Yuliyana Doncheva is a Bulgarian businesswoman and TV presenter, former member of parliament. She is married to MMA fighter Stanislav Nedkov - Stucky. He has two sons. She has been interested in he althy lifestyle and nutrition for years. Recently, her first book dedicated to he alth was also published. We caught up with her to tell us what made her write, whether it was easy, what she learned while creating the book, and what's next. Here's what he answered:
Your book Code Red: My Truth About Food was recently released. How did the idea for it come about, what was the process like, how did it all start?
- I have been dealing with a proper way of eating for many years. I'm not talking about he althy, because that word is already worn out. From the numerous tips given by people who understand and not so much about he althy eating. Everyone is already giving advice. I am one of those people who personally managed almost 50 kg. from my own weight because of my first pregnancy when I passed 100 kg. Then I became interested in ways I could get in shape quickly because I was doing a TV show that didn't allow for the look I had at that moment.
My interest intensified when I married Stanislav. He was an active athlete at the time and I met daily with his coaches and people who are responsible for the proper nutrition of active athletes. I wanted to be able to prepare his food in a way that was best suited for an active athlete. His trainers Irina and Georgi Delchevi, who have international experience and train many world-famous personalities, gave me the guidelines for a really proper, he althy diet.
I started applying these methods on my family and friends, close people. All began to experience weight adjustments. I found that these practices of mine clearly work and I decided to make a TV show in which I will tell and show the foods that work well for us.
And for the book, was the writing itself easy for you?
- I had accumulated a lot of factual material. I knew a lot of things like food preparation technology, how to clean food from harmful contaminants. I needed to somehow wrap this information into one. That was a lot of work in writing.
While preparing the book and going through all kinds of opinions, what is the biggest misconception you encountered about proper nutrition and he althy living?
There are many misconceptions, maybe I won't be able to say which one is the biggest. The first misconception is that one must have breakfast in the morning. I have indicated that there are two options - people who can have breakfast and people who can't. In both cases, I have shown what should be done if we decide to lose weight or feel energetic during the day. The other big fallacy, it might be the biggest fallacy, is that you lose weight with fresh fruit What is widely claimed - go on a fruit diet and you will lose weight. There is no way if you put 4-5 fruits in a smoothie and drink it in a few seconds, you can expect to lose weight. It is a concentrated form of carbohydrates. Think logically. Can you eat 5 fruits at once?!
It will be like a body bomb
- Some eat fruit all day and drink smoothie after smoothie and ask why there is no effect.
The next fallacy is that you don't lose weight with sports. There's no way to get your metabolism going if you don't move, if you're not energetic. There's a way to work out - when to eat, when to work out, in what sequence.
And also hunger. Doesn't lose weight by fasting. There is therapeutic fasting that is recommended for certain types of diseases, but fasting should not be relied upon to lose weight. One has to find the right way to eat.
There is also a big misconception regarding milk. I have included this and quoted the BLITZ site with an opinion of a Russian professor who says that fresh milk can really be eaten, especially if it is not subjected to any processes and is homemade. There is such a movement around the world right now to bring back the consumption of milk when it is not processed and inspected. Then there is no he alth problem to consume it. It can only be a problem if doctors detect such an intolerance.
We are currently becoming dependent on a fad in nutrition. We begin to self-impose restrictions on gluten, milk, meat, whatever, without the need for it. We need to know. Neither meat, nor milk, nor vegetables, nor fruits are harmful. All these foods are harmful in a contaminated version. We need to differentiate between clean and contaminated food, not just exclude some food group. Things are being separated incorrectly.
Do you have any advice on eating in the different seasons? It's winter now, should one change one's regimen and is it possibly the safest to not harm one's self?
The most important advice listen to your own body. There is nothing that applies to absolutely everyone in the same way. Everyone needs different products, different substances, different foods. It depends on the daily life you lead. Athletes need certain foods because they train hard. Those who work in offices from others. So we cannot give one general advice for everyone. The only thing you can and should know is the origin of the food and its proper processing.
It is rarely said that we process food extremely improperly, such as frying in olive oil It is never subjected to heat treatment because it becomes carcinogenic. Even watching cooking channels - they pour olive oil into the pan, stir, cook, and its texture changes. In general, everyone should be familiar with oils. Made a scale to what temperature each oil can be heated so that it does not become dangerous to our he alth.
Also very important – not to heat the honey. Heat-treated honey sweets are sold en masse. When honey is heated to certain degrees, it also becomes carcinogenic.
And if it is sugared. Isn't that the easiest way to re-liquefy?
- Up to 40 degrees there is no problem for honey. From then on. I've heard of putting honey in a pan, frying it, making sauces, all kinds of variations, which is hellishly harmful. Exactly such things that I have seen in world practice.
I signed up with an American foundation that is for he althy foods and they send me materials and most of the things that I have written, I have taken information from different scientific forms, I have trusted Italian professors, in Russian, so that there is a maximum accurate description of foods, because it turns out that many things are deliberately hidden.
Did you manage to collect all the tips in one book, or should we expect a new one?
- Many things were left out of the book, many things I deliberately did not include because I think people will panic. My point is not to cause any stress, but to sharpen attention to the problems. I wish to continue the " Code Red" streak. I know what the new topic will be, I just don't know how I will cope with time.
Will you reveal who she is?
- It will again be related to he alth, but from a different angle. I won't release it so that someone doesn't steal it from me (laughs). I gather quite a few people, professors. It will be more difficult to shape, so I need time.
