HC Guide to Healthy Living
When we come to uni, we expect to put a little ‘fresher’s 15’ on and around the waist. From the drinking, the eating McDonalds after a night out and not having mum around to make your dinner. For me it was a bit more than Fresher’s 15, it was almost three stone of weight. My body completely changed! My eating habits were horrendous! I got out of bed to go to uni some of the time and then got back into bed with a 6 pack of crisps, finishing off every packet.
We all say we want to lose weight or eat healthy, but how many of us follow through? I’d tried for a year to go to the gym, to cut out carbs and eat just salad, none of that stuck. For months I just complained about my weight, how I was too big and unhappy with my body, but wasn’t doing much about it. Until now.
For the past month (yes I know it isn’t long) I’ve had the motivation, I’ve had the desire to better myself and there has been a big adjustment to my diet and to my exercise regime. The best part is I’m getting the results! I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but my results are my motivation and it has taken so long to get to this point, but I’m glad the moment has come. It is so tough and takes commitment, but there is some simple substitutions that can be made to get the results you want. It doesn’t even involve cutting carbs or skipping breakfast. It’s about portion control.
Every decision we make on the daily basis makes an impact. Even the smallest changes can make a difference. Taking the first step was the hardest for me, but now that I’ve been on the diet for 5 weeks now, it’s getting easier everyday. The following is the first seven day meal plan I was given and it launched me into a healthier eating plan:
MONDAY
Breakfast: Two Weetabix biscuits, banana and two petit-filous yogurts.
*Top tip: Don’t choose non-fat yogurts as they have high sugar levels.
Lunch: Omelette with a handful of cheese, topped with tomato and some brown sauce. Keep the sauce quantity below one tablespoon.
Dinner: Honey Soy Chicken with egg noodles and vegetables. Try keep to leafy greens as they are a great source of iron and calcium.
(Recipe can be found at; http://www.fussfreecooking.com/recipe-categories/meat-recipes/5-ingredients-honey-soy-chicken-a-gluten-free-recipe/)
Snack: Packet of Quavers; anything sweet or savoury under 200 calories is perfect!
TUESDAY
Breakfast: Tesco Special Flakes (or Bran Flakes if you don’t like dried fruit), banana and an orange.
Lunch: Caesar salad with a bowl of lentil soup and a slice of whole wheat bread.
Snack: 6 wheat crackers with red onion humus.
Dinner: ‘Healthy fish and chips’ (Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines are the best for you as they are a great source of vitamins and good fats; they are also known to prevent cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer). Healthy fish and chips was: salmon topped with pesto, green beans, and homemade sweet potato chips.
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Two boiled eggs on a slice of whole wheat toast.
Lunch: Pea and ham soup, strawberry yogurt with melon and simple salad flavoured with lemon juice.
Snack: Packet of Hula Hoops; super tasty and only 129 calories!
Dinner: Baked sweet potato with a tablespoon of butter, tuna and sweetcorn; added with a little bit of cheese.
THURSDAY
Breakfast: Bowl of special flakes, banana and two hash browns.
Lunch: Breaded chicken breast and caesar salad.
Snack: Three digestive biscuits.
Dinner: Tuna pasta bake, topped with some grated cheese. Try limiting the pasta to two to three handfuls, and using only a third to a half of the jar of sauce rather than all of it. They usually have a lot of added sugar.
FRIDAY
Breakfast: Two Weetabix biscuits with an apple.
Lunch: Greek Salad; avocado, red onion, feta cheese, tomato, cucumber and little bit of parsley, all topped with balsamic vinegar.
Snack: Slice of toast with peanut butter.
Dinner: Beef stir fry; rump steak, kale, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, and egg noodles. The marinade/sauce is made with soy sauce, vegetable broth, white wine vinegar, corn starch, ground ginger, and black pepper.
SATURDAY
Breakfast: A slice of toast, banana, a sausage and slice of bacon with brown sauce. Because it’s Saturday right!
Lunch: Bowl of vegetable soup, a pitta sandwich with cold meat, and tomato.
Snack: Packet of prawn cocktail crisps; my absolute fav!!
Dinner: Garlic shrimp with whole wheat rice. (Recipe: 10 jumbo shrimp, or packet of prawns, put into a frying pan until cooked. Put 2 tablespoons of butter (or sub for flora), 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic, and 1 tablespoon of parsley. Once that becomes fragrant add 2 tablespoons of honey, juice from half of a lemon, salt and pepper. Add ‘microwavable’ rice to the pan for 3-4 minutes). Enjoy your Saturday night dinner!
SUNDAY:
Last day of the week! You’ve almost made it a whole week eating healthy!
Breakfast: Bowl of special flakes, kiwi, and yoghurt.
Lunch: Simple salad from Tesco (my favourite, can’t get enough) topped with Caesar dressing and peanut butter and jelly sandwich; going back to my American youth!
Snack: Carrot sticks dipped in hummus.
Dinner: Taco wraps; one of my own creations! The recipe is super simple and takes only 15 minutes! You’ll need fajita wraps (or just regular wraps), mince, taco seasoning, cheese, tomato, and lettuce. Fry the mince with onions and once it is half cooked through add the taco seasoning with some water. Leave to simmer down; once fully cooked set aside and assemble the wraps. Put the cheese on the bottom, followed by the mince, lettuce and tomato. The folding of the wrap is the tricky part, but can be seen in the picture below. Give it a try, you will not regret it! If you want to add a bit more, add some saucy salsa, guacamole, and sour cream; but remember those are just added calories so try one at a time.
So there you go! My first week of eating healthy went great and I’ve been trying different recipes and healthy foods. I’ve lost 8 pounds in a month which makes me feel amazing, it means the hard work I’ve been putting in is giving me results. The most important part of dieting though is to drink lots and lots of water!! Everyone says it, but it really has made the biggest difference, to not only my weight but to my skin and digestion. Exercise is key as well, but it all comes down to diet. If your diet is crap and you think you’ll cancel it out with exercise; think again! You get out what you put in.
HCXO