Health, Fitness and Wellness Blog

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Soften butter. If you are planning on making these, take the butter out of the fridge first thing in the morning so it's ready to go when you need it.

Measure the flour correctly. Be sure to use a measuring cup made for dry ingredients (NOT a pyrex liquid measuring cup). There has been some controversy on how to measure flour. I personally use the scoop and shake method and always have (gasp)! It's easier and I have never had that method fail me.  Many of you say that the only way to measure flour is to scoop it into the measuring cup and level with a knife. I say, measure it the way you always do. Just make sure that the dough matches the consistency of the dough in the photos in this post.

Use LOTS of chocolate chips. Do I really need to explain this?!

Ways To Make Fitness Fun

Add some variety to your activities. Carrying out the same exercise sessions each time will very quickly get boring, and boredom doesn't do much for your motivation. ...

Get social. ...

Change the scene. ...

Do exercise to your liking. ...

Get some new gear. ...

Relive the games from childhood. ...

Most people tend to associate a vegan diet with being lean. And science backs that notion. In a study of 40,000 adults, Oxford University researchers found that meat-eaters had the highest BMIs; vegans had the lowest; and vegetarians and semi-vegetarians landed somewhere in-between. However, there are some people who did not lose weight after cutting out animal products. And some even gained weight.

Your portions are too big

Healthy foods—including veggies, fruit, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and avocado—contain raw materials that either fuel the activity of your body's cells, or help maintain, heal, or regenerate tissue (such as hair, skin, immune cells, and muscle). But we don't require an unlimited supply of these nutrients. The amount your body needs is largely based on your age, sex, height, ideal body weight, and physical activity level. A young, tall, active man with a higher ideal weight, for example, requires larger portions than an older, petite, sedentary woman.

Often when I evaluate clients' food journals, I find that they aren't losing weight because their nutrient intake exceeds their needs. I had one female client who was eating a large açaí bowl for breakfast that contained multiple servings of fruit, nut milk, nut butter, and seeds. She would then commute by car to work and sit at a desk all morning. While the bowl was chock-full of nutrition, it packed about three times what her body actually needed to keep her satiated until lunch.

You aren't getting enough protein

Eating an adequate amount of protein is key for maintaining muscle mass, which helps keep your metabolism revved. It's possible to meet your daily protein needs on a plant-based diet. You just have to be strategic.

Your timing is off

Whether you're a vegan or an omnivore, meal timing can have a serious impact your waistline.  A smarter strategy is to eat larger meals earlier, so they fuel your most active hours of the day.

Skimping all day and gorging at night is a recipe for weight gain, or at least preventing weight loss-even if you're vegan. Try switching to evening meals that are filling but light, such as sautéed veggies and chickpeas over a bed of greens and spaghetti squash; or a broth-based veggie and white bean soup with a drizzle of EVOO.

You're eating plant-based junk food

I've had plenty of clients who believed it was okay to eat unlimited amounts of plant-based treats (think coconut milk ice cream and sweet potato chips). Plant-based frozen foods, desserts, and snacks can not only be high in calories, but they're often made with refined flour and added sugar, and stripped of nutrients and fiber. While they're fine as occasional treats, when consumed daily, they can pack on pounds

You're drinking too many calories

There are many beverages marketed to plant-based consumers: kombucha, drinking vinegars, green juices, chia drinks, coconut water, and almond milk cold brew coffees, just to name a few. With so many choices, I've seen many clients unknowingly sip hundreds of extra calories per day.

My rule of thumb is this: If it's not water or unsweetened tea, your beverage should count as part of your meal or snack. One vegan client who found she wasn't losing weight was drinking a smoothie along with her lunch salad. Unknowingly, she was essentially consuming two lunches every day. Another client didn't realize that the healthy (and expensive) beverages she drank twice a day in lieu of soda contained about 300 calories total. That may not sound like a ton, but it would take a one-hour speed walk to burn off just those drinks.

Make good old H2O your drink of choice, and if you reach for anything else, take a careful look at the ingredients, nutrition facts, and serving size, so you can decide if it's the best fit for your body's needs.

Get Plenty of Fiber – Fiber is essential to a healthy digestive system. It sweeps the intestines and colon clean, feeds beneficial bacteria, removes toxins and cholesterol, and slows the absorption of nutrients so the body can keep up. Fiber also makes us feel fuller and satiated sooner and longer so you eat less throughout the day and have fewer cravings. Getting more fiber means you’re eating plenty of vegetables and fruits. 

Cut the Sugar – We use too much refined sugars in our foods, vegan or not, and it causes problems. Not only is sugar caloric-dense, it overwhelms the body with glucose and fructose, leading to unnecessary fat creation and storage. Often we drink our calories in sugary beverages that have no nutritional value. Soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit juices, and candies should be avoided.

Avoid Processed Foods – Processed foods use excess oil, sugar, fats, sodium, and chemical preservatives to make them last longer and taste better. And in the meantime so many of their natural vitamins and minerals have been removed. This includes vegan substitutes. Most of the animal-like replacement products are highly processed and far from healthy. Many new vegans and vegetarians find that they don’t lose weight when they make the transition and these processed foods are one of the major culprits.

Drink a lot of Water – Water is essential for life. Proper hydration boosts metabolism and helps us burn calories, produce energy, and feel good, yet most of us drink way too little water. Water also helps us not overeat, aids digestion, and helps us remove toxins. Our bodies tend to hoard what we don’t get enough of, so drinking water actually helps us lose water weight.

Cut the Calories – It actually doesn’t take a lot of calories off your norm each day to begin to lose weight. Restriction and starvation diets don’t normally work. We’re talking just a slight limit on the calories you consume. This is easily done by cutting back on the processed foods and sugars while eating more fruits and veggies.

Don’t Cut All the Fat or Carbs – Your brain runs on carbs and is made of mostly fat. You need both for your metabolism to run well and your body to function properly. Nuts, seeds, grains, nut butters, avocados, coconut oil, and starchy vegetables all have their place in your diet, but should be used moderately. You should still be avoiding the refined and processed carbs and fats though.

Eat Real Foods at Home – Use fresh, organic, whole foods in your recipes as often as possible. These will provide the most nutrients and convince your body you’re getting what you need so the cravings stop

Use Herbs and Spices – Those herbs and spices you ignore in the spice rack are full of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. They also make food taste amazing without having to resort to the sugars and sodium you need less of. Many spices, like ginger, basil, turmeric, and cayenne may even help you lose weight by boosting metabolism, assisting digestion, and promoting detox.

Get Enough Protein – Protein actually creates a thermic effect after we eat it, burning extra calories for hours. Get lean, clean protein from vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans, and legumes. Remember to watch the calories and fat content of these to some degree. There are good vegan protein supplements available to make this easier.

Up the Activity Level – You want to lose weight and tone up? What you eat is only part of the equation. You must be active to burn the calories you want, break down and use up fat, and reveal the muscle tone underneath it all. Walk, run, bike, swim, play soccer, hike, dance, or do whatever you love that gets you up and moving.

Allow Yourself Small Cheats – Going completely without any indulgences is dangerous and can easily lead to binges when the cravings get out of control. Cravings come and go. If you give yourself a small treat, they are more likely to go away. A small square of dark chocolate is a great way to feel like your rewarded yourself with something decadent when it’s actually pretty healthy in that small dose. Just don’t go overboard with any of them and if you have something you can’t control yourself around, don’t let that be your cheat.

MYTH #1: EVERYONE CAN DO A HIIT WORKOUT

Just like you would not run a marathon – or even a half marathon – without training, you also shouldn’t probably go all out on a HIIT workout overnight because beginning with HIIT may increase the chance for injury and muscle soreness. It’s better to start with low-intensity aerobic exercise and work your way up to regular exercise then HIIT workout.

MYTH #2: HIIT IS THE ONLY WORKOUT YOU’LL NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT AND STAY FIT

It’s no secret that a well-designed strength training program can significantly increase strength, power, athletic performance and physical appearance in both men and women. But, what many people don’t realize is the importance of muscle in the fat loss process. Put simply, muscle is metabolically active tissue, as it is the physical place in your body where fat is burned (i.e. used as energy). So, the more lean muscle tissue you have, the more calories/fat you’ll burn throughout the day, even while you sleep ─ because more muscle tissue requires more energy. This is why strength training and maintaining muscle with proper training and eating strategies is absolutely critical for fat loss. The winning workout plan combines interval training with a comprehensive strength training plan.

MYTH #3: MORE HIIT IS ALWAYS BETTER

Like the name suggests, high-intensity interval training is intense and pushes your body hard, so it’s important to allow for plenty of recovery time between workouts. You don’t want to do too much throughout the week. Using high-intensity interval training three times per week will give you the best results while limiting the risk of injury

MYTH #4: HIIT IS BETTER THAN STEADY STATE CARDIO

With the popularity of high-intensity interval training, the standard 30-minutes of steady state aerobic training has seemed to fall out of favor. Steady state cardio is often demonized for interfering with and even killing muscle gains from strength training. Light to moderate aerobic exercise is a great method to use on recovery days ─ between the more intense anaerobic (conditioning) interval training days.

Water, water and more water.  Water will keep you hydrated, stave off dehydration headaches, moisturize dry and weathered- looking skin, prevent mistaking hunger for thirst, and it will help to flush sodium and other bloating culprits out of your body so you can arrive at your event feeling bloat- free. It also helps push waste out of your colon for an even flatter belly. 

Add more veggies to your dish (plate) Vegetables are packed with water, so they’ll help you to stay hydrated, plus they’re packed with fiber to get your digestive tract moving, pushing out wastes, salt and toxins from your colon along with unsightly belly bulges from a constipating diet.

Exercise more, especially those abs. Activate your abs by squeezing them in tight and pulling them back against your spine as you exhale. Also, breathing out and pushing air out of the stomach while pulling the muscles in tight helps to flatten your stomach.

Sip on green tea. It contains the amino acid theanine which brings on a mental calmness. Plus, green tea will flood your body with antioxidants.

1. Get More Sleep

Sugar cravings are simply our body’s way of asking for energy.  When we are tired, our bodies will naturally crave a little boost of energy in the form of sugar.  And if you are consistently not getting enough sleep, your body will respond by craving even more sugar.

Make sure that you are getting eight hours of sleep and that your body feels rested.  The key to getting real sleep is to have a sleep schedule and be consistent in your bed time and the time you wake up.  Just like when we were children, our bodies function best when we have a stable bed time and bed time routine so make sure to keep this as constant as possible.

2. Drink More Water

The benefits of drinking water are endless.  Water hydrates your skin from the inside out, flushes toxins out of your system, gives you more energy, and curbs your hunger.  Drinking water and staying hydrated also curbs sugar cravings.  

Try this trick: the next time that you are craving something sweet, have a glass or two of water instead.  Notice how this decreases or eliminates the craving altogether. (I did this and it worked perfectly)

To keep sugar cravings at bay, make sure that you are getting enough water throughout your day by carrying a water bottle with you.  Keep water by your bed to help you remember to drink water first thing in the morning.  And, keep a pitcher of water handy if you are working at your desk.  If you always have water within arm’s reach, it will become second nature for you to drink it often and you will be rewarded with decreased cravings and increased energy.

3. Substitute your sugar cravings with fructose. 

Whenever I was craving sweets, I went to fruits. Fruits have so many wonderful benefits and it is so much better to have healthy sugars. Eat some apples diced and drink a glass of water. 

Why do you crave sweets on a vegetarian diet / lifestyle?

If you are not getting enough protein in your diet your body will do lots of crazy things. Protein helps to keep blood glucose levels steady and it also helps in the production of serotonin.  Serotonin is typically low in people who crave sugar. It is also the chemical in your body that helps you to keep calm and happy…and give you the will power to say no to sweets!

For vegetarians who eat primarily flour products and salads and don't eat enough beans, nuts, seeds, and other proteins,  try to get more diversity in your food choices.   There is a wide variety of nuts and beans on this planet that you can use to create more balance and fewer sugar cravings.

disclaimer - these were my personal effects of switching to a vegetarianism diet

My body felt more energized and I did not feel easily tired or lousy. It was as if during the first 2 weeks, I had a burst of energy.I felt rejuvenated and alert and not to mention that I was up all night catching up on tv shows.

I had sugary, sweet craving but I got them under control (details here)

I felt bloated for around 2 weeks. I got it under control by the 3rd week. Again, this was my personal experience and other factors may have attributed to it.

In honor of being 3 weeks vegetarian, I have compiled some things that I have learnt and mistakes that I will not repeat.

In an effort to avoid meat, I have only been eating fish. I am not a seafood person so I have just been eating different types of fish. Also, I thought it would be harder and that I would crave meat but honestly I don’t. The only struggle I have is that, living in the Caribbean, it is extremely hard to find vegetarian dishes and meat alternatives in supermarket etc. So the items/food I have been using are extremely restricted and limited. 

The first week of being vegetarian - I was completely lost and in a state of deprivation and my body was not used to it at all. As Ia result, I was craving sweets and sugary/sweet items - be it cake, sweets, chocolate etc I had it all. Even in the night!!!! I could not control my urge to have something sweet. I guess that was my body’s way/mechanism of coping with not eating meat. 

However, after a week, the sugar cravings were gone. Maybe this was due to the adding of a lime-cucumber infused water. Anytime I had a sugary craving, I drank plain water or the infused water and eventually I no longer had cravings.

feeling- I feel to go back to my infused water . I stopped after 1 week.