THIS WEEK we’re continuing our mission to drop a size in four weeks and the Slimpod #SummerChallenge is focusing on food! What’s your relationship with it? Is it your friend or foe? Do you use it for fuelling your mind and body to give its best or does food have a whole host of other meanings for you?!

In my experience, most people know what they should be eating to lose the excess fat, but they just can’t seem to follow a healthy lifestyle regime consistently. And I speak to a lot of people who just don’t have a deep enough desire to lose weight.

They THINK it’s what they want but at the end of the day have zero motivation to make it happen. So if you’re one of those people, give yourself a big push for the next three weeks of the #SummerChallenge and show yourself what’s possible! It’s only 21 days!

So here are the tasks for this week and the next 21 days – let’s do this!

TASK ONE:  Let’s get really aware of our full signal! All too often we overeat but this can be controlled!

Slimpod helps you do this so if you listen out for it at meal times, you can engage and know when you’re full.  Problems occur if you’re watching television or using your phone and you end up shovelling in food without any thought.

Stop! Enjoy it! Savour the tastes!

And above all let your body yell out to your brain – “I’m full and you can stop eating now!”

TASK TWO:  Focus on what you’re eating. Here’s a reminder of what we recommend in the programme.  Let’s all be really focused on the advice and follow it for just 21 days.

One: Actively reduce bread, pasta, potatoes, processed cereals and rice— they’re a combination of refined and starchy carbohydrates which rapidly turn into sugars in the blood. Try quinoa, whole grains, beans, and lentils instead – they fill you up too!

Two: Reduce or cut out sugar, sugary treats, alcoholic drinks and desserts. With a Slimpod that’s easy!

Three: Eat more vegetables. There are so many wonderful vegetables to choose from. I must admit I’ve become quite a veggie addict. I love stir fries and dishes with lots of colour. Broccoli, spinach, red peppers, pak choi and carrots are in my basket every week.

Four: Eat fruit, two portions a day is good.

Five: Include plenty of high-quality protein such as meat, oily fish, eggs, seafood, tofu and soy. The body doesn’t store protein so you need to maintain an adequate level in your diet to avoid muscle loss. It also helps to reduce appetite. Eggs are amazing for breakfast! Avoid processed meats for the next 21 days

Six: Enjoy dairy products and eat more healthy fats and oils. Until recently people thought they should be avoiding full-fat dairy products. In 2014 a review by the British Heart Foundation found NO evidence that eating saturated fats leads to a greater risk of heart disease.

More recently scientists have said if you drink full fat milk you are 46 per cent less likely to develop diabetes!  So use fats!

They make food taste better. They are an excellent source of slow-burn energy. And although ounce for ounce they are higher in calories than carbs, they keep you full for longer.

There are many, many recipes available in the Healthy Recipes section of our programme which fall in line with the principles above, or you’ll find thousands online.

There are also many recipe books like Dr Michael Mosley’s Blood Sugar Diet – and yes, most of them have the word diet in the title, but ignore that and just follow the recipes!!

TASK THREE: This is one of the most important tasks of all because it holds you accountable! We’re going to share the love, create some great dishes and share recipes with each other in Slimpod Club.

If you’re not in Slimpod Club but you are on social media then share them on Instagram etc using the #SlimpodSmile.

Upload a picture and the recipe instructions for your favourite healthy dish – whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, healthy snacks and even clever sugar-free desserts!

If you try someone else’s recipe and you enjoy it,  tell them in the comments below their post and upload a picture.  We are a fantastic community and I think we can create a very tasty and healthy recipe thread for one another by sharing our favourites, especially if they’re really easy to make.

Whether you’re in Slimpod Club or not, do post them on social, especially on Instagram, and tag us in posts because we’d love to share the healthy food!

As a little incentive to share the love on social, I’ll be giving a lovely prize to the person whose recipe gets the most likes over the next seven days. So get those pics online!

So there you are – as easy as 1,2 3!

1. Listen for the full signal
2. Follow the principles of the Med way of eating
3. Share your recipes with the community online!

I’m really looking forward to this and I’ll be sharing too!  Let me know below how you got on over the past seven days – can’t wait to hear all about it!