Amanda: Have been given the ok to train for my next fight (after a frustrating few months of ligament damage) so I am back on the plan, (day 7 today) doing a week on and 2 days to carb up on good carbs. Just a little test to see if this works well for me

Amanda: Here are a few questions and a few recipes on the end…

Matt: ok sorry to hear that what ligament did you damage?

Amanda: 1) This time around i have cut out cows milk in my protein shake and replaced with water and a little yoghurt. As a result i no longer get bloated after my protein shake. Do you think the diary was causing the bloating? I also have stopped having cheese as a snack , I have feta now as part of my fat allowance in my salad.

Matt: Clearly dairy was an issue – your symptoms have told you this.

Amanda: I use organic yoghurt, would you recommend switching to soy yoghurt or carry on with natural organic, or perhaps even goats, not that i have seen goats yoghurt in Tesco!

Matt: Don’t do soya – is loaded with estrogenic potentiating compounds – fine for menopause but not for you right now….

Amanda: 2) Is it ok to grind my flaxseeds and use this in my shakes for fiber instead of the apple fibre i have used in the past. I like the nutty taste that it gives.

Matt: Yes flax is an awesome health food – grind away J

Amanda: 3) I have switched to Nutri’s Eskimo fish oil, and i am taking two tablespoons a day. Is this amount ok with the flaxseeds (tablespoon in shake x1 a day) plus the other fats in my diet. Is that a little too much. Is there any issues with taking fish oil every day, my son at 5 years old also takes a teaspoon every day and i just wanted to know your view on this.

Matt: Or for your boy 1 teaspoon is fine – but you’ve got to watch GLA levels both for you and him. Excess EPA / DHA will block GLA – you need to use borage oil for yourself and your boy – plus you are taking a bit too much fish oil at the moment – ideally you’d get a red blood cell fatty acid test done to see where you are at in terms of the amount of essential fats in your system – this is the most accurate way to measure your ideal intake. In the meantime, drop to 2 x dessert spoons and take some GLA separately – you can spread a capsule on your son’s toast.

Amanda: 4) In my local shop i was picking up the flaxseed and happened to see something called Chia Seeds. I got home and goggled them and it would appear they higher in omega and protein and fiber! and the omega content is higher than flax and fish oils. What is your view on this? have you heard of them/used them before?. I am thinking of trying them.

Matt: Chia seeds rock – get some and use them in your diet. I’m not sure they are higher than fish oils though but they are higher than flax for sure. –

Amanda: 5) Lastly i have a horrible taste in my mouth which as not happened before on this plan, it is not sweet as others have said it is more like a metallic taste and its been like it for 4 days now and driving me mad! …any thoughts on that , i am also finding my recovery a little sore, i know i have not trained as hard due to the injury , but i did keep up my cardio with swimming and low impact. I just seem to have a lot of muscle stiffness, which i have never had before, i am riding it , but worth asking you as it might be something i am doing/not doing.

Matt: Interesting – you may be over / under consuming protein and inadequate carbs (the first time I’ve said this)! – it can indicate a higher breakdown of protein in the body. I would look to increase carbs post training with protein – and lowering the fish oil should help. Also don’t over do the green tea – 5 cups a day is loads – if you take capsules maybe dont have the tea as well.

Amanda: I also wanted to say that i stuck to 21% body fat even though i was off the plan and having done the plan 3 times now i notice that each time, it is easier and in general the results i get are better than the first time. I look leaner, almost taller…if that makes sense!

Matt: Great news – is the 21% on callipers or the scales – sometimes the scales can get ‘stuck’ once you are a certain level – then it’s better to use tape measure. Clothes and callipers.

Matt: thanks for the recipes.

Amanda: Recipes are below:

For maintenance I have been cooking these recovery flapjacks if you wanted to put the recipe on the site

5oz butter

2ox organic brown sugar

5tbsp goldern syrup

7oz porridge oats

2oz chopped dates

3.5oz chopped walnuts

Preheat overn to 180 and lightly oil a 9in square baking tin

Put butter , sugar and syrup in a saucepan and heat , stirring occasionally until butter has melted. Remove

Mix in the oats and dates and walnuts until thoroughly combined

Transfer the mix to the prepared tin, level the surface and bake in the oven for 20-25 mins…until golden but still soft in the middle.

Score into bars.

The other recipe I did which people can play around and I think you could use in the first phase with your say so is below:

Chicken and bacon Quiche (Eat cold for next day salad, it is great!) Bacon can be taken out also…prehaps add red onion/chilis/tomatoes organic sausages.

Ingredients;

4-5oz Lean Bacon

1 chicken breast

3 eggs

8oz v.l.f. cottage cheese

Seasoning to taste (Anything, I have used curry powder, herbs, turmeric etc)

Method;

Slightly grill the bacon and chop it up.

Chop the chicken into bite size pieces and using cocnoil, fry /griddle them.

Beat the eggs and add the cottage cheese, then add the bacon and chicken.

Mix everything together and pour into a Flan dish.

Cook in a preheated oven at 200oC, 4000F or Gas Mark 6 for 15 minutes

(ensuring the chicken is cooked through).

And here is a nice easy pastry base using flax.

For the base

1 1/4 cups flaxseed meal
3-4 Tbs. xylitol

1 tsp. cinnamon
one extra large egg white, beaten until frothy
1 Tbs. melted butter

Just mix together and pat into the base of your chosen pan and bake for 10 minutes before adding the topping.