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5 reasons why learning to fast was life-changing for me

5 reasons why the fasting diet could change your life
Amanda Hamilton’s The Eat, Fast, Slim Diet is the life-changing fasting diet that everyone’s talking about.

 

Amanda Hamilton, author of The Eat, Fast, Slim Diet  – the original life-changing fasting diet for amazing weight-loss and optimum health – explains the benefits of fasting diets and how they work.

“Traditional diet lore dictates that we shouldn’t skip meals. But amazing new findings show that short bursts of fasting, created by lengthening the gaps between eating, can lead to the ultimate fat-burning state – this is intermittent fasting (IF)”, says Amanda Hamilton. “It’s a truth that body-builders and top athletes have known for years but scientists are now confirming that fasting accelerates fat loss and shifts weight from stubborn areas too. What’s more, you’ll find that you sleep better, have more energy, slow down your ageing and even improve your long-standing health problems through fine-tuning your body’s repair mechanisms”, says Amanda. “I’ve been working with fasting for more than a decade. It gets great results, safely”.

 

5 reasons why learning to fast was life-changing for me and why I think you should give it a go:

1. Fasting shifted my last annoying 4.5kg (10lb) in weight, without me having to obsess about counting calories or following ridiculous “fad diets”.

2. Fasting is good for me on the inside and makes me look better on the outside. When something makes you feel this good, it is easy to stick with it.

3. Fasting makes me feel emotionally in control (and a little virtuous).

4. Fasting gets my hunger under control.

5. Ever since I discovered the fasting diet, according to the most accurate test available my biological age has remained a full decade younger than what it says on my passport, and this is in spite of having given birth to two children. I’m not showing off – it just works!

 

“Fasting makes things really simple. It is scientifically proven to slow ageing and boost health and is something that every human being does instinctively, only most of us have forgotten how. Another “plus” is that fasting won’t cost you anything – it’s time rather than money that’s needed. The techniques that inspired modern day fasting might well date back millennia but fasting has never been more needed than right here, right now”.

 

“When you first get into fasting, it can be hard to figure out which technique will suit you best so I’ll help you to navigate your way through the fasting world”, says Amanda. “Broadly speaking, there are the intermittent fasts (what I call lifestyle fasts) and juice fasts although, increasingly, fasts are becoming known according to their duration in hours or days – 16/8, 5/2, alternate day and so on. Most are do-able even for someone with only a faint whiff of interest in healthy living, but some require caution. I only feature the techniques that make the grade in terms of scientifically referenced benefits and practical application”.

 

“When I learned to fast, and how to harness the power of fasting, it challenged everything I’d ever read about how to eat, how to preserve health and how to stay in shape”, enthuses Amanda.

 

Amanda Hamilton has helped thousands of people lose weight and gain body confidence. Try Amanda’s healthy plans with more than 100 nutritious recipes. Choose a plan to suit your lifestyle and maximize the benefits of fasting – lose weight, slow down ageing and boost your health. Follow Amanda on her inspiring website amandahamilton.co.uk

 

A fasting diet plan from Amanda Hamilton

“Amanda is always an inspiration as she combines true professionalism with enthusiasm, intelligence and knowledge.”
Ian Marber, Nutritionist and Author

The Eat, Fast, Slim Diet by Amanda Hamilton
304 pages • Paperback • £6.99
AUS $14.99 NZ $17.99

Buy the book now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 essential tips for a confident new you

 

confidence

 

Are you in need of a self-confidence boost? Leading life coach and self-esteem expert Lynda Field has written The Self-Esteem Coach with you in mind. Read her 4 essential tips for a confident new you.

“I wish I’d known from the beginning that I was born a strong woman. What a difference it would have made! I wish I’d known that I was born a courageous woman; I’ve spent so much of my life cowering. How many conversations would I not only have started but finished if I had known I possessed a warrior’s heart? I wish I’d known that I’d been born to take on the world; I wouldn’t have run from it for so long, but to it with open arms.”

Sarah Ban Breathnach (author)

 

“A ‘strong woman’; what do you see when you read that? And ‘cowering’; yes you’ll know what that sort of behaviour looks and feels like; we’ve all played the victim at one time or another” says life coach Lynda Field. “When we can open our arms to the world, we can believe in ourselves, feel confident and act assertively. Being assertive doesn’t come naturally to many of us; but it’s a skill that we can all develop.”

 

4 essential tips for a confident new you

 

  1. List your past achievements and go back as far as you like: learning to ride a bike, passing an exam, getting a job, your first love affair …. Write these things down on a big sheet of paper and keep adding to the list. You’ve had so many successes.
  2. Remember that big challenge that you overcame, how did you cope? What inner resources do you fall back on? Name these and know that you have these qualities in abundance.
  3. Think back to a time when you were afraid to do something but did it anyway. Each time we leave our comfort zone we refresh and invigorate our energy. You know how to take a chance and you can do this again.
  4. You have all it takes to do what you want to do in this life; all you have to do is take that very first step. Take it today!

From the bestselling author of 60 Ways to Feel Amazing and Weekend Life Coach, here’s a fresh new take on how to increase your confidence in every area of your life –The Self-Esteem Coach is the complete DIY feel-good guide for the 21st century. Follow Jo on her inspiring website lyndafield.com.

SelfEsteemCoachCover150x150px

 

“10 days to a confident new you”

The Self-Esteem Coach by Lynda Field

256 pages • Paperback • £8.99

AUS $17.99 NZ $23.00

 

£8.99 l Buy the book now!

 

 

 

Blackened Sea Bream or masgouf, perfect for a Saturday night

Blackened sea bream recipe

Blackened Sea Bream or masgouf, as Iraq’s national dish is known, is much revered as a food for the mind as well as the body

 

author of The Jewelled Kitchen Bethany Kehdy“The infamous masgouf, as Iraq’s national dish is known, is a much-revered dish for Iraqis, reserved for special occasions. Considered to be food for the mind as well as the body, this Baghdad speciality sprang up along the banks of the Tigris, where the day’s catch would be served to Arak-sozzled patrons in cafés”, explains author of The Jewelled Kitchen. “It’s traditionally prepared with freshwater fish, similar to carp, butterflied and hung on skewers over brushwood fires. Mango chutney was introduced via Indian traders, and Iraqis made it their own with the inclusion of spices such as fenugreek.”

 

Blackened Sea Bream Recipe

 

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 10 minutes, plus time for marinating
Cooking time: 45 minutes

 

4 whole sea bream, pollock or haddock, about 1.25kg/2lb 12oz in total, cleaned and gutted, then butterflied (head and tail intact)

2 tbsp smoked sea salt flakes

1 tbsp tamarind paste or lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp ground dried lime (optional)

chopped coriander leaves, to sprinkle

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Green Mango Chutney

2 green mangoes, sliced into 1cm/½in cubes

3cm/1¼in piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated

½ garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp ground fenugreek

small pinch of crushed chilli flakes

4 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp clear honey

a small pinch of sea salt

 

1. Put all the fish in a grill pan and season the interiors and exteriors generously with the smoked salt.

2. Put the tamarind paste in a mixing bowl, add 3 tablespoons water and mix well. Add the olive oil and dried lime, if using, and whisk well. Season to taste with black pepper. Baste each of the fish liberally all over with the tamarind marinade. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the mango chutney. Put the mangoes, ginger, garlic, turmeric, fenugreek, chilli flakes, cider vinegar, honey, salt and 350ml/12fl oz/1½ cups water in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20–25 minutes until the mango is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. The chutney should be slightly runny.

4. Depending on your choice, preheat a grill to high, preheat a charcoal barbecue until the charcoal is burning white or turn on a gas barbecue. Secure the fish by flattening them between the wire racks of large fish-grilling baskets, 2 fish per basket, then cook for 7 minutes on each side or until charred, crispy and flaky. Alternatively, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and bake the fish on wire racks placed above baking trays for 10–15 minutes, depending on the size of the fish (the general rule is 7 minutes cooking time per 2.5cm/1in measured at the thickest part of the fish).

5. If using fillets, then heat a shallow, nonstick frying pan over a medium heat and sear the fish for 5 minutes on each side, carefully turning them.

6. Sprinkle coriander over the fish and serve with Chelow Rice, along with some of the green mango chutney and some Burnt Tomato and Chilli Jam, if you like.

 

Bethany Kehdy is a pioneer of today’s new Middle Eastern cuisine.The Jewelled Kitchen takes you on an unforgettable adventure of Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. From Tuna Tartare with Chermoula and Sumac-Scented Chicken Parcels, to Cardamom-Scented Profiteroles and Ma’amoul Shortbread Cookies – mouth-watering dishes for you to try. Find Bethany at her inspiring food blog dirtykitchesecrets.com.

 

    “Original and delicious” –  Yotam Ottolenghi

     The Jewelled Kitchen by Bethany Kehdy

      224 pages • Illustrated • £20.00

      AUS $32.99 NZ $42.00

      £20.00 l Buy the book now!

 

 

 

 

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