I WROTE THIS FOR YOU...

Most women I know – and certainly every single one of the women I work with in my nutrition clinic – have done countless diets. Some of these women have even been on what I consider good diets, eating the right kinds of things and enjoying some success, only to find themselves back to square one the following year. So what is happening?

It usually plays out a bit like this. You are propelled into action as a result of some immediate and urgent pain. One common scenario is you’ve been shopping for an event to discover that nothing you tried on in the entire shopping trip fitted or looked good. It's crushing and inspires you to start another diet.  

Women all over the world are motivated by this kind of pain so they set their goals, get results and - by doing that - they get out of that immediate and urgent pain.

But now that they are out of pain, the need and the urgency to do the work has gone and so has their motivation because their motivation was the pain....

Shop-bought granola will not set you off to a good start in the morning. Practically all are filled with sugar that will upset your blood sugar balance (but skip to the bottom of the blog for the one I do recommend). But right now, feast your eyes on this: the perfect low GL granola. It's paleo in that it doesn't contain any grains but you'd be very welcome to chuck in a cup or two of oats and up the amount of coconut oil and maple syrup to compensate.

Serves 8

Ingredients:
100g almonds, roughly chopped 50g walnuts, roughly chopped 50g pecans, roughly chopped
50g unsweetened coconut flakes 25g ground almonds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt (optional)
20g pure maple syrup
20g coconut oil (melted)

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

2. Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

3. Add all ingredients to a large bowl, fold until well mixed.

4. Pour onto the baking sheet into an even layer.

5. Bake for 15 mins. Gently turn granola, bake for an additional 5-10...

I suspect there is not a person in the land who doesn't like pancakes. But those high carb sorts drizzled in sugary syrup are not doing your weight loss efforts any favours.

They can be part of a healthy lifestyle, too. They have to be a little re-imagined but that's not so hard. And these low GL recipes are delicious. 

Pick the recipe you want (there is even a vegan option) and choose your topping/filling so that it fits with your taste buds.

(serves 1)

Pick a pancake recipe from the 3 options below.

To cook the pancakes (all options), melt a little coconut oil in a hot frying pan and fry on each side for about 60 seconds.

Banana Pancakes

1 medium banana, 2 eggs

Mash the banana then mix the eggs in thoroughly.

Oat Pancakes

40g oats, 1 egg, 8tbsp unsweetened milk of choice.

Mix everything thoroughly - literally just that.

Vegan Oat Pancakes

40g oats, 1tbsp flaxseeds mixed with 3 tbsp water and leave for 10 mins, 6 tbsp milk of choice - mix everything thoroughly.

...

I wonder how long you have spent over the course of your life searching for the magic pill when it comes to weight loss? And how much money you have spent on miracle products that promised to make the weight drop off overnight – or at least not make the business of losing weight seem so tricky?

A quick look this morning and I can see you can spend £28 a month on magic tea or a whopping £119 on a month's worth of magic sachets. The websites are beautiful; the products are enticing. I almost believed that sh1t myself.

But let's get real for a moment...

There IS not such thing as the magic pill. Or is there???

If you are someone who has spent a significant amount of time in slimming clubs, what you should know is that almost certainly you have been taught to eat the wrong things.

Of course, actually eating the 'right things 'will help you lose the weight naturally, without calorie counting, and eating the way I show my clients has them naturally wanting to eat the...

Whatever the weather, this recipe will bring a touch of summer to your dinnertimes. Lovely and low carb/ low GL, it's a favourite when I'm working with clients on a weight loss or hormone-balancing programme.

Serves 2

Ingredients

200g new potatoes
4 garlic cloves
8 chicken thighs
150g pesto
2 courgettes, cut into 1 cm thick slices
200g cherry tomatoes on the vine
2 tbsp olive oil

How to make it

Cut the potatoes in half and peel the garlic cloves.

Put the chicken thighs in a large roasting tin or dish and arrange the potatoes and garlic around them.

Drizzle over the olive oil, season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then roast in the oven for 40-45 mins.

Add the courgettes to the roasting tin after the chicken has been in the oven for 20 mins.

Add the tomatoes for the final 10 mins cooking time.

At the end of the cooking time, the chicken should be golden and cooked through. 

Remove from the oven and spoon over the pesto before serving.

Everyone has a happy weight. It’s not based on any medical measures or charts like Body Mass Index and nor does it necessarily relate to your body fat percentage or your waist-to-hip ratio. The truth is, it means something slightly different for everyone, which makes sense because it’s not like there’s an official meaning.

Your happy weight is not what you might consider your ‘ideal weight’ either, which experience tells me is probably a little below what you think is achievable and maybe would have you looking a little gaunt. And, actually, maintaining it would be a b1tch.

No, your happy weight is the space that exists between that ‘ideal weight’ and your ‘acceptable upper limit’; a weight you tolerate that is not exactly where you want to be and perhaps you’re a little better ‘covered’ than you’d like but it’s okay. In this middle ground you feel good, you look good and, importantly, you...

This is one of my absolute favourite low LG vegetarian dinner recipes and it's packed full of goodness. If you are trying out 'could I be vegetarian?' this is a great place to start. The killer combination of the beans, lentils and butternut squash... well, you just have to taste it. 

Ingredients

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
300g butternut squash, peeled and cubed 1 tsp chilli powder, 1tsp ground cumin 400g can chopped tomatoes
200ml water
1 veg stock cube
400g can mixed beans, rinsed
(or your choice of beans)
400g green lentils, rinsed
Salt + pepper to taste
Bunch chopped coriander for serving
1 avocado, diced, for serving

How to make it

1. In a large saucepan, gently sauté the onion, chilli pepper, red pepper and garlic in the coconut oil. 

2. Add the butternut squash and mix in the chilli powder and cumin.

3. Stir in the tomatoes, then add the beans and lentils, followed by the...

 The Queen of Meal Planning always has the right stuff in the fridge and cupboards at any one time. She never has to suggest her children go forage for their supper. She always makes time for breakfast, packs a healthy lunch, and she is satisfied with her lot such that she never finds herself ravenous by 3pm and tempted to eat the office birthday doughnuts. She isn’t forced to eat her body weight in cheese as she hunts for something for dinner. Nor is she the kind of girl to eat tuna mayonnaise, half a jar of pickles and a bag of Haribos, because there is literally no other food in the house. 

Want to be that person? There is always scope to brush up on your organisational skills. The secret to eating well is, in part of course, due to eating the right kinds of foods. But mostly it’s down to planning then preparing the right kind of foods.

HOW TO GET MEAL PLANNING RIGHT

Spontaneity only works for superheroes. It does not work if you want to eat well and...

These delicious bars are a perfect choice if you find your energy levels dragging by mid-afternoon. They combine the natural sweetness of dried fruit in the dates and almonds with slow-release carbs in the oats, plus healthy fats and a good serving of protein with the nuts and seeds, and the nut butter. This recipe is one of the tasty low GL snacks recipes that form part of my weight loss programmes. See? No deprivation. Enjoy!

16 bars

Ingredients

olive oil, for greasing
75g almonds
100g mixed seeds
250g rolled oats
8 Medjool dates
100g dried apricots
20ml maple syrup
150ml water
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp smooth almond butter

How to make it

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm square baking tin. 

2. Chop the almonds, then scatter over a baking sheet with the mixed seeds and oats, and roast for 20 mins, turning occasionally. 

3. Meanwhile, de-stone and roughly chop the dates and apricots.

4. Place the maple syrup, almond butter, dates,...

Sleep matters, big time.

You know this deep down. No, not even deep down. You know that things aren’t so good when you don’t get to sleep well regularly. Without enough sleep, you create an uphill battle in so many different ways.

It’s an essential and natural part of life.

And yet we seem to think it’s OK – or admirable in fact – to scape by with as little of the stuff as possible. Almost as though it were a competition.

To be successful, you need to work harder, sleep less – catch up on sleep when you’re dead…

Sleep impacts on your ability to lose weight, it affects how fast you age, can prevent cancer, and dictates whether or not you are able to function at a high level.

Most people get that on a conceptual level, but I want you to get really present to why that is and what the consequences to you are of not having enough.

Unless you already know you struggle with your sleep you are probably in the space where you think...