Six Weeks Until Summer

Probably most of us have this New Year's resolution list. Few things in that list most likely are something like "go to the gym," "eat more healthy," "prepare summer body." The best thing is that after you're getting in this routine (without cheating), you'll never want to go back.

Before going into healthy lifestyle you should know, there's few stages. First days might be full with excitement, after that comes loss and confusion, you realise, "junk food has got to go." It continues until first visible results, then there's like new wave of motivation which drives you to carry on with all work. So, before starting, put up a shield of patience, prepare for a hard beginning, and learn the importance of focussing on all aspects of your lifestyle in order to achieve your health and fitness goals.

Reasons why drinking water helps your health.

Cold water burns two-to-three percent more calories than usual in the 90 minutes after drinking. Water may also temporarily increase the body's resting energy expenditure, or the number of calories burned while resting.

When the body is dehydrated, it cannot correctly remove waste as urine or feces. Water helps the kidneys to filter toxins and waste, while the organ retains essential nutrients and electrolytes. When the body is dehydrated, the kidneys retain fluid.

Without water, the body cannot properly metabolize stored fat or carbohydrates. The process of metabolizing fat is called lipolysis. The first step of this process is hydrolysis, which occurs when water molecules interact with triglycerides (fats) to create glycerol and fatty acids.

Recipe Guide

It's really important to have at least five meals during your day. It gives you more energy, less hunger, reduced food cravings, control blood sugar levels & insulin production, reduce body fat storage, and maintain & increase lean muscle mass.

For example:

Breakfast

BAKED EGGS

2 pieces of rye toast, 20g low fat grated cheese, 2 eggs, small handful spinach (1⁄4 cup), 2 button mushrooms chopped (1⁄4 cup), 1⁄2 medium tomato chopped, 2 tbsp water.

Preheat oven to 180C/360F. Grease a ramekin with coconut oil. In a large bowl add the eggs and water, whisk to combine. Add the spinach, mushrooms, tomato, and stir to combine. Transfer the egg mixture to your ramekin. Top with low fat grated cheese. Bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the egg mixture is cooked and golden.

Snack

CHIA PLUM PUDDING

2 plums sliced, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 200g low fat yoghurt, mint leaves.

In a bowl, add the chia seeds and low fat yoghurt. Mix very well. Cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Mix again before serving. Layer in a glass with sliced plums and garnish with mint leaves.

Lunch

QUINOA TABOULI

180g cooked quinoa (1 cup), small handful kale shredded (1⁄2 cup), 1⁄2 medium cucumber sliced (1⁄2 cup), 1⁄2 medium tomato diced, 2 tbsp red onion diced, 75g cooked lentils (1⁄2 cup), 80g grilled chicken, 1⁄4 cup lemon juice, 1⁄2 cup mint chopped, 1⁄2 cup parsley chopped.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add a pinch of himalayan sea salt to taste.

Snack

APPLE CRUMBLE

1 apple, 10g nuts of choice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 30g rolled oats, 1 tbsp water.

Preheat oven to 150C/300F. Core the apple and set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor combine the nuts, rolled oats, cinnamon and water and blend until a chunky crumble has formed. Stuff the apple with the crumble and place on your lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until the apple is tender and the crumble is golden.

Dinner

PIZZA

90g cooked quinoa (1⁄2 cup), 1⁄8 tsp Himalayan sea salt, 60mL water (1⁄4 cup), 1 tbsp mixed herbs, 1 egg, 20g low fat feta, 1⁄2 medium tomato sliced, small handful spinach (1⁄4 cup), 1⁄4 medium red capsicum sliced (1⁄4 cup), 20g sun dried tomatoes (1⁄4 cup), 20g low fat grated cheese.

Preheat oven to 220C/430F. Add the quinoa, salt, water, mixed herbs and egg to a food processor and blend until a batter has formed. Line a pizza tray with baking paper and spread the batter in a circle on the paper. Bake the base for 15-20 minutes or until golden and slightly crispy. Add the toppings to the pizza and return to oven for a further 5-10 minutes or until the toppings are warmed and the cheese has melted.

ENJOY!!

Workouts

Exercise and physical activity are a great way to feel better, boost your health, lose weight. Your weekly training program should look like this:

• Monday- cardio and legs
• Wednesday- arms and abs
• Friday- full body

CARDIO AND LEGS (examples):

• Jump squats
• Walking lunges
• Sumo squats
• Weighted step ups
• Scissor kicks
• Bench jumps
• Knee ups
• Double bench squats

ARMS AND ABS (examples):

• Push ups
• Lay down push ups
• Tricep dips
• Mountain climbers
• Ab bikes
• Sit ups with twist
• Straight leg sit ups

FULL BODY (examples):

• Burpees
• Skipping exercises
• Straight leg jackknifes
• Raised leg sit ups plus twist
• Crunches
• Plank
• Side plank
• Tuesday and Thursday- 30-45 minutes of walking, swimming, jogging, cycling.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Black coffee without any sweeteners or herbal tea curbs your appetite.

Cayenne pepper, grapefruit, avocado are top fat burning foods.

If you are primarily trying to lose weight, concentrate more on cardiovascular exercise than weight training or if you're doing exercises with weights, choose lighter one and do exercise more times.

Do cardio exercises before you eat breakfast. There have been studies done indicating that doing cardio first thing in the morning can burn calories three hundred percent greater than if done at other times throughout the day.

Be sure to take a multivitamin each day when losing weight. When dieting, sometimes cutting down on foods, leaves us lacking essential vitamins.