A formula for life

Jodie McGregor loves sport, any sport, at school, out of school and now in her job as a fitness and nutrition coach. Some she played for fun, others she competed in, representing Northern England in tetrathlon and travelling the world representing Great Britain’s junior eventing team in dressage, show jumping and cross country.

“Horse riding has always played a massive part in my life, until a couple of years ago when I decided to take a different career path,” says the 21-year-old from Rosedale Abbey in the North York Moors. “I have many wonderful memories of my career as a rider, but I absolutely love what I do now and know that it was the right decision for me.”

After qualifying as a personal trainer, Jodie’s interest in all things health and fitness started to grow. She took courses in nutrition and mental wellbeing and discovered that to look and feel good, you need a balance between eating, exercising and life. Drawing on her new-found knowledge, she set about developing Jodie's Fit Formula in a bid to make exercise and eating less daunting for her clients. “It’s all about nourishing your body, rather than punishing it, focusing on all the food you can enjoy and finding balance, rather than 'banning' foods,” she says.

“The exercise side of it is also about looking after your body, but using exercise to help get your body where you want it. I also think it is so important that you enjoy your training, so workouts are short and effective. Looking and feeling good doesn’t need to feel like a chore and definitely shouldn't take over your life – it’s all about fitting in with your lifestyle, and enhancing your daily routine.”

Working as a freelance personal trainer, Jodie travels to her clients and trains them when and where it suits them. She covers a huge area, from Darlington down to York. “We try to train outside whenever possible, as it's so nice to be out in the fresh air,” she says. “I bring my own equipment to sessions with clients, but we also do a lot of body weight training and use whatever is in the environment we are training in. This keeps the training varied and effective.”

Nutrition plays a vital role in being healthy, says Jodie. “A lot of people think that if they do exercise then they can eat what they want, but unfortunately it doesn't work like that,” she says. “It’s about balance. I try to eat a really clean diet Monday to Friday, then on the weekend if I fancy a piece of cake, I'll have it and enjoy it knowing that the odd treat won't kill me. I often hear people say they ate so much at the weekend they had to go to the gym to work it off. To me, this is all wrong. Exercise should be something that’s built into your lifestyle, and it should be enjoyable.”

* Jodie’s Fitness Formula – Recipes (£12.50 from Amazon). For more recipes and fitness tips, go to jodiesfitformula.co.uk

TOP TIPS

It’s New Year – time for a new regime

1. Strength in numbers. If you can get your friends or family on board with a new healthy routine, you will find it easy to stick at it. You can support each other when it's a struggle and you will also be more likely to turn up to a gym session if your friend is waiting to meet you there.

2. Fail to plan = plan to fail! Make time to plan for the week ahead and write meal plans to help you stay on track. This will also mean you can make a shopping list of the good stuff you will need to make your meals, rather than just turning up at the supermarket and getting drawn to those donuts on offer. Planning when you will exercise is also a good way of committing to your training sessions. Work out when it’s best to get your fitness session in, whether this is at 6am before work, or maybe a 6pm post-work session will be better for you. The key is to write it in your diary so you treat it like any other commitment.

3. Preparation is key. Prep, prep, prep! Making your lunch and snacks the night before makes life so much easier and means you are less likely to call at the bakery for a less than nutritious sausage roll. I often make slightly more of my dinner so I can have it as lunch the next day. It is also a good idea to lay out your sportswear or have your gym bag ready the night before so you can just roll out of bed, grab it and go.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Three quick fixes to put you on the road to health and fitness.

1. Go refined sugar free - sugar has no nutritional benefits. So think about swapping you regular sweet treats for an alternative made using unrefined sugar that has less of an impact on your blood sugar levels. It also contains extra nutritional elements such as antioxidants (honey, berries) or fibre (medjool dates, fruit). The first week may be a tough one, especially post-Christmas Quality Street coma, but it will be worth it.

2. Eat fresh - try to get some fresh fruit or veg into every meal. The nutrients they provide will be great for your immune system at the this time of year and I'm a great believer in making everything from scratch using the freshest ingredients. Satisfying on the palate, good for the body, and who doesn't love the feeling of sitting down to a home-made meal? If you struggle with time, make double portions and freeze them. They’ve still got all the goodness, but are ready in an instant.

3. Start small - try adding a few little workouts to your week. A lot of people go full steam ahead in January and completely burn out by February. Ease your body into a new exercise routine, then slowly up the frequency and intensity of your workouts so you are less likely to become injured or lose interest.

During the first couple of months in 2017, Jodie will be running retreats at Hollymoor House and Middleton Lodge, both near Richmond. They will be all about getting your body and mind on track using yoga, fitness training and healthy eating. They are both set in beautiful locations and I'm thrilled to be combining their luxury edge with my personalised training methods.

At Middleton Lodge, there is a Yoga Retreat in March, where guests will stay over for a weekend and get to experience yoga, meditation, exercise and mindfulness sessions. For more information, visit Middleton Lodge.co.uk

Chocolate Orange Cookies

Time: 45min; makes: 8 Cookies

Ingredients

50g coconut oil

1½ tbsp honey

75g ground almonds

30g coconut flour

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

2tsp raw cacao powder

Juice and zest of ½ an orange

For the drizzle

15g dark chocolate (85% Cocoa or more)

1tsp coconut oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160°C fan.

Melt the coconut oil and add the honey and orange juice, stir well.

In a large bowl, mix the ground almonds, coconut flour, bicarbonate of soda, cacao powder and orange zest.

Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir well.

Form 8 cookies from the mixture using your hands to create little balls then pressing them to about 1.5cm thick, place on a lined tray. Pop them in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

In a heatproof bowl placed over a pan of boiling water, or in a dish in the microwave, gently melt the chocolate and coconut oil and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is nice and runny.

Drizzle over the cooled biscuits using a teaspoon then allow the chocolate to cool and dry before eating. Store in an air tight container.

HOMEMADE CHICKEN KIEV

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 large free range chicken breasts

3 tbsp Spelt flour or gluten free flour

1 large free range egg

2 tsp coconut oil

For the pesto

1 garlic clove

Large handful of fresh basil leaves

2 tbsp pine nuts

Juice of one lemon

2 tbsp grated Parmesan

Method

Preheat the oven to 190?C (170?C fan ovens).

To make the pesto, place all the ingredients in the blender and blast until a paste has formed. If you don’t have a blender, you can use a pestle and mortar to crush the pine nuts and garlic, then finely chop the basil and add along with the remaining ingredients to the mortar and grind them together.

Make a deep slice in the side of the chicken breast, making a hollow to accommodate the pesto. Place one tablespoon of pesto inside each chicken breast.

Close the chicken up, then roll it in the whisked egg and then the flour.

Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Once the oil has melted, place each chicken breast in the pan, colour on both sides then place on a baking tray.

Pop in the oven for 35 minutes, then remove and serve with salad or courgetti.