What I Eat & Healthy Eating

My most asked questions I get asked on Instagram is "What do you eat?" What type of diet do you follow?" How do you lose weight"

I must be asked 20 times a day what I eat so I promised I would do a quick blog.

To be honest its really simple and definitely not complicated.

So I will try to answer them all on this blog.

I am not a dietician or a nutritionist but speaking from life experience at 65.

I once asked this question about losing weight myself to someone in the know in the body building industry, and they replied "don't focus on body weight but focus on body tone and that was probably the best advice I ever got.

Twenty years ago or so I would get up in the morning and weigh myself and do the same again in the afternoon, but now I don't, as I basically maintain my weight year in year out and not worrying about the calories but focusing on the type of food and the quality of the food.

I think you have to keep in mind that just because you are slim doesn't mean you have a good body. To me, a good bod is toned and shapely, not skinny. I have seen people that are skinny fat and even though they might be slim they don't have toned bodies.

You can eat an apple or a small piece of cake and both will have the same calories but the apple is far better nutritionally for you.

I will share with you what I eat on a normal day and its all pretty straight forward and definitely not complicated to cook. We eat out about 4 times during the week and I will share what would be a typical meal to eat out.

Remember what I eat is not trying to lose weight but maintain. I will suggest what I would eat if I wanted to lose weight.

First of all I will start with:

Things I don't do

1. I don't weigh myself . I know by my clothes and what I have put in my mouth. Your fork doesn't lie!

2. I don't make excuses eg I'm tired, I'm cold, I'm hot, I have hot sweats, its the weekend, I'm on holiday, its beer o'clock

3. I don't eat protein bars or protein shakes. All my nutrition comes from food

4. I don't eat from a packet ( the only exception would be dry biscuits)

5. I don't take any vitamins. I have tried them and they didn't make any difference

6. I don't eat takeaway food or fast food. If I am really short on time I will heat up baked beans and have it on toast. That's real fast food

7. I don't add sugar. All my sugar comes from fruit

8. I don't count calories

9. I don't say I'm going to start to be good in the New year , on a Monday etc . I'm always mindful and never have to diet anymore

Things I do:

1. I focus on body tone not weight

2. I'm consistent

3. I eat when I'm hungry

4. I eat what is in season

5. I eat fresh food

6. I drink alcohol only on weekends or if we are with friends. Its quite Ok to go to a restaurant and not drink

7. We eat out a lot but I will still make good food choices

8. I make healthy nibbles to go with drinks, eg pumpernickel, cucumber and smoked salmon

9. I drink lots of water, about 2 or 3 litres a day.

10. I drink lots of herbal tea. I love adding lots of fresh ginger, turmeric , lime to my black tea

11. I do Bikram yoga 5 days a week , I go to the gym 5 days per week

12. I use my Ashley Black fascia blaster on my legs 5 days per week to keep cellulite at bay. I have used this for 8 years and swear by it.

A normal days food

I find the older I get the simpler I want food to be and don't want to be faffing around all day with food. I just want very simple and easy food choices.

I always start the day with 3 large glasses of water at room temperature , followed by a big pot of black tea with a teabag, cut up turmeric, ginger and half a lime. I also enjoy adding cucumber and cracked black pepper to it. It sounds weird but I just love it.

I never have breakfast until about midday as I'm really busy until then. I used to have it around 9 but since teaching yoga I never get home until midday.

I still manage to fit in 3 meals during the day.

Breakfast:

Breakfast will consist of chopped up fresh fruit in season, pineapple, apple, papaya, dragon fruit with a squeeze of lime over the papaya. I don't weigh stuff but lets say 1 cup of each.

I will then have one of the following:

I will then make some porridge made with water. I will have about half a cup of dried porridge and then cook it with water for a couple of minutes.

I then add about a half teaspoon of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of turmeric. Turmeric is really good for health.

Into the porridge I will add about 5 chopped dried dates, a banana, coconut flakes and top it up with milk and a dessertspoon of honey . I also like it topped up with prune juice instead of milk.

or

3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoons of flax seeds, ! tablespoon of chia seeds, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, half a banana, 4 chopped up dates, about a cup of chopped papaya, half a dragon fruit, half a mango, half a cup of pineapple, grated coconut and then about a dessertspoon of honey on top.

or

If I want a change I will have two slices of wholegrain bread with 2 eggs and a big salad.

or

If I feel like a change I will have 2 pieces of wholemeal toast with no butter, honey, 1 mashed up banana and avocado with honey and topped with some chopped dates. I'll sprinkle some coconut flakes over the top.

Here's one that I love on the weekend for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast.

We love a smoothie and that is basically filling up a blender with all the tropical fruits, dates, Greek yogurt , (about 5 tablespoons ), (its still really nice without the yogurt), dried coconut flakes, an avocado, flax seeds, cold water and blending it all. The blender is so full that I have to smash it down to blend it. If I can fit it in I will add a few tablespoons of porridge oats. Hubby and I will share the smoothie.

Lunch :

Is usually around 2 and will be something simple as dry biscuits with tinned chilli tuna with tomato and cucumber or a chicken salad.

Dinner :

Is simple like a chicken curry with rice, a big bowl of thick chicken soup , chick peas, packed with vegetables, chicken breast or fish and salad or veggies.

Dessert:

I always enjoy an apple cut into quarters for dessert midweek.

If we go out I have whatever is offered.

Now that's simple and easy and no calorie counting.

Extras:

At the start of most weeks into the slow cooker I will throw in dried beans, all sorts of vegetables and make a soup. I will usually blend it and have it in the fridge if we want a little extra. I use whatever vegetables are in season. We will often have this around 4ish before we go for an evening walk.

We have dinner if at home around 7pm. Our housekeeper will have all the vegetable prepared so its nice and simple.

We basically eat anything and everything, but don't eat much red meat at all, and might eat it only once a year. It's not that we are vegetarian but its more that is hard to get tender steak here in Bali. So we stick to chicken and fish.

We often cook a pasta dish that will be tomato based with chicken tenderloin or breast chopped up and cooked in olive oil and chilli. We then add loads of stir fried vegetables and I mean loads, broccoli, onion, red pepper, spinach, eggplant, pumpkin, kale, cauliflower, zucchini and whatever is in season. These will also be stir fried with chilli and a little oil.

After I cook some pasta and drain it, I will mix the vegetables into the pasta with the chicken, add some tomato paste and a tomato based sauce. I now add some sundried tomatoes with some of the oil, fresh basil and we are ready to eat.

Another super easy chicken dish I like to make is an easy crumbed chicken breast. There is definitely no mucking around here and so so simple. Grab yourself a chicken breast, slice it through the middle so its nice and thin. On a small plate put a dollop of full fat mayo, next plate mix 1 cup of panko bread crumbs and a quarter cup of grated parmesan cheese. If you don't have panko breadcrumbs you can use ordinary breadcrumbs, crushed Weetabix or even porridge. I've used them all and all just fine. I just work with what I have. ... The KISS method Keep it Simple Stupid.

You can either put them in a frypan with no or little oil and cook each side for a few mins or whack them in the oven for about 15mins.

I will top these with avocado slices and some Kewpi sesame dressing. So easy.

I will usually serve this with potatoes that have been prepared in the morning chopped into cubes with the skin still on, microwaved for about 5 mins , drained, a splash of oil and dried herbs, salt and pepper.

When I'm cooking the chicken I will put the potatoes in either the same frypan or a smaller one and fry them off..... so easy and so yum.

We usually eat steamed broccoli with this or whatever is in season.

If we have fish it will probs be a piece of salmon or snapper. I like to marinate this in kechep manis. I just love this sauce and you can add it to pork, noodles or whatever.

I will panfry the fish and marinade and serve with potatoes and vegetables.

Another easy fave is to marinate chicken tenderloin or breast in the ketchep manis, fry with a tiny bit of oil and serve warm over a salad packed with anything and everything.

During the day I will have 2 mugs of cappuccino, green tea and before bed a hot chocolate.

So that's basically how home food rolls.... fresh, simple and has to be quick.

Eating out

We eat out a fair amount in Bali but I unintentionally make good choices. I just prefer good food and know what type of food serves me best. I rarely have an entrée these days or might share one with hubby. I find if there is bread and butter or oil that I will dive into that as I just love it.

When ordering I will generally choose something I won't cook at home. I rarely have dessert but may share one with hubby. I'm usually full from the bread. 10 years ago I would always have dessert but I find these days I have lost interest.

Lunch out will be a chicken salad, club sandwich or nasi goreng usually washed down with ice tea.

We often have coffee out in the afternoon and they kindly give us a free doughnut that I will really enjoy.

I don't do fast food and you will never find me in McDonalds unless its to use the loo or free Wi-Fi.

I know when I've had to go there I will bring my own banana, order raisin toast with honey and a coffee. I will smoosh my banana onto the toast and enjoy a healthy snack.

Alcohol

I think this is a killer for most people as its very easy to enjoy a few glasses or a bottle each night. These days I prefer just to have a drink 1 to 2 nights a week. Alcohol has no nutritional benefits that I know of so if I stick to my plan and that way on the weekend I really enjoy it and it's a treat.

If I was advising someone about losing weight I think its a lot to do with portion control, reducing alcohol, and just good basic food. It has to be a long term plan or you'll be forever on a diet and who wants that?

So that's basically it in a nutshell and remember.... I'm not a dietician or nutritionist but I have a lot of life experience and this works for me and I never have to start a diet. Now, that's gotta be a good thing.

My aim has never wanting to be skinny.... I much rather a shapely figure.

I use my fascia blaster 5 to 6 days per week.

Here is the link to my fave kit. I t does your face and body.

Click the link on the picture.

I truly believe that being in good shape is 80% food and 20% exercise. We all know what we need to do and..... we just have to apply it.

I promise you that you will feel wonderful and be confident in your own skin.

Yours in health, fashion and fitness.

Sheila

Call Me A Gypsy