Health tip X: Weight Watchers

For us lucky bastards living the UK, there is this amazing food brand called Weight Watchers. They sell all sorts of products; from yoghurts to pre-cooked food and from flatbread to freaking brownies, and everything, everything is low-fat. I've had the pleasure of tasting some of their foods and I bow to them because everything I've eaten so far has proved delicious. Delicious, filling and healthy! 

Take a look at their webpage. I think you can order food on-line, but you can also find their products at Tesco's, ASDA and so on...

• http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk

Do not forget, of course, that this sort of stuff isn't good unless you alternate it with fresh fruit and vegetables. However, Weight Watchers can really help you in your way to a healthier diet. 

Health tip IX: Choose your biscuits wisely

Okay, who doesn't love biscuits? Don't lie, I know you do. There are hundreds of them, one for every kind of person; buttery, chocolatey,  sugary, rounded, star-shaped, creamy... and we would eat them all if we could! Well, who says we can't? In moderation, everything should be alright. Don't go eating twenty Oreo biscuits a day if you want to maintain your figure, though. That's a total no-go. 

Biscuits are perfect for either breakfast or as an afternoon snack. However, we should always be wise when buying them. My tips:

• Buy them in small packages; this way you will always know how many calories you're eating. For instance, Oreo and other brands have what they call 'snack packs', bags of about 120 kcal each. They are perfect and you can carry them everywhere! 
• If your favourite biscuit doesn't come in a small pack, you should always be sensible about  how many you're going to eat. Eat four or five, don't eat forty.
• Tea biscuits are amazing if you're feeling peckish. They're not as tasty a biscuit as the chocolate ones, but they're much less caloric. (Mc.Vitie's tea biscuits have around 38 kcal each, whereas any chocolate-chip biscuit has around 55 kcal.) Keep it in mind when you're buying!

Again, you're not on a diet. You're free to eat whatever you please. However, be sensible and wise, choose whatever you think is best for you and your health and, of course, enjoy it as much as you can!

Health tip VIII: Carbs. Friends or foes?

Carbohydrates are absolutely necessary to the human body, so if you were thinking about eliminating them of your diet, think twice. Besides, they are literally everywhere. Bread? Say "hi" to carbs. Pasta? Cereals? All carbs. Yes, they are caloric, but then again they are also extremely healthy.

My tips:

• Eat pasta. 200 gr. of "penne" have around 280 kcal. Remember, it is usually the sauce that adds loads of extra calories. If you choose, like me, a light tomato and herb sauce, you will only add from 50 to 80 kcal to your dish. Yummy and filling!
• Do not abuse bread. You can eat bread, of course, but if you can start buying wholegrain instead of white bread, you'll reduce the calories substantially. Much less caloric and definitely healthier. 

It would probably be a good idea if you ate pasta at lunch instead of during dinnertime. See, carbohydrates have "fast" calories; they are really quick to burn. Therefore, it'll be easier for your body to eliminate them if you've got a busy afternoon instead of an early night. If you're set on losing weight, maybe don't eat any sort of carbs after, let's say, 5 pm. Otherwise, enjoy them as much as you can; they're really yummy!

Health tip VII: Winter is coming

For those of you who live in southern Europe, winter is still far away. However, for those of us inhabiting the obscure north (well, come on, I'm living in London) winter is already a reality. Coming down with something gets easier and easier as temperature falls. Therefore, we need to prepare ourselves!

• Soup is your new best friend. Cheap, easy to make, healthy and waaaarm.
• Drink a lot of liquids; water, juices, hot milk, tea, coffee... whatever floats your boat.
• Please remember to use skimmed milk (45 kcal/100 ml) if you want to cut down calories!
• Don't drink too much juice; it is extremely sugary.
• When drinking tea and coffee, be careful with the sugar (maybe alternate with saccharine?)
• Stay warm. I think that goes without saying.

Remember: exercising can also help to prevent your falling ill. If you can't go to the gym, either work out at home or go running. If you do the latter, wear scarves, gloves and maybe a bonnet, and even if you start sweating do not remove any of your clothes. 

Winter is a wonderful time to exercise. Snow? Snow is great to gain some muscle and lose some weight! Skying, snowboarding, even just walking in the snow... Does it snow where you live? Take advantage of it!

• Important: The lower the temperature, the less calories you will burn while exercising. It's time to push yourself a little harder.

Health tip VI: Do the shopping!

If you're living on your own I'm sure you've already had the opportunity to enjoy the wonders of doing the shopping. If you're living at home, maybe your parents do it for you, maybe they don't. Anway, if you're really set on having a healthier diet, going to the supermarket yourself should become one of your first goals. If you go with some friends you can even have fun (I talk from personal experience; going to the supermarket with my flatmate is a fucking show!)

Why is it important?

• You actually choose what you are going to eat; vegetables, fruit, even pasta or canned food.
• You don't buy what you don't want to eat (for example, my mum is set on buying crisps, which is a total no-go if you're trying to keep a healthy diet).
• You can compare prices and save a huge amount of money.
• You can buy products according to their low fat/calories.
• You can give your parents a very much deserved rest (!!!)

I admit that going to the supermarket if you don't own a car sucks quite a bit. However, you can take it as a form of exercise as well! Trust me, carrying bags up and down helps to build up some awesome biceps.

Recipe IV: Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and some of us think that missing it will help us lose weight. I used to think and do that until I came to live in England, but I've realised now how wrong I was. Always eat breakfast, especially if you get up early and have a busy day.

I don't have lectures on Tuesday up until 6.30 pm, so I've spent the morning in the gym. I've just exercised for about an hour, though, a light, easy workout to start the day with a smile. 

• 30-minute routine on the elliptical machine.
• 2000 metres on the rowing machine.
• 3 series of 20 abs (superior, inferior, lateral)

Estimated kcal loss: 400

The ideal breakfast for a morning like mine:

• A glass of orange juice
• A Philadelphia cheese and roasted ham sandwich

Sandwich

Ingredients for 1 person:

• 2 slices of wholegrain wheat bread (51 kcal per slice!)
• 40 gr. of Philadelphia light cheese
• 1 slice of roasted ham

Preparation:

• Put the bread on the toaster until it is brown and crunchy. 
• Coat the toasted bread with a thin layer of Philadelphia cheese.
• Add the roasted ham.

Estimated calories: 180 + 80 (from the juice) = 260

See? It really can't be easier! Enjoy, guys, and have a good day!

Recipe III: Tonight's dinner

Tonight's dinner has consisted of: 

• Ham and cheese omelette
• Campbell's mushroom soup
• Mini loaf of bread (home-made, courtesy of my lovely flatmate)

Estimated calories: 400

Ingredients for the omelette:

• 1 egg
• 1 slice of roasted ham (18 kcal)
• 1 sheet of cheese (40 kcal)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Preparation

• Break the egg on a bowl and beat it for a while.
• Slice the ham and the sheet of cheese and add to the bowl.
• Add the pinch of salt.
• Put a saucepan on the stove. Add the oil and spread it. 
• When the saucepan is hot enough, pour the mixture onto it and let it brown.

Et voilà! A nice, healthy omelette is the perfect combination for a low-calorie Campbell's mushroom soup! Add the hot, spongy loaf of bread as a side dish and some fat-free yoghurt (50 kcal) as dessert. 

Enjoy!

Health tip IV: Cut it with the butter

This tip is for every single one of you who isn't used to the Mediterranean diet. We Spaniards, Italians, Greeks and so on usually cook with olive oil. I've noticed that in France, England and the northern countries you guys cook with butter, and butter is an awful lot caloric, not to mention unhealthy. It is pure fat, guys. Pure cholesterol running through your veins. I am not saying that you should stop using butter altogether, but you could maybe cut it down a little if you want to have a healthier diet. Olive oil is caloric as well, I won't lie to you, but it is much more natural.

However, if you want to keep using butter, you could maybe alternate it with margarine. It is not as tasty, but it will decrease the calories of your meal, as well as the fat.

• My tip: Use olive (or vegetal) oil when cooking instead of butter. Save the butter for the toast!

Health tip III: Workout

Okay, fine. You don't have the money to join a gym. Still, that is no excuse not to work out. There is a very simple way to find workout routines: browse the internet, my dears. There you go. If you don't exercise, it's because you don't want to.

Here you have some examples of work out routines: 

For God's sake, don't start working out from scratch, especially if you have never done it before. You should be sensible enough to know where you stand physically. If you find these too difficult or challenging, you should probably look for a lower level. There are hundreds of routines on the internet!

• If you feel dizzy or sick, stop immediately! You may be straining yourself too much. 

Recipe II: Fruity Nutella Toast

Remember, you are not on a diet. Don't be too hard on yourself; you shouldn't be forcing yourself to eat only healthy food. Besides, there are ways to enjoy really, really yummy things without gaining any weight. Let me show you an example of a very tasty snack you can either eat at breakfast or during the afternoon.

Fruity Nutella Toast (from 170 to 200 kcal)

Ingredients for 1 person:

• A slice of wholegrain wheat bread (around 50 kcal per slice!)
• 20 gr. of Nutella
• 2 or 3 strawberries (or, as in the picture, half a banana. Take into account that the banana is more caloric!)

Preparation:

• Easy peasy! Put the slice into the toaster until it is brown. 
• Spread a thin layer of Nutella.
• Wash the strawberries and cut them into small pieces.
• Arrange them on top of the toast.

See? A really good snack, not overly caloric, to enjoy with a nice cup of either tea or coffee. Enjoy! 

Health tip II: Fruit is a must

The title of my blog isn't exactly random, it is an old English idiom that is perfectly true. Fruit is one of the most healthy foods you will ever find. Besides, it is delicious!

There are a couple of things you should take into account when eating fruit:

• For instance, apples (as well as cranberries, grapefruit, lemons, magoes, oranges, pinnaples, raspberries, strawberries and tangerines) have negative calories. That is, you burn more calories whilst digesting them than the ones you have ingested. Eat away, my friends! 
• On the other hand, bananas (120 kcal a piece), pears (96 kcal a piece) and all dried fruits are much more caloric, so be careful.

Let's not be hypocritical: no one will eat five pieces of fruit a day, no matter how much the doctors recommend it. However, fruit provides a lot of vitamins that are essential to stay healthy and beautiful. Yes, beautiful. I have recently started to eat an apple a day and both my hair and nails have visibly improved. It  works, I promise!

• Do eat fruit every day if you can, but do not eat it all the time. Fruit is sugary, remember. 
• You can eat fruit as a dessert, but it works much better if you eat it as an afternoon snack. It won't add up calories and it will quench your hunger until dinner time.

Table of calories in fruit:

How many calories does fruit have?

Come on, go and buy apples everyone!

Recipe I: Tuna salad

Let's start the recipe section with something very, very Mediterranean (what can I say? I miss home!). Salads are a delicious and very easy way to eat healthy food. Besides, you can basically put anything in them! Take into account, though, that depending on the ingredients they will contain more or less calories. This is one of my favourites:

Tuna salad (around 300/350 kcal)

Ingredients for 1 person:

• 1/2 iceberg lettuce (I like iceberg, but any kind of lettuce will do the trick)
• 5 or 6 cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 white or red onion
• 1/2 can of tuna (preferably in olive or vegetal oil)
• 3 crabsticks
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

• Cut the lettuce and the onion and put them in a colander.
• Add the cherry tomatoes. 
• Run some water through the ingredients until you deem them clean and drain them.
• Put the lettuce, the onion and the tomatoes on a medium-sized plate. 
• Open the tuna can and pour half of it on top of the vegetables (be careful with the oil!)
• Cut the crabsticks into small pieces and add to the plate. 
• Add the salt and pepper, but don't overdo it!
• Season the salad with the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Don't put too much of either if you want to keep the salad healthy.

There you go! A really cheap, yummy dish in less than ten minutes. Remember not to be too hard on the oil, for it adds a lot of unnecessary calories!

Enjoy!

Health tip I: Join the gym

I know it's hard, I know you're a lazy arse, but so am I, to be honest. I love nothing more than to stay in and read a good book while drinking hot chocolate, especially with this honest to God awful weather. However, if you want to stay fit joining the gym is the only viable option. 

University fitness centres are quite cheap to their students, so take advantage of that. I have joined roeactive and usually go from three to four times a week. 

My tip if you're as lazy as I am: find a gym partner. Ideally, it should be someone who is: 

• Really sporty and therefore eager to exercise.
• As concerned about health as you are (or even more).
• As much of a food-lover as you are.

It is the recipe to success! I go to the gym with two friends; both of them love food and one of them is as much of a health-freak as I am. Trust me, exercising gets fun when you do it in good company.

Besides, have you ever heard of the "runner's high"? When you exercise your body releases endorphins, the hormone of happiness. As soon as you're done with your gym session, you'll find yourself in high spirits and feeling quite fucking good. And it will get better and better in time. 

Do remember to stretch before and after your sessions, though. Don't want anyone getting injured!

Emancipated student alert!

Hi there, bloggers!

The name's Judit, though most choose to call me Judy. I don't mind either way, just don't write it "Judith" because it gets on my nerves. Everything you should know about me is on the description, really. Take into account that I am not actually British, so I might screw up with the language. I'm sorry about that, guys!

Okay, first of all let me introduce you to the joys of living abroad. Actually, up until this september I used to live in the outskirts of Barcelona with my parents, in a comfortable 120m^2, four-bedroom flat. You know the drill. Last year, however, I decided to apply for an Erasmus Mundus to spend nine months studying abroad at the University of Roehampton in London. Never thought I'd get it, honestly, but I did! And so little Judy packed her suitcases and flew all the way to the United Kingdom to start a new life. 

It's not flatsharing what gets difficult once you're on your own. Not even when you've to share your kitchen with seven more people (though I admit that it can get quite messy). Actually, I love most of my flatmates so no battles on that front. What I found and still find complicated is to stay in shape without risking my physical and menta health. Honestly, guys, doing the shopping in the UK is the most dangerous thing I've done in my life, especially since I have no willpower whatsoever and I absolutely love food. Have you ever gone to ASDA? They've got everything and anything one could wish for: a hundred different brands of chocolate, bisquits, cakes and so, so, so, so on. I admit that I've got quite the sweet tooth, but I like my body as it currently is (170 cm/54 kg) and I don't want that to change. Maybe you British people are used to this sort of supermarkets and can refrain yourselves, but I was born in Barcelona, where the mediterranean diet is a given and a must. I've gone quite crazy since I came here.  

That's the main reason I've decided to start this blog; to give people in my situation my own perspectives of the whole living alone business. I'll try and post healthy recipes and other tips that might be helpful in order to stay healthy and fit!