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With previous Faceboook post probably you have noticed that I was forced to try gluten and lactose free diet. 


For couple of weeks (or even months) I've been feeling bad. Always bloated, with water retention, with huge problems with indigestion. For a person who works in fitness industry (but as well as for any other person!) this was a nightmare. Imagine coming on a class and your instructor have a belly like a 3 month pregnant woman! ;)

I started to look for some reason of that and accidentaly saw that at Stratford they make allergic tests. I took one of them and the results were obvious: highly intolerance for wheat gluten, intolerance for dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese), yeast, leek, onion and chive. 
The only think to do for now is just to try avoid those products.

my test's results

But what is exactly a problem with intolerance of gluten and lactose? 

  
Gluten is a protein from wheat, rye and barley. 
Some people tolerate it good, some can't have anyting with gluten (one who suffers from celiac disease) and others have gluten sensivity. I am in the third group. 

If you experience bloating, pain in your joints and bones, 'chicken skin' in the back of your arms, dizzines, chronic fatique, you might suffer from the same condition as I. 

With dairy intolerance is even eeasie to explain. Most of the people has very little lactaze enzym which digest lactose, sugar from milk. But there is group of people who tolerate it even worse than others and  after consuming milk products they get bloated, sometimes diorrhoea, winds and stomach pains.


Luckily nowadays we have lots of gluten and diary free products. Not mentioning all the natural ones like vegetables, fruits, meat and fishes. However, I love yoghurts and kefir and there were always the best snack for me, so I will have to look for some other snacking choices..

even with gluten and lactose intolerance, you can still eat lots of food, just be creative!

If you also can't consume gluten (in my case only from wheat) and diary, you can still have:
* gluten free oats
* pure whey protein with little carbs in it (the less carbs - the less lactose in it)
* rice
* lentils 
* groats
* coconut, hazelnut, almond milk
* vegetables
* fruits
* starchy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes and so on
* eggs 
* soups (watch out for ready ones, they are often with flour)
* pastries from sesame, oats, rye or buckwheat flour
* nuts and peanut butters
* rice and corn cakes 

story of my life! cottage cheese I miss you!

Stay away from:
* bread, rolls
* yoghurts, creams
* souces
* cheeses
* tortillas
* crispbread
* cookies, muffins and pastries
* beer (contain gluten!)
* pastas 
* supplements like gainers (they have lots of carbs, with lactose included)

now we can find a big range of gluten and lactose free products! ufff!

Norwegian method

As you are visiting my blog often, you might notice that I add 'Norwegian method' section in the right side of my blog. I wanted to mark this type of training specific, since I am convinced that this is the secret for lean body.
 

What is a Norwegian method?

Norwegian method is a system of training which is a result of my own experience with training and dieting. 

 My history: I have trained for 6 years (with 1 year break in between), check all the diets and forms of activity. I become fit, but not as fit as I wanted. I acted without any reasonable plan, just doing things spontaneously. I was always eating healthy, but I didn't control my portions. And the results weren't satisfying for me.

After almost 2 years in Norway I reversed my knowledge about training methods, eating and perceiving my own body. I've lost my insecurity and started to train for my real pleasure and healthy body, not only to get a lower number one the scale. 

That is how I came out with Norwegian method - all of my hitherto knowledge packed in a own watchword. 

Trainings:

To burn fat, you not only have to exercise. You have to do it wise. 

My training is composed by two types of activities - cardio (exercises which rises your hart rate by running, jumping, cross training, going on aerobic classes etc.) and strength training  (where you lift weights/using machines at the gym and working directly with your muscles growth).

* Lifting weights/gym training

First component of Norwegian method is strength training. The one when you worked directly with your muscles - you are building them and strengthen them. 

 

Why build something if you actually want to loose weight? Because those muscles tissues will burn calories for you once you stop training and only by adding muscles you can really re-shape your body (have a round butt, tight arms and flat belly).


There are different methods of doing gym training - one where your working on each body part at one session (circuit training, good for beginners) and split trainings, where on one session you work on two or three muscles groups (like back and biceps on one day and chest and triceps on the other). Type of gym training are always matched with person's fitness level.

My sample 3 split is:
* back/biceps/abs
* chest/triceps/shoulders
* legs/calve

 


* Cardio activities


By running on treadmill, you doing a great thing for your hart, but not necessarily loosing fat. Long lasting, aggressive cardio training releasess lots of stress horomon for your body - cortisol. It will stop you fatburn progress. What is more, your burning calories stops exactly at the moment you stop your activity. And thirdly, it takes lots of time to run 10km.
By going on aerobic classes, you will increase your activity and fitness level, but unless you're not pushing yourself harder, your body will adapt to this kind of activity.

benefits of High Intensive Interval Training

That is why I prefer High Intensity Interval Training. It is short (no longer than 30 minutes) and increases you after workout burn of calories (what means that your body works looong way after you stopped training).
It consist of warm up and high and low intervals where you're going on your 80-95% heart rate max and then rest on low intervals. I am fan of 1minute x 1minute intervals, but there are many versions of it. 
You can do HIIT training on treadmill, outdoors, by doing exercises like burpees, walking lunges etc. There are countless possibilities.

variation in training is a key to success

Of course doing other form of activities which weren't mentioned here are good - unless you're moving and burning calories, but my point was to pick 2 which have the best fat burn effect and are the quickest to perform. 
With smart training you don't have to spent hours at the gym, believe me.

Recommended training: 3 weights sessions and 2 cardio sessions

Diet:

I actually don't like the word 'dieting' since for me it is a lifestyle, type of eating which I am doing on a daily basic. The more you know about food and it benefits, the more flexible you can be in your diet. 

The rule is simple: in order to lose weight, you have to create a deficit. You have to consume a little less then your body needs. By word 'a little' I mean deficit of 200-300 calories, not more. We don't want to put our bodies into starvation mode when it stopped fatlose due to protection priorities, we also don't want to slower metabolism, in fact - conversely, we want to build fat burning machine.
We have to know how much calories we can cosume on a daily basic and later on plan our meals.

I am a fan of often, small s(I eat round 6 of them), but recent studies shows that it really doesn't matter if you eat 3,4 or 6 meals. Daily macros intake is crucial here. So, for them who prefer bigger meals, there is still a hope ;)

There are 3 types of nutrients you can consume:

* Carbohydrates, which gives your body energy. 
There are 2 types of carbs: slow and fast. Slow carbs gives you energy gradually, fast will do it quciker, btu for a shorther period of time. 
Types of slow carbs: brown rice, whole meal pasta, spelt tortillas, sweet potatoes, yams, grains, quinoa, vegetables
Types of quick carbs: rice cakes, white rice, cuscus, fruits

When? I do believe that it is wise to eat your carbs mostly for breakfast, before and after workouts.

* Protein, which builds your muscles 
I belive that protein rich diet is crucial for strong and lean body. Protein gives your body blocks for recomposing your body.
Good protein sources: lean poultry, lean pork meat, fishes, dairy, seafood, protein powders
I recommend having a source of protein in each meal.

* Fats, which helps your body to digest and increases absorption of vitamins and micro nutritients from other foods
We need some fats in our diet, but let's do it wisely. 
Good fat sources: omega 3 pills, fatty fishes (like salmon), avocado, coconut milk, sesame oil
 There is no specific time when you should consume fats but it is better not in pre/after workout time since body will be too abosrbed dealing with your activity and needs quicker forms of refuel than fats

Sample meal plan (portions of these food has to be estimated for each person individually, same as meals)

sample breakfast oats

* breakfast: oats/oat bran with yoghurt/protein powder and 2 omega 3 pills
* snack: low fat greek yoghurt with carrots/other vegetables
* lunch: lean meat with vegetables (about 0,5 kg of broccoli/cauliflower/spinach or other low kcal veggies) with tea spoon of sesame oil
* pre workout: carrots/rice cakes/fruit, BCAA, coffeine
* directly after workout: protein shake with rice cakes or BCAA and rice cakes after HIIT workouts
* after workout meal/dinner (eat within an hour after training): lean meat/fish with baked sweet potato and vegetables
* supper/snack: cottage cheese with berries/vegetables and almonds

one of my favourite food combo: chicken in coconut milk with broccoli

NO for: processed food, sodas, sweets, juices (it is better to eat your fruits than to drink them, unless you have a choice)
YES for: organic and eco food, coffee and tea (sweetened with stevia/truvia), light sodas from time to time

As you see, it is quite lots of food in a typical meal plan. Remember that we are cutting only 200, 300 calories from normal daily intake.


The reason of that there is plenty of food is not to starve your body, but trick it a little - cut a little carbs from lunch, spare some calories, but not let your body to feel it due to big quantities of vegetables. 
You will refill yourself before training and just right after it to restore glycogen in muscles. Other thing is that with gym trainign you will need your food in order to perform your training!
You need your food in order to see results in the gym and in your body! 

Free day/meal:
It is good to have a free day/free meal from time to time. It help you phisically and mentally. 
Free meal is a signal for your body that everything is ok and it doesn't have to go into starvation mode. It helps you with your cravings too. But be carefull, free meal/day can also be trigger to give up your effords and go back on bad track.
If you already started to diet, take only 1 free meal each 7th day of Norwegian method diet.
If you are satisfy with your results and feel comfortable with your dieting, take a free day, but still try to keep it clean (if you ate 1700 daily, make a free day with 2300 calories for example).
After free day you will gain water, but it should be gone within 2 days.

 

Those two components: training and diet are the core of Norwegian Method. 
There is also third: supplements.

Supplements:

You might use additional supplements, but they are not necessary. They are made to help you to achieve your goals faster.

* omega 3 - crucial for all your body health, read more here

* protein powder - great protein replacement in your diet when you don't have time to prepare 'real food', choose whey protein with little carbs in it which will be quick absorbed after weight workouts; I use my protein powder also as a replacement for dairy products with breakfast oats

* BCAA - amino acids, each good protein powder contain them; they are protecting your muscles again destroying during exercising, has far more less kcal than protein shake and only the essence of what you need most (read more about BCAAs here)

* caffeine - helps you with your hard trainings, with additional energy and focus

You can also consider taking: green tea, cla, l-glutamine, magnesium, multi vitamin

Summing up, Norwegian method is based on: 

At least 3 intensive gym workouts, 2 high insensitivity interval trainings and protein rich diet with additional supplements. 
I did not discover America, it is obvious. 
I have just collected all the effective tips&tricks in one place, one method. Method which works on me :)


 


For more info, detailed training and eating plans, please contact me: nordicfitnesss@gmail.com

I would like to read your opinion about Norwegian Method. 
Please use a comment field for that :)


 

Post workout tuna wrap

My today's recipe was inspired by video above which my friends recommend me (thanks Ania&Dan!!). On video you can find Rob Riches, English bodybuilder and fitness model. He has really good meal ideas, so take a time and check this guy out if you're interested in healthy cooking :)

For my version of tuna wrap I used (6 wraps):
* 6 spelt soft tortillas (Norwegian spelt lomper)
* 2 cans of tuna in water
* 2 spoons of light mayo
* salt, pepper, other spices of choice
* canned pineapple 
* optional cheese (I won't use it in my wrap, only in my men's wrap)

main source of protein in this meal - canned tuna (in water)

Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees (or use grill, like in the video - unless you have one)
Prepare tuna: take it from can, spice and add 2 spoons of mayo. Mix it to get a paste consistency.
Put tuna paste on tortillas, add few particles of pineapple. 
Roll tortillas and put them into oven for 10 minutes.

if you have bigger calories consumption per day than me, you can add cheese as well

Why it is best for post workout? 
Because this recipe is both rich in carbs and protein. Carbs are from two sources - pineapple (quick carbs) and from spelt lompers (low digested carbs from spelt). Perfect combination for your muscles after hard workout. You get also lean source of protein from tuna.
Other thing is that it is very easy to prepare. So you won't use much time once you're after workout and want to grab something to eat.

Nutrition fact for 2 wraps:
Calories: 219 kcal
Protein: 17,4g
Carbohydrates: 27g
Fat: 3,6g


It seems not much like for post workout meal, but I had my protein shake and 2 rice cakes right after gym too :)

Meal prep master

 



Once you fight for better body and concentrating on your diet, preparation is the key! Everyone will fall off the track when he/she has to spend another 30 minutes for preparing healthy dish. 
With a little planning, you can made a positive and diet-friendly environment around you which will promote your goals :) 

roasted cod, salsa and vegetables with spoon of sesame oil

With leftovers from dinner (spaghetti bolognese for my husband to be) I made myself two lunchboxes for work. 
I used bolognese souse as salsa for my fish (just a simple cod baked in the oven with salt and pepper). Plus some more veggies (broccoli and courniflower), small spoon of sesame oil (for taste and healthy fats) and it's done! :) 





And here is a tip for great, healthy snack - carrots with greek yogurt dip. So simple, so good! Recently it is my favourite snack :)

carrots and greek yoghurt as dip - perfect snack :)

This week's end and its summary

I end this weekend with amazing weather in Oslo. High temperature and shining sun. This is what I needed! :)

Beside sitting and sunbathing, I made a gym training today dedicated to legs and abs. I was kind of weak after 6 days of continuous training, that is why I decided that tomorrow it will be a rest day for me. 

This week was about concentrating on my diet efforts. I hate work 'diet', I would rather use term 'way of eating', but it is much longer ;) Anyway, food intake was my priority since I realised that with my active lifestyle and job it is diet which has to mastered in order to get more definition.

For 6 days I cutted 'traditional' sources carbs from main meals (potatoes, rice, flour, pasta) and replace it with more vegetables. Still I was consuming carbs in the morning, little before and after workout. I had slice deficit in my calories intake (about -300 kcal) and about 150g of carbs intake per day.

My example food intake this week looked like:

breakfast: oat bran with wheat bran mixed with protein powder
brunch: chicken with vegetables
pre-workout: carrots and small protein coffee, bcaa
post-workout: protein shake with rice cakes
snack: greek yoghurt or low fat yoghurt
dinner: chicken/fish with vegetables and shirataki noodles
supper: cottage cheese

(I deliberately do not mention portion sizes, because this thing is dependent on your weight, goals and fitness level) 

Is that low carb diet? Well, not exactly, I still did eat carbs but little less then normal.

Today, at the last day of the week, I have some carbs refeed. It is not a cheat day, but something more like oppcarbing. 

Why refeed? To refill my muscles with glicogen, ensure my body that everything is ok and it doesn't have to go into starvation mode, calm down my cortisol levels while dieting and restore my energies levels. 
I eat more calories today (round 2200kcal) with emphasis of good carbs (more oats in the morning, sweet potatoes for lunch, fruits as a dessert). 
I expect little water gain after today refeed, but in the end it should result in fastening my metabolism. 

carb sources are not only limited to bread and grains

I look forward to see result of my dieting on Wednesday. I will check then if my efforts were worth it and decide weather I will continue with that time of eating or not. 

For those of you who are looking for some good source of protein in your diet, check out new MyRevolution's offer where you can buy 3 different flavours of MyoProtein and 2 packages of fat burner in great summer price:

Busy day, quick lunch

 

super tasty salmon sandwich served with steamed vegetables

Today I work double shift - first in the reception and as an instructor in the evening. I need energy and some quick lunch. 
I made myself a quick&tasty salmon sandwich. I used salmon which I prepared on Sunday (just baked in the oven and put to the lunchbox and then to the fridge).

For one sandwich you will need:
* 2 slices of low carb bread (or whole wheat bread)
* 50g of salmon (I used baked filled, but smoked salmon will be good too)
* 1 slice of 10% fat cheese
* broccoli and fresh spinach

I chopped salmon and put it between two bread slices, together with few broccoli tops. In few minutes I got tasty and nutritious lunch. I putted also no sugar ketchup on the top.


Nutrition value for one sandwich:
298 kcal, 25,5g protein, 15,5g fat, 11,2g carbs,

Golden fish

golden fish - cod in sesame crumble

My today's dinners tip is cod crumbled in sesame flour and sesame seeds.

I dipped salted fish first in egg, then with mixture of sesame flour and sesame seeds. Then fried it from both sides for few minutes. For frying I used cocoa oil, but you can also use flax oil or any other oil which will be suitable for using in high temperatures.
After few minutes I put fish in to the oven for next 20 minutes (to reduce time of frying).

I am not a fan of frying things (mostly because of the smell!), but I have to admit that the result was yummy and crispy. Sesame seeds gave the fish unusual taste.

Girlie shopping list

I am home alone for few days before my Poland trip. I have to do some food shopping and it came out very, very girly I guess ;) 

On my shopping list there was:

* organic broccoli&bean soup
* low fat vanilla quark (mager kesam vanilie)
* cottage cheese
* glutenfree oats
* feta cheese
* flavoured rice cakes
* Coca Cola Zero (my weekend weakness)
* cod
* portion of salmon
* Skyr (natural non fat quark)
* sweet potatoes
* fresh green beans
* little avocado (hidden somewhere)
* sprouts
* fresh blackberries (my favourite fruit together with raspberries!)

Now when I'm stored with good food, I am ready for the next part of the weekend :)

Tuna on a budget

quick, easy and on a budget - tuna chops

For all those who believe that eating healthy is an expensive stuff - this recipe shows that you can have protein rich meal which won't cost you lots of money and will save you some time as well.

I prepared tuna chops which I roasted in the oven.

I used 3 canned tuna (from water). Tuna is rich in proteins, but canned version can be rich in sodium as well. n Norway we do not have much choice though, so I use the only products I could got.

For 6 chops you will need:
* 500-600g tuna
* 2 eggs
* 3 spoons of sesame flour (or other type of flour)

Mix tuna with eggs and spices, than add sesame flour.
Form chops and put them on a baking pan.

Roast for 40 minutes in 200 degrees.

That's all! :)

My daily supplements - part 1: omega 3

I have to admit that I have a long history of taking "magic pills" which suppose to do everything for you - lose weight, strengthen your hair, eliminate cellulite and so on. 

In the end I came to assumption that nothing like balance diet and regular fitness routine can help you best. 

nothing can replace balance diet

However, not everyday is perfect. Not always there is a time to prepare food in ideal nutrition proportions. And sometime your body simply needs a little more than you can provide it with "normal" eating.

Since I have moved to Norway, I started to focusing more on quality of supplements I am taking rather than quantity. But, on the other hand, I had a chance to try things I have never tried before (thanks to MyRevolution Team).

So which products am I using daily and I can truly recommend?

Omega 3 - fountain of strong hearth, fresh skin and lean body!

In many research it is said that Omega 3 supplements are the most crucial one.
Omega 3 (which contains of EPA and DHA fatty acids) is essential and naturally ocurrs in fatty fishes (like salmon, mackerell), walnuts and flaxseeds. 

We need both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, but nowadays the tendency is to provide 15 times more Omega 6 fatty acids than Omega 3 which cause imbalance.  That is why supplementing Omega 3 is so important.

Supplementing omega 3 helps with increasing HDL cholesterol level, strenghtening immune system, protecting your hearth &vascular system and and increasing symptoms of arthesis. Omega 3 also regulate your hormonal balance and helps your skin. It has strong anti inflammation properties. 


And, what is very important: omega 3 helps also in losing weight!  Omega 3 faster metabolism and increasing insulin sensibility. Simply speaking, it also protecting muscles as well as fasten their recovery.

Omega 3 supplement which I am using currently

I take my dose of Omega 3 daily. I do not have problems with drinking a spoon of liquid omega 3, but I know that for many it can be a problem. Take pills then :)