Emotional eating is a topic that has gained a lot of attention in recent years. Many people wonder if it is a real thing or simply an excuse for overeating. In this blog, I will explore the concept of emotional eating, why it can happen and give you some tips on how to overcome it.
Emotional eating refers to the tendency of individuals to eat food as a response to their emotions, rather than in response to physical hunger. It is often characterized by a craving for specific types of food, such as comfort foods or sweets. People tend to turn to emotional eating as a way to cope with stress, sadness, boredom, or other negative emotions.
Yes, emotional eating is indeed a real thing. Numerous studies have shown a strong link between emotions and eating behaviour. When people experience negative emotions, such as sadness or stress, they are more likely to engage in emotional eating. This behaviour can provide temporary relief or distraction from their emotional distress.
Research has also shown that emotional eating is associated with certain physiological changes in the body. When individuals consume high-calorie comfort foods, the brain releases feel-good chemicals, such as dopamine, and lowers stress hormones, such as cortisol, which can temporarily improve your mood. This reinforces the association between emotions and feeling better, and eating what is potentially unhealthy foods, which then leads to a cycle of emotional eating long term.
I recently read an article in a Sunday magazine, written by a lady that was talking about being an emotional eater. However, when I read what she ate in a day, I began to question was she really emotional eating.
Here is a picture of what was in the the article
You see when I read this, a couple of things jumped out at me, and it made me question whether or not it was actually emotional eating or was her body crying out for nutrition and some balance.
This lady's body is crying out for nutrition!!
The carbs for breakfast will spike her blood sugars first thing in the morning - this means that her insulin levels have went up, her body tries to lower the blood sugar levels the come down quite quickly and then hunger will ensue soon after because the body panics as it feels as though it will not have enough energy to cope with its demands. Starting your morning off like this, is one of the worst ways to do it as it will lead a a day of cravings and energy slumps
Coffee and shortbread is a mega stress on the body. Coffee increases the body's cortisol levels - stress hormone - and the sugar from the shortbread biscuits start the insulin roller-coaster again. Every time that roller coaster hits the bottom, it triggers hunger again, and fat storage.
Lunch again is very carb focused and there is very little mention of high quality protein and no mention of any veggies.
Afternoon tea, is again, carb focused, all causing blood sugar spikes which then results in an afternoon nap after which is coffee - coffee at this time of the day really disrupts the body's natural circadian rhythm (when you should be awake and asleep), which will result in hormone and sleep disturbances, which then in turn will mean that her next day will start of on the wrong foot right from the word go.
Evening dinner again doesn't have any vegetables mentioned.
11pm more carb focused snacks and eating this late will mean that her body doesn't get to switch off properly as it is trying to digest food throughout the night. When this happens there will be a blood sugar low in the middle of the night, a cortisol spike and the body will waken. This means that she will waken tired the next morning and the whole cycle starts again.
Other things that caused me concern were
You see, when the body is not getting the nutrition it needs it will make you want to eat. You may feel that you are "emotionally eating" but actually is it your body trying to tell you that it needs nutrients
To me, this woman wasn't emotional eating. To me she was trying to fuel a very malnourished body and dealing with a lifestyle that is not serving her well. If she focused on nutrition rather than just eating "food" and really nourished her body, the cravings to eat unhealthy carb based foods would disappear. I would also suggest better stress management techniques to help with stressful situations.
While emotional eating may provide temporary comfort for this lady, it can have negative consequences in the long run. People who regularly engage in emotional eating are more likely to struggle with weight management and have an increased risk of developing obesity. Additionally, emotional eating can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and a negative body image. All of which this lady spoke about in her article.
When I see articles like this, I really want to say to the person - there is another way, it is The SMASH Way, and it can help you.
Developing a healthy relationship with food and finding alternative coping mechanisms for emotions can help individuals break free from the cycle of emotional eating. When you are eating for nourishment, the body responds accordingly.
Women are always amazed when they no longer crave rubbish when they start to eat The SMASH Way. This is because their body's are getting what it needs. The SMASH Way of eating is all about support the whole body and eating foods won't spike blood sugar, trigger hormonal issues or cause any damage to their body.
If you are struggling with emotional eating, there are things that you can do to help break the cycle. Here are some tips to help.
Identify Your Triggers and Emotions: Pay attention to your emotions and the situations that trigger your emotional eating. Keep a journal to track your eating patterns and emotions associated with them. Identifying these triggers will help you develop strategies to address them directly.
Seek Alternative Coping Mechanisms: Find healthier ways to manage your emotions that don't involve food. Engage in activities like exercise, meditation, journalling, or talking to a friend or therapist. Replace the urge to eat with activities that uplift your mood and provide a sense of relief.
Practice Mindful Eating: Develop a mindful eating practice to become more aware of your hunger and fullness cues. Slow down while eating, savour your food, and engage your senses. Focus on the taste, texture, and aroma of each bite. This will help you reconnect with your body's natural signals and prevent mindless overeating.
Build a Support System: Surround yourself with a strong support network. Openly communicate your challenges and goals with trusted friends, family, or a support group. Sharing your journey with others who understand your struggles and offer encouragement can make a significant difference in overcoming emotional eating habits. The SMASH Community is a great space for support when you are struggling.
Engage in Self-Care: Prioritize self-care activities to enhance your overall well-being. Engage in activities that reduce stress and promote relaxation, such as taking a bath, reading a book, practicing yoga, or listening to calming music. Making self-care a priority will help you address the root causes of emotional eating and promote a healthier mindset.
Make sure You are Eating Enough: By nourishing your body with the correct nutrients you supporting all of your body’s natural processes which will then ensure that you are able to deal with situations better in the long run.
So my advice, this week is, the next time you feel like you are emotionally eating, take a minute and ask yourself - "What can I do differently rather than reach for unhealthy foods" You might be surprised at the answer you get and how you can then respond accordingly. You may not be able to break your emotional habit straight away, but with practice and support, it can happen.
Remember, overcoming emotional eating is a process that requires patience and self-compassion. Be kind to yourself and celebrate every small step towards healthier habits.
Emotional eating can be a daunting challenge, but with the right knowledge and tools, you can break-free from its grip. By understanding the root causes, implementing practical strategies, and adopting mindful eating practices, you can regain control and foster a healthier relationship with food. Don't let emotional eating continue to dictate your life - empower yourself with the knowledge and strategies to overcome it.
If you need extra support, living life The SMASH Way can support you on your journey towards a healthier relationship with food and your emotions. Reach out if you need help.
Let's SMASH it!
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This is quite a difficult question to answer because after researching this, I don't know if there are any. People will say that the benefit is that you will lose weight if you use it, but for me, it's at what expense?
I will explain why I feel this way in the following blog and hopefully by the end of it you will understand why I am so hesitant to say that there are any benefits to it.
Have you seen the latest "solution" to obesity that is being spoken about at the moment? It's a weight loss jab called Wegovy (there are other brands as well) Now I don't tend to watch the news - haven't done so in years as it is all so depressing, - but I have heard this mentioned on the radio quite a number of times in recent weeks.
I was concerned by what I heard on the radio and I am even more concerned now as I read an article on it in a Sunday newspaper recently and then there was also a TV programme on called "The Truth about the Skinny Jab" on Channel 4. I just had to watch it - mind you it made me so angry, I probably shouldn't have.
In a nut shell, this drug works by mimicking your body's natural hormone GLP-1 (Glucagon-like Peptide 1). GLP-1 goes to the pancreas to signal that a food has been eaten and to increase the production of insulin in order to keep your blood sugar levels balanced. The GLP-1 also tells the brain how much food you have eaten and you have eaten and starts the signals that you are full.
The issue with GLP-1 is that it gets broken down in your body very quickly - in minutes - naturally. What these drug companies have done is "modified" the GLP-1 hormone to stay in your blood stream for longer. As a result of this, it fools your brain into thinking you have had more food than you have actually eaten, and you feel full very quickly.
Now for me, my alarm bells start to ring at this stage. When you start to mess around with the body's natural ability to produce hormones, with a modified hormone, it will have a negative impact elsewhere. The body is a very delicate, balanced system and when we start to mess around with it, ie increasing hormones that aren't naturally occurring, there will be consequences - more about that later.
It's because it is being shown as something that is easy and fast! All you have to do is inject yourself and you will then eat less. Sounds simple doesn't it?
Society has got so fascinated by the quick fix option that doing things naturally just don't come into play. It is really quite sad. There are celebrities using these weight loss jabs to lose weight in order to look good on the red carpet. This is wrong on so many levels.
I know there are people out there who are desperate to lose weight, and I get that. They may have tried many things and feel as though this is their last option, but in reality it shouldn't be. Back in 2013, that was me. I was desperate. But, I want people to know that there are safer options out there to losing weight.
"Success" stories were shown in the show on Channel 4, with the following statistics:
Yes, losing 100 pounds sounds fantastic, but what does that 100pounds consist of?
There have been reports of the weight loss not actually being fat loss, but muscle wastage. When you are trying to lose "weight" muscles loss is the last thing that you want to happen. That is a recipe for disaster. Muscle loss as we age is a huge concern, and doing something that could potentially accelerate it is very concerning.
When you look at the information on drugs.com website, it gives you some information on the potential side effects of using something like this. Reading this makes the thought of using something like this even scarier. 45% of the test subjects in the trials reported unpleasant side effects and some stopped taking part as the effects were so awful.
In the TV show, the ladies that were interviewed all reported "side effects" of taking the drug. Some of the side effects that they listed were:
These side effects were pretty instant when they started taking the injections. Is losing weight and feeling like that something that you would want?
The long term impact of a drug like this are unknown and studies in rats are showing that there is a dose dependent risk of thyroid tumours which is horrifying.
A lady in USA is sueing the makers of one of these weight loss jabs because she can no longer eat properly due to the damage to her stomach, and her body is unable to absorb the nutrients from the food that she does eat. I feel more stories like this will begin to emerge in the coming months and years.
Many of the current users are terrified of what will happen once they stop using this drug. In the trials, 90% of the subjects regained the weight that they had lost, once they came off the drug! There have been reports of users stopping, and their cravings coming back 100 times worse. We should be asking why this is happening - well I can figure out why this is happening!! The body is trying to get back the nutrients that it has been missing out on whilst the person was "fooling" their body and not eating enough food!
Due to the demand of these products, for people who just want to lose weight, there is a shortage. People who need these drugs to control their Type 2 Diabetes (which can also be controlled by diet), can not get them. In July 2023, there was a National Patient Safety Alert published to cope with the shortage. It discouraged the use of the jabs for obesity and stated that it should only be used for Type 2 Diabetics.
As a result of this, people are going to private clinics, ordering online and even buying on the black market!! It is so scary what some people will do in order to lose weight.
What is even more scary, is the fact that these drugs are being given out to people when they really don't need them AND you can lie on the forms online to get them, without any proper checks being done. You could be anyone - someone with a eating disorder - and you could get your hands on them.
When buying the products that are being sold on the black market, you are running the risk of getting a product that is not even the real thing. The Channel 4 show analysed 2 of these products and found that 1 definitely wasn't the weight loss drug and they couldn't actually tell what the other product was!! If that does not put you off using something like this, I don't know what would. The risks attached to this are colossal! You really do not know what you are putting into your body in this instance.
So you can see why I struggle with saying that there are any benefits of using this product. You are playing with nature when you do so. You are putting something into your body that modifies your brain function. You can not know that you are losing body fat, rather than muscle when you lose the weight using it. The long term effects of using a product like this are yet to be determined.
The amazing thing is that you can get your body to produce GLP-1 naturally when you eat the right foods. When you eat The SMASH Way, it happens automatically and my clients report a feeling of being satisfied and feeling great. There are certainly no nasty side effects of eating The SMASH Way, just the joy of enjoying delicious meals and losing body fat.
What annoys me the most about this is that companies are promoting something that is potentially toxic, that has potential side effects, no long term studies on the long term side effects and NOT showing people how they can do it for themselves!!!
That is where I come in. I can show you and teach you how to lose weight naturally, and keep it off long term.
Please don't be tempted by the idea of a quick fix jab. I feel the long term impact of these things can be horrific on your body, and your mind.
In my opinion, this is not a safe or effective option for long term weight loss and management.
Remember, when you eat the SMASH Way, you will naturally increase your GLP-1 hormone and balance all of your other hormones at the same time and you will learn how to do it properly. When you understand the why and the how behind healthy eating, it all makes sense - this is why I created The SMASH Way - so you could have access to the information that you need in order to live a safe and healthy lifestyle going forward.
Education is key!! Be Educated; Not Manipulated
]]>Enzymes are clever little molecules of protein, that are made from amino acid chains. They act as catalysts (or triggers) to bring about specific biochemical reactions in the body and help speed up processes within the body. It's quite a description but what you really need to know is they are very important to long term health.
Every process in the body is driven by enzymes of one kind or another - whether acting alone, in combination or in complex chain reactions. They are essential substances - without them, many biological functions simply would not happen, or they would be too slow for us to survive.
They play a vital role in helping us to achieve optimal nutrition, weight management, health and vitality.
If we are deficient in enzymes, this can have a direct effect on the efficiency of important processes in the body, which can become unbalanced, making us more prone to ill-health.
The structure of enzymes establishes their particular function or use. Enzymes produced by the body can be classified into two types: metabolic enzymes and digestive enzymes.
Metabolic enzymes are primarily involved in energy production and cellular activity on every level, but they also have other functions - like helping to detoxify the body.
Digestive enzymes also have a number of functions, the main one being, to help in the break down of the food we eat into its constituent nutrients, followed by the absorption of these nutrients.
The body uses different types of digestive enzymes to digest fats, proteins and carbohydrates for example.
Enzymes can also be obtained through dietary sources, i.e. food enzymes present in natural whole foods, such as leafy green plants, fruit and vegetables. These assist the body with the digestion of that particular food.
We are particularly interested in the role played by enzymes in the digestive process.
During digestion, food is broken down into a simple form that can be absorbed by the body. The process starts in the mouth with the chewing of food, continues in the stomach and small intestine where it is chemically broken down by the digestive juices and enzymes and finally gets completed in the large intestine.
Basically, food is taken in, digested to extract essential nutrients and energy and any remaining waste is finally expelled.
Digestion is arguably one of the most important and complex processes in the body, because it dictates our nutrient absorption, as well as our toxin and waste elimination. It also involves a wide number of organs and nutrients. For example:
- Organs: the nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, rectum, anus and other organs are all involved in the digestive process.
- Other components of digestion: such as saliva, hormone regulators, nerve regulators, gastric juices, friendly bacteria, bile, hydrochloric acid and, of course, digestive enzymes.
The efficiency of the digestive process therefore affects so many processes in the body, everything from immunity and hormone balance, to metabolism, toxic load, general health and well-being.
If your digestive system that is sluggish or not functioning optimally, it can lead to a number of unpleasant symptoms and conditions, including acid reflux, indigestion, constipation, imbalanced bowel flora, irritable bowel, heightened toxic load and even self-poisoning.
Healthy digestion is therefore arguably the cornerstone of good health.
Digestive enzymes play a central role in healthy digestion.
The human body produces around 22 different kinds, each of which acts on a different type of food. They work best at a specific temperature and pH and also have specific sites of action, eg, the mouth and stomach.
The most well known digestive enzymes are:
Amylase - breaks down carbohydrates into sugars.
Lipase - breaks down fats into fatty acids.
Protease breaks down protein into amino acids.
These enzymes are used to help break food down into nutrients to be absorbed and waste to be excreted. The nutrient molecules must be digested into molecules that are small enough to be absorbed through the lining of the small intestine. If we don't produce enough digestive enzymes to complete this process efficiently, or there are insufficient enzymes available from the foods we eat, it can lead to what is called “partial digestion”.
This means food that is not properly broken down and therefore cannot be absorbed effectively. It can therefore sit fermenting in the stomach and small intestine, or putrefying in the colon.
This can, then in turn, lead to acid reflux, increased activity of harmful bacteria and parasites in the gut, along with poor nutrient absorption, fatigue, digestive upset, flatulence, bloating and more serious health issues (including food intolerances and allergies).
In relation to digestion and nutrition, it is therefore essential to recognise the critical role that enzymes play and the importance of having sufficient levels of them for long term health.
According to Dr. Edward Howell, we have a finite reservoir of enzyme activity - this means we can run out of our digestive enzymes if we do not live a healthy lifestyle.
The complex digestive process requires a great deal of enzyme activity to extract nutrients from food and translate these into all the various tasks of the body. Factors such as caffeine and alcohol intake, illness, pregnancy, stress and exercise can also all take their toll on our enzyme reserves.
We also need to be aware of the fact that we produce fewer enzymes as we age. By age 35, the production of enzymes in the stomach, pancreas and small intestines begins to decline.
Enzyme production in the body decreases by 30% in most adults over 50.
It is therefore wise to put the least amount of strain on the digestive system and its enzyme reserves as possible, both by eating a healthy diet and including a high number of enzyme-rich foods in it (such as raw foods, sprouted and/or fermented foods).
Unprocessed whole foods contain most of the enzymes required for digesting that particular food, which can then help to relieve some of the strain on the body when having to produce its own enzymes. Many people also consider digestive enzyme supplements, to support their digestion.
In contrast, a diet high in enzyme-poor, highly refined and processed foods can place a significant strain on digestion and therefore your reserve of digestive enzymes. The body will try to compensate by producing more of its own digestive enzymes to make up for the lack of external plant enzymes, thereby depleting its own reserves more quickly.
Theoretically, the more we can preserve and support our reservoir of precious enzymes, the better our bodies will be able to protect themselves against ill-health and maintain a healthy balance between activity, repair, immunity and recovery.
If you are struggling with eating a healthy variety of natural, minimally processed food that will support your digestive process, I highly recommend that you consider taking DIGEZT. This is a supplement that has been specifically designed to help your digestive system. It is packed full of ingredients that will support your digestive enzymes and therefore your long term health.
By eating a highly nutritious diet and supplementing if necessary, you will be able to live a long and healthy life going forward.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
]]>Do you take health supplements or are you considering taking some? If you are, it is really important to be sure that the ones that you are taking are doing your body good, rather than doing it damage.
Nowadays, more people in the UK and around the world are turning to alternative medicine and natural remedies to support their health and well-being, or to help them achieve their health goals. This is great news, however, we do need be knowledgeable about what we are taking.
If you walk into any supermarket, health shop or pharmacy nowadays, you will more than likely find a huge (and confusing) selection of vitamins, minerals and other supplements - often with wide ranging price points - some very cheap, some very expensive.
The question is, are they all the same? And, if not, how do you know what to choose so you get the best results?
As with many things, when it comes to health supplements, you get what you pay for.
One important differentiating factor is the quality of the ingredients used when making the supplements and the process that is used to make them. It would seem logical that, in supplements that are designed to support your health, that the quality and purity of them should be of highest importance.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Some vitamin manufacturers focus on high profit margins and low retail prices, rather than on the quality and effectiveness of their products. So, if your supplements are suspiciously cheap, take a look at the ingredients list. You may be in for a nasty surprise and you most likely will not get the results you require or deserve!
Unfortunately, the food that we eat nowadays does not give us the necessary nutrients that we need in order to thrive. Mass produced foods do not have the same nutrients that foods did 50 or so years ago. Even though many women feel overweight and want to lose weight, many are walking about malnourished because they are not getting what they need from their food. Many are walking around in a daze of exhaustion, carrying excessive weight and feeling like rubbish. Because of this, many women are looking for a way to feel better and sometimes to quite literally get through the day. Many choose to support our body’s with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in supplement form, to help ensure that we are meeting our body's daily nutritional requirements.
However, there is little point in taking supplements that are actually putting more harmful substances into your body. Unfortunately, believe it or not, this is exactly what can happen if you are not careful in your selection and don’t know what to look out for.
Watch out for vitamins, minerals or herbs in tablet form. Very often, the active ingredients (the actual nutrients) can make up as little as 15% of the tablet! The remaining 85% comprises additives, preservatives and other added 'nasties' such as fillers, binders, excipients, solvents, artificial colourings, sweeteners, disintegrants, dilutents and more.
The lower the price of the tablets, the more likely it is that a high level of these undesirable ingredients have been included. Ultimately, you get what you pay for. What is even more frustrating, is that some companies put high price tags on these kinds of supplements, trying to fool people into thinking they are getting high quality supplements, but when you look at the ingredients, they are no better than the cheaper ones.
When it comes to your health, isn't it worth spending that little extra so it means you are getting a purer, more effective product? If not, you may simply be wasting your time and money on products that either pass through your body with little effect, or worse, could actually be harmful.
If you are currently taking supplements and not really feeling the benefit of them, ask yourself the question - what is really in the supplement that I am taking.
I have had clients over the years, come to me and tell me that they are taking supplements. When I ask them why they feel the need to come to me, they answer that they aren’t feeling “just right” or “they feel that something is missing”. When we look at the supplements that they are taking, many of them have undesirable ingredients in them and some even have ingredients that may cause harm.
When clients like this come to me, I always recommend swapping to SMASH supplements for 28 days to see how they get on. Yes, I know they are more expensive than was you can buy in a supermarket, but when all of the clients have come back to me and said that they feel amazing within a matter of weeks, they realise the value and importance of taking high quality, food form supplements. Remember it is not what you eat or take, it is what your body absorbs that is important.
Apart from the fact that you will be paying for a poor quality product that can have little, if any beneficial effect on the body, there are some other very practical reasons why you should avoid cheap supplements.
For example, there have been reports of cheap tablets either passing through the digestive tract undigested (which means that there has been no benefit to the user) or, more worryingly, that they get stuck in there - neither disintegrating or passing through.
Another common example is that of ascorbic acid, often used in cheap vitamin C supplements.
Ascorbic acid is actually a man-made chemical, which is manufactured in chemical plants by applying heat, pressure and chemicals to glucose (sugar), which converts the glucose to ascorbic acid.
Contrary to popular belief, ascorbic acid and natural vitamin C are not the same. Vitamin C is a naturally-occurring nutrient, found in a variety of fruit and vegetables, while ascorbic acid is an artificial, reduced form of the natural vitamin. When it is heated, the vitamin itself breaks down and can become largely ineffective.
Ascorbic acid is an isolate, a fraction, a distillate of naturally-occurring vitamin C - basically the “antioxidant wrapper” which protects the functional parts of vitamin C from rapid oxidation or breakdown.
In addition to ascorbic acid, vitamin C must include rutin, bioflavonoids, Factor K, Factor J, Factor P, tyrosinase, ascorbinogen and other components. In addition, mineral co-factors must be available in proper amounts.
If any of these are missing, there is no vitamin C and, more importantly from a health perspective, no vitamin activity.
When only some of them are present, the body will draw on its own stores to make up the difference, so that the whole vitamin may be present. Only then will vitamin activity take place, provided that all other conditions and co-factors are present - but this is, of course, a drain on your body's own reserves - and therefore not ideal.
You also need to consider, isolated ascorbic acid is not absorbed or used by the body in the same way as food, and (as an acid) can actually upset the stomach and irritate the digestive tract, and even worsen medical conditions.
In the same way, alpha-tocopherol is not vitamin E, retinoic acid is not vitamin A and so on through the other vitamins.
Another key difference between whole food vitamins and synthetics, is that whole food vitamins naturally contain within them many essential trace minerals necessary for their synergistic operation. In contrast, synthetic vitamins contain no trace minerals, relying on, and depleting, the body’s own mineral reserves.
It is telling that the man who coined the word "vitamin", Dr. Casimir Funk (a Polish biochemist), stated that synthetic vitamins "... are highly inferior to vitamins from natural sources, also the synthetic product is well known to be far more toxic.”
We are unable to manufacture most vitamins within our body and therefore, they must be obtained from the food we eat.
The best sources of vitamins then, are obviously natural, minimally processed whole foods, rich in vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients that are in a format that is easily recognised, absorbed and utilised by the body - what we call "food form" or "food state".
Unfortunately, because of soil depletion, mineral depletion, pesticides, air pollution, erosion and other toxins and pollutants in the environment, foods grown in soil today have only a fraction of the nutrient value of even 50 years ago. This means, a fraction of the vitamins and minerals necessary for normal cell function and overall health and vitality are available for our body to use.
The food that we are often left with in the supermarket, is a choice of empty, highly processed 'dead' foods of commerce. This is one of the main reasons why so many people now choose to support their nutrient intake with natural food form supplements, where you can be sure of what you are getting.
Natural, minimally processed, organic food is what our bodies are best able to break down and absorb; in contrast, they struggle with synthetic vitamins, chemically polluted and refined/highly processed foods.
A "food form supplement" is one which has been specially prepared to be as similar to the real food as possible, to ensure that the body can absorb the nutrients more easily and utilise them more effectively.
Food form supplements usually come in capsule form. Not only are capsules easier to swallow, they help to increase the absorption of the product and you will not find a capsule passed through the digestive tract - it is designed to dissolve. This means that the supplement's nutrients can be efficiently released into the system and absorbed much more easily.
Today we are being exposed to an ever-increasing number of environmental toxins and chemicals, and therefore opting for both organic food and supplements wherever possible is the ideal means of helping to reduce your toxic load and get the most out of the nutrients in your diet.
Produced from organically grown fruits, vegetables and grains, organic food form supplements will not have had any chemical compounds (such as additives) introduced into their plants at any point.
Health supplements that are organic and natural may also have a higher content of vitamins and minerals and contain lower levels of toxic metals (including mercury, lead, and aluminium) than their non-organic counterparts.
Don't obsess about the milligrams!
Try not to be overly concerned with ingredient milligrams on the labels. Some companies will use the milligrams as a marketing tool but in reality, if the supplement is of poor quality and not bio-available for the body to absorb, it really does not matter what level of the nutrient is in the supplement.
While you will, of course, want to know the concentration of nutrients in your vitamins and supplements, synthetic vitamins are refined, high potency chemicals, and therefore may be accurately measured in milligrams, just like drugs.
This has nothing to do with vitamin activity or nutrition (except in a negative way), and is actually much more difficult to measure in natural food form products. This is not a reflection of their efficacy - quite the opposite.
It is more important that your body absorbs the correct nutrients from your food form supplements rather than them pass through your body in the cheaper synthetic format.
“All disease begins in the gut” Hippocrates.
Keeping this in mind, good health begins with balance in the body, particularly in the gut. Good gut health = good health.
Inside our body there are twenty times more bacteria than living cells, and maintaining the correct balance of beneficial bacteria versus harmful bacteria is a crucial part of supporting long-term health and vitality.
Do not be afraid of bacteria. For years we have been sold the idea that we need to live in this “hyper clean” environment and it is actually causing harm to our body and is damaging to our long term health too. Children that are brought up in “hyper clean homes” tend to be more sickly than the children that aren’t.
Having the right kinds of bacteria (so-called "friendly bacteria"), in sufficient quantities, is essential for everything from healthy digestion and nutrient absorption, immunity and defence against infections. We need these in our body.
The delicate balance of healthy gut bacteria can be disrupted by a range of circumstances, including excess alcohol, a diet high in sugar, poor digestion, stress, exposure to toxins and environmental pollutants. Today, we will look at one of the most common causes of gut flora imbalance - the long-term or frequent and unnecessary over use of antibiotics.
Nowadays, antibiotics are arguably prescribed and used far more than they should be and as a result, antibiotic resistance is unfortunately happening more and more. This is a type of drug resistance, where a microorganism (bad bug) is able to survive exposure to an antibiotic and the antibiotic doesn’t work.
What’s even more concerning is, one of the most notable effects of antibiotics, is the adverse impact they have on the digestive system and the balance of gut flora - they indiscriminately destroy both good and bad bacteria in the body. They work by either killing bacteria or by preventing bacteria from growing - great in terms of bad bacteria, but not so good news in terms of healthy, good bacteria.
This is somewhat ironic, when you think that the people who are taking antibiotics in the first place, are doing so because they are sick, but the medicine they are taking is destroying one of the body's primary lines of natural defence - good bacteria.
Antibiotics can have a role to play in certain situations and can certainly be highly effective in resolving severe bacterial infections, but it is important to use them sensibly, in moderation and to support your levels of beneficial bacteria both during and after a course.
Too many bad bugs!
If your levels of good bacteria fall, you provide the perfect environment for opportunistic 'nasties' (like bacteria, parasites and yeasts) to thrive and spread and you may start to feel unwell.
This is one of the reasons why antibiotic programmes often result in thrush (a fungal infection caused by Candida overgrowth).
Research has shown that the damage done to the digestive systems by a course of antibiotics can last far longer than was previously thought.
Stanford University researchers in America analysed the levels of friendly bacteria in 3 healthy adult women both before and after each of two cycles on the antibiotic Cipro. Following the first cycle, they found that the drug had altered the population of the subjects friendly gut bacteria significantly, perhaps even permanently. Following the second cycle, six months later, they discovered that the effect was exponentially greater.
An overgrowth of harmful gut flora (called dysbiosis), for example, increases gut toxicity and can result in a number of unpleasant symptoms and conditions, including:
- bloating
- constipation
- skin conditions
- diarrhoea
- abdominal pains after eating
- wind
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Leaky Gut Syndrome
- Candida overgrowth
- anxiety and depression
As such, antibiotics should never be used as a regular “quick fix” for minor ailments and, wherever possible, long courses should be avoided too.
* When a course of antibiotics is unavoidable, you can support your levels of friendly bacteria through diet and probiotic supplements, such as BLOOMZ
* Many people have observed the health-supporting effects of fermented foods (often referred to as "probiotic foods") and include them as a regular part of their diet. Examples of these foods include kefir, sauerkraut, miso, organic tofu and tempeh to name just a few. Including these foods in your diet on a regular basis is a good way to promote healthy intestinal flora.
However, it is worth noting that most of these foods do not contain strains of bacteria that can actually colonise the digestive tract. Instead, they do good work for a week or two and then pass through.
* Supplementing with strains of good bacteria that can colonise the digestive tract (such as L. acidophilus, L. salivarius, B. infantis, B. bifidum, B. brevis and B. longum) is arguably a more effective and powerful means of supporting healthy levels of gut flora for the long term.
* Also ensure that you have adequate fibre in your diet. Many people are not eating anywhere close to the recommended 30g of fibre a day. As a result, the gut is not getting enough fibre to help things “move along” and can result in constipation. To increase your fibre intake, include lots of veggies, fruits and do not be afraid of eating the skins of these (where possible).
* Make sure that you are drinking enough water to enable your gut to cleanse itself as well.
Do you know what you are eating? You might say food, but are you really eating what you think you are? Many foods that are available in shops these days, are so highly processed that they nearly do not resemble food but are food like substances. Food companies, unfortunately tend to only care about their profit margins and not necessarily about the impact of the ingredients, on your long term health.
This is why I encourage everyone to really know what is in their food and one of the best way to do this is to cook it yourself and use minimally processed ingredients.
With the widespread use of artificial chemicals to enhance everything from taste and appearance to shelf life, you can no longer be sure that you know what is in your food just by looking at it.
It is really important to understand what specific ingredients do (or don’t do) and how to read a food label. I always say to people, if you don’t recognise the name of the ingredient, or there is a list the length of your arm, put the “food” back on the shelf.
By learning to read food labels, and knowing what to look out of, you take the power of your health, back into your hands.
Food additives are substances that manufacturers add to foods. For example, to preserve flavour, keep the food fresher for longer and to enhance taste (to encourage you to eat more which means more profits for them), texture and appearance.
Thankfully, not all food additives are bad, despite the negative links with the phrase. Some are actually very natural. For example, vinegar that is used for pickling, and salt that is used to preserve meat. These additives have been used for centuries, and are natural methods that won’t have any negative impact on your body.
Similarly, there is a common belief that processed foods automatically contain food additives, but this is not always the case. For example, long-life milk is processed, yet it doesn’t actually require added chemicals to prolong its shelf life.
The vast majority of additives used by food companies nowadays are unfortunately synthetic or man-made and many have come about as a result of the increasing demands of modern living and the changing palates of younger generations.
Think about it, when someone is looking for a late night snack, they tend to go for something that is either highly salted or sweetened to satisfy them. Also, in today's busy shopping environments and saturated food markets, the brighter, highly coloured foods are normally the ones that get picked (especially by children). Children are being marketed to from a very young age, that food needs to be fun to eat, nice to look at and tasty - think of the wording ... “Happy Meal,” “Celebrations”, “Fun Size” etc, etc
Unfortunately, the nature of our modern diet and lifestyle has resulted in fewer and fewer home-grown foods, less people cooking for themselves, and an increase in the number and type of processed/refined foods. As a result, this has led to an increase in the number of additives used in foods - both natural and synthetic. Therefore it is very important to arm yourself with knowledge about them, to help ensure the long term health of you and your family.
In fact, there are currently over 3000 additives used in food across the world, most of which are synthetic! We need to become more aware of what is in the food that we are eating.
E-numbers get a lot of attention in the media for being unhealthy but, once again, the reality is a little different to what is often portrayed. The word itself conjures up images of something that we really don’t want in our food, but are they really as bad as we are led to believe?
Well, let's investigate as to what they really are.
After an additive has been tested and approved for use in foods in Europe, it is given a classification known as an “E-number” (a number with an “E” prefix, e.g. E100), for the regulation purposes and consumers knowledge. The “E” stands for Europe and countries outside Europe just use the number without the “E” in front of it. In reality, it is simply a systematic way of identifying different food additives by replacing the chemical name or common name of the food by an E-number.
The important to know, is that even natural additives will be labelled with an “E” prefix - so don't automatically discount a food which otherwise looks healthy. Knowledge is power, so know your E-numbers!
Check out a list of current E-numbers in the UK and Ireland. It is quite mind blowing when you see what is on there. A copy of this and my recommendations on what to avoid are in the SMASH Academy.
Research undertaken in 2007 by Britain’s Food Standards Agency and later published by the British medical journal “The Lancet”, provided evidence that a mix of additives commonly found in children’s foods serves to increase the mean level of hyperactivity. Similarly, in 2008, AAP Grand Rounds (the American Academy of Pediatrics) published a study that concluded that a low-additive diet is a valid intervention for children with ADHD.
Bearing all this in mind, it is important to remember that all foods are made up of chemicals, and some people can react to natural foods as well. For example, people with food allergies and intolerances can often be sensitive to chemicals found naturally in certain foods, such as dairy, nuts or shellfish. However, it is always a good idea to opt for natural ingredients over synthetic ones and to adopt an organic lifestyle wherever possible for maximum benefit to your health.
In April 2022, I took part in a special networking challenge run by the amazing Sue France. Sue runs a facebook group that encourages people to connect and support each other in business. I had never taken part in anything like this before and I have to say I was slightly nervous. The introvert in me was screaming but the business head in me was saying "Sandra get out of your own head and help women".
I embraced the challenge and met 3 lovely ladies.
This is an account from one of the ladies on her experience cooking The SMASH Way.
I will let Lindsey take over now...
"Tantalisingly, tasty tuna fishcakes
I don’t cook!
At least, not since my dinner party recipe of Chicken Zhivago got banned by my husband for over-use. Let’s just say, I had an exceptionally limited repertoire. So he took over the cooking in our house.
Don’t get me wrong - I’d like to cook but it all just seems too much time and effort for mediocre or inedible results. So when Sue set the challenge and matched me up with Sandra, Zoe and Emma, I was intrigued.
.
Well, to be honest my heart sank at first, “Oh no, cooking!” But you don’t say, “No” to Sue so I decided to give it a go.
Sandra Miskimmin is the Founder of SMASH. My first question, of course, was how the name came about as I was guessing it had nothing to do with those 80s ads, “For Mash get Smash.”
Sandra explained it stands for “Sandra Miskimmin’s Alternative Solutions for Health” and is indeed the opposite of those highly processed potato products. Instead, it’s all about eating highly nutritious, non-processed foods that don’t compromise on flavour and are good for you.
Sandra shared her 10 Taster Recipes with us. Spoilt for choice, we finally selected tuna fishcakes. I chose Wednesday as ‘my night’, sourced the ingredients and the scene was set.
The recipe was really easy to follow (fortunately), with helpful suggestions if you couldn’t get certain items like using porridge oats in place of quinoa flakes. On another practical note, the fishcakes can be frozen so are great for batch cooking -.perfect for the busy person.
You also get all the nutritional information and the glycemic load per serving (i.e.how dramatically it raises your blood sugar - yes, I did have to look that up!).
One slight error meant I found myself looking at lots of chunks of sweet potato at one point wondering how on earth they were going to fit into a fish cake. I then re-read the recipe and saw the vital work “Mash!”. I told you I was an amateur.
Anyway, I carried on and soon five, beautiful fishcakes (I’d opted for half quantities) were sizzling in the pan.
Here’s my M&S bit!
Tantalising tasty, tuna fishcakes with a hint of chilli and paprika, nestling on a bed of fresh green salad. Crisp on the outside, packed full of healthy goodness on the inside. These were not just any fishcakes, these were SMASH fishcakes. A true taste sensation.
Seriously, I have to say they were simply delicious - a great consistency and bursting with flavour. I felt like I’d eaten really healthily but had enjoyed every mouthful. It was also a therapeutic and fun cooking experience.
So what’s next on the menu? Chilli Chicken, Spaghetti Bolognese, Chicken Curry with Quinoa and Peppers… My repertoire of great recipes has just started expanding. Plus, I can be confident that with Sandra’s recipes, it won’t be my waistline as well."
Thank you to Lindsey for such a wonderful recount of her experience.
I love when women fall in love with cooking The SMASH Way. All of the recipes are easy to make, with simple instructions on how to create them.
If you haven't tried cooking The SMASH Way yet, why not download the FREE Recipes and give it a go too!
]]>Every year at this time, women tend to start thinking more about what they are going to be doing in the new year for their new years resolutions, on how they are going to "finally" get healthy next year. They will give themselves permission to do what ever they want because January is coming and it will be different next year
However plenty of women put off making the decision of what they are going to do, to the last minute.
And then they make the snap decision to do something that they tried before (and didn't work) or try something totally crazy, which means they usually end up with the same results that DON'T last.
Each January, I get a big rush of people who want me to help them to lose weight, but I’m usually well booked out by then.
The people who get the best results are the ones who get started now because they have already started to think about healthy habits that will help them long term.
This is why I talk continue to talk about eating healthy even though it is not the traditional "diet" season.
Women who get started now, tend to enjoy more energy, losing weight before Christmas and know that they can enjoy Christmas without the dread of feeling like crap, and having to starve themselves in January.
These ladies also have the joy of knowing exactly what to cook in the winter months that will nourish their body whilst helping it stay healthy too.
Unfortunately, many women tend to make the same three mistakes when they’re thinking of waiting until January to start a "diet" again.
1 - they think "what the hell", I'm going to be really good in January, so I might as well enjoy myself to the maximum until then. This results in even more damage being done to the body, making losing weight even more difficult in the new year.
2 - they become even more addicted to the comfort foods that many over eat in the winter months. This then makes it even harder to give up the junk in the new year and withdrawal symptoms are awful.
3 - they start to google "what is the fastest way to lose weight" in preparation for January. So many gimmicks will pop up and very few, if any are safe and healthy ways to lose weight. This can result in you investing in something that could potentially damage your body in the long run - that happened to me once.
Those who make all three of these mistakes tend to waste the most time, money and energy in the long run trying to live a healthy lifestyle, and when in reality, if they just started to live life the SMASH Way now, things would be so much easier.
So, if you are thinking of holding off until January before you start your healthy regime, think again. Why not start to take care of your body now, so that you will have less to do when the new year starts and you will feel so much better in the run up to Christmas too.
Living a healthy lifestyle is something that should be done the whole year around, not just for the first 6 weeks of the year.
Take control now. Educate yourself on the correct way to fuel your body and then know that you can make the right decisions over the Christmas period, enjoy it 100% and then get back to your healthy living asap.
Check out the SMASH Christmas Party Food for ideas of delicious desserts and party foods that taste amazing and won't have a negative impact on your health.
If you are thinking about starting to live a healthy lifestyle, why not start now.
The SMASH Way can help you with this going forward! You can get it now, familiarise yourself with many of the delicious recipes, start living a healthier lifestyle and know that you are nourishing your body in the best way possible going forward.
Get ready to SMASH it
]]>Mushrooms do you like them, love them or hate them?
When I was younger I hated mushrooms!! They used to make me gag. They were slimy and the texture just turned me. I know quite a few people who have the same thoughts as these, and I encourage them to try mushrooms again as they can get over their distaste for them - as I did - and anyone who knows me personally knows what a fuss pot I am!!
I am so glad that I no longer have this issue with mushrooms as the health benefits of mushrooms are massive. They really are under rated when it comes to foods that are good for long term health.
Well I remember my mum asking me to cook the dinner one time when I was a teenager. It was Spaghetti Bolognese and she even joked that I had to include the mushrooms. My mindset was that if they had to go into it, they would go into the frying pan so small that they would practically disappear. I chopped them up so small that you couldn’t tell the difference between the mince and the mushrooms and the rest they say is history.
From that day on I have ate mushrooms and I actually LOVE them now. There is nothing nicer than poached eggs and fried mushrooms with a slice of SMASH Nutty Bread.
The mushrooms that I am talking about, and the ones that most people know about, are the most common ones here in the UK and Ireland - Button Mushrooms. You can always get them in the shops and they are readily grown here in Northern Ireland.
These mushrooms can be used in lots of different dishes and hidden in many dishes just in case you have a fuss pot like what I was years ago.
The reason you may want to hide them (from fuss pots) in some dishes is because mushrooms are a great source of Vitamin D, (one of the few plant based sources available).
A tip to increase the levels of Vitamin D in your mushrooms is to leave them, tendril side up, in sunlight for a period of time before you cut them up and use them. This happens because mushrooms contain the provitamin ergosterol. Once the mushroom is exposed to sunlight, there is a chemical reaction that causes the mushroom to produce Vitamin D2. This is easily absorbed but the body and not destroyed by cooking.
This is so important because most people are actually deficient in Vitamin D. We are hearing more and more about the importance of Vitamin D in our diet and for long term health. Unfortunately many people are deficient in it due to not being out in direct sunlight as much - which is another great way to get Vitamin D into your system.
Mushrooms are also a great source of fibre and can easily bulk out many dishes and they are cheap too which means your meals can be really healthy without being really expensive - which is an added bonus. They are really low in calories, yet filling, which is great for anyone concerned about their calorie intake.
Did you know that there are so many more different varieties of mushrooms that have outstanding health benefits? Medicinal Mushrooms are used widely in Chinese medicine, and although not readily available in the UK & Ireland, they are definitely something that you should consider taking.
There are many varieties of medicinal mushrooms, all with different health benefits but there are four that I want to tell you about...
Now, I don’t know about you, but where I live, I can not just walk into the supermarket and pick up a carton of Shiitake or Cordyceps mushrooms, but I really want the benefits of them. I want to have easy access to them, but is hasn’t always been possible.
That is up until now!
I have made it easier to get the benefits of medicinal mushrooms into us without having to search loads of health stores, supermarkets or get them online and not know what to do with them. They now are included in the recently launched an improved POWZA!
This organic supplement not only contains food sourced fruits and vegetables (you want your supplements to be food based to ensure that your body can utilise the nutrients properly), but it also contains the four amazing mushrooms mentioned above.
You can now get the benefit of them without the need to hunt for them. I love the fact that I am able to supplement them into my diet easily, on a daily basis and get the numerous health benefits from them. Powza actually makes this so much easier now for you.
If you think you could benefit from any of the benefits of mushrooms, why not try Powza for yourself.
We also have them in our new Shroomzy Mushroom Blend which is specifically devoted to mushrooms.
]]>Well 2021 has most certainly been one that has been challenging for me so far - and it is only the 8th of February!!! I have been very quiet in all aspects of business life and I thought a little blog would help to explain and as always, there are some tips to help you if you are going through a similar situation.
If you are on my mailing list (if you are not, you should be ;-) as you get lots of exciting info and offers), you will have heard the sad news that we had in January. Not only did we lose my very dear Nanny at the start of the month, but we also lost our brother in law at the end of the month.
Both of these situations are really hard to deal with under normal circumstances, but with Covid and all of the restrictions in place, it made it even harder.
I really feel for everyone who has been going through any loss at the moment as it is so hard. You all know me as the person that is strong and so positive, but even I have struggled some what over the last 4 weeks.
Why has it been so hard?
Well I think that the reason that people are all finding the loss of a loved one so hard at the moment is because they have been denied so much with them.
Due to the fact that we are all in lockdown again, we hadn’t seen our Nanny personally from May 2020. Nanny was 90 and we were protecting her. My husband was out working and the boys were out as well. We couldn’t risk being in person with them, and bringing something to them. We couldn’t live with ourselves if that had happened.
Most people haven’t been able to say their “goodbyes”, whether this is before the passing or after, at a wake or family gathering.
I do feel that saying goodbye is definitely part of the grieving process and maybe even the start of the grieving process, and one that should definitely be done. Where I live, having a wake is a huge part of the process and it is so difficult that we couldn’t have one.
Both Nanny and our brother in law were amazing people in the community and known by so many people, and I feel sad that no-one got to have the opportunity to attend a wake for either of them.
It would have been so lovely to have seen so many people that knew them and heard lots of stories and memories that people had of them. They both deserved to have huge wakes but unfortunately that didn’t happen. All that we can be thankful for is the fact that we all have amazing memories and will cherish them forever.
To only have 25 close family members at funerals at the moment is so hard. Everyone deserves a great send off and I feel that so many have been denied that. To be able to celebrate life at a time that is so hard, again is so important. To be surrounded by loved ones and to be able to hug them without fear is something that we should be able to do and to then not be able to be together after the funeral is so hard.
When families go through something like this it is so important to be surrounded by loved ones. The family and friend circle is what keeps people going in difficult times. As a result of the current situation and restrictions, many are missing out on this. We had our “bubble” and thankfully we were able to be with a very small number of our family after Nanny’s funeral. It was lovely to raise a wee toast to Nanny and to remember all of our stories about her.
This is certainly strange for anyone going through this. It is so hard not to go and see my Granda. As much as we want to, we still are protecting him as we are still in lock down. Roll on the better weather so we can go and see him and be outside.
For sorting things out afterwards as well it has been so hard for people to do. It is like the world is in “pause” mode. Nothing that you want to do naturally at a time like this can be done, so you just have to put it off until a later date. Will this help with grieving or will it prolong it? Who knows at this stage.
I know for us it will be very strange going back to Nanny and Granda’s house. It will be so strange to go in and not see Nanny sitting in her chair, doing her crosswords or knitting teddies for charity. It will be weird for the kids too as Nanny always had her “sweet shop” open and always spoiled them with treats when we went to see her. How will I feel when this happens, well we will just have to wait and see.
So with all these emotions running riot in these very strange times, what is my advice to you if you are going through the same thing?
Yes there were lots of things that I was angry about in the last month, but I can not change them. By holding on to that anger, it is only hurting me. I remember someone explaining holding onto anger as holding onto a burning coal. The heat from the coal is causing heat (inflammation) in your body which can lead to illness the longer that you hold onto it. The only person that hurts when you hold onto that anger (the coal) is yourself. By releasing the anger, you can get on with the healing process.
We can’t change the current situation, as much as we would love to, so there is no point is stressing over it. Yes it would have been lovely to have a huge massive celebration of Nanny and Colm’s life, but unfortunately we couldn’t.
Does it mean that they meant anything less to us? Certainly not!! The outpouring of love on any social media post about them was phenomenal. I guess that is the way that we got to celebrate their lives and the great thing is each year we will be reminded of the love that was given.
This is something that I do when I feel the emotions getting too much for me. I acknowledge the emotions are there and then I let them go. Standing in a hot shower, with peace and quiet is actually a great place to have a power cry.
The significance of the water cleansing and taking away that emotion certainly helps. Have that cry, let it out and then get on with things.
I think one of the biggest fears when someone close to you passes away is that you will forget things about them. You will always have great memories of your loved ones. They are locked in there and you won’t forget them. The more you talk and reminisce about them, the easier it will be to recall them.
We have always had a thing called “GGS - Granny Gladys Syndrome” that we always joke about. It was when anyone would do something that Nanny would have done or said. We still use that phrase, and I guess we always will and it has been so funny over the last few weeks when we have done something and someone has went “ohhhh GGS”. Chat about the things that make you smile and remember the good times.
This is the first time that our younger children have ever had to experience death and to experience 2 close family members dying in the space of a month has been quite a shock to our youngest.
He is only 12 and we have been very open with him and made it really easy for him to talk to us about death. He has never had sleep issues before and after both, he was lying awake in bed late at night and even sneaking into our bed. We let this happen and have had lots of little conversations with him. He is back sleeping again with no issues.
It is ok for them to also see you sad and crying as it will also show them that it is ok to cry and let your emotions out. When our youngest asked why I was so sad, I just explained that I was sad that I wasn’t going to be able to see Nanny for a long time and sad for Granda, and he accepted that.
We also recognised that there was a bit of a “shorter temper” at the end of the month which was so not like him so when I thought about it, it certainly related back to the fact that he was trying to deal with, and process what had happened. Again, we had a chat and the outbursts went away.
Children are so aware of what is going on around them and they will take their cues from you. Our goal was to not make death feel like a big deal and that it was part of nature and something that you shouldn’t be afraid of.
If you know of someone who has lost someone recently, I would highly recommend that you pick up the phone and call them, or answer the phone when they call you. Due to the fact that we are all so isolated at the moment, this may be the only form of contact that they might have.
They need to chat and if all you do is just listen, it will be a major help to them. They may not want to be seen on a zoom call but they might be aching for a chat. Be the one that lifts the phone, they will really appreciate it.
When we are trying to deal with difficult emotions, it is very easy to comfort ourselves with certain foods and alcohol. Yes, this will give you short term comfort but unfortunately it can lead you down a very slippery slope of being dependent on these kinds of things and result in cravings and the end result can be ill health. The chemical reaction that you get from these foods and drinks will release hormones in your body that are the equivalent to receiving a hug, but it is only a short term chemical hit.
If you can steer away from these kinds of things when stressed or emotional. I recommend going for a long walk outside or having a nice relaxing bath as an alternative. They will give you a similar chemical response in your body but rather than having a negative effect on your body, it can have a more beneficial effect.
If you are having trouble sleeping, try to not use alcohol as a means for getting to sleep. You may feel that it is helping but unfortunately it doesn't. Yes, you many fall asleep a little bit quicker initially, but the quality of your sleep will be affected and when you waken the next morning your body will be exhausted and you may reach for the unhealthy foods again and the vicious circle starts - and it is hard to break.
If you feel that you are holding things in and they are becoming too much, try the art of keeping a journal or as many would call it a diary. The action of writing things down really helps with dealing with feelings.
You can write down the things that are annoying/hurting you and as you progress you can even start writing about all the good things that are happening and all the great memories that you have.
When we are children we are encouraged to write stories and write about how we feel, but as we reach adulthood, we tend to stop. I feel that it is even more important to write about our feelings as we age as it certainly helps you to process your feelings easier. Some of the most successful people in the world take time each morning and evening to write about their feelings.
I know that writing this has certainly helped me to process things even further.
Things will get easier as the weeks and months go by. It is not that you aren’t going to miss your loved one, but that you can get on with things going forward. Your loved one would not want you to be hurting so bad for so long, and they wouldn’t want you to be missing out on life either.
They will always have a special place in your heart for them, but your heart can hold so much that you can love again.
I hope my little tips from going through what we went through last month can help in some small way. You know me, I always like to share and if something works for me I will let you know.
However, if you are really struggling with grief, please reach out. There are lots of charities and support groups out there that can help professionally. I highly recommend talking through your emotions with someone who is trained to help you. Remember, it is ok to talk.
And finally, one of my business contacts sent me this little quote that helped her when she had a loss in her family and took great comfort from it. She said "they haven’t gone, they have just gone ahead”. I have to say I took great comfort from it too.
I hope that my ramblings have helped you if you are going through anything like this at the moment and if you need to reach out, my inbox is always open.
Love and Hugs
Did you know that magnesium is essential in over 300 biochemical reactions in your body? It is a vital nutrient but often forgotten about. When you are not getting enough magnesium in your diet you may start to notice minor conditions starting to appear. Quite often, people don’t think about magnesium when it comes to not feeling well but it is something that you should be aware of.
The good news is that if you are aware that you are not getting enough magnesium, you can do something about it. This is something that I track with people, and my clients have access to an app that easily calculates the amount of magnesium (and the other vitamins and minerals) that they are consuming through food.
The above are pretty essential for good health and therefore if you are deficient in magnesium, you may notice not feeling as well as you should. Have a look through the following symptoms of a lack of magnesium in the diet and see if any are relevant to you.
1 Lack of Energy
Suffering from fatigue is quite common when you are low in magnesium. Magnesium supports the mitochondria to produce energy. It also supports the body being able to release energy from the food that we eat. Therefore without magnesium your body may feel drained and exhausted.
2 Brain Fog
Do you ever feel that you are suffering from brain fog or a fuzzy head? Magnesium is essential in order for the brain to function optimally and therefore if you are lacking in it you may not be as “switched on” as you normally would.
3 Diabetes/Poor blood sugar regulation
Magnesium is a very important mineral for glucose absorption, if you don’t have enough of it, your blood sugars may not be stable - especially if you are eating a diet of highly refined carbohydrates - and this may lead to type 2 diabetes
4 Sleep Issues
Magnesium is involved in the production of the neurotransmitter GABA. This relaxes the body to prepare for sleep. Therefore, without magnesium and subsequently GABA, you may not be able to get to sleep. Sleep is vital for long term health as it is when the body repairs itself, so make sure that you try to get a good nights sleep. Have a bath with Epsom salts in it to help as this is an easy way to get magnesium into your body and the hot bath will help with relaxation as well.
5 Anxiety and Depression
If GABA is low over a period of time it can also lead to mood disorders. If your mind can’t relax, it can have a knock on effect on your sleep and therefore a long term effect on your health. Magnesium is often referred as "nature's chill pill" and therefore if you are lacking in it, anxiety issues may arise.
6 Bowel Issues
Constipation can be a sign that you may be lacking in magnesium. If you aren’t eating enough fibre along side not getting enough magnesium, it can play havoc with your digestion and lead to constipation. Many clients that I work with are not getting enough fibre - the recommended level is 30g a day - and many are only getting around 10-15g daily. Magnesium can aid bowel movements and along side fibre and sufficient water can help alleviate this issue.
7 Bone issues
Did you know that calcium can not do its job with out magnesium? Most people think of calcium when it comes to strong bones, however, magnesium is also important. If you are lacking in magnesium, calcium will be unable to do its job at strengthening your bones. Magnesium is also very important for muscle growth in order to support your bones
8 Muscle Issues
Muscle pain and cramping can be as a result of lowered magnesium levels especially if they are occurring late at night and during sleep. Restless legs has also be linked to a lowered magnesium level. Magnesium is essential for muscle relaxation and very important in the body’s ability to regulate calcium levels within nerve cells. If magnesium is low and calcium regulation is poor, it may result in numbness and tingling in the body. Menstrual cramps have also been noted as being worse when magnesium levels are low.
9 Headaches
If you are suffering from headaches regularly - no matter the intensity (mild, tension, migraine), it can be a sign of low magnesium levels . Magnesium is an essential nutrition for brain function.
10 High Blood Pressure
There are lots of things that can have an effect on your blood pressure - stress being the primary thing - but a lack of magnesium can also increase it. Magnesium is a natural way to lower your blood pressure. When it comes to blood pressure, please ensure that you are very careful and if necessary consult your doctor.
I hope this list helps. It is not designed to panic you but give you knowledge so that you can look at how you are feeling and if some of how you are feeling is linked to a low intake of magnesium in your diet.
When your body is functioning optimally, you should not experience any of the above symptoms and it is really important to recognise that feeling like crap is not normal.
When you balance your body with high quality foods and supplement where necessary, you can feel amazing!! Age is only a number, do not accept that you have to grow old and feel awful. You can feel amazing later in life - when you do things right.
Yours in Health and Happiness
]]>Are you wondering if the SMASH Way Meals are something that you could cook and eat? If you are, why not try this sample taster guide, that includes 10 recipes that you can try out.
Once you fall in love with cooking the SMASH Way, you can then get your complete SMASH Way Book and Support Hub and know that you will be able make use of the recipes and that your family will like them.
All you need to do is click here and enter your email address and you will be emailed a link to receive your 10 free recipes.
Enjoy
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Nowadays, we are bombarded by images and adverts that depict ideas of a healthy lifestyle. However, there are so many out there, which one do you choose? Which healthy eating regime will be the best for you? Which healthy eating regime will give you the results you desire? Is it a eating regime that is a quick fix or is it one for long term health?
These are questions that should be going through your mind when you are thinking about starting a new healthy eating regime. Note that I do not mention the word “diet”!!
All too often people start a diet with the primary goal of losing weight for an special occasion or something like a holiday, and once they reach their ideal weight, they stop their “diet” and gain all their weight back again - plus a little bit extra for good measure.
Does that sound familiar? It was to me, as it is what I did for years and years!! I was a serial yo-you dieter! Each time I dieted, I lost the weight, stopped that diet and gained it back and that little bit extra too.
The countless dieting failed because it was a diet!! A diet traditionally has a start date and a finish date! I didn’t learn anything about my eating habits, I didn’t address my relationship with food and back then all I wanted was a quick fix. It was like I was putting a sticky plaster on something trying to fix it but each time the plaster failed!!
I used a programme back in 2013-2014 for 19 weeks and I lost 41 pounds. I was so shocked that I was able to do this as normally I only ever lost a pound a week (and I was totally miserable for every minute of the week)!!
Now in 2020, I can say that I have never found that weight again!! Result!! I am not only healthier but I am also able to work out at the gym on a regular basis - this was something that I couldn’t do for years due to my back and pelvis issues. In a way I lost my weight and gained back my life.
What was different this time? Why did it work for me and why has my weight stabilised?
There are a number of reasons and I could talk about them for hours but let me give you a brief summary as to why I feel that I have had such a massive success:
I have found freedom when it comes to food and dieting. It took years and years to find it, but it doesn't have to be that way. If you are looking for a way to lose weight, why not let SMASH help you through finding the right programme for you.
The diet industry is a mine field and I know how it feels when it comes to starting a new healthy eating regime. The industry prays on womens’ sensitivities with their weight and tries to make use feel that we should always be on a diet. We are bombarded with images and quick fixes that make us feel inferior unless we look like them or do the latest “trend”. Many of the diets/plans/quick fixes that are being promoted are anything but healthy. It’s no wonder that around 80% of women are continually on a diet.
I’ve been there, done that and it feels awful.
Now, I never diet. I have broken that diet circle and I am living a life of freedom when it comes to food. I still really enjoy my food and I live life to the fullest, but nowadays I do it with the knowledge of what is right for my body and life.
If you at at stage in your life where you are trying to decide on a healthy eating plan and you are struggling with what to do, I feel your pain. I advise you to look at the points below and then base your decision on what you think about the points raised and what is best for your life and your body.
These would be my top 14 questions to ask when you are starting a new healthy eating regime, there could be many more, but these are the most important ones.
When you ask yourself these questions and can answer the questions honestly and are comfortable with the answers, you have found the programme that is right for you. It is so important that you enjoy whatever programme that you choose and that you can see yourself doing it for long term benefits. Try not to go for a quick fix. Try to think of the long run, never needing to diet again and feeling amazing every day.
If you can find a lifestyle that you never need to diet from, you have found the right one.
We are all individual and it is really important that you find something that is right for you. You long term health depends on it.
I am forever grateful that I found what worked for me and that I can live my life in that way that I do nowadays. I love how I feel at the minute and I love helping others feel this way too.
Healthy eating is not a diet!! It is a lifestyle in order to ensure your body can function properly! I think to sum my thoughts up, it's just eat real non processed foods that you enjoy and are really tasty, get some exercise in and support your body where it is lacking in something.
If you need inspiration for tasty meals, check out The SMASH Way for over 120 recipes and all the information you will ever need to lose weight and keep it off long term.
If you need any other advice about a plan you are considering, give me a shout and I can have a look at it for you.
Yours in Health & Happiness
PS Watch out for a new blog that will help to explain if your eating regime is right for you and the correct results that you want to be getting!
]]>We are now, what 10 weeks into lockdown here in the UK and Ireland and the summer holidays are just around the corner! It is hard to believe that we will have at least another 12 weeks of the kiddies being off from school in Northern Ireland. My youngest has been off school since the 13th March 2020.
How is everyone coping? Is lockdown having a negative effect on everyone? Are stress levels and anxiety levels high? Is the weather great or not so great? Are the kids/partner driving you crazy yet? How many times have you heard “I’m bored! There’s nothing to do”? The kids won’t get off “fortnight” and get outside? The kids are eating you out of house and home and there never seems to be enough food for them ;-)
On a personal level, how are you coping with eating healthy during this period?
Are you struggling because you are at home all of the time or is it easier for you? Are you fed up going to the fridge/cupboard too often and feel like you have gained 2 stone? Are you looking forward to the coming summer months of being off or are you looking forward to getting back to work and some form of normality?
When it comes to being at home and healthy eating, so many people used to say to me that it was easy for me to lose weight and to keep it off because I worked from home. I have had so many conversations with people about this and lots of people are now realising that, that is not the case.
When food is so readily available at home, it takes a lot to be able to operate self control. Routine definitely helps and so too does eating the right kinds of foods - the ones that don’t cause the cravings to appear. This is where The SMASH Way comes in.
Now that we are coming into the summer months, people tend to say that it is easier to eat healthily, as they don’t mind eating lots of salads. Others will say it is more difficult, as there are too many temptations – ice-creams, cold wine/beer/BBQs/picnics etc.
If you are on your SMASH journey or just want to get the best out of your body over the coming summer months, what can you do?
Here are a couple of tips to help you to survive the coming months
It is so important that you keep your intake of liquids up as the temperature rises. When you are dehydrated, your body doesn’t function at its optimal level. The best liquid is water as it is the most natural. If you don’t have good quality water, I highly recommend investing in a water filter for your kitchen tap. We have been using one now for around 15 years, and wouldn’t be without it. If you live in Northern Ireland, give David a shout at Glacier Water Systems and tell him I sent you.
Fruits and vegetables are more readily available during the summer months and in some cases less expensive too. Up your intake to boost your micronutrients and therefore all round health.
Have lots of salads with your protein sources. If you are going to or having lots of BBQs make sure that at least half your plate is covered in vegetables. Put the salad items on first so that you aren’t tempted to load up on the unhealthy things that are available. Lots of good quality meats are great when cooked on the BBQ.
Movement is so important when living a healthy lifestyle. In times like these, movement can actually help with your immune function by stimulating the lymphatic system to drain better. During the summer there is no longer the excuse that the weather isn’t good enough to get outside. As my husband says, there is no bad weather, just the wrong clothing.
When the kids are off things tend to get a little bit crazy for us parents. You need to remember to take time out for yourself!!
It is so important to protect your skin in the very hot weather, like what we have been having, and I hope it comes back soon. Damage can happen to the skin so easily, especially when the kids are young.
The most important thing is that you enjoy the coming summer months, whatever they bring. Try and keep your stress levels low and treasure the time that you have together with the people around you.
If you do get to go on holidays this year, I hope you enjoy them too. Make the healthiest choices available to you and do the best that you can. Know that when you come home that you will be able to get back to your healthy “normal” eating very quickly as your body will be telling you that it wants the healthy foods again.
Yours in Health and Happiness
Christmas is such a busy time and it is a time that we can let our health and wellness slip. There are so many processed foods about, lots of alcohol and very little sleep. These things can play havoc with our bodies. Make sure that you listen to your body and know when to rest and eat something that is a little/lot less processed.
How can you survive Christmas week without feeling absolutely crap at the start of 2020? Well, read my tips below and you will be feeling fabulous!!
If you are going to over do it over the holiday period 😉🎅🎄 your body may need a little bit of extra help in order to cope. I highly recommend the following products to ease the burden on your body.
COALZ - this activated charcoal will help to detox your body as it scavenges it for any unnecessary toxins that might be there.
LIGAWHIZ - this herbal supplement is designed to support the liver. It is great for times of over indulgence especially when it comes to alcohol and rich foods. By supporting it, you are putting less pressure on your detoxification systems
Vibracell - this vitamin and mineral liquid supplement is perfect to keep the body ticking over during the holidays. It is brilliant at boosting the immune system which is so important at this time of the year, as the body tries to cope with all the extra pressures (bugs/flu/colds/indoor heating/lack of exercise)
If you would like a healthy option Christmas Day Dinner Menu, let me know and I will put something together. I cook nearly all my food from scratch and it is sooooo tasty!
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and here's to a very happy and healthy 2020!
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It's time to take steps so that you will be able to have lots of fun over the winter months and avoid any illnesses that might come your way. One of the joys of winter is that we tend to end up battling illnesses that come into the house - and they tend to happen at the worst time possible.
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Do you have any bad habits? Are you aware of your bad habits? Would you like to break them? Have you tried before and failed? Would you like to create a new healthier habit instead?
It is amazing how many of us have bad habits and struggle to break them. I know, I used to have such a bad habit of always having a bar (or 2 or more) of chocolate 🍫 or cookies 🍪 with every cup of tea that I drank. What I didn't realise at the time was, that due to the fact I was drinking on average 5 cups a day, I was also eating at least 500-600 calories a day before I considered anything else that I ate! 😱 I never thought of it before as it was just my daily routine, but it was an awful one. The scary thing was that as I was getting no nutritional value from the bars of chocolate and I was putting my body into a sugar rollercoaster. Hence my weight gain and feeling so unwell and unfit. 🤧🤒👎
When I was starting my health journey, a person said to me - "give me 28 days and I will change your life forever." My immediate thought was "yeah right!!" In my head there was no way that I could give up my chocolate bar with my cup of tea, a glass of wine and all the carbs that I ate. I really was a Carb Queen. But I was willing to give anything a try as I felt so awful.
I thought it would be very difficult as I had such bad habits but at the end of the 28 days I was feeling pretty good. So how did I do it? What I found I had to do, was to replace a bad habit with a new healthier habit. When you only take away, you will always feel as though you are missing out on something, however when you introduce something new and better to replace it, you feel so much better.
Now with the invention of e-cigs and vapes, people that are giving up smoking are not turning to food as much. I do not agree with these products, on health grounds, I don’t feel that there is enough research on these products with reference to long term damage to the body. If you watch someone that is using one of these e-cigs, they tend to continually have one in there hand, and I would be that they are actually using it more than they ever smoked!! They have replaced one habit with another - it is not the greatest replacement but you can see how it works.
The first Saturday on my health programme back in 2013 was very interesting. The hardest time that I found in the first 28 days was the very first Saturday night. You see, when I was doing my weight loss programme, I was doing it during the winter months. Our Saturday night routine was to cook a lovely family dinner and enjoy a bottle of wine with it. Then once we had tidied up, we would sit in front of the fire and finish off the bottle of wine.
On that very first Saturday I had no problems with doing without the wine during our meal, but when we were sitting in front of the fire - well that was totally different!!! I was sitting for a while and my husband was asking me what was wrong. I said I wanted a glass of wine. His response was - have one! In my head, I really didn't want a glass of wine, but it "was" my Saturday night routine!! I said no, but knew that I had to do something different or I would be looking for one very soon.
What I did, was make myself a fruit salad! I sat all evening nibbling at it. An hour later my husband asked me if I still wanted a glass of wine and I told him no! What changed? You see it wasn't the glass of wine that I wanted, but something to do with my hands. Once they were occupied with the fruit salad I no longer felt the need for the wine. I totally enjoyed my Saturday, watching X-Factor and the "craving" was gone. I went through nearly 3 months of not drinking any wine and really didn't miss it.
Nowadays, I no longer have the habit of drinking a bottle of wine on a Saturday night. Most Saturday's we don't, but sometimes we do, but it is no longer a habit. More than often, my husband will ask me if I want a glass of wine and my answer is no!! Nearly 6 years after doing my weight loss programme and I haven't let that old bad habit creep in!
I would say that the main reason for it not coming back into my routine, is due to the fact that I did without if for over 28 days, I found a replacement AND I felt so good with my new healthy lifestyle that I didn't want to go back to my old unhealthy habits that left me feeling so awful! RESULT!! I got over the first 21 day hurdle and never looked back.
Firstly, one of the most important things that you need to do is to recognise that you have a bad habit that needs to change. That is one of the biggest things! Once you recognise it, then you need to really decide that you want to change it. If you have food issues, this is where I can come in with the SMASH Programmes. I have a proven system that will help to support your body whilst it is going through the "withdrawal" process. I will also give you tips and solutions that will ease the process too. Check it out here
Secondly, you need to track what you are doing. What you track, you succeed at! Give yourself 28 days to break your bad habit. Only focus on 28 days, don't think of anything further than that, otherwise you will get overwhelmed by the whole process.
Thirdly, replace the old bad habit with something that is going to be beneficial to you. Really think about what you would like to do, achieve or be going forward. Then make a decision based on that. When I was replacing my bar of chocolate with each of my cups of tea, I created a new healthier chocolate treat. It is a chocolate protein bar and it is so yummy. We now have these in our fridge all the time and due to the fact that I have them, it means that I don’t go back to my old bad habit of something really unhealthy with my cuppa. Email me at sandra@smashworldwide.com for the recipe and I will send it over to you.
So, if you are thinking about starting a new healthier routine, and need some help with creating new habits, give me a shout. I can help you with ideas of things that you can do instead of your bad habit.
Yours in Health and Happiness
For as long as I can remember I have always had a sweet tooth. I could never open a packet of sweets and just take one – I had to finish the packet. I found it difficult to just eat one biscuit it would most likely be two and if I was stressed I could have ate the full packet (Rolo biscuits were evil lol).
At university I used to take 7 packets of sugar in my coffee and then dunk a Dairy Milk chocolate bar into it. A full dessert spoonful of sugar went on my Weetabix in the morning as well.
Even on my wedding day, after coming out of the service, I sent someone on a hunt for chocolate – that is caught on camera – I’m like a chocolate monster going “chocolate, chocolate, chocolate”!!! Everyone was panicking as they were afraid I would drop some chocolate on my dress and ruin it! Not possible for an expert chocolate eater like me!! Nothing went to waste!!
After many years of dieting (and failing) I finally found a system that helped me. It helped me to balance out my sugars and retrain my body’s desire to be fuelled by sugar.
When I started to research what was happening I was astounded by the effects that sugar could have on the body. It was no wonder that I was so unhealthy.
When people start to think about giving up sugar they tend to focus on the things that they will miss by not having it in their lives. However, I encourage people to look at it in a different manner. Rather than focusing on what you are giving up, think about what benefits you will be getting instead.
Once you see the positive side to giving up sugar and see the benefits on/in your body you will begin to reset your thinking and create new habits/routines/thoughts in relation to it.
Most people reach for sugary foods to give themselves energy, when in fact it has the opposite effect on you. When you are doing this you are on a sugar roller coaster. It is not pleasant. Yes, you will have a short lived spike in energy but within half an hour you are zonked!! Then you reach for the sugar again and the sugar addiction continues. When you are doing this you are eating more sugar than your body can cope with and your energy levels are zapped.
By not reaching for the sugary foods for energy and eating a healthy diet full of good quality non processed foods your energy levels will level out and you will have more in the long run. Yes, the withdrawal process is notoriously known to be hard, however, that is where the SMASH programmes can come in to help you. My SMASH programmes lessen the "come down" and the side effects of being addicted to sugar.
Sugar robs your body of essential nutrients so your entire system is in a continual state of compromise and stress. Sugar is also toxic to the body and this means that your liver is being overloaded on a daily basis. As your body tries to cope with the toxins, to keep them away from your vital organs, your body deliberately wraps fat around them and stores them. Sugar can also cause inflammation in your body, which studies are showing is a major cause for concern when it comes to many illnesses
By cutting out sugar not only will you reduce the stress on your body but it will function at a better level than before. Aches and pains can disappear and many underlying conditions can improve as well.
Sugar can play havoc with your hormones. With insulin being released every time your blood sugars spike, your body is continually storing fat. With a diet high in sugar, the “feel full hormone” leptin, is suppressed. This is why people say that they never feel full or satisfied. It is like the off switch never gets pressed. People think that is lack of willpower that causes this constant eating but it is not – it is sugar and the physiological impact it has on your hormones.
Cut out sugar and your body will go back into its natural appetite control mode. You will start to feel satisfied after eating and have no need for something sweet after eating.
As mentioned above, sugar plays havoc with hormones and inflammation in the body. When it comes to the time of the month that means major disruption to your body. I used to joke that I was a “psycho b*tch from hell” for about 10 days of the month due to PMT and now I have nothing!! My family LOVE it!!!
But why does this happen? When you have a diet high in sugar (and wheat and dairy which is what we reach for when we are hormonal) it causes mucus formation which in turn causes a lot of gut and pelvic inflammation. When you combine that with the fact that stress shuts down the blood supply to the uterus and gut, and your hormone balance is messed up, PMT ends up being worse. When you tend to have bad PMT, you also tend to store fat!!
It is amazing how much your monthly cycle can improve when you cut out sugar. I am so lucky now that I don’t suffer from it at all. My hormones are balanced and even with me being in my mid 40s I have no signs of the menopause – result!!
It is scary to think that sugar can age you dramatically. People keep asking me what anti ageing creams I used and the fact of the matter is that I don’t use any specific cream. I do say to people that I feel about 20 years younger and some people say that I do as well
Sugar will affect the elastin and collagen in your skin. These are the 2 main proteins that keep your skin looking young. Once they are damaged skin looks saggy and wrinkled, and we don’t want that. This happens when Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) are produced through the process of glycation. That means that the proteins in your skin are mutating to cause these new harmful molecules – AGEs, which then gather and cause even more damage and inflammation. This can cause your skin to lose its sparkle and glow and you will have a dull complexion.
When you cut out sugar, your skin will definitely have a glow about it, your eyes will sparkle and your hair and nails will benefit too. Women who detox from sugar have no need to botox and their natural beauty will shine through.
Chocolate contains caffeine and anything that puts you on a blood sugar roller coaster can disturb your sleep. When your sleep is disturbed you tend to reach for more sugar for energy and the vicious cycle continues.
By cutting out sugar and eating a healthy diet full of all of the correct nutrients you will not only improve your sleep pattern but you can also lose weight!! Yes I did say lose weight. Studies show that when you sleep well you don’t eat as much food the next day and cravings are dramatically reduced.
When we are addicted to sugar we tend to eat due to cravings for something sweet, rather than eat through real hunger. There is an huge difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. When you finally recognise this, your relationship with food changes. Your body is designed to know what it needs and when. It is important to listen to it. People fear giving up sugar due to the fact that they are afraid that they will crave it all the time. However, once you break the habit it is so easy to live a healthier life.
With the SMASH programmes I ease the transition from being addicted to sugar to be free from it, much easier. My programme is so gentle on the body that people can not believe how easy it can be – and that is coming from a former sugar addict!! ME!!
Once you begin to recognise real hunger and what your body truly wants it is liberating. Imagine never being the slave to sugar ever again and having total control over your eating! Total freedom!
As I have said sugar causes inflammation and toxins in the body and this shows in your body by puffiness, bloating, fluid retention and fat being stored where you really don’t want it. You can not out train a bad diet. If you are training and rewarding yourself with a bar of chocolate, you might as well not train.
When I lost my weight back in 2013 I did virtually no exercise – apart from 20 squats and 20 sit ups a day and my body changed dramatically. I had people accuse me of doing lots of exercise but I didn’t. Remember, I’ve been there done that with the exercise thing and it never worked long term.
What I found was that once I broke my addiction to sugar and fuelled my body properly, I had the energy to do exercise. I now love exercise and I’m doing it for the right reasons, not to punish myself into losing weight. It feels amazing.
When people start with the SMASH programmes, I actually encourage them not to introduce any new vigorous exercise. My clients quit sugar, eat healthy food and then when they have boundless energy and are feeling great, to do some exercise for optimal health and as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Your body will change in ways that you couldn’t think of even without doing exercise initially. Your waist will get narrower, you will be less bloated and even your feet will change!
Sugar is like a drug and it can control so much of your life. It is a pretty powerful and potent one. Studies have shown that it can have the same effect as cocaine on the brain. That is pretty worrying. Food companies have spent millions designing food like substances that can make you even more addicted to their foods and the response it has on your body. This is called the “sweet spot” and the point that makes you want to eat lots of their food. Think of the once you pop you can’t stop scenario??? You wouldn’t think that there is sugar involved in that "food" but there is.
Sugar really can get a hold on you and even if you think you don’t want it, you will probably have it anyway. The Sugar Monster seems to always need fed. By giving it up you can gain back control of your life. Diet plans that allow you to “treat” continually awaken that sleeping monster and this means that you never break that habit.
If you can give it up for 28 days, you are on your road to being in control again. With the support of my SMASH programmes, that are based on 28 day bites, it becomes doable. At the start people don’t think that they can do it, but by week 3 they are amazed at how easy it has become and they are loving how good they are feeling.
No not at all! I never thought I would say those words! I hate the way that sugar affects my body when I eat it (Christmas/birthdays/holidays). I much prefer how I feel nowadays – full of energy, healthy and looking 20 years younger.
I have created The SMASH Way to help people live a life where they are no longer need to be addicted to sugar and eat foods that are healthy and tasty without high levels of sugar. The SMASH Way recipes are delicious and I even have chocolate muffin recipes and cookie recipes that don't damage your blood sugar levels! Life is so much better without sugar.
If you would like to give up sugar and live life The SMASH Way, send me a message and reach out, or click here to book your initial consultation if you feel that you are totally addicted to sugar and need extra help.
If I can break my addiction to sugar, you can too - with my help!
Keep smashing it!
]]>Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It will either start you off really well or it will set you up for a day of eating the wrong kinds of food and cause fat storage!!
Breakfast is designed for your body to “break its’ fast”. In an ideal world you should leave at least 12 hours between the last meal of the day and your breakfast the next morning. This is being recommended by many health professionals at the moment due to the benefits that they are seeing in reversing many illnesses. This is because it allows the body to do what it needs to do - detox and repair - over night. If it has to work at digesting food whilst you sleep, it can’t then focus on the other important things that it needs to do. The body undergoes so much when you are asleep. It is repairing any damage, detoxing, your heart rate and breathing slows, hormones balance out, to name a couple of things.
So when you waken, it is important that you give your body what it needs.
If I was to ask you what do you eat for your breakfast, what would be your answer?
There are studies out there that show that the most common breakfast choices are:-
Think of the old saying “Eat like a King for breakfast, a Prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner”. In today's society it tends to be the other way around. We miss out breakfast as we are in a hurry, eat a very carby lunch – because we are in a hurry, and then eat a huge dinner in the evening because we are starving!!
All these actions have consequences and people are suffering from this type of habit. People are overweight, tired all the time, suffering from inflammation and getting ill. If you start the day the right way, these things can be reduced. By having a good healthy breakfast you kick start your metabolism, stimulate the right hormones and can function at a higher level throughout the day.The shopping aisles are full of sugary cereals that are primarily marketed to young children, however, adults tend to eat them as well. The habits that we create when we are a child, tend to be habits that we have as an adult. So if we are eating sugary cereals as a child, we will most likely have that habit for life.
However, sugary cereals are not a great way to start the day. They rocket your blood sugars and this will lead to an energy slump very quickly. As an adult we then tend to reach for the coffee/tea and a biscuit to cope and as a child, it tends to lead to problems in the classroom.
The other problem with cereals is that the portion sizes tend to be huge. We tend to eat more than twice the recommended portion size. I will be doing a video on this soon. It will blow your mind.
Food companies design their packaging very cleverly so that you think you are getting something healthy but unfortunately, it just tends to be marketing. The “fortified with” looks great, but in reality, if they didn’t destroy the natural grain in the processing of the food, they wouldn’t need to fortify it. – I will do a blog on that too
Opt for whole grain cereals and ones that aren’t high in sugars. Check the portion sizes as well. Or try the SMASH Granola Recipe. It is delicious and very low in sugar.
This although quick and handy can cause issues. The white bread will again rocket your blood sugars, especially if you add sweet toppings. The coffee will spike your cortisol levels first thing in the morning. You really don’t want to do that. Cortisol is a stress hormone in the body, and the last thing you want to do is to start your day with your body being stressed. Tea can dehydrate the body if drank first thing in the morning as it is a diuretic – makes you go to the toilet. The body is already dehydrated, so try not to make it even more dehydrated.
Drink lemon water or a fruit tea in the morning and opt for wholewheat or wholemeal bread. The more fibre in the bread the better as it will help with cholesterol levels too.
Smoothies are being promoted as being a healthy way to start the day as they are some of your “Five A Day”. Yes you are getting fruit and sometimes veg, but unfortunately as the fruit has been highly processed and the fibre removed, your blood sugars will rocket. This is due to the natural sugars being broken down and therefore they become Free Sugars which are detrimental to your energy levels, weight, insulin levels and even your teeth.
Check the labels on these smoothies and don’t fall for the marketing on them. One that I recently looked at had over 30g of sugar in a bottle. This is the amount that an adult should have throughout the day – not in one serving!!! It was also being marketed to tired mums! Shame on that company.
Make your own protein shake and fill it with natural ingredients. This is the protein that I recommend as it is so clean, high in protein and low in sugar. It also tastes amazing too.
If you would like a recipe for a tasty breakfast smoothie, let me know and I will put one together for you
These are becoming more and more common. You can actually get them in service stations nowadays too! You are probably thinking – Sandra, I thought porridge was a good thing. Yes it is, but not the pre-flavoured ones! They tend to be packed with hidden sugar AND salt.
Making your own porridge is quick and easy. There are some sachets that aren’t flavoured which are ok but then you have to use the microwave, which in the long run isn’t great for your health. The sachets also tend to be very expensive.
A large bag of rolled porridge oats really isn’t expensive, so I would advise using that, making the porridge with water and then adding your own natural flavouring eg fresh fruit and seeds. This is not only cheaper but you will be fuller for longer. I use the Lidl porridge oats as they come in paper packaging, so it means that it's good for the environment too.
This is something that has come over from USA and we have embraced them. These are made from highly refined flour that has been stripped of its’ fibre and nutrients and very high in calories. They will also rocket your blood sugar. Many people also cover their bagels with sweet toppings first thing in the morning, which isn't great either.
Go for wholemeal options rather than white options and check the labels for the nutritional information. Top with something that is protein based so that it will help with balancing your blood sugars.
These are a result of clever marketing towards busy mums. They focus in on that fact that mums are really busy in the morning and don’t necessarily have the time to make breakfast. They then say that the cereal breakfast bar is a great way to get breakfast on the run. However, what they don’t tell you is that they are full of sugar which can raise your insulin levels, cause sugar crashes and even inflammation in the body.
Read the labels and don’t be fooled by clever marketing. The biggest thing to look out for is the sugar content. Remember that 4g of sugar is a teaspoon of sugar. Also be aware of the portion size versus the pack size. They really do try to fool us. Try and get up a little bit earlier and make breakfast at home rather than grabbing something on the run.
This isn’t something that people tend to do on a daily basis at home but some people will get fried foods for their breakfast at a service station. We are famous in Ireland for an Ulster Fry. Fries tend to be high in rancid vegetable oils which will increase inflammation in the body and may lead to heart issues later in life. The quality of the meats used for a fry aren’t really that healthy. People also tend to cover their fry in ketchup which is extremely high in sugar.
Make a couple of easy swaps – have poached or scrambled eggs rather than fried eggs, grill the meat rather than fry it, chose healthier meats, stay away from the sauces. Add in some extra veg like mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach.
These again are high in free sugars and will therefore spike your blood sugars and they have very little nutritional value as they so processed.
Eat the fruit in its’ original form – have an apple or orange – this will give you lots of nutrients and you will get the natural fibre from the fruit too. If you would still like to have an orange drink, why not try our Vibracell as an alternative. You will be getting lots of extra health benefits by drinking this superfood drink that contains over 50 natural ingredients.
These are promoted as being healthier than the sugary cereals that we have eaten for years. However, when you look at the nutritional value of them, there is very little difference and in fact some of them will have higher sugar content than the children’s cereals!! This is because they are made with syrups, dried fruits and chocolate shavings. There tends to be very little protein and not much fibre in them.
If you fancy granola, I recommend making your own. That way you will know exactly what is in it. I have created a SMASH Granola and it is so delicious! There is very little sugar in it and it is high in protein and fibre - the perfect way to start the day. It is absolutely gorgeous as a topping on a SMASH Smoothie Bowl. The Granola recipe is one of the recipes in the SMASH Way, everyone loves it
This will lead to issues throughout the day. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it will set you up for a highly productive day when eaten. If you skip breakfast it can lead to tiredness, sluggishness, poor concentration and performance.
You will also tend to over eat later in the day as you are hungrier then (your body is trying to get your to make up the extra calories). When you are hungrier, you tend to make poorer food choices and if you eat too late in the day, your body tends to store it as fat as it can’t burn it off. When you skip breakfast you also tend to crave sugary foods or caffeine for energy which causes further problems.
Fasting is great, but load it from the back end of the day rather than the front end of the day.
Make sure that you have a breakfast to boost you in the morning. Once you get into the habit of doing it you will feel the benefit and will never turn back. You will be more productive during the day and you could even lose a bit of weight by just introducing breakfast into your daily routine.
By becoming more aware of what you are doing and eating you will be able to make little changes that can dramatic changes to your life. You will learn how to make a really healthy breakfast when you start eating The SMASH Way. Breakfast is so important and the best way to start the day, regardless of what time you have it at.
Yours in Health and Happiness
My clients' success is at the core of what I have created. I have really high standards when it comes to anything that I do. So when creating my company I knew I had standards that had to be met.
There are so many unqualified people out there giving nutritional advice without actually being qualified. It really does pain me when I see this. When I started my health journey, and people started to ask me what I was doing, I knew that I had to retrain and qualify in new areas. I went back to "school" and did the following to ensure I could give people the best service possible.
I am qualified in Nutrition and Weight Management, Nutrition for Sport and Exercise, Pre and Post Natal Nutrition, Childhood Nutrition and Obesity Prevention, Behaviour Change Coaching, Naturopathy and Eating Psychology.
I am continually researching and learning new things to keep up with the ever changing world of health and nutrition.
When researching and sourcing my products, it was important that I was able to give my clients the best possible products available at the most affordable prices.
When designing The SMASH Way, it was important that I could give information to clients in a format that was easily accessible and easy to understand. I have taken the confusing information out there and created a programme that is easy to understand and allows people to have the knowledge they require for a healthier lifestyle.
I have very high standards when it comes to products and what we are putting in our bodies. My family members and I have trialed the products personally and I have been delighted with the results that they give. One of the reasons that the results are so amazing is due to the standards that I have when I was deciding on the products.
As someone who suffered from very sensitive skin for years, I have always been very fussy about what I use on my skin. I try to use as little as possible, but what I do use, has to be of a very high standard.
When I was choosing the Argital products I was delighted with their standards and the effectiveness of the products. Some of the key points in relation to them are
* Demeter Certification
Demeter standards are generally recognised as being the most stringent (more so, in some cases, than other organic standards) and are designed to protect maximum vitality, use minimum processing aids and preservatives, and to protect the environment.
The Demeter standards for personal care products state:
“ The aim is to produce cosmetics that consist of natural products which are beneficial to human skin and body, and have as few negative environmental consequences as possible”.
This means Demeter personal care products are about as pure and natural as it’s possible to buy. Here’s why:
The ethos of bio-dynamics – it’s visionary holistic and spiritual approach to Nature and life – is also embedded in its standards, which means Demeter products are not only beautiful for you but for the world.
Argital work in accordance with certain fundamental principles:
There are so many "shake" companies out there claiming to be great for weight loss, however, when I look at the ingredients in them I am horrified. Yes, you may lose weight (due to calorie deficit as you are replacing food with a low calorie shake), but you are potentially putting your health at risk.
I knew that if I was to recommend a protein powder to a client, it needed to be
It is quite a list but I found protein powders that fitted my requirements and they taste amazing!!
I will continue to research and source high quality products for my clients so that they can live your best life possible. My commitment is to you!! This will mean that I will have a number of suppliers as I will only use the best products available to me.
In relation to the The SMASH Way, the educational programme that I have created, it was important that information was readily available to clients. There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, that I wanted to strip it all back and get back to the basics.
Healthy living doesn't have to be complicated! It should be enjoyable and fulfilling.
After living in pain and being overweight for years, I know how it feels to be in a situation where you don't know what to do. As the saying goes "been there, done that".
With The SMASH Way, I will take you through a process that give you the knowledge to change your life for the better in the long run. Remember, knowledge is power. When you have that knowledge you are then able to make informed decisions going forward.
By choosing SMASH you can be assured that I have your best interests at heart.
Get ready to SMASH it
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