Amanda from Here Comes The Sun on Eating and Living Well

Today we have the lovely blogger Amanda from Here Comes the Sun on Eat Well NZ.  Here Comes the Sun is her online scrapbook of inspiration where she focuses on film photography, vintage, handmade products and fashion, as well as documenting her own adventures. She wears the most gorgeous vintage outfits and lives here in NZ with her husband and two cats.

What is a typical day’s eating for you?
Natural unsweetened yoghurt with blueberries for breakfast, tuna with rocket and cherry tomatoes for lunch and usually a stir fry for dinner. For snacks I usually have yoghurt, fruit or crackers and cheese.

What is your “food philosophy” (ie how do you aim to eat well)?
My biggest philosophy is “everything in moderation”. I don’t take part in fad diets and I’m not one to try to eat in a way that you completely cut something out of your diet (e.g no carbs) as I’ve found it only makes me crave these things more! I use the My Fitness Pal app on my phone which is a calorie counter and I’ve found it allows me to eat what I like but to use portion control and exercise regularly. This has been the easiest routine for me to stick to.

What foods are your fridge and pantry staples?
As long as I have lots of fresh fruit and yoghurt in the house I’m pretty happy. I’m also a big lover of green tea and drink 4 or so cups a day.

What is your favourite way to keep fit?
I like running and power walking and always mix it up between the two and try different routes so I never get bored. I try to run up hills as much as I can (it’s horrible but I like a challenge). We recently got an iTouch and an armband and being able to run with music has changed everything for me. It’s so much easier cause now I’m not just focused on how hard the run is, I’m just enjoying the music and chugging along.

One healthy habit you never let slide?

I track my calories on My Fitness Pal and since I started using it I’ve never gone over my daily limit. If I do go over the limit then I go for a run to burn some calories and bring the total back down.

Favourite healthy meal?

I eat a lot of stir fries as it’s a quick and easy way to make a nice meal. A recent favourite I got from healthyfood.co.nz is just chicken, mushrooms and broccoli with a sauce made from hoisin, soy and ginger, tossed with fresh rocket and served with noodles. So good!

Favourite food indulgence?

 I like something sweet after dinner and those new The Icebar Company ginger beer iceblocks are a new fave!

Many girls/woman struggle with maintaining a healthy body image. What do you think important to having a healthy body image and learning to love who you are?

I think firstly it’s coming to peace with the natural body type you’re given and then making the most of it. We weren’t all born with amazing legs or perfect arms but generally each of us will have one area of our bodies that we’re pretty happy with and the best thing to do is accentuate that part and if you need to, hide what you don’t like. For me I like my waist so I’ll wear something that cinches there and I’m not as fond of my hips so I don’t wear clingy fabric there. I think if you learn how to dress in a way that best suits you and also eat a healthy, well balanced diet you can’t go wrong.

What are your top tips for coping with stress?
For me it’s just taking a moment for myself, having a cup of tea and writing a list of the things I need to get done.

What are your top tips for staying healthy?

Exercise regularly, track what you eat and have someone else to keep you accountable (my husband encourages me) and don’t forget to let yourself have little treats now and then.

Any other life tips/philosophies/motivational tips that are important to you?

Honestly the best thing that has worked for me is “everything in moderation” when it comes to food. And for just in general I really like “Dream big, work it out from there”.

Thanks Amanda for your Eat Well NZ interview x