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Check out this easy, healthy and tasty chicken and avocado salad

23/5/2021

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​Written by Nyomi Graef

What’s a delicious, easy and healthy salad that’s great on its own for brunch or lunch? One that will challenge - maybe even kill - people’s beliefs that healthy salads are “boring” or “rabbit food”? My homemade chicken and avocado salad. I created it a few weeks ago, and it’s so tasty - and simple to make - that I’ll share the recipe.


​What are the ingredients in my salad?
  • Avocado sliced into small slices. I used between half and one avocado for a big bowl of salad for myself. How much you add is not critical. Add as much as you like.
  • Cooked chicken cut into small pieces. I used about 150 grams of my leftover homemade spicy free-range chicken tenderloins that I cooked a day or two before and put in my fridge.
  • Mixed fresh salad greens, such as the ones that you can buy in the packet ready to eat from Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and so on. You could also use fresh baby spinach and/or rocket too, for instance.
  • A few dried apple pieces cut into small slices. I used Aldi’s soft dried apples in the packet, but other shops’ dried apples are probably fine too.
  • A generous amount of cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, but not too much to drown the salad, obviously. Use your judgement.
  • Balsamic vinegar to taste.
​
What’s the method?
Mix all the ingredients together and it’s done. (Obviously add the vinegar and olive oil on top of the salad at the end, after you add all of the other ingredients.) Too easy! Enjoy!

Comments
The sweet apple mixed with the sour balsamic vinegar, along with the other ingredients and textures, is a great combination. I wish that I created this salad earlier!
 
I was thinking of also adding fresh carrot and tomato, but I like this salad’s simplicity, plus sometimes less is more, hey. I ate a carrot and big tomato separately as part of my lunch on the day that I ate this salad, and I didn’t miss these not being in the salad.
 
Of course you can change the dressing to suit you. Beware, lots of salad dressings are not really healthy. A key reason - among other reasons - is that they contain oils that can cause health problems over time, such as heart disease. Many people still believe that these unhealthy oils are still healthy though, including many nutrition experts. Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest oils around. Few will argue with that!
 
What are some ingredients that you find irresistible in salads?
 
And what might you like to add (or subtract) from the above salad to make it suit you more?
 
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
 
Come back soon for more healthy, easy and tasty meals and snacks on this blog!


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Top tips to be happy and motivated while losing weight

17/11/2020

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Written by Nyomi Graef
 
For many people, losing weight and keeping it off can be two of the hardest things to do in life. Being happy and motivated during weight loss, and persisting through hard times while losing weight, can be especially tough. What can we do to help? Use the ideas below that connect with you.
 
Remember the benefits of losing weight
Often think of the positive reasons for why you want to lose weight. This is vital to help motivate you and be happier throughout your weight loss.

Benefits might be, for instance, to:
  • have more energy
  • be healthier and/or happier
  • be a good role model to your family so they are more likely to be (or stay) healthy and be a healthy body weight 
  • fit into clothes you like
  • be more confident
  • do a physical activity that you like without getting puffed (or tired or stopping often)
  • feel more attractive

Write down your benefits and read them often —​ at least once a day. Put them somewhere where you can reach them easily, such as in the top drawer in your kitchen or on top of your bedside table. When you feel like stopping losing weight, read the reasons to help motivate you to continue.

Think of possible problems of not losing weight
Problems might include:
  • not having enough energy to do what you want to do, keep up with your kids and/or grandchildren and so on
  • health problems caused by being overweight
  • feeling less confident and attractive than you would like to be

Put up inspirational pictures, sayings, quotes and affirmations in your home and workplace
Put these up on the fridge, doors and walls to boost your spirits and inspire you to keep going, especially when the going gets tough.

Enjoy your food
Eating can be one of the great joys in life. Obviously if we don’t enjoy what we eat, we are likely to stop eating it, so make the effort to find healthy foods that you also like.
 
Our taste buds can take time to adapt to new flavours, so we might find the new foods hard to eat for a while. Persist -- the benefits of healthy eating and weight loss are worth it.
 
Imagine the positive outcomes that you want from losing weight
What we often imagine (visualise) can happen (within reason), so visualise what you want from your weight loss. Imagine positive outcomes every day. How much time should we spend imagining? That’s up to you, but small amounts, such as 5 minutes a few times a day, is a good start.
 
Things to visualise might include:
  • friends and family praising you for how good you look losing weight
  • fitting into the smaller sized clothes you’ve been wanting to wear for a while
  • feeling fit and energetic while running around with your kids/playing sport/walking/other
  • enjoying eating healthy and tasty meals that look delicious

Overcome barriers to weight loss
There are many barriers to losing weight, and lots can most likely be overcome. Below are some common barriers, with ideas for how to overcome them.
  • You don’t like healthy eating. Eating healthier foods might be hard at first, but in time you can grow to enjoy the new flavours and want to eat them.
  • You find healthy eating dull and boring. There are plenty of great easy recipes to make healthy food tasty. With some herbs and spices, sauces and imagination… you can turn boring “rabbit food” into delicious delights.
  • You don’t like fruit and veg. Know how to pick ripe and delicious fruit and veggies and make them into tasty recipes.
  • Exercise is hard and you don’t like it. Exercise can be hard at first. The fitter you become the easier it is to exercise and the more likely you are to enjoy exercise. Start off gently and slowly if need be and persist through tough times. Increase your level of exercise gradually to prevent pain, injuries and burn out.
  • You don’t feel like exercising. After regularly exercising for about a month or more, exercise can become a habit that you want to do, not feel like something that you should do, but don’t really want to do. Remember the benefits of exercise. Make it fun -- vary your exercises, have an exercise buddy, exercise to music, in beautiful surroundings and so on.

Keep going after setbacks
Whether it’s eating a large packet of chips, eating too much when you go out, or eating all the biscuits in the biscuit jar in one sitting, don’t overdramatise setbacks by deciding to stop losing weight altogether. So you slipped-up. It happens. Forgive yourself and aim to do better next time. Persist with your weight loss -- get back on track after setbacks and keep going.
 
Set small and large weight loss goals
Goals help keep you on track and help motivate you. Set small goals (such as weekly goals) that work towards achieving your large/larger goals (such as 3-monthly goals). 

Review your weight loss goals regularly (daily/weekly/monthly and so on). People who monitor and evaluate their goals often are more likely to succeed than people who don’t do these two things.

 
If unexpected problems come up, your goals might need adapting. Make your weight loss goals flexible in case this happens.
 
Use the SMART technique for goal setting. SMART stands for various things. One of the best is:
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable or attractive
  • Realistic or relevant
  • Time-based (set a date that you want to achieve each goal by)
 
Below are some examples of goals using the SMART technique:
  • Eat at least 2 serves of fruit at least 4 days a week by the beginning of (add a month and year here). To help me I will have a fruit bowl (filled with various fruit) on my dining room table, eat fruit salad for dessert at least 2 times a week, and eat fruit for snacks at least 5 days a week.
  • Eat at least 3 serves of veggies at least 4 days a week by the last day of (add a month and year here) by adding more veggies to my stir-frys, pasta sauce, salads and soups.
  • In 3 months' time I will be eating at least 5 serves of different types of veggies a day at least 5 days a week.
  • Next week I will go for a walk (or swim/cycle/other exercise) at a moderate pace for at least 20 minutes on 3 days of the week.
  • In 3 months' time I will be doing weight-bearing exercise at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week.
  • Lose at least half a kilo of fat a week by (add a date here).
  • By (add a date here), fit into the (add a brand name here) pair of black trousers in the closet not worn for years.

Reward yourself often
Give yourself a pat on the back whenever you achieve a goal and do a good job. Rewards for weight loss don’t have to be large and expensive. They can be little things like watching a movie online, having a cup of your favourite tea with a friend, or buying something inexpensive for yourself.
 
Use positive self-talk
Negative self-talk hinders you and makes you feel bad. Positive self-talk encourages you, motivates you and helps you achieve your goals.
 
Examples of positive self-talk might include:
  • I can make healthy, delicious meals that I enjoy.
  • Just because I’ve failed at weight loss in the past doesn’t mean I’ll always fail. I can lose weight. I can create great weight loss goals and plans, and find the right strategies to lose weight. I can work hard and put in the time needed to lose weight, if I really want to.
  • If others can lose weight and keep it off, I can too.
  • (When you have a set-back) This is just a minor set-back. I will keep going. I will not eat the entire packet of biscuits/block of chocolate/other next time. I will now refocus and get back on track.
  • I can find exercises that are fun and good for me.

​Praise yourself often
Praise helps boost our self-esteem, confidence and happiness. Think "well done", "great job" (or similar praises) when you achieve your goals and, possibly, when you achieved a fair amount of a goal. Unexpected events, problems and so on can happen in life that hinder our progress, no matter how much we do our best.
 
Be patient with and committed to your weight loss
The weight took time to put on, so it will take time to lose. Commit to your weight loss, even if it takes months or years to lose the weight.
 
Be around supportive people
Avoid negative people who put you down and don’t believe in you. Surround yourself with people who boost your confidence, make you feel good and praise you.
 
Have a weight loss buddy
A weight loss buddy is a great help for your weight loss. They can cheer you up when you’re down, help keep you on track and more. Your buddy might also be losing weight, so you can help each other fight the battle of the bulge.
 
Read motivational weight loss stories
Motivational weight loss stories in magazines, online, books and so on help inspire and motivate you. If they can lose weight and keep it off, you can too.
 
Get weight loss tips from fit, happy and healthy people who’ve succeeded in losing weight and keeping it off long-term.

Remember that one weight loss plan does not suit everybody
There are many ways to lose weight. The best ones should be safe, healthy, effective, affordable, enjoyable, practical, sustainable, realistic, and tailored to suit each of us as individuals. We each have different health problems/injuries/allergies/food sensitivities/likes/dislikes, and so on, so one rigid eating plan does not suit everyone.
 
For best results, a weight loss plan should include both healthy eating and physical activity, at a minimum. Other important elements are to have the right mindset for weight loss, along with stress management techniques, and help with sleep, for instance, among other strategies.
 
Remember your positive qualities
You are far more than your body weight. You might be a good listener, friend, parent, brother or sister, uncle or aunt, and so on. Don’t let your body weight define you.
 
Forget the past and focus on the now
Put whatever weight loss failures you’ve had behind you and start afresh. Carrying around the past that you no longer need burdens you. Let it go. Focus on the now and create the future that you want.

Use as many of the above weight loss tips that you feel is best. Think of your own ideas, speak with others, or do your own research on the topic, if you’re interested.
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