Category: Nutrition

Dee’s Diet – Breakfast Bliss

Hi Ladies,

Welcome to the new blog by me, Dee! In case you do not know me already, I am a nutritionist in Womens Fitness and I work with women day in and day out giving them the tools and knowledge they need to have a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their home. I have consulted with thousands of women over the years, so believe me when I say there is no situation or diet that I have not come across and helped.

Over the years of nutrition, a plan of health and fitness was born into the now famous Kickstart Plan. Over 5000 women have completed it and fallen in love with their health and nutrition.

Today’s blog is all about Breakfast! With a weeks worth of gorgeous recipes that everyone will love.

So keep reading below to find out why breakfast is so important, recipes and also your shopping list to fill and fuel everyones bellies the right way, every day!

I don’t have time!!!

Being a working mother and a woman on the go myself, I know only too well how morning times can be hectic! We have all heard the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and it’s very true. Why? Because it is the start of refuelling your body after a long fast (sleeping). According to the latest evidence, in an article by ScienceDirect we should all be aiming to consume around 15–25%  of our daily energy intake at breakfast, around 300–500 calories for women.

If you are finding it tough in the mornings to have everything ready, there is a simple fix. Make sure that you are organised the night before and get up half an hour earlier. A good nights sleep works wonders, so if you are finding nodding off difficult, make sure to read our article by our Neuromuscular & Physical Therapist, Barry Vaughan on how to Get a Good Nights Sleep

Preparation and organisation are key to success! Accompany that with having a good healthy, hearty breakfast full of whole grains, fibre and protein while low in added sugar that will boost yours and your loved ones attention span, concentration, and memory — which is very much needed in school and the workplace and you are on to a winner of a day.

So let’s go ladies and get the right fuel and start to your day!

The recipes below compliment the Womens Fitness Kickstart Plan.

 

Shopping List

  • Wheatabix
  • Low Fat Milk
  • Ricotta Cheese
  • Whole -Wheat Pitta Breads
  • Peanut Butter
  • Fruit  – choice of Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Grapefruit, Pear, Kiwi, Apple, Plum, Orange, Mandarin, Peach, Nectarine
  • Vegetables – choice of Spinach, Tomatoes,Peppers, Mushrooms, Lettuce,  Cucumber, Scallions, Avocado, Beetroot, Broccoli,  Cauliflower, Green Beans,  Asparagus, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, Pak Choi, Celery, Aubergine, Bean Sprouts, Kale, Carrot, Butternut Squash
  • Whole Oats Porridge
  • Eggs
  • Spices – choice of, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or cloves
  • Whole Grain Bagels
  • Hummus
  • Low Fat Yoghurt
  • Green Tea

 

Weekly Breakfast Menu

Monday – Wheatabix with low-fat milk topped with choice of fruit accompanied by green tea

Tuesday – Whole-grain bagel topped with peanut butter or ricotta cheese and fruit accompanied by green tea

Wednesday – Whole-wheat pita stuffed with sliced hard-cooked eggs, hummus and tomato accompanied by green tea

Thursday – Porridge topped with nuts or fruit sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or cloves accompanied by green tea

Friday – Half a whole-grain bagel topped with peanut butter and apple wedges, accompanied by green tea

Saturday – Breakfast smoothie (low-fat milk or yogurt, fruit, and teaspoon of bran, whirled in a blender)

Sunday – Vegetable omelet with whole-wheat toast accompanied by green tea

 

If you would like to come and speak with myself about your individual and household diet, just send an email to membership@womensfitness.ie or call 0214966904 and make an appointment.

WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE

Measuring your WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE is very important for your health along with building up confidence. At present according to Safefood.eu over 50% of women in Ireland are overweight or obese.
This is a dangerous figure and not because of social stigma but the health risks involved with being overweight. Too often women are more concerned with the outside, when in fact the real issue is what’s going on inside.
The human body is fantastic though and will often indicate when action needs to be taken.
One of those indicators is the size of your waist.

Why should you measure your waist?

This measurement is important to know as it indicates your level of  abdominal fat which is significant to your health especially your heart’s health.
A woman’s health is at risk if her waist circumference is 32 inches or more.
A measurement of 35 or more puts you at high risk for a heart attack or stroke.
People with a high level of abdominal fat have a much higher chance of developing  cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

How to do it?

(We also recommend having someone else to help you as it will make the process easier)
You will need a measuring tape and a notepad.
  1. Remove or raise clothing.  You will need to do this as to get a correct measurement the tape needs to be resting against your skin. If your pants are in the way, undo them and pull them down around your hips.
  2. Find your bellybutton. Use your fingers to find your bellybutton, which is located in the centre of your stomach.
  3. Wrap the measuring tape around your waist. Breathe normally and stand up straight. Hold the end of the tape measure at your navel and circle it around your back to the front of your waist. The measuring tape should be parallel to the floor and fit snugly around your torso without digging into your skin.
    • Make sure that the measuring tape is straight all the way around and is not twisted anywhere, especially in the back.
  4. Read the tape. Check the measurement on the tape. Your waist measurement will be at the place on the tape where the zero end meets the slack end of the tape measure. The number indicates your waist measurement in inches and/or centimeters, depending on the type of measuring tape you used.
  5. Double-check your measurement. Repeat the measurement once more to ensure the accuracy of your original measurement. If it is different from the first time, measure for a third time and take the average of the three numbers.

A very good indicator of if you are at unhealthy risk is to divide your height in half.

An example of this would be a 5ft 4in (64 inch) woman should keep her waist under 32 inches for a good, healthy reading.

 

Want a more in depth analysis of your waist and entire body?

In Womens Fitness, our qualified nutritionists will meet you in a private consultation, take your weight, measurements and height. They will then go through the findings with you and develop a correct eating plan along with practical hints and tips will be given to you.
A good way to start is our Kickstart Plan, which involves 6 personal training sessions, a tailored gym program, 2 fitness classes per week, 1 nutrition consultation, tailored food plan, 6 weekly weigh ins, unlimited gym, member’s app and Free parking and all for the unbelievable value of €199.

Would you like more information – Just go to our Kickstart Page. 

Why are we so obsessed with food?

The answer stems from our very first moment

As soon as we are born, food and comfort become permanently intertwined with who we are. Think about it, from the moment we are held in security by our mothers and fed snug in their arms, food is immediately connected with being held, being safe and comforted.

This connection and want for comfort stays with us for the rest of our lives.
Throughout the years our milestones are marked by celebrations and parties all based around food. From Christmas, birthdays, Easter, romance, friends over and so on, food is nearly always celebrated with the occasion.
This is often how the role of nourishment and ensuring our survival can be outweighed by an occasion and habit.
While some of us use food as comfort or reward to a greater or lesser extent, for some of us it can become the main comfort in our lives. This can put us at serious risk for over eating, leading to weight gain, obesity and a variety of conditions which are listed further down in this article.

A food lifetime habit

The habit of over eating is something that was born out of love. We all remember being told and taught from a young age that you do not waste food and “not to leave a single morsel on the plate”.
Times have changed though. Food has actually decreased in price over the years when you contrast it to the average national wage, but that bread and butter habit of not wasting anything has stayed with us. Twenty five years ago a loaf of bread was 0.7pc of the weekly wage and now it is less than 0.2pc.  The growth of commercialism and advertising has also played a big role with why and what we are eating with daily messages being bombarded on us to keep buying and keep feeding.
This has led us astray from what the real purpose of food is  – Fuel – and most of us are not fuelling our own or our children’s bodies correctly.
We also need to factor in our activity levels. As children, we were all outside, playing and moving our bodies every day for hours!
How many of us now, be it ourselves or our children, stay still in front of screens for the majority of the day?
The maths is very simple – To stay fit and healthy, you must burn off what you consume. That consumption needs to fuel your body correctly. Vitamins, iron, minerals, fibre and hydration are essential.
If you don’t move and you keep consuming, you will put on weight.

It’s a Fact!

According to Safefood.eu more than half the women of Ireland are overweight or obese. This fact is very concerning as the risk of contracting the following is significantly increased.

 

  • High blood pressure (Hypertension)
  • High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Coronary heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Gallbladder disease
  • Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint)
  • Sleep apnea and breathing problems
  • Some cancers (endometrial, breast, colon, kidney, gallbladder, and liver)
  • Low quality of life
  • Mental illness such as clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders
  • Body pain and difficulty with physical functioning

What to do?

If you have fallen into this habit, don’t scorn yourself and as you can see from the figures above, you are not alone. The first thing that needs to be done is acknowledgement. By doing this, you can reach out for help. A problem shared is a problem halved and having gained a lifetime habit, breaking it on your own is achievable but very difficult. If you have a broken leg, you would not try to mend it yourself. You would want a trained professional, who knows what they are doing to help and mend you.
It is exactly the same scenario with being healthy and fit!

You need the help of a qualified nutritionalist. This does not have to be a daunting process and a good nutritionist will help, guide and support you always.Our friendly, non judgemental nutritionists have over 25 years experience between them. They have worked with women who have started at basics, to those training for a marathon. Getting to the core of eating habits and guiding/educating women to the best ones.

Nutrition in Womens FitnessConsultations Include

  • Weight Analysis 
  • Height Measurement
  • Fat %
  • Fat Mass
  • Muscle Mass
  • Bone Mass
  • Ideal Body Weight
  • Degree of Obesity
  • BMI
  • Customised Food Plan
  • Hydration Plan
  • Recipes 

There is no judgement and no guilty feeling with our nutrition consultations. The recipes and plans are easy to follow and taste amazing. We firmly believe in Womens Fitness that if you educate the woman, you educate the household. So by combating your own health and fitness,  you will be able to pass this knowledge to your loved ones around you.

With correct nutrition and guidance, you are going to be fuelling your body and mind in the way it was meant to function. You have one body, one life and one decision to make. The choice and consequences are yours.
If you would like to find out more about our Kickstart Plan which will teach you correct nutrition along with fitness, please visit our Kickstart page.