“Small changes, discipline, and consistency lead to great transformations!”
– LINDA KRIEL
Is it possible to transform your body in 8 weeks?
The answer is YES. You can get great results in 8 weeks. This does not necessarily mean that you will have reached your goal weight or dream body in 8 weeks, but you will be able to see a big difference within 8 weeks of dedication. Body transformation not only means losing weight, but it also means improving your body shape and gaining muscle definition. A person who is already on her goal weight can also transform her body, by getting a six-pack, getting nicely shaped arms or legs, or lifting a saggy booty.
How do you do it?
I’m sure you know that EXERCISE and HEALTHY EATING is the answer, but why do people find it so difficult to succeed? There’s a lot more to it.
A balanced exercise program and a healthy eating plan are the most important cornerstones of a successful body transformation. (Scroll down for more detail)
A goal without a plan is just a wish. Planning is essential for a weight-loss or body transformation journey, and can make life considerably easier. Simple things like meal preparations and buying the right groceries go a long way to support you in your journey.
Many people who exercise fail to get results, because they don’t know how to structure their workouts, or they’re not varying their workouts, or they’re simply doing the exercises wrong.
With theLK Fitness App you never have to wonder what to eat or how to exercise
PERSEVERANCE
There are people who start an exercise program and diet every Monday, just to throw in the towel by Wednesday. Some people struggle to stick to a long term plan.
Perseverance is key! Stick to your plan. If you had a cheat day, immediately return to your plan the next day. Not two or three days later. It will take you about three weeks to get into the habit of healthy eating and exercising. Once you’re in the habit, it becomes part of your lifestyle and that is what it should be forever, a lifestyle. Not just a temporary 8 week transformation and then returning to your old habits, because then your body will also return to what it was before you started.
WHAT SHOULD YOUR EXERCISE PLAN LOOKS LIKE?
Strength training is essential. Two to three times weekly. Why? When you’re eating less calories, strength training (using weights and bodyweight) helps you retain your muscle mass while losing fat. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, that requires energy. Therefor muscle helps you burn more calories, even if you are at rest. Strength training will also tone and shape your body. You can use weights or resistance bands, but you can also use your own bodyweight, example push-ups, tricep dips, crunches, planks, squats, lunges etc.
Cardio for fat burning, at least three times weekly. That includes long slow cardio (± 30 – 50 min) and HIIT (high intensity interval training) (± 15 – 25 min). Examples: brisk walking (beginners or unfit people), jogging, cycling (fast enough to elevate your heart rate), cardio circuit training and kickboxing. Try and do at least one HIIT workout weekly.
Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong and healthy and we need flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Remember to incorporate some resting and stretching into your weekly schedule. Try this Stretching routine.
On the LK Fitness App you get all the strength training and cardio programs you need to succeed, and once a week a stretching session.
We are all different. Some people love bread, rice, and potatoes, while others get very bloated eating these. Some people may find it easy to follow a Keto/Banting diet, while others can’t imagine eating fat. The good news is that LK Fitness understands the diversity of people, and therefore we have three meal plans on the LK Fitness App – Keto/Banting, Low GI low fat, and the Mediterranean eating plan. (Read: Wondering which meal plan to choose)
YOU CAN DO IT!
It can take anything from four to eight weeks to see noticeable changes in appearance – sometimes more, sometimes less. Even then, you’ll probably notice fluctuations. Just keep making healthy choices and taking regular photos and you will see a difference in 8 weeks. You’ve got this, and remember, LK Fitness is here to help you!!!
Wild Coast – 4 Day Walk
Cape Town – 4 Day WalkItalian Lakes – 6 Day Walk
To Join Linda on the Wild Coast Walk, or any of Linda’s other popular walking tours, CLICK HERE.
Make these easy, gluten and guilt free Keto cinnamon rolls, made of fathead dough. These cinnamon rolls are ready in 30 minutes to satisfy your sweet cravings!
In general, fathead dough is a low-carb dough that is made with mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, egg, and some type of flour (almond, coconut, or a combination.) The melted cheeses create a chewy texture that’s often hard to achieve in low carb baking.
What is this? The name comes from the 2009 documentary, Fat Head Movie, which was created by Tom Naughton (comedian and former health writer).
For anyone who doesn’t know, Fat Head pizza (see recipe: basic fathead dough) was created by Tom Naughton’s oldest brother’s son. Ever since it has been named in honour of his Fat Head Movie . The documentary explains how saturated fat does not cause heart disease but instead sugars, grains, starches and processed vegetable oils do.
Fathead Cinnamon Rolls
Net Carbs: 3g / Calaries: 292.4kcal (per roll)
Tip: Ingredients at room temperature.
Serving size
Makes 12 rolls
Ingredients:
140 g almond flour. If it’s too sticky, add 1-2 tablespoons to adjust dough
2 teaspoons ground psyllium husk
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons erythritol (see also sweetener swap under Tips, below)
150 g shredded mozzarella full-fat (1 ¼ cup)
28 g cream cheese
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large beaten egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
Tip:
Full-fat shredded mozzarella – weigh the cheese in a small bowl for precision, don’t use cups! It is not precise enough, and you often end up with too much cheese that makes fathead dough too sticky.
Cream cheese – weigh the cream cheese for precision, and cut it into small cubes to soften it faster.
Cinnamon filling:
56 g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons golden erythritol or classic erythritol (see also sweetener swap under Tips, below)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Glazing:
170 g cream cheese
75 g unsalted butter
66 g sugar-free powdered sweetener
1 teaspoon maple or vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 12-hole muffin pan with butter or coconut oil.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients evenly: almond flour, psyllium husk, baking powder, and erythritol. Set aside.
In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, weigh the shredded mozzarella and cream cheese.
Microwave by 20-second bursts, stirring between each time until the cheese is fully melted. It usually takes 1 minute to get a soft, melty stretchy mixture. Otherwise, if you don’t have a microwave, bring on a non-stick saucepan over low-medium heat and melt, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.
When the cheese is stretchy and melted, add the dry ingredients and the vanilla, beaten egg and apple cider vinegar.
Stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula at first, when it starts to be difficult to stir, generously oil your hands with coconut oil and knead for at least 1 minute until you obtain a soft dough. The dough dries out as you squeeze and knead, and it should be slightly sticky but not too much. If too wet or sticky, you can add 1 tablespoon extra almond flour at a time, kneading between each addition, don’t exceed 4 tablespoons. You can also add all these ingredients into a food processor and blend for 30 seconds until combined. Don’t forget to grease your hands to remove the dough from the bowl, or it can stick to your fingers.
Form a dough ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill 5-8 minutes max, not more or dough is hard to roll.
Filling:
Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
In a small mixing bowl, beat butter, erythritol, and cinnamon until a paste forms. Set aside.
Unwrap the dough and place between too large pieces of parchment paper – each about 20 cm long. You can lightly spray oil on the parchment paper sheets to prevent the dough from sticking to the paper.
Press the dough ball with your hand to roughly flatten, then start rolling with a rolling pin. Roll evenly into a rectangle of about 29 cm x 20 cm. Tip: Fold The Paper In A Rectangle. My tip for rolling cinnamon roll fathead dough into a perfect rectangle shape, is folding the parchment paper into a rectangle. This way, you encase the dough into the desired rectangle shape, and when you roll it, the dough fits in.
Remove the top piece of parchment paper.
Assemble the rolls
Spread the cinnamon butter all other the rolled dough. Don’t add filling on the lengthwise borders. This makes it easier to stick the cylinder together at the end.
Start rolling the dough on the long end, roll the dough up tightly. When you reach the top, spread a bit of water with a pastry brush to help the dough, stick and seal the roll.
Cut into 12 even cinnamon rolls and place each roll on the greased muffin tray. Slightly press the top of each roll to flatten if desired. However, if you prefer, you can bake them on a greased baking dish. Make sure your rolls don’t touch each other, or they wouldn’t bake evenly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the sides.
Cool on a cooling rack for 45 minutes before adding the glazing or it can melt.
Meanwhile, prepare the glazing.
Glazing:
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, erythritol, and maple or vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy.
Spread generously onto all the rolls, or individually 1 ½ tablespoons per roll. You can store the remaining glaze in the fridge in an airtight container and use it when you serve the roll or as a keto fat bomb snack.
The most common issues with fathead dough are:
The dough is overly sticky – this happens if you add too much cream cheese or your egg is an extra large. First, grease your hands to handle the fathead dough. Then, adjust the flour by adding 1 tablespoon of extra almond flour, up to 4 tablespoons, until the dough is soft and not sticky. Also, chill the dough wrapped in plastic wrap for 5 minutes to help to set the dough.
The dough is hard as a rock– unfortunately, you can’t really fix that, but note that this happens if you over-melt the mozzarella in the microwave. The cheese burns and hardens. A good rule to know is, don’t continue the recipe if you burnt the mozzarella in the first step. Discard and restart because this will ruin the fathead dough for sure. If you try adding too much cream cheese to counterbalance, the fathead dough will be wet.
Tips:
Sweetener swap: any keto crystal sweetener like allulose or xylitol works as a replacement for erythritol.
Lactose-free cream cheese can be used as a substitute for regular cream cheese.
Almond flour can be replaced with sesame flour or sunflower seed flour (careful, this turns the food green and a bit bitter) for a keto nut-free cinnamon roll recipe. You can’t use coconut flour.
How long can fathead dough be refrigerated?
After making the dough, wrap tightly in a cling film and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. When ready to use, till our in between two parchment paper and bake. If you find it hard to roll out, Lightly warm it up in the microwave to make it easier to roll out.
Sharing with you the basic dough recipe – you can really do with it whatever you want. So, what is this fathead dough all about? Fathead dough is a keto dough that mimics bread dough to create a range of keto baking recipes like pizza, bagels, or this keto cinnamon rolls recipe above.
Basic Fathead Dough
Total Carbohydrate 20.6g for the entire recipe.
Ingredients:
170 g pre shredded/grated mozzarella cheese
85 g almond meal/flour
2 tbsp cream cheese
1 egg
pinch salt to taste
Instructions:
Mix the shredded cheese and almond flour/meal in a microwaveable bowl. Add the cream cheese. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute.
Stir then microwave on HIGH for another 30 seconds.
Add the egg, salt, and any other flavorings (depending what the end result of your dough is), mix gently.
Place in between 2 pieces of baking parchment/paper and roll into whatever shape you are making. Remove the top baking paper/parchment.
If the mixture hardens and becomes difficult to work with, pop it back in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to soften again but not too long or you will cook the egg.
More ideas for which fathead dough can be used:
*Pizza, bake at 220°C (425°F) for 12-15 minutes, flip over and bake another 10 minutes or so (until you get the crust you like) top with cooked/prepared toppings. Bake for another 5-7 minutes.
Tip: Prick the dough all over with a fork, which will prevent the pizza from bubbling up.
*Pigs in a Blanket bake at 220°C (425°F) for 14-17 minutes or until golden brown
*Hot Pockets fill rounds of dough with eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, pepperoni, etc., fold in half and seal. Prick top with fork for steam holes. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
A healthful diet means eating a wide variety of nutritious foods. However, people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may notice that certain foods trigger uncomfortable digestive symptoms. The specific foods that trigger IBS are different for different people, so it’s not possible to draw up a single list of foods to avoid. That said, many people will notice that avoiding some of the most common triggers — including dairy, alcohol, and fried foods — results in:
more regular bowel movements
fewer cramps
less bloating
Keep reading to find out which foods could be making your IBS more uncomfortable.
Insoluble fibre
There are two types of fibre found in foods:
insoluble
soluble
Most plant foods contain both insoluble and soluble fiber, but some foods are high in one type.
Soluble fibre is concentrated in beans, fruits, and oat products.
Insoluble fibre is concentrated in whole grain products and vegetables.
Soluble fibre is a great choice for most people with IBS, such as psyllium, as a cheap, effective treatment for IBS.
Gluten
Gluten is a group of proteins found in grains including rye, wheat, and barley, which may cause problems for some people with IBS. The good news is that more and more gluten-free products are coming onto the market at a fast pace. If you can’t do without pizza, pasta, cakes, or cookies, you can always substitute them with gluten-free options.
What’s more, there are many whole, nutritious alternatives to gluten- containing grains and flours available including:
quinoa
sorghum
oats
buckwheat
almond flour
coconut flour
Dairy
Dairy may cause problems in people with IBS for several reasons. First, many types of dairy are high in fat, which can lead to diarrhea. Switching to low fat or nonfat dairy may reduce your symptoms. Second, many people with IBS report that milk is a trigger for their symptoms, though it’s unclear if people with IBS are more likely to have true lactose intolerance. If you feel that dairy or milk products are causing uncomfortable digestive problems, consider switching to dairy alternatives, such as plant milks and soy-based cheese.
If you need to cut out dairy completely, focus on consuming other calcium-rich foods like:
greens
beans
nuts
sardines
seeds
Fried foods
French fries and other fried foods are common in the typical Western diet. However, eating too much can cause health problems. The high fat content may be especially hard on the system for people with IBS. Frying food can actually change the chemical makeup of the food, making it more difficult to digest, which leads to uncomfortable digestive symptoms. For a more healthful option, try grilling or baking your favorite foods instead.
Beans and legumes
Beans, lentils, and peas are generally a great source of protein and fiber, but they can cause IBS symptoms. They contain compounds called oligosaccharides that are resistant to digestion by intestinal enzymes.
While beans can increase bulk in stool to help constipation, they also increase:
gas
bloating
cramps
Try avoiding beans to see if this helps with your IBS symptoms. Or, when eating beans or lentils, soaking them overnight and then rinsing them before cooking can help the body digest them more easily.
Caffeinated drinks
Some people swear by their morning coffee for digestive regularity. But like all caffeinated drinks, coffee has a stimulating effect on the intestines that can cause diarrhea. Coffee, sodas, and energy drinks that contain caffeine can be triggers for people with IBS. If you need an energy boost or pick-me-up, consider eating a small snack or going for a quick walk instead.
Processed foods
Processed foods tend to contain a lot of:
added salt
sugar
fat
Examples of processed foods include:
chips
premade frozen meals
processed meats
deep-fried foods
Eating too much of these ingredients can lead to health problems for anyone. In addition, they often contain additives or preservatives that might trigger IBS flare-ups. When possible, making meals at home or buying fresh produce is a healthful alternative to buying processed foods.
Sugar-free sweeteners
Sugar-free doesn’t mean it’s good for your health — especially when it comes to IBS.
Sugar-free sweeteners are common in:
sugarless candy
gum
most diet drinks
mouthwash
Commonly used sugar substitutes include:
sugar alcohols
artificial sweeteners
natural zero-calorie sweeteners like stevia
Artificial sweeteners, which can have negative effects on health, can contain ingredients like:
sucralose
acesulfame potassium
aspartame
It also shows that sugar alcohols are hard for the body to absorb, especially in people with IBS, causing:
gas
digestive discomfort
laxative effects
Common sugar alcohols that may cause IBS symptoms include:
sorbitol
mannitol
Reading the ingredient labels of any sugar-free products will help you avoid these compounds.
Chocolate
Chocolate bars and chocolate candy can trigger IBS because they’re typically high in fat and sugar and commonly contain lactose and caffeine. Some people experience constipation after eating chocolate. There are some vegan options for chocolate lovers that people with IBS often find to be more tolerable.
Alcohol
Alcoholic drinks are a common trigger for people with IBS. This is because of the way the body digests alcohol. Also, alcohol can lead to dehydration, which can affect digestion. Beer is an especially risky option because it often contains gluten, and wines and mixed drinks can contain high amounts of sugar. Limiting alcoholic beverages may help reduce symptoms related to IBS. If you choose to drink alcohol, consider a gluten-free beer or a drink mixed with plain seltzer and without artificial sweeteners or added sugar.
Garlic and onions
Garlic and onions are great flavoring agents in your food, but they can also be difficult for your intestines to break down, which causes gas. Painful gas and cramping can result from raw garlic and onions, and even cooked versions of these foods can be triggers.
Broccoli and cauliflower
Broccoli and cauliflower are difficult for the body to digest — which is why they may trigger symptoms in those with IBS. When your intestine breaks these foods down, it causes gas, and at times, constipation, even for people without IBS. Cooking vegetables makes them easier to digest, so try roasting or sautéing broccoli and cauliflower if eating them raw bothers your digestive system.
What to eat instead
While avoiding the foods above, you can still enjoy a huge range of other foods. For starters, any foods that don’t contain carbohydrates.
This includes:
fish and other meats
eggs
butter and oils
hard cheeses
Other healthful foods that you can enjoy include:
lactose-free dairy products
some fruits, including bananas, blueberries, grapes, kiwi, oranges, and pineapple
some vegetables, including carrots, celery, eggplant, green beans, kale, pumpkin, spinach, and potato
quinoa, rice, millet, and cornmeal
firm and medium tofu
pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds
Summary
It’s important to remember that everyone’s digestion and food triggers are different. Some people with IBS can tolerate foods that others cannot. Get to know your body and learn which foods make you feel the best and limit those that cause uncomfortable symptoms. Keeping a food and symptom diary can help you figure out which foods to eat and avoid. If you need extra help with your diet in relation to IBS, scheduling an appointment with a registered dietitian is a good choice.
1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together honey, butter, eggs, Greek yoghurt, and milk until smooth.
3. Add Greek yoghurt mixture from step two to the flour mixture in step 1 and mix to combine.
4. Allow batter to sit for 20 minutes in order to become smooth.
5. Heat pan, spray with non-stick butter spray or just brush the griddle with olive oil. Drop tablespoons of batter into the hot pan. Cook until the bubbles on top burst and create small holes. Lift the corners of each pancake to check that it’s golden brown on the bottom.
6. Using a wide spatula, flip the flapjack and cook it on the other side until lightly browned.
7. To serve, top each portion of flapjacks with a scoop of Greek yoghurt and mixed berries.
Click on the below links to purchase our Mediterranean e-Books
What is the difference between the Mediterranean Diet and the Mediterranean Easy diet? – Read below:
Both are 21 day meal plans.
Both were created by our dietician Anel Kirsten, for healthy eating and weight loss.
The Mediterranean diet was the first e-book and contained 33 recipes and the Mediterranean Easy Diet was the follow-up with 17 recipes.
The easy diet has fewer recipes because it is for people who don’t always have a lot of time to make lunches and on the menu there is an option to eat the leftovers from the previous night’s dinner, or a snack platter option.
The ideal is to purchase both books, because then you have a greater variety of menus, but it is not a must to have both.
