To Nepal and Back Again

Hi Lifters!!

Sorry for my absence – those of you on Facebook would have seen that I went volunteering in Nepal for a month! I went over to do a medical elective and received the whole cultural experience by staying with a local Nepali host family. It was a wonderful experience and very humbling.

I had a bit of a rant on Facebook, and for those that didn’t see it here it is again:

“Hi lifters! I’m back from my overseas adventure and would like to thank you all for being so patient. I ended up taking an extra week to get myself organised and recover from the trip.
What. An. Experience. Going to a third world country and witnessing the life that many people have to endure is a true eye opener and has made me question many of my priorities. I have always been concerned about my appearance – it is natural for us to feel this way in our society – but in comparison to many of the issues that I saw in Nepal it has really made me revise whether it is really that important. Sure, I still truly enjoy sweating it out in the gym. But the obsession with the shape of my body and the importance placed on eating 100% clean is really blown way out of proportion. Unfortunately the Western society has encouraged us all to believe that if we are thin, we are successful and happy. It is a huge money making industry.
I have come back from Nepal with a fresh attitude towards a healthy lifestyle. It is necessary to look after your body by eating well and regularly exercising. But putting it ahead of other aspects of life, such as being with friends or going out for a romantic dinner with a loved one or appreciating the birth of a newborn child, is completely unnecessary and, in fact, unhealthy.
I’m not discounting everything posted on Learn Love Lift, I just want you to reconsider what is important in life, and remember how lucky you are :).” 

I’ve decided to take on a personal project to attempt to improve infection control within hospitals as it is currently terrible – and it has nothing to do with lack of money.

It’s great to be back and eating the usual diet again. After a month of rice, lentils and curry I was so excited to come back and eat grilled chicken and veggies. I kept my metabolism going whilst overseas by ensuring I still ate every 3 hours, even if I wasn’t very hungry, and I think that has made it a lot easier to get back on track.

Before I left, you may have seen photos of my crepes on Facebook. They are SO delicious!! You can top them with anything you want, but my personal favourite is slice banana and 70% dark chocolate 🙂

Ricotta Crepes

½ cup ricotta

¼ cup almond meal/flour

4 eggs OR ¾ cup egg whites

3 Tbsp milk

Pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

 

Method

1. Beat ricotta with eggs

2. Beat in flour, salt, milk, baking powder

3. Allow to sit for 15 mins

4. Heat saucepan over medium-low heat

5. Pour in batter – enough to thinly coat the pan

6. Don’t attempt to flip it!! Wait until the top of the crepe is dry to the touch, then slide straight onto a plate

7. Go crazy with toppings!!

 

I’d love to know if you come up with any great combinations that you recommend

Learn constantly, Love your body, Lift yourself higher x

Pizza Please!

 

Hi Lifters!

Hope you are all well! I thought you’d be interested that I saw the dietician today… she opened my eyes to a few things. Basically, I have a lot to change about my diet haha. It was great talking to her about some of the things that I’ve ‘learnt’ from the fitness industry. Some of the things that I learnt:

• Smaller is not better
• Restricting foods is not sustainable
• Our bodies are too clever – if we deprive them of calories they learnt to adapt and slow metabolism
• It is essential to not have black vs white/’good vs bad’/‘all vs nothing’ attitude towards food
• Do not avoid certain food groups
• Carbohydrates are essential as an energy source – the brain is unable to utilise any other fuel!!
• Burning carbohydrates kick-starts burning fat
• Your body will break down muscle (not fat!) for energy if carbohydrates aren’t present
• In order to gain weight, you need to eat 2000 calories more than normal for longer than 2 weeks! One meal seriously doesn’t make a difference
• You will weigh more after a binge (e.g. Christmas dinner) because there’s more food in your bowel, not because you’re ‘fatter’ (obvious, but I hadn’t really thought about it that way)
• If a weight-loss product seems too good to be true, it probably is
• Your metabolism is active 24/7 – it only slows down by ~10% whilst you sleep because you are inactive
• 80% of your metabolism is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) (things that you’re not even aware of e.g. breaking down food, beating heart, hair growing)

I hope some of the points above teach you something too! It was really interesting to chat to her and it’s great to know that I’m on track to get my metabolism back on track. I’m slowly introducing more low GI carbohydrates and increasing my calories. To give you some idea of the changes:

Meal 1: my favourite pancakes PLUS 1 serve of fruit

Meal 2: TWO protein bars

Meal 3: 100g meat + vegetables PLUS 1 serve of carbohydrates e.g. ½ cup cooked rice, ½ cup cooked quinoa

Meal 4: TWO protein bars

Meal 5: unchanged

Meal 6: unchanged

I want to share this information with you because I want to bring awareness to ‘normal’ eating. Unfortunately our society has created the illusion that ‘less is more’, ‘quicker is better’, and ‘skinny is attractive’. I do not, in any way, want to encourage people to starve themselves or promote eating disorders. I’m trying to fight this and want to educate you that eating the way that I am now is not sustainable. It will result in reduced metabolism, weight plateau, fatigue, unhealthy attitude towards food, and unhappiness with body image. Please, please, please take on board what I’m telling you and don’t use it to manipulate your diet and lifestyle for the worse. I want to fight society’s unhealthy attitude towards food and weight. 🙂

On another note, here’s a new delicious recipe!!

Gourmet Mediterranean Vegetable Protein Pizza

Ingredients:

Serves 2

Base:

½ cup almond meal

½ -3/4 cup oat flour

1 egg – beaten

1 garlic clove – crushed

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley and/or basil

½ tablespoon lemon juice

½ tablespoon coconut oil (melted if hard)

Good pinch of salt

Topping:

Capsicum

Zucchini

Mushroom

Olives

Feta

Pine nuts

Fresh basil

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

2. Mix ingredients for the base

3. Cover a pizza tray with baking paper and spread base out evenly

4. Bake for 10 minutes

5. Chop up zucchini and capsicum, and cook for 5-10 minutes

6. Once the base is complete, layer with toppings and bake for another 5 minutes

7. Relish with joy ❤

 

Learn constantly, Love your body, Lift yourself higher x