Nutrition for non-cooks

This has been a very busy week with lots of work and driving - I really can't wait for October and the semi-calm that comes with it. Despite being busy I find that once I get the exercise habit going it's quite easy to keep it up (although having my personal trainer does help)

However, with my busy life I often find it's my diet that goes to pot first. Today, for example, I had to get up at 5:40am and drive from my home in East London to Beaconsfield. I then teach, with lunch at the pub, teach again and then drive the 2 hours back home by 7pm. I need to do it all again tomorrow. Fitting in healthy eating is difficult if I don't plan ahead.

Although I admit it's difficult, I have found a few ways of making it easier and I thought I'd share them with you in case you also find it difficult to eat healthily on a busy lifestyle - and in particular for those people like me who found their biggest problem was not eating enough!

Surprisingly, the first thing I'd say to anybody starting out on a major health change is not to stress about eating enough. Within a few weeks I found my appetite changed and I had to eat more to sustain the increased energy I was expending. The much talked about energy buzz you get from exercise also kicked in around this time and I found myself actively seeking out healthier, more nutritious foods then I'd eaten before.

Shopping can also be a problem when you work as erratic hours as I do. It's impossible for me to commit to a weekly shop and whenever I did I'd buy food that would go to waste as I never really knew which nights I'd be in the house for dinner. I've found it much more economical to go to the supermarket (which is, admittedly, two minutes from my flat) and just buy what I need on a daily-ish basis. Since doing this I haven't had to throw anything away which is a major change for me!

With the waste issue I'd also recommend working out which healthy foods you actually eat. Funny how when I have thrown food away in the past it wasn't biscuits or crisps, but fresh fruit and vegetables I'd bought and never wanted to eat. If there's food you don't really enjoy eating you're not going to eat it. Foods like oranges, bananas, peaches and strawberries fell into this category for me. Instead, work out the core set of fresh fruit and veg you know you'll enjoy eating and just stick with those. My list is:

Apples

Grapes

Blueberries

Brocolli

Tomatoes

Watercress

Asparagus

Pistachio Nuts (unsalted)

If I ate a portion of just those foods every day then I'd be well on my way to eating my 5-a-day.

I'm also not a cook. I do enjoy cooking, but only if I have plenty of time to do it properly. After a long day it's the last thing I feel like doing. So, keep it simple is my motto - a chicken breast on the George Foreman, some steamed veg, and some whole beans will do me fine. You don't have to be adventurous to be nutritious.

For the rest of the day I've bought a big tupperware tub and use it as a "grazing box" with fruit and nuts to chomp on all day. The grapes and berries are ideal for this.

The other thing is if, like me, you're not actually "fat" you can slip in little treats here and there without much worry. This week I've had a MacDonalds and I think I'm OK! My body fat is still dropping nicely - down to 14% this week