Behaviour changes

In my years of practice, I have not seen such incredible results with my clients as with Metabolic Balance. Yes, they loose weight and body fat, but they also look and feel incredible. This program is ideal for anyone who is concerned about Type II diabetes, heart disease and Syndrome X.

Because the foods which are allowed are specific to your make up – it just works

Anyone can stick to an eating plan for a while, but one of the most important things is to change your behaviour towards food and eating. This is the key to long term success and this is what I coach you on in tandem with with making dietary and lifestyle changes.

For example:

• Eat slowly
• Say NO! This is not your last meal ever and there will be another opportunity to have a slice of chocolate cake
• Always keep your goal in mind
• Think of your health and weight as a savings account. Every time you spend £20 on something you don’t need you are slowing down the process of going on the trip of your lifetime. Same with eating rubbish food – you are just slowing down the process of looking and feeling fabulous
• Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve had a cupcake, enjoy it, but know that was enough sugar and refined carbs to keep you going for a week and you don’t need more sugar!

Your success depends not on willpower, but your hormones and behaviour could be jeopardising your efforts.

see more information on www.london-metabolic-balance.com

is it worth it?

At the start of the metabolic balance program, I thought there is no way I am going to weigh my food and say no to a glass of wine. I also thought there is not much body fat I could loose and more I can learn about weight loss and dietary choices. I am a nutritional therapist after all. Boy was I wrong, I know there is always more to learn, but I can ‘t tell you how pleased I am with the results thus far, not only for me – but my partner is a new man. He has lost 9kg, fits into clothes from three years ago and looks two years younger (people might start talking) I have lost weight, minimal PMS symptoms (I do like the odd moan) and people remark on my appearance – note, this is not vanity but an experiment. A succesful one at it.

The more clients I see, the more astound I am about the results and the happier my clients are. This is why I do what I do – to help people regain their confidence and take responsibility for their health.  Job satisfaction of the highest degree and weighing my food for a few weeks is a small price to pay!

Alice in Wonderland

I watched this film last night and I know there are numerous messages and great costumes, but the one thing I took home was to think of six impossible things before breakfast.

I ate breakfast with a lighter heart this morning as I was more distracted by my own imagination than the morose news on telly.

Try it! It could even help with your digestion.

Looking after your health doesn’t stop with eating porridge and drinking green tea. It is important to look after your whole self.

• Take walks in nature
• Step outside
• Surround yourself with fresh flowers
• Breathe
• Drink pure water
• Do some stretches
• Clear the clutter
• Give someone a compliment

Have a good day!

Why exercise is important and the role of insulin

In a nutshell, every time you eat, your pancreas releases insulin which acts like a taxi and transports the glucose released from food to where it needs to be. Some of it is used for immediate energy, some goes to the liver for later use and some goes to muscles and other body tissues. Now if you have well trained muscles, they will be very effective in receiving these calories, because they need them for energy, however if you are a couch potatio and can’t spell the word ‘lady push-up’ the chances are those extra calories from food will be stored as fat.

Bottom line – get up and start flexing those guns. That’s one of the reasons why athletes can ‘eat what they want’

The metabolic balance plan helps to keep your insulin and blood sugar in tight rein, prevents dips, cravings and excess consumption of food therefore less fat storage.

How hard are your muscles working?

Flavourless beans or brown rice?

I think one of the big reasons why so many people avoid cooking brown rice or lentils is because they don’t always like the flavour and think that it is dull and tasteless. It doesn’t need to be you know.

Here are a few tips on how to jazz up your lentils or brown rice:

• Sauté some onion, garlic and chopped carrot before adding the lentils or rice
• Add a teaspoon bouillon powder to the cooking water
• Add fresh herbs and spices at the end of cooking
• Toast some cumin and coriander in a hot pan, then grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Sauté your onion and garlic and then add these spices before adding the rice or legumes.
• Use cooked rice or lentils as leftovers and add 1/2 chopped avocado, feta cheese and a chopped tomato as well as fresh herbs for a lovely light lunch time salad and eat cold.

Whole grains, legumes and pulses are rich in fibre and will help to keep your blood sugar balanced as well as keep you full for longer and most importantly they keep you regular.Fibre acts like a brush in your colon and ‘sweeps’ it clean, feeding the good bacteria along the way. (all technical terms) They are packed with B vitamins which is essential for energy and great for those who knows stress as a household name. Ensure they are well cooked and soaking before cooking also helps to ensure optimal digestion and prevents bloating. Start this evening by replacing your white rice for some wholegrain variety. Your tummy will love you for it!

Metabolism gone haywire?

Is your metabolism all over the place?

Find out if your metabolism could be contributing to your weight gain. Give yourself a mark for every point which applies to you.

• Lack of energy
• Mildly depressed
• Energy slump in the afternoon
• Feel anxious
• Crave carbohydrate foods, such as bread, chips and pasta
• Weight gain around the middle
• Gain weight easily and difficult o shift
• Constant bloating and abdominal discomfort
• Crave sugar and sweets
• Sleep disturbances
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Indigestion

Do you qualify to participate in the Metabolic Balance ®program?

If you have identified 10 or more of the above you may find great benefit from Metabolic Balance.

Quick Metabolic Balance dinner

Jazz up your dinner in Phase III

Steamed prawns and vegetables depending on what is on your plan. (weights dependant on your plan)

• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 135g raw prawns de-veined and shelled
• 30g Pack choi
• 30g grated carrot
• 20g chopped spring onion
• 30g sliced button mushroom
• 30g broccoli
• Juice of half a lemon (if permitted)
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1inch ginger peeled and chopped

Method:

1. Heat the coconut oil in a wok or large frying pan
2. Add the chopped garlic and ginger and fry for two minutes
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except the prawns and sauté for five minutes
4. Now add the prawns and steam until pink
5. Season with salt, pepper and chilli flakes and lemon (if permitted)

Serve!

America – blessed with corn syrup

I couldn’t wait to go back to The States, not only for the incredible fresh oysters and Lobster on Cape Cod, fresh air and great beaches, but also to make sure it really is true and what I saw last time and read every day is fact…..the obesity epidemic. Why is this such a problem? Well, it is multi-factoral, I know, but one reason could be the enormous amounts of fructose they are consuming in the form of soda, processed food (especially so called diet food) and almost everything else which can be bought in a packet.

It is not the fructose from three fresh fruits which are a problem, the problem is the vast quantities which are consumed DAILY from corn syrup. It is a cheap alternative to sugar and it is in everything. Yes, it may be natural, but consuming 70kg a year per person is NOT natural.

Dr Lutsig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, has been a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism. His work has highlighted some major differences in how different sugars are broken down and used:

• After eating fructose, 100 percent of the metabolic burden rests on your liver. But with glucose, your liver has to break down only 20 percent.
• Every cell in your body, including your brain, utilizes glucose. Therefore, much of it is “burned up” immediately after you consume it. By contrast, fructose is turned into free fatty acids (FFAs), VLDL (the damaging form of cholesterol), and triglycerides, which get stored as fat.
• The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism accumulate as fat droplets in your liver and skeletal muscle tissues, causing insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin resistance progresses to metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes.
• Fructose is the most lipophilic carbohydrate. In other words, fructose converts to activated glycerol (g-3-p), which is directly used to turn FFAs into triglycerides. The more g-3-p you have, the more fat you store. Glucose does not do this.
• When you eat 120 calories of glucose, less than one calorie is stored as fat. 120 calories of fructose results in 40 calories being stored as fat.
• Glucose suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin and stimulates leptin, which suppresses your appetite. Fructose has no effect on ghrelin and interferes with your brain’s communication with leptin, resulting in overeating.

One of the very important factors of The Metabolic Balance program is to ‘re program’ the metabolism and stimulate the hormone leptin, which prevents over eating.

Through avoiding fructose in the form of corn syrup and processed food, the following can be prevented:

• Insulin resistance and obesity
• High blood pressure
• Elevated triglycerides and LDL cholesterol
• Depletion of vitamins and minerals
• Cardiovascular disease, liver disease, gout and arthritis.

Take home message: ALWAYS read the labels and eat and drink like a cave man/woman.

Who can benefit from Metabolic Balance?

Everyone! It never seizes to amaze me how profound the effects are of this program. Not only do patients loose weight that they have been struggling with for ages, but their blood pressure comes down, their heart rates slow down, sleeping is a dream (no pun intended) and they realise how little food they need to feel satisfied. Although the portions are small, the food choices are of high biological value and keeps you full! YouThe metabolism is in balance and therefore so many other aspects of health just falls into place.

Patients are taking responsibility for their health, preparing their own food and adopting a great attitude to food and to eating. They realise how much they would snack at times when they really weren’t hungry – but bored or stressed or frustrated. These factors are life changing and in fact could save your life!

It’s a lifestyle choice and the best insurance you could ever invest in! Metabolic Balance

mad cow, smelly cow – add some spices

I recently read the article about feeding cattle spices for reducing methane production and enhancing friendly bacteria in the gut with great enthusiasm and delight.

The most effective spice according to the study was coriander which reduced methane production from 14 millilitres per gram of food to eight – a drop of 40 per cent. Turmeric produced a 30 per cent reduction and cumin 22 per cent.

We have known the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of spices and herbs for centuries especially in Asian cultures and across the world. This is also true for human consumption of course and the anti-inflammatory effects of turmeric has been well documented and researched. Cinnamon is great for balancing blood sugar and managing insulin and fennel seeds after dinner aids in digestion.

Sometimes it is necessary to see how older civilizations have been doing things and follow their lead – get back to basics, the answer is almost always in nature and right in front of us.

For the best spices I order from seasoned pioneers , the spices come in cute little bags and you can even indicate which meal your preparing and they will suggest the appropriate spices –     like iTunes genius for the spice world.