Help2health Nutrition and Health Coaching

07/07/2023

To replace the processed foods loaded with added sugars I would recommend including the following wholefoods - that are naturally sweet - into your every day meals and snacks...
👉 berries as mentioned already
👉fruits high in fibre and low in sugar such as pears, green apples, kiwis, lemon, limes, grapefruit, watermelon. Many of my clients combine mandarin oranges (sweet and high in fibre) with greek yoghurt for a balanced sweet snack. The fibre in the orange and the protein in the yoghurt slows down the digestion of the fruit so no blood sugar spikes.
👉 dark chocolate - anything above 70% cocoa solids
👉 roasted red peppers, red onion and sweet potato - delicious
👉Sweet potato fries
👉carrots - anyway you wish
👉almonds - a good source of healthy fats, fibre and protein to curb sugar cravings

01/07/2023

My primary focus in getting off the sugar roller coaster is to reduce/eliminate all added sugars, white flour, processed foods, certain fruits, fruit juices and alcohol from the diet and replace with lots of whole foods to support weight loss, energy, mood and concentration. Aim to eat mostly whole foods – if you did this 90% of the time you would be doing exceptionally well. As I mentioned yesterday cut out as much added sugars that you can from your diet.
o Added sugars are the sugars added to foods by a manufacturer during food processing, the sugars added to home baking and the sugars you add to sweeten your foods including honey and maple syrup.
o So as much are you can avoid sweets, chocolate, biscuits, cakes, sauces, ketchup, beans etc. Read the back of food labels. Sugars High: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g Low: 5g of total sugars or less per 100g. It is recommend that we dont exceed more than 24g of added sugars a day - that is 6 teaspoons. To put that into context a 53g bar of diary milk chocolate contains 7.5 teaspoons of added sugars. One simple tip for today - eat more fresh berries - especially now that they are in season. They are loaded with vitamins and minerals to boost your health. Berries are low in fruit sugar and high in fibre so you don't get the sugar highs and lows that you get from cakes, sweets, biscuits etc. The fibre slows down the digestion of the sugars so you feel fuller for longer. So blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries are all fantastic choices. Have them with natural yogurt and the protein in the yoghurt will further slow down the absorption of sugars so you feel fuller for longer. A perfect breakfast or light meal. So this weekend buy the berries and use them. Don't leave them lurking in the back of the fridge.

30/06/2023

The promise was that I was meant to be posting up lots of tips on how you too can easily get off that sugar roller coaster of crazy energy highs and lows and get back to more balanced eating, balanced moods and more energy. That went out the window when my elderly parents got covid first, then I got it..it was no joke, my Dad was admitted to hospital with heart problems (home now tg)and eldest doing her Leaving Cert, my last 6 weeks have been absolutely crazy and just getting back to some normality now. There goes sometimes we cannot plan ahead and have to go with the flow. So first post today....

The very first step in getting off the sugar rollercoaster is to cut down/out foods that have sugar added to them. Lots of tips for you to make this really easy for you. Added sugars includes any home baking that has sugar added to it or any processed foods you buy with added sugar – biscuits, cakes, sweets, yoghurts, cereals, sauces, ketchup, beans etc. Don’t add sugar or honey to your drinks, cereals etc.
Explanation
Cutting down or cutting out sugar will support weight loss if that's your goal. Every time we eat foods that contain sugar our insulin levels rise. Insulin instructs our cells to take up the blood glucose. When we over eat the excess sugar gets stored in our muscles and liver and when they get full it gets converted to fat and get stored in our cells. The more sugar we eat the more insulin gets secreted. When we are secreting insulin we are in fat storage mode. When we stop eating sugar our bodies get the chance to dip into our fat stores for fuel for energy meaning the chance to burn fat instead of storing it.

26/06/2023

This post resonated with me this morning...very powerful headspace to be at in your life. Myself.. I am very grateful to say that I have total self belief, contentment and complete acceptance of my self. A very bold statement! I got here gradually over time, learning lot from coaching clients over the last 8 years 🙏🙏, dealing with my own ongoing health challenges since 2012, raising a family👨‍👧‍👦I am so proud of and caring with my siblings for our aging parents♥️♥️. Each and everyone of our lives come with many many challenges and therein lies the little nuggets of opportunity for our own personal self growth and fulfillment. Learning how you can flip a challenge to an opportunity in a click of a switch is a skill you can learn from coaching. A nice positive thought to start the week. Happy Monday ♥️♥️♥️

Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her ..

~ Lao Tzu ~

Artist Credit : Alisa Wilcher

04/05/2023

Over the next week I will be posting up lots of tips on how you too can easily get off that sugar roller coaster of crazy energy highs and lows and get back to more balanced eating, balanced moods and more energy. So stayed tuned!!🤗🤗

01/05/2023

A fantastic read for anyone either going through cancer or post cancer treatment. Also it would make lovely thoughtful gift. My motto is never give up hope no matter your health circumstances. 💪💪💪

29/04/2023

That's lunch sorted. Wraps are my go to for a quick and healthy lunch.

28/04/2023

Be your own biggest supporter

27/04/2023

Gratitude changes everything - including our physical and mental health. What are you grateful for today?

26/01/2023

Top tip when planning your meals - Colour your plate a rainbow!! The more colour the more nutrients.

23/01/2023

I love this idea..."better than nothing". This relates to all new habits not just exercise. Perfection is a main obstacle to progress. Doing something is always so much better mentally and physically for you than doing nothing. I read a story about this guy who was building his own house and just had time to do one press up a day. He did that press up every day. Some days he did more but he always did something.

What worked was committing to the smallest goal possible — doing something that was only a hair better than doing nothing. Here’s why that surprising strategy did the trick, says author…