Hobart Personal Trainer | Hobart Fat Loss | Hobart Personal Training

We all know that it is important to eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, and chances are that you need to increase your intake. Not many people really do get enough, especially when it comes to the vegetable part.

Fruit is typically sweeter, more enjoyable and more practical. For instance you can just grab and apple, orange and banana in the morning and throw it in your bag. Not so appetising or easy to do with brocolli, celery and capsicum.

So how can I add some more of this high fibre, nutritious, lean body food to my diet?

1. Get a good blender. Start with green tea (chilled) or water as your base and have at it. You can mix and match vegetables and fruit to get great flavours and a heap of nutrition. One blended shake like this could have more nutrition in it than the rest of your normal diet!
2. Saute it with onions. Just about anything tastes good when you saute it with onions in a pan. Add a little bit of your favorite flavored olive oil, some garlic or salt and add it to your chicken or beef.
3. Home made guacamole/salsa. Start with an avocado, some sauteed onion and tomato. Then add your favorite vegetables to make your very own signature dish. Once again serve it as a side to your chicken or beef, or you can use it as a healthy alternative to store bought dips.
4. Think fruit not grains for breakfast. Replace your favorite grain based breakfast cereal with your favorite fruit and go from there. Add some yogurt, mixed nuts or blend it with some cottage cheese. This also works well with berries!
5. Always carry fruit. It is a great idea to have a piece of fruit on stand by. This way it will be your first port of call in case you need a snack, or are going to be late for your next meal. No more running to the store for a chocolate bar or going to the take away for lunch, have this on stand by and you be able to keep the diet horrors at bay!

Let us know your favourite, most practival way of increasing vegetable or fruit intake.

Eating out can be a large part of people’s lives. Today’s lifestyle of entertaining clients, social gatherings and traveling means that you will have some huge barriers to overcome to maintain your healthy, lean body lifestyle when eating out.

To make life easier for you I have put together a list of some easy-to-implement tips to keep your diet on track even when you aren’t in charge of the food preparation.

1. Keep the liquid calories to zero. This means no soda (soft drinks), juices or alcohol. For maximum benefit stick to water and green tea.
2. Minimise starchy carbs. Go for salads instead of potatoes, rice or potatoes.
3. Avoid the fry up! Anything deep fried is going to be full of unhealthy fats and calories that will take forever to burn off back in the gym.
4. Say no to desert. Whist there are some balanced, nutritious deserts available, 99% of the time you will have to make them yourself. At the restaurant  they will be full of sugar and saturated fats which won’t help your waistline.
5. Be smart with portion control. Eating out doesn’t always have to be about getting the best value for money! Getting the all you can eat buffet will cost you more time and effort in the long run. Be sensible and don’t be afraid to leave some food on the plate.

So putting this all into practice means that you will be having a moderate sized (lean protein/meat based) main accompanied by a glass or two of water. Always try to get the inevitable side of fries changed over for a serve of salad or vegetables. You want to skip the free bread, garlic bread or herb bread whilst  you are waiting for your meal. This is a surefire way to add processed calories to your diet and inches to your waistline.

If we have a look at the improvements you have made with meal selection, you will see how much of a positive impact it will have on your body.

Option A – The regular menu

• Garlic Bread
• Burger or pasta dish
• Chips / Fries
• Soft Drink (soda), beer or other sugary / alcoholic drink.

If you care about your health and your body, a much smarter alternative would be:

• Lean meat or chicken dish
• Salad or vegetables, or both
• Water and green tea.

These small changes will result in a saving of between 400 and 800 calories every time you eat out. Even more if you tend to have more drinks or upsize all the options. You will also be eliminating almost all of the bad fats and processed carbs along the way.

It doesn’t have to be hard, and you don’t have to go without. Just a few small changes applied frequently will make a massive difference in the long run.

What tips or strategies do you use? Share with us by leaving a comment below.

Here’s the thing, food should taste good. The problem lies when food is packed full of sugar and fat to make it taste good.
What you really want is food that looks good, tastes good and, even better, help you get rid of a bit more belly fat.

Instead of wasting all the hard work in the gym, stay on track to a flat stomach with an eating plan that matches your goals.

For a healthy, lean body variation on a potentially boring chicken salad try the following.

200gms skinless chicken breast, diced or cut into strips (uncooked weight)
½ medium red onion diced
1 pinch of garlic sprinkles
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of chilli flakes
2 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 big handful (2-3 cups) mixed lettuce or baby spinach

Preheat non-stick pan and add oil and seasoning.
Add chicken and onion.
Brown chicken then add Red Wine Vinegar.
Cook for 2 minutes to let flavours fully infuse.

Have the lettuce in a large bowl ready, serve chicken straight on top and mix through.
Serves one. Double quantities for two servings, triple for three, you get the idea!

This quick, easy, great tasting meal ticks all the boxes. Good protein, good fats, good carbs, fibre and lean body friendly. But most of all it tastes great.
Enjoy.

James