NUTRITION + HEALTH BLOG

If you're struggling with your weight, I'm betting that you have got some bad food habits going on. It's not just the knowledge of WHAT to eat. Knowledge – surprisingly – isn't what makes the biggest difference when you're trying to lose weight (and this is why everyone who wants to lose weight really needs a coach!).

How to get rid of those bad habits

You might not like this, but that’s the way it goes with tough love. Getting rid of bad habits is ONLY about  taking responsibility. You see, it’s all very easy filing all of this under ‘well, it’s my habits’… And then leaving it where it is. "I would change, but it’s a habit” (and similar). It is astonishingly easy in life to make excuses like this to less ourselves off the hook. Isn’t it? What are the examples in your life where you do that?

Another thing to just try on while we are at it is that in life generally, our generation (compared to that of our...

As you get older, one of the things that can start to happen is that you experience aches and pains. If your aches and pains are a regular feature of your life, it’s definitely worth asking your doctor or physio for advice. Sometimes that regular twinge you are getting is something more serious, but don’t let the possibility of ‘something more serious’ prevent you from getting it checked out. If it’s nothing but creaking joints, that’s great. If it’s something else, well we can work on that, too.

You may have guessed that the ‘something else’ I am thinking about is arthritis. In aid of World Arthritis Week, I want to share some of my top tips for using food to help alleviate some of the symptoms of arthritis.

What are the different types of arthritis?

There are 2 types of arthritis: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritisis the type of arthritis associated with wear and tear of cartilage within joints. It...

Over the years – and some of us have racked up more years than others (speaking form myself) – you have probably developed hundreds of little habits. Some of them good, others bad. That’s all completely normal. But look to see that sometimes you’re going to be saying (to yourself, to other people) something along the lines of ‘I have slipped back into a bad habit’ to excuse your drinking more than you want to, or eating lots of chocolate biscuits, for example.

How to train yourself to stop eating 'bad' foods

There are a few things at play here. One of them is the habit loop. Here’s how that works and how to deal with it.

The Habit Loop

A habit is an acquired behaviour pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.

Habits allow us to focus on other things and, a lot of the time, we are not really thinking about what we’re doing. Willpower is a limited resource and, when it runs out, we default back to our...

It's National Cholesterol Month all though October, but you are very welcome if you are reading this at any other time of year. The information doesn't have a use-by date.

Cholesterol is one of the things that might be on the high side if you have an underactive thyroid and tends to go up a bit with age if you're not careful. I'm going to answer some common questions for once and for all.

Does eating cholesterol cause high cholesterol?

Short answer, no. But read on. 

Will eating fat give me high cholesterol?

Again, not in the way you think, but read on. 

How can I lower my cholesterol?

Don't do it by taking prescription drugs. There's a lot you can do by making changes to how you eat.

First of all, I'd like to introduce you to Charlie the rabbit. He took part in the experiments that led to that 'golden nugget' of science doctors have always been very keen to tell you about (don't worry, they're getting more clued up now)... that eating fat or foods containing...

Should you or shouldn't you eat fat? There are so many mixed and confusing messages in the media, perpetuated sometimes by people who should know better (or worse still, others with dubious motives), I don't blame you for not having the faintest idea whether it's still OK to eat full fat or whether you should be heading back to the 0% again...  

Just in case you don't read all the way through, DON'T go back to 0% fat. It's a trick. Bad for your health in general and worse for your waistline. 

And what about coconut oil? Suddenly it's the Darth Vader of fat?  Got that covered, too. 

Ready to get this sorted for once and for all? It's a bit War + Peace in terms of length, but there's a lot to say!

OK, so park that notion that fat is bad. It is not. In fact, most of us aren’t eating enough of it. Fat can help you lose weight, protect against heart disease, absorb vitamins and boost your immune system. Do you know which fats to eat and which to avoid?

Is saturated...

What do celebrities Daisy Ridley, Victoria Beckham, Jools Oliver and Emma Thompson have in common? They have all publicly shared their struggle with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).

PCOS is a common hormone disorder that affects one in five women in the UK.  It can be devastating to a woman’s self-esteem and quality of life. As if this weren’t bad enough, many cases are missed because the pill is often prescribed to young women for painful and/or irregular periods and this can mask symptoms.  It is often only when you are unable to get pregnant or experience miscarriages that explorations uncover the condition. 

Common signs and symptoms of PCOS...

• Irregular periods
• Difficulty getting pregnant
• Excessive hair growth where it shouldn’t be, e.g. face, chest and back
• Resistance to weight loss (although many sufferers are not overweight)
• Thinning hair on head
• Oily skin/acne
• Miscarriage

Does this sound like you?

What’s happening inside when you...

Ketogenic (‘keto’) diets are back in fashion.

You’ve probably read the headlines and wondered whether you should take the plunge if the results are really that dramatic and that easy. But are they, though?

Ever found yourself asking this:

How can I burn fat faster than ever?

How can I make my fat disappear?

 Then you’ll want to read on…

This newsletter will give you the inside line on what the diet involves, whether it’s healthy and even sustainable for ‘normal’ people. Here goes …

The keto diet is the ultimate low carb diet. It’s also moderate in terms of protein and very high in fat.

Is the 'keto' diet like the Atkins diet?, you say.

Well, yes. In essence, it’s pretty much like the Atkins diet, but its fans like to describe it as a more modern version of it, now with a solid scientific basis. Recent research over the last decade or so has provided evidence of the therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets in...

Everyone gets cravings from time to time. Sometimes you kid yourself that it is your body telling you that you need to have something (and there is some truth in this – more on that later). Most of the time, however, it is habit. There are some simple steps you can take to manage cravings and avoid binges. Using a combination of these steps will be most effective and some techniques will work better than others for you, so it’s best to experiment.

“But I need it…’
Your body needs a steady flow of energy throughout the day. When you eat too many things that turn quickly into sugar (whether it’s sugar or starchy carbohydrates), this creates a blood sugar spike and the body produces insulin to take the excess sugar out of your blood, and it stores it as fat. Sometimes too much of this sugar is packed away, which leads to blood sugar levels becoming too low, resulting in tiredness, low mood, a drop in concentration – and...

Celebrations are often filled with sweet, boozy drinks that can lead to weight gain and unbalance your blood sugar levels. It’s not always easy to know what to drink instead without feeling deprived. I’ve got a few delicious and refreshing alternatives for you to try.

Strawberry lemonade

Serves 8

2 litres water

8 lemons, squeezed (around 280 ml)

1/2 -3/4 tsp liquid stevia (try NuNaturals)

250g strawberries, sliced  

In a large jug combine water, lemon juice and stevia. Simply stir in sliced strawberries and serve over ice.

Cucumber, mint + lemon fizz

Serves 6

1.5ltr sparkling water

half a cucumber, sliced

10 mint leaves

1 lemon, sliced

Put all the ingredients in a large jug, chill and serve.

Sparkling cherries

Serves 2

4tbsp Cherry Active

500ml sparkling water

Add sparkling water to the Cherry Active and serve with ice.

Sparkling lime water

Exactly as it sounds … Sparkling water with a good squeeze of fresh lime...

Anyone else here going through the hideous process of online dating? I’m told it should be fun, but more frequently it’s excruciating. Particularly tricky when someone asks me what I do. I tend to hold them off with ‘I’m a coach’ [not untrue] for as long as possible because ‘nutritionist’ has people feel you’re the kind of person who is going to suck all the joy out of their life, make them eat vegetables and stop them drinking beer. (All of which are untrue, I point out for the benefit of men over 45 who look like either Hugh Jackman or Zack Effron).

So, I was chatting to a guy who I met online a few days ago. I mentioned that one of the things that I saw in my future was writing a book. This lead into suggestions about what my book could be called… ‘The Funny Nutritionist’ … ‘The Adventures of Flora the Good Bacteria’. (Well, he is s scientist, but don’t worry, he did NOT get the job of...