Diets don't work!

My view on diets and dieting is that firstly they don’t work, and secondly that calorie counting has been one of the most detrimental messages to our eating habits in recent years.  Ok, controversial, but then again if you’re reading this then you’re one of those who knows this to be the truth.

What I’ve learnt in my time learning and educating myself with the holistic disciples such as Ayurveda and Functional Medicine is that food is far far more than calories alone.  And how we view food in our own lifestyles is vitally important to what we think about it and how we consume it.  My principles to food and nutrition are simple:

• Eat mainly fruits, vegetables and wholegrains
• Remind yourself often that food is nourishment for your body and NOT just calories
• Aim for seasonal fruits and vegetables wherever you can

Why seasonal?

Historically we ate seasonally and it wasn’t because we wanted to, but because that’s what nature delivered to us.  As a result our bodies receive the most nutrients from our food when we consume them when they are at their ripest. Studies have shown that for example, broccoli grown during it’s natural season has twice as much vitamin C compared to when it’s grown out of season.

Growing up, we rarely had the variety of fruit and vegetables we can see in the supermarkets today, and I have the fondest memories of picking and eating strawberries and blackberries in the summer months.  I still pine over the taste and miss it when the short season is over.  Eating seasonally not only helps us to obtain the most in terms of nutrients but eating becomes more pleasurable too. What memories of eating seasonal foods do you have?

Let's eat seasonally

So, how can you begin to eat more seasonally?  Well, firstly it’s relearning when the various fruits and vegetables are actually in season.  I love this poster from Eat Seasonably which helps you identify which fruits and vegetables are in season at a quick glance. 

Top 3 Tips on Eating Seasonally

Here are my tip 3 tips for always finding what’s in season

1. Keep a list of what fruit and vegetables are in season at the top of your shopping list (whether that be on your phone, or on the fridge) It will act as a reminder whenever you’re doing your food shop.
2. Spend more time in the fruit and veg aisle than anywhere else in the shop! Sounds obvious, but the reason why I say this is that it helps you to really look at what’s in season. Most supermarkets will have a ‘What’s in season?’ section, aim to check this out on a regular basis.
3. Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables to your hearts content! – When you eat seasonally, you’re essentially moving towards limiting the consumption of other fruit and vegetables out of season. For example eat fewer parsnips in the summer and more in the winter!

If you'd like to learn more about how you can incorporate eating seasonally into your lifestyle and change your weight, then book a free 30 minute discovery call with me today.

Komal x 

Ok, so at first sight, you’re likely to say, what on earth has kindness got to do with weight Komal?

You will know that weight is complex, it has many different factors which affect it, but in my experience a key driver to weight gain is emotional traumas/triggers.  Many of these can have profound effects on our bodies long after the trauma is forgotten.  Which is one of the reasons why I recommend exploring your emotional triggers as a starting point when you are wanting to manage your weight better.  Understanding this is the key to helping you increase your awareness of how you can begin to make changes to your lifestyle to better support your weight and wellbeing.

Expressing kindness, isn’t just about making others happy and safe, it’s as much about the physical and emotional impacts on our own bodies.  Many of us who struggle with our weight often struggle to show that kindness to ourselves.  By doing so you begin to fundamentally change the impact on our mood and in turn how our bodies react to the stresses and anxieties around us.

Below is a summary of exactly what kindness does for our bodies.

Kindness is a form of happiness, even imagining yourself being kind and in a state of happiness can have instant effects on your wellbeing and health.

Here are some small acts of kindness you could include in your day today.

• Remember a time when someone was really kind to you, what did it feel like. Remember this feeling often.
• Watch or listen to an uplifting video or podcast – Try out This Conscious Life by Eminé & Paul Rushton a favourite podcast of mine, or perhaps watch an inspiring Ted Talk today.
• Remember all the difficult things you’ve accomplished that you never thought you could achieve and make a list of them. Review the list and read them often to remind yourself of what you can achieve when you put your mind to it.
• Remind yourself of all the kind things you have done for others in the past week (not matter however small they may seem remind yourself of these as their impact will undoubtly be large)