My recent Article for Whole Life Challenge breaks down all you need to know about Cooking with Coconut Oil! Cooking with fats and oils can be really confusing and hard to understand so throughout my article I go into detail about how oils change when you heat them, their smoke points and what is healthy and not so healthy. I also talk about the level of refinement and how this process produces trans fats which are lethal.
I was lucky enough to be a guest instructor with along side the amazing multiple time world champ and total badass Hannette Staack for the Grapplin' Gals event in Seattle. The weekend was kicked off with my Co Ed Seminar on Friday followed by a Women's Seminar on Saturday where I was able to meet some truly inspiration peeps!
We were also lucky to be joined by 6 other black belts who show case their skills. It truly was a huge event!
A massive thank you goes to the Grapplin' Gals is the organisation and Sonia Sillan who organised this amazing event!
Do you find yourself reaching for a large latte or two to get you through the day?! Or have you been tempted to skip a workout because you're too tired and get take away for dinner? Well this can not only explain the reason why are you are struggling to lose weight but may cause you to be less motivated to get moving!
Ensuring you get enough shut-eye is as important to your health, well-being and your weight as are diet and exercise! Achieving less than seven hours of sleep per night can reduce and undo some of benefits from weight loss. As when you have a “sleepy” brain it ultimately sets your brain up to make poor decisions, therefore dulling the activity into the brain's frontal lobe that is in charge of decision-making and impulse control! (TIP: Don’t do your weekly grocery shopping on little sleep!!)
Other than the effect on your brain function, insufficient sleep can affect your levels of insulin. Insulin regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein by promoting the absorption of, especially, glucose from the blood into fat, liver and skeletal muscle cells. So when insulin is functional well, the fat cells remove fatty acids and lipids from your bloodstream and prevent storage. BUT if you consistently don’t allow yourself enough sleep you will become more insulin resistant eventually leading to excess insulin which ends up as stored fat in all the wrong places!!
Enough of the fact and onto some tips to help you ensure you get at least 7 hours of sleep!
These tips are pretty basic but trust me they you will see the results!
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Last Saturday, I had the privilege to be a guest instructor at Triton Fight Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. It was so amazing to be teaching so many women. Thank you Girls in Gis for the opportunity and Triton Bjj for hosting us.
And most of all a huge thank you to the 150 Ladies who came! I feel very honoured to be able to share my knowledge and experience with such an inspiring group of women!
Already counting down until the next Girls in Gis Event in Las Vegas on August 27th! Stay tuned for more info!!
This weekend I will be teaching a Seminar in Seattle with multiple time World Champion Hannette Staack. We will each be teaching a seminar and womens workshop. This will be an epic event where you will not only learn heaps and of course have a great time! There is loads going on that has been organised by Grapplin' Gals!
Book your spot HERE! The event is with Grapplin' Gals and you can find them on FB HERE!
Look forward to seeing you all there!
Many of my clients are busy career people who have jobs that involve quite a lot of travel. So as you can imagine the question I get asked a lot is 'What do I eat when I am travelling?' This spurred me on to write this article which was recently published in Whole Life Challenge Magazine. Here I list the worst to best places to eat and what they have to offer, ranging from gas stations to restaurants at the airport. For those who travel, this is really informative. You can read the whole article here:
https://www.wholelifechallenge.com/how-to-keep-eating-healthy-when-you-travel/
I wrote this next article also published in Whole Life Challenge Magazine because many of my clients do not know how to make healthy choices when eating out. I was finding that during the work week their diets were good since they stuck to their programs. But during the weekends while eating out, they blew their diets because of a plethora of bad choices such as too much alcohol, breads, dips and and other starters loaded with calories. Then there was the mains, and of course desserts. And then there was also the factor of portion control.
This article is pretty much a step by step guide as to eating out with a list of food to avoid and food to enjoy. You can read the whole article here:
https://www.wholelifechallenge.com/how-to-order-healthy-food-when-youre-at-a-restaurant/
Turmeric may be one of the most effective nutritional supplement due to its major benefits on not only on your body but on your brain! Turmeric really is a superhero spice! It contains a wide range of antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties! To add the to the list of benefits, it is also loaded with many nutrients such as protein, dietary fibre, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Sodium, Potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc! And it has been found from over 6000 + studies that when turmeric is compared to conventional medicine its benefits EQUAL that of many pharmaceutical medications!!
As well as all the benefits above it has been found that a particular component of turmeric has the ability to prevent premature aging, reduce depression, manage arthritis and blood sugar!! How amazing is Turmeric!
Turmeric is one of those spices that can really be added to any meal, breakfast through to dessert! To help you with including Turmeric into your day I have included a few yummy recipes below. This shows you how simple it is to add extra nutritional value to each and every meal!
1 cup of coconut water
½ a teaspoon of turmeric (fresh or dried)
½ a teaspoon of ginger
Juice of a lemon
½ teaspoon of sea salt
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper or ground chilli (optional - for an extra ZING)
1 teaspoon of honey (optional)
Place ingredients in a blender and give it whirl. Add lemon juice, sea salt and honey to taste!
2 cups fresh kale
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups pineapple
1 cup mango
Juice of ½ lemon
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon to 1/2 ground turmeric to taste
Blend all ingredients until smooth and enjoy!
2 eggs
Handful of Spinach
Handful of kale
1 Medium Sweet potato, diced & pre cooked
Handful of chopped Cherry tomatoes
Teaspoon of turmeric
Whisk two eggs with turmeric, pour into a lightly greased with coconut oil pan.
Pour the whisked eggs into the pan, allowing it to settle for a bit. Then place on one side of the omelette, spinach, kale, sweet potato and tomatoes. Leave it to cook for a little then flip the opposite side to close it up like a sandwich.
Leave to cook for few minutes.
Remove from pan and serve with some avocado, salt and pepper to season.
Marinade
2 x Chicken breast
Tablespoon of turmeric
2 sprigs of oregano
Juice of a lemon
Dressing
2 x tablespoons of Greek yogurt
Tablespoon of turmeric
Juice of ½ a lemon
Marinate chicken breasts for 30 minutes to 1 hr in the fridge. Pre-heat the oven at 250 degrees. Place chicken breasts on baking tray and cook for 30 minutes or until golden.
While cooking prep the dressing, 1 tablespoon of turmeric with Greek yogurt and a touch of lemon juice and stir.
Serve Chicken with a grated carrot & zucchini, corn, mixed beans of your choice & a handful of spinach! ENJOY!
