Pleasurable weightloss book review

Hey guys

As usual long time to no speak, I know its been awhile since I have created a new post. I am pretty busy these days so I won't be making posts too often. Since its been awhile I decided to create a new post and not only that but I felt inspired to do a book review on this audio book I just finished listening to called "Pleasurable weight loss" by Jena La Flamme.

Now you may be wondering why I was reading a book on weight loss when I already lost tons of weight well heres whats been going on, ever since last year I was dealing with lot of stress and anxiety and it lead me back to eating unhealthy and I sought to seek help from other sources be it books or magazines. Even though I have lost tons of weight which I have managed to keep most of it off I still have an unhealthy relationship with food which I am trying to overcome I am in no way saying that I am anorexic, I really am NOT its just that sometimes I turn to a bar of chocolate for comfort and sometimes I restrict myself too much or I feel guilty for overindulging, this however has been a result of stress as I was most of the time in a negative mind set which  EVERY woman goes through, that of course can trigger someone to have weight problems back when I started my journey I was less stressed so therefore I found it a lot more easier to lose weight plus I was also struggling to find time for exercise which I have finally found the time for as my schedule changed and am now happily back in routine for as remembered that its never good to make excuses.

You guys need to understand though that being on a weight loss journey is not only a journey where you are losing weight it is also a learning journey. I am still learning to lose weight despite my massive weightloss so I have decided to read books about this topic which could help me to develop new and healthier habits which I would recommend you to do too! :)

Ok on to the review now

I stumbled across this book when I went to the Mind, Body Spirit festival here in Sydney. I went to the book stand and found the book there, however I didn't purchase the book, I found it interesting but chose not to purchase it at that time. I came across it again when I went to a website called soundstrue.com and figured I'd purchase the audio book. And that is how I stumbled across this book.

I will just briefly summarize what the book is really about.
First of all it is NOT a diet book, it does not tell you what you should and should not eat its more based on respecting your own body and how to enjoy your food in a pleasurable manner by referring to your body as an animal and that you should think of your body as a "She" It sort of does tell you what to eat but it also tells HOW to eat as in eating slowly and mindfully, the book also gives advise on how to reduce stress and how stress triggers weight gain as well as live a pleasurable life. The author's main point though is that the more pleasure you have the more easy it will be to lose weight as stress is one of the main causes of weight gain. It also tells you that you can lose weight enjoying less as in eating less. As you can see its more of a self help book.

My Pros on the book
I really love how compassionate the author Jena La Flamme is and also love the idea of weight loss being pleasurable not only because I like it but also because I find that it makes sense as weight loss doesn't have to be hard and it can be enjoyable even I knew that before listening to the book! Plus it does make sense how stress is the main cause to weight gain as it is the thing that causes many people to eat more in order to feel better and also stress interferes with the metabolism which causes high cortisol levels which brings me to another thing that makes sense is that when you want to lose weight sometimes you may feel stressed out about it because you may feel intimidated by how someone else looks and you may constantly think that you must look a certain way to be more appealing which can cause a lot of stress which on top of that creates more stress! I really like how the author advises you to be at peace with your body not judge yourself or compare yourself to others and how you should be thankful for the body you have. I also like the advise on enjoying your food and how you should never think of food as your enemy or your weakness plus the advise on how unhealthy and useless it is to body shame yourself and how loving yourself is important. I also really enjoyed listening to her own story with her struggles and how she overcame her problems on the issue of weight loss as well as self acceptance. Another pro is that if you are the kind of person is sick and tired of counting calories and you just got out of it than this is the book you will want to read as this book teaches you how to enjoy food by eating less.

My Cons on the book
I really love the overall message of this book however there was one small thing that threw me off a bit heck I think this was the only thing I didn't like about the book. There are a few chapters in the book where she advises Vegans/Vegetarians to give meat a try! I felt really offended and slightly put off on that part as I found that it made no sense! OK here's the thing whats the point in eating food that doesn't give you pleasure? Meat does NOT give me pleasure, the author however mentions that she used to be a vegetarian and that when she ate meat she felt active and that it made her feel better. I STILL have my disagreements on this subject because I have had my fare share of how eating meat gave me/her NO pleasure whatsoever as I don't like the taste of it and I don't like the amount of cruelty there is around it as a lot of these poor animals are suffering every day in those farms. I'll stick to my beans, quinoa and tofu thanks, My animal agrees! If you are vegan or vegetarian I understand if you are turned off however I am not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater on this one as almost all the advice in this is still useful and all women at the end of the day should learn to love their body. Now another con would be that  men won't be able to relate to this book as it is more geared towards women so sorry to all the men reading this blog :(
Another con would be that some might find it a bit carnal, as in sometimes she will talk about how to be sexual or feel sexy etc I'll admit there is a lot of talk about sex in this book well I don't see that as much of a con as I can see how sexuality and weight loss goes in hand in hand as many people want to lose weight to appear more sexy or to feel sexy I would assume that that is what the authors point is on discussing that subject in the book the only reason I am mentioning this is because I stumbled upon some comments on amazon that mentioned this which I can understand as for some people weight loss has more to do with non sexual issues such as health and feeling your best plus sex isn't the only reason most people want to lose weight the reasons can vary for different people.

How the book benefited me
This book has really changed my perspective on weight loss even though I am still trying to fix my relationship with food I really am trying to take into practice most of Jena La Flemmes teachings. I am still trying to accept my body as it is, I'll admit that it is really hard when there are certain parts of your body that you really hate it will probably take time for me to practice these teachings. I have been trying to put into practice the art of chewing my food slowly as well as not watching TV while I am eating or reading as that leads to mindless eating which can trigger weight gain as your mind won't be aware that you have eaten. To be honest though I always knew that eating while multitasking was a bad thing I really found that this book was more detailed about it compared to other sources I had come across as this book went more in dept about how this sort of eating triggers weight problems as well as binge eating problems. This book has made me look more into intuitive eating as now I have decided on reading more books about intuitive eating. Now I know that I have encouraged calorie counting on this blog, I am not saying that calorie counting doesn't work or isn't useful it is but it can be exhausting as well as stressful and sometimes its nice to simply enjoy your food without having to worry about how many calories your're eating  which is something along with learning to accept my body the way it is, I want to take into practice these things I have discovered through listening to this audio book. Again I don't like that this book encouraged me to eat meat I just ignored that part of the book I can't tell you how much that part of the book made me cringe! I really dread that part of the book that in no way benefited me I don't care if she used to be vegetarian that part of the book is not for me!

Would I recommend this book?
 I would also recommend it to people who can't stand counting calories or like me sick of counting calories as it teaches you how to eat moderately without counting calories by eating slow and not multitasking for example it tells you that when you chew your food slowly and put your focus on what you are eating you will be able to enjoy your food more and you won't feel any need to eat more whereas if you eat mindlessly you won'y enjoy your food and you will feel the need to eat more. Overall if you really hate your body and are constantly body shaming yourself than I say you MUST read this book as you have no idea how much you are damaging yourself by doing that! I am being serious if you are doing that, than please save your money and buy this book it may change your life!

Would I recommend it to vegans/Vegetarians?
Now as far as recommending it to people who are vegan/vegetarian, I would still recommend it but I would suggest ignoring the part where she recommends you to eat meat and focus more on what the rest of the book says. The main advice of this book is to learn how to receive pleasure from your food. I know meat is not something that may give you pleasure so I would encourage that you continue your life style and don't let anything or anyone tell you to stop. You don't have to eat meat in order to follow what this book tells you. There are probably other books similar to this that won't discourage you from your vegetarian lifestyle. However I would not recommend throwing the baby out with the bathwater as this book still has a lot of useful advice.

My rating and where to buy it
I rate this book 4 stars for obvious reasons as you know I love the overall advice just not the eating meat part.

And that is it for my review on this book I hope you enjoyed this review, hope you found it useful whether  you saw this book somewhere and was curious or whether you want to read a good book on weight loss. I do plan on reading more books similar to this one and might do reviews on those books in the future if I ever get a chance to read them.

First off I must I am not being sponsored just showing where you can buy the book.
I bought the audio book from this website which is the soundstrue website:
http://www.soundstrue.com/store/catalogsearch/result/?q=pleasurable%20weightloss

You can also purchase the book from amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasurable-Weight-Loss-Secrets-Feeling/dp/1622034147

Have fun and good luck on your your journey!

Love
Alice

Where on earth have I been!... oh and happy new year! + tips for the new year

Hey guys,

long time no talk.

Okay so I have not been blogging much lately and there is just so much that has been happening in my life lately.

I am now going to update you on how I have been doing on my journey and I must say, I have not been doing very well as far as my eating habits are concerned. You must be shocked to find this all out I mean, I am very hell bent on keeping a positive mind and everything but I have slipped up a few times already, especially during Christmas but that is not the main reason why, its just that this year was a big change for me because new things happened this past year of 2014 I had to look for jobs(still have to) Joined a gospel singing group, started volunteer work and I dealt with a lot of stress which led me to slip up here and there despite attempting to get back on track multiple times, There were so many things I wanted to do last year that I never managed to do due to a lot of stress, I am not going to go into any detail as it is personal but. my plan was to do turbo fire then couldn't do due to stuff interefreing with the workout schedule and stress, later on I got the T25 DVD set wanted to do then I couldn't due to stress and other things I won't mention. And that's pretty much it.

on the plus side though towards the end of last year I went for this really amazing, Meditation and yoga course called Art of living, it is an awesome course and it is great for stress I highly recommend it if you have to time to do it. It is great because it teaches you how to handle stress as well how to live a positive life and all sorts of harsh things life throws at you. Plus they teach special breathing exercises and meditations which you can incorporate into your daily life which I plan to do this year. be sure to check out their website.

                                                         http://www.artofliving.org/au-en



And even though my eating habits have gone bad oh gosh, I don't even want to mention how I have been eating these past few days. God help me but anyway the other good thing is that I have been exercising with this game called Wii active, I have both of the first and second additions. If you own a Wii console I highly recommend getting yourselves these games they are perfect for if you are new to working out and you don't know where to start. I highly recommend getting both of these games because the first one I find is great as it has a lot of upper and lower body workouts and it also has a 30 day challenge you can do plus you can also customize your own set of workouts. the second one is similar but what makes it a little bit better is that it includes warm ups and cool downs whereas the first one doesn't and it also includes workouts such as abdominal workouts and push ups which the first one also does not include and also it has a step aerobics class, and it has a six week challenge.


The next thing well I haven't been doing it but its part of my workout schedule for today and its zumba! which as you can tell in the picture is the Wii version, I have other zumba games but they are the xbox version but you can also get the xbox version of this one which is the Zumba fitness 2.  If you own the A Wii or xbox I recommend getting Zumba, that is if you enjoy dance workouts. There DVDs are great too.

I have also been reading this awesome magazines on health and fitness my favorite so far is the women's health and fitness magazines. I really love the articles and health and fitness tips they share. Fitness magazines are definitely a great thing if you want tips on how to lose weight in a safe and healthy way. they also provide you with healthy recipes for healthy meals.




AND NOW HERE ARE MY TIPS FOR THE NEW YEAR.

1. Don't be Vague

The conman thing most people want when they start the new year is to be fit and healthy as part of their new years resolution. Well you should make it a resolution to be healthy everyday not every year I know its hard, its hard for me too but it really should be something that you should do everyday because there is a lot of work to be done when it comes to losing weight or being fit and healthy. What I am trying to say is don't make that goal Vague don't tell yourself "This year I am going to be fit and healthy" ok thats great! but HOW are you going to achieve that? What tasks do you need to do etc. What workouts are you gonna do? What will you cook? Are going to stick to a plan which you know will work? These are things you need to consider. The best thing to do here is plan your workout schedules and plan what you will cook.

Set yourself mini tasks for example if you have bought yourself a bunch of workout DVDs make yourself a monthly schedule so that way you won't be confused as to what your workout routine will be for the day. You can custom make your own workout schedule.

Next is plan your meals plan what you will cook for your lunch your dinners etc.

ALL I AM SAYING IS PLAN AHEAD AND SET TASKS

2. Try not to let stress get in your way of your plans

This is one that has really gotten myself of track. Stress can hinder a weight loss plan or fitness plan. I am in no way saying that you should get rid of it all together as some stress is ok, it just needs to be managed. If you tell yourself "Don't be stressed" accept that you feel that way don't fight how you feel because what you resist will persist. But remember exercise can help reduce stress, I recommend kick boxing exercises like taebo or turbo fire. And of course meditation is also good but I sort of gave you this tip already but it will really benefit you if you join a meditation course like Art of living. I also recommend chamomile tea which can help soothe the nerves.

And those are all my tips, I know they are not a lot but then again at least I am not overwhelming too many tips. But I would really like to share some other really useful things that I think will help you out. So I am going to share with you this really great informative video I came across and it really made me think.

A lot of what this video shares about white sugar in particular is really similar to what I talked about in my previous posts like about how if you eat too much of  it you crave it more, however I find that this video gives a way better explanation then I did.

Before I finish I am going to talk about what my plans are. My plan really is to make more posts on this blog as I really feel that it will help keep me motivated and I have also set my own customized workout plan for this month with my Jillian Michaels DVDs which I'd rather share with you all in a different post. I am also going to avoid white sugar for a week which is my main goal that is also something I will talk more about in another post. All in all I plan on using this blog to help me stay on track.

And thats all for today I hope this post helped motivate you and if you have been following this blog sorry for the lack of updates.

Happy belated new year and may your resolutions succeed this year!

Happy 2015!

How to have a positive mind for weightloss in 10 steps!

Hey,

I know I haven't been posting much lately but I have recently been inspired to create a new post.
Stuff got it the way which I will explain more in another post.

You know guys ever since I've lost 31 kilos. People come to me for advice. Which is to be expected of course, as once you succeed people are gonna wanna know, how you did it and what drove you to do it etc.

Now I can only speak for what worked for myself, but I found that the main thing that got me to lose all this weight was a positive mind set. You may think that it sounds lame. I can tell you though that its better than thinking things like "I'm a failure" or "I don't believe in myself" or "I suck" etc. The problem with that mind set is that it will lead you to give up.

You guys need to understand that more than anything a positive mind is MORE important than just counting your calories or exercise, because think about it. Who's responsibility is it to brush your teeth, take a shower, go to work? that's right YOU It is your responsibility to commit. It is your mind that tells you "Okay, I have this to do this now, I shall do it" or "Okay I've gotta cook dinner now" It is your responsibility to commit yourself to exercise, count your calories and cook healthy meals.

But what if I don't have a positive mindset? 

Oh boy.......sigh.
I am sorry you feel this way. There is probably a reason why you don't have one and I think I know why. You just haven't developed one and passed failures may have led you to think this way about yourself. But don't worry just because you don't have a positive mindset it does NOT mean that you can't have one. You have the freedom to create a positive mindset! Who says you can't!?

Here are some steps to create one

Number 1
Stop thinking of yourself as a failure. I don't care if you failed 5, 6, or  1 billion times. Failures do happen, yes they do, its sad but you can't let them get in your way. It took me more than 5 times to lose 31 kilos and look where I am today. Mind you I fail a lot in things, for example I am still learning how to drive and I am still making mistakes, but I am not gonna let that stop me, I am not gonna quit taking lessons or call myself a failure even though there were times I did feel like a failure, but at the end of the day I am not gonna let stupid failures or mistakes stop me. It was the same thing when I lost all this weight. Besides I succeed because I failed. Because without mistake/failures how are you gonna learn?! If You fall off the horse all you have to do is climb back up again. In other words okay so you ate a whole Dominos Pizza yesterday along with other bad food like that snickers bar despite having that healthy breakfast you ate that morning and you didn't exercise are you gonna carry on the next day eating healthy meals and not cancel your exercise or are you gonna give up? or are you gonna continue your bad eating habits and allow yourself to gain more weight and label yourself  a failure instead of fixing your problems? The reason why you are overweight is NOT because you are a failure its because you are doing the wrong thing and you just haven't figured out how to do it properly.

Here's a quick tip!
If you find yourself failing again ask yourself "Okay why am I failing?' or "What am I doing wrong?"
The reason why most people fail on losing weight is because they could be doing an exercise that does not suit them or they could be eating a food that is healthy but they hate it. Those are common mistakes people make.

Number 2
Let go of your excuses. I use to make tons of excuses like for example as soon as I would eat something unhealthy I would think "Ok there goes my diet now I can't carry on". I would also make excuses to start later instead of now for example "Ok it's Easter now I'll put off healthy eating and exercise till next month". Another example is soreness after working out. Well that's something your body needs to get used, not only that but getting sore is actually a good thing because that means you are pushing hard and that you have something to  work up to. I know its unbearable but feeling the burn is a good thing. When I work out yes I do suffer I mean I did some abdominal works outs last night and it hurt! but I'm glad it did. I'm going to sound like a weirdo when I say this but I like it when my muscles are sore because it reminds of how hard I worked. I remember the time when I did the Jillian Michaels ripped in 30, the workouts from that DVD made my butt and thigh muscles really sore, like I just could not walk properly but I kept a positive mindset about the pain, so I enjoyed the pain, plus the pain would go away as I continued to do the workouts as my muscles got more used to the workouts. All in all if you are sore enjoy it. You may disagree but enjoying the pain helped me get through my workouts, in other words don't use sore muscles as an excuse to not workout. Another excuse I can think of is people using genetics as an excuse or saying that its hard those ARE excuses, I mean there are overweight people in my family but I didn't let that stop me from losing 31 kilos there also people in real life who came from families who were overweight but still managed to lose heaps of pounds and I could care less how hard losing weight is. I was told it would be hard but I didn't let that stop me. In other words guys and girls STOP MAKING EXCUSES!

Number 3
Don't believe or think that you are always gonna be fat/unhealthy or destined to be overweight and unhealthy. You NEED to get rid of that mindset. That is the main reason why you may be still having trouble losing weight. People think that their genes and level of difficulty of losing weight are the main thing, well that's only part of it. The other part is the mental part its not just the eating and the exercise. You must NEVER think that you are always going to be fat. Warning: if you think you are always going to to be fat or destined to be fat than you are gonna stay that way for the rest of your life! I'm serious! This is what leads so many people to fail, this is why so many people these days are unhealthy because they feel they have no control with their lives, they think its their body alone that does all the work when really its the way they think about fitness and health. They always think things like this "Well my mum was fat, my grandma was fat my great grandma was fat.... so yeah I'm meant to be fat" Let me tell you guys that is not true! it doesn't matter who was fat in your family, just because you inherited a slow metabolism is does not mean you are meant to be fat, you just have to change your life style. Also people who are naturally skinny and have a fast metabolism are not always healthy either and they also can get diabetes from eating unhealthy plus they think they don't need exercise and guess what happens to them next. They end up not ageing well and they become weak and undernourished due to  eating the wrong foods, all because they think they can eat crap and get away with it, so think of having a slow metabolism as a positive thing, what I mean by that is that  you can use it to remind yourself that you need to be healthy and it will keep you from eating junk all the time. Also lets not forget that there are people who are so skinny that they hate it and they try hard to gain weight. They also get shamed for being too skinny and at the same time they struggle to gain weight, just like how people who are overweight struggle to lose weight and get shamed for being fat. But still get rid of the whole "I'm meant to be this way" attitude, because that is not going to help you succeed, its gonna make losing weight harder plus losing weight is possible, if you think that losing weight is impossible and you're meant to be fat than it is YOU who is making it impossible, when really it is possible, you see where I'm getting at?  That makes it more hard for you because. Thinking this way goes to show how you don't value yourself well enough what I mean by that is when you say things like "oh I'm meant to be fat" what you are really saying is "I don't deserve to be fit and healthy" or "I am not worthy" that's where it comes from, you think you don't deserve it, you have to believe you deserve it. You have to be your own best friend.

Number 4
Don't think of losing weight as a superficial thing. There is more to losing weight than the way it makes you look. The most important thing about losing weight is your health. Don't focus too much on how you will look. People always think that losing weight is all about looking good and so many companies that market products on weight loss such as diet shakes, pills, frozen meals etc put too much emphasis on the "looks" many products are much too geared on how it will make you look yet ignore the healthy side of it and also put to much focus on losing the weight quick, that is not healthy, I'll never forget the many stupid ads I saw on TV, my goodness they make me cringe! Anyway what I mean by this point is don't lose weight just to look good, I'm not saying don't lose it to look good what I mean is take into consideration your health first because that is more important than how you will look on the outside after all if you feel good you will look good. Focus more on how you will feel when you eat healthy food and how you will feel when you lead an active lifestyle. Also don't think of exercise as something like homework from school or a chore like washing the dishes think of it as something that's part of your life because including exercise is part of creating a new life style as well eating properly. Another thing you should know about exercise is it does not only help you lose weight, its also good for your skin but most importantly its also good for your mental health and it helps you sleep better, it will really makes you feel good because exercise can help fight stress for example kick boxing and yoga are great for that. Exercise can be a therapy! Plus you don't have to go to the gym you can work out at home. If you have time to have a shower, put your make up on than you should have time to work out and prepare something healthy to eat. So basically think of how losing weight can benefit your life. I understand that you may want to look good, there's nothing wrong with that as everybody wants to look their best, But the root to looking your best is really looking after your health that's why there is a proper way to losing weight, why do you think anorexic/bulimic people look so sickly and unhappy? Or why do you think people fail miserably when they yo yo diet? Too many people forget about being healthy when they try to lose weight, there's also always too much focus on losing weight alone too quickly without taking into consideration their health which brings me to the next point.

Number 5
Be patient. Be patient on your journey. You must NEVER expect results so quickly this is one valuable lesson I learned on my journey. If you get too impatient things are not gonna go in your favor because that can lead you to give up, it took me over a year to drop 31 kilos. There were times where I did get impatient but I had to keep reminding myself that I shouldn't expect results too quickly and that it would take time to lose the weight. Don't give up so easily if you are not looking slim yet despite losing maybe 3 kilos or so. This is why I explained earlier not to focus on the way you look too much, focus more on how good you will feel. Most of the time its best to focus more on the lifestyle and just forget about what you look like most of the time because that way your results will appear quicker even though it hasn't been quick.

Tip: Weigh your self once a month instead of once a week that way you won't feel rushed. It will also make your journey appear faster than it is. Also don't look in the mirror too often.

Number 6
Don't compare yourself to others in a bad way. What I mean by this is, don't look to others and think things like "Gosh this person is so committed, unlike me, I never commit" or "I'll never be as good as this person". Don't get me wrong its great to take inspiration from other people's successes however thoughts like that are not going to help, heck that example is not what taking inspiration is. What that is is thinking that that person who succeeded is superior to you when in actual truth that is NOT true! They are no different from you. You have to understand that people who were successful with losing weight, were once in your shoes, There must have been times where they had their low moments in their journeys that includes me by the way. I had my low moments there were times where I would worry about staying fat forever. Lets not forget that it took me many tries to lose weight before I reached my goal. Plus everyday for me is not always perfect I have my days where my eating is not healthy. You must never think that anyone is better than you or that you are better than other people. I mean just because someone was successful with weight loss doesn't mean you can't be. To put everything in nutshell, yes take inspiration/motivation from them but NEVER think you can't be as successful as them.

Number 7
Stop caring about what other people will think about you. This is pointless because, You are doing this for yourself. This is about you not them. What they think is their own business if they get jealous than its their problem, or if they want to stop being your friend because you lost weight than its their problem. They are the ones creating the problem not you. So if you sense that someone is going to be negative than push that person out of your life, or just simply ignore them. You don't need them. The only thing important here is that you are doing whats right for yourself. Besides if a friend is being negative than that "friend" was not being a true friend to you in the beginning a real would be happy for what you accomplished. So if someone is doubting you or gets jealous. remember this special quote I don't know who said this but its really a great thing to remember.

"When someone is nasty or treats you poorly, don't take it personally. It says nothing about you but a lot about them"

So in other words if someone is getting jealous or doubts you, don't take it move on , because they are responsible for their own actions, and that is something you cannot control, the only person you can control is yourself and you have the power to take or leave what they say or do to you ;)

Number 8
Don't feel you need to lose weight to impress people especially men or women(for you guys too!). You are not doing this to please anyone, you are doing this to please yourself and fulfill your needs. just like I mentioned in number 7 you are losing weight for yourself. And as I said earlier losing weight is not something that should be made out to be a totally superficial thing because it involves your health too. You have to be your own best friend in this journey, basically what I am saying is in order to please others you have to please yourself first. You are also your own worst critic when it comes to your journey as well.

Number 9
Stop thinking that its all about luck. Because it is NOT about luck its about working hard and really keeping yourself grounded. and that stands true for people with slow metabolisms. At the end of the day guys and girls, you are not meant to be fat, because its you who is responsible for what you eat and how much you eat and of course putting in the effort to exercise. notice how I put effort in bold well I have another quote to share with you and this quote came from Jillian Michaels

"Its not about perfect its about effort"

and to add to that its also not about about luck either.

Number 10
Ok last but not least, BELIEVE in yourself. That is very important you need to believe that you can do this. throw away your self doubt stop calling yourself a failure! YOU CAN DO THIS PERIOD.

And that's it everyone, if you are getting to a point in your journey where you are feeling low, please read this entry to pick yourself up again as its takes a lot of mental strength to keep yourself grounded.

Love
Alice

Tip of the day for you!

Hey guys,

This is gonna be a very short post. I just came up with this idea today and I thought it would be so cool to share with you as I really think its useful.

I was at Woolworths today and I found these little containers that come in packs of 8 and can carry 50 ml of liquid.

Yeah so, whats so great about them?
Whats great about them you say! Why it helps you control your snack portions! For example they are great for nuts because you can't have too many of them, yes they are healthy but you still can't go heavy on them as I mentioned a few posts back. usually when you buy toasted almonds or any other kind of  nut, seeds or peanuts, they usually come in big packages, which can get confusing because you never know how much you should have or you end up eating the whole package that you end up consuming too many calories or you end up having more than you should consume. These little containers will solve that problem, they are reusable and inexpensive. For example toasted almonds, I can store around 20 almonds in each container and its worth under 120 calories. Not only that but you can also fill up a bunch of containers and have them ready to take to school or work for the next 5 days or what have you.

Not only can you store nuts, seeds and peanuts but you can also store things like dried fruit in them and left over Easter chocolate that you don't want to have too much of, or simply mix nuts with dried fruit in them etc.

Hope you found this tip useful!

love
Alice

Cinnamon oatmeal

Hey Guys

Sorry its been awhile. A lot has happened recently, I went on a few holidays and then I caught the flu which I am still recovering from! anyway Today I am going to share this lovely filling breakfast with you, it is quick and easy to make. I hope you enjoy it!

This is a perfect breakfast to have that is so satisfying, it will help tone down those nasty food cravings you get throughout the day.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup oats or quick oats
• 1 cup water or milk of your choice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 table spoon or more of natural sweetener (you can use stevia or monk fruit sweetener)
• 1 small apple chopped
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
• 3 tablespoons low fat Greek yoghurt (optional)

Method

1. In a small pot, pour in water and add oats, place on stove with a low heat so the oats don't cook up too fast and burn, but leave it to cook for a few seconds and Add the cinnamon and sweetener then stir everything all together, continue to stir till the oats are nice and creamy but make sure you don't burn the oats.
2. Pour the cooked oats in a bowl and add your chopped apples and yoghurt on top and drizzle with honey.

To make this dish vegan just skip using honey and yoghurt. You can use soy milk or almond milk instead of water to give a more milky taste. Or if you have a vegan yoghurt, you can use that instead. You can also sprinkle some sweetener on top.

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Cravings

Hey everyone!

As promised this next entry is gonna be all about the cravings! This is a very common problem a lot of people face. I struggled with problem too very many times as before I was successful I had past attempts that failed and cravings was one of the problems that made me fail a lot.

What can cause me to crave?

Boredom
Do you ever find that when you're bored you find yourself eating something? This happens to a lot of people. It happened to me! For some reason you probably find that you want something to do like for example you are at the train station it's 3:30 pm and your train won't be here till 4:00 and you find a vending machine nearby so you decide that you want to buy a bar of chocolate or a pack of chips from the vending machine and eat while you wait and yet you already had a little snack from earlier which might have been an unhealthy one. What I am saying is that you find that eating is something you find that will keep you from feeling bored and you want to feel satisfied from something that tastes amazing. and you look to it at as something to do when really you don't need to eat anything. Food can be such a distraction.

Tip:

• If you ever are in that situation, find something to do, like for example the train station scenario, listen to some music on your Ipod or play games on your phone or read a book. All in all find something to do also drink some water as that might help. You want to keep your mind off food.

Thirst
Cravings could also be a sign that you are thirsty and your body will sometimes confuse it for hunger instead so if you get a lot of cravings it could mean that you don't drink enough water. Make sure you have 8 glasses of water a day. I found that drinking lots of water really helped control my cravings.

Depression
Have you ever found yourself ever eating anything when you were feeling low or upset? This doesn't happen to everyone, as some people don't like eating when they have the blues but some people like to eat their problems away as they seek food as a thing to make them feel better or as a source of comfort. This is also known as emotional eating.

Tips:

•  Think of other things you like other than food. What else makes you happy aside from food or eating? it could be an activity, hobby or sport. 
• You could also speak to your GP or a counselor  to help fix that certain thing that made you upset like lets say, you broke up with your boyfriend or you are going through grief and you find that you are turning to food too much and you are making unhealthy food choices. Hang in there, I know its hard but you really have to fix your problems, life is tough but think of the problems you will face if you continue to eat your problems away. 
• Another thing you could do is yoga or meditation, because that is something that can help make you feel better. I know you might be thinking it sounds too much like a hippy sort of thing, but give it a go it might help. The reason I recommend this is because doing things like meditation can help give you a positive mind I don't know how it works. Meditation doesn't have to be sitting down cross legged and going "om sham ti sham ti oooom" it can also be going for a walk and releasing your thoughts in your mind. I do a lot of walking with my dog and that is the time when I do a lot of thinking to myself. It is also that time where I manage to solve all my personal problems as in I end up thinking of things or ideas for a problem I am having for anything really. Just take a little walk around your neighborhood or park, you don't need to have a dog and see how it works for you. Meditation can also be just sitting down or lying down quietly and taking deep breaths.

All in all Don't look to food as something that will make your problems go away. Its a bit similar to having an addiction to alcohol and drugs. My point is eating is not going to solve your problems as it makes things worse because you are unhappy about a certain thing but in the end you are gonna start being even more unhappy with your weight therefore, creating more problems for yourself. Please do something to solve that problem. I know its hard but remember there is always a solution. 

Too much simple carbs or high GI foods in your diet
Eating too many simple carbs such as chips, lollies/candy, white bread, white pasta or anything with white sugar and white flour will make you crave. If you find that you crave anything sweet most of the time that means your GI levels are very high. I am not saying eliminate those kinds of foods but have them occasionally. please read these two posts if you haven't yet as I address why you should have them less:

http://myweightlossexprience.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/where-do-i-start.html

http://myweightlossexprience.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/how-to-lose-weight-and-eat-properly-on.html

Skipping breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As cliche as that sounds, it is. Skipping breakfast can really give worse cravings throughout the day as you put your body through starvation mode, leaving you to crave. make sure you have a healthy filling 300 calorie breakfast or more or less depending on your own daily intake. That way your body will be more satisfied and you won't crave too much or deprive your body. It will also help speed your metabolism. But what ever you do don't eat a breakfast that is too light or filled with simple carbs because again that will also make you crave.
Have something that has protein like oatmeal, eggs on wholegrain toast or tofu scramble(If you're vegan) I personally found that eating breakfast helped control my cravings.

Not enough sleep
Make sure you have 8 hours of sleep. Studies recently are claiming that lack of sleep may be the cause to junk food cravings. I don't how to explain this very well but try and get some proper sleep and see how it works for you. I found out this information from Women's health magazine as I follow them on facebook.

Near by junk food around your house
This is another thing I found out from women's health magazine but I also sort also knew about this before. If you have any junk food lying around in your house, make sure it's out of site.

Tips:

• Ask who ever you're living with whether its your sibling, husband, boyfriend, room mate or parent to hide their own snacks in their own stash and tell them that leaving it out will tempt you. (I'm sure they won't want you to eat their own goodies anyway!) 
• Don't buy any junk food snacks, buy healthier snacks, when you go grocery shopping.
• Give away all your junk food to friends or family who you know will eat it, instead of eating it your self or throwing it away.

Not enough protein or bulk in your meals
Don't eat too many light meals because having a light meal will make you very unsatisfied that's why a lot of diets that make you eat salad all the time fail, because you just don't feel full. I know that sounds weird but eating a very light breakfast and a very light lunch will make you more hungry.

Depriving yourself
You should allow yourself a treat once in a while, its ok to have junk food once in awhile but also remember there are alternatives to junk food like for example kale chips. Or if you crave pizza you can make a pizza using a wholemeal base and use low fat cheese. Or you feel like having fries for dinner make sweet potato fries or cassava fries. Point blank don't ban anything from your diet. Never tell yourself things like "I will never eat junk food again!" or "Goodbye chocolate, goodbye fries, goodbye Mc Donalds!" if you tell your self things like that, you will make yourself crave the food even more! remember it is ok once in awhile. This is a mistake I made ALL the time, and in the end I kept letting myself down and soon I would splurge on those foods, then give up the next day and I would feel soooo guilty! I recently read an article from women's health that explained that food guilt is a bad thing and I found it to be true because in the past before I lost weight and at all these pre attempts to losing weight.

I would lay the law down on my self "No this, no that or don't eat this!" and then guess what I would do this:

 "ok I guess I'll have a little bit"

One minute later

".........Maybe one more"

two seconds later

"OM NOM NOM NOM!"

Another two seconds later

"OH NOOOOOOOOOOO! what have I done! how could I do that!?!.... I... I ruined my diet!"

And the next day I would decide that I should quit because of ruining my diet then I would decide to start again the next day but again didn't commit and then I would decide next week, then it would change to next month.  All because I deprived myself! The more you tell yourself you will cut out something for good the more you will crave it because it will stick in your mind and you end up playing rebel with yourself and soon give in to temptation. I always did this and every time I  ate something unhealthy I would just feel guilty all the friggin' time!

Here is the article in case you want to read it.
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/food-guilt

If you ever had a day where you ate something bad and you regretted it. like lets say it was the day before, move on, don't feel guilty about it just carry on with your plan, just because you ate something bad for lunch or whatever meal or you splurged, it does not mean you should give up, plus a small amount of junk food it not enough to make you gain weight. Heck eating healthy and eating the right amount of calories everyday along with one day splurging will NOT make you gain weight either. It takes time to gain weight so don't worry if you ate a whole bar of chocolate, just carry on eating your proper meals and carry on with your regular exercise and you will be fine. And remember there is NOTHING wrong with having junk food once in a while. Have it, enjoy it, don't feel guilty and move on.  I know its hard to get rid of that feeling, I'll admit I am still struggling to get rid of that feeling since it was only just recently that I found out that food guilt is bad.

Emotional attachment to junk food
Another reason why you might get cravings is because you may have associated a certain food to a particular time in your life where you were very happy and you want to go back into that moment because you feel as though you are stepping back in time. We human beings tend to do that a lot! We do it with smells, objects and especially food! for example you feel like having a chocolate chip cookie because it reminds you of your childhood or you want that cotton candy from the store because it reminds you of the time you went to the fun fair. This is another thing I struggled with personally. I remember I would buy kinder chocolate because it reminded me of when I ate kinder surprise eggs with my cousin as a kid. I would crave twisties because I ate them all the time as a kid. I would also get these mini ice cream chocolate pops from Aldi because they also reminded me of my childhood.

This happens to a lot of people at one point you are like:

"Ah I remember the time when I hung out with my friends and we all ate oreo cookies with milk! Oh the good old times!"

one second later

"Damn it! now I want oreos!"

This is tough I'll admit, but if you ever find your self in that kind of moment remind yourself that you need to stay committed to your goals as in think to yourself "yeah that was a good moment, I really loved those cookies grandma gave me back then, but I can't just eat them now, I made commitment to myself" or "yeah those were good times, but I can't eat this now" or simply be aware that you are attaching yourself emotionally to food and acknowledge that this is part of where your cravings are coming from and admit to yourself that this is a problem as in this is whats sabotaging your plans. You need to move on with your past I am not saying forget your past I mean we all had moments in our lives where we were very happy and it involved a certain food but you always have to remind yourself that you have a goal you want to reach and you don't want anything including THIS emotional attachment to jeopardize you and your plans. Remember there is more to life than food. Focus on today don't focus on what you ate when you were 5 years old in your grandma's house! I mean if the food reminded you of your grandma than it probably isn't the cookies you miss it's her that you miss.

Before I sign off I just want to let you know some more important things.
Don't worry if you are a snacker, because having 5 or 6 small meals a day is actually very good for your metabolism, as you are keeping your body busy.

When you skip meals or starve yourself surprisingly enough you will gain weight all because you have given the metabolism a break and when it goes back to work it behaves very sloppy and all that energy its now storing is being turned into fat instead of being stored somewhere else, because your metabolism is too tired to store it somewhere else! When you skip meals you are actually abusing your metabolism. Think of it as when you have gone on a really long holiday and you've released all your stress and discomfort from work and as soon as you come back from your holiday you find that you have a lot of work to do and you are really not up to it so you start doing things slowly compared to before your holiday where you were more agile and speedy at most of your tasks. Or think of it as waking up in the morning and you are trying to drag yourself out of bed, but you don't want to wake up because you are too tired! This is exactly how your metabolism behaves when you do stuff like yo yo dieting or juicing diets. You are allowed to have snacks everyday, you just have to make sure they are healthy snacks and not high sugary snacks or potato chips and high in calories.

Alright guys I really hope that this post answered any question you had about cravings. This was something I really used to struggle with and I know a lot of people struggle with this sort of issue. Never give up and always believe that you have the power to change yourself for the better.

Love
Alice

How to Lose weight and eat properly on a vegetarian diet.

Hello again!

Today's blog as promised is going to be about losing weight on a vegetarian diet. I myself am mostly a lacto ovo vegetarian as I eat eggs and dairy products. I do eat a bit of seafood but I am not a big fan of fish I do like to eat sushi occasionally though. But if you are a person who eats meat and you are reading this there is also some information in this entry you might find useful as sometimes people who eat meat make some of these mistakes too with  many of these meatless foods I am about to talk about after I explain protein and vitamins.

People nag me about protein!
I got nagged a lot about that sort of thing. People who love meat way too much and depend on it too much tend to forget that meat is not the only source of protein and that too much protein is unhealthy. You know it actually surprises me how fat and carbs got a terrible rep and yet protein seems to be the forgotten one! Remember my friends there are so many vegetarian sources of protein. I mean look how long this list is!

tofu
tempeh
nuts of all kinds
edamame
quinoa
brown rice
wholegrain seedy bread
seeds of all kinds
Barley

And for those who are lacto ovo you have your milk, your cheese, your egg and your yoghurt along with whats listed above. You can also try protein shakes if you want, for vegan there are these kinds

hemp
Soy
pea

and for laco ovos you have whey protein powder and egg white protein powder along with whats listed above.

When you opt for protein powders make sure you get ones that don't have so many ingredients for example many whey protein powders will have stuff like artificial sweeteners and even natural sweeteners such as maltitol that are not necessarily good for you and other weird ingredients. They are not really bad for you but some of them can be bad for your stomach. for example sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are not bad for you but at the same they are not healthy as having too much can cause you too many visits to the bathroom. The same goes for protein bars. There was this one time I tried this protein bar and I got a really bad stomach ache from it and oh god it was terrible like it was so painful, I checked the packaging. I can't remember what sweetener it was I think it was aspartame and it said on the packaging "Excess consumption may cause a laxative effect" and it did only I didn't have access consumption of it, I just had just that one serving of it. Moral of my story guys is be careful with protein bars and powders as there are sweeteners in them that can really upset your stomach hence why most sources will say that artificial sweeteners are worse than normal white sugar. Always check the label and if you find that it says on the back "Excess consumption may cause laxative effect" than that means it has one of these sweeteners in it.

Maltitol
Aspartame
Saccharin
sucralose

Or it might have sweetener number this or that which can be confusing. Artificial sweeteners are not really bad for you if you have them in small amounts but in my opinion I don't think its a good idea to have them in your protein shakes if you're gonna consume them everyday. I think its best to pick something with natural ingredients and not too many ingredient as in make sure its less than 5 ingredients. Also if you have a sensitive stomach than you're gonna have to stay away from these sweeteners all together.

Here are some brands which I personally used before which I found were good. To those living in the US, UK, Canada or somewhere else, these brands are Australian, I don't know if you can get them where you live. BTW they are NOT vegan sorry! I personally don't go for the vegan ones as I find that they taste kinda gross.

Aussie Bodies perfect protein 100% natural
http://www.aussiebodies.com.au/product/perfect-protein/
I love making smoothies with this powder, especially ones with raspberry yum!

Well Naturally Protein bars
http://www.vitalitybrands.com/well-naturally/products/high-protein-mini-bars
These bars are very good because they are less than 100 calories and they don't have sweeteners in them that will upset your stomach. They have 10 grams of protein per bar and They are sweetened with stevia but don't worry they don't have a yucky, bitter after taste, I find at least.

I am not saying you must take protein shakes, you can if you want to but you don't have to, I find that they are best to consume after a workout because they help reduce pain from sore muscles but then again guys I am not really an expert I am just giving some ideas of what I think might be ok. At the end of the day I am only sharing what worked for me plus lately I haven't been having any protein shakes or bars. I don't know if I will go back to using them because I watched that  You Tube video I shared in my last post here.
http://myweightlossexprience.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/where-do-i-start.html from fitness blender and they were saying how you don't really need to take protein shakes and that its best to get protein from natural food sources, but that is why I say stick to natural ingredients and to stay away from ones with artificial sweetener or any other kind of unnatural ingredient, except for maltitol.

How should I consume protein on a vegetarian diet?
I don't know the answer to that question very well but my best advice is use your food diary as a guide. For example my diary tells me that I need to have 52 grams of protein in one day and the number will increase when I log in some calories I burnt from a work out, I would opt to have 10 or 15 grams in three of my meals and maybe try and have 3 to 5 grams for maybe 2 of my snacks. I have already shown you the different types of food that have protein in them. I recommend eating oats as part of most of your breakfasts as its very filling and can help to curb food cravings throughout the day.

Why is soy all of a sudden getting a bad rep?
Don't worry about soy. I don't know where this information came from that claims that consuming it causes cancer such as prostate cancer and other cancers and that it has dangerous estrogen. However there is NO concrete evidence that proves eating soy gives you cancer or gives you love handles or man boobs!  I ate soy and I still lost weight! I lost my love handles too!
My advice guys though is don't believe everything you hear or read, take things with a grain of salt. Yes some people are allergic to soy but that doesn't mean its bad for you. I found this really honest article, it explains things way better than I do. http://zenhabits.net/soy/
So Sit back and enjoy your edamame!

Oh god now they're nagging me about iron and B12 urg!
I know how you feel. I personally take supplements. However there are vegetarian sources and luckily for you vegans almost all are vegan! yaaay!

Here is a list of natural sources of iron

Almonds
Fresh kale
Fresh spinach
Chinese brocoli
Bok choy
Seaweed
Parsley
rooibus tea
chick peas

As for B12 the best source is nutritional yeast. Its not like yeast you use for making bread. It has a yellow colour to it and it has a taste similar to cheese. Nutritional yeast has all sorts of B vitamins in it. You can make many tasty things with it. You can make cheeseless cheesy pasta sauce, like a macaroni and cheese sort of thing and you can add it to dips, add flavour to kale chips. There is so much you can do with it, the list is endless! It is purely vegan and you should be able to find it in your local health food store or the health food aisle in your grocery store.

From what I remember some burger mixes have them. I know the brand sanitarium makes vegetarian sausages with B12.

Here's a tip!
Check the packaging of some cereals and products designed for vegans, they might have a list of vitamins somewhere on the back that will tell how you much there is of B12 same thing with iron but make sure the item you get isn't so full of sugar and fat, make sure they are both a minimum of 10 grams.

How about omega 3? I hate seafood and eggs with a passion!
Don't worry you can get your omega 3 from chia seeds and flax seeds Some breads will have flax seeds in them and you can sprinkle chia seeds in your cereal or fruit salad. if you don't know what chia seeds are google them. you should be able to find them in your local health food store or the health aisle in your local grocery store.

Here is some basic points all of you vegetarians should know

Don't eat too many potatoes!
Potatoes are a simple carb, therefore eating too much is not a good idea. Many people when they become vegetarian tend to eat way too many potato chips, fries, wedges, curly fries and potato this and that! I used to eat a lot of potatoes as in I used to snack on chips all the time and I was always craving all the unhealthy stuff like pizza and more fries, instead of having a salad or a healthy vegetarian meal. The thing is, you are a vegetarian and you have to include lots of colour in your diet. You can't eat potatoes all the time or for every meal, a lot of vegetarians who are unhealthy make this mistake ALL the time, people think that being vegetarian equals skinny but that is not true you can still get fat on a vegetarian diet from eating too many potato chips which are very high in calories. It made me fat too you know! Plus it doesn't give you all the nutrients you need maybe some but not all, plus the more you eat it the more you will crave a packet of lays or smiths.

Try these instead

• Snack on nuts such as toasted almonds or toasted seeds like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. But consume within reason as they are also high calorie but not addictive like chips.
• Air popped popcorn is a good snack as you can add a little bit of  sea salt and nutritional yeast for flavour. 
• You can also make kale chips, which you chop up, add a little bit of olive oil some sea salt and other seasonings of your choice, you can also add nutritional yeast, place it in the oven, and wait till they have a crunchy texture. I know you won't believe me but they taste very similar to real potato chips, please give it a try. They are super healthy, filled with iron and low in calories
• Another great snack is seaweed which you can get from Asian supermarkets. 
• Pick sweet potatoes as they are much healthier and you can really make nice oven baked chips with them.
• Yam and cassava are also great choices as you can also make great oven baked fries or chips with them.

Be careful with bread!
Bread is also another thing vegetarians make a big mistake with. What I mean is that it gets eaten way too much and many opt for white bread instead of brown or wholegrain bread. But whether or not you eat the healthy kind make sure you don't have too much, because bread can be very high in calories especially breads such as Turkish bread, Foccacia and other bread dishes such as gozleme pizza, veggie burgers and naan. Some of these bread dishes have around 600 calories in them and sometimes more! I am not saying you should go on a gluten free or wheat free diet, its just that bread needs to be consumed within reason and that white bread also like chips is highly addictive because its a simple carb. To put it in a nutshell Never go for anything that is white. Pick wholegrain bread but don't eat too much bread.

Tips for picking bread

• Pick a bread that is certified low GI some brands will have a logo that states its been tested, here is the website that shows you this particular logo  http://www.gisymbol.com/  
• I highly recommend this bread http://www.burgen.com.au/
• Don't choose gluten free breads because many have higher calories than normal bread. Unless you are allergic to gluten, if you are try and find something that is low GI don't go for anything white unless its certified low GI. Consume withing reason though.
• I know I said don't go for anything white. However if it has that low GI logo on it than its ok to have it as long as you consume within reason. 
• pick  wholegrain wraps.

But I hate brown bread with a passion!
Well than try and find a white bread that is low GI as I mentioned earlier. You will still have to look harder because usually any white bread has a high GI content I have seen some white breads that are said to be low GI however they don't have that low GI certified logo on it even though the packaging will claim so. But if you hate it that much than have something else instead of bread, You don't have to eat bread, or you can just have white bread in extra small quantities, only problem with that though is it can lead you to crave due to the high GI levels that white bread has. I'm so sorry that I can't help you too much with this, I really wish I could though. You can if you are that daring give wholegrain bread a chance though. (I know you probably don't want to)

Why is gluten getting a bad rep too?

There are so many people out there saying "Don't eat this, don't eat that!" Its ok to have bread don't worry about what people say about it, as just like soy, there is NO concrete evidence that it is bad for you. Bread is fine as long as you don't have too much. All these gluten free breads you see in supermarkets are all designed for people who have celiac disease or any kind of disease where they can't digest gluten or wheat. Again take things with a grain of salt there are so many diet bloggers on youtube who claim that its bad and that eating it makes you gain weight and this and that. I can tell you, I ate bread and lost weight, also even if you cut gluten out of your diet you can still gain weight by eating gluten free cake, muffins and biscuits! and lots of rice! and of course sugar! You should speak to your doctor first before you decide to eliminate gluten from your diet as it is ONLY necessary if you are gluten intolerant. BTW there is no such thing as a wheat belly!

 Please before you decide to cut anything out of your diet, wait till you hear REAL evidence that proves a certain food is bad for you. Don't simply rely on what certain people say. I don't care if they are popular on youtube or whether some non-gluten intolerant celebrity/next door neighbor/friend cut gluten out of his/her diet. Don't believe everything you read/hear! 

What about pasta? 

Sorry to say this if you're Italian! Pasta is another food you need to be very careful with and also have to consume within reason. Avoid  ALL white pastas. Unless just like bread its certified low GI and go for the wholegrain types.

Tips for pasta

•  What you can do is if you can't find wholegrain pasta or low GI pasta you can make your white pasta al dente as in don't cook it till its soft but slightly hard because having it al dente will make it low GI. 
• I don't swear by or recommend the gluten free diet but you can try quinoa or brown rice pasta as those are healthy and are also low GI.
• Buckwheat pasta is also good but also has to be consumed within reason due to high calorie content.
• When you have pasta don't chose those big dinner plates. Use a small plate. You want to take an amount that is appropriate. 
• Lots of egg based pasta is low GI as well. But if you are vegan that is totally out of the question.

Lovin' the noodles?

Not a lot is usually said about noodles. Especially 2 minute noodles or instant noodles. 

Tips for noodles

• Don't go for instant noodles because many of them are simple carbs and they are usually not healthy at all. They are not bad for you if you have them once in a while, I know they are convenient but still they are not really healthy and some can be high calorie. They can also be very high in sodium.
• Konjac noodles are great for making a lighter/leaner version of pad thai and its also super low in calories.  http://slendierslim.com.au/Konjac.html
• Try soba noodles. they are great and very healthy because they are made from buckwheat. But its also a bit high in calories so have a proper serving. but then again they are also filling so therefore you don't need to worry much about having too much. If you love Japanese food, you really should try them. You can make them cold with chopped seaweed  and black or white sesame with soy sauce like how they do in the restaurants and you can make yaki soba.
• You can also try rice noodles as they are low GI.
• Egg noodles are ok but they are high in calories, So have a small plate of them.

Whats wrong with rice?
Why nothing, its just that the thing with rice is that it is also slightly high in calories and just like white bread and pasta white rice is a simple carb and has a high GI content. The only white rice that is low GI, is the long grain grain type such a basmati rice. Brown and red rice is healthier however not a lot of people like brown or red rice. But if you like brown rice go for it, although you should still have a decent amount because again it is a little bit high in calories.

Tips and tricks for rice

• Quinoa can be a fantastic replacement for rice. for vegetarians this is a great idea as it is one of those vegetarian sources of protein. If you don't know what quinoa is google it.
• When you are having rice make sure it is the same size as your fist or have half a scoop and more vegetables.
• Some rice brands will also have the low GI certified logo on the packaging.

What you should know about cereal and muesli or granola
Some cereals tend to be filled with heaps of sugar and fat even the ones that claim to be healthy. Pay extra attention to the nutrition facts. Lots of cereals tend to have heaps and heaps of refined sugar in them especially cocoa pops, rice crispies and nutrigrain! Some may be low calorie but still they have too much sugar which is not good at all. One of the problems with eating these types of box cereal is not just because of the sugar but they are so light and so unfilling that it will give you cravings and will cause you to snack too much you'll end up consuming so much junk food and your calorie intake will go through the roof and your GI levels will be going crazy.

Tips for cereal

• Weetbix is a great choice because it is very low in sugar, there is also a multigrain version.
• As always make sure the sugar  and fat content is less than 10 grams.
• Opt for quick oats or normal oats because that is also very very low in sugar. 
• Special k has some cereals that are low GI 
• Carmen's also has low GI muesli http://www.carmanskitchen.com.au/

Can I still enjoy Chocolate?
We all love chocolate! I love it too! This was my biggest weakness as a vegetarian, more so than potatoes actually. Good news is though that it is good for you however, like everything else except most vegetables you can't have too much because of the high sugar and fat content. You CAN have chocolate you just can't have a whole block or and entire box of it. Its one of those foods where you have to be very careful. Chocolate has a lot of calories too. like for 10 grams its 50 to 60 calories depending on the brand as different brands vary depending on the ingredients they use.

Here are some tips for you chocolate lovers

• Pick chocolate that is 70% or 80% cocoa, don't go for milk chocolate or white chocolate due to the high fat and sugar. I know some people don't like dark chocolate but give it a try. I used to hate dark chocolate but as I got older I enjoyed it more and also now I am starting to enjoy it even more!. 
• If you can't stand having pure dark chocolate by itself you can melt it and get some strawberries, cherries blueberries or chopped mangos and cover them in the chocolate and it will be more pleasurable, I recommend this because I can't stand dark chocolate by itself most of the time.
• Check out this brand http://www.shop-vitalitybrands.com/collections/all they make chocolate without sugar. 
• For Vegans you just have to look for chocolate that has no milk and at the same time make sure its 70 to 80% cocoa.

Keep in mind though that dark chocolate should also still be consumed within reason even though it is healthier than milk chocolate and white chocolate.

Don't go heavy on the nuts! (and peanuts)

I know all of you are laughing at what I've written above. Even I am laughing. Seriously though, don't go heavy on them! Nuts are high in calories that's why. You should though, include a certain amount in your diet because your body will need the fats and the protein from them. But don't have too much. one hand full should be enough for a snack depending on your recommended daily intake. Same thing with all nut butters and peanut butters, make sure you have only one table spoon of peanut butter or almond butter on your toast.

Tips for all you nutters (oh here I go again! don't worry you can laugh!)

• Pick a nut butter or a peanut butter (peanuts are not a nut people!) that doesn't have any sugar and salt added. 
• If you can't stand peanut butter without sugar and salt, try to find a peanut butter that has sea salt, or you can get the plain peanut butter and add some sea salt in it, you can also put a natural sweetener in it. or if you eat it on toast it will get sweetened anyway if you add honey or jam(with no refined sugar added) to it.

How about milk and cheese plus other dairy products?
There are many different milks on the market. One problem with milk though is that many milks either from cows or nuts and soy will have over 10 grams of sugar.

Tips for milk

• Cow milk naturally has a lot of sugar in it and is very high calorie even if it is skimmed or low fat. Consume it within reason. I recommend that if you are having cereal pour half a cup instead of 1 cup.
• Almond milk is a great choice but make sure you get ones that are not sweetened because the unsweetened kind is very low calorie. And most almond milks these days don't have a lot of fat in them. Sanitarium makes great ones http://www.sanitarium.com.au/products/beverages/so-good-almond-milk and there is also Blue Diamond Almond breeze http://www.almondbreeze.com.au/they also makes good almond milk. I love having almond milk with my cereal instead of cow milk. I also like to make smoothies with it.
• You can try goat milk as its said to be better than cow milk but it doesn't taste nice, I personally don't like the taste of it so I don't take it.
• Soy milk is also good just make sure you get one that isn't filled with sugar and isn't over 10 grams of fat. 
• For more vegan options aside from almond and soy milks there is also rice milk and oat milk. Just be on the look out for how much sugar and fat there is and the amount of calories per serve.

Tips for other dairy products

• Choose low fat cheese.
• Choose Low fat or skim yoghurt. I highly recommend greek yoghurt as the low fat kinds despite being low fat have a really nice creamy texture plus it goes great with muesli, oatmeal and is also great to have with fruits with a tiny bit of honey and they are great for homemade frozen yoghurt.
• When you pick those snack size yoghurts be very careful with the sugar content, so many of them have over 10 grams of sugar. And if you have a very sensitive stomach be careful when it claims to be sugar free as just like protein shakes they may have artificial sweeteners in them.
• Choose low fat Ice cream and frozen yoghurt. Only problem with ice cream is that many of them including Skinny Cow have over 10 grams of sugar.
• For vegans there are many soy variations on dairy, such as tofutti which makes cream cheese and cheese slices.http://trialiafoods.com.au/acontent%20catalogue/c27455.php

What  if I want something sweet or I want my tea or coffee to be sweet?

White sugar is not the only thing on the planet that is sweet so don't worry because there are still alternatives out there.

Tips for your sweet tooth

• I know some people hate stevia because of that off putting bitter after taste it has, however it depends on the brand. I really like this brand http://www.natvia.com.au/ its great for putting in your hot chocolate, coffee and tea. It should be in the aisle where all the sugars are and it is close to zero calories and you can use it for baking.
• This sweetener is also great and its also 100% natural, doesn't have a bitter, yucky after taste. its called monk's sweetener  http://norbusweetener.com.au/ this sweetener is also close to zero calories. Great for putting in your hot beverages and also good for baking.
• You can also get low GI cane sugar. Which is an unrefined sugar. You should be able to find this in the sugar aisle. http://www.csrsugar.com.au/Better-For-You-Products/CSR-LoGiCane-LowGI-Sugar.aspx
• And then there is fruisana which is a low GI friut sugar .http://www2.woolworthsonline.com.au/shop/ProductDetails?Stockcode=209080&name=fruisana-sweetener-fructose
• You can add a little bit of salt to baked goods and super bitter chocolate to bring out more sweetness.
• You can use honey for certain things but don't take too much.
• Maple syrup is ok but just like honey you should only have a little bit.

Lets not forget about salt!
Salt is something you should have in your diet but you just need to make sure you don't have too much.

Tips for salt

• Always pick sea salt, because it has minerals that table salt doesn't have which are good for you
• If you live in America there is a brand called Mrs dash which is an alternative to salt, however they don't seem to sell it here in Australia as I tried looking everywhere for it and I could not find it.

Don't forget to eat your greens kids! (whoa ho ho green giant!)
Always keep lots of  fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables in your fridge and make sure you have 5 serves of fruits and vegetables a day.

Here are some tips on how you can enjoy fruits and vegetables

• Buy frozen fruits that have no sugar added to them, they are great for making smoothies
• Frozen vegetables are cheaper than fresh vegetables so if you are on a budget you should be able to find something cheap. You can make great stir fries and baked dishes with them.
• You can make delicious fruit salad with plain or Greek yoghurt with a little bit of honey or natural sweetener for breakfast or a snack.
• You can make great quick salads.
• You can make lovely sandwiches and wraps.
• you can have carrot and celery sticks with hommus, guacamole or any other great dips.

Cooking advice

• Keep lots of herbs and spices in your pantry. 
• Use olive oil for most of your cooking. You can use other oils but olive oil's the best.
• Don't overcook your vegetables, it will destroy those vitamins.
• Never deep fry anything, you don't want stuff covered in so much oil.
• Use a non stick frying pans for stir frying because it requires less oil.
• Never use any oil or spreads with over 1 gram of trans fats. 
• It is ok to use butter but not too much.

Well there you have it. This is how you should pick your food. Vegetarians can still make unhealthy food choices and there are not very many sources on the internet that give you tips on how to make proper choices for a non-meat eating diet. Eating high fatty foods and way too many simple carbs are what causes many vegetarians to gain weight, there are even vegan foods that are not healthy such as white bread and sugary sweets, which could explain why some vegans are overweight. If this is how you as a vegetarian was eating this whole time, then I think this could explain what your problem were this whole time. Eating mostly simple carbs could explain why you might have been low in iron or B12, because we vegetarians forget to eat stuff like spinach for example.

You must remember a lot of these foods I recommend have important vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Your fridge and your pantry should be filled with these types of foods. That way it will be so easy to make healthier choices. Another tip I would recommend if you live by yourself is, never keep any junk food in your house because that will tempt you to eat it but if you do live with other people ask them to hide them from you.

I hope you found this entry useful. I will be posting more entries so please be on the look out for more. Good luck with your new life style if you are just starting out and never give up.

Love
Alice