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FREEBIE: Belly Flattening 4 Day Meal Plan - Click Here

4 Reasons to Track What You Eat

24/7/2018

 
And How to Review It Afterwards, otherwise what's the point, right?!!!
Ever since my husband decided to take his health in hand, which was in November 2017, he has logged his food daily. I am serious! 
D A I L Y

I lasted 3 days and was over it!

He admits that int he beginning it was a task but now it's easy breezy.

But if you're like me and the thought of having to account for every mouthful just makes you want to reach for a coffee and muffin!!!

Then you need to read this and there's a FREE app that you can download that you can simply snap a  pic of your food!

Of course it can't tell you the calories and the make up of hte food from a snap but it is a great way to account for what is going in to you.

Plus you can link it to your health coach and they can see what you're eating which is a great way to keep you accountable....
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1) When you're keeping track of what you eat you immediately become more aware of what you are eating.

You probably think you know what you're eating but the funny thing is that when you eat standing up or doing another task then you don't register that you're eating.

And that is when the calories can start to add up. 

2) A food diary will show you what you are eating and what you are NOT eating.

And this will help you to plan meals better. There you were thinking that you ate tons of vegetables, meanwhile back at the ranch...

3) By logging what you're eating you will be able to see where your calories are coming from. You'll also get an idea of portion sizes. 

When I was keeping my food diary, for all of 3 days! we were having pasta the one evening for supper.

I dished up 100g of cooked pasta.

It turned out it was a more than I could eat.

I weighed what was left and it was almost exactly half, 50g! The thing was that it didn't look like much but it was so filling.

So when it comes to portions you can overeat because you think that the amount you have is not enough...
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1) When you're keeping track of what you eat you immediately become more aware of what you are eating.

You probably think you know what you're eating but the funny thing is that when you eat standing up or doing another task then you don't register that you're eating.

And that is when the calories can start to add up. 

2) A food diary will show you what you are eating and what you are NOT eating.

And this will help you to plan meals better. There you were thinking that you ate tons of vegetables, meanwhile back at the ranch...

3) By logging what you're eating you will be able to see where your calories are coming from. You'll also get an idea of portion sizes. 

When I was keeping my food diary, for all of 3 days! we were having pasta the one evening for supper.

I dished up 100g of cooked pasta.

It turned out it was a more than I could eat.

I weighed what was left and it was almost exactly half, 50g! The thing was that it didn't look like much but it was so filling.

So when it comes to portions you can overeat because you think that the amount you have is not enough...
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​How do you keep a food diary?

You can download an app or keep one on your phone in Notes or a hard copy in a little book.

What will you record?
  • When you ate/drank
  • What time you ate/drank
  • How much you ate/ drank
  • Where you were
  • Rate your hunger out of 5
1 - not so hungry - - - 5 - ready to climb into the fridge and eat the contents
And your emotional state

Click here for a list of emotions

If you can't write down your food then take a pic of what you're eating and make a note of how you are feeling in your diary/notebook or NOTES on your phone.

How long do you need to keep a diary for?

Ideally 14 days but at the very least 3 consecutive days. This will help you to pinpoint eating patterns and emotions that could be sabotaging your healthy ambitions.

What to look for when you review your diary

** Look to see how much you're eating and when.

Take a highlighter or pencil crayon if your diary is on paper - print it out so that you can do this exercise - 

**Highlight your emotions and what foods you eat.
Do you stress eat or overeat when you are celebrating and feeling on top of hte world?

** Identify when you eat the most of your fruit and veges. 

Then take a decision to drop one habit that is holding you back. on the road to better health. 
Drop it for a week. 
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When it comes to emotions and eating, look at what emotions trigger eating food.

Work out how else you can deal with the emotion rather than pushing it down with food.

Pin point which meals are rushed and which relaxed. 
When you're feeling relaxed then your digestion works better. 

Aim for a relaxed meal 4 out of 7 days a week.

Replace foods that are high in sugar, low in fibre and processed foods with whole foods.

Do it one step at a time.
High sugar in the 1st week.
Low fibre in the 2nd week
etc

Are you drinking enough water?
Include herbal teas and soups to reach your water goal. 

How much water do you need? 
Take your weight/ 0.035 = litres per day
​Food Diary Challenge

Keep a food diary for 4 days 
Share what you're eating and drinking on the FaceBook page (@IamYouBalancingAct)

And next week you can start to take steps to change some eating habits.

If you'd like help with your food journal please contact me.

Do You Realise the Hidden Dangers of MSG?

18/7/2018

 
Let's talk about ....

... MSG = Monosodium Glutamate
 
What is it?
It is the salt molecule of an amino acid. In this case, it is the salt of the amino acid – Glutamic Acid (Glutamate). SO it naturally occurs in your body through the foods that you eat.
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What is an amino acid?
They are building blocks, that when linked together form a protein.

All processes in the body are dependant on proteins which play roles in the body of structure, messengers, enzymes & hormones.

Remember Biology lessons? 
Some amino acids must be eaten because the body cannot make them.

These are called Essential Amino Acids. Other amino acids can be made by the body, these are Non Essential Amino Acids.
 
Glutamic Acid (Glutamate) is an amino acid that can be linked with other amino acids as building blocks to make a protein (bound) or it can go on its own (free) as an amino acid neurotransmitter.

When Glutamic Acid is acting as a neurotransmitter it is like a chemical messenger that triggers nerve cells to “fire”.

Other amino acids like L-Taurine inform the nerve cells to “cease firing”.

It is important then to have a balance between these “firing” and “non firing” neurotransmitters.
 
What happens to excess amino acids?
If amino acids are not used by the body they are not stored as amino acids.

Through complex processes the body removes nitrogen and changes amino acids into fuel to be stored.

Mostly these processes happen in our livers.

If our livers are compromised then sometimes the liver is not able to convert excess amino acids and this leads to a build up of chemical messengers that trigger nerve cells to “fire” up.

Too many cells “firing up” could manifest as hyperactivity!

Other results could be rapid heart beat, upset tummy, fuzzy thinking, numbness & tingling.
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Man made MSG
Through manufacturing processes foods like maize, molasses, wheat & yeast, that have naturally occurring Glutamic Acid that is bound,  are broken down. The end product is the free form of the amino acid which means that it is a neurotransmitter telling cells to “fire up”.
 
Hidden guises of MSG
It is scary how well hidden MSG can be in the ingredients list on regular food items.
Other ways that labelling can indicate MSG is in our food:
  • E numbers: E620 -> E625
  • When E627, E631 & E635 are present on the ingredient list then you can be sure MSG in one of its guises will be too because these numbers work synergistically with MSG to enhance flavour
  • Autolysed Yeast, plant protein
  • “anything” Hydrolysed
  • Calcium caseinate
  • Gelatin
  • Glutamate
  • Glutamic Acid
  • Monopotassium glutamate
  • Sodium caseinate
  • Textured protein, soy protein, whey protein
  • Yeast extract
 
MSG by any other name.......
In Japan, MSG is labeled as 味の素 or Ajinomoto
In China, MSG = wie jing
In the Phillipines,  MSG = Vetsin
In Thailand, MSG = phong churot
In Germany, MSG = Natriumglutaminat
In Europe - MSG = E621,  but avoid E620-625  as they also contain glutamate
In the US - "umami", MSG, glutamate, free glutamic acid
 
Four good rules of thumb are:
  • If a processed food is salty it probably has MSG
  • MSG is more likely to be present in processed food because the original flavour is degraded AND processing a food frees Glutamic Acid that is already present.
  • The more ingredients in a packaged food, the more likely MSG is present. 
  • Just because the food is on a Health Food Store shelf doesn’t mean you can trust it to be without MSG. Read the label.
Upcoming Events
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17/7/2018

 
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5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - Blast Off

5/7/2018

 
What do you most want to do for yourself?​
​For YOU.        Not as a family or in your job - Just For You?
I watched a YouTube video recently. And I felt it was serendipitous.It came up after something else I'd actually wanted to watch.

It was an interview with a woman who turned her life around using this simple method.

Putting this method into practice for anything from getting out of bed in the morning which is what she initially started out doing,
to doing a task you may not feel like doing
to  taking the first steps in a new project.

What is this method?

A simple brain interrupter - counting backwards from 5.

5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 and GO!

Start the exercise routine, make the phone call, write the 1st paragraph of your proposal.

Counting backwards interrupts your routine ways and thought processing. It's like pressing the pause button. 
So next time you need to get something done - be a like a rocket and launch yourself - 
5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 
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​My Go-to Winter Soup Recipe
  • Pull out all your vegetables that are in your fridge that are just about to move on to the compost bin or the rubbish bin.
  • - carrots, pumpkin, courgettes, tomatoes, celery sticks, butternut, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage
  • Peel and chop everything into chunks and shred your cabbage
  • Add a cup of brown lentils
  • Put it all into a large pot of water and add seasoning - salt, pepper, a variety of herbs (rosemary, oreganum, parsely & thyme)
  • These all grow in my garden but you can use from the bottle.
  • Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes
  • Ladle the chunks into your blender with a bit of the liquid and blend 
  • You can also keep the soup a bit more chunky by leaving some of the vegetables in the pot and blending some.
  • Stir in cream or coconut milk before serving and enjoy!

I keep a container of soup in my fridge for the week so that I have can grab a cup of soup as a quick snack when I'm on the go.

Have you liked my Facebook page? 

Have a wonderful week of getting things done
- 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
and go!

Remember, The Secret of Getting Ahead, is Getting Started....

Much happiness
Lee ​

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