A carbohydrate is an important energy source for working muscles, the brain and nervous tissue. Carbohydrates also assist in digestion by providing dietary fiber. You need to have carbohydrates in your diet to keep functioning during the day, if you are not having enough carbohydrates you will lack energy and concentration.

The 2 main carbohydrate categories are simple and complex.

Some good simple carbohydrates are honey, fruits, jam.

Some good complex carbohydrates are - wholegrain pastas, rice, bread, vegetables.

All too often nowadays many of us get our carbohydrates from unhealthy sources such as cakes, white bread, sodas, cookies, pies, muffins, white pasta and in turn do not eat enough of the healthy carbohydrates such and fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains, these healthy carbohydrates contain fiber which our body needs to aid digestion.

I encourage you to look at your diet and where your carbohydrates are coming from.

If you are starting your day with a sugary cereal switch over to oatmeal, and add some egg whites on the side and you will have a great start to the day.
If you find yourself reaching for sugary cakes at 3pm, try having some fruit and almonds, the fruit will satisfy your sugar craving and almonds add some protein and good fats.

I also encourage you to eat smaller meals more frequent meals throughout the day, this way you are never becoming over hungry and in turn this will help you to not get cravings.

Almost 108 million Americans were overweight or obese in 1999. Until now, obesity continues to be a serious problem and is predicted to reach epidemic levels by the year 2020.

One way to prevent this scenario is to make people aware of the risks of being overweight or obese.

Here are some diseases that you are putting yourself in risk of if you are carrying a lot of extra pounds:

1. heart disease

2. stroke

3. diabetes

4. cancer

5. arthritis

6. hypertension

Losing weight helps to prevent and control these diseases.

The quick weight loss methods which have spread like fire these days do not provide lasting results. More often than not, dieting methods which involve dietary drinks, avoiding food groups and supplement or pills do not work. If they do, the results are just temporary.

It is better to rely on a healthy weight loss option which will provide lifetime results. You have to set realistic goals and not expect to lose a lot of pounds in a short span of time.

Here are some tips on how you can lose those unwanted pounds the healthy way:

1. Do not starve your self.

The key to a healthier way of losing weight is: Do not diet.

You may seem happy and feel that you are losing those unwanted flabs on your belly and thighs by skipping meals. But remember that this would not last long. Your body cannot tolerate having insufficient food to fuel the energy that you use up everyday.

If you get used to skipping one or two meals a day, your stored calories will be used up instead of the energy that should have been provided by your meals. So if you just eat one huge sandwich in one day, it will end up straight to your problem area (i.e. highs, buttocks, hips).

2. Start your day right.

Mothers always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Have a healthy meal in the morning to jump-start your metabolism.

Your food intake after you wake up will be used to burn fat all day long.

3. Eat small, healthy meals frequently.

Five small-serving snacks per day is better than three hearty meals. Eating more frequently, and in small servings, can prevent over-eating. This will also increase your metabolism and make calories burn faster.

4. Decide on how much weight you want to lose.

Keep your goals realistic. In the long run, it is virtually impossible for you to lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks. Have a mindset that you want to eat healthy to stay healthy for the rest of your life.

Once you have decided on a weight loss plan or program, stick to it and make sure that you follow your own set of dieting rules.

5. Drink lots of water.

Your body needs sufficient water to burn fat and keep your cells hydrated and healthy.

6. Avoid too much sugar.

Plan your meals around lots of fruits and vegetables, some whole grain bread, brown rice or whole grain pasta for that carbo fix that you need, plus lean meat and protein rich-foods. Sweets, sodas and pastries should be once-in-a-while indulgences only.

7. Watch your fat intake.

Fat is not the culprit to being overweight. You need this to keep your weight at the proper level.

There is such a thing as healthy fats. Olive, peanuts and canola oil have them. Tuna, salmon and mackerel have omega-3 fats which is good for the heart.

8. Exercise.

Leave your car if you are only going a few blocks from home, take the stairs instead of the elevator, jog, cycle or skate. Use these activites and other home chores if you are too lazy to go to the gym and take exercise classes. Make sure that you do this regularly and you will not even notice that you are already shedding pounds with these mundane activities.

It does not matter how much weight you plan or need to lose. What is important is that you set realistic goals for yourself.

Go slow. If you have already lost 5 or 6 pounds, give yourself a break then try to lose the next 5 pounds.

Eat healthy, drink lots of water, have enough sleep and exercise. This will give you a higher chance of losing weight and improving your health, which would result to a new, healthier you.

Drink Water - stay hydrated. Water is important role in the process of weight loss. Water is essential for proper metabolism and the removal of waste and from the body. Studies proved that the less water is in the body, the more fat will be accumulated in the body instead of burning fat for energy.

Water plays an important role in the process of digestion and absorption of vitamins and nutrients. It carries away the toxins from the liver and kidney, aids the digestive system, gets rid of constipation and flush out all the waste materials from the body.

Eat BREAKFAST. If you don’t eat WITHIN the first hour of waking, your metabolic rate slows down and your blood sugar drops. Calories consumed later will then be stored as FAT. It is also reported that people who skip breakfast had more impulsively snack in the morning - often on high-fat sweets. Those people who skip breakfast tend to consume more calories throughout the day.

Why? ….

After missing breakfast people tend to eat more sugar, calories, and carbs in the later in the day than those who eat breakfast. Those who missed breakfast are consuming higher calories and carbs at the wrong end of the day!

Journal. Writing it out - EVERYTHING! What food, what time, how much. Everything you put in your mouth MUST be recorded, whether it’s a cup of oatmeal, or 2 tbsp of cream and sugar in your coffee, RECORD EVERYTHING. The BIGGEST mistake most people make thinking they are eating healthy, but are they considering portion size? The frequency of eating? Is the meal balanced - 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, 30% fat (essential fatty acids)? Did they count the calories in ALL the condiments, sugar, cream, butter, etc that we use daily? IT ALL COUNTS.

You have to read this article. It actually made me cry this morning, the girls lack of knowledge about food and what she is doing to her triplets broke my heart.

29 year old mum feeds her 8 months olds Macdonalds

Let me know what you think about it !

Water plays an important role in how our body functions and plays an important role in weight loss, weight maintenance, and sport performance. Remember that muscle is 70% water, and the leaner you are, the more active you are, the more water you should be consuming. Here are some of the benefits of drinking enough water:

Water is needed to metabolize stored fat efficiently. If your body does not get sufficient water, the process of metabolism slows down.
Water plays an important role in the process of digestion and carries toxins away from the liver and kidney.
Fibre helps in digestion but needs water to complete the process. Absence of water makes fiber a toxin which causes constipation and discomfort.
Appetite control. If there is a slight dehydration the thirst mechanism may be mistaken for hunger and you may eat when the body is actually craving fluid. Most food contains some water and if you don’t drink much you may be subconsciously driven to eat more to gain the necessary water. However, you also gain the undesired effects of extra calories.
Drinking adequate water could lower your risks of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.
Headache cure. Another symptom of dehydration is headaches. In fact, often when we have headaches it’s simply a matter of not drinking enough water.
Drinking additional water in hot or humid weather, it helps control body temperature.
Adequate water consumption provides natural moisture to your skin and provides a fresh glow.
Decrease cancer risk. Related to the digestive system item above, drinking a healthy amount of water has also been found to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%. Drinking lots of water can also reduce the risk of bladder cancer by 50% and potentially reduce the risk of breast cancer.

WOW, the days sure go by fast even when you are not able to workout.

I’m concentrating on my nutrition, and enjoying getting back into the swing of lots and lots of fruits and vegetables.

Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, so our tradition is to eat pancakes. My girls love to flip them over, and our dogs wait in anticipation for the inevitable escaped pancake, this year there was only 1 ! LOL

When I was child we always ate them with a squirt of lemon and a sprinkle of sugar.  For my girls I’ve added a fruit plate into the mix as the 2 go together so well. I’m amazed each year at how much fruit they eat just because its going on pancakes. I’m thinking that I need to add pancakes in more often.

How did you all eat yours?

I cannot get over how much we have to pay for fresh fruit here, I’ts not something that I ever check the price on as we have to eat it, but yesterday I didn’t have many fresh berries in so I went to the store and all I picked up was 1lb strawberries, 1 pint of blackberries and raspberries and 2 lemons, this cost me over $20.

I’m not concerned as it was all eaten that night, but no wonder my grocery bill is so expensive.

It got me thinking that a few weeks ago there was a news story on Global news that talked about just this ..

Comparing Apples to Apples News Report

So it proved that in Calgary we pay over $5 for 5 apples, while our neighbours in Edmonton only paid $1.71 for the same type of apple.

So when I tell you that I have spent about $100 for 1 weeks worth of fruit and vegetables you can understand why!  I live in an expensive city.  What baffles me is the fact that Edmonton is further North than us, and most of the fruit and veg comes from the States, which means it travels further to Edmonton than to Calgary, so why would our produce be more expensive?

I hate being penalized for eating healthy, but it is something that I cannot compromise so I suck it up. Our health means so much to us, everyday I see the consequences of eating the other way.

<p>Following my theme of the burgers, I want to share this video with you. Im warning you that it is not nice, however, you need to know what may be inside this kind of processed food.</p>
<p>I was watching Jillian McKeiths, You are What you Eat and loved how she showed the couple just what they were eating. Im so happy someone put it onto You Tube as I really wanted to share it with you!</p>
<p>Before you feed either yourself or kids anymore of this junk, remember these videos. </p>
<p>If this doesn’t put you off I don’t know what will. </p>
<p>Remember the less processed food we eat the better, stick with whole foods and you will not be eating blood clots, pigs snouts etc …

I was wondering how long I would get away with not getting tagged, but today 2 people tagged me. I wonder how long this is going to take me to think up 25 things ….

1. As Im writing it on my blog 1st rather than facebook Ill tell you my real name Kelly Anne Swindell.

2. I am 35 but feel like I am 20, I am In better shape now than I was in my 20s though.

3. I have 2 girls they are aged 11 and 10. Oh and their dad is a bigger kid than them, so I guess he is the little boy that I always wanted.

4. Im originally from England, moved to Calgary, Canada in 2001.

5. Im not married but have been with the same guy since I was 18. ( scared of commitment !!!!! LOL)

6. I represented my County (Warwickshire) in cross country and race walking when I was 12.

7. I come from the town of Rugby, yes that is where the game was invented.

8. Yes, I played Rugby for 2 seasons.

9. i am addicted to twitter and facebook ( OK I finally admitted it)

10. I will finish my personal training certification in the next few weeks.

11. I am also going to be certified to teach Kettlebells

12. I met my man at the Rugby Club, it was news years eve and he was dressed up as a Zulu warrior. Never have said thanks to my cousin Paul for letting me tag along with him to the party :0)

13. I was with my Nan when she died, I was on my way to college and something told me that I HAD to go to the hospital, she died a couple of minutes after I got there, I’m so thankful that she did not die alone in a hospital bed.

14. I am always reading books on either exercise or nutrition, only on my Summer holiday do I read novels.

15.My Mum was 19 when she had me, and then 40 when she had my youngest sister, so there is a bigger age gap between my sister and I than my Mum and I.

16. I still have to watch Coronation Street and Eastenders (British Soaps) even though they are so far behind here. sad i know !

17. Over the last 2 years, I have met so many people over the internet through social sites who have proven to be closer friends than some of the other people in my life. It was not even strange or weird when I got to meet 2 of them, it was like 3 girls that have known each other for years. When I go back to the UK there is one person that I have to go and visit, we have so much in common and both feel that we were destined to know each other, we talk nearly everyday and are really supporting each other with growing our business.

18. I can talk your ear off about fitness and nutrition.

19. I get really grumpy and down when I havent exercised for a few days.

20. If you think Im grumpy when I havent exercised, see what Im like if I havent eaten for a few hours, this is why I carry food around everywhere.

21. I used to hate water, now its pretty much all I drink. Gone are the days of neat vodka, and flaming zambukas.

22. Oh, another addiction, its Tim Hortons Coffee :0) Its so bad I know, I guess we all have our little vice.

23. My goal for the next 2 months is to get my bootcamps running. People are already asking me for times, hold on, i need to sort out insurance etc …..

24. It looks like we are getting the whole of my immediate family visiting us this summer (9 of them). Im so excited as we are planning on a tour from Vancouver to Calgary, so a week of camping with the people that we miss ALOT. I cant wait to show them this beautiful country, and maybe my Mum and little Sis will get to see a bear, they have been out 3 times and think that bears are a myth here.

25. Feels really sad that her kids do not know all of their cousins, they know the ones on my side of the family, but not as close to them as you should be, and they have at least 30 more that they have not seen either at all or for 6 years. (Malcolm is one of 11 siblings!!!) Im loving the way that facebook brings a family that is apart by distance closer together, a couple of weeks ago I made contact with my Dad again, we hadnt spoken or saw each other for 4 years, now we talk on skype every week :0)

This actually was not as bad as I thought, I could have carried on !!! LOL