A couple of weeks ago I started my new challenge… I had gained some kilos over the last couple of months and somehow I didn’t manage to lose them! That’s why I made it into a challenge to lose 5 kilos… preferably before the festive season 🙂

I hope that this challenge will help me reach my goal. In return for all you guys being my sounding board, I will give you a recipe each week and also some tips on how to lose weight and how to eat and live healthier.

Let me tell you how my second week has been…  

This past week I have been doing really good. I could resist all temptation… until yesterday! Those of you who follow me on Instagram may have seen a photo pass of some lovely patisserie… We had a party for my son’s 16th birthday… cake, chocolates, wine, crips, tapas,…  I must say that I ate less sweets and tapas than I normally would, but it still was waaaaaaaaaaaay too much! But hey… it’s not your son’s sweet sixteen everyday now is it?!

A bit hesitatingly I got on the scales this morning… I wanted to lose 0.5 kilo and I managed to! So a little smile came onto my face 🙂 (and a big sigh of relief!!!).

So far I have lost 2,2 kilos in just two weeks time. I am really happy with the result and I’m still on schedule for losing my 5 kilos before the festive season! Let’s hope that next week will be as good as this one…

Here are some tips to eat and live healthy :

Tip 1 : don’t look on a diet as something evil, look upon it as a new, healthy way of eating

Tip 2 : any time is a good time to start living and eating in a healthy, responsible way

Tip 3 : drink lots of water

Today’s tip : eat 5 times a day

Eating regularly is so very important to lose weight… and that certainly means that you won’t have to be hungry whilst losing weight!

Eating regularly keeps your metabolism up and gives you the energy you need to get through the day.

All main meals should be light, healthy, nutriuous and should give you a satisfied feeling. Besides the three main meals you must also eat two snacks. The best moments to eat your snacks are during the morning and during the afternoon. This will prevent you from feeling faint or from devouring everything you see when dinnertime has arrived!

Below you see an example of how a ‘perfect’ day could look like:

• Breakfast : cottage cheese with some muesli and a banana
• Snack at about 10am : orange
• Lunch : a salad with smoked salmon, mixed salad leaves, avocado, red pepper, red onion, grapes, fresh herbs and a light dressing, 3 slices of wholemeal bread (I prefer them toasted with this salad).
• Snack at about 3pm : yoghurt with fresh strawberries
• Diner : broccoli soup, wholegrain pasta with grilled scampi and a ratatouille from tomatoes, peppers, aubergine and courgette

If you eat all this, you won’t be hungry! It’s healthy, nutritious and you’re bound to lose weight! Don’t forget to drink plenty of water during the day (see last week’s tip!)

Today’s recipe : bolognese sauce

I like a good spagh bol… but unfortunately bolognese sauce is often really high in calories! We make homemade bolognese sauce which contains lots of vegetables and is low in fat.

Here’s the recipe which will serve 4-6 people:

• fry 1 large onion and 2 garlic cloves in a bit of olive oil together with a large carrot, red, green and yellow pepper
• in another frying pan, fry 300 gram of steak tartare (we do not use regular minced meat as that contains so much more fat than this kind of meat). Season this meat really well with paprika powder, curry powder and pepper (we don’t use additional salt in our food, but you could add some of course)
• stir the fried meat under the onions, garlic, carrot and peppers
• add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a tin of grilled vegetables (or two tins of chopped tomatoes)
• add lots of (fresh or dried) herbs : rosemary, bayleaf, pepper, thyme, basil,…
• let the sauce simmer until all vegetables are tender
• boil some wholemeal pasta al dente, put half a stock cube in the water for extra flavors
• drain the pasta and add to the sauce
• bon appétit!

Do you want to join me?

Perhaps you also want to loose just a couple of kilos before Christmas or you just want to start living a bit healthier? Why don’t we learn from eachother, motivate eachother, share tips and keep eachother informed. Feel free to comment below this post and perhaps we can help eachother!

Next week’s tip is all about exercising… make sure to tune in!

Love, Kathleen

Beware : I am not a health coach, dietician, nutritionist… I am just sharing tips that I have read and heard, tips that are helpful to me to watch my weight and to live a healthier life. If you want expert advice on how to lose weight, I advise you to seek professional help!