Eat healthier for a better life

Most of us know what we should eat and why we should eat it. But more often than not we get caught up in work, or running around after our little (or not so little) kids, that we don't. We say it's too hard too eat healthily, we don't have time to cook or plan meals, or even that it costs more to prepare healthy alternatives. And we look for a short-cut or what we think will be a quick fix to good health and fat loss.

And does it work? Maybe in the short term, but so-called 'dieting' isn't the answer in the long term. Diets mess with your head, your moods, and confidence. How often do you feel guilty about something you ate for instance? Diets can create a negative cycle of stress, deprivation, bingeing, guilt, denial, frustration and the biggie – failure. Not exactly what you'd call a great model for a happy, healthy Mum.

And like it or not, our kids learn by example and not just from what we say but what we do. A friend of mine was shocked to see her three-year-old mimic her on the bathroom scales, saying she'd “have to try harder” and that she was “too fat”.

So I say BOO to dieting! Throw away all the junk magazines and crazy diet books. Instead, think positively and get savvy about nutrition. It all comes down to habits and behaviour.

And more importantly, happy, healthy Mums can't help but be an example to their kids.

Here's 3 simple tips to get you started:

1. Reduce your intake of starchy, refined, processed carbohydrates(rice, pasta, bread and potatoes). This is one of the ultimate keys to the fat loss kingdom. Reduce these items dramatically and you’ll see an amazing difference to your waistline within a week.

2. Avoid sugar where possible!You have to work hard at this one, but it’s worth it, again, controlling your blood sugar is vital to preventing the mechanism which causes you to store fat. 

3. Dump the junk and processed food. You know why! Full of trans fats, sugar, salt and who knows what else. Eating processed food won't take you towards your goals!