All Posts By

Lisa Barwise

Lisa Barwise
In Plant Based Nutrition

What to eat in relation to exercising

donut-workout

In terms of eating in relation to exercising…   As a general rule of thumb, your biggest meal of the day should come right after you work out (except on your Low-Carb Days- learn more about Carb Cycling here:). [Related Article: What is Carb Cycling and What does it mean for fatloss in your 40s?] That’s when your muscles are hungriest and most receptive to nutrients. After you’ve put them through their paces, you also need to replenish the carbohydrates they store. Aside from that, meal timing has very little impact on your ability to burn fat. Here’s a confession: Most mornings, I don’t even eat breakfast. Eek! Sure, I know it’s considered by many to be the most important meal of the day, but that simply doesn’t work for me. I’ll regularly go for several hours on hot water and lemon or even a green juice, and come mid morning I make my big smoothie and then maybe a salad, or leftovers from the previous day sometime in the afternoon. Evenings are generally when I load up with a big dinner after my classes or workout in the afternoon. That’s what works for me. It may not work for…

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Lisa Barwise
In Mindset

Get Unstoppable Motivation

It's not motivation you are lacking, but persistence and here is how to build it to become an unstoppable warrior goddess.   I can generally tell when someone fills out my goals questionnaire or within a 20 minute conversation whether they are going to follow through on a weight loss or lifestyle change plan.   So what is it that I see in them that determines their success? Any permanent change requires two elements: a plan that works and a willingness to pursue it.  But there are strategies to achieve it more quickly or more efficiently but it has to start with a decision.   And here lies the issue. Not all of us are truly decisive.   You know the ‘in with both feet’ decision.  Or we are just not able yet to follow through on that decision. We don’t understand the key skills of commitment, persistence and self discipline.  The 3 scary words we tend to avoid.   So, let’s stop avoiding them and take a better look…   Motivation is such an incredibly fascinating and complex subject. There are so many factors involved in the ebb and flow of a woman’s motivation. When I think of motivation...
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Lisa Barwise

How to boost your metabolism to overcome hormonal, thyroid and adrenal fatigue issues to become a fat burning machine

Stress totally messes with our hormones, can have a serious impact on our health and to top it all off is a major contributor to us getting fat. So not cool. And I’m not talking about the ‘I don’t know what outfit to wear’ kinda stress. That deep seeded worry we have often about our futures, finances, health, relationships and family members.  And more recently our reputations, our businesses and being successful (the rise of success flu AKA burnout). Plus our primal mechanisms that trigger our fight or flight and set off our adrenals. Often triggered by the honking horn of a car rather than stampeding rhinos but our body doesn’t make the distinction and is flooded with adrenalin that is never properly utilized and leads to adrenal fatigue. More on this later. It really has a lot to answer for in our bodies in relation to our health but it also is one of the main contributors to stubborn fat in those areas we struggle with the most: belly, hips and thighs.   Why Stress Imbalances Hormones If there’s one lifestyle factor that can ruffle up your hormones, it’s stress. And as you well know, today’s hectic lifestyle forces...
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Lisa Barwise

The Tribe of Sisterhood and The Power of The Circle of Women

Girl Friend Power, not Will power is the key to success with your health goals.   For many women, social support and accountability are essential to successful weight loss and management.   Let me give you the science according to a new study by the University of Illinois. For the study, 23 women participated in a weight loss program that reduced their food consumption by 500 calories per day. Eating more vegetables, planning ahead, and portion control were emphasized. About a year and a half after they’d finished, they participated in focus groups to determine which factors helped or hindered their weight loss. “All of the women lost a significant amount of weight on the program, but many were unsuccessful at maintaining it after the program ended,” said researcher Catherine J. Metzgar, R.D., L.D.N. Those who did keep the weight off reported that a high level of social support from many sectors was critical in their success. This is true of the women in our programmes,  they didn’t find that accountability to themselves was so important, but having support from others was — just having that social support from someone who was going through the same experience. What this study…

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Lisa Barwise
In Beginner-Kettlebell-Training

The Worst exercise for over 35s women and what you should be doing instead

So, I decided to become a personal trainer at the ripe age of 39.  I had been active and ‘fit’ for most of my life though never skinny and just the right side of slim. But I was never strong and as I hit 35 I started to notice fat in places I never knew I had places. So I continued my health geek studies and began reading and practicing in the pursuit of what makes us lose stubborn fat, by getting more healthy, living longer so we can get lean and strong and look and feel good along the way! Sound good? And through studying a lot on metabolism, hormones and your thyroid, was I able to understand this and can now share this with you. What I am going to say here might fly in the face of what you know or believe or it might sound like too much effort and heck I just want to be skinny. But this is the end game, I can get you a lean and toned body but you can get so MUCH more than just that. What about a life’s vehicle that will take you into your 60s and 70s...
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Lisa Barwise
In Plant Based Nutrition

Transitioning to a Plant Based Lifestyle: Why, How and What to Eat?

When I tell people that I eat a plant based lifestyle they ask me does that look like a rabbit eating grass?   I mean, really….   So, before we can begin to explain the benefits of a Plant Based Lifestyle we need to define it. What does it mean to be plant based? ‘Based’ meant something that provides the foundation for… in this case your diet. Save Save Save Save Save Save   And plants need to be a very hearty base of your diet.   As The China Study – the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted- reveals (amongst thousands more, easily accessible studies, let alone common sense) without a shadow of a doubt… we need to be eating a predominantly plant- based, nutrient rich diet, upwards of 90% or more if we are going to be healthy. The reason is, plants are where all the nutrients come from, including protein. Yes, protein! A plant based nutrient rich diet means you are getting all the nutrients (healthy promoting protein, real food carbohydrate, essential fat, water, fiber, vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals, enzymes etc) that you need to function and perform well, from ALL the nutrient categories and you don’t...
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Lisa Barwise
In Proothie

Black Forest Gateau Anytime Smoothie

So, my goddesses have been looking for a sexy and yummy way to make their smoothie’s something to look forward to and this recipe will deliver on both taste and health benefits… Enjoy this smoothie post workout, before bed, at breakfast or heck, just about anytime of day! Dark cherries are great for moontime issues as they are known to help you sleep and stay asleep which can make this time of month easier. Cherries, which are members of the same fruit family as peaches, plums, apricots, and almonds, are often regarded as a “dessert” fruit for use in pies, or perhaps as a garnish for cocktails (the maraschino cherry). But cherries have a healthy side too, one that may actually offer therapeutic benefits to your health, as cherries are rich in antioxidants and many other health-promoting compounds. There are two primary varieties of cherries you should know about: sweet and tart (also known as sour cherries). Sweet cherries, such as Bing cherries, are best eaten fresh (and raw), while sour cherries develop a fuller flavor when they’re used in cooking (which is why they’re often used for baking). Tart cherries are also used to make juice concentrates that may…

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Lisa Barwise
In Recipes

5 Alternatives to Toast for Breakfast

White carbs are just not good for you.  At all. And most wholewheat carbs contain gluten and it is just not good for you either. Let me share with you WHY. The main reason to avoid white foods is chlorine dioxide which is just one of the chemicals used to bleach flour (even if later made brown again which is a common trick), combines with residual protein in most of these foods to form alloxan. Researches use alloxan in lab rats to induce diabetes. That’s right... to induce diabetes! This is the bad news if you eat anything white or enriched. So don’t eat the white stuff if you want to get larger! One of the greatest things you can do for your health is to go gluten-free. Wheat wreaks havoc on your internal system, igniting disease-causing inflammation and stopping up your gut, so it can’t digest properly. No matter how much you like pasta, pastries, cookies, or pizza, I’d encourage you to seriously consider going gluten-free.   Your body will thank you.   By now, most people know that gluten is causing a great deal of trouble for many people who are either living with Celiac disease or have a sensitivity to gluten....
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Lisa Barwise
In Plant Based Nutrition

The most amazing superfood you have never heard of

I love GREEN. And you are gonna love this GREEN. Imagine a plant that can nourish your body by providing most of the protein you need to live, help prevent the annoying sniffling and sneezing of allergies, reinforce your immune system, help you control high blood pressure and cholesterol, and help protect you from cancer. Does such a "super food" exist? Yes. It's called spirulina. You know the more and more I research and spend time looking into food the more I think I either want to move to Central or South America or must have spent a past life there!   My favourite foods all originated in South and Central America- Chia Seeds, Quinoa and now Spirulina.  Who knew!? [Related article: The Green Goddess Smoothie] Save Save Save The use of spirulina as a food source dates all the way back to 9th century Chad and it is believed spirulina was used by the Aztecs in 16th century Mexico.   Building your Immune System If you have an autoimmune disease such as Crohn's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lupus or fibromyalgia, chronic candida yeast can both cause and worsen your symptoms. Spirulina has been shown to encourage and support the...
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Lisa Barwise

How to deal with post workout soreness?

Today started so well.  Even after a long yoga workshop I attended yesterday which I knew was really working my body, I woke up with little pain or discomfort.    After a 2 hour walk with the dog following by a cuppa tea with a friends the legs started to feel sore, then it was my hips and then my core, we’ve all experienced the love/hate cycle of performing basic tasks the day after, or even the day after the day a great workout: Gets out of bed: “Ow, my legs. Yeah, good squat session yesterday!” Puts on pants: “Ahh, yep, okay, those deadlifts really did the trick!” Sits on toilet: “Those crazy kettlebell swings!” Drops keys: “Oh, bloody lunges!” This is the classic delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which tends to kick in from as soon as six to eight hours post-exercise, and peaks around the 48 hour mark.  And while lower body soreness tends to be more inhibiting and memorable, the phenomenon certainly isn’t limited to the legs. DOMS can occur anywhere in the body that has recently been exposed to unfamiliar or intense physical activity. The good news is by understanding DOMS you can take steps to...
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Lisa Barwise

The Ultimate Muscle Soothing Bath

  I know that after your first ever kettlebell workout, you will want to  help reduce any post workout muscle soreness (known as DOMS) in a warm detox bath. Why do Epsom salts baths work? Both magnesium and sulphate play vital roles in our bodies – magnesium helps regulate enzyme activity while sulphate helps to form brain tissue and joint proteins. Sulphate also helps strengthen the digestive tract’s walls. It’s not a giant leap then to discover that Epsom salt – a magnesium sulphate compound – can help boost our body’s natural systems, especially if we are deficient in magnesium and/or sulphate. Unlike many health supplements, Epsom salt doesn’t need to be ingested. In fact, because magnesium and sulphate can be dissolved in water and absorbed through the skin, an Epsom salt bath is a great way to reap its benefits. Excellent for soothing dry, itchy skin, they can be especially helpful when managing the symptoms of skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Another, more cosmetic, treatment is for wrinkles! Taking a bath to minimise the appearance of wrinkles may seem a contradiction but it really does work. Wrinkles caused by age, sun exposure or smoking are actually different from…

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Lisa Barwise

How often and how much to exercise

I get this asked all the time... how often do I need to exercise?   This is usually asked by our beginners who are looking to find out just how much time they need to commit to achieve their goals. Or really, the least they need to do - well that is how I like to approach it.  I consider myself the laziest healthy person I know and that is why I look for the most effective exercise to do. Before I even delve deeper into the answer of this, you must first define what you mean by exercising.  Honestly it may seem silly to you but I think we can often get confused by this.  We know moving or activity is good for us and our wellbeing but it is exercise in its true sense? Read more here....   [Related article: What is exercise?]   Save Save Save Save OK, now the next step to find out how much or how often, let me firstly find out about your goals. For most of the women who come to me for help, it is usually either for   strength/building muscle, fatloss or cardio fitness.   And it depends on what...
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