Hi, I’m Carol and I’m a Movement and Rehabilitation Specialist. I have worked in the fitness industry for a number of years and with a plethora of different clients, from those needing to lose weight, pregnant and post-natal women through to elite athletes representing NZ at International level. I’ve worked in Melbourne, Australia and am now based in Upper Hutt, New Zealand in my business Bump. So why am I writing this blog? Due to popular demand! My clients and peers have encouraged me to start to make my knowledge, information and recipes public, so here we are!
I should tell you now, I am a massive foodee! I have foodee friends, subscriptions to food magazines, cookbooks from Movida Cocina and Maggie Beer, I love hosting dinner parties and can bestow no higher compliment to my friends than providing them with a 3 course meal cooked with vegetables out of my garden! My philosophy is to maintain a well balanced lifestyle, without compromising on taste or time. Being a working mother of two (I have a 4 year old son and a 6 month old daughter), I know only too well how difficult it can be to whip a healthy meal up that meets the needs and tastes of the whole family! I’ve had a clean approach to food for over 8 years now and have developed a number of easy recipes to satisfy most foodees, meaning you can cook them for the family or guests and serve them proudly.
So am I at my ideal weight? The answer is NO. Like many women to have children I gave in to cravings and indulged one too many times during my pregnancy, leaving me with 16 kg to lose to get back to my ideal, which by the way is pretty normal. Also because I am breastfeeding I need to ensure I am still eating enough good fat and protein to keep my milk supply up as well as getting that excess body fat down. This blog will detail my recent adoption of the Paleo lifestyle (see http://www.foodee.com) and my journey to get back to my ideal weight. As well as recipes I have developed or discovered, I will provide information and research I have come across over the last 8 years which will help me achieve my goal and back up my recipes and lifestyle choices.
What I like about the Paleo lifestyle is that it ticks all the boxes for me, based on my personal philosophies. It basically involves eating clean food, lots of protein, with easy to follow guidelines and fabulous online resources, information and recipes. To start 2013 off, I am undertaking the Whole30 (see http://www.whole9life.com) – 30 days of clean eating, along the Paleo lifestyle guidelines, but a little stricter. This means being sugar, alcohol, grain and junk food free for 30 days. Along with restoring the balance of the gut, looking and feeling better, increasing energy levels and ultimately reducing body fat, it has the added bonus of providing my gorgeous family with all the nutrients they need to grow well!
We are all human, we can’t be expected to be perfect. What we can do, is work towards having a healthy life balance, a healthy food balance and a healthy approach to food, weight loss and energy without compromising on taste. Along the way, you might actually find you have adopted a healthier lifestyle that makes you feel so good that you start to eat better more often. Remember, like every new behaviour you adopt, it takes practice….eating well and exercising are no exception. Try the 30 days with me, follow all of my recipes or discover your own, there are a plethora of excellent blogs and websites out there supporting the Paleo lifestyle, so do some research, do some reading, take your weight and that pair of elusively fitting jeans and see where your journey takes you.
Enjoy it, it is always a moment to be cherished.
x
Carol