Let's get Gorgeous - Fit Mango Style!    Hi , Christmas is only 9 weeks away....yes, I kid you not...9 weeks!  Are you ready to pop on that slinky little number for the all of those Chrissy parties?  No?  Need to lose a few kilos (or maybe more than a few)? At Fit Mango, as you know (coz we say it often!), we don't do fads or fancy diets (you know, like - 'no carbs',  weight-loss shakes, fat blasters - all of that ridiculousness).  We believe in lots of great fresh food, a good exercise regime and a positive attitude. Sound simple?  Sure.  Easy to enact, day in, day out?  Not so much. But never fear, we have some great tips and info to make it just a little easier.  Of course there is no substitute for a positive attitude and a some willpower, but a good structure around you can also help! Over the next few days I will send you a series of emails aimed at helping you get into healthy eating habits. A couple of things to remember at the outset: 1.  Healthy diet and exercise go hand in hand.  Exercise without a healthy diet WILL NOT MAKE YOU THIN!  Exercise helps to supercharge your weight loss through healthy diet.  But diet is key! 2.  Sometimes we fall off the healthy eating bandwagon.  All of us do.  That's ok.  Enjoy that meal out with you partner, or those couple of glasses of wine on a friday night...THEN GET BACK TO THE PLAN!  No recriminations, no guilt, just a new day tomorrow - with healthy nutrition and some awesome Fit Mango training! 3.  Weight loss takes time!  We are not on The Biggest Loser.  Don't expect to lose 5 kg a week - or to be honest, even 2kg per week.  It might take a while to get started (2 or 3 weeks..) and might feel slow to start.  You might have weeks where the scales say you have put on weight, but (assuming you are being honest with your nutrition) - ignore them and keep at it. 4. You need to be honest with yourself.  Who are you really cheating if you sneak that chocolate bar?  Me?  Clearly not.... 5.  Enjoy the ride!  It is empowering to be in control of your own body.  Think about how hard it was those first few weeks when you began training - and now look at you!  Weight management is exactly the same...soon it will just feel normal and good....no, really, it will!  And soon others will start noticing too.... Ready?....here goes!     Step 1:  Be prepared Fix the fridge! Look, the bottom line is this... if it's in the house, the temptation is there to indulge.      SO GET RID OF IT!    Grab the garbage bin, and chuck it!  Anything you know you shouldn't be eating - icecream, choccies, the lolly jar, that nice piece of brie you were saving for Friday night, that sneeky packet of timtams.  Whatever it is that you know you shouldn't have, ditch it!  It might seem a bit of a waste, but get over it.  Did you know that one timtam is about 100 calories?  Do you stop at 1?  If it's not in the house, you can't be tempted!  And don't leave it, thinking, 'I'll give it to the kids'...take them on the ride too - if they are eating icecream after dinner, how long do you think it will be until you have 'just a little scoop' ???????     THEN GO SHOPPING.   Head for the green grocer first.  Buy up big.  Fill your fridge full of veggies, salad, fruit, berries ...lots of great and lovely fresh stuff!  Include eggs and some nuts (almonds, pistachios and walnuts are great, but steer away from macadamias - they are extremely high in fat!).  Then head for the supermarket.  Make it a habit to look at the nutrition labels.  Look at calories, saturated fat and sugar content...keep them low. Swap all the white stuff for brown.  Brown rice, wholemeal pasta, brown grainy breads, try some Quinoa. Grab some low fat yoghurt and skim milk (or soy, if you prefer). Chose a low saturated fat, low sugar cereal - oats, porridge, any type of low-processed cereal - give cheerios and crunchy nut cornflakes the flick! Steer away from pre-packaged anything - wherever you can!     Include some good lean protein in your shopping basket - lean red meat, chicken and fish, legumes and pulses.  Protein is a bit of a wonder food.  Helps keep you feeling full, and of course is vital for muscle growth and repair (after all those awesome training sessions).  It is also vital for good brain function and general wellbeing!  Get to Know the Food You Are Eating Ok so the fridge is full of fresh, healthy and yummy stuff. What next?  Well, we think there are a couple of must-do things... 1.  Know what you are eating....get familiar with the calorie (i.e. energy) content of the food you eat.  Do you know how many calories you should eat in a day?  Do you know how many calories are in that large full cream cappucino you had this morning?  No? - then GET TO KNOW!  Buy a calorie counting book (the Calorie King one is good) - or better still, join www.myfitnesspal.com.  For the first couple of weeks, you need to be conscious of all you are eating.  After that, you will get to know the energy value of the foods you eat most. 2.  BE PREPARED.  If you get home from a hard morning workout, and you don't have a great healthy snack in the fridge....what's gonna happen?  Coffee and muffin? (this can be a 500 calorie indulgence...by the way!).  For example, I like to have some small low fat yoghurts in the fridge, a packet of vitawheat or similar and I ALWAYS have avo and tomato in the house...pick your own options, but have them readily available.   Throw an apple in your bag - pack a lunch for yourself if you know you are going to be out all day (at the same time as you do the kids), cut up a whole heap of carrots and celery sticks and leave them in the fridge for great 'grab and go' snacks (awesome with a small tub of homous.....).   3. EAT  Breakfast. Yes -  I mean you!  I can't tell you how many people I know who tell me that they don't have time for breakfast, or don't feel like eating in the morning.  BREAKFAST IS NOT OPTIONAL!  If you want to lose, or even just maintain your weight - actually, if you just want to be fit and healthy - you MUST eat a great breakky.  You cannot, I repeat CANNOT expect to lose weight if you are not eating breakfast.  Breakfast sets you up for the day, gets your metabolism firing and makes sure you are not dipping into the bikkie tin at 10am.  I love breakfast, but I know from personal experience (as I have 3 kids who look and act more like sloths in the morning than kids), that one 'morning minute' is like 15 minutes any other time of the day.  But skipping breakfast, or grabbing something on the go is NOT THE ANSWER.  Find a way to eat breakfast - you will thank me, I promise. 4. Don't Go Hungry.  Ever noticed how when you 'go on a diet' all you end up doing is thinking about food all day long???  Yep - it's a nightmare.  But its ok, coz we arent going on a diet, we are developing long term healthy eating habits....weight loss for life!  OK, so if you feel hungry (make sure it is hunger and not thirst, or worse, boredom), eat!  WOW what a revelation!  But I am serious, eat something.  Otherwise all you will do is spend the next hour thinking about food and eventually cave in and eat something dumb!  So, have a low fat yoghurt, an apple, half a muesli bar, carrot stix and houmous....whatever good healthy, smallish snack that you like! I like the concept of 5 or 6 meals per day - brekky, mid-morning snack (after training snack), lunch, arvo snack, dinner, and maybe either a late eve snack (if you must) or a 5pm munchies snack...  I defy you to be hungry if you are actually following this schedule. SO - what do you think?  Not so hard?  Great!  Go shopping and watch out for tomorrow's installment.... COMING NEXT....WHAT SHOULD A GOOD MEAL LOOK LIKE?   Love and kisses     Jayne     fit mango jayne@fitmango.com.au call me on 0417691413