Lisa's Blog: Workout videos, fitness and nutrition advice, health tips and recipes. - Fitness with Lisa

Cajuan Spiced Chicken on Spinach with Salad

31/1/2013

1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Ground Rock or Sea Salt
1 x 150g Chicken Breast diced
1 tsp Olive Oil
2 cups of Spinach
1 cup Large Leaf Watercress
5 Cherry Tomatoes
2 Baby Corn Ears

Mix all of the spices together and cover the diced chicken breast. Heat the olive oil and gently stir fry the chicken. Once cooked place on top of the spinach and arrange the watercress, cherry tomatoes and baby corn to the side of the plate.

For those interested in calories it is approximately 340 cals.

Emotional Eating

25/1/2013

Emotional eating was a topic on this mornings Daybreak programme. I'm sure we would all agree that we are or have been emotional eaters, it's hard to avoid. Ever felt miserable and reached for a cheer me up chocolate bar or box, maybe a cream cake, or a family size bag of crisps? Or in contrast, ever felt so stressed or unhappy that food of any description just can't be tackled? Maybe you've been elated and in a celebratory mood or environment and lavished in eating mounds of rich food with copious amounts of alcohol to wash it down? Or you've simply over indulged repeatedly regardless of emotional dips and peaks?

So can we avoid emotional eating? Or is it again a case of keeping a balance?

I love all food and a good glass of wine, may I add. Those who know me would agree I eat alot! I have also had my fair share of lows and highs in life. However, I try to keep a balance of healthy eating and exercise during the week, with weekend treats of whatever I fancy.

With extremes of emotional states I know it is very difficult to be good all of the time, but all of the time, for many, would be boring or too restrictive; so why aim for 100%? How about 80% of the time?

To help cope with emotional eating, EXERCISE is a great self help strategy. It helps improve self esteem, reduces stress, wards of anxiety and depression, it can also encourage fat loss, increases energy levels, strengthens bones and muscles, plus lowers blood pressure. Basically EXERCISE can help us keep our emotions in check. If we learn how to keep them balancing on a slight see-saw, instead of a huge one, we may be able to avoid losing control of eating and drinking due to our emotional state.

Therefore, I believe our emotions and state of mind play a big part in our eating and drinking habits. The key is everything in moderation, not excess! If necessary seek advise and talk about it, take control of the situation.

Life is a roller coaster full of happy occasions as well as sad, so try to manage your lifestyle through the "ride of life!!"

SNOW!!!!!

21/1/2013

SORRY NO CLASSES IN STAMFORD THIS EVE, MON 21st JAN!
Bluecoat School is closed due to the snow.

Recipe for Salmon with Ginger Chilli & Garlic

20/1/2013

150g Salmon
1-2 tsp Fresh Ginger chopped or crushed
1 Chilli sliced seeds in or out
1 Garlic Clove sliced or crushed
Zest of a small Orange
1 tbsp Fresh Orange Juice squeezed
1 tbsp Soya Sauce or Coconut Aminos
1 Cup of cooked Basmati Brown Rice optional
1 Cup of cooked Broccoli

Marinade the Salmon in a blend of all the sauce ingredients for half an hour or longer. Make a foil dish placing Salmon and sauce in it and then seal all edges. Double wrap with another sheet of foil if you fear the foil splitting. Cook in the oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes (if Salmon steak is thin reduce time to 20-25 mins).
Serve with the rice and broccoli. Half a cup of dried rice usually makes 1 cup of cooked rice.

For those interested in calories it is approximately 540 cals.
Without rice and a second cup of broccoli instead it is approximately 380 cals.

Coconut Aminos is a clean alternative to soya sauce.

When should I see results?

16/1/2013

A frequently ask question, so I will briefly explain. There is no set time frame for results to be noticed, we are all different, eating differently and exercising differently. However, you may well feel results from day one. Are your muscles sore? If the answer is yes then results are coming. Are you hungry? No that's not starving, yet many people over eat not allowing the body to tell them it's ready for fuel. If you are allowing the body to feel hungry, results are pending.
As your body adjusts to exercise and nutritional changes it is preparing to deliver results. Initially the body may well resist and some people adapt more easily than others. However, providing you do not give in to the body's resistance to accept the new lifestyle, it will have no choice other than to change and you will see results.
Stay focused, keep at it and it will be worth it!

Recipe for Spinach Chilli & Tomato Omlette

14/1/2013

3 Small Eggs
10 Cherry Tomatoes
2 Cups of Spinach
1 Chilli
1 tsp Coconut Oil or Olive Oil
Black Pepper to taste

Whisk the eggs together, slice the cherry tomatoes in half and slice the chilli (seeds in or out, up to you). Heat 1 tsp of desired oil covering pan base lightly. Add tomatoes and chilli and gently heat. Then add the spinach, heating until it just starts to wilt and finally add the eggs to the pan making sure they join the contents together. Continue to cook gently until the base of the omelette turns golden and then place the pan under the grill for the top to do the same.
Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with black pepper if you wish and enjoy

For those interested in the calorie content it is approximately 320 cals.

Week 2 and Snow

14/1/2013

After a lovely, lazy, relaxed weekend I'm ready for week 2. All of my sore muscles from week 1 have revived and I'm looking forward to the week ahead.

SNOW - I said we would pay for so many mild weeks through December and the freezing temperatures and snow are now here. However, it does not stop me, so I plan to see all clients and classes as normal this week. If you're scheduled for an outdoor workout with me, just wrap up warm, remember base layers, a hat and gloves.
For Stamford and remote areas, if the weather does become severe and dangerous, I will update the blog, Facebook, Twitter and if needed texts/emails will go out for any cancellations.

This as just caught my eye from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas - the prototype Hapifork. A fork that can help you slim............should I laugh?
According to Phillipe Monterio de Rocha, an engineer with the company Hapilab that have developed the fork.
"It has a capacity sensor in the handle which monitors the speed you eat"
Eat too fast and the fork vibrates reminding you to slow down. It takes 20 minutes to feel full, so if less is eaten in that time, you'll be on the way to being thinner.

Now this fork goes on sale in the US this summer for $99 and in the UK later this year for £60!!!

Yes I'm laughing now!
Self discipline costs...........ZERO!

First Week Back 2013

11/1/2013

After my most restful Christmas and New Year in years, I am at the end of my first working week for 2013. Now Monday night my body felt as if it was going into full protest and complete shock! Aerobics had me "puffing like a good un" and instead of the Christmas vino I had been supplying it, water wasn't having the same affect, albeit definitely needed.

So, if this week included your first exercise session for weeks, months, years or ever and your muscles feel sore and it was all a struggle - it's normal!! Don't let this stop you, my attitude is, "if you're sore do more". Get the body warmed up the next day and the blood pumping back to those sore muscles by doing a bit more of the same. For me it helps recovery and also prevents sitting back on that sofa indefinitely.

Expect some soreness and look at it as a compliment from the body telling you you worked it well and put in lots effort. I'm sorry but "no pain no gain" carries some truth. Praise your achievements instead of wallowing in excuses for never doing it again. Nothing worth doing ever comes easy, but it is worth it!

Caroline at Stamford class Wednesday said, "it's good to get back to normal" to which I replied, with a big smile, " that's how it should feel, normal to be here".

Exercise only becomes normal when you've made a habit of it and it's part of your weekly routine. When that routine is interrupted it's then that it should feel abnormal, with you craving to get moving again.

So learn to relish your workouts, carry on, move forward and exercise like you and your body deserve it. Don't treat exercise as a punishment or dread it, learn to love it!!

Since Monday each day as got easier and yes, I am still sore in places, but that feels great!