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WHY WOMEN NEED MORE PROTEIN

7 rules for enjoying booze without adding to the bulge

Alcohol can be the worst enemy of those on a health regime or who are loosing weight. Think excess calories, sugary mixers, decreased willpower and hangovers that lead to poor food choices, not to mention throwing a spanner in the works of your exercise routine when recovering from a boozy night out.

But let’s be realistic: enjoying some occasional drinks in moderation with friends is fun and part of a balanced lifestyle. The key is to drink smartly. Here’s your cheat sheet to having your alcohol and drinking it too.

Rule 1: Eat before you drink

If your stomach is empty, the alcohol will be absorbed quickly into your system, meaning you will get drunk faster and be more susceptible to poor food and drink choices as the night goes on. Consuming something that is high in protein or good fats will line the stomach and create a natural buffer. Opt for a pre-drink healthy snack, such as a handful of nuts or hummus with vegetables.

Rule 2: Know how to count your drinks

Many places serve larger drinks than what is technically considered to be a “standard drink.” That glass of wine could actually be up to 50% more than you think. Add to the equation poured spirit drinks and cocktails and you could easily be consuming more alcohol and its empty calories than you planned. Familiarise yourself with standard drink volume measurements of the alcohols you regularly drink so you know how much you are really being served.

Rule 3: Slim down your order

If you are dieting to loose weight, there are plenty of ways you can slim down your drink order by making smarter, lower calorie and lower sugar choices. If you’re a beer drinker, choose the low carb options, which more than cuts the carb content in half.

Spirits are a great choice if served correctly, with vodka, gin, rum, whisky and tequila coming in at around 100 calories per shot. Opt for soda water with fresh lemon or lime as the mixer and you have a relatively low calorie beverage.

Rule 4: Skip the sugary drinks

Most cocktails are loaded with sugar and excessive calories, so give them a miss. The same goes for mixing your spirits with juice or soft drinks.

If you really must have a cocktail, request it to be made without syrup or choose one of the neater options, such as a martini or cosmopolitan.

Rule 5: Drink water

Alcohol dehydrates your body, so it’s even more important than usual to keep rehydrating with water. As a rule of thumb, have a glass of water after every alcoholic drink you consume. This method will also help to prevent you becoming too drunk too quickly, which is a major cause of alcohol fuelled overeating, and stop a horrible hangover the next day. Win, win!

Rule 6: Don’t munch mindlessly

If there are nibbles around you, whether bar snacks or party food, it’s easy to chow down mindlessly after a couple of drinks. These foods are generally not good choices and are high in calories, such as salted trail mixes and chips. Make sure you sit or stand out of reach of the bowl to help prevent munching away at them endlessly. Research suggests too that if food is out of sight you are far less likely to eat it.

Rule 7: Pre-plan your post drink meal

Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and can stimulate your appetite, a combination that often leads to poor food choices after you’ve been drinking. At the end of the night, do yourself a favour and skip the pizza or kebab lines to go home instead. Make sure you have a selection of healthy snacks for when you get back, in case you need to eat something before bed.

The same applies for the following morning. Plan what you will eat and have the ingredients on hand at home, so you don’t turn to a greasy “anti-hangover” meal. If you’re going out for breakfast, make sure you head somewhere with healthy options and opt for a clean dish such eggs, greens and avocado.

TOP 5 BREAKFAST FOODS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR MORNING ROUTINE

The perfect package of plant-based protein

I bet you didn’t know that hemp was one of nature’s best sources of plant-based protein. In fact, our fancy friend hemp might just take the cake when it comes to dairy-free protein, with a complete amino acid profile, including all 20 of the organic compounds! If you’re looking to boost your protein intake from an a-la-natural source, then humble old hemp might just be your guy.

Hemp protein is a by-product of cold pressing hemp seed oil – a process which separates the seed from the oil. The defatted hemp remains are then milled and sieved into a fine powder ready for tissue building, muscle recovering action. The dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, paleo-friendly protein consists of a unique blend of two highly digestible proteins - albumin and edestin. Now the nifty part is that these two particular proteins are very similar to proteins found in the blood, which makes hemp one of the most functional and bioavailable sources of protein for the human body.

Protein accolades aside, hemp is rich in both soluble and insoluble fibre, with one 30g serve providing almost one third of your total daily fibre requirements. This not only means your colon gets a nice little cleanse, but you’ll feel full for longer too. Not just that, but the combination of protein and fibre will help to slow digestion, prevent spikes in blood sugar and help the body to sustain energy. High five hemp! To top it off, the protein powerhouse packs a hefty punch of essential fatty acids, chlorophyll, minerals and antioxidants sans saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar! This plant-based bad boy has definitely got our vote!

YOGA VS PILATES. Which practice is right for you?

If you’re struggling to shed your winter coat, getting your anxiety levels in check might just be the saving grace you’re looking for.

A little bit of stress here and there is totally normal, we all feel it! But living in constant state of pressure can be enormously disruptive to your health, wellbeing and weight. From wrecking your workouts to sabotaging your sleep, stress can definitely wreak havoc on your life if you let it.

One of stress’ most evil attributes is its capacity to release cortisol – a stress hormone which acts directly on fat deposits and causes the old spare tire around the tum (just what you want coming into summer, right?). You see, when our bodies are under stress our adrenal glands trigger a flight or fight response, which sends a message to the cortisol receptors in our bellies. Being the intelligent little creatures we are, our bodies go into red alert – putting bodily functions on standby and preparing for perceived threat. Hence, the extra tub stored around the tum as available fuel in case of famine (It’s actually kinda clever when you think about it).

Fat storage aside, our stress hormones can also take responsibility for those god forsaken Krispy Kreme cravings during angsty times. Dear old cortisol gives us a higher preference for addictive behaviours and makes sugary and fatty foods as attractive as Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. Plus, the rebellious little hormone acts on the hypothalamus in the brain, increasing hunger and practically feeding you itself during times of stress.

Being the age of technology, the real problem lies in the fact that we no longer have a clearly defined beginning and end to stressful periods. Our phones are with us at all times, we’re constantly reading our emails and never really switching off entirely. This is why out bodies tend to react in such an extreme fashion. Most of us are living in a constant state of stress and our bodies are making themselves at home in struggle town.

So now I’ve showered you with all the bad news, I can deliver the good part... There are ways to improve your response to stress and it all starts with recognition. Take note of your physical reactions to stressy situations - do your shoulders tense up? breath become short? or heart start pounding? Learn some breathing exercises, close your eyes, download some sort of mind soothing app. When you feel the wrath of stress starting to take hold, simply distract yourself. Walk away, call a friend, do some stretching - anything you can to calm your mind. If work is the culprit, put boundaries around it. Take meals and snacks away from your desk and be sure to leave the building and step into the sunshine at least once a day.

Perhaps one of the most effective tools in stress management is humble old exercise. It gets you pumping endorphins AKA happy hormones, which make you… well... happy. And we all know there’s no room for stress when your grinning like a Cheshire cat. The truth is, just as how you deal with stress is individual, so are the ways in which you can resolve it. Whether it’s working on your time management skills, taking a holiday, practicing meditation like some sort of Peruvian Guru or jumping on the yoga bandwagon, find what works for you and stick with it. Trust me when I say your spare tire will thank you.