The Perfect Day for Fat Melting

         So, you’ve started your day perfectly…
(See the post Morning Fat Melting) Woke up, downed a glass of OJ with your whole herb supplement, reaching deeply into your otherwise empty blood. You did your 20 minute cardio rev up before hoping into the shower. After your shower you ate a high protein diet with some good EFAS(oils) and fresh fruit.
         You weren’t hungry all morning long. You’ve made it to lunch time, feeling great. Now, keep it going!


Lunchtime
         Lunchtime for me is a good time for a generous quantity of mixed vegetables. You could try a salad topped with a boiled egg, pulled chicken or some nuts. A homemade oil vinaigrette will help deliver your needed EFAs. Or have a bowl of soup, being sure that it’s low sodium and avoid cream or pastas in them. Soups are a great way to jam in some great nutrients in a warm, all in one, ready to go serving! Try to avoid the side of bread or crackers or choose amaranth instead of wheat, if you must. Choose a rice paper or lettuce wrap for a convenient hand held lunch. Always be sure to include a generous serving of protein which will sustain you longer than sugars and mix it up between plant and animal proteins. Low fat cheese as a side…or Hummus (which contains partial proteins) with raw vegetables is fantastic lunchtime fare. Or try beans combined with rice in a wrap for a full vegetable protein alternative to meat.


Cut out the Wheat & Simple Sugars too!
         Newly discovered evidence has bent my perspective slightly into cutting out wheat products as much as possible. With more scientific research I believe that I will only reinforce the thought that we have created a bane to our own health by genetically modifying wheat products to contain more gluten.


         What wheat does that may concern those trying to shed unwanted toxin containing fat tissue is trip the insulin production response in they same way that simple sugars do, telling the body to store all available fats and sugars as fat tissue. Some foods that are high in simple sugars to avoid are potatoes, corn, and carrots.  Breads, cakes, pop, and fruit juices, as well, of course.


          You want your body to burn up the food fuel not store it!

 Dinnertime
         It’s dinner, you’ve been so good all day long… no bread, no simple sugars, no pop… You’ve almost clinched a perfect nutritional day! The key to maintaining any nutritional plan is planning, really. It doesn’t have to be that much effort, either. It can be a simple as preparing your grocery list, according to the meals that you plan on having for the week and having a rough schedule in your mind. Don’t allow the kids to sway you into McD’s. It’s better for them too… as a parent you are responsible for instilling proper nutrition in them too.


         Keep to your rules… no breads, no simple sugars, no pop… Serve a good amount of lean protein in your meals,(fish, chicken, tenderloin), lots of high density nutrient vegetables, like broccoli, kale, napa cabbage, beets, sweet potatoes, gren beans, or edmame. Go fresh whenever possible, keeping in mind that frozen is better than canned for sodium content and conserving nutrient integrity. Balance your meal off with some high fiber grains or high fiber vegetables and some good ol’ EFAs… using canola oil in your cooking can help you to get your intake of EFAs. Salmon is another fantastic source. Reach for the rice as your carbohydrate, preferably long grain or better still brown. Over processed Uncle Ben’s or Sidekicks have way too much sodium and act much like gluten and simple sugars in your body… not good. (Storing everything as fat, remember?)


         In this fast paced society that we find ourselves packaged processed meals are becoming a favorite choice. Many are chemically laden and most are hugely over processed. Blue Butterfly offers a new choice to Quinte West for prepared meals that are made with all fresh and largely locally grown vegetables and fruits with an option for Organic.

E-mail us for more info on ordering and delivery. bluebutterflycatering@gmail.ca


Check out “Healthiest Meals to Date” on the Blog spot http://bluebutterflycatering.blogspot.com/ for some fantastic options!

Stay posted for the next article:


Exercise, Snacks, and other Tips for Fat Melting

Morning Fat Melting

         A quick little cardio routine first thing in the morning, before you’ve eaten, takes advantage of your cycles for max fat burning. With nothing in your belly or blood your body reaches into its’ store of fat. Even 15 minutes of intense cardio will really rev you up! Do you like to dance? Don’t forget to stretch to keep your muscles lithe.



Breakfast

         By eating a hearty, protein rich breakfast, you are setting yourself up nicely for the day. First, you are filling your belly with food that will last, keeping yourself from getting hungry again, too quickly. Secondly, the presence of the proteins gets your metabolism revving, the right enzymes are activated. Try to eat some Essential Fatty Acids here, especially. Try to incorporate Flax Seed, Hemp Seed, Canola Oil, Sunflower Seeds and Walnuts. I love any of the seeds and nuts sprinkled on top of oatmeal, topped with yoghurt and fruit. I have a higher fat & protein version for weight lifters and cardio trainers that I won’t mention here.


Here are some other ideas for breakfast:


A few onions, peppers, and mushrooms (pre-cut the night before) fried in no-stick pan with a touch of canola oil, no salt, please. Set veggies aside when al dente then scramble 2/3 eggs, better still, egg whites or make an omelet. Add the veg at the last minute, folding the omelet or mixing it in to the scramble. No side of toast for the dieters, please.


Whole Grain Crepes (Blue Butterfly) w Pineappple, Papaya, or berries, topped with yoghurt and ground flax, hemp, sunflower seeds, or walnuts.


Smoothies are a fantastic way to have breakfast! (Bananas, yoghurt, fresh berries, rice milk… Mix it up!) Pair a smoothie with the Blue Butterfly flax, sunflower, and cranberry granola bars! (These do contain some fats… a special treat that’s really good for you.) Mmmm. Yum.

Purification and Nourishment in the Beautiful White Winter

      

Did you know that carrots are one of the few veggies that are actually better for you, in terms of nutriton, when they are cooked?!

         Carrots are by far the richest source of naturally occurring carotenoid phytonutrients such as beta carotene. One cup of carrots contains 250% of the RDA of beta carotene which converts to vitamin A in our bodies. Vitamin A is especially important to smokers who are usually deficient in this nutrient and the deficiency may be directly associated with many diseases of the largest concern is lung cancer

        ** Carrots do contain a large amount of simple sugar that diabetics need to be aware of.  This sugar will trigger insulin production, hindering efforts to lose weight, as well. 



         Ho,wever, carrots also contain potent antioxidants that combat free radicals associated with numerous degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease and age related macular degeneration. Carrots contain a newly discovered phytonutrient called falcarinol which has been proven to be highly protective against colon cancer. Carrots also provide substantial amounts of vitamin K, C, folate, potassium, B6, and dietary fiber as well as trace amounts of other vitamins and minerals. Extensive studies have shown that as little as one carrot a day can cut the rate of lung cancer in half and incedence of other cancers such as cervical, prostate, and colon cancer can also be cut in half by higher beta carotene intake.


         Synthetic beta carotene is not biochemically identical to the naturally occurring form and doesn’t have the powerful effects of the naturally occurring form.


1 cup of carrots(122g) has only 53 calories. When carrots are cooked it denatures the tough cellular walls that contain the beta carotene thus making it an exception in that it benefits you more when it’s cooked!



        


          During the winter, I don't begrudge myself a few extra calories.  It is a difficult time to try to lose weight because you are fighting against your body's desire to stay warm.  It is a good time, rather, to cleanse the body and fortify it through healthy nourishment.  
         It's easy to become "addicted" to carbs during the winter. You can fight these cravings by becoming aware of the nutrient density in the foods that you consume.  Sugars and deep fried fats don't contain any vitamins and minerals...  Your cravings will quickly come into check, naturally, when you eat some good complex carbs (grains, beans, corn, rice) and veggies with your choice cut of meat or ,better still, fish.  

         The depth of winter is one of my favorite times of the year, the dark time. I feel buried in the mud, metamorphosing, waiting to be reborn into the spring. I use it as my internal reflection time; the time for deep contemplation and thought. Each New Year I cast a wish into the year for betterment and progress. This time following the New Year becomes a time for clarification and definition of just what exactly that entails. I've already begun planting the seeds for new growth within myself.

Weight Loss and Control Part I

What can make a grown woman doubt herself, cry, obsess, and deprive herself to the point of ill-health?

You might venture a guess in the area of some compulsive, manic depressive, brain chemical disorder when in fact I’m talking about weight…
In our culture, if you can call it that these days, women are completely and utterly objectified. If we don’t have the measurements of Barbie, we are deficient. Middle-aged women unfairly compare themselves to airbrushed thirteen year olds in magazines and on the television. Whatever happened to Marilyn Monroe? Personally, having the figure of a man with boobs, I love the feminine curves of women.
That being said, I have on offer, some information to help those of you who are fixated by the numbers on the scale. These tips are simple, painless, and intended to be permanent changes to your lifestyle. Most dieting does not work! You can peel off a few pounds with a diet, but they tend to leave you famished and deficient in vitamins and minerals, craving intensely and binging at every opportunity.
I, sincerely, hope that this information will help even just a few of my preoccupied contemporaries, men included.
Let’s clarify that I will not help you shed 20lbs in a month. I will not take you down a pant size in two weeks. I will not help you to sabotage your health! The Blue Butterfly symbolizes feeding the immortal soul,… as in forever! Cheers to your good health and longevity!

Set some realistic goals.
I can only promise incremental changes, 2-5 pounds a month, an inch of belly fat in a month. (if you genuinely have it to lose) Through very aggressive physical training, it is possible to decrease body fat very quickly, but chances are you won’t lose very much weight, initially. Don’t forget that muscle weighs more than fat. The idea is to feel better about yourself and to give yourself a sense of control and awareness about your bodies internal working.

You are what you eat, literally, so, take your vitamins!
Your body is an amazing machine. It has mechanisms that make us amazingly resilient despite the abuse that we put it through. In exchange for housing our crooked consciousnesses (is that a word?) our bodies require fuel, consisting of water, proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins, and minerals, and other tiny chemicals that work within your organs. We tend to discount the importance of these vitamins and minerals in our diet. They are key to an effective and efficient digestion. They are also key to shedding excess adipose tissue, fat, that is.
I advocate gentle supplementation. Your body prefers its’ nutrients to come in their natural form. Most chemically isolated vitamins and minerals (your typical over the counter vitamin) are flushed through the system without passing through the lumen of the stomach into the bodies’ blood stream. Absorption of supplements can be augmented by “chelation”, which encourages the molecule to pass through the stomach lining. Watch for the term “chelated” on your vitamins’ label, they are better. The best method, by far, to maximize absorption, is to eat a wide variety of foods, especially, dark and brightly coloured fruits and vegetables. V-8, “smoothies”, and real fruit and veg juices can all be very good sources of vitamins and minerals. If you are one of those very unfortunate individuals who don’t like fruits and veggies than please, do, take a supplement!

So, the first step to adipose-lysis (my new fancy word for ”fat killing”, rarrr!) is to start getting some vitamins into yourself. Initially, a supplement is a good and easy route to take. I don’t want anyone to try to make drastic changes to their lives. That’s when you lose the will to continue. Take ‘er slow. It takes a full two weeks of regularly taking your vitamins before your body is “loaded up”. You won’t feel much until the end of that two week period. The B vitamins are especially important at this stage. I call them the “digestive health vitamins”. Having enough of them in your diet also staves off depression and symptoms of stress. Try to tell me you don’t have stress in your life, ahem!
Blue Butterfly offers “whole source supplements” that are customized to each individual. I also add a metabolism booster to the herbal concoction to get you revved up! You will also receive highly competent consultation services via e-mail for free when you are taking Blue Butterfly supplements. Contact me, Executive Rebbeca Belanger, via e-mail for more information, bluebutterflycatering@gmail.com.