Majority of the time I eat and drink what I want, making healthier swaps where I can.
WHEN DO I EAT & HOW MUCH?
I listen to my body. I eat when I'm hungry and I stop when I'm full.
Within half an hour of waking up I'm usually hungry so I'll have breakfast. Depending on how hungry will effect what I eat (sometimes I'll have porridge sometimes fruit and granola). The same at lunch time, if I've had a more filling breakfast I'll often have a smaller lunch and vice versa. The same goes for dinner.
With each meal I try to use as many whole natural & nutritious foods as I can.
If I've overeaten the day before I will sometimes fast (not including iced coffee!) for 1/2 or a whole day to give my system a chance to catch up or I'll have a protein shake for breakfast and then not eat again until dinner (which will be light and nutritious) so that the next day I'm back on track.
I know that if you're trying to loose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit and if you're trying to gain muscle or maintain a weight you need to hit your protein target for the day which I completely understand and agree with however I don't calorie count. I'm not trying to loose weight, I just want to maintain my healthy habits, get fitter and stronger with training and ensure I'm fuelling my body with the right foods. I know roughly what I eat calorie wise (if I overeat my body will soon tell me!) and make sure I eat protein with EVERY MEAL. If my goals change, so does my approach. Just take each day as it comes.
When I say 'I eat what I want'...
Since I have made a conscious effort to make healthier choices and make nutritious recipes I love, I now crave healthy foods. Not just for the health benefits but because I genuinely enjoy what I eat and I like how I feel when I'm healthy. Before I created healthy habits, I had less energy, my moods were low, my skin wasn't as good, my sleep was affected, I could go on...
SOME OF MY HEALTHY SWAPS
CHOCOLATE: Everyone knows I am a chocaholic and chocolate isn't a food that will benefit my body so I discovered Raw Halo chocolate. It's made with all natural ingredients and is so much better for you rather than sugary full fat chocolate. This means that when I do have a row (or 2) of chocolate, I know I'm eating natural foods that won't harm my body.
ICE CREAM: Simply make up a chocolate or vanilla protein shake with a banana to make it creamier & freeze them in ice lolly moulds. They taste delicious and are just as satisfying in the heat, plus they don't leave you feeling yucky & offer so many health benefits.
BAKING: I love baking (especially cookies, cakes & brownies) and there are so many great healthy and natural ingredients you can use to make nutritious treats now. Check out my Instagram or Facebook for lots of recipes. As tasty a full fat chocolate cake is, and I do eat things like this occasionally, it always leaves me feeling yucky and I don't enjoy it. After a certain amount of time your body and taste buds get used to not having all the refined sugar and fat and your body doesn't process them as well as they used to WHICH IS A GOOD THING! YOUR BODY ISN'T MEANT TO PROCESS ALL OF THAT!) so I stick to my healthy bakes which I look forward to just as much as I used to unhealthy baking.
Where you can, focus on eating whole unprocessed and natural foods.
DRINKS: I post exactly what I eat and drink on a daily basis on my Instagram and Facebook stories, even if it's not '100% healthy'. I had a couple of people ask me why I drink alcohol and the answer is because I like the taste of it! I have a G&T or a glass of prosecco or 2 if i fancy it, the same as if I fancied a cookie or a cake, I just make healthier swaps where I can. I've more recently been drinking Gin and Tonic because not only do I like to try different brands and flavours (Beefeater Strawberry is my current favourite), it has been proven to have some health benefits and it's the 'healthier option' over lots of other drinks. I'll do another blog post focussed around different alcohols and their effects on the body soon!
MY CURRENT FAVES
For breakfast I've been loving a mini oat bowl: oats mixed with milk & chocolate protein powder topped with a tsp of homemade granola (RECIPE HERE), greek yoghurt and chocolate protein spread.
My latest cookie recipe (HERE) is to die for!!! Even Mumma Luxe (who isn't a massive fan of the healthy baking stuff) LOVES THEM! & that's saying something!
I also tried a new salmon marinade last night which was DELICIOUS and I will be adding that to Luxe Life's Instagram and Facebook soon to STAY TUNED!
Anyway I've rambled for long enough now. I hope that has helped you understand my approach and possibly help you on your journey. Have a a good week!
Keep in touch on socials :) Molly x
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