Why the new 8-Week Program Meal Plans are the most nutrient dense yet

With a new round of the 8-Week Program kicking off next week, I thought I’d address the common questions I receive in the lead up to each Program. In a post earlier this year, I covered what I keep in mind when developing the Meal Plans. Below, a rundown on why nutritionist and registered dietitian Marieke Rodenstein says the new 8-Week Program Meal Plans are the most nutrient dense yet.

from the 8 Week Program Omni meal plan
The Cheat’s Croque Monsieur

You’ll probably be eating more veggies than you ever have before. The IQS Meal Plans incorporate 6-7 serves of veggies a day. The Australian Nutritional Guidelines advise 5-6, but on average Australian’s only eat half the recommended intake. In the USthe guidelines are 2-3 cups of veggies a day and in the UK, 5 serves a day.

We use the right amount of carbs, fat, and protein. There’s no skimping. We focus on generous serves that are full of flavour with a balance of fat, carbs and protein to keep you feeling full.

You’re likely to lose weight on the Program. (In fact, almost 60 per cent of participants from our previous round lost weight.) However, we understand this is not ideal for everyone, so there are plenty of healthy snack options for quitting the white stuff while maintaining your current weight.

The Program is all about abundance. It’s not about restriction. The goal is to take eating back to the way we ate

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Start with a big fat lump in your throat and run with it

As an angsty teen I read Robert Frost’s The Path Not Taken and would feel all kinds of profoundnesses. I would also read the bible, looking for the same depth.

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I’ve liked to think I’ve moved on from such binary thinking. But I recently came across a reference to Frost’s approach to poem creation:

“It begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” 

Illustrator Debbie Mailman then references this in her book, Self-Portrait As Your Traitor. She pivots her creative process from this notion: Starting with the big fat lump and then running with it. “Start now, not twenty years from now, not two weeks from now. Now,” she writes.

I totally know the fat lump in the throat, and the ill-at-easeness that Frost refers to. It means fear. It means dread. It means things are bigger than anything our little beings have previously encountered. And we cry out, “This is not right!”.

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Got gut bloat? Here’s the ayurvedic cooking tricks I use.

Ayurveda is one of the most grounded wellness approaches around. The central thread of Ayurveda is balancing through food and energy restoration. I love this. Catch up on previous tips here and here.  For today, some Ayurvedic cooking tricks to ease digestion and cut the gut bloat.
Image by Philippe Halsman
Image by Philippe Halsman

1. Start your meal with a small piece of fresh ginger or a pinch of salt. Ginger is a rippa root for digestive issues. (Dry ginger is best for kaphas and fresh for vata and pitta.) It acts as a digestive stimulant, ideal for people with constipation, low stomach acid and weak digestion. (A pinch of Himalayan rock salt will do the job if you experience any burning with raw ginger.)

2. Eat warm food. According to Ayurveda, the digestive system works like a fire. Warm foods fuel the fire, while cold food put it out. Stacks of raw vegetables and greens take a lot of time and energy for the system to process, resulting in gas and bloat. Switch to warm, soft meals and see if you notice a difference. This is particularly crucial if you’re a vata dosha. Me, slow cooked stuff and soups are my friend. And I “warm and

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The best toxin-free deodorant: an upfront guide.

I’ve been talking about it a lot, this toxin-free caper. Recently I’ve covered off toxin-free cosmetics, why I use oils in my beauty regime and toxin-free sunscreen. You can catch up on all my toxin-free posts if you’d like.

Via weheartit.com
Via weheartit.com

In terms of deodorants, I’ve used natural, fragrance-free deodorant for five years now. It’s been a long search. I’ve traversed all kinds of stinky cess pits and scaled heights of compromised comfort. But I’ve now found the ultimate deodorant. I share details below.

The difference between deodorant and antiperspirant

Antiperspirants stop you sweating. They do this via ingredients like aluminum and zirconium, which plug the sweat glands. Without sweat the bacteria found in abundance in your underarms don’t have anything to eat, so you smell less.

Deodorants cut down on what makes you stink when you do sweat. They work to counteract the smell that’s produced after the fats and proteins emitted from your cells come to the surface of your skin (in your sweat). Specific chemicals (like triclosan) make the skin in your underarm too salty or acidic to support the bacteria that are meant to thrive there. So without any bacteria to eat the proteins and fats delivered through

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Have you contemplated the “Hard Problem” yet?

When I was 21 I got a scholarship to study philosophy at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I arrived with my mountain bike and a passion for German existentialism, lived with five lesbians and their eight cats and convinced the university to let me do their graduate course instead of the undergraduate stream. They relented and I signed up for Philosophy of the Universe with an Australian mathematician, David Chalmers.

rsz_conciousness2
Image via A Well Travelled Woman

That was 1995.

I’ve now just learned that the year prior Chalmers, a lecturer who supported me through a bunch of things at the time, had shaken up philosophy – existential and beyond – by presenting the world with what is known as The Hard Problem. This article by Oliver Burkeman in The Guardian tells the story and dives in deeply to the dilemma Chalmers posed and the controversy that’s pivoted from it since.

Chalmers presented the idea that there are many quandaries to do with the human brain and experience, but most are easy problems and, with time, we’ll no doubt solve them, much as we did the true surface of the earth.

The hard problem – what makes us conscious, or what is consciousness – is possibly one we will never “solve” as our brains might just not be capable of it. Actually, my memory of things was that he didn’t declare the unsolveability of

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Is melatonin a safe sleeping pill?

I took melatonin regularly for a while, but started to have queries and doubts so have recently gone off it. If you have autoimmune issues and have turned to melatonin for sleep perhaps see if the below resonates.

Image by Mark Borthwick
Image by Mark Borthwick

The deal with melatonin 

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland that helps control your sleep and wake cycles. It’s taken in supplement form to adjust the body’s internal clock, especially for long flights, jet lag and adjusting sleep-wake cycles in people whose work schedule fluctuates regularly.

The thing is:

It’s a hormone. Hormone therapy is a complicated topic. Taking extra hormones when you don’t need them can cause dysfunctional communication between the hypothalamus and the pituitary, which is the master hormone regulation centre in the body. This will lead to further hormone imbalances.

The science is still out 

Very little scientific research has been done on melatonin supplements as a sleep aid, especially for adults. Although some studies conclude it’s not dangerous in the short term, several conclude that melatonin

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How to cook resistant starch for constipation

As regular readers of my blog may know, I’m experimenting with resistant starch as a cure for constipation. Resistant starch is a type of food starch that remains whole through the stomach and small intestine, and, unlike most foods, reaches the large intestine intact. Thus, it “resists” digestion and begins to ferment…which, in turn, feeds good bacteria…which in turn produces a bunch of top health results, including great number two action.

Via Pinch Of Yum
Via Pinch Of Yum

There are several types of RS, but only two are actually accessible for consumption. I’ve shared how I chose to take my RS via a powdered form (Type 2 RS). I share how I went about it, and how it worked, here. But I always promised to give some tips on how to cleverly incorporate the other edible RS – retrograde resistant starch – into everyday eating. You should be aware, even if you’re taking the powdered Type 2 version, it’s recommended that you consume it with Type 3 RS as well. So here you go.

Bear in mind, aside from curing constipation, your body also treats resistant starches much like fibre, creating smaller glucose peaks than normal carbs and helps feed the good bacteria in your gut. You’ll also absorb fewer calories than you do when eating those same carbs in their usual (cooked and warm) state. This is because the carbs change composition when they’re cooled (and even more so when they’re reheated, read more below). These resistant starches are eventually excreted instead of being metabolized by our bodies.

How to incorporate resistant starch into your dinner

It’s as simple as eating starchy carbs that have been cooked, cooled and then reheated (in that order)…

1. Cook your carbs as you normally would. Including rice, pasta, potatoes, corn, polenta, baked beans, chickpeas, beans, lentils, peas, split peas, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato.

2. Allow the food to cool. To room temperature, if you’re using it for that meal. Otherwise store in the

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Why you need to boost your stomach acid. Especially if you have autoimmune disease

The gut is where the wellness movement is at right now. I’ve talked extensively about my gut health obsession  here, here and here. So today, a gut health post with a focus on stomach acid. And why you need to boost it, especially if you suffer from autoimmune disease. This is the new direction in this realm, people. And I unofficially dedicate this post to my mate Rick.

rsz_blueberries

A lot of us suffer from low stomach acid. (It’s almost a certainty if you have autoimmune disease.) Conventionally, if you suffer from heartburn or acid reflux these symptoms are usually treated with drugs that suppress production of stomach acid. But if your system is already depleted…well, you can see how things start to get tricky.

I’ve called on my e-mate Katie, high priestess of Wellness Mama, to share why you may actually need more stomach acid rather than less… and how to go about getting it (you can read her post in full on her blog).

Signs you have low stomach acid 

Stomach acid or hydrochloric acid (HCL) is important for digestion and nutrient assimilation. Having too little stomach acid can cause just as many problems (if not more) than having too much.

Symptoms like constipation, diarrhoea, undigested food in stool, acid reflux, gas, bloating, indigestion, belching, skin problems or acne, and chronic nutrient deficiencies can be a sign of low

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Why I like my unsettled life and have no hope of finding balance

We keep seeking balance. But it’s a false goal. We have it wrong. For one thing, it’s just not possible. I’ve written about this before – how life balance is elusive.

balance
Image by Katia Bellomo

But more than this, balance or settledness, doesn’t see us grow. We grow and become better, and have a better life, from the very act of tending to our imbalance and unsettledness.

Get this bit of quote into you:

“People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ll also quote poet David Whyte, who I’ve referred to a bit lately (catch up here and here). As a fun aside, David is in Australia next weekend and I was invited as a guest…so I managed to wrangle a few double passes for you guys here on this blog. Head to my Facebook page for details. Anyway. The erudite Whyte points out that

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