Blog - Keep Fit With Kelly: Health and Fitness

What is Clean Eating?

4/28/2016

Hi

Anyway today I want to talk to you about “Eating clean”!!

"Isn't it funny how you can hear a new popular word or phrase for ages before you actually work out what it means? Like LOL and BTW!

For a long time now we have been using the phrase “eating clean”

And after speaking to a few of my clients they are unsure of what it really means.

Yeah they know it’s about eating healthy but what counts as ‘Clean Food’?

If you read my emails and think I don't know what she is talking about then read on!

Well…..

It’s all about removing the toxins from your diet to give your body a chance to start working more efficiently.

Eating clean generally means removing certain foods from your diet.

Removing foods like: Refined sugar, Alcohol, caffeine, processed food, wheat and gluten to name a few.

The more of these foods we eat the more unhealthy we will become!!

Anything in a packet is generally processed,

It contains ingredients and therefore probably sugar, sweeteners, preservatives and other chemicals!!!

Cooking from scratch is the way forward....

That doesn't mean Nigella type meals.....stir fry, omelettes, meat and veg, soups, casseroles, salads, curries....

I could go on and on......if you need inspiration there is lots HERE

Kelly

www.keepfitwithkelly.com

PS: Well done to Olivia who has done two online programmes with me and in just 6 weeks has lost a stone, this is what she sent me

So happy finally up and over the stone mark! Lost a further 5 lbs with this programme and have noticed a change in my waist. Haven't got time to measure this morning. So since I started ksfl 6 weeks ago 1 stone 1 lb off! Finally sleeping better, my hair is shinier. I feel more energised and not as sluggish! Thank you so much Kelly Ravenscroft! Xx""

Here Is Jo's Story....Do You Have A Family History Of High Cholesterol?

4/26/2016

Hi

Jo sent me this lovely email last week completely out of the blue, which actually reduced me to tears!

I had to share it with you.........

"Having both parents die of coronary artery disease, I was considered to be at risk so my Doctors Practice allocated me a Coronary Nurse and I am annually checked.  It was discovered that I had extremely high blood pressure which I needed medication for and as a precaution aspirin was also prescribed.

My very first cholesterol test showed that I have an inherited condition which relates to production of high cholesterol.  My reading was 10 and I was prescribed an extremely high dose of statin.  It soon became apparent that the side effects were very severe in my case and my GP agreed to reduce my dose right down.

I had been an addictive coffee drinker, 11 cups a day, black, 1 ½ teaspoons of coffee per cup.  Having started one of your plans I decided I was in the right place to give it up completely and did so 3 years ago.

My cholesterol test last year was only 4.4 my GP would not agree to me giving up the statin, although he agreed giving up the coffee had attributed to this result, he maintained that because I had this inherited condition the statin was helping keep my cholesterol down.

At the end of last year I made a conscious decision that the side effects of the statin far outweighed the benefit, that it was my choice to make whether or not I took the recommended medication.   I was breathless, my joints were extremely painful all the time, it was affecting my sleep (terrible nightmares and painful legs) and worse of all it was affecting my ability to go to your classes (which was now becoming a real passion).

I then started on your healthy eating plan, culminating in embarking on the Kick Start Fat Loss programme.

This week was my annual health check.  In normal circumstances it would take several attempts to get a high end of the normal scale blood pressure reading from me.  The first attempt was a perfect reading.  My bloods showed no signs of thyroid or diabetic markers, my kidney and liver functions were perfect and my weight had dropped significantly nearly two stone since this time last year.  Aspirin was removed from my prescription.

My good cholesterol was double what it was last year and my bad was up two points (only to be expected with my inherited condition and no statin).  The overall result was 6, which is only just above the top line of the allowed limit.

My Coronary Nurse is supporting me in not taking the statin, is amazed that with diet and the right exercise (even with the inherited condition) that my cholesterol is at the level it is.  She does now want to check me every 6 months to make sure that I am keeping on track.

I think what I am trying to say is that we should question the health professionals and not always accept that because they prescribe something it is right for us.  It’s about being informed and making the right choices in our lives, being in control.

Kelly will all your marvellous help and support and inspiration, I now look forward to exercising because I love the variety of classes and now I can do them.  I don’t remember if you remember when I started, I could barely lift my legs,  I couldn’t even see my toes and I never imagined I would have reached the level of fitness I have.  Because of your belief in healthy eating and making the right choices I am able to take control of my own health.  I believe that because of that I will live a fuller more healthy life without having to cram tablets down my throat.

I cannot thank you enough, just keep doing what you are doing because it is making a huge difference to lots of peoples lives.

Thank you
Love

Jo Hodge

xxx "

Do you have health conditions like Jo???

I can help you through healthy eating and exercise, please get in touch!

Kelly xx

www.keepfitwithkelly.com

Do You Get Stuck For Breakfast Ideas?

4/21/2016

Hi

It is the most popular question I get asked....

What shall I eat for breakfast...

So hear are my Top Tips that I share with my clients on KSFL

1. You don't have to eat breakfast as soon as you get up...in fact it is great to wait an hour or two

2. Ditch breakfast cereal, toast and awful breakfast bars or biscuits...full of sugar, sweeteners and you will be hungry again in an hour

3. Choose a breakfast that is high protein and high fat, so eggs and avocado is a great choice, full of protein and good fats

4. Think of a lunch style breakfast, I quite often eat last nights leftovers!!

5. Drink a mug of hot water with fresh lemon squeezed in and a pinch of Himalayan pink salt in first thing to balance your adrenal glands

Let me know....

Are you a breakfast person...do you eat breakfast biscuits???? You can be honest!!!

Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com

PS: Are you starting to think about the summer??? I will be running a 21 day summer body blitz online plan starting the day after May day bank holiday....bookings open next Monday...

Dolmio Sauce Makers Advise Caution With Their Own Sauces

4/19/2016

Hi

Yes...Mars who make Dolmio and Uncle Bens sauces advised consumers last week to only eat some of their products once a week max...

Interesting isn't it...

To me if they are saying that about their own products due to the sugar and salt content

Then personally I don't want to eat them at all....

Whilst its good that they are coming out and saying that...

It is not a great endorsement for eating processed sauces really????

The best way is to avoid anything processed and from a jar or a packet...

Thats what we endorse on KSFL

Proper food cooked from scratch and it does not have to take ages....as I hear you cry

"I don't have time!"

Here is a recipe for simple pasta sauce, super quick....

Kelly xx

www.keepfitwithkelly.com

PS: My next online course is coming your way after the bank holiday, this time I will be running a 21 day course..all online though Facebook.....bookings open with an earlybird price as usual on Sunday....

How to stay young?

4/14/2016

Hi

Did you see the programme How to Stay Young last week?

It was great and really backed up what I do with my clients..

Apparently how long we live is 75% down to lifestyle choices rather than genes, avoiding stress and being overweight are big factors

They were talking about dancing being the best exercise to do...even better than hitting the gym

The reasons they gave was that it moves so many different muscles, improves flexibility and keeps the brain active!

So all my clients reading this that come to my classes, we are doing great and working on keeping young!!!

Interestingly they also had this stand up sit down test which you can watch HERE to see how well you are ageing....let me know if you can do it????

Increase your activity from 30 onwards they said...no time to take the foot off the gas!!!!

So the message is clear....keep active and keep dancing!!!

Kelly xx

www.keepfitwithkelly.com

PS: Check out my timetable if you are local to me......come along and try any class!!

Have you hopped on the scales already today?

4/13/2016

Hi

Oh my goodness, in my live KSFL class last week the subject was

"Why do we keep jumping on the scales"

Wow, what a reaction that got

I had ladies who weighed every day and some who weighed 2/3 times a day!!!!

Why???

Your weight can fluctuate so much due to so many factors, plus scales sometimes don't work right!!

Why have your whole day determined by a number on the scales....yes I understand that weight is a good indicator of how close you are to your goals and we do weigh once a week on KSFL

But just once a week at the same time

We also do our measurements and take photos as that is a much better indicator.

Two stories were shared...

One ladies Mom had been weighed at the doctors then bought a brand new set of scales which she then weighed a WHOLE STONE heavier on when she got home

And then someone had weighed herself in 4 different places in her house and got different results!

Crazy!

Are you addicted to weighing yourself??

Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com

PS: I opened bookings for my next weekend retreat yesterday.....I will be going into a bit more detail later this week about what we got up to on the last one!

Meet Lauren Who Lost 4 Stone After Having Her Baby

4/7/2016

Hi,

This is a brilliant story from Lauren who lost 4 stone after having her little boy, and is now maintaining her new healthy lifestyle. Lauren is the daughter of Francesca Flin a fellow KFSL franchisee, I think you will enjoy her story below!

"Hi everyone, I’m Lauren, Fran’s daughter and proud mum to my little Frank, who is just over 18 months old. I have been lucky enough to be able to give up work to be a full-time mum, which gives me the great opportunity of time to exercise and experiment with cooking.

So does anyone feel like they’ve been on a diet for their WHOLE lives? Because I do!

I feel like I’ve always watched my weight or been unhappy with the way I look. I am the sort of person who eats a bit of cake and some crisps and puts on half a stone!!

I’ve tried probably every ‘fad’ diet out there – juices, soups, teas, slimming clubs, Clean 9, diet pills (which are very dangerous) and as I said at the beginning, I have starved myself too.

I was always big at school and felt like the other girls were prettier than me and were all slim or skinny. They could always wear whatever they wanted in summer and I remember always feeling so down and jealous and always asked myself – Why me?

Why am I so fat?

The boys never fancied me and I constantly felt left out because I was overweight or FAT.
I did dabble in my mum’s classes and knew all about nutrition from a young age, but I was still overweight.

I remember the trigger to actually doing something to lose weight was when I was around 17 years old at a family photo shoot.

I didn’t feel comfortable at all during the shoot and when it came to looking at the pictures I was shocked. The pain and upset just rose in my throat and I couldn’t wait to get out of there so that I could cry.

I felt disgusted in myself.

This was the real turning point for me and I began to eat healthily and exercise straight away.

I started feeling better about myself and the results were visible. I was lifting weights and doing cardio and feeling fantastic. Then as the weight begun to drop healthily, I got a taste of being able to control the weight loss.

I started skipping meals and noticed the weight falling off quicker.
I was hooked.

The exercise got less and less because I had no energy, but I continued to lose weight. I went down to my lowest of 8 stone.

I remember being so happy I was so light on the scales, but I felt moody and depressed and was lying to my family about how much I was eating.

Then one day my dad spoke to me about the effect I was having on the family and it really hit home that this had to stop.

I gradually started eating again and kind of forgot about trying
to be this skinny person.

Over the next few years the weight gradually crept back up again.
I’ve always felt I was overweight but when I was 23
I met Franks Dad – Steve.

I think I was 11½ stone when I met him. I still worried about my weight, but he made me feel special. We went out a few times a week and at least once at the weekend and it became a cycle of getting drunk and eating takeaways.

I went up to about 12 ½ to 13 stone. I then got pregnant with Frank and I really did say –

“Right I’m going to eat whatever I want now I’m pregnant!!”

Oh dear me, was that the wrong decision!!!

I ballooned to 16 stone and once Frank was born,

I looked in the mirror and realized this was going to be hard work!

I didn’t bother trying to lose weight for a good 6 months after my son was born.

I lost a bit here and there through breastfeeding and not eating properly for a while as a new mum, but my main focus was Frank,
and I still liked to go out and enjoy drinking alcohol and eating nice foods.

I think it was August/September time 2015 I looked in the mirror and thought – This can’t go on!

I just didn’t feel attractive and wouldn’t let my partner near me because I thought I was so disgusting.

I took my first full body picture in September, which is the photo in the collage. I was big and around 14 stone there, but had intentions of losing weight the healthy way. I’ve been steadily losing weight since, and a few months ago it hit me – the only way I’ve lost this weight is through living the Kick Start Fat Loss lifestyle of clean eating and exercise.

I remember my mum buying into the franchise and giving me a couple of the KSFL recipe books. I started cooking and preparing KSFL meals and snacks and it was like a light bulb went on in my head!

The recipe books actually taught me to think differently about food and what I was putting into my body. I started reading labels and cutting out processed foods and sugar. I felt like a totally different person after about 5 days. I was less bloated and less tired and felt like I had so much more energy.

KSFL has actually changed my mindset and taught me to look for healthy alternatives that I could use in pretty much any recipe.

It’s really educated me with what is good for your body and what isn’t. The ksfl recipes are also really simple. You are using all clean, organic, nutritious foods, all from scratch. The recipes are simple, yet taste great. The ingredients are designed to aid weight loss too!

With KSFL you can actually eat real filling tasty food. It’s not like some other diet plans, where you are left hungry and craving.

There are a few different recipe books, one of my favourites being the Sweet Treat and Savoury Surprise book! I bake banana and date loaf probably once a week, which tastes amazing, and I know that everything that has gone into it is natural ingredients and won’t interfere with my weight loss.

I do a curry night most Fridays, where I cook a curry from the KSFL Clean Curry recipe book. It has all different meat and vegetable dishes, and also has the picky bits that you would order from a take away, so you feel like you are having a treat, and its actually really healthy food. It is basically guilt free food and I’ve actually started to enjoy eating and NOT feeling guilty for once!

In January this year I started cutting out alcohol completely. I had a smoothie for breakfast, a salad for lunch and meat and greens for dinner. I cut out caffeine and only drunk herbal teas and lemon water and I really stuck to this regimentally. I was and still do go to the gym 1-2 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. I love the buzz I get from exercising and it really lifts my mood.

Ksfl food really does get easier.

The more food you make, you just learn as you go along and educate yourself from practice.

I’m not going to say my journey has been easy and I’m also not going to say that I NEVER fall off the wagon because I am human after all! If I do have a bad day or weekend, I try not to let it engulf me into feeling guilty for a week, because sometimes that does more harm than good. When Monday comes, I simply prepare a couple of day’s meals in advance, so there is no temptation to just grab something awful out of the cupboard when I’m hungry.

My top tips would be to purchase some tupperware, so you can prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Buy a notebook so you can write down all the food and drink you consume for a week, or longer, just to keep a check on how you are doing.

If you do slip up, note it down, we have to be honest with ourselves otherwise how will we ever change our bad habits?

Try and exercise a little, even if it’s 10 minutes a day, every other day, or even twice a week.

The more you do, the better you may feel and the more you will want to do it! Have a realistic goal – I can’t sit here and say I want to be a size 8!

(Well, I can but its not realistically maintainable to me I don’t think). So my goal is to be a nice size 10 and probably 10 ½ -11 stone.

I am currently just over 12 stone, so my goal is in sight, its just getting this last bit of fat off that is that last push to finish line!!!

Although really, KSFL isn’t about the end goal I don’t think. It’s about maybe reaching your goal, but maintaining that healthy lifestyle for good.

Good luck on your journey, Lauren x"

What a wonderful story and how great of Lauren to share this!!!

If you want to lose weight and change your lifestyle like Lauren has then get in touch with me.

Kelly xx

www.keepfitwithkelly.com

PS: I will be opening up the Facebook group tomorrow for everyone on my Toned in 10 Online programme, we then start our 14 days on Monday, its not too late to grab a place HERE

I am in Style Birmingham magazine!!

4/5/2016

Hi,

Yes I am featured in the Spring edition of Style Birmingham magazine...

I thought you might like to have a look at the small piece I wrote about healthy snacks both before, during and after a workout

Here is the link to have a look

https://issuu.com/rileyraven/docs/sb48/96?e=14573416/34494511

Kelly xx

www.keepfitwithkelly.com

PS: I am posting out the cookbooks today for my next online course which kicks off next Monday 11th April, this is on offer at £27.00 until Friday night...you can grab a place HERE