Eat Yourself Fit

AVOID REFINED SUGAR

Found in a wide range of both sweet and savoury foods, from packaged goods such as biscuits, cakes, crackers and baked treats to sweets, ice cream, sorbet, cereal, jam, yogurts, chocolate, soups, pasta sauces, breads, sweetened plant milks and fizzy drinks, refined sugar is one of the most damaging foods for your skin and body. It may even cause skin to age more quickly through a process called glycation, by which metabolised sugar molecules could damage the collagen and elastin fibres that keep skin youthful and plump.

Simple sugars provide an instant burst of energy for the body, which is why so many people reach for a biscuit or bar to combat that mid-afternoon energy slump. But this instant rush of glucose into your bloodstream causes your blood sugar to quickly rise as it triggers the pancreas to release insulin, which stores the excess glucose as fat. Insulin is a major fat-storing hormone, and its control is crucial to successful long-term weight management.

If you’re somebody who battles with your weight, constantly snacks on sugary treats and suffers from energy highs and lows, then you may find yourself caught in an addictive cycle, which can be challenging to break. Refined sugar is the worst type of food you can eat if your aim is to lose body fat and boost your energy levels. It can deplete your body of vital nutrients, including magnesium, vitamin C needed for plump skin and B vitamins for energy production. It can encourage weight gain around the middle, disrupt appetite hormone regulation, triggering you to eat more, and it places unnecessary stress on your body.

It can damage the special cells of the immune system, leaving you more vulnerable to colds and other illnesses. Refined sugar may also cause your body to look and feel more bloated than normal, as glycogen is stored with molecules of water to eventually be used as energy.

The very best way to stabilise blood sugar levels to feel calm, balanced and satisfied throughout the day is by eating a diet high in fibre, lean protein, healthy fats and complex carbs.

All my recipes are free from refined sugar, are fibre rich and are designed to stabilise blood sugar levels. If you regularly eat sugary foods or add sugar to hot drinks, then my advice is to try to wean yourself off it in plenty of time before your wedding day, holiday, party or important event, as it takes around 21 days to break the habit and really feel the benefits. Get used to reading labels carefully in order to avoid added refined sugar and other processed ingredients.

MANAGE STRESS LEVELS

Many people are so chronically stressed out that they have begun to see it as normal. But long-term stress can be detrimental to your overall health, weight, fitness levels, emotional health and sleep patterns.

Have you heard about the connection between high stress levels and weight gain around the middle? Adrenaline is released when stress levels are raised. It increases levels of cortisol circulating in the body, which is the stress hormone that encourages fat to be stored around your middle. When you factor in the refined sugar that many people eat daily, there’s a serious insulin spike to add to the cortisol levels. Together, these hormones are a disaster for anybody trying to shift stomach fat and combat bloating. As I explained, insulin is the fat-storing hormone that instructs the body to store fat around your middle to be easily accessed for quick energy. So cortisol and insulin can work together to add weight around the midsection and increase your cravings for more sugar and caffeine. It’s truly a vicious cycle.

I find that taking time out each day to exercise and simply relax can really help to lower stress levels. But everybody is different and what matters most is finding the time to regularly relax and unwind. Spending time with friends and family, meditation, yoga, watching a movie, having a bath, going for a massage, cuddling your pet and reducing your caffeine intake can all help to lower those cortisol levels to help you look and feel your best.

BANISH BLOATING FOODS

Feeling bloated? There may be a large number of reasons why. Constipation can be an issue for many people, and is undoubtedly one of the main causes of bloating. However, eating a diet high in fibre-rich plant foods and drinking more water can make a big difference for a lot of people.

For many women, it’s simply hormonal and an annoying symptom of that time of the month. For others, it can be a result of eating too quickly and gulping in excess air, not chewing food correctly, eating foods that your body may find difficult to digest and is sensitive to, or the carbon dioxide in fizzy drinks.

However, there’s another reason to consider: bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine, also known as SIBO. Humans naturally have more bacteria in their bodies than actual body cells. Gut bacteria is a complex area because there are at least 500 different species of micro-flora living in the normal human gut. The ‘friendly’ bacteria work hard to maintain an optimal environment for food digestion and immune system health and they synthesise certain vitamins, amongst many other necessary tasks. Their job is to also keep the unfriendly bacteria, yeasts and parasites at bay. The upper section of your intestine has been designed to remain quite low in bacteria of all types, but if bacteria multiply in high amounts in the first two sections of the intestine, they may compete with you for nutrition.

SIBO remains a poorly understood issue, although bloating, excessive gas production, nausea, diarrhoea and feelings of being too full after eating may occur when bacteria or yeast reach the food in the upper intestine and ferment the carbohydrates present. Foods high in refined sugar and white flour are more prone to cause bacterial overgrowth and bloating. Some people also get very bloated from excess fructose in their diet, which impoves by avoiding sweet fruits like bananas, grapes and pineapple, as well as fruit juices, honey and many other sweet foods. A compromised immune system or a diet low in dietary fibre may also be a cause for excess bacterial growth. Always speak to your GP if you suffer from digestive issues.

All of the recipes in this book are designed to maximise your intake of fibre and build your immune system to help resist infections. One of the best ways of controlling excess bacteria and its effects is to take probiotics daily or enjoy fermented foods and drinks regularly. We’re all different, so certain foods that can cause bloating for some may have no effect on others.

If you do suffer from bloating, then I encourage you to keep a food diary to try to find a link between the foods you’re eating regularly and when you feel excessively bloated. I have discovered that gluten and wheat-based foods, yeast, dairy, refined sugar and salt all cause me to look and feel bloated, so I have to be careful to avoid them.

TAKE PROBIOTICS

I’ve just explained why probiotics can help control bloating, and I believe that they’re one of the most important factors to introduce to your daily life in order to boost digestion and reduce digestive discomfort.

There are many benefits of probiotics. They can improve digestion, liver function, allergy resistance and B vitamin synthesis, increase overall energy, enhance nutrient absorption and help to banish bloating. Probiotics can help to improve nutrient absorption and satisfaction after meals, meaning that you’re less likely to continue snacking.

DRINK ALCOHOL IN MODERATION

Alcohol is not a friend to your waistline. It can trigger stomach fat to build up around your mid-section because it’s quickly absorbed into your bloodstream and deposited in the stomach area. That’s why some heavy drinkers can develop ‘beer bellies’. It may cause you to gain many unwanted pounds due in part to the hundreds of extra calories in sugary cocktails and mixers, while wine and beer are also high in sugar and calories. But alcohol itself is a simple sugar, which hits your bloodstream fast and causes insulin levels to increase, encouraging fat storage. All alcohol contains seven calories per gram, which is just under the nine calories per gram of fat. Being a liquid devoid of fibre, it doesn’t make you feel full, so it can be easy to overdo it.

Drinking alcohol may also slow down your metabolism because the liver prioritises the metabolism of alcohol before it can process energy from the food you have eaten. So for a certain period of time, it may actually prevent your body from burning fat efficiently. It must stop burning off the calories from your last meal while the alcohol consumption is broken down, which can store whatever you’ve eaten as fat. The Irish government recommendations for alcohol consumption are up to 11 standard drinks a week for women and up to 17 standard drinks for a man.

DAILY GREENS

I speak at length about the importance of consuming abundant leafy greens, as calorie for calorie, they’re the most nutritionally dense type of food that you can eat, packed with fibre, minerals and protective phytonutrients.

Many people find it easier to ingest them in smoothie or juice form than in a salad, which is why you’ll find a number of green smoothie recipes in this book, including my signature green goddess smoothie (here) and green goddess juice (here).

Enjoying blended greens really helps to boost your complexion, hair growth and encourage a flat stomach. Your digestive system has less work to do, meaning you save precious digestive energy and the nutrients are delivered much more quickly to your cells via your bloodstream. I love to drink a protein smoothie after a workout because all the goodness goes straight to repairing torn muscle fibres and boosting your energy.

In addition, the dietary fibre remains as part of a smoothie, which is so important for a healthy digestive system and to encourage fat burning.

FILL UP ON LOW-CALORIE, NUTRIENT-DENSE FOODS

It makes sense that the more you fill your body with nutrient-dense foods, the more satisfied you will feel and you will hopefully be far less likely to overeat or snack on sugary foods. Sometimes those who make less healthy food choices or base their diet on processed foods can be driven to continue eating long after they’re full because their body is not efficiently absorbing the variety of nutrients it needs for normal everyday function. It continues to demand food, and these hunger signals may be interpreted by the individual as a craving for fatty or sugary foods.

If you aim to base your diet on whole, nutrient-rich foods, then your body should feel far more satisfied and you will be less likely to crave junk food and sugar. Filling up on plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, healthy fats and lean protein will naturally encourage your weight to stabilise at what is ideal for your height and build.

EAT HEALTHY FATS

There is no need to fear fat. The right type of essential fat is important for building a smooth and soft complexion, growing glossy hair and encouraging normal hormone function, efficient fat burning, healthy brain function, eyesight and joints, and so much more. In fact, you need to eat healthy fat to help burn excess body fat.

Aim to eat fat every day from sources including avocados, nuts and seeds and their butters, coconut oil and other high-quality cold-pressed oils such as hemp seed and walnut, and organic or wild salmon if you’re a fish eater.

Fat is a concentrated macronutrient, so you don’t need to eat too much of it to reap its many health benefits. There are nine calories per gram of fat, which is more than double the calorie content of both protein and carbs, which both contain four calories per gram. Two tablespoons of hemp, chia or ground flaxseeds on your porridge each morning, a handful of raw walnuts as a snack or half an avocado each day are sufficient quantities. Fat can also help you to lose weight because it keeps you feeling full and satiated for a number of hours, which means you’ll be less likely to snack on unhealthy foods. If I’m in a rush, I’ll have a couple teaspoons of almond butter to keep me going until I can get a proper meal.

WEIGHT TRAIN

I’ve spoken about how effective weight training is for both men and women, especially if you’re trying to tone up and shift some body fat before your wedding day or a holiday. Plenty of people step up their exercise regime ahead of their big day, and there are few more powerful motivations to get fit than an upcoming wedding.

I increased my workouts and upped their intensity even more in the lead-up to my wedding to help me feel my most strong and confident. It’s obviously important to train all your major muscle groups each week, but as my dress had a full skirt and a fitted waist with my shoulders and arms on show, I placed plenty of focus on training my upper body. I made sure to train my chest, shoulder, triceps, biceps and back each week and did plenty of Pilates to strengthen and lengthen muscles and improve posture.

STAY HYDRATED

It can be surprisingly easy to go through your day without drinking enough water, not realising that you’re becoming increasingly dehydrated. If you’re a regular tea or coffee drinker, then too much caffeine can also contribute to dehydration.

Did you know that your body can sometimes mistake feelings of thirst for hunger? This may cause you to reach for unhealthy snacks such as biscuits or crisps. If you feel hungry between meals, drink a glass of water and wait a couple of minutes to see if it helps.

If you feel a little bloated, try drinking more water. It really helps to boost kidney function, improve lymphatic drainage and help your body to flush out toxins. Eight glasses of water a day is the normal recommendation, and more in warm weather or if you exercise regularly. Try to reduce caffeine intake too and replace caffeinated drinks with caffeine-free herbal teas. Pop a couple slices of lemon and lime or a sprig of mint into chilled water if you find the taste too plain.