Body Transformation Program
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BFT Tips
BFT Eating is all about promoting good health and feeling good. Here are some tips to help you on your way!
Fight the bloated feeling
Most people who reduce or stop eating foods like processed carbs, milk and alcohol stop feeling bloated. Being bloated can be confused with being full and that is what people have got used to eating. These foods make and keep you fat and feeling tired. So if you don’t have that bloated feeling after a meal of meat and veg don’t freak out. Also ask yourself: do I feel hungry or am I craving that bloated feeling that I used to have?
Don’t treat it like a diet
You are not punishing yourself, this plan is trying to change your eating habits forever. Mix it up, try different foods and enjoy it. Don’t tell yourself you can’t live without a certain food eg: ‘I can’t live without bread so I will carry on eating it’. This is not breaking your habits and is missing the point.
Don’t freak out because you’re spending more money on food
When I’m planning what I’m eating over the next few days or week I can spend a quite a bit of money. However I am buying all my food including lunch, snacks etc. So I won’t be popping to the shop to buy chocolate, or nipping to supermarket for a bottle of wine, and because you’re not buying all those treats you will have more money to spend on fresh foods. Don’t eat the same food all the time. Have a wide variety of food (different colour veg, especially green veg, different meat and fish etc. Go for high nutrition food.) Don’t eat high salt content food. If you’re going to eat salt then eat sea salt, but use sparingly.
Don’t go ‘jazzy’
I have been supporting and motivating people to change their behaviour for 15 years. What I find is that people start with great intentions and go off the track because it is hard or they have their own plan. With the clean eating plan, I suggest that trying to stick to the guidelines will really help. Going on a ‘cabbage only’ diet, or an ‘eat nothing’ diet as a better plan just will not benefit you in the long term. Remember, this plan is to help influence long term dietary habits and not act as a quick fix after which the old bad habits of eating or drinking to excess resume. Don’t skip treat day. You need to reward yourself for all the hard work. Just don’t go crazy. Do not eat diet food or food that claims it is sugar-free: This food is a trick. One thing is taken out and another is put in: food advertised as sugar-free food usually will have artificial sweeteners or sugars that sound natural but are highly processed.
Think of the bigger picture
Think how much healthier you will be, how much better you will feel, and how much weight you will lose. Energy levels will increase, your skin may look healthier and your immune system will be stronger, so you will have fewer colds and feel less run down. Treat yourself to good quality food. I love griddled chicken breast with green veg, new potatoes with lemon, garlic and olive oil dressing. That is all on the menu, so give it a try! Still go out to eat. Just be selective and ask questions. Enjoy it. Be happy that you are taking control and doing something very positive for yourself.
Plan
There is no point going to work knowing that you will struggle to find good food. Take a packed lunch and prepare. Be patient. I’m not promising that you’re going to lose a particular amount of weight, and some people will lose more than others. There are loads of factors to take into consideration, including your body type, how active you are and how significant your diet changes. On the last plans people have lost anything from 2- 11lbs of body weight, and a couple of inches off their waist. Accept that at times you will crave certain foods and you will be tempted. Again from my experience if people are going to change their daily routine and have not invested time into it by thinking, preparing or accepting it then they will struggle significantly.
Read labels
There is a difference between being obsessive and being interested and building up knowledge. It is very hard for all food to be totally unprocessed. For example, peanut butter can be full of added sugar, palm oil and salt – but you can buy just blended peanuts from wholefood shops. The blended stuff is fine the other is out.
Use a smaller plate
King of patronising advice but if you have a smaller plate you wont over eat. You can have a great diet but you can still over eat on healthy food. Also try and stop eating when your still slightly hungry and yourself to digest and fill up. This is tough at first but really good way to stop that post eating energy slump.
Learn how to make stock
For recipes like soups and stews the difference between a good one and a great one is learning how to cook a stock from scratch. It is really, really simple!!! Just take various root veg that you have in the house, chop and throw in a big pan of water. Bring to the boil simmer for about 1.5hrs, strain the veg and discard them. You can flavour your stock to suit what you are going to use it for. i.e: throw in lemongrass, ginger, chilli and star anise for a more Thai/Chinese flavoured stock. Perfect for my Chicken broth recipe on this page.