My name is Leah Itsines and I’m a self-taught cook, and lover of all things food and nutrition. I’m extremely passionate about “ditching the diets” because I’ve been there and done it myself! I’ve learnt first hand that they don’t work! I’m here to support you to achieve your short and long-term health and fitness goals, but more importantly, sustain a healthier, more balanced way of eating. I want to be able to explain in detail to you why I say “ditch the diets”.
The most popular “diet” I have seen is the ‘No Carb’ diet. One of the biggest misconceptions that we see countless times is that “carbs are bad for you”. Carbohydrates are a major player in your body’s functions! The key is finding the right carbs, not avoiding them completely. To give you a small insight, carbohydrates are divided into two groups: Simple Carbs and Complex Carbs.
Simple Carbs are usually referred to as ‘bad’ carbohydrates. These are the foods that digest faster and provide you with a quick spike in energy, but won’t last very long. The body only takes what it needs so whatever is left over from this sugar spike, the body stores the leftovers as fat.
Complex Carbs are commonly referred to ‘good’ carbohydrates. These foods are broken down slower and take longer to digest, resulting in long-lasting, sustained energy as the glucose is released into your system at a much slower rate.
So, when people say “carbs are bad for you”… they don’t mean the amazing energy you can get from yummy carbs like sweet potato, quinoa, chickpeas or brown rice!
Here are some yummy recipes full of good carbs!
Try this roast pumpkin and beet salad:
I also love this spicy hummus and this light potato salad!
Not only are diets not good for your body, at times they can be detrimental to both your physical and mental health. If you spend your days worrying about what you’ll eat next, how many calories are in your next meal or stopping yourself from eating out with your friends, you’ll end up driving yourself crazy. I want to be able to show women around the world how to live their lives in a healthy and well-balanced way whilst still being able to eat those incredible foods that have somehow become daunting in the recent years. I’m super excited to be a part of the Women’s Health team and I can’t wait to be able to give you many new recipes, food ideas, nutritional advice and all things in between!
Leah Itsines is part of the Women’s Health Fitfluential Network, she’s an Aussie food blogger on a mission to bring healthy back through the use of creativity in the kitchen. Leah believes that being healthy should be delicious and easy with an abundance of different foods!
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