Pheeewh. I picked most of the questions you asked on IG and answered them here! I hope you understand that I cant answer all of them.

And, you have to have to have to keep in mind that these are just answers based on my opinions and my knowledge. I’m not a licensed PT or nutritionist, just a nurse who loves working out and eating good and healthy food.

The questions are marked with + and the Swedish questions/answers are cursive. There are only Swedish translations on the questions that were asked in Swedish. 

Also, be prepared for some minor mistakes :P

Now, enjoy the answers!

+ How often do you have cheat meals?
+ Hur ofta har du nån slags cheat day?

I have one to one and a half day per week when eat whatever I want. I don’t like to call it cheat, because I don’t see Clean eating as a diet, but a lifestyle, therefore you can’t cheat :)
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Jag har en till en och en halv dag I veckan då jag äter vad jag vill. Dock kallar jag inte det för ”fuskdag” eftersom jag anser att Clean eating är mer av en livsstil än en diet, och därför kan man inte heller fuska. :)

+ What exactly is clean eating? 
+ Vad menas Egentligen med att "äta rent"?

So basically Clean eating is avoiding not only fast food, which is obviously bad, but any processed, sugary/salty foods.

When you eat Clean you eat more often, between 5-8 times per day. You eat lean protein, complex carbs, and good healthy fats. If you do this your blood-sugar levels will keep stable and YOU’ll feel satisfied, no cravings.  You will have tons of energy and feel great since you get all the nutrients you need! No stupid starving or endless hunger. And guess what? If you need to lose weight it will happen almost without you having to try. AND of course you can have a treat now and again.

When you Eat Clean your body will react by losing weight if you need to lose, maintaining a healthy weight if that’s where you are, or even gaining weight if you are too skinny.

Never worry about counting calories again. You will never have to diet. Eating Clean will keep you lean and healthy for the rest of your long life. Eating Clean guarantees results!
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Att äta Rent innebär inte bara att undvika snabbmat, som är uppenbart dåligt för en, utan också all bearbetad, sockrig/salt mat.

När du äter rent ska du äta oftare, ca 5-8 gånger om dagen. Man äter magert protein, långsamma kolhydrater och hälsosamma fetter. Detta gör att ditt blodsocker hålls på en jämn nivå vilket resulterar i att du känner dig nöjd hela tiden, inget sötsug. Du kommer att ha massvis med energi och må bra eftersom din kropp får alla näringsämnen den behöver. Ingen korkad svält eller konstant hunger.  Och vet du vad? Om du behöver gå ner I vikt kommer du att göra det nästan utan at tens försöka. Och så klart får du unna dig något mindra nyttigt då och då.

När du äter rent kommer din kropp att reagera genom att gå ner den vikt du behöver bli av med, behålla en hälsosam vikt om du har det, eller till och med gå upp i vikt om du är för smal.

Du kommer aldrig behöva räkna kalorier igen eller gå på någon diet. Att äta rent kommer att hålla dig och din kropp hälsosam för resten av livet. Att äta rent garanterar dig resultat!

+ I am in a reasonable fitness shape... I am only 4kg away from my goal and the stomach s getting flatter... jowever I have been beating my ass off n the gym for the last couple of months yet no weight loss. I say it’s the muscles building up. But I still want to break my plateau... any recommendations?

Ok so there are 2 alternatives to break a plateau. Either you step it up and increase the intensity of your workouts, or you take a week, or at least 5 days off from working out, and then get back at it again. In your case, I personally think the second alternative would be better, since it sounds like your body needs the rest to be able to get back on track! And stop looking at the scale, its only good for keeping track of major weight loss, not when you are healthy because of the muscle gains, as you say!

+ Would you recommend a 16 year old girl who works out and does some type of sport everyday for at least an hour to take protein powder?

You should eat protein powder if you feel like its hard getting all the protein you need from only food, no matter if you are 16 or 45 J You can find the brand I use here http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/whey.html

And the on the Swedish site: http://www.gymgrossisten.com/1/sv/artiklar/100-whey-gold-standard

+ How long was it till you started seeing results?

I get this question a lot, and I don’t really know how to answer it, because I mean, it’s hard to say exactly when I started. Maybe a few weeks until I saw bigger differences, but since my first goal was to lose weight I used the scale and therefore I saw results pretty much the same week as I started.

+ What supplements do you take?

None, I only drink/bake with protein powder.

+ What keeps you in your workout/diet plan? I always fail mine after 3months then I'll start again when I'm feeling super fat :(

You need to set reachable goals and rules for yourself. There is almost no one who can jump into a strict diet and workout plan and keep it forever. Start slowly and step it up gradually as you feel more comfortable. And my biggest tip: allow treats now and then, because otherwise it could be very hard to try to push through the toughest days when you really want to eat a pie or ice cream. That way you can tell yourself “Hmm ok, I really want that ice cream, BUT, I will have it on Friday instead because Fridays are my treat days”.

+ Do you drink a protein shake every day? Or after cardio?

I drink protein after workouts where I know I won’t be able to eat food right away after finishing.

+ Do you count calories and macro nutrients? Do you believe low carb diets are more effective in fat loss than a regular balanced diet with calorie deficit?

No I don’t count. I did before but I feel like the whole food thing would take up way too much time if I were to track every single thing, so I just stay clean.

I believe that low carb diets are effective, for a short while, because it's not healthy to cut out an entire source of nutrition, and you won’t be able to stay on your diet for ever because the brain needs carbs to work correctly. That’s why I advocate a clean eating lifestyle which could be sustainable for anyone, forever.

+ How do you lose weight?
+ Hur går man ner i vikt?

The basics of losing weight is keeping you calorie intake lower than what your body burns, i.e. burning more calories than you eat so that your body will take energy from stored fat instead of all the food you eat. BUT if you get on with eating clean, doing cardio and full body weight work you will lose weight. That way you won’t have to track every single calorie you eat, which is really tiring, I’ve tried.

(If you want to read about the exact way to do it by calculating your BMR and calorie need you can read on this page, it will give a good understanding http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/howtoloseweight.htm )
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Grunderna I hur man går ner I vikt är att bränna fler kalorier än man stoppar i sig, så att kroppen tvingas ta energi från lagrat fett. MEN, om du börjar med Clean eating, konditionsträning och styrketräning för hela kroppen så kommer du garanterat att gå ner i vikt. På så sätt behöver du inte räkna varenda kalori du äter, vilket är vääldigt jobbigt, jag har provat.

(Om du ändå vill läsa om hur viktnedgång funkar, dvs. genom att räkna ut ditt BMR och kaloribehov så kan du läsa på denna sidan, på engelska. http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/howtoloseweight.htm )

+With two kids and my husband’s work schedule the gym isn't an option, what at home workouts can you recommend?

Do you have any equipment? Some great things to get and keep at home are: fitness ball (there are endless exercises you can do with it), and kettlebell or dumbbells with adjustable weights. Those things will get you FAR. You can check out the at home workouts I’ve put together (http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/june/60-60-30-circuit.html, and http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/october/halloween-workout-to-do-at-home.html), but really you should just pick all the best exercises, both for cardio (burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, power jumps etc) and strength (squats, lunges, pushups, planks etc), and make your own workouts! Add more and more weight as you get stronger!

+ Where do you draw your daily inspiration to keep yourself motivated?

Mostly from knowing what I have done and what I am capable of doing, from all of you who support me and each other, and from seeing all the people who know what they’re talking about!

+ A normal food-day for you?
+ En vanlig matdag för dig?

I’ve posted this before, you can read it here: http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/july/what-i-eat.html
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Jag har skrivit detta innan, bland annat här: http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/july/what-i-eat.html

+ How do you keep your emotions in check? Generally the reason I eat awful is because I get emotional. So basically how do you keep yourself from eating like crap?

I have days where I can eat “crap”, so if I get cravings on a day which is not a crap-eating day I get a healthy snack and save the crap for the crap day lol J If you eat right, as I explained about clean eating, you won’t get cravings cause your body gets all it needs from your regular food!

+ Plz share best arm exercises. Also how often can u eat whole wheat carbs?

Some of my fav arm exercises are different curls, tricep dips, reversed barbell curls, body row, dumbbell kickbacks, close grips bench press, tricep extensions and many more!

I don’t know what you mean by “can eat carbs”, but anyway, it is individual and not the same for everybody!

+ How did you learn everything about working out and eating right? Your results are awesome! I workout several times per week, both strength and cardio and I eat healthy (allow the occasional treat) but it feels like I’ve gained more fat?!? I’ve been doing this for about 1,5-2 years.
+ Hur har lärt dig allting om träning och kost? Du har fått grymma resultat!! Jag tränar flera gånger I veckan både styrka och kondition och äter nyttigt (unnar mig sötsaker ibland) men det känns som jag bara har fått mer fett???? Jag har gjort detta i ungefär 1,5 - 2 år

Thank you, that’s so nice of you! J I’ve read and read and tried my way!

Okay… that sounds weird. Maybe you’re eating too much, even if it’s healthy food? Or maybe your workout intensity isn’t high enough! And don’t forget that you have to change you workouts every now and then to prevent the body from adjusting to it!
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Tack vad snäll du är! J Jag har läst och läst och provat mig fram!

Okej… det låter ju skumt. Du kanske äter för stora portioner, även om det är nyttig mat? Eller så tränar du inte tillräckligt intensivt! Och glöm inte att du måste ändra om i träningen då och då så att kroppen inte vänjer sig!

+ How do you know how much carbs you're supposed to eat without getting a nutritionist?

You can get an approximate calculation by using calculators like this one (http://www.freedieting.com/tools/nutrient_calculator.htm) Keep in mind that I just took the first one that came up when I google, so It might not be accurate, AND this is just roughly estimated values.

+ How do you keep cleaning eating interesting and flavorful?

Try to collect all the good recipes you can find, if you feel like your fantasy fails you! There are many people on IG who post awesome recipes every day!

Use a lot of herbs and fresh foods! They are naturally more flavorful!

+ What are some tricks for leaner, slimmer thighs?

The same as always :P Cardio and body weight exercises!

+ Do you do cardio before your workout?

Normally I do weights and cardio on different days, but sometimes, when I mix it, I try to do a quick cardio warm up (10 mins), lift my weights, and then do cardio for a bit longer at the end of my workout!

+ When trying to lose weight how many calories would U recommend I consume? And how many should I burn?

You can read what I just wrote on the question about how many carbs you should eat!

+ How do you lose the fat in your waist?

I’ve written a post about this before, you can read it here: http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/august/how-to-get-rid-of-love-handles-muffin-tops-and-belly-fat.html

+ What's your workout schedule like? How many times a week do you work out and how long? Do you have to watch what you eat as well?

Ok firstly, the food is THE biggest part of a healthy life. So yes, first you get you clean eating going, then you can start exercising! Right now my workouts are a bit messed up because I work on very different times each day, so now I have 3-4 days of working out per week. 1-2 cardio days and the rest weight lifting!

+ What are some good post workout meals or things to eat instead of sweets??

Protein powder in different shapes like pancakes, smoothies, shakes etc, or just a regular meal! Things to eat instead of sweets... well as a first step you can eat fruit instead of sweets, but after a while you might want to cut down on the sugary fruits as its still a lot of sugar, natural or not. Nuts, protein puddings/cakes/ice cream, freshly pressed juice and Greek yoghurt are good treats too.

+ What do u eat during night duty? And would u exercise before night duty or immediately after? #nurse

I don’t have night duty, but when I did I tried to eat as on a normal day but much less carbs, as your body slows down a bit, weather we’re awake or not. Hm... That’s a great question... on one hand I would do it before because that’s more normal, but then I would worry about draining my energy on working out and being tired all night :P and on the other hand I would do it after and then go straight to bed.

+ Do you have any guilty pleasures? Like one chocolate bar or ice cream?

Oooh, yes. But I try to keep them in check. But of course I fail sometimes and just get the damn ice cream instead :P 

Ok so I didnt write down the recpie, plus, some ingredients are only available in sweden so I tried to come up with good substitutions. So start with the fat and eggs, then add the almond flour, sesame seeds, salt and mix. Then start with half of the wheat bran or psyllium husk, what ever you chose, and add more until you have a good crumbly dough!

2 dl Almond flour
2-3 dl wheat bran (Vetekli. jag tog 1 1/2 dl pofiber och resten vetekli)
OR 2 dl Psyllium husk (=fiberhusk)
70 g Butter (can be switched for coconut fat)
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1-2 eggs depending on the size
Salt

Cover a round baking tin (with a removable edge or what ever its called lol). Peck the spread dough with a fork to prevent bubbles. Bake for aprox 10 mins at 220 degrees celcuis.

Filling:
2 chicken filets
Broccoli (as much as you want, or about the same volume as the chicken)
4 eggs (3 if they are big)
3 dl low fat milk
Salt and white pepper

Cut the chicken into smaller pieces. Boil the broccoli and cut into smaller pieces. Fry the chicken with some spices. Beat the eggs with the seasoning and milk until its blended. Place the chicken and broccoli in the pre cooked crust (still in the baking tin) and then pour the egg mix on. Bake for aprox 30 mins or until the egg mix has set. You might need to cover the top with foil to not burn it!

Enjoy!

We've heard a lot about both flax seeds and chia seeds. They appear to be pretty much the same thing, but guess what! They're not :)

Here are the differences and reasons to why I think you should eat chia seeds instead of flax seeds!

Flaxseeds are known for their high omega-3 fat content, a heart-healthy fatty acid. Flaxseeds contain 150 calories per 1-oz. serving. They also contain 12 g of fat, 8 g of cargohydrates and 5 g of protein -- comparable to chia seeds. Flax, however, is lower in calcium, with just 7 percent of the RDA, and phosphorus, with 18 percent of the RDA. Flax, however, contains 9 percent of the RDA for iron, while chia offers none, and 31 percent of the RDA for thiamin, 27 percent for magnesium, 35 percent for manganese and 17 percent for copper.


Brown flax seeds

Chia is a seed from the salvia plant native to Mexico, once used as a power food for Aztec warriors.
One oz. of chia seeds contains 137 calories, 9 g of fat and 4 g of protein. They are also a source of calcium, with 18 percent of the recommended dietary allowance based on a 2,000-calorie diet. One oz. of chia also offers 27 percent of the RDA for phosphorus and 30 percent for manganese.


Chia seeds

Flaxseeds must be ground to release their nutrients, but chia seeds do not. The gel-forming quality of chia makes them valuable for dieters. The gel makes you feel full longer, helping you to stick to low-calorie meal plan. Chia seeds also help with hydration, as they soak up water when they form a gel -- making them helpful for endurance athletes.

Chia seeds do NOT contain any of those toxic cyanogenic compounds (linamarin, linustatin, and neolinustatin) which are found in flax seed.

And just to compare with some common foods:

Chia seeds contain 

• 2 times the protein of any other seed or grain
• 5 times the calcium of milk
• 2 times the amount of potassium as bananas
• 3 times more iron than spinach
• and of course, copious amounts of omega-3 and omega-6

Longing for lasagna but your diet wont let you have it? THIS ONE is healthy! :)

400 g ground beef
2 onions
1 clove of garlic
400-500g of crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper
(if you want to include some béchamel sauce to make it a bit unhealthier, feel free)
1 batch of my eat clean whole grain pasta

1. Slice the onions and fry in a hot pan together with the meat and pressed/grated garlic

2. When the onions are soft, add the crushed tomatoes and spices. Add ½ cup of water and let it cook together.

3. Now it’s time to start assembling your lasagna! Depending on what kind of baking dish you use you might have to drizzle a little EVOO in the bottom of it. Start by covering the bottom of the pan with a layer of pasta sheets!

4. Then cover the pasta with some meat sauce (pour béchamel over the meat). Cover the meat layer with another round of pasta sheets and keep on layering until you don’t have any ingredients left! If you want to, you can grate some parmesan cheese over the last layer.

5. Pour a little less than ½ cup of water over the lasagna. Cook in the over on 200 degrees Celsius for about 30 mins. If the cheese gets done before the time is up; just put a sheet of foil over the lasagna to keep it from burning!

6. Tip! If you want nice square portion pieces: wait 15 mins after taking it out of the oven to let it set, then cut your piece!

Recipe for 2 people:

125 g of salmon per person
sesame seeds
egg (or just the white or yolk)
baby spinach
rocket
1 tomato
walnuts
olive oil
vinegar
dried herbs
chili
salt n pepper!

1. Crack the egg and blend it (if you have leftover yolks or whites from ex breakfast you can use one of those because you dont need much). Brush the salmon with egg on the up and down side.

2. Pour some sesame seeds on a plate and put the fish onto the seeds to coat the 'egged' sides.

3. Fry the salmon in coconut oil on medium heat for aprox 2 mins, then flip them to the other side and fry until they feel firm. Dont forget to season the fish while frying it! Let the fish rest after cooking it.

4. Wash the greens and chop the tomato and about 2 cm of the chili (finely).

5. Mix together 3 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of vinegar, the chopped chili, 1 tsp of dry herbs of your choice (I used basil, time and rosemary) and a little salt.

6. Pour the vinaigrette over your greens and mix. Plate the green salad and then plate the tomatoes really artsy on the greens. Put the salmon on the salad and sprinkle with some walnuts. MMm!

Simple and healthy!

whole grain pasta
frozen peeled shrimps
fresh oregano
scallions
lemon
black pepper
chili flakes
salt
(olive oil is optional)

1. Cook the pasta in salted water.

2. Chop scallions and oregano while the pasta's cooking.

3. When the pasta is done, drain it and add everything to the pasta and mix (no more salt, you just salt the water)! Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon. 4. Serve!

This dish is so full of flavor! Serve it with brown rice or quinoa!

200g white fish /person
Garlic
Ginger
scallions
celery
(The sauce is for 4 persons)
2 tablespoons japanese soy
1 tablespoon chinese soy
the juice of 1lime
2 tablespoons EVOO,
black pepper

1. Place the fish on square foil pieces (40x40 cm).

2. Grate aprox 1 garlic clove and 1/2 tablespoon of ginger over each of the fishes.

3. Top the fish with chopped scallions and celery.

4. Mix together the ingredients of the sauce and pour it over the fish, equally on all packages (dont forget to fold the edges up a bit before you pour the sauce).

5. Season with some black pepper and fold into small square packages, as conseald as you can!

6. Pop them on to a hot grill for 10 minutes (or in the oven).

7. ENJOY!

These little babies contain about 80 kcal each! And if made with light yoghurt they could have even less calories! For 4 pops I used:

aprox 150 g turkish yoghurt with 10% fat
1 tbsp agave sirup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp dried coconut flakes
1 banana!

1. Mix everything except the banana.

2. Cut the banana in to 3 mm slices and place 2 in every holder. Then take a tbsp of the yoghurt mix and pour in each of them.

3. Keep layering until they're filled up. Finish off by poking down a few more banana slices in to every holder.

4. Put in the freezer and wait till the next day.

5. Enjoy!

There are alot of recipes for protein pancakes, but these... You HAVE TO try!

Perfect protein pancakes! For 1 person:
1 scoop of your fav protein powder (I used chocolate)
1 tsp baking powder
a splash of cinnamon
1 whole egg + two whites (for my mega calorie boyfriend I use 1 whole eggs + my 2 left over yolks)
about half a cup of oats
a splash of light milk
1 tbsp on agave sirup
1 banana

1. Mix everything except the banana!

2. Fry! And when you see the air bubbles on the up-side it's time to poke in two banana slices and flip the pancakes after a few secs!

3. YUM! Serve with a little greek yoghurt and berries!