The trouble with dieting is that many diets are more often than not based around restrictions, removal, banning and deprivation. A diet is designed to make a person lose weight by removing the foods that are contributing to weight gain.

The thing is though, they are just never successful. Or maybe, they are incredibly successful but only for a little while. There are many reasons why diets don’t work long term, but more than anything, it is to do with our mind, our thought processes, our beliefs, and how much or little we love. Sounds crazy, I know, but it’s not.

It is our minds that create the ability to lose or gain weight, not the diet itself. If your mind is positive, positive things happen. If your mind is negative, negative things happen. It’s simple.

The best diet approach you can do is this:

1. Change your mind set to a love-based approach, not a fear-based approach. Love yourself, love your body, love food, love exercise…literally love the heck out of your life.
    
2. Eat for nourishment. Stop focusing on how much or little you should eat, don’t worry about what you aren’t allowed, or what will make you fat. Instead eat in a way where you are counting how many nutrients are entering your body. Where are your nutrients coming from today? Have fun with it and love that you are consuming lots of nutrients to nourish your body. Often the focus on restriction is so strong that at the same time in trying to diet, your body is being severely deprived of nutrients.
    

Instead of doing a ‘weight loss diet’, try a ‘love and nourishment diet’. It truly works, you’ll be happier, and you will feel wonderful.

Because you are worth it!

Kerri x

Everybody needs carbohydrates. In fact carbohydrates are the only source of energy the brain and the central nervous system can use for fuel meaning they are vital for life. This food group, however, has been given a terrible rap in recent times through being associated with weight gain and poor health.

There is varying degrees when it comes to the type and quality of carbohydrates, and it is the unhealthy options that have given all carbohydrates a poor reputation.

There is a big difference when it comes to the types of carbohydrates – on one end of the scale are healthy, nourishing complex carbohydrates and on the other end are processed and refined simple sugars.

They both play a similar role in your body but with an entirely different outcome. Complex carbs fuel you with stable energy, make you feel good and nourish your body, whereas simple sugars spike your energy levels, make you tired and lethargic, alter your moods, damage your gut, make you store fat, prevent you burning fat, and have a drug-like effect on your brain – to name just a few.

When it comes to poor digestion and gut health, as well as weight gain and general health, the refined and processed carbohydrates often made with wheat and/or sugar are where the damage is being created, along with some of the other heavily refined grains.

Refined carbohydrates (simple sugars) enter your blood stream extremely quickly sending your pancreas into overdrive to produce enough insulin to deal with it, resulting in huge spikes of insulin in your blood. Whereas, complex carbohydrates enter your blood stream steadily and gradually keeping insulin levels regulated and stable, so the fuel and nutrients from the carbohydrates can be sent around your body to your body cells.

The extremely healthy and nourishing carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruit and wholesome carbohydrates offer your body substantial goodness and nutrients and mustn’t be left out of your diet.

Some people, especially active people, run better off a higher quantity of carbohydrates in their diet, but a generalised recommendation is to have around 50% of your diet carbohydrates.

This sounds a lot when we are encouraged to believe they are bad, but within this 50% I suggest 40% comes from vegetables and fruit. This leaves around 10% intake throughout your day from alternative carbohydrates, but preferably not wheat or refined gluten-free flours.

Aim to include carbohydrate-rich starchy vegetables in your daily diet as they are full of nutrients but also supply your body with lots of energy. Try including:

• Beetroot
  
• Pumpkin
  
• Kumara
  
• Carrots
  
• Potatoes
  
• Parsnips
  

And top up your carbohydrate intake with a small amount of alternative options each day, such as:

• Buckwheat
  
• Quinoa
  
• Oats
  
• Brown rice
  
• Legumes such as beans and chickpeas
  

Ingredients

3 large raw beetroot
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 red onion
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
1 handful of baby spinach
 
 
Directions

Preheat oven to 180°C.
 
Wash and cut off tops and tails of beetroot but don’t peel. Cut into small cubes and add to a large mixing bowl.
 
Rinse and drain chickpeas and add to the bowl with the beetroot.
 
Cut the red onion into 8ths and add to the beetroot, along with the garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper.
 
Melt the coconut oil and mix through the vegetables well.
 
Line a large baking dish with baking paper and spread ingredients out in a single layer on the paper and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked and slightly browned. Remove from oven.
 
Place the handful of baby spinach on a plate, and pile beetroot, onion and chickpeas on top.
 
Enjoy!

Kerri x
 

If you suffer from anxiety or have times in your life when anxiety takes a hold on you, just know that more people than you realise are fighting your same battle. It can be one of the most loneliest things to have because those with it often suffer in silence but can appear so completely normal to others.
I want to share with you five tips that I know to be proven to help combat the feelings of anxiety. Far too many people are fighting this battle but don’t realise they can do anything to improve it.

Remove gluten from your diet
I cannot stress this enough. Anxiety is strongly linked to gut health and gluten is one of the biggest destroyers of your gut lining and for many people it causes huge digestive stress which leads directly to feelings of anxiety.

Learn to meditate
A big part of anxiety is the emotional and mental turmoil and constant chatter in your mind. It becomes overwhelming, especially when those thoughts are negative, and it sends your entire body into overdrive. Mediation is about stilling the mind and stopping that turmoil.

Improve your gut health
With the strong link to gut health and anxiety being now known, it is vital that your gut starts being looked after. Gluten, sugar and refined carbohydrates are your guts least wanted foods, and probiotics and fermented foods are your guts most wanted. Try having kombucha or kefir daily (start small and gradually build it up), along with fermented foods such as sauerkraut and pickles (in a salt brine not vinegar). Aim to have at least one, preferably two options each day.

Magnesium
This is a mineral that a huge number of people are severely deficient in. It is suspected to contribute to a lot of health issues, and none more than anxiety. Stress and magnesium are intrinsically linked – stress stops us being able to absorb nutrients properly, but magnesium is critical for stress management too. Because anxiety is a stress on your body, often people with anxiety are chronically deficient in magnesium. Add in as many of these foods every single day as you can:

• Nuts – especially almonds and brazil
  
• Seeds – especially pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds
• Whole brown rice
• Dark chocolate – 75% or more cacao
• Chick peas
• Dark green leafy vegetables
  

Vitamin D
There is new evidence out now showing a strong link between Vitamin D and the management of depression and anxiety. Fresh air and a healthy amount of sunshine makes a huge difference in managing anxiety. We need sunshine to be able to absorb Vitamin D properly, and with the amount of sun safe promoting out now, some people are actually not getting enough. There is a fine line between too much and not enough, but a healthy amount of sun exposure regularly is recommended, as well as having the following foods which contain Vitamin D (you need to combine these foods with sunshine however to ensure you get their benefits):

• Egg yolk
• Fatty Fish
  
• Liver
  
• Mushrooms
  

If your anxiety levels are still significant and are having a detrimental affect on your health and life, then please consult a professional for further advice and help, however for many people I know who suffer with anxiety, these five points have made a huge difference.

Other points to consider are also to ensure you are getting enough exercise to boost your ‘feel-good’ hormones, learn to love yourself so you aren’t fighting a constant battle of not being good enough, ensure you get at least 7 hours of restful sleep each night, and create a peaceful living environment with no clutter and disorganisation.