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Abbey’s Before and After Transformation

By Transformations

BEFORE

AFTER

Abbey Kent – Student

Before I met Charlie I was the biggest and unhappiest I had ever been. I had no motivation or drive to do anything, the number on the scales was going up and up and my clothes were getting tighter. Then one day I decided that enough was enough. I finally plucked up the courage to email her – I really wish I had done it sooner! Charlie is the most amazing girl I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, from day 1 she was just a complete joy to be around, she knew what she wanted to do with me but also knew what my personal end goals were. She took the time to explain that being healthy isn’t just about exercise, it’s more about the right nutrition too. I can hand on heart say that if you are debating whether to train with Charlie, debate no more. She gave me back so much confidence and happiness and I now love my body!

Get The Basics Right

By News

People are very uneducated on how much of an impact nutrition can have on their training and body composition. I love the quote ‘Nutrition can make a good athlete great, and a great athlete good’. A person could be a potential olympic gold medalist but due to a shitty lifestyle and poor nutrition they are just an average joe.

The full potential of any person will never be achieved with poor nutrition.

Its simple really..  train hard, eat clean, stay hydrated, recover well. You MUST get the basics right before faffing around with anything else. The amount of people who ask me ‘what exercise can I do to get a flat stomach‘. If I were to ask that person. ‘how many hours do you sleep at night‘.. ‘how many pints of water do you drink a day‘ or ‘how much junk food do you eat in a week‘.. They might not realise how much of an impact that has on them getting a flat stomach.

You can do all the ab exercises in the world and eat crappy food, sleep 4 hours a night and be dehydrated and NEVER get a flat stomach..

The body is like a machine working on cogs and if one of the essential cogs isn’t working then the whole system won’t work as efficiently and optimally as possible. As a nutrition coach I always consider the bigger picture and never take a one size fits all approach for clients. Each person comes with different problems and stresses. Everyone has different lifestyles and are all educated in fitness, health and nutrition to a different level.

 

 

Psychology is always over looked. External factors should always be taken into consideration such as home life and stress, as well as how lifestyle impacts the way you eat. The group you may socialise with will have a massive impact on your diet and lifestyle. If your family or friends have a very unhealthy diet and poor nutrition, this is going to negatively impact your ability to stay on track.

Your mind set will always affect what you achieve. You must set goals that you believe in and know you can achieve to ensure you are always motivated. Along with mindset, it is essential to debunk myths to make sure you do not have incorrect knowledge from online forums or magazine articles.

Most women think that lifting weights and eating high protein diets will make them ‘massive’ or ‘bulky’. People may also believe that skipping meals and using fad diets will help them to loose weight. Knowledge is Power. Ensure your facts are from a reliable source. Not Heat Magazine!!

Genetics must always be considered. How one person metabolises fats and carbs will be different to another due to genetics and lifestyle. I love the quote.. ‘Genetics loads the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger’. When you claim you are over weight because of genetics, its important to remember your lifestyle will MASSIVELY contribute to the fact you are over weight. Genetics can never be purely to blame.

The key to success is consistency. Its better to be 80% good 100% of the time than be 100% good 20% of the time. We all know that person who will go on a juicing diet and smash the gym only to burn out after a few weeks and call it a day for another 3 months! Don’t be that person!

Before you fill your diet with fat burners, weight loss shakes and fucking juicing diets (don’t get me started on juice diets). Get the BASICS right! Start going to bed at a reasonable time and recover well. Train hard and smart. Master your daily diet and drink plenty of water. The most important thing is to achieve good and consistent daily habits and behaviours! Create lasting lifestyle choices to make a better YOU!

 

If you liked this article check out my post on ‘Clean Eating Is Ruining Your Life

 

Summer Superfood Salad

By News

When most people think of salad, they think of the pathetic portion of old lettuce leaves with tomato and cucumber that you get as a ‘side salad’ in some restaurants. People say ‘I hate salad’… Well of course your going to bloody hate salad if you have always eaten really bad salads.

Salad is an amazing way to pack heaps of amazing veggies into one meal and make it super yum at the same time.

Summer Superfood Salad

Ingredients:

serves 1

Salad:

  • 200g sweet potato (can be substituted for beetroot, butternut squash, carrot, or parsnip)
  • 1/2 a bag (125g) of cooked mixed quinoa (can be substituted for rice)
  • 100g cooked chicken breast (can be substituted for any other meat or fish)
  • 1 handful of brocilli
  • 1 handful of asparagus
  • 1 courgette
  • 5 raddishes
  • 1/2 cup sprouted mung beans (I sprout my self but you can buy in shops)
  • 50g low fat feta cheese (can be substituted for goats cheese or halloumi)
  • 1/2 an avocado

Dressing:

  • 1tsp cashew butter
  • 1tsp harissa paste
  • 1tbsp sweet chilli sauce
  • 1tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 3tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

Chop the sweet potato and place on a baking tray with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Place in a pre heated oven at 160 degrees for approx 1.5 hours.. Turning as cooking. (I like my sweet potato super cooked). When the sweet potato is almost ready you can prep the rest of the salad.

Place the broccoli and the asparagus into a steamer and cook until only just soft. Once cooked place to the side to cool

Spiralize the courgette to make courgetti. If you don’t have a spiralizer you can simply grate the courgette.

Slice the radishes into super thin slices using a peeler or a long grater.

Cut the feta and chicken into little cubes or slices

For the dressing combine all ingredients in a bowl or better a small blender and mix/blend until smooth.

The avocado.. God this bit is hard. If you cut the avocado in half then leaving half in the skin you cut strips to around 3/4 of the way down. You then carefully remove the skin of the avocado and fan the slices out to make it look super pretty. Failing this.. if you don’t care so much how its going to look. Just chop it into cubes.

The quinoa can be hot of cold depending on your preference.

Finally once the sweet potato has cooked, combine the sweet potato, quinoa, broccoli, asparagus, courgetti, radish, mung beans and feta in a bowl and lightly mix being careful not to squish it.

Put the mixed salad onto a plate and top with the chicken and fanned out avocado followed by the dressing.

Enjoy 😀

Notes:

Try using different greens, different roast veg and different meats. This salad also works well with a satay dressing

 

 

 

 

Protein Oreo Cookies

By News

I am an imperfect human with a list of insecurities large enough to write a book with. I am trying my very hardest to be the best I can be, to please others, and achieve everything I want in life. I have days where Im straight up slaying… Left, right and centre killing it. Im constantly trying to juggle a million things at once, sometimes that goes to okay and sometimes, something fucks up which causes everything to come crashing down. At this point, I either scuttle away to have a little cry in the corner or panic and try to pick up the pieces.

Im telling you this right now because everyone is in the same boat. Every one has train wreck days where you want to go back to bed and start over, and everyone has days which are so perfect you want to dance all day like a diva.

However perfect other peoples lives may look, they still have days which are a royal fuck up. They still has days where they sit in bed crying eating bacon sandwiches and doughnuts.

Its OKAY to fuck up. Its NORMAL to have bad days.

Just keep being awesome and keep grinding 😀

 

Oreo Protein Cookies

Makes 8

Ingredients:

For the cookie:

  • 130g Raw Cacao Powder
  • 50g Vanilla Casein
  • 250g Vita Fiber Syrup

For the filling:

  • 100g Cashew Butter
  • 15g PB2
  • 15g Vanilla Casein
  • 40g Vita Fiber Syrup
  • 3 Drops Vanilla Flavour Drops

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees celsius. Mix all cookie ingredients together and form 16 small disk shape cookies. Put cookies in the oven for 5-7 minutes (yes they cook very quickly)

While the cookies are cooking mix all filling ingredients together. Once the cookies have cooked down, blob the filling onto half the cookies and top with the other half of the cookie.

Notes:

Try not to eat them all at once 😀

 

Mexican Quinoa Bean Balls

By Nutrition

A combination of Mexican and Quiona is just a dream come true. Quinoa is fricking awesome. It is super high in protein and is a great source of carbs. It contains all the essential amino acids and it has a super low GI which means it is good for your blood sugar levels. Quinoa contains anti-oxidants and essential minerals and is super easy to add into your diet.

This super little recipe is awesome as a snack or to accompany a main meal. They are also great to make for meal prep to take for an on the go lunch or snack at work!

With only 48 calories per ball, 0.8g of fat, 6.8g of carbs and 2.5g of protein. You would be silly not to try them…

Mexican Quinoa Bean Balls

makes 11

Ingredients:

  • 240g of drained and washed red kidney beans
  • 110g of cooked quinoa
  • 1x pack of taco spice (30g)
  • 1 whole large egg
  • a large handful of chopped corriander (optional)

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees

Place all ingredneits into a high speed blender and blitz untill smooth. Remove the mix from the blender and roll into 11 balls.

Place the balls on an oven proof tray and bake for 8-10 minutes

Serve hot or cold with guacamole, sour cream or 0% fat greek yogurt for a lower fat option.

 

 

White Chocolate Protein Coconut Bars

By News

I don’t like chocolate. I LOVE IT! It is the hardest food for me to stay clear of in my diet. I’m obsessed!

If you look on an ingredients list of your average chocolate bar, there are tones of ingredients which are pure chemical shit and are so awful for your body. Chemically produced and unnatural ingredients are alien to your body and cause inflammation and stress to the system while putting your body in an acidic state. That’s why for general internal and external health, it is so important for us to fuel our bodies with healthy, natural foods.

Raw cacao is one of the best beauty foods. It is packed with anti oxidants and has contains powerful phytochemicals which prevent winkle formation. Raw cacao helps to prevent the skin for UV damage, while boosting skin hydration and reducing redness. It helps with circulation to increase blood flow, nutrients and oxygen supply to the skin. Raw cacao is one of the best natural magnesium containing foods to add to your diet to help calm the central nervous system and regulate heart rate which helps with recovery after a hard training session :D. Raw cacao contains the beauty mineral sulfur which is essential for strong hair and nails and beautiful skin. It is also a feel-good food which raises serotonin and endorphins in the brain which increases happiness and libido.

So if you want healthy hair, beautiful skin, strong nails and good sex then get on the raw cacao 😀

White Chocolate Protein Coconut Bars

serves 12

Ingredients:

For the white chocolate coconut center:

  • 100g raw cacao butter
  • 80g un-sweetned desiccated coconut
  • 50g vanilla casein
  • 10 drops of coconut extract

For the dark chocolate coating:

  • 100g raw cacao butter
  • 50g raw cacao powder
  • 30g vanilla or chocolate casein

Directions:

Melt the raw cacao butter in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water over heat. While you wait for the cacao butter to melt, combine the coconut, coconut extract, and casein in a big bowl. When the raw cacao butter is melted, add to the other ingredients and stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour the mixture into bar shaped silicon molds (or if you don’t have the molds use a shallow, square/rectangle glass dish) and place into the freezer to harden.

Melt the raw cacao cutter in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water over heat. While you wait for the cacao butter to melt, combine the raw cacao powder and the casein in a bowl. When the raw cacao butter has melted, mix it into the raw cacao powder and casein mix. Keep stirring until you reach a smooth consistency. Once the coconut white chocolate has hardened, remove from the silicon molds or the glass dish and cut to the size you want each bar. Place each bar individually into the dark chocolate coating making sure it is completely covered then place on a tray covered with baking paper or tin foil. Once each bar is completely coated with chocolate, place back into the freezer until the chocolate layer has hardened. Once the outer chocolate has hardened. Remove the bars from the freezer and do a second coat of chocolate around each bar with the remaining dark chocolate mixture (if you need to reheat the chocolate mix, put it in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water until it has melted again). Place the bars back into the freezer until the final coat has hardened. Any left over chocolate can be drizzled over the top for decoration. Best kept in the freezer in a container.

Notes:

While the outer layer of chocolate is still soft, try adding other super foods for decoration. Try bee pollen, gojji berries or pumpkin seeds 😀

 

Sugar Free Protein Cinnamon Rolls

By Nutrition

Carbohydrates for Fat Loss

Lots of people cut out carbs to loose weight. The media hypes up these keto diets and hammers societies brains with how bad carbs are for you. You NEED carbs for successful, maintainable fat loss!

Firstly let me highlight the importance of muscle. The more muscle the body has, the higher the metabolism. The higher the metabolic rate, the more food you can eat because the body burns more calories.. Sounds good right?! Not only this. Muscle is essential for healthy bones and joints. If you don’t have enough muscle mass you might just slip off the curb and break your bloody leg because there is not enough muscle to support your joints.

Do you want to loose fat while keeping muscle?

Well..Carbohydrates are the most muscle sparing macro nutrient in our diets. If you reduce your carbohydrates too much when trying to lose fat, you will loose weight for sure… but some of it will most likely be from muscle. When the body doesn’t have enough energy it will begin to break down your own muscle tissue to fuel your system!! A decrease in muscle mass means a lower metabolic rate, plus your lovely toned muscles which you have slaved away for in the gym, will slowly be eaten to fuel your own body! Not Cool!

So you want to loose fat but not become a tired sleepy mess during day to day life?

Your brain runs off glucose. Glucose comes from carbs.. Super low carb diets can cause extreme fatigue, decreased performance in the gym, and a reduction in general motivation for life due to a lack of energy!

Where does the fat loss come into this?

Insulin is released into the blood when carbohydrates are eaten. Insulin levels in the blood must be low in order for the body to utilize fat from the adipose tissue for fuel. This is where a reduction is body fat occurs. It is important to fuel your body with carbohydrates in the correct portion sizes, at the right time of day, to give your body just enough energy for muscle sparing and recovery. but to still allow fat loss to occur.

No.. I’m not going to tell you when, or what, or how much to eat because it is different for everyone. Depending on an individuals metabolic rate, lifestyle and age, Different amounts of carbohydrates will be required for every individual. This can be calculated by metabolic and lifestyle analysis through a nutrition coach.

Was that a sneaky little sales pitch for nutrition coaching plans?!

Maybe…

Basically don’t cut carbs!! Find something which works for you. Find something which is not a diet! Make a lifestyle change which is healthy and maintainable while keeping all macro nutrients in your daily food intake. Restriction diets where whole food groups or macro nutrients are cut out are not maintainable. If your diet is not maintainable, neither is your fat loss!

Here is a delish little recipe for you which sure as hell does contain carbs. These are a great post workout snack and really curb sugar cravings 🙂

Sugar Free Protein Cinnamon Rolls

makes 10

Macros:

  • 98 calories
  • 5g fat
  • 4.5g carbs
  • 6.4g protein

Ingredients – Roll:

  • 60g Gluten Free Flour
  • 60g Vanilla (stevia sweetned) Protein Powder 
  • 30g Ghee
  • 1/2 tsp Xantham Gum
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Egg

Ingredients – Filling:

  • 25g Almond Butter
  • 40g Vitafiber
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Combine all the dry ‘roll’ ingredients in a blender. Add the egg and ghee and wizz up until a dough is formed. Put a little flour on the work top, remove the dough from the blender and begin to roll into a squarish shape, about 1cm thick. In a bowl, combine all the ‘filling’ ingredients and stir until a thick paste is formed. spread this paste over the rolled out dough. Now really carefully roll the dough up with the filling on the inside. Cut the large cinnamon roll into 10 small rolls and place on a baking tray. Put in the oven for 8 minutes then remove and allow to cool and harden a little 🙂

Notes:

Try adding different fillings for different flavors 😀

Protein Cashew Milky Way Bar

By Nutrition

Its always overwhelming seeing all these amazing recipes online and not owning any of the bloody ingredients to make them. I have done a quick list of where I order my ingredients from where I have found good prices and good quality supplements and superfoods! If anyone has any other great websites they use, please let me know 😀 I get extremely happy when I find new online ordering sites!!!

I have also added some recipes from my blog where you can use the ingredients.

 

The Protein Works…

80 Naked Whey in Vanilla, sweetened with stevia

Also good to keep Casein Protein which is thicker and good to make protein bars with, like recipe bellow 😀

If you use my referral code you get extra free whey protein CF108303

 

Muscle Food..

If you use the code HF50600 you get free meat on your order

Chicken, 5kgs for £25

1KG tubs of nut butters.. Cashew is the bomb!!

Vitafiber to make protein bars with.. Try these Peanut Butter Quest Bars or the Protein Cashew Milky Way Bars (bellow)

Omega 3 tablets

Quest bars.. Great to keep for emergency meals

Low fat peanut flour (good for pancakes)

You can even get kangaroo, crocodile and emu if you fancy??!

 

Buy Whole Foods Online

Spirulina

Wheatgrass powder

Maca Powder

Cinnamon

Coconut flour

Try these Coconut Protein Pancakes

Coconut oil

Nori sheets (to make sushi)

Bee pollen

Raw cacao

Ghee

Chai seeds

Flax seed

Xantham Gum (good thickener for shakes)

Try my super thick shakes with xantham gum Mint Chocolate Protein Smoothie or Chocolate Beetroot Smoothie

 

Now for a recipe containing a number of the ingredients above. It wasn’t my intention to recreate a Milky Way Bar although A number of people have told me these taste like Milky Way Bars.

They are super easy and fast to make. You can do them with or without the chocolate coating.

With out the coating they are only 61 calories per ball!!!

Protein Cashew Milky Way Bars

Ingredients:

Inside

60g vanilla casein protein powder

100g vita fiber syrup

60g cashew butter

Chocolate coating (optional)

4 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp raw cacao powder

Directions:

In a high speed blender (yes it has to be a good one or it will have a melt down) add the inside ingredients and blend untill a dough like consistency is formed. Remove from the bender and roll into 20 small balls. For the coating, melt the coconut oil and add the cacao powder. Stir until combined. Coat each ball with the chocolate mixture and place on a trap in the fridge to set.

Notes:

Try rolling the balls in crushed nuts, seeds or super-foods to add a crunch

 

Mint Chocolate Protein Smoothie

By Nutrition

A lot of people don’t understand the importance of protein in the diet, or understand the health benefits of having a high protein diet to supplement training. Protein is an ESSENTIAL nutrient for the body, made up of branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s), responsible for growth and repair of muscle.

Protein is super filling so having a high protein diet will allow you to reduce calories without constantly feeling hungry

Protein has a high thermic effect which means it takes a lot of energy to digest in the stomach. This means you burn more calories actually digesting the protein you eat, than you do carbs or fat 🙂

Research has proven that a high protein diet can increase bone density and prevent bone diseases.

Not only is protein responsible for growth and development, it also prevents muscle breakdown when on a reduced calorie diet. BCAA’s prevent the muscle breakdown for fuel allowing the body to burn body fat. This results in fat loss from FAT instead of just weight loss from MUSCLE AND FAT!

Many of my clients first starting out really struggle with their protein intake. They struggle to actually include the amount of protein they need in their diets to gain some lean muscle mass while dropping body fat. Chomping down chicken breasts all day can become a little boring, which is why I love using protein powder to make super food shakes. They are so yummy and filling and a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Bellow is a super high protein recipe which is gluten free, virtually fat free, and can be made dairy free. It contains a number of health benefits from the added raw cacao and sprulina, which are both powerful antioxidants and supply the body with essential nutrients.

Mint Chocolate Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 50g fat free Greek OR coconut yogurt
  • 30g natural vanilla protein powder
  • 150ml water
  • 1/4 tsp xantham gum
  • 10 ice cubes
  • 1 tbsp  raw cacao
  • 2 tbsp stevia (more or less to taste)
  • 5 drops peppermint extract
  • 1/2 tsp spirulina

Directions:

Add the yogurt, protein powder, water, xantham gum and the ice to a high speed blender and blend into a thick shake consistency. Remove half the mixture from the blender and add 1 tbsp stevia, peppermint extract and spirulina to the blender. Re blend this half of the mixture until all smoothly mixed. Pour this half of the mixture into a glass and put the other half of the mixture back into the blender. Now add cacao and stevia to this half of the mix and blend until combined. Carefully spoon the chocolate mixture over the mint layer of smoothie into the glass…. Tadddddahhh!! Beautiful high protein minty chocolate goodness.

Notes:

I can recommend the protein from The Protein Works called Naked Whey Protein 80. It is sweetened with stevia meaning its not full of artificial RUBBISH…. http://www.theproteinworks.com/referral-program/MTgwMzAzajJ0/

Top with nuts, seeds, bee pollen or which ever super foods you wish for added vital minerals and vitamins

The Importance of Yoga for Gym Junkies!

By News

I have to admit. Yoga use to be a purely physical activity for me to increase flexibility and core strength. I didn’t understand any of the other stuff. During the Pranayama breathing I would usually be looking around the room checking out other girls gym gear, while in Savasana I was asleep or thinking about food. And god! The chanting!!!! I had no time for that crap. I just wanted to get bendy.

I thought the yogic lifestyle was some crazy religion! I didn’t understand the mental benefits of yoga and had zero appreciation for any of it. However, I was totally noticing a change in my head space. Even though I wasn’t actually concentrating through the majority of the classes. I was becoming much less stressed with work, and finding myself feeling more content with life in general! Not only that I was getting stronger in the gym. My range of movement was increasing massively and I wasn’t getting so sore post workout.

I wanted to learn more about yoga. I wanted to find appreciation for the other elements of yoga not just the physical postures, and learn how it can benefit my life!

When arriving in India I was in for a shock. On my first day a fire ceremony was organised to welcome the new students to the course. This consisted of a lot of chanting, prayers and singing around a fire. Coconuts were burnt to represent heads to release negative energy and we were called up one by one to throw rice and ghee on the fire. I sat in shock thinking ‘what the hell is this crazy cult I have come into…’.

After a few days I totally settled in and learnt to embrace this new lifestyle. Meditation was always a struggle though. It was scheduled just before breakfast every morning. By this time you have been up since 6am, done 2 hours of yoga and 30 minutes of pranayama. I was fucking starving. Meditation for me consisted of day dreams about crazy breakfast. Bacon pancake stacks and PROATS!!  This did improve over time and I think I actually managed to have no thoughts (even if it was for about 30 seconds at a time)

After about 6 weeks I started noticing a real difference in myself. I was so calm. And not only that I was getting super bendy. Totally seeing a real improvement in body internally and externally. My core strength was insane!! My muscle definition was great (even though I was only doing resistance band and sand bag weight training) I was totally shocked with my progress.

From 9 weeks of yoga training in Patnem my whole outlook of health, fitness and training has changed. I have learnt the absolute importance of flexibility and range of movement for optimum health and function of the body. Not only that I have learnt that everyone needs to concur their mind before any real changes can happen in the body. If you HATE your body and drag yourself to the gym to train like it’s a punishment. This will not work! If you have zero confidence and worry too much about what other people think of you. You will spend your whole life trying to look how everyone else wants you to look.

We must learn that everything is impermanent and we should not find happiness externally in numbers or achievements because the same thing which causes you happiness one day will cause you sadness the next. I used to be the worst for it.. ‘When I can squat 80kg I will be happy’…. Then when I squatted 80kg it was still not good enough. I was looking for the next best thing. ‘When I lose 3kgs I will be happy’. Then I when I lost 3kg I was still not happy. This was still not good enough… ‘when I have those Nike’s I will be happy’.. Got those Nike’s, appreciated them for about 3 days and now they are muddy. The key point to remember is you can’t be happy with anything in the WORLD until you’re happy with yourself 🙂

So why should gym junkies practice yoga, on a regular basis to supplement their training??

  1. It improves range of movement meaning you can go deeper in your squats and lower in your deadlifts.
  2. Yoga increases core strength which supports big lifting exercises and gives you killer abs!
  3. It calms and balances the nervous system which is often put under stress or damaged with heavy lifting.
  4. It improves circulation helping your muscles to be fueled correctly for recovery and GROWTH.
  5. Yoga improves body awareness and mind/body connection, boosting self-esteem.
  6. Yoga increases the ability to be in the present moment and concentrate, which gives you insane focus during workouts in the gym as well as on the mat!
  7. Through practicing yoga you can achieve a calm mind and reduced stress. This can help with optimum body function, resulting in muscle gains and fat loss, due to a reduction of the hormone called cortisol in our bodies.
  8. Yoga decreases body fat.
  9. It teaches you funky arm balances and inversions which are always fun.
  10. It puts you in a much happier and content state of mind allowing you to enjoy life to the fullest!!!

Happy Bending 🙂