DECODING NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION-the basics

About a year ago, before i had learnt how to understand and read a food label, i would look at that nutritional information and all that i could see was numbers, numbers, confusing numbers, long words, words i couldn't pronounce, and yes, MORE NUMBERS! Well there is good news people!!! I am going to try and help you with the BASICS of how to desypher these labels in the SIMPLEST way that i can. I suggest you grab a label now to refer to as we go through this! Also, im not claiming to be a nutritionist! Just simply pointing out the basics!

Lets start with the ingredient list. Firstly, on all packaging, ingredients are listed in order of quantity within the product. Whatever is listed first in the panel has the MOST volume in the food and simililarly, whatever is listed last has the least volume. Obviously if sugar or salt are one of the first ingredients listed, we would try to steer clear and make a better choice. We should also take into consideration the amount of ingredients listed. If something has a never ending story of ingredients, chances are its been highly processed and again, you may want to make a better choice. My last point is that if there are a whole lot of chemicals and words listed which you can barely read let alone pronounce most nutritionists would tell you to steer clear. We should aim to be eating foods as close to their natural form as possible!

Serving size. Alot of the time there is more than one serving in packaged goods. So simply check the servings per container/package or the size of the serving so that you can measure what you are consuming and be aware of this before you are six servings deep into a bag of potato chips!

Sugar. There are approximately 4 grams of sugar in a teaspoon. So next time you read a label saying a product contains for example 20g of sugar, just be aware and picture in your head that this is actually equating to 5 teaspoons of sugar. Some foods containing fruits will be high in sugar however they will be rich in many other healthy things so do not always avoid sugars. Sometimes they are good!

Sodium. We should be trying to keep our sodium levels below roughly 2000mg a day. If a food has an extremely high sodium content it is more than likely that combined with the rest of your diet for that day, you will be far over that healthy guideline.

Carbohydrate and Protein. Like i said i am trying to keep this simple, but carbs and protiens are both macronutrients which contain 4 calories per gram. Therefore when you are reading how many grams of carbs/protein on a package, you can multiply each by 4 to see exactly how many calories are coming from each source compared to the total amount of calories in the food. Everyones diet is different, but if you are a person who eats a high protien diet you would obviously choose foods where most of the calories are coming from protein.

Calories. Calories are not evil!!! They are a unit of energy! Love them, learn about them and use them correctly to nourish and fuel your body every day. Everybodies daily caloric intake and needs are different and specific so i won't expand too much here. I will just say steer away from foods which are super high in calories leaving you with not many calories for the rest of the day. We want to spread our calories out evenly throughout the day to ensure sustained, even energy! Again, by multiplying grams of carbs and protien by 4, and grams of fat by 9, we can see where most of the calories in the food are coming from and make better choices.

Fats. Last but not least is fat! Listed will be total grams of fat. Multiply this number by 9 to see how many calories in the food are coming from fat. (9 calories per gram of fat). 25-35% of our diet each day should be made up of HEALTHY fats. The label will then list what types of fats the product contain being either monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated or trans fats. If the product is mainly trans fat then it is highly processed and your body is going to have a really hard time processing this type of fat. It is the worst so put it down. Expect to see saturated fat in all animal products from dairy to meat to eggs. Polyunsaturated (walnuts,flaxseed,fish oil,salmon) and monounsaturated (avocado,almonds,olive oil) are seen as good fats and are ESSENTIAL in your diet. Fat can be your friend too!

Basically a good guide is to try and eat foods which are as natural as possible. The less preservatives and extra additives the better! I hope that this has helped you. Like i said i have tried to keep this to basics and as SIMPLE as i can. I hope you feel more confident in reading a label and making aq more informed and better decision for your body! You only get one body so respect it and take care of it as much as you can. Happy eating!!!

Fighting the fear of the dreaded weights section.

Signing up to a gym or fitness establishment can be really daunting for alot of people! I know when i first joined my local gym i was freaking out. What am i doing? What do i wear? Why is everyone so serious? Are people judging me? How do they all know what they are doing? And of course, the most commonly thought question, What on earth does that machine do?! For people who are on their own, the easiest and most common thing to do is of course, power walk straight to the cardio area avoiding any eye contact to where we can plug in our headphones and walk like hampsters on a wheel for the next half hour without being bothered. Seriously, im sure this is what 90% of us all did on our very first visit!
      
Now i'm not saying that cardio doesnt have its benefits, because it does! Any activity is better than no activty at all right? Cardio is great for your cardiovascular system, and you may be suprised to learn that in Australia heart disease is at the very top of the diseases which kill women every year. So make sure you are incorporating it into your workout plan. However! I cannot stress enough the amazing results and benifits you will recieve from taking a deep breathe, doing some research, stepping off that treadmill and making your way over to the WEIGHTS SECTION. All those fit and sexy fitness models havent achieved their bodies through hours of cardio, they've been over in those squat racks and using those cables. The benefits of weight training are practically never ending, Higher metabolism, Increased energy levels, better posture, makes day to day tasks easier, better mood, stronger heart, decreased risk of diabetes and the list goes on.

      

 'I dont want to lift weights, I dont want to get to big'

I can almost 100% PROMISE you that you do not have the capactiy to get 'Big'. Majorty of females simply do not have the testosterone in their body that it takes to build large amounts of muscle. Sure for a few months when you first start training weights you will see changes provided that you are nourishing your body and eating a good amount of lean protien, but these changes do not continue to come at that rate forever, believe me. Progress will slow and soon you'll be aiming at maintaining the gains you have made. And all gains can be lost, we need to work to keep our muscle, therefor if you stop training you will go back to how you were before you started very quickly. But to achieve a tight and toned healthy looking body, you need to create some shape by lifting heavy weights at least a few times a week. For someone who is just beginning id suggest that your break up your workouts into body parts, we need roughly 24-48 hours of recovery before we should train muscle groups again as they need time to repair. Hop onto youtube and search 'leg workouts', 'back workouts' 'chest workouts' etc. This is a great place to start and youll learn more by observing the people around you. Bodybuilding.com also has alot of great information on training and nutrition for all bodies and all levels of experience (not just bodybuilders girls).

Every single person in the gym was nervous on their first visit and even for weeks/months later! None of us have built in knowledge about how to train, we must seek the knowledge through others and the internet! Knowledge is power, and it will help you to achieve all of your fitness goals! Don't fly blind, ask for help when you need it. 99% of people from my experience are happy to help and are even flattered by people asking for their advice. Lets help eachother to become the best we can be! Do your body a favour and LIFT!

Welcome!

First of all i'd like to thank YOU for taking the time to jump onto my blog and have a read!

I want to create a space where girls can come to be inspired and motivated to live a healthy lifestyle and learn to love themselves from the inside out. Because YOU are beautiful! I want to share tips and tools to help you create the best you that you can be. I'll be posting things that inspire me, healthy recipes, workouts and tips for the gym, wellbeing and nutrition information and of course, cool workout gear. My aim is to help as many girls to feel incredible in their own skins as i can. There are so many pressures in this world, so lets all help eachother, share information and grow!