Advance Mind & Body

🙏The driving force behind our fitness goals falls on one or more of these 5 core human needs. I.e. Sometimes "i want abs and b***y" can actually mean "i really want acceptance, higher percieved status, and health". What this often means is that we can adjust the end goal, and our approach to better achieve your true purpose of being in the gym.
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🤓This pyramid is called Maslow's hierarchy of needs and is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. The needs at the bottom of the pyramid must be met before progressing towards the top.
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Think about it - someone who walks into the gym wanting to lose weight to be able to run around with their kids is different to someone career driven who wants to be as strong, fast and healthy as they can be.
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What core needs do you think your goals are achieving?

If you've been doing the 'clean eating' thing but have found it hard to stick to consistently - try out a couple of these adjustments this week:
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🍽 1. Get rid of blandness. Make sure ALL of your food is as tasty as it can be by adding low calorie sauces/marinades and herbs/spices. A perfect example is chimmichuri (mexican) sauce.
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🕒 2. Frequency: Experiment with eating more frequently (smaller meals) or less frequently (larger meals) to aid satiety. Individuals react differently.
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💁‍♂️ 3. Convenience: Make your recipes as simple as possible, and experiment with cooking ahead 2+ days or cooking simple 5-10 min recipes on the day.
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🍟 4. Food palatability: Just survive 2 weeks! It takes several weeks for your palate to find healthy food tasty compared to the fatty sugary goodness that is processed food (aka fun foods). Avoiding processed food for several weeks/months can help with self control when you re-introduce it into your diet.

👩‍🎓 Respected dietitian with PHD in eating disorders:
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🧁"I purposely post images of myself eating sugar, junk food & sometimes eating what I feel like and enjoy to show my clients that sticking to strict diet rules is not the be all end all of obtaining happiness or a healthy fit looking body, and that there are no good or bad foods."
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🌏 Meanwhile literally everyone after I post images eating junk food:
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🙊 "Aren't you a pt & nutritionist!?"
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🙊 "Omg wow lucky you're young/fit/ have a fast metabolism!!"
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🙊 "Omg but insulin/obesity/gut health/hormones."
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🙊 "Omg but sugar just doesn't sit well with me I like healthy food [person who eats plenty of sugar]."
-..🤷‍♂️ And the world keeps on spinnin... I guess thats why I do what I do!

Happy Monday ya'll! We're back in action on facebook and promise to continue bringing you guys more value on here! Fyi insta is where we have been most active, but a variety of different and indepth posts will be found here :)

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INTERMITTENT FASTING

🍽For those of you who are looking for a handy practical approach to controlling the amount of food(calories) you eat, it could be worth giving intermittent fasting a try - the typical approach to IF fasting is to only eat in a small 8 hr window each day. Our reccomendation however is to try having 2 meals per day instead of 3 or 4, and keep these meals in either breakfast/lunch combo or a lunch/dinner combination.
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☝️Contrary to popular belief there is in fact no physiological advantage to intermittent fasting vs traditional caloric restriction when calories are matched. However the benefit of IF lies in more practical and logical reasoning: the simple fact that when MOST people follow IF, they have less meals and consequently eat LESS CALORIES each day.
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📷 Images attached are what a typical day on this approach CAN look like, with 1 larger meal, containing plenty of lean protein, vegetables and complex carbs. Dinner time is much more convenience-oriented, with a protein shake with fruit alongside yoghurt and fruit bowl 🍑🍉

Have you found it quite challenging to stick to your meal plan/diet? Maybe try and chip away at it in small steps!

Adding a serve of vegetables to your meals daily is a great habit to start with. This is important as it helps to fill you up more, often reduces your total daily calorie intake, and gives you more fibre, water and micronutrients in your diet 💪

Pictured: Satay chicken & Thai cabbage salad.

Most of our vitamins are fat soluble (apart from B's and C), this means pairing fruit & vege with a healthy fat source aids with absorption! Veggie sticks & cashew dip are always a winner in the kitchen! 🥕

So you've heard all about probiotics and how those little guys help out gut health, but how about prebiotics?

Prebiotics are the healthy fibres in our diet which help to create an environment in our gut, where the probiotics can thrive. Prebiotic foods include: garlic, onion, leeks, corn, asparagus, greens, bananas, apples, barely, oats and wheat bran 🍎 🌽 🍌🍴

🤓Has anyone noticed all the bulk food stores popping up?
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Such an awesome way to reduce packaging, only buy what you need and reduce waste 🛒

OMEGA 3- It's time to up your game 😋

Very, very few Australians meet their nutritional needs for omega 3- yet it is so, so important for brain, heart, skin health and much more.

Some sources include:
🐟 Oily fish- salmon & mackerel
🐟Flaxseeds
🐟Chia seeds
🐟Hemp seeds
🐟Walnuts

🍽 Had this epic hashcakes and bacon brekky on the weekend! -
Here's my Question of the day:
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Is your diet approach aim to INCLUDE certain nutrients/foods or EXCLUDE certain nutrients/foods?
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For example, is your overall approach to try to exclude carbs or sugar, or do you aim to include veggies and wholefoods?
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There's a time and place for focusing on exclusion. But on its own, this has hardly ever been a permanent fix to achieve basic health, let alone fat loss, muscle gain or an enjoyable lifestyle. It unfortunately has also been a common trait of many fad diets.
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For the vast majority of us, one nutrient or food alone isn't the cause of weight gain or poor health, but instead its multi-faceted, and here's a few examples of common contributing factors:
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•Excessive eating of many types of food over many years.
🚫Poor relationships / fear of certain foods leading to cycles of binging and purging.
🚫Inability to eat wholefoods and "fun foods" in balance and moderation.
🚫Lack of wholefood sources of fibre-rich foods, along with sufficient fruit and veg.
🚫Insufficient exercise
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If you're wanting to find a permanent solution to smashing your fat loss /muscle gain goals, or just to control your food intake, its best to address multi-faceted problem with a multi-faceted and INCLUSIVE solution that addresses each problem at hand:
🍅Aim to include sufficient fruit and veg to hit your total of 30-40g fibre on most days.
🍌Aim to include mostly wholefoods no less than 80% of the time
🥑Aim to include enjoyable "fun" foods that allow you to destress from strict diet routine, and allow you to socialize.
🍓Instead of using discipline to avoid fun foods altogether, use discipline to control how much you eat overall by sticking to tracking calories, using the plate/hand method, or being mindful of portions.

Greens + herbs + spices = YUM!

Try adding some herb & spice combos to make greens more exciting! This one here is greens with lots of garlic, ginger & sumac 😋

SO WEEKEND IS OVER, MONDAY IS IN FULL SWING & SUDDENLY DINNER IS EXPECTED ON THE TABLE IN A HOUR!!!

Don't panic just yet!

This easy, thrown together balsamic chicken takes so little effort, even your Monday brain can cope!

Throw together:
🍴 Chicken breast
🍴Lots of veggies- spring onion, mushroom, carrot, zucchini, cherry tomatoes & beans make a great combo!
🍴Generous sprinkle of Italian herbs & pepper (add chilli if you like!)
🍴Splash with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
🍴Pop in the oven and you'll be good to go in no time!