Hobart Personal Trainer | Hobart Fat Loss | Hobart Personal Training

We all know what it’s like. If you have some chocolate in the cupboard it will be calling your name, again and again, until it is eaten. If it’s not chocolate then it will be whatever vice you have. Chips, cookies, crackers whatever it is – the list goes on. If it is in your cupboard then chances are you will, at some stage, eat it. It takes a whole lot of self will, power and mind control to say no. It is a whole lot easier to not have it in there at all, and this list will give you a pretty good idea of what you should be replacing these foods with.

• Almonds
• Cashews
• Walnuts
• Pistachios
• Pecans
• Macadamias
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Tomatos
• Beans
• Asparagus
• Snow Peas
• Peas
• Real Peanut Butter
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Protein Powder
• Chicken
• Lean Red Meat
• Tuna
• Salmon
• Spices
• Herbs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Teas
• Eggs
• Cabbage
• Onions
• Mushrooms
• Peanut Oil
• Avocado Oil
• Sesame Oil
• Olive Oils
• Coconut Oil
• Butter
• Cacao Nibs
• Garlic
• Soy Sauce
• Oyster Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Apples
• Balsamic Vinegar
  

That’s what i’m packin’!

Keep these foods handy, and you’ll keep the belly fat at bay. There are so many options using only these foods. Change one ingredient and you can change a meal.

What have I left off the list? What is a staple that’s in your kitchen that I’m missing? Leave a comment below to let me know.

Ever seen the movie ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”? Clearly not one of the greatest films of our time, but it reminds me of what happens when you have your food preparation strategies under control.

Long story short (and to save you the discomfort of watching the movie!) they would go back in time and changes things, or hide things so that when they came back to the present it was there. Confused? Fair enough, time travel isn’t that popular yet.

Put it like this. When you are wondering what to have for lunch, open the fridge and your lunch is already there, life is good. It is even a better feeling if you have forgotten that you have made the meal and it is a genuine surprise! (Trust me, this happens quite often for me. Short term memory loss is a side effect of having twins I’m sure!)

Enough rabbling, lets look at some time tested strategies.

1. Double the recipe

The idea here is that you make a double (even triple) batch and store the leftovers. Put some in the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch or in the freezer for a quick, healthy frozen meal. Be careful not to over eat just because there is an abundance of food cooked here.

2. Buy more Tupperware

I love Tupperware, but obviously you can get any brand of storage containers. These will come in handy for the leftovers you have cooked, but also for storing fresh ingredients. For instance we use it to store tuna not used for lunch instead of leaving it in the tin.

3. Bag It Up

Buy in bulk and store in serves. That’s what you want to be doing with things like nuts, beans and snow peas. It makes sense to buy in bulk because you generally get a better price. But then instead of just having large bags or jars of nuts (it can be very easy to over eat this way), get some zip lock bags and put them into single serves. All you need to do is grab a bag for a snack or take a few with you to work.

4. Take and Shake

Or is it shake and take. Or take, shake and take. Either way what you want to do is grab some of your favorite protein powder and put it in your shaker. All you need to do is add some water and you’ve instantly got some quality protein. Eat the bag of nuts you brought and a piece of fruit (or the snow peas) and your done. Once again you can bag up some single serves at the start of the week so all you need to do is grab it on the way out instead of measuring it everyday.

5. Make Breakfast at Night

Most breakfasts worth eating will require a bit of preparation of cooking. That means you typically don’t want to be eating cereal, toast or juice. Sure they are convenient, but they will have enough processed carbs to keep you running for about a week. Problem is you will feel hungry not long after and be eating again. So pre-cook your eggs, blend your cottage cheese, berries and nuts and have it all ready to eat, or heat and eat in the morning.

If you have a strategy of your own, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Non starchy vegetables are something you will have read about in my posts here. But it occurred to me (well it hit me like a brick when one of my clients told me!) that I hadn’t detailed exactly what these vegetables are. To save you the time looking up every vegetable on the nutrient database, I have compiled a list of the most common non starchy vegetables for you.
And here’s the beauty of these little wonders, you can pretty much eat as much of these as you want. Did you ever hear of someone packing on the pounds from eating too much broccoli?!?

• Any leafy greens – ‘fancy’ lettuces (please don’t eat iceburg because it has no nutritional value either), spinach, swiss chard, etc.
• Any type of sprouts (bean sprouts, alfalfa, etc.)
• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Bamboo Shoots
• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Capsicum
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Fennel
• Green Beans
• Hearty Greens – collards, mustard greens, kale, etc.
• Herbs – parsley, cilantro, basil, rosemary, thyme, etc.
• Leeks
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Pumpkin
• Radishes
• Snow Peas
• Squash
• Tomatoes
• Turnips
• Zucchini

Lots of good food there, and plenty of options. Think summer salad, winter boiled vegetables, salsa etc. Remeber to try different combinations and different recipies. If there is something on the list that you haven’t tried, get out there and give it a go. You can’t not like something if you haven’t even tried it (haha, that’s the dad in me coming out!)

If you think vegetables have to be boring have a look here, and discover a heap of ways to spice things up.

Carbs, carbs, carbs. Good for you one minute, bad for you the next. Part of one fad diet and left out of another.

If you have spoken to me about food, you will know I have some pretty simple rules to follow. Now generally speaking, if it comes in a bag, box or can then it’s not going to be too good for you. The less processed a food is, the less preservatives it contains, the closer it is to the way nature intended it to be, the better it will be for you.

Take a look at the list below, each food has a serving amount beside it. Print it out if you want to, it can be very handy when preparing your meals.  In general you want to get four serves per day. One for each main meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and half each for morning and afternoon tea.

Vegetables

• Beans 1.25 cups
• Beetroot 3/4 cup
• Broccoli 2 cups
• Cabbage (shredded) 2 cups
• Brussels sprouts 5 sprouts
• Carrots 3/4 cup
• Chick peas 3 tbsp
• Celery 3 cups
• Cauliflower 1.5 cups
• Chinese cabbage 6 cups
• Kidney beans 1/4 cup
• Cucumber (sliced) 3 cups
• Leeks 2/3 cup
• Lentils, raw 1 tbsp
• Capsicum (chopped) 1 1/2 cups
• Hummus 3 tbsp
• Pumpkin (cubed) 1 cup
• Pumpkin (mashed) 1/2 cup
• Lettuce, Mixed (chopped) 6 cups
• Mushrooms (chopped) 3 cups
• Snow peas 30 pods
• Onions (chopped) 1 cup
• Spaghetti squash (cooked) 1 cup
• Salsa 1/2 cup
• Spinach 4 cups
• Tomato (chopped) 1 cup

Fruit/Berries

• Apple (medium/large) 1/2
• Apple (small) 1
• Banana 1/3
• Blackberries 2/3 cup
• Blueberries 1/2 cup
• Cantaloupe (cubed) 3/4 cup
• Cherries 1/3 cup
• Grapefruit 1/2
• Grapes 1/2 cup
• Honeydew 1/2 cup
• Kiwi 1
• Mango 1/3 cup
• Nectarine 1/2
• Orange 1/2
• Peach 1/2 large
• Pear 1/3
• Pineapple (cubes) 1/2 cup
• Pineapple (rings) 1
• Plum 1
• Raisins 1 tbsp
• Raspberries 2/3 cup
• Strawberries 3/4 cup
• Tangerines, small 1
• Watermelon (cubed) 1/2 cup

Here’s the good stuff. I know you probably looked through the list above and wondered ‘where’s the bread, potatoes and rice?’ Well never fear, you can eat some of these. In fact they could also help you lose some extra belly fat by doing so. But make sure you read this through before you go stuffing your face with these starchy carbs and singing ‘James said it was ok!’
The only time you want to be eating the foods on the list below is 30 minutes either side of an intense fat burning workout. This is a fair dinkum, wish it would end soon type of workout, not a walk around the block or a few light weights, swim and a spa. If you have earnt it, feel free to eat between two and four serves listed below afterwards, or split it up and have half either side of the fat burning workout.

Starchy Foods

• Bread, whole grain 1/2 slice
• Couscous 1/2 oz
• Gatorade/Powerade (powder) 1/4 cup
• Oat bran (dry) 2 tbsp
• Oatmeal (cooked) 1/3 cup
• Oatmeal (dry) 3 tbsp
• Orange juice 1/3 cup
• Potato (mashed) 1/3 cup
• Rice, brown (cooked) 1/4 cup
• Rice, white (cooked) 1/4 cup
• Sweet potato 1/3
• Sweet potato (mashed) 1/4 cup
• Tortilla, corn 1
• Tortilla, flour (whole grain) 1/2

The absolute key here is timing. 30 minutes is non negotiable. If you can’t stomach food that close before a workout, opt for the juice or sports drink. Instead of having to cook afterwards, have the starchy carb of choice cooked and ready to go in a Tupperware container or the like.

Stick to these foods in the most natural form possible and both your health and your waistline will thank you.

If your favorite food isn’t listed above, and you truly think it deserves to be, then leave a comment below. I am more than happy to add to this list if warranted.

Next time we will look at another controversial food subject – FAT.