healthy lifestyle Archives - Rachael Attard

Best Food Subscription Boxes to Make Healthy Eating Easier

Rachael Attard — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 21:00:00 +0000

We all enjoy a home-cooked meal. However, the time and effort needed to go out and buy groceries, chop everything up and then turn it into a delicious meal can sometimes be too much.

That’s where food subscription boxes or meal kits come in. These boxes have become quite popular in recent years, with more and more springing up everywhere in the world.

Why are these boxes so great?

Well for starters, less time spent grocery shopping means more time you can spend on something else.

You also waste less food when all of the ingredients are already measured for you and you waste less money on ordering in or going out to restaurants.

And the best part, for me, is that you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to eat for dinner for the rest of the week since it’s all already planned out for you.

Because there are so many available on the market right now, it’s not always easy to choose which meal kits to subscribe to.

I made a list of some of the best food subscription boxes I could find in Canada, the UK, Australia and the USA to help you find the one that fits you the most. :)

Best Food Subscription Boxes in Canada

HelloFresh Canada

https://www.hellofresh.ca/?locale=en-CA

HelloFresh is one of the top meal kits in Canada. They deliver fresh, pre-measured ingredients each week along with recipe cards that give you step-by-step instructions on how to prep your meals.

They currently deliver to 95% of the Canadian population including Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland, and the Maritimes but they’re working on expanding their area of delivery.

With HelloFresh you can choose between four different plans:

Meat and veggies – has the largest variety of meat, fish, and produce
Family friendly – great for kids and picky eaters with a selection of meat, fish, and seasonal produce
Smart meals – contains tasty-carb and calorie-smart options under 650kcal
Vegetarian – meat-free, 100% vegetarian options with fresh, seasonal ingredients

All four options let you choose between 2 or 4 people as well as 3 or 4 recipes per week. Also, all four plans let you choose from 28 delicious recipes each week so the chances are great that you’re going to find something you like.

The recipe cards that you get provide you with nutritional information and allergy advice which you should keep in mind when preparing dinner.

Their packaging is paper-based and recyclable so the company is very environmentally conscious.

They don’t have specific boxes for people with certain dietary restrictions other than the vegetarian box but have said they are looking into it, so you would need to try and work around that on your own for now.

The price range is from $9.69 to $11.49.

Chefs Plate

https://www.chefsplate.com/

Chefs Plate is actually a division of HelloFresh in Canada. This is a weekly food subscription delivery service which provides meals developed by their expert Culinary Team.

They currently deliver to Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia & Manitoba.

Chefs Plate offers three different meal plans:

Meat & Vegetables – offers the widest selection of recipes as well as 15-minute meals
Vegetarian – recipes include fresh produce, whole grains and plant-based protein
Family Friendly – includes kid-approved recipes for the whole family to enjoy

In these plans, you can pick between meals for 2 or 4 people, and you can choose between 2, 3 or 4 meals per week.

Chefs Plate offers the option to skip weeks and it has a 15-minute meal prep option which not many other services have.

One great thing about Chefs Plate is that their recipes come with step-by-step photos, which is great for those who are new to cooking. Their packaging is also either recyclable or compostable.

They have gluten and dairy-free options on the menu but no boxes specifically for it. And they don’t include any allergy information so you will have to be careful when picking your menus if you do have any allergies.

The price goes from $8.99 per serving. This is one of the lowest-cost meal kits in Canada.

Cook it

https://www.chefcookit.com/en

Cook It, a meal kit delivery service which started back in 2014, aims to provide some simplicity in the kitchen when our everyday lives are busy.

They currently deliver in Quebec, Ontario and Maritime provinces.

The plans offered by Cook it are a little different. For the first step you choose between the regular and the vegetarian menu.

After you pick the menu, you choose a plan based on the number of servings you want, so you can choose between:

2 servings per meal
3 servings per meal
4 servings per meal

Along with this, you can also choose how many meals you want per week, so you can get up to 7 meals a week. You can pick between 14 new recipes every week.

I like that you can even add portions if you find it necessary.

One plus is that you can easily find vegetarian and gluten-free options on the menu, which is great for anyone with dietary restrictions.

This subscription even offers ready-to-eat meals for when you don’t have the time to do longer prep.

Something that makes them very environmentally conscious is their Sustainability Kit. In this kit you get your ingredients in reusable dishes which you wash after eating and then return.

Another cool feature of CookIt is that they offer a Pantry selection of fresh fruits, breakfasts, lunches and snacks from local Quebec brands.

The prices for the various plans go from $8.61 to $11.50 per serving.

Goodfood

https://www.makegoodfood.ca/en/home

Goodfood is an online subscription service that offers meal kits, ready-to-cook meals and grocery products.

They currently deliver across Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Maritimes. Some regions even have same-day or next-day delivery.

There are five different “baskets” you can choose from:

Classic basket – a variety of recipes and ingredients
Easy prep basket – classic recipes plus easy prep recipes with fresh pre-cut ingredients
Clean15 – high protein, low carb basket
Vegetarian basket – no meat, plant-based option
Family basket – for the whole family

You can skip a week with no problem as well as change your plan.

When you’re selecting what’s included in the box, you can find all the nutritional information that you may need.

They also note all allergens that can be found in their ingredients in the recipes. And all of the ingredients are separately packaged so you can easily swap one for another.

Like the other options so far, all of their packaging is either recyclable or reusable.

Goodfood also offers a breakfast option with a variety of smoothies for you to make every morning and they can be easily stored in the freezer.

I like that they have both a Box Pick-up Program and Reusable Box Program which make your clean up easier. However, both programs are currently suspended due to restrictions.

There are quite a few options so the prices will vary, but they tend to go from around $9.65 to $15.43 per serving.

Best Food Subscription Boxes in the UK

Gousto

https://www.gousto.co.uk/

Gousto is a UK food box subscription service that offers 50+ recipes a week, some that can be cooked in as little as 10 minutes.

At the moment, they deliver to a large chunk of mainland UK, but some postcodes are still not available for delivery. However, they do plan on expanding their delivery area so keep an eye out for that if your address isn’t available.

You can choose between two boxes:

2-Person box – delicious meals for two adults
Family box – for 2 adults and 2-3 children

In both boxes you can choose to get 2, 3 or 4 recipes which can be meat, fish or vegetarian. You pick the recipes you want, how many and the day when you want them delivered.

With so many recipes to choose from, this box can cater to everyone’s needs and it even has vegan and gluten-free options. The variety is also great for people who love to try out something new.

One thing that I really like is that you can get a binder from them in which you can store all of your recipes for later use if you like them.

You can pause your entire subscription and it will stay like that until you restart it again, or you can skip, but that only skips the next box that should be delivered.

If you’re not sure if you want to subscribe, you can also always order a one-off box and check them out.

The prices of this meal kit service go from just £2.98 to £6.25 per serving.

HelloFresh UK

https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/

HelloFresh is the UK division of the meal kit delivery service looking to provide all the fresh, seasonal ingredients along with easy-to-follow recipe cards that you might need for dinnertime.

UK’s HelloFresh currently delivers to mainland UK, The Isle of Wight, The Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey (Excluding Herm) and Northern Ireland.

They don’t deliver to the Scottish Highlands or Islands. You can check the postcodes of places that they don’t deliver to right now, but keep in mind that they do plan on expanding.

With HelloFresh you can choose between four different plans:

Meat and veggies – has the largest variety of meat, fish, and produce
Family – pleasing for tastebuds of both grownups and kids
Veggies – meat-free, plant-based meals which include 6 vegetarian options each week
Quick Cook – for a quick meal with little effort

HelloFresh extras is a feature which you can use to order extras to your delivery such as side dishes, desserts, breads, soups and others.

All of the recipe cards include nutritional information that you can also find on their website and app.

They don’t currently offer specific boxes for allergy restrictions, but all of their recipe cards also note any of the 8 major allergens that you can find in a recipe so that you can avoid them if needed.

They also don’t offer gluten-free or dairy-free preferences but they are however working on it and would like to offer this option.

If you need to, you can skip a delivery up to 4 times a week.

The price goes from £3.25 to £4.50 per serving and the shipping fee is always £3.00.

MindfulChef

https://www.mindfulchef.com/

Mindful Chef is a meal kit delivery service which focuses on healthy and nutritionally balanced meals. All of their meals are free from gluten, dairy, refined carbs and refined sugars.

They deliver across the UK, but currently do not deliver to Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as certain parts of Scotland.

You can choose between:

Healthy recipe boxes – which have 20 healthy meals to choose from every week
Vegan recipe boxes – with 7 vegan recipes to choose from every week
Family recipe boxes – with 20 family recipes you can pick each week

One unique feature is that they actually have a one-person box. You can also get boxes for 2 people or for a family.

Other than the healthy boxes, you can also get frozen ready meals, smoothie pouches, broths and soups as well as next-day care boxes.

I particularly love their partnership with the charity One Feeds Two. This means that for every meal kit you buy, they donate one school meal to a child in poverty.

An interesting thing is that, even if you can’t order their boxes, you can still use their recipes. All of their recipes are posted online and they even have a cookbook out with 70 of their favourites.

The prices start at £4.50 per meal for a family, at £5.50 per meal for two people and at £8 per meal for a single person.

Riverford

https://www.riverford.co.uk/

Riverfood is a delivery service which provides fresh, seasonal and organic ingredients straight from their farm. And they are pretty unique with everything they offer.

Riverfood provides you with a LOT of options. They offer seasonal boxes and organic recipe boxes, but they also provide ingredients on their own such as various fruits, veggies, meat and even essentials like eggs and oil.

They deliver to most of England and south Wales but you can always contact them and check if they can deliver to your area

What interests us the most are their organic recipe boxes which provide fresh, measured and prepared organic ingredients which you use to make tasty meals.

You can choose between these options:

Vegetarian recipe boxes
Vegan recipe boxes
Meat recipe boxes
Prime cuts recipe boxes
Family recipe boxes

All of the boxes serve 2 except for the family box which serves 4. There are 12 recipes across all boxes which you can choose from, and these recipes also change weekly.

While there are vegan and vegetarian boxes, there aren’t any for dietary preferences such as gluten or dairy-free boxes, so you’d have to go through the ingredients list and see for yourself.

When it comes to prices, you can get recipes from £13.25 to £23.15, with the more expensive ones being the recipes in the family box which serve 4 people. It isn’t the cheapest box available, but you should consider that all of the ingredients are organic.

Best Food Subscription Boxes in Australia

HelloFresh Australia

https://www.hellofresh.com.au/

HelloFresh is one of the top meal kit delivery services in Australia (the Australian division of the same company in UK and Canada) which provides you with fresh ingredients and seasonal produce along with easy-to-follow instructions for a quick and tasty dinner.

HelloFresh in Australia delivers to a number of areas, but you can always check if they can deliver to you by entering your postcode when you select a box and proceed to check out.

There are several boxes which they offer:

Meat and Veggies – which provide the widest range of quality proteins and seasonal produce
Veggie – 5 vegetarian and plant based options which you can choose from each week
Family-friendly – perfect for everyone’s enjoyment, kids and picky eaters alike.
Calorie Smart – a healthier option with under 650kcal per serving and it even includes low carb options

You can choose between boxes for 2 or 4 people and then you choose between 3, 4 or 5 recipes per week.

They include a wide range of recipes you can choose from each week which means you will most certainly find something that fits your tastes.

It doesn’t have many boxes for specific dietary restrictions except for vegetarian and natural gluten-free, so you’d have to watch out when choosing recipes.

They also provide allergens information on their site but cannot guarantee that all of their products won’t include allergens such as milk, nuts, eggs, etc.

There are also several limited edition upgrades, Grill Kit, Gourmet Kit and Taste Tours. I especially like Taste Tours since it lets you try international culinary recipes in your own home.

The prices go from $7.99 per serving to $10.99 per serving.

Marley Spoon

https://marleyspoon.com.au/

Marley Spoon provides 27+ recipes every week, with options such as vegan, low-calorie and family friendly.

They currently deliver to the metro and surrounding areas of Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Launceston, Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Newcastle and Darwin, and they plan on expanding soon.

To check if they deliver to your area, you just need to enter your passcode.

You can choose between two plans:

2-person box
4-person box

Both options let you pick between 2, 3, 4 or 5 meals per week. You also get to choose from over 27 different recipes which is great because it means there should be something for everyone.

They have a grading system that shows you the percentage of ingredients that come from Australia.

They don’t have separate boxes for dietary preferences, but with so many options it should be easy to pick and choose which recipes work best for you like vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, etc.

One cool thing that Marley Spoon offers is a Fruit Box which provides you with up to 8 varieties of fresh fruit for just $24.90 a week.

Like most other meal kit delivery services, they are environmentally conscious which is why their packaging is recyclable.

Their site also contains an Ingredient Hub where you can check out all ingredients that you get in your box in a week and you can even sort these ingredients by specific recipes.

For the boxes, the prices go from $12.50 per portion to $8.50 per portion.

Dinnerly

https://dinnerly.com.au/

Dinnerly is a meal kit delivery service actually owned by Marley Spoon. However, this is the more affordable version which offers simple 5-step recipes with fewer ingredients.

They currently deliver to most of NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, NT, ACT, WA and TAS but they do plan to include the rest of Australia soon. They even mention that you could send them a note if you want your area to be included.

You have the option to choose between two plans:

2-person box
4-person box

A bit different from Marley Spoon, Dinnerly gives you an option to choose between 3, 4, 5 or 6 meals per week.

Dinnerly provides 20+ various recipes every week which is less than Marley Spoon but still enough to satisfy many customers.

The reason why Dinnerly is more affordable is because they send digital recipes instead of printed out cards. They also focus on fewer ingredients per dish and simpler packaging.

That doesn’t mean their ingredients are of lesser quality. They cut corners elsewhere so that the food quality can remain as good as in other kits.

Since there are fewer ingredients, that means less time you need for chopping (since the ingredients are premeasured but not chopped) and less clean-up time for you after dinner.

Another great thing is that since these meals are more simple, they are very kid-friendly and perfect for picky eaters.

As this is Australia’s most affordable kit, you can get it for as low as $4.85 per serving.

Pepperleaf

https://www.pepperleaf.com.au/

Pepperleaf is a food subscription delivery service which works with locally-sourced, family-run businesses.

They deliver to areas in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and ACT.

There are three boxes which you can order from Pepperleaf:

Classic box – for 1 or 2 people
Family box – for 3, 4 or 6 people
Vegetarian box – for 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6 people

I really like that they offer meals for 1 person, since that isn’t available with most subscription services.

You can pick your meals from 8 recipes for the first two boxes, and from 3 recipes for the Vegetarian box.

There’s free seasonal fruit included in your first box, no matter which one you choose.

If you’re not sure whether you want to subscribe to Pepperleaf, you can download a free guide which includes 12 fresh recipes for you to test out first.

When you check out the recipes on their site, I like that they offer a selection of cuisines such as Italian, French, Thai, Indian, etc. Vegan and vegetarian are also on this list.

They do cater to some dietary preferences, so if you say that you don’t like fish, they won’t send it to you.

As for dietary restrictions, like with gluten, dairy or allergies, they can’t guarantee that their meals won’t include any of these.

So you’d have to watch out which recipes you choose and this might be more difficult since there aren’t that many recipes per week, unlike in the other meal kits.

The Classic and Vegetarian box start at $61.90 per week while the Family box starts at $85.90 per week.

Best Food Subscription Boxes in the USA

HelloFresh USA

https://www.hellofresh.com/

HelloFresh is one of the biggest names in the meal kit service (and has divisions in Canada, Australia, UK and USA). It’s budget-friendly, has big portions and provides simple instructions.

They deliver to all states across the continental US. However, there is no delivery to Hawaii and Alaska, but they are planning on it.

HelloFresh in the US has a few more options you can choose from:

Meat and Veggies – the widest range of meat, fish and seasonal products
Veggies – meals with only fresh, seasonal veggies
Family Friendly – easy-to-cook meals with children will like
Calorie Smart – these nutritionist prepared plans are all under 650kcal
Quick and Easy – meals which require no fuss and which will shorten your time in the kitchen
Pescatarian – this is a combination of veggie and seafood meals

Every week you can choose between 27+ various recipes. In all of the boxes you can choose between 2 to 5 recipes a week, for either 2 or 4 people.

Their recipes contain nutrition information as well as information on if the recipe has any of the 8 major allergens. However, it’s up to you to be careful if you’re allergic to an ingredient, since you can’t customize your plan to exclude those items

They also don’t offer dairy-free, gluten-free or nut-free plans, so again it’s up to you to check.

One thing I love is their Beyond the Box social program which ensures that all those who experience food insecurity are provided with fresh food. Their Meals with Meaning also strives to provide free meal kits to those in need.

The prices for these boxes go from $7.49 to $12.49 per serving.

Sunbasket

https://sunbasket.com/

Sunbasket is a food subscription box service which offers both fresh and ready meals as well as meal kits made from organic ingredients.

They are currently shipping to 47 states, excluding Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, and New Mexico. You can check if they deliver to your area by typing in your ZIP code.

Picking meal kits with Sunbasket works a little differently. For starters, they will ask you if you are on any of these specific diets:

Paleo
Gluten free
Vegetarian
Pescatarian
Mediterranean
Diabetes friendly

They say that they will never give you a meal that doesn’t meat your diet. Of course, there’s also an option to say that you don’t follow any of these diets.

Sunbasket lets you pick even more preferences in your diet, such as if you prefer to eat high protein, low carb, low calorie, or avoid dairy, fish, grains, etc. They provide quite a few dietary preferences which I really like.

You can choose meal kits for 2 or 4 people, and you can choose 2, 3 and 4 dinners per week.

What I like about Sunbasket is that their market also offers quite a bit more than just the meal kits.

They provide a variety of options for breakfast and lunch, and they also give you various options for pasta and sauces, proteins and snacks which you can add to your meal kit delivery.

Prices for Sunbasket go from $10.99 to $13.99.

Home Chef

https://www.homechef.com/

Home Chef is a subscription service which provides fresh weekly meal kits that are very budget-friendly.

They currently deliver to 98% of the United States but you can check if they deliver to your area by putting in your ZIP code during sign-up or by contacting their customer support team.

You can even find Home Chef products in some stores since they are a part of the Kroger family.

When signing up for Home Chef, they ask you a few preferences so that they can customize your menu for you.

For starters you choose between two plans:

Home Chef – fresh ingredient meals for those who love to cook
Fresh and Easy – low or no prep meals for those with a busy schedule

You can pick if you’re calorie-conscious or carb-conscious, but this is optional. And you can also pick any food you’d like to avoid, such as beef, mushrooms, peanuts, etc.

When building the box, you can choose between ordering:

Meal kits – easy recipes prepared in about 30 min
15-minute meal kits – meals that can be prepared in 15 min
Oven-ready – no prep required
Grill-ready – ingredients in a grill-safe bag for grilling
Culinary collection – for special occasions or on a whim
Entree salad – if you want some fresh greens

They provide 30+ recipes weekly and I like that you can customize them by swapping or doubling the protein in a meal.

Another great thing is that their menus are set 5 weeks ahead, so you have plenty of time to look into them and see what would fit you best.

Home Chef prices start at $6.99 per serving.

Green Chef

https://chef.greenchef.com/

Green Chef is a USDA certified organic company which works with farmers to provide you with fresh, organic ingredients.

Green Chef was actually acquired by HelloFresh, another very popular meal kit delivery service in America, and the rest of the world.

They deliver to almost everywhere in the continental United States. They are currently unable to deliver to Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of Louisiana.

Green Chef gives you the option to choose from several meal types:

Keto + Paleo – Keto and Paleo dishes
Balanced living – a balanced meal plan
Plant-powered – vegetarian and vegan meals

You can order for 2, 4 or 6 people and, depending on the number of people, you can order from 2 to 4 meals per week.

All recipes come with easy to follow instructions and chef’s tips and all meals can be prepared in about 30 minutes, so it’s a great time saver.

While you can’t choose options from different plans, you can switch plans as often as you like to try it all, but you need to do it 7 days before your delivery.

Green Chef was the first meal kit company to receive an official Gluten-Free Certification. They are trying to cater to everybody’s dietary needs with plans like Keto+Paleo, and even this gluten-free delivery.

They also allow you to opt out of certain proteins like beef, poultry, fish, etc. You can modify your preferences additionally, but if you opt out of any of the proteins, that will be the default.

The prices go from $11.49 to $12.99.

How to Choose the Best Food Subscription Box

I selected the subscription boxes above, but if these options don’t work for you, no worries!

As I’ve mentioned, there are MANY meal kit delivery services currently available.

If you aren’t from any of these four places or you don’t like the options I selected, here are some tips you can keep in mind when looking for subscription boxes in your own country:

Check the reviews – it is very important that you inform yourself about all of the options first and the best way to do that is through reviews and other people’s blog posts. See what issues other people had as well as what they liked to help you choose your meal kit
Check the menus – do extensive research so that you can find a meal kit which works best for your tastes
Check options for dietary restrictions – keep in mind all of your dietary restrictions when searching for a good food subscription box
Check delivery areas – Make sure that the subscription service actually delivers to your area.
Check the pricing – some meal kits are more expensive than others. Do thorough research to find which kits work best for you in your budget

I hope this was helpful, and if you have any questions or suggestions, let me know in the comments.

Love Rachael xx

The post Best Food Subscription Boxes to Make Healthy Eating Easier appeared first on Rachael Attard.

Why Is Post-Workout Nutrition So Important

Rachael Attard — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 08:51:37 +0000

I love talking about the importance of eating well! Following a healthy, balanced diet can help improve your energy levels, keep unwanted weight off, and contribute to you feeling your best.

One part of a healthy diet and fitness routine is eating well after you work out. You might notice that exercising makes you feel extra hungry, fatigued, and in need of nutrients.

In this blog post, I’ll explain why post-workout nutrition is so important, when to eat after your workout, and what you should be eating after exercise.

Why Is Post-Workout Nutrition So Important?

When you exercise, you use up a lot of your body’s energy. You burn calories, use up some of your glycogen stored in muscles, and (especially after a strength workout) tear some of the protein in your muscles. It’s important to eat after working out so that you can rebuild some of what your body just gave up during the workout!

Eating after you workout, will help your body:

Repair its muscles, especially if you’ve been doing resistance training
Restore its glycogen levels
Improve recovery, which can also prevent muscle soreness
Get better at burning body fat
Develop better bone mass and grow larger muscles
Improve its immune function

If you skip eating after a workout, your body won’t be able to recover as quickly. You’ll feel extra tired and might experience low blood sugar. You might even feel:

Like your body is shaking
Extra sweaty (even after you’ve cooled off from exercise)
Nervous or anxious
Irritable and confused
Dizzy

If you consistently skip eating after a workout, you might even prevent your body from reaching your fitness goals because you’ll be preventing your muscles from repairing itself in a timely fashion. You can also struggle from muscle soreness and general fatigue.

When Should You Eat After a Workout?

In general, you should try to eat about 30 minutes after your workout, especially if your workout was intense. But I know that showering, changing, and preparing food can take time after exercising. Because of this, I always suggest trying to eat something within 90 minutes of finishing a walk or a fasted morning routine but sooner is better if you can. :)

In general, research suggests that your muscles will be able to replenish and repair best the sooner you eat. In fact, after exercising, your blood flow will also be faster, which will help the macronutrients from your food reach your muscles sooner.

How to Make Sure You Eat After Working Out

Getting a meal after a workout can be challenging, especially if you live a busy lifestyle. Here are a few ways to integrate your meal schedule with your fitness routine:

Meal prep – Figure out what you’re going to eat before you work out so that you can just grab it as soon as you’re ready. Meal prepping also keeps temptations (like burgers or pizza) away when you’re really, really hungry after a tough workout.
Work out right before a meal – Try to work out before breakfast, lunch, or dinner, if you can. This helps keep you on track, and it might prevent you from overeating later in the day too.
Don’t complicate things – Keep nuts, fruit, and protein bars accessible just in case you don’t have other food choices. Eating a healthy snack is better than nothing!

What Should You Eat After a Workout?

Eating after a workout is important for helping your body recover, but different types of foods will assist your body in different ways. Here’s what you should be eating post-workout:

Eat Carbs

Carbs are so important! Our body needs them to be able to produce energy for workouts.

How much you exercise matters too. If you work out every other day, you won’t need to focus on carbs as much as somebody who exercises once or twice a day. Eating enough carbs means that you’ll have enough energy for your next workout.

However, in general, experts recommend that you consume 0.5–0.7 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight within about 30 minutes of exercising to restore your glycogen as quickly as possible.

Try to pick carbs that are minimally processed or not processed at all. Here are a few suggestions:

Fruit, like bananas, berries, or kiwi
Quinoa
Sweet potatoes
Rice cakes
Brown rice
Oatmeal
Whole-grain pasta
Vegetables, especially leafy greens

Eat protein

Eating protein after working out will give your body the amino acids it needs to repair its muscles. In general, experts recommend that you eat 0.14–0.23 grams of protein per pound of body weight after working out.

However, just like with carbohydrates, the amount of protein you eat can vary depending on your fitness routine and goals. If you do a lot of strength training and are trying to grow larger muscles, you’ll need to eat more protein than somebody who sticks to bodyweight resistance training and cardio.

But, even if you aren’t looking to bulk up, you need to be eating protein after a meal. Remember how eating carbs post-workout helps improve your glycogen levels? Studies show that, when you eat carbs with protein, this glycogen synthesis occurs more efficiently. In other words, everybody needs protein! In general, try to eat a ratio of 3:1 of carbs to protein.

Here are few protein suggestions:

Protein powder (here’s how I pick protein powders)
Eggs
Greek yogurt
Cottage cheese
Salmon
Chicken
Protein bar
Tuna

What About Fats?

Eating fat right after you work out isn’t as important as carbs and protein, but small amounts shouldn’t be a problem.

Some types of fat might slow down your digestion and keep your body from absorbing nutrients as quickly. But, even if this occurs, it won’t reduce the benefits of the food that you’re eating. In fact, studies show that even eating high-fat meals after working out didn’t affect glycogen synthesis.

When you’re picking a post-workout meal or snack, focus on protein and carbs, but don’t worry if your meal includes some fat too. Sometimes, it can be hard to avoid finding fat-free food (especially if you’re planning on eating a full meal), and eating some fat shouldn’t hurt your recovery process.

Some good fat sources to eat include:

Nuts
Trail mix
Full-fat Greek yoghurt
Avocado
Different types of nut butter

Some Meal Ideas

If you’re not sure what protein or carb sources to pick after a workout, consider trying some of these snacks and meals.

Brown rice with boneless skinless chicken breast
Egg scramble with vegetables and potatoes or a slice of whole-grain toast
A smoothie with fruit and plain Greek yoghurt
Whole grain wraps with veggies, avocado, and your choice of protein
Banana with nut butter
Tuna with whole-grain crackers
Egg and whole-wheat toast
Salmon with sweet potato
Cottage cheese with your favourite fruits
Vegetables with hummus
Greek yoghurt, berries, and granola
Cereal with milk (try to pick cereals that have been minimally processed and don’t contain too much sugar)
Beef and vegetable stir fry with brown rice or noodles

BEFORE AND AFTER PIC OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBER

Stay Hydrated Too!

Don’t forget to drink water after you work out too! When you exercise, you lose water and electrolytes through your sweat. Electrolytes are involved in keeping your nervous system and muscles functional as well as keeping you hydrated. They help your body function properly.

Drinking fluid will help you replenish electrolytes in your body.

In general, drinking a lot of water during and after you exercise is a great way to stay hydrated. Try to pay attention to your body’s natural cues, and drink when you’re thirsty.

What do you like to eat after a workout? Let me know in the comments!

Love Rachael Xx

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Why I follow the 80-20 Rule

Rachael Attard — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 21:00:00 +0000

If you’ve been around my site for a while, you might have heard me talk about the 80-20 rule. It’s a nutrition guideline that I like to follow because of the flexibility and balance that it offers. Lots of celebrities and models also like to follow this guideline. In general, Victoria’s Secret models follow it, as do some actresses like Nicole Kidman.

In this article, I’ll be explaining more about what the 80:20 rule is in-depth, some pros and cons of it, how you can incorporate it into your life, and my thoughts about it. :)

What Is the 80-20 Rule?

A lot of us want to eat healthy most of the time, but we also want opportunities to eat some of the less-healthy meals, drinks, and desserts. The 80-20 rule helps people follow through with these intentions.

This rule is pretty straightforward. You eat healthy, nutritious foods about 80 percent of the time, and you eat treats or less-healthy options the rest of the time.

How to Apply the 80-20 Rule to Your Diet

This rule is pretty flexible, and people are able to adapt it to fit their lifestyle and fitness needs. I’ve been eating this way for a long time, and these are some of my suggestions for people who want to try it out:

Consider Weekly vs Daily

Different people follow the diet in different ways. Some people like to focus on this rule on a daily basis, but others like to follow a weekly schedule. You can do what works best for you, but people seem to gravitate toward the weekly plan more often.

If you do this weekly, that means that 17 of your 21 meals per week (if you eat three meals a day) should be healthy meals, and 4 are what’s considered less healthy meals or treats. Many people like the flexibility this offers them to eat out with friends, bake at home, or enjoy other treats throughout their week. Some people like to save their treats for the weekend, but others like to spread them out throughout the week.

People who follow this plan on a daily basis focus on picking healthy choices 80% of the time every day, and they can eat treats the remaining time. However, you do need to be careful about this if you want to lose weight. Remember, the 80-20 rule applies to the ratio of the types of food you’re eating, but it should also apply to the calorie content of the foods you’re eating, especially if you’re doing this on a day-to-day basis. :)

If you choose the daily approach, your 20 percent treat could be something like chocolate in the afternoon, dessert after lunch, bag of chips after dinner.

Prepare Your Meals in Advance

When I talk to people about making healthy food choices, one of the biggest hurdles they tell me they face is eating healthy while having a busy schedule. I get it! When you’re rushed and hungry, it is much easier to grab a processed snack or fast food than having a nutritious meal with whole ingredients.

That’s why I recommend meal-prepping as much as possible. I love planning out my meals and keeping healthy snacks at home and in my bag. I can eat these if I’m feeling extra hungry one day, without stopping for a candy bar or chips!

Planning out and preparing your meals in advance will help you stay on track with the 80-20 rule. :)

Don’t Forget Exercise

The 80:20 rule is really good for people who exercise regularly and who are burning extra calories through their workouts. Working out helps burn off the extra calories consumed from the 20 percent portion of the diet.

People who follow this rule but don’t exercise might not experience as much weight loss if that is your goal.

Modify If You Need

Don’t be afraid to modify this plan as you need! I eat like this but my goal isn’t to lose weight, I want to maintain it. So this rule can be followed by anyone, whether you want to lose or maintain weight. :)

When modifying the 80-20 rule, consider trying to:

Exercise 3 times a week for a healthy lifestyle
Keep portion control in mind
Follow a 90-10 plan or a 70-30 plan instead, as this might be the ratio that works best for you

Recommended Foods to Eat on the 80-20 Diet

What counts as “healthy” will vary for different people depending on their health and fitness needs, and some people like to talk to a doctor or nutritionist to figure out what’s best for them.

However, in general, foods that you should eat about 80 percent of the time include:

Whole grains
Fruits
Vegetables (most adults should get at least 2.5 cups of veggies a day)
Lean protein
Seafood products
Monosaturated fats from nuts, seeds, and olive oil
Some dairy products, especially lower-fat varieties
Milk alternatives, like soy

Foods and drinks that you should save for the remaining 20 percent of your diet include:

Refined carbohydrates and sugar, especially in excess
Saturated fats
Alcohol
Processed foods

The Benefits of the 80-20 Rule

It’s Relatively Easy and Not Overly Restricting

Following the 80-20 rule does not require significant deprivation. You have to have some self-control about what you eat, how much, and when. However, compared to many other nutrition plans, it’s very moderate. I like that the 80-20 rule promotes moderation. I find that that makes it a sustainable, long-term approach to healthy eating. :)

It Becomes Second Nature

Over time, following the 80-20 rule becomes very natural and simply part of your everyday lifestyle. It impacts the way I shop for groceries, how I cook, what I pick at restaurants, and how I make everyday food choices.

This makes it a good system for people who are busy and don’t have time with really complicated programs.

No Calorie Counting

Counting calories can help you see how many calories are actually in the food you’re eating on a regular basis, and some people have excellent success with counting calories.

However, for many people, counting calories is too much work to be sustainable. In addition to this, some people struggle with the mental health side of calorie counting. Some might find that it is too restrictive or that it triggers some disordered thinking surrounding food.

Although you can count calories on the 80-20 diet, I choose not to.

The Downsides of the 80-20 Rule

It Doesn’t Work With Some Other Diets

This rule might not work for everybody, especially for people who are trying to follow other diets in addition to the 80-20 rule. For example, people on keto would likely gain a lot of weight if they followed keto 80 percent of the time, and then indulged in sugary carbs the remaining time.

In addition to this, some people follow diets to manage their health concerns, such as diabetes, and this rule might not accommodate their needs appropriately. As with any diet, people with health problems should consult their doctor about their dietary needs. :)

Some Struggle With Guilt

Labeling foods as “good” and “healthy” vs “bad” or “unhealthy” can lead some people to feel anxiety or guilt over what they eat. People who struggle with eating disorders or body images might have a hard time eating “unhealthy” food without having negative feelings about it.

People who follow this plan need to remember that there’s no such things as good or bad food.. We’re human, and it isn’t healthy to completely restrict ourselves!

My Thoughts

I like the flexibility that the 80-20 rule offers. I like that I don’t see any food as forbidden or bad anymore.

I used to be much stricter with my diet and that lead me to binge eating. I would avoid any food that is usually considered bad or unhealthy during the week and then end up overeating and binge eating on those foods during the weekend.

This kind of mindset is not healthy at all which is why I want to emphasise how important it is to find a right healthy diet that works for your body. And the 80-20 rule works best for me. :)

In fact, I’ve actually found that I tend to eat healthier meals ever since I started following the 80-20 rule. If I’m really craving something like pasta for dinner, I eat it without stress. Not thinking of these foods as forbidden has actually made me crave them less and less over time!

The 80-20 rule has been a sustainable approach to eating for me, and I see why so many celebrities and models like to follow it too! It provides a really excellent balance of health without sacrificing the fun parts of life. :)

Love Rachael Xx

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Ghrelin and Leptin: Hormones That Make You Feel Hungry and Full

Rachael Attard — Tue, 25 May 2021 21:00:00 +0000

When we talk about weight loss or gain, we often talk about the things outside that impact our bodies. Cardio, resistance training, diet, and even sleep all come to mind. These are important, but there are powerful things going on inside your own body that affect your weight.

Your body produces two hormones — called ghrelin and leptin — that help control your appetite and manage your metabolism. They can make a big impact on your hunger levels, and learning how to manage them is so helpful.

What Is Ghrelin?

Ghrelin is a hormone that is produced in your gut, specifically in the stomach and small intestine. It travels from your gut through your bloodstream into your brain, where it has many different functions.

However, the biggest role it has is telling your body to be hungry. Ghrelin sends signals to your body to increase its appetite, so you start to want to eat more food. Because of this, ghrelin has been nicknamed the “hunger hormone.”

The higher your levels of ghrelin, the hungrier you will feel. In animal studies, rats injected with the hormone rapidly gained weight. And when researchers gave the hormone artificially to people, the participants ended up eating 30% more than they did before.

Ghrelin also helps to manage your sleep cycle, carbohydrate metabolism, your reward-seeking behaviour, and taste.

What Is Leptin?

Like Ghrelin, leptin is a hormone that helps manage your appetite. But, unlike ghrelin, it doesn’t tell your body to eat more. Instead, it tells your body that you have enough fat stored up. Leptin helps you feel full, and it lets your body know that it doesn’t need to keep eating.

When your fat cells produce less leptin, your body knows to eat more to keep from starving. But, when you have lots of leptin, your body doesn’t feel the need to eat. Because of this, it is sometimes called the “starvation hormone,” although some like to refer to it as the “obesity hormone” or the “fat hormone” instead.

Leptin is made in your fat cells. From there, it travels to your brain through your bloodstream. By helping your body regulate its appetite, leptin is really helping you manage your long-term energy and metabolism.

Leptin also impacts fertility, the immune system, and brain function.

What Affects Ghrelin Levels?

Your ghrelin level will rise and fall throughout the day in response to when and what you’ve eaten. Right before a meal, when your stomach is empty, your ghrelin levels will be pretty high. Your body is telling you that it is time to eat! Similarly, ghrelin levels lower after you eat, and you no longer feel as hungry.

Ghrelin levels also increase when you start a diet. After all, your body is trying to protect you from starving! In one study, researchers found that people had almost a 25% increase in ghrelin levels during a six-month-long diet. Other, more extreme diets caused even higher increases.

The increase in ghrelin when dieting happens to most people regardless of their weight or body fat percentage, and your ghrelin levels seem to increase more and more the longer you diet. These hunger signals can make the dieting process more challenging, and deter your weight loss progress.

Scientists are still trying to understand the relationship between obesity and ghrelin. Some studies suggest that people who are obese might have higher levels of ghrelin due to overly active ghrelin receptors, but other studies indicate that people who are obese might simply be more sensitive to the hormone.

What Affects Leptin Levels?

Your leptin levels increase when you eat. Your body fat has increased, and your fat cells are letting you know that you don’t need to eat more. This helps you eat less and burn more fat. The opposite is also true. When you eat less, your body fat goes down, and your leptin levels follow.

Leptin Resistance

Sometimes, your brain doesn’t respond to your hormones correctly. When this happens with the hormone leptin, it is called leptin resistance.

When your body is resistant to leptin, your brain doesn’t tell your body to burn through stored fat for energy, and your fat cells build up. Because of this, people who have leptin resistance are prone to weight gain, obesity, an increased appetite, and other health conditions.

Leptin resistance often occurs in people who are already obese or who struggle with weight management, which is why leptin is sometimes called the “obesity hormone.” People who are obese have a lot of fat in their fat cells, and fat cells produce leptin in proportion to their size. As a result, people who are obese have high levels of leptin that should be telling the body to burn fat and reduce hunger.

However, for many people, this doesn’t occur. Instead, the brain doesn’t see the leptin. It thinks that you’re starving, and it encourages your body to get more body fat. It does this by:

Encouraging your body to eat more.
Reducing energy levels to make you burn fewer calories at rest.

Leptin resistance might be one of the biggest reasons diets fail for some people, and it can cause a lot of back-and-forth weight loss and weight gain. This is what the cycle looks like for many people:

You gain body fat from overeating or lack of exercise.
Your body produces more leptin in fat cells in response to the increased body fat.
Your body doesn’t recognize the leptin signals.
As a result, your brain thinks you need to eat more, and it makes you hungrier.
You continue to eat more and gain more weight. At the same time, you get even hungrier.
You eat more, gain more, and so on.

But it’s really important to note that leptin resistance is still being studied, and there isn’t a clear-cut way to diagnose it just yet. Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly how it works and what causes it. That said, some lifestyle changes—like eating less sugar, getting more sleep, and reducing stress—might help improve leptin sensitivity. While these strategies can be helpful, there’s still no guarantee because the science is evolving.

CAUSES OF LEPTIN RESISTANCE

Various factors such as genetic components can play a role in causing leptin resistance.

Inflammation

Inflammation throughout the body seems to be one of the biggest causes of leptin resistance.

Several things contribute to inflammation and to leptin resistance, including:

Lack of sleep. You need about 8 hours of sleep every night. Not getting enough sleep can lead to weight gain and higher levels of inflammation.
High-stress levels. Stress can definitely cause inflammation, and it can disrupt your hormone balance.
Eating too much. Overeating will cause more fat to be stored in your cells, and it can reduce the effectiveness of leptin’s signals to stop eating.
Weight gain.

Poor Gut Health

I’ve struggled with poor gut health in the past, and it can be so frustrating to manage. Having poor gut health means that you’ll crave more food (and often eat more as a result) and your gut will struggle to digest nutrients properly.

Gut health is a complex topic, and you can read more about my experiences with it. However, if you struggle with your gut health and you suspect you are leptin resistant, you should make sure to avoid ultra-processed foods. These foods will further hurt your gut and raise your inflammation levels.

Ghrelin and Leptin When It Comes to Weight Loss

Researchers are still working to understand the exact role ghrelin and leptin play when it comes to weight loss.

However, research does indicate that women with lower levels of leptin at the end of a diet were more likely to stay on a healthy diet. Women also seem to be more influenced by leptin levels than men are.

How to Regulate Ghrelin and Leptin

Learning how to regulate your hormones through your own lifestyle decisions can help you feel better, lose weight, and have more energy.

How to Regulate Leptin Levels

Exercise

Exercise is amazing for boosting your metabolism and increasing lean muscle mass, which helps you feel stronger and more energized. Plus, it can help your body find a better balance with its hormones and is a fantastic way to de-stress. Who doesn’t love that post-workout glow?

But when it comes to leptin, the relationship isn’t as clear as we’d like. While exercise is great for so many things, there’s no strong evidence to show it always increases leptin levels or leptin sensitivity for everyone—especially women. Some studies even suggest that exercise alone doesn’t make a big difference in leptin levels for women. So while it’s tempting to think exercise will definitely affect your leptin, the science just isn’t clear yet.

That being said, regular exercise is still a huge win for your overall health! It might not directly impact your leptin levels, but it’s so beneficial for balancing hormones, building strength, and managing stress, so it’s totally worth it.

And remember: don’t overdo it! Give yourself rest days, especially if you’re feeling burnt out. Too much exercise (usually more than an hour a day on the regular) can actually lower your leptin levels and make you feel hungrier. So listen to your body, take breaks, and focus on finding a routine that feels good for you!

Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep (typically about 7-9 hours for adults) will help your body manage its hormone production and will reduce inflammation.

Sleep also helps reduce levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which is associated with overeating and weight gain.

Avoid Inflammatory Foods

Try to limit foods that cause inflammation, including sugar, simple carbs, and trans fats. Sweets, soda, and ultra-processed foods are bad for you in general, especially if you want to better manage your hormones.

If you notice that other foods (like gluten or dairy) cause you inflammation, consider limiting those foods too.

Eat Foods to Lower Your Triglyceride Levels

Triglycerides are a type of fat lipid that your body uses as energy in-between meals. High levels of triglycerides can stop leptin from being able to travel through your blood to your brain. Sweets and other simple carbohydrates can increase the levels of triglycerides in your body.

However, these foods are great at lowering triglycerides:

Berries
Healthy oils, like olive oil
Beans and legumes
Mushrooms
Salad greens, like kale or spinach
Fish
Vegetables (pick non-starchy options when you can)

How to Regulate Ghrelin Levels

Don’t Severely Restrict Your Calories

I’m a big fan of helping girls eat healthy for the long-term. Although some people find success from diets, I don’t support extreme diets that overly restrict calorie levels because these diets are rarely sustainable and they damage your overall health. Many people fall off of them, end up binging, or just don’t feel good.

But overly restricting your calories might end up hurting your weight loss goals too. If you’re not eating enough, your ghrelin levels will increase. You’ll end up feeling even hungrier, and your body will think it needs to try to gain weight.

You should be eating enough healthy food to sustain you throughout your day. If you need help knowing roughly how many calories to eat, you can learn more here.

Pick Foods That Will Help Reduce Ghrelin Levels

What you eat matters too, especially if you are trying to lose weight and are eating at a slight calorie deficit. Make sure that you’re eating fiber and protein, as both these will help you feel fuller and more satisfied after eating. Eating protein at every meal, especially breakfast, can also help reduce ghrelin levels.

These are some other foods that can help lower ghrelin levels:

Oats
Boiled potatoes
Halibut and other fish
Eggs
Oysters and other foods that are full of zinc, which helps regulate appetite
Nuts
Apples

Try to avoid processed sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. These can prevent your body from responding to ghrelin signals after meals.

Consume Prebiotics and Probiotics

Gut health and leptin resistance are related, and gut health and ghrelin levels are too. Prebiotics will also help you feel more full and satisfied after eating. Some of my favorite prebiotic foods include:

Fermented foods like kimchi, yoghurt, sauerkraut, and kombucha
Jerusalem artichokes
Lentils
Garlic
Peaches
Watermelon
Beets
Artichokes

I also suggest that before you take probiotic supplement consult a medical professional first :)

Wrapping Up

Ghrelin and leptin are powerful hormones that play incredible roles in keeping us eating properly. Unfortunately, if your body doesn’t respond correctly to the signals these hormones give, you can experience unwanted weight gain and other symptoms.

Let me know if you have any questions about managing ghrelin and leptin. :)

Love Rachael Xx

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What happens to your body when you don’t exercise

Rachael Attard — Tue, 18 May 2021 21:00:00 +0000

Exercising has been a part of my life for years. At times, I’ve worked out to look a certain way, feel a certain way, or even to achieve certain fitness goals.

Don’t get me wrong, those things all still motivate me. But, at the end of the day, I exercise because I know it is key to being healthy. I feel better when I exercise, and I know I’m doing something that will help me long-term. :)

Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t exercise regularly. I understand why — life can be overwhelming, workouts seem intimidating, or they don’t know where to begin. I hope to help explain why exercise is so important to your health and wellbeing and provide some doable examples of physical activity. :)

What Does Physical Inactivity Mean?

Most of us sit a lot. We work sitting down, we commute in cars or buses, and we spend our free time sitting on a couch or in bed. If you spend a lot of time sitting or lying down, you are probably physically inactive. For most people, being physically active requires being intentional about your lifestyle decisions.

In general, experts recommend getting 30-60 minutes of moderate physical activity (like walking!) 3-4 times a week. Moderate activities can include gardening, walking, climbing stairs, yard work, intense house cleaning, and dancing. More intense forms of exercise, like strength training or running, count too.

How Much of the Population Is Physically Inactive?

Throughout the world, people struggle to be active. According to the World Health Organization, about 1 in 4 people worldwide are physically inactive. However, that number jumps up significantly for teenagers. More than 80% of children aged 11–17 years do not get enough physical activity!

Physical inactivity is worse in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Americas, Europe, and Western Pacific regi o ns. People are most active in Southeast Asia.

Reasons for Physical Inactivity

There are a variety of reasons why people are less active. Some of these reasons are personal. For example, so many people tell me that they feel too busy to exercise, and many struggle to find ways to be physically active that are fun for them.

But, beyond this, we also just have lifestyles that don’t force us to move our bodies. We tend to drive places, rather than walk or cycle to them. Additionally, so many of our favourite relaxing activities require sitting. We watch movies, spend time on our phones, play video games, etc. Even grabbing a meal with friends is a sedentary activity!

Some people also don’t live in places that make physical activity easy. For instance, throughout the world, some people might:

Not have access to good sidewalks to go on walks.
Have lots of traffic.
Experience poor air quality and pollution.
Live in an area that isn’t safe.
Not have parks or affordable sports centers nearby.

What Happens to Your Body When You Don’t Exercise

Most of us understand that exercise is important for health, but you might not know how much it affects your body long term. Here are some of the ways a lack of physical activity can affect your body:

Higher Risk of Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Disease

People who don’t exercise are much more likely to develop high blood pressure. In fact, they have a 30-50 percent greater risk of developing it than somebody who does exercise.

Over time, high blood pressure causes damage to the blood vessels. This can lead to heart disease, kidney problems, and strokes.

But, even without high blood pressure, a lack of exercise is correlated with cardiovascular disease. Cardio exercise is necessary for a healthy heart.

High Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Exercise helps to improve insulin levels, and it helps the body control blood sugar. A lack of exercise does the opposite, and it plays a big role in developing Type 2 Diabetes.

In fact, some studies indicate that exercise isn’t the only factor. Instead, staying active throughout the day is key — and most experts say that getting about 10,000 steps in is important for this. Elevated glucose levels build up quickly in the body, so it is important to be consistent with exercise and to avoid long periods of time without moving. That’s a good reason to pause your computer time and stretch! :)

People with Type 2 Diabetes often experience heart disease and nerve damage. Exercise can also help reduce the risk of both of these things for people who have already developed diabetes.

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Increased Risk of Cancer

Weight gain and cancer are related. Having a healthy weight can help reduce your risk of cancer, and staying active is one way to help manage your weight.

However, exercise has other benefits that can help reduce your cancer risk. Exercise helps:

Manage your hormone levels. Having high levels of hormones like estrogen is a risk factor for breast cancer.
Lower your insulin levels, which are connected to breast and colon cancer.
Reduce inflammation throughout your body.
Improve your immune system.
Help the digestive system, which might help lessen your chance of exposure to carcinogens.

Can Affect Your Mood

Exercise is a great way to boost your mood. When you do physical activity of any kind, your body produces endorphins that help you feel happier and even improve your pain tolerance. Exercise can also help reduce symptoms in people who suffer from depression and anxiety.

The flip side of this is also true. People who don’t exercise or stop exercising tend to experience a decrease in mood. In fact, studies show that a lack of physical activity increases your risk of developing a mental health disorder.

Can Lead to Obesity

Living an active life helps you burn more calories. The more intense your activity and the burn of it you do, the more calories you burn. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.

In addition to this, regular exercise can help increase your metabolic rate. This can help delay and prevent weight gain over the long term.

How to Be More Physically Active

Start Walking

If you know me, you know I love to walk! :) Walking is an excellent form of cardio, and it is a good way to introduce activity into your life. Walking burns a lot of calories, helps with fat loss, and is great for your heart. It also isn’t too hard on your body, which means that you’re able to do it day after day without feeling burnt out.

I know some people struggle to incorporate walks into their day. Here are a few tips:

Get a dog! Ok, don’t get a puppy just for the walks. But, if you are already thinking about getting a dog, think about this as another plus. Dogs keep you active and are a great way to force yourself to move too.
Listen to podcasts or audiobooks. They help the time fly!
Ask a friend or partner to walk with you. Instead of meeting up for coffee, go for a walk together.
Walk to your errands! If you live close enough to your local grocery store, library, etc., consider walking there instead of driving.
Have a goal in mind. Tell yourself that you’ll walk a certain number of steps, minutes, or kilometers/miles per day.

Do Yoga

Yoga is awesome if you spend a lot of your day sitting. Try mixing in some yoga moves throughout your day to help relieve back pain and improve your flexibility. It is also great for your posture! Consider setting reminders on your phone if you’re busy or prone to forgetfulness. They can help remind you to get up from your desk, drink some water, and stretch.

I also like doing yoga first thing in the morning to stretch it all out or right before bed as a nice way to relax.

Exercise as You Do Your Chores

We all have to clean, and some chores can be mini-workouts by themselves. Carrying laundry, scrubbing a floor, and even vacuuming can make your body work.

If you feel like this isn’t enough, consider adding in moves while you clean. For example, try doing leg lifts in the kitchen right before you do the dishes, or dance while you vacuum.

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Have a One-Person Party!

Time to blast some music! Play your favourite songs and dance away. After a few songs, you’ll be out of breath! Dancing burns plenty of calories, and it is also a great way to improve your mood. :)

This works great with little kids too. They love to join in the fun!

Work Out When You Watch TV

Watching TV is a great time to exercise, especially if you’re the type of person who doesn’t enjoy working out. Consider doing resistance training, stretching, or even cardio in front of the television. If you have a treadmill, you can run or walk on it as you watch.

Do whatever it takes to keep your body moving. :)

Stand Up at Work

It is best to try to stand up every 30 minutes if you can. I know this isn’t always realistic, but it is a good goal to set. Disrupting your time sitting can help improve your blood flow, your posture, and your mood.

Standing while you work is even better! If you can, consider using a standing desk, or even try setting your computer on a stack of books.

Physical activity is so important, and I am passionate about figuring out ways to help people move their bodies. How do you stay active throughout the day? Let me know any extra tips you have in the comments. :)

Love Rachael Xx

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What Really Happens to Your Body When You Quit Sugar

Rachael Attard — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 21:00:00 +0000

Chocolate, candies, or baked goods — what’s your go-to treat? There’s nothing wrong with enjoying sugar sometimes, but we usually eat more sugar than we need.

Many of you ask me if you should try cutting back on sugar, how to cut back, and what will happen if you eat less sugar. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned with you. :)

Why You Should Reduce Sugar

You probably already know that sugar is not the best thing for your body, but you might not know why this is the case.

Too much sugar, especially refined sugar, is linked to:

Obesity.
Excess belly fat.
Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, and types of cancer.
Developing resistance to leptin, a hormone that helps tell your body when to stop and start eating.
Depression.

To understand how sugar works, you should know that there are two types of sugar: refined (or added) sugars and natural sugars.

Refined Sugar

Refined sugars are added to foods to make them taste better. Two of the most common refined sugars to look out for are table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

You’ll find refined sugars in packaged foods and drinks, like in a frappuccino, candy, or a bar of chocolate. They also sneak into many store-bought sauces and salad dressings, which is why it is important to read the label before you make a purchase.

Refined sugars don’t offer any nutritional value. They don’t provide any fat, protein, vitamins, or minerals to make the sugar worthwhile. Really, refined sugars are just empty calories.

Natural Sugar

Natural sugar is found in all sorts of nutrient-rich foods. For example, fruit and milk are both full of different types of natural sugars (fructose and lactose).

Your body breaks down natural sugar the same way it breaks down refined sugar. But foods that have natural sugar also typically have vitamins, minerals, and fiber that still provide some nutritional benefit.

Fiber, in particular, is important, because it helps slow down the introduction of sugar into your bloodstream. This means that your blood sugar is less likely to spike.

In general, eating natural sugar is better than eating refined sugar. But that doesn’t mean natural sugars are always great for you. Sometimes, food with natural sugar can be processed in a way the removes the fiber and other nutrients. Juicing is a good example of this.

Honey and maple syrup are also natural sugars that contain more nutritional value than refined sugar. However, they should still be eaten in moderation.

What Happens When We Eat Too Much Sugar?

When you eat sugar, your blood sugar spikes. This gives you an initial boost of energy. Unfortunately, this energy won’t last long. Pretty soon, you’ll crash and feel more tired than you did before.

Your body uses sugar as a form of energy. It converts sugar and carbohydrates into glucose. This is a normal, healthy way to keep you energised. But, if you consume more sugar or carbs than needed, your body will convert the extra glucose into fat.

How Much Sugar Should You Consume

The American Heart Association suggests that women should not eat more than 100 calories of added sugar per day. That’s about 6 teaspoons, or 24 grams of sugar every day.

Remember, though, there isn’t any nutritional benefit to eating refined sugar. So 100 calories of sugar per day is the maximum amount of sugar that you should be consuming. This is not a goal to reach. :)

What Happens When You Stop Eating Sugar

When you stop eating sugar, you will notice some short-term and long-term side effects in your body. Most of the side effects are positive, but you will have some negative side effects at first too.

Positive Side Effects

If you quit or significantly reduce your sugar content, you should notice:

1. Clearer Skin

Lots of sugar can cause your insulin to spike, which causes inflammation throughout your body. The inflammation causes your skin to break out.

Limiting your sugar intake will help you reduce inflammation. If you struggle with acne, you should notice your skin clears up with less sugar.

Less sugar can also strengthen elastin and collagen in your skin, which can help with fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin.

2. A Steady Supply of Energy

As I mentioned earlier, sugar causes a spike in energy that quickly leads to a massive energy drop.

Reducing your sugar intake will help you get rid of these ups and downs. Over time, you’ll notice that your energy levels are much more steady, especially if you replace that extra sugar with fat and protein.

3. Reducing Abdominal Fat

Reducing your sugar intake will help you lose fat all over, including in your abdominal region. This is important because too much abdominal fat or visceral fat can cause health problems.

Visceral fat cells produce hormones and inflammatory substances such as adipokines and adipose hormones.

These hormones travel to organs and blood vessels, where they can cause inflammation and contribute to various health issues such as heart disease and cancer.

4. Weight Loss

Refined sugar is just extra empty calories. They won’t help you feel satisfied in any meaningful way. Getting rid of these calories will help you lose weight. One study shows that people who quit sugar for 30 days noticed 5–20 pounds of weight loss.

Reducing your sugar intake will help you limit your cravings and speed up your metabolism. Both of these things will help you lose weight.

5. Reducing Your Risk of Diabetes\

Maintaining a healthy weight helps reduce your chance of developing diabetes. But that’s not the only way reducing sugar can help reduce the risk.

When you eat a lot of sugar or simple carbohydrates, your pancreas produces more and more insulin. This can overwork insulin-producing cells, making them break down, which eventually leads to diabetes.

6. Reducing Your Risk of Heart Disease

Too much sugar is linked to high blood pressure and LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) levels, both of which hurt your heart over time. People who get 17 to 21 percent of their calories from sugar are much more likely to die from heart disease.

Negative Side Effects

Reducing your sugar intake (or completely eliminating sugar) has wonderful health benefits. Unfortunately, it can also cause some negative side effects, especially at first.

1. Psychological Withdrawal symptoms

Quitting sugar can have negative effects on your mental health such as:

anxiety
irritability
confusion
fatigue

One of the most common mental side effects of reducing your sugar intake is anxiety. You might notice that you are more nervous, restless, and on edge than normal. You might also feel like you have less patience than you typically do.

Some people who reduce their sugar intake will notice that they struggle to stay asleep or fall asleep. You might also notice that you are more tired throughout the day.

At first, you will also notice that you have trouble concentrating, making difficult decisions, or even retaining information. Eventually, though, quitting sugar will give you more energy and improve your mental clarity!

2. Change in Mood

Enjoying sugar doesn’t just have to do with enjoying the taste. When you eat sugar, your body releases feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin. These hormones activate your body’s reward system. The more sugar you eat, the better you’ll feel emotionally, at least temporarily.

Quitting sugar means that your body doesn’t have its usual source of dopamine and serotonin, which can make you feel irritable or moody. Some people might even feel depressed or fatigued. Your body should adjust in about a week.

3. Cravings

Cravings are a natural and common side effect of quitting sugar. You’ll start wanting ice cream, chocolate, or even simple carbohydrates like chips all the time.

Typically, cravings last longer than other negative side effects. Most people will continue to have cravings for about 2-3 weeks.

Eating foods that are high in protein, fat, or fiber can help you feel full and eliminate some of your sugar cravings.

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4. Physical Withdrawal Symptoms

Studies show that consuming a lot of sugar long-term can mimic other substance dependencies, like nicotine addiction. Cutting back on sugar can produce similar physical withdrawal symptoms too, including:

Headaches
Nausea
Weakness
Bloating
Muscle aches
Stomach cramps

Tips on Cutting Back Sugar

Some people choose to eliminate sugar completely from their diet, while others choose to cut back slowly. It all depends on what you prefer.

For me, cutting back on sugar slowly is better. You can start by cutting out sugar from one meal only.

So, if you eat cereal for breakfast, try changing that up by having a healthy smoothie. The rest of your meals should stay the same, you just need to slowly add these changes one by one.

Women who go “cold turkey” might eliminate sugar for a month or so and then slowly introduce the occasional treat back into their diet, but others try to avoid sugar for good.

People who do this will often eliminate all forms of simple carbohydrates (like white rice), refined sugar, and artificial sugars (because they can increase your cravings and slow your metabolism).

Even though I prefer quitting sugar slowly, you should do what works best for you!

Improve Your Overall Diet

Cutting back on sugar can cause negative side effects, but these are all temporary. And eating a healthy diet full of vegetables, healthy fats, protein, and fiber will help you feel better. Your cravings will be less intense, and you’ll notice your energy levels will stabilise faster.

Stay Hydrated

Drinking enough water is important no matter what, but it will make a big difference if you are reducing your sugar intake.

If you are used to consuming a ton of sugar from beverages (like your favourite Starbucks order, soda, sugary smoothies, etc.), it is important to replace that hydration with water.

Water will also help you reduce some of your withdrawal symptoms, like headaches.

Get Enough Sleep

As you know, your energy levels can be all over the place while you detox from sugar. Not getting enough sleep can even make some of the negative side effects worse.

It can also increase your cravings for sugars and other unhealthy foods.

Make sure you are able to get enough sleep. This will help you have a healthier diet, lower your stress levels, and boost your energy levels.

Having more energy also means not having to reach for a piece of candy to help you stay energised throughout the day. :)

Manage Your Stress

Stress increases your cortisol levels, which can lead to cravings and feelings of hunger. Research has also shown that sugar can have a calming affect on the stress hormone, cortisol.

This explains why we crave sugar, especially when feeling stressed.

Try taking deep breaths, meditating, doing yoga, or other activities that lower your stress levels.

Exercise

Exercise is an awesome way to feel better while you’re cutting back sugar. Exercise releases some of the same feel-good hormones that sugar does, and it will help you feel more energised and alert.

Studies show that short exercise routines, like 15-minute walks, can help you feel better and reduce your sugar cravings.

How Long It Takes to Detox From Sugar?

Detoxing from sugar happens in stages, and it will vary from person to person. Here’s a general timeline:

One week: After a week, your body will experience less inflammation. Your skin should appear brighter and less puffy, and most of the negative side effects should be almost over.

One month: At this point, you’ll really see the benefits of reducing your sugar intake. Fruit should taste amazing, and your cravings should be over by now. You will have more mental clarity, and you might have lost weight.

Six months: Products full of refined sugar will not be appealing to you. You will have significantly reduced your chance of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and early aging.

One year: Your skin will be brighter, and your weight will most likely seem more manageable. You will be less likely to have a stroke or heart attack, and you will improve your quality and length of life.

In moderation, sugar can be an enjoyable part of life, but most people eat way more sugar than they need. Consider reducing your sugar intake to feel and look healthier. :)

Love Rachael xx

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