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In Mondays #280 show we covered ‘3’ Swap Confusing For Simple tips one each under the categories of Fuel of Move and of Life.

I also mentioned in todays show I’d share a strategy to make doing the do (!) so far as those tips easier for you.

So now it’s time to deliver by looking at each category under the filter of Global Beliefs. I’m also going to finish todays show with 7 body friendly makeovers for Winter Comfort Food. So today lets cover: Winter Comfort Food with a side of Global Beliefs.

First, Global Beliefs.

Global beliefs are generalized statements unique to you about the world around you.

As with any belief they are completely made up. They are also possibility filters. So what you choose as a belief will result in you ‘filtering in’ evidence to support this belief… for better or worse.

Ensuring your global beliefs are supportive of you achieving your health goal (building a better body and more importantly enjoying a better life as a result) is key.

Let’s test it. What is your gut reaction (zero judgement + 100% honesty) when I ask you:

“Life is…?”

“Food is…?”

“Exercise is… ?”

If Life is:

A struggle. A constant battle. A race against the clock.

or perhaps,

A game. An opportunity to learn, to grow and to contribution. A gift to be grateful for.

AND if your mind will hunt for and find evidence to support whichever belief you are choosing to entertain, you can see where I’m heading with this right?

Whatever your current beliefs are there is no right or wrong, true or false. However, there is always the option to upgrade a belief that isn’t making it easy (or possible!) to get the result you are seeking for a belief that makes it as easy as possible.

Why make it tough on yourself?

If Food is:

A comfort. A reward. A constant worry and restraint. A way to show your love.

or perhaps,

The fuel that supports your best body and your best health. Nourishment. A reflection of how committed you are to being a healthy role model.

One train of thought will put you on a constant-never-winning-will-power-struggle based around using food as a crutch to avoid facing a deeper challenge, fear or lack in your life.

The other and sustainable option is to focus on the deeper benefits enjoyed when you use food as a fuel.

If Exercise is:

A punishment. A necessary evil. Boring and time consuming.

or perhaps,

Precious ‘you’ time. A chance to stretch your comfort zone. A privilege to appreciate. A vital component in living your most healthy, happy life that gets easier with time.

Again, you can see how one train of thought will lead you to notice: How cold and dark it is in the morning and how heavy and sluggish you feel.

While the other and sustainable option will make you more likely to see: You are lucky to have the time, money and mobility to indulge in an activity that primarily is geared towards improving the quality of YOUR life.

Let’s dig a little deeper with the “Food is…?” question and cover those 7 body friendly makeovers for Winter Comfort Food.

So here again is the list of 7 possible Global Beliefs about Food – of course there are limitless effective and ineffective beliefs you could have about food however lets start with the 7 I hear most often.

#One – four are less effective beliefs about food… however as you’ll see they can still work with a makeover:

One: Food is… A comfort. 

I agree. However it can also be hearty and comforting without being all heavy and stodgy.

=> Swap rice and potato mash for cauli-rice and cauli-mash. The added benefit to cauliflower apart from being much lower in carbs is that it’s a cruciferous super veg. The cruciferous veg family are excellent at restoring balance to your estrogen levels which can get outta whack as a result of stress, toxins and tofu in your life. Estrogen of course isn’t bad however when it’s out of balance it can lead to extra fat storage in estrogen sensitive area… and that’s your hips and thighs.

Two: Food is… A reward.

As emotional eater I really get this one. However great choices can be just as delicious and rewarding as rubbish choices.

=> Swap regular wedges and hot chips for kale crisps and even brussel chips. Again these are two more veg in the cruciferous family. To make your kale crisps extra delicious add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast (you’ll get it in a health food store) to half a bunch of kale, a sprinkle of sea salt and a good teaspoon or so of great extra virgin olive oil. There’s something extra rewarding about NOT feeling guilty after consuming a food reward and also NOT having to stop when you’re not the least bit satisfied.

Three: Food is… A constant worry and restraint.

I used to think about food all the time too. It was annoying. However once you find the meals to make on mass that work for you then you’ll save yourself a lot of time, energy and money.

=> Winter stews, curries, pasta dishes and soups are prefect to make on mass and freeze in portions. Your choices are limitless. A couple of my favs are cannelloni using rolled eggplant slices rather than pasta and curry using a eggplant grilled whole until it’s nice and smokey served with cauli-rice.

Four: Food is… A way to show your love.

Absolutely! So why would you show your love with the food that makes those nearest and dearest to you unfit and unhealthy?

=> The person that takes the time to make Pesto & Caramelised Onion Pizza for me… which involves: a sprouted buckwheat base, caramelised onions, homemade pesto, homemade tomato sauce and macadamia cheeseis definitely showing love.

Now that’s not my recipe – I really am not patient enough to make it however it sounds divine – I’ll link to the full recipe by Raw Chef Russell James in the show notes for today.

#Five – seven are more effective beliefs about food…

Five: Food is… The fuel that supports your best body and your best health.

This is my primary belief abut food. However I also believe it can be delicious and both time and cost effective.

=> The key is to focus one the one ingredient foods you are giving your body. Start with a generous amount of fibrous veg, add lean protein and finish with good fat. So to make-over a hearty winter soup. Swap starchy potato or carbie legumes/dry soup mix for you guessed it: cauliflower and any of your other fav fibrous veg. Really anything goes. Once you’ve got your herbs and spices sorted the key ingredients often left out of a soup is the protein and the good fat that makes it satisfying. That’s why you can demolish bowl after really-not-yet-satisfied bowl after still-hungry-should-I-have-toast-and-butter-with-it bowl. Your protein might be a topping of cottage cheese or greek yoghurt if you handle dairy well. Or maybe you garnish your veg soup with some shredded rotisserie chicken and/or bacon if you’re a carnivore. Even mini meatballs which you can make on mass and freeze. Personally I’d go the dairy and meat free option and just garnish my soup with a tablespoons of hemp seeds for protein and some roasted nuts for protein, good fat and texture. 

Six: Food is… Nourishment.

The food you eat can either give you energy and help you feel great or the reverse.

=> Equally salads need not be light, boring and cold. They can be substantial, exciting and warm. Now an iceberg and cucumber and tomato salad might not appeal on a cold night however personally I’m not going to bother with that extreme boringness in the heat of summer either. That’s just UN-fun UN-yum!

Last time I was home for a long weekend my dad who’s fab on the BBQ made a BBQ veg salad. It had a variety of different veg, goats cheese, olives and herbs. The less time intensive option is my Go2Lunch in which I start with a base of leafy green and raw veg, then add some baked veg which is often packaged frozen veg mix that I just whack in the oven to heat and then stir pesto through. I splash it with balsamic and finish with zucchini, tahini and hemp seed hummus for a bit of protein and avocado for good fat.

Seven: Food is… A reflection of how committed you are to being a healthy role model.

This is the No Excuses Belief. It’s the understanding that whatever purpose you are using food to fill – whatever food gives you if you’re currently choosing the food options that leave you unhealthy and unhappy then that is your choice and your responsibility to change.

As you’ve seen in today’s show if you’re committed to being a healthy role model then you can find the body friendly makeover for any current food choice that isn’t serving you.

=> From avocado chocolate mousse to zucchini carbonara. The options are limitless and the initial time and energy investment upfront to rework some Go2WinterComfortFoods that aren’t doing you any favours will pay off in multiples.

To get actionable today, what is ONE Go2WinterComfortFood or if you’re lucky enough to NOT be cruising towards winter as you listen to this show, what is ONE Go2ComfortFood you can makeover this week?

I’d super love to hear what you’re choosing. You can let me know via the show notes for today.

As a second action step – Yes, I’m pushing my luck as one dear client regularly tells me when I’m trying to squeeze the best out of his training session – but Hey, that’s my job:

So, if you found this show of value and are ready to get implementing with a weekly fix of Life, Fuel and Move tips, that’s awesome!

Life, Fuel and Move are a component of my Brainb4Body email series which you’ll receive when you download my free e-book ‘7 Costly Fat Loss Mistakes’. The opt-in is just to the upper right of this post. I hope you’ll find the info as useful as Chris has…

Kate’s e-book and weekly emails have changed the way I think about fat loss.

It has changed the way I exercise, how I eat and helped me on a path of sustainable weight loss.

That’s it for another week in Healthification.

Huge appreciation to YOU for spending this time with me this week. You rock.

If you liked this you’ll also like: 7 Sneaky UNHealthy ‘Health Foods’ (and what I now eat instead)

If you’re yet to share the Healthification love – just click here to zip over to iTunes and leave an honest rating and review. It’d help me out big time. With gratitude, Kate.