YES FREE... NO CATCH!

How excited am I on a scale of 1-10 about my new zest4life classes? About 19! My training is now complete & I'm doing a pilot launch. I am currently looking for 20 willing participants who would like to be on the FREE DIET TRIAL at The Best Western Pinewood Hotel, Handforth, near Wilmslow, Cheshire.  If you can commit to 4 consecutive Tuesday evenings or Wednesday mornings (beginning week of October 28th) and have a history of dieting, along with at least 10lbs to lose, then I'm interested in you!
Please email me your details, including your phone number.
As you can I imagine, I'm expecting a huge response to this, and will contact everyone who applies over the next few weeks with a few more questions.
There will also be a FREE SEMINAR on Thursday 14th November, at the same venue. Please email me to reserve a FREE place. On the evening there will be a presentation to introduce you to zest4life.
If you want to know more about zest4life right now please take a look at the website http://www.zest4life.eu/how-it-works.php 

Hope to see you soon!
Happy healthy eating,
Bev

SUSTAINABLE WEIGHT LOSS MANCHESTER

ICELAND HERE I COME!

I'm off to the wilds of Iceland for my 4th 'Racing The Planet' event this week. For the past 3 years I've been lucky to have worked as a volunteer on what TIME Magazine describes as the hardest endurance footrace series in the world. I've worked in the Atacama Desert in Chile, The Annapurna foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal & the Sahara in Egypt. Now I'm really excited about being in the barren Icelandic desert for 7 days (with no showers)!
It's a huge privilege to watch such races - the amazing fast elite athletes, the middle of the pack slog it out guys & the never give up, back of the pack "I'll finish every day if it kills me" runners.
We all have to be self sufficient - runners & volunteers alike. The only things provided are tents, drinking water & hot water every morning & evening. Work is quite physical - setting up checkpoints & lugging hundreds of bottled of water each day. It won't be pretty - this is the first time I've needed to pack waterproofs & wellies - we could get rather wet & muddy. I'm sure there will be a huge rush for warm showers when we arrive back in Reykjavik!
The moral of this story is.... You can do whatever you want to do.....I've gone from overweight comfy couch potato to fit, healthy, nutter who enjoys roughing it & pushing myself in the great outdoors.
All it takes is determination to change.
What do you want to change?
Till I return.....Happy healthy eating!
Bev :)

BIG EXCITING NEWS!

I'm so excited....! I have been offered a place & just enrolled to become a zest4life practitioner. This means I will be running weekly weight loss & healthy eating programmes in the Cheadle Hulme/Bramhall/Wilmslow/Alderley Edge areas. They will be so much more than the usual pay your money, weigh in & go home diet club. I'm still seeing clients as The Personal Nutritionist - just adding another bow to my strings. There's tons of training to do & I will be in London for a whole week, but I hope to be set up & ready for action by the end of the year. I'm also doing some further nutrition training & will be a qualified Nutritional Therapist.
My decision has come about because I have followed Patrick Holford's Nutrition Bible with my own weight loss journey, & I firmly believe it's the best way to lose weight - & then keep it off - without all those cravings that yo-yo dieters have.
I may be needing some people for FREE diet trials Sept/Oct time - not sure yet if they need to be face to face or online - so please drop me a line if you would like to considerd as a guinea pig!
I'll be keeping you up to date with any new developments.....
So in the meantime.... happy #healthyeating

Bev x

Sustainable Weight Loss Manchester

LOSE YOUR OTHER HALF & LOSE WEIGHT!

Don't get me wrong - I'm not for one minute suggesting anyone splits up! However I have come to the conclusion that it's much easier to eat really healthy meals & shift a few stubborn pounds when you're only looking after yourself. My wonderful husband of nearly 30 years has gone to China for 2 weeks & evening meals have become incredibly simple. He's very fit & healthy but quite partial to steak & chips or lasagne, followed by some cookie dough ice cream! How do you resist that? So yes, when clients tell me it's really difficult to eat healthily because your family want something else, I understand. Like you, I sometimes find myself cooking 2 different meals. It isn't always easy.
But now my fridge is running at bare minimum - only what I need, so no temptation. I've planned my meals, been shopping & am totally organised. Tonight I'm having a pearl barley & butternut squash salad - also throw in some peppers, sun dried tomatoes & broccoli. Toss in a little virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar. Simples!
So whether you are cooking for 1, 2 or the whole family, take advantage of this lovely warm weather & create some tasty salads. If others want more than that, serve up some meat, poultry or fish with it - but at least you're only making one big bowl of delicious, filling salad.

Happy #healthyeating everyone!

Bev

Sustainable weight loss Manchester / Cheshire

BUT I DON'T LIKE CARROTS!

I'm amazed at how many adults actually say they dislike a huge array of vegetables. Everyone has somewhere between 2,000 & 10,000 taste buds on their tongue, which detect sweet, salty, sour, bitter & umami (the 5th savoury taste). Luckily your preferences aren't set in stone - you can change the foods you like if the desire is there. It takes an average of 14 days to 'accept' a new taste. I know someone who went from 3 tsps of sugar in his coffee to none. Just stopped. After 2 weeks he tried it with only 1 tsp of sugar & really hated it - his taste buds had adapted. The same can be done with an 'unhealthy' diet.
We all know vegetables are good for you - full of vitmains, minerals & fibre. Eating at least 5 portions a day means you'll have less room for the unhealthy stuff. Eat as big a variety as possible for maximum nutritional benefits.
Yes ok, there may be some vegs that you find totally gross (sprouts spring to mind), but I just don't believe that you can't learn to love carrots! Try them raw with dips, grated onto salads, in a juice, roasted with parsnips, diced & mixed with peas, or mashed with sweet potatoes. Incorporate them into your meals regularly & you will start to develop a taste for them.
Sadly, if you eat a diet high in sweet, salty, fatty foods your taste buds will take some time to change, but
there's nothing like feeling good on the inside!
It's never to late to learn.

Happy Healthy Eating,
Bev
Sustainable Weight Loss Manchester

HAPPY EASTER!

The average Brit will spend approx £65 on Easter eggs, which experts reckon equals 53,000 calories - that's a lot of 'eggstra' calories being consumed!
Just one standard size Easter egg can easily add up to 1,000 calories, and of course those calories are made up of mainly sugar and fat - not ideal if you are watching your weight!
So here are my top 3 tips for not gaining lots of unwanted pounds this Easter......
1. Choose or ask for a dark chocolate egg. It will satisfy your taste buds much more than milk chocolate, so you will probably be happy eating less at one time.
2.  Break your egg into 100 calorie portions. You can do this by checking the nutritional information on the packaging. Then put the portions into small food bags & store at the top of a cupboard, out of easy reach.
3. Don't just mindlessly nibble your egg, and especially avoid eating while watching TV - it will be gone before you know it! Plan when you will eat some - maybe after dinner, so you have something to look  forward to. Then eat slowly, savour, taste and enjoy.

The beautiful photo is of some real eggs I saw in Harrods Food Hall last week. Aren't they lovely? Why not paint your own eggs, so you can have a pretty egg for breakfast on Easter Sunday? If you have children I'm sure they'd love to paint their own eggs in a box - get creative!

Hope you have a very happy healthy eating Easter,

Bev

Sustainable Weight Loss Manchester

LENTIL & RICE CASSEROLE

Oh the Great British weather! It's trying to snow again & is bitterly cold whilst I type this. So I thought a lovely warming & healthy casserole would be just the ticket.
This is one of my favourite recipes when I want a hearty, comforting meal that is also full of great nutrients. Why not give it a try.....

Put 8oz red lentils & 4oz brown rice in a large saucepan. Add 2.5 pts of vegetable stock. Bring to the boil & then simmer for 15 mins. Meanwhile chop 1 leek, 1 red pepper, 4oz broccoli florets & 2oz green beans & then add to the lentils & rice. Also add 14oz tin chopped tomatoes, 1tsp cumin, 1tsp chilli powder & 1tsp garam masala. Continue to simmer for another 15-20 mins or until the rice is cooked. Finally add 1-2 tbsp tomato puree (depending on taste) & a handful of shredded basil.
You can add any vegetables you like really - these are my favourites. This amount will serve 4-6 according to appetite! But it's also a dish that you prepare in advance & freeze, or try reheating a portion for lunch the next day.
The men in my house usually eat this as an accompaniment to chicken or pork chops - you don't have to serve a vegetarian meal to those who don't want it.

Enjoy!
Happy healthy eating,

Bev
Sustainable weight loss Manchester