mean you have to grab a fork and start digging in.  If it was not there, would you rush out to the shops to buy something similar?? If the answer is no, then you don't really need it do you.  Just walk away. Yep just keep walking.

Visual trick
I like this trick where I visually change what the naughty food looks like.  Instead of seeing cake for example, in my mind I just see a big bowl of sugar with a spoon.  Seem very advertising now?  Not really hey.  No one would eat sugar with a spoon on its own would they??  Technically that's what cake is.... Just think about it.

And finally

Have some...
...but have a very very small portion.  If you cannot keep the craving at bay or you've been healthy eating for a while then have a small piece (and I mean SMALL!!). If you've gone without sugar for a long time, it'll be out of your system.  You might only be able to manage a small amount of cake, as you'll find the sugar in it too sweet and your stomach has reduced in size meaning you'll fill up faster.  Afterwards you might think why did I bother?!

If  you had some did you enjoy it?  Was it really nourishing food?  Naughty treats never are.

I hope these tips help someone. Do you have any tips??

XAX

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Bring Your Own....

... lunch!!!

We're having a little competition in work to see who can lose the most weight by September 1st.  There are four of us and we have all set ourselves goals of what we wish to shred.  My goal is 14lbs, however I technically started my healthy life style two days before and I'd already lost 2lbs.  So it was agreed my goal is 12lbs for fairness.  We all throw £10 in to the kitty and the winner gets it.  I personally don't care about the extra cash, but I DO care about loosing my spare tyre around my waistline!!!!

Afterwards we were all having a group discussion where most of my competitors admitted they usually munch on a wrap or sandwich from the likes of Pret or Eat.  Nothing wrong with that, however not the best option.  I always take to work my own lunches, either prepped the night before or that morning.  I much prefer this... Why?  Because I'll know what I'm shoving in my mouth.  It's very easy to run to the shops to buy a 'healthy' sandwich but are they really?

I generally have a salad which makes my work mates groan, however I usually eat more than just a lettuce leaf.   You cannot really tell from the picture as it's hiding underneath - but there is a whole chicken breast, feta cheese and sunflower seeds in there too!  Yes I have rocket and spinach with tomato, cucumber and radishes in there, but I always love to build my salads up so they fill me up.  And they do!!!  

These are my go to during the week whilst I'm at work.  I know what I'm eating - which is good, plus you can get a weeks worth of salad goodies whereas buying sandwiches etc from the high street can be costly.

For a week try to make your own lunches.  Experiment on ingredients, salads don't have to be boring - get creative!! See how you get on and also how much you save.

XAX

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Tomato Butter Beans with Courgette Ribbons

The other night I posted this picture on my Instagram account (link below).  It was one of those evenings where I was home alone and didn't really feel like I had a fridge bursting full of inspiration. Happens to us all right?

I didn't want to spend money on ingredients and just wanted to use what I already had.  I grabbed everything I had in the fridge and kitchen cupboards and came up with this:  Tomato Butter Beans with Courgette Ribbons.

What you see before you is

Passatta
Plum tomatoes
Red onion
Fresh basil leaves
Aubergine(or eggplant)
Courgette (or zucchini)
Butter beans
Seasoning of garlic and pink Himalayan sea salt.

In my pan I threw in coconut oil and cooked my red onion.  Once soften I poured in passatta, chopped basil and aubergine, garlic and my plum tomatoes. I let this simmer away to thicken and reduce.

In another frying pan I added a small amount of water which I brought to the boil, I popped in my ribbons of courgette and let the steam cook until soft.

Stir your tomato mixture and add the butter beans to cook for a few minutes.  Then when soft drain and add the courgette ribbons. You could just pour the tomato mixture on top of the ribbons when serving however I wanted the sauce all over my ribbons.

That was it. A healthy bowl of yummy goodness. Vegan and vegetarian friendly too!!  Try it out!  This is also a Slimming World Healthy recipe.

XAX

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Help!

I'm really struggling right now.

In the last 4 months I have gained just under one stone (10lbs to be exact) and I'm really struggling with that fact.   This is the most I've ever gained since I was my fattest in 2011...a whopping 13st.02lbs.  And I'm only 5'1 tall so as you can imagine I was FAT!

Personal issues,  not eating very well
 and lack of exercise has been the main reason for my gain.  I quit the gym and my personal trainer then Christmas and new years the  in March I was diagnosed with anxiety and stress.  I no longer cared about myself,  hence the weight gain.

Now I do care again and I can't see the light at the end if the tunnel.  I can't see my way out and I need help and I don't know what to do.

I have rejoined the gym but have yet to venture into it to start training.  I mainly need to sort my eating out but I just cannot figure out how.

Help!!

XAX

Where can you find me??

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