Cheesecakes and exercise

My friend Gianfranco, a man who has lost over 50 kg and completely changed his lifestyle, was kind enough to be my guest and tell us more about weightloss, excercise and how anyone can become the person they wish to be. He is that person that is always either cycling, swimmig, running, climbing and ocasionally playing tennis – annoyingly healthy, I know! *takes a bite of cheesecake*

Now, his advice might seem a bit extreme, he used to weight 135 kg so you can imagine what kind of effort that kind of weightloss requieres – most people don’t need to follow a strict diet or excercise that much but it’s great motivation and I’d consider myself accomplished even if I’d do half of what he does. Right, I’m off to the gym now, I’ll let you read his great post.

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A few years ago, I was a completely different person.

The way you look influences deeply the way you feel, and the way you feel interferes with the way you connect with other people. This is a vicious circle, because acceptance seems to be the base of many other aspects of our everyday relationships. The way you look impacts on your work, the trust other people have in you, and other people’s expectations. Some books say “oh, don’t bother about what other people think, just live your life” – this is a misleading message. Being social animals we cannot just detach ourselves from the community and – sorry to say – being healthy, fit and possibly good looking is a facilitating factor in every single aspect of life.

You are what you eat – healthy breakfast idea

As I have recently noticed that my jeans are becoming a bit tighter (I think somebody is sewing the seams a bit tighter every night or something), I’ve decided to lower the burger & chips ratio, replace them with healthy eating and start going more often to the gym. But anyway, the point of today’s post is this amazing stuff I’m eating for breakfast or dinner (or any time you feel like it, really). It’s very healthy, nutritive and it tastes awesome!

I used whole grain honey cereals from Kellogg’s but you can use any type of wholegrain cereals or even muesli or oat cereals – careful about the ones that have loads of added sugar, always check the nutrition values. Put about 80g (or 2-3 hand-full) of them in a bowl, throw in your favourite Greek yoghurt (you can use a more fluid one as well), about 5 big spoons. Add a bit of honey – don’t forget this is also sugar so try not to use more than a teaspoon, if you are having this as a healthy meal.

Next is fruit – I used strawberries, raspberries and bananas but I believe you can experiment with others as well, although this combination tastes great together. The strawberries are called ‘the queen of fruit’ in Asian countries because it has so many health benefits like: helps burn stored fat, boosts short term memory, they are low in calories and high in fibre (one cup contains only 54 calories), lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, promote bone health (they contain potassium, vitamin K and magnesium), anti-ageing properties and they promote eye health. The raspberries are not only a visual treat, they also taste deliciously sweet and are thought to be some of the world’s healthiest food. Cholesterol-free, low in fat and sodium, and weighing in at a modest 64 calories per cup, raspberries are a good choice for dieters; they are extremely high in various antioxidants, which can help fight ageing and slow cancer growth by scavenging destructive free radical molecules in your body. The bananas help balance the taste of the whole mix, but are also a great energy boost, besides the rich content of potassium and fibre.

So I used about 7-8 chopped strawberries, 10 raspberries and a sliced banana – mix everything together in a bowl and enjoy.

I really like this mix because it’s not only a great healthy, tasty meal, but also easy and quick to make (10-15 mins), not to mention visually appealing – hence the inspiring photos below.
Enjoy!

Ingredients:
– wholegrain cereals – 80g
– 7-8 strawberries – chopped
– 10 raspberries
– 1 banana – sliced
– Greek yoghurt – 5 big spoons
– clear honey – 1 teaspoon