As I write this, it’s January 5th, traditionally the last day of Christmas and time to take down the decorations. It’s also a great time to do a clean sweep of any leftovers such as Christmas cake, puddings, mince-pies, crisps, biscuits, roasted nuts, chocolate and sweets. Take a look in your fridge—what’s still lingering there? What’s still in your cupboards that’s not ‘clean’ and will continually tempt you? Are there chocolates starring at your from the lounge? What else needs to go? 

Ditch Christmas Left-overs

I hate throwing away food— it feels wrong even if it’s not necessarily ‘clean’. However some of it may need to go into the bin! However, before you ditch it, here are a couple of other ideas: If it’s unopened and non-perishable, would family, a neighbour or a food bank or genuinely appreciate it? Is it freezable? If yes, bury it in the freezer drawer that’s the least convenient to get at and enjoy it as a treat later in the year. Or eat it today. I know some eyebrows may have shot up at this last idea, but Eat Well—Be Well is not a diet. It’s way of eating for life: it’s never about what you eat on one day, rather it’s what you eat most of the time. So decide which approach is best for you, and clear away all of your Christmas food treats that are loaded in sugar and fats so you can begin to shed those unwanted Christmas pounds. 

Stock-up with Fresh Fruit & Vegetables

Let’s begin the New Year in a way I want to encourage you to do through-out the year. I want for you to eat more fruit and vegetables—especially vegetables. Why? Fresh fruit and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. These micro-nutrients provide you with all manner of health-giving properties as well as dietary fibre – which helps your body ‘clean it’s tubes’ as well as helps boost your immune system.

As you know I’m not one for counting calories—weight loss is far more complex than calories in and calories out—yet there is a point here. Fresh fruit and vegetables, apart from a few exceptions, are low in calories. We eat more-or-less the same volume of food every day. If we eat more vegetables and fruit then there won’t be so much space for other food. This is known as “crowding out” which is a natural way of reducing your calorie content without counting. But in order for fruit and vegetables to end up on your plate, it needs to be close to hand. So, it’s time to get out to the shops and stock-up. Supermarkets have become much better in what they stock in their fresh produce sections, but farmer’s markets and small independent shops often have an even wider selection, so remember to check these out too.

Eating more fruit and vegetables can help you with your weight loss. However, eating just fruit and vegetables is not a good idea for they contain natural sugars. To balance out your meals and snacks you also need small amounts of good quality protein (e.g. lean free-range meat, wild fish, eggs, beans, lentils, Whey Protein and tofu are good sources). Surprisingly to many, you also need small amounts of good fats (oily fish, olive oil, avocado and nut and seeds as well as oils such as: coconut, walnut, pumpkin and sesame).

Begin your weight loss journey – fill-up with goodness that comes from fresh fruit and vegetables.
Eat Well—Be Well 🙂