Friday, September 29, 2006

Almost One Month

I started this one month ago on Monday 2nd October so I've chosen that day on which to take new measurements and post them here. We'll see if the hard work has paid off. Actually I know it has - I can feel it. But more of that later. Once again I can only fit in the basics today, and probably for the next few days as well:

Weight: 8st 7
Fat: 28%
Exercise: 390 cals
Charlie Brooks

Food today:

  • porridge with full-fat milk (how delicious. I can't ruin it with skimmed)
  • almonds
  • dried apricots
  • romaine lettuce, tuna, houmous, red onion, olives, cucumber, tomatoes
  • 1 chocolate finger
  • 3 pints of water
  • 1 cup of coffee
  • brown pasta and bolognese Loyd Grossman sauce (it's low in fat) with tuna mixed in
  • wine

Oh no, it's Nick's birthday tomorrow. Can I resist pigging out at some point over the weekend? I think I can.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

The Basics

Weight: 8st 6.5
Fat: 28% (it will go down) I must eat more, believe it or not
Exercise: 430 cals Charlie Brooks

Food today:

  • shredded wheat
  • kiwi fruit
  • romaine lettuce, olives, houmous etc
  • 2 fajitas with chicken
  • glass of wine
  • 3 pints of water
  • 2 cups of coffee

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Fab Workout

Today, having become just a little bored with rotating the same exercise DVDs all the time, I borrowed a copy of Charlie Brooks' Before and After Workout. I was so sure it would be rubbish that I didn't want to risk wasting my money on it. How wrong could I be!

This workout is a good one if you don't mind a few initially-challenging steps and working up a sweat. I enjoyed the first two parts so much I hadn't even realised I'd already burnt a pile of calories. Although the Davina Power of 3 is effective, you really know you're working hard right from the beginning, but with Charlie's it's enough fun and the steps are complicated enough to take your mind off the work. The "high intensity" bit nearly killed me though. I enjoyed that. No, really, I did. It was still fun. And I even liked the pilates cooldown. I don't even usually bother with a cooldown but this one is great for the stomach and not too hard for me. It's not your usual crunches and that's what I like. Another positive is the fact that Charlie looks so fantastic you just have no choice but to feel motivated, especially as there's some footage of her at the beginning of the dvd at the point where she's only just started on her fitness regime. The difference is quite startling. Go girl, go! Wonder if she still looks that good a year later...........

The downside is purely that I would probably expire if I did this every day, so I'll just do it several times a week, after all my heart rate was up to 182 bpm quite a lot of the time. Much higher than I'm told it should go for my age. But if I feel discomfort I do stop. I've done some fitness tests based on my resting heart rate and they have come out as excellent, so I probably shouldn't worry. Enough......On with the facts for today:

weight: 8st 8
Fat: 28% (I worked out today that almost all of the weight I've lost is fat and I'm very pleased)
Exercise: 440 cals Charlie Brooks

Food today:
  • shredded wheat with full fat milk as usual
  • ratatouille
  • green beans and a little brown pasta
  • roasted butternut squash & onions with rocket in balsamic vinegar & olive oil, chicken stir-fried with spices, roasted cherry tomatoes and green peppers
  • some figs

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Quick Ratatouille

couple of onions
couple of courgettes
an aubergine
a red pepper
a green pepper if you like
cherry tomatoes (I use a minimum of 250g)
tomato puree if, like me, you're cheating a bit
garlic

Use as little olive oil as you can (I'm naughty. I use two tbsp) to fry the onions and soften them up a bit. I use a heavy Le Creuset casserole dish for this. When the onions are looking a bit soft but not brown, add loads of crushed garlic. Give it a stir and then add your sliced courgettes (not too thinly sliced - you don't want them mushy), the diced aubergine, peppers and tomatoes (you can leave them whole) and bung the tight-fitting lid on after giving it a good stir. If once the veggies are tender, it doesn't seem tasty enough, throw in a bit of tomato puree. I know, Gordon wouldn't be pleased (oh, how I fancy Gordon), but never mind. I doubt I'll ever have the pleasure of his company.

The thing is, this is extremely quick to make and lovely and tasty and distinctly lacking in millions of calories. And of course, all the vegetables are nutritious (just add something for protein), though mine probably couldn't muster a single vitamin between them as I got them at Tesco and we all know how they produce their veg.........

Weight: 8st 7
Fat: still 28%
Exercise: 240 cals Hotpants

Food today:
  • shredded wheat
  • ratatouille with some tuna
  • black grapes
  • ham (it's bad; all those preservatives)
  • a few yoghurt-coated cranberries
  • chow mein
  • 4 pints of water
  • 1 cup of black coffee

Monday, September 25, 2006

Another Reason to Avoid Sugar

Of course, we already know too much sugar is bad for us. Not just the sugar in chocolate and sweets but refined foods, such as white rice, pasta, bread etc. There has been evidence of a link between high sugar consumption and cancer for a while, but now researchers from Harvard may have figured out why this is and how to use it against the disease . The following is taken from Patrick Holford's 100% Health newsletter:

"Cancer spreads because cancer cells grow and take over neighbouring healthy cells, largely by cutting off their access to oxygen-carrying blood cells, thus starving them of oxygen. The cancer cells can revert to a simpler mode of survival, running off sugar, without the need for oxygen. Researchers from Harvard Medical School have now found that blocking this ability may be an effective anti-cancer therapy.

Of course, this revelation will be used to develop anti-cancer drugs, but the implication is that a high-sugar diet feeds cancer. The evidence already shows a strong link between sugar consumption and increased cancer risk. This may be the main mechanism behind it".

So many members of my extended family have died from one cancer or another (none of them were particularly young, as my doc pointed out) . You'd think that would be incentive enough to eat more fruit and veg etc. But no. I've eaten hardly any fruit recently. Must try harder. I like to come across the odd article here and there, just to remind me of the benefits of a healthy diet. I know it's ok to splurge every now and then, as long as my diet is mainly good. That's the bit I'm concerned with - the mainly good bit!

Weight: 8st 7.5
Fat: 28% (My weight is going down too fast in relation to the fat%. Must do more resistance work to keep my lean tissue)
Exercise: 305 cals Davina's Power of 3, plus extra free weights on top of that

Food today:

  • shredded wheat
  • black grapes
  • dried fig
  • cup of Alpro soya milk
  • spinach, cucumber, ham, houmous, red onion, tomatoes, olives (I do have other lunches planned for this week but can't stand wasting food)
  • salmon baked in fresh orange, soy sauce, garlic and spring onions, with boiled potatoes, carrots and green beans
  • 5 pints of water
  • 1 cup of black coffee

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Business as Usual



We had such a lovely day at the seaside. Starting off at West Wittering, where it was so windy (yet warm) that there was a mild sandstorm going on the whole time we were there. We were lucky with the weather, it being so warm and breezy. At 4 o clock-ish it started to look a bit stormy and we moved on to Brighton, where it just happened to be sunny still. What a beautiful evening. We all had a fabulous time. And I ate too much of all the wrong things, mostly because it's easier to find unhealthy food than light and healthy food. Still, for one day it doesn't matter. and I was back on course yesterday. (Yes, I actually wore a "kind-of" bikini, and it just goes to show that if you sit in such a way as to hide the rolls of nastiness, you might get away with it. Apart from the really white bod).


I think I'm going to have to incorporate more resistance work into my workout as that really helps to speed up the metabolism and burn fat.

Anyway...

Weight: 8st 9
Fat: 28%
Exercise: 300 cals
Hotpants

Food today:

  • porridge oats with whole milk
  • ham, houmous, spinach, red oinion, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, sweetcorn
  • peas
  • brazil nuts
  • baked potato and chilli
  • wine

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Another Busy Day

I just have time to post my food for today......and tomorrow we're going to West Wittering and then Brighton for the day, so there may be nothing until Friday. I'll probably have some deliciously naughty things tomorrow, but not too many!

Weight: 8st 8.5
Fat: 28%

Exercise: 250 cals
Hotpants

Food today (not too good, due to bad planning)

  • shredded wheat
  • 120g packet of yoghurt-coated raspberries (not healthy)
  • a Carr's Cheese Melt
  • dried prunes
  • small packet of low-fat pretzels (disgusting)
  • chicken, roasted butternut squash and onion in balsamic vinegar dressing, with rocket, roasted cherry tomatoes and peppers
  • 1 chocolate finger
  • lots of black grapes

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Motivation #1

This dress is a Karen Millen silk dress and I bought it with the intention of wearing it whenever I wanted, as opposed to just on special occasions. It fitted me (just) until I had Charlie and then....well, I can get it on but it looks pretty tight. Feels pretty restricting, too! So, every now and then (usually around midnight for some reason) I try it on, along with other hopefuls - there are quite a few in this gang - and it motivates me into action. I will wear it again, without looking like an overstuffed sausage.

Weight: 8st 8.5
Fat: 28%
Exercise: 460 cals
Hotpants Workout and some resistance training using free weights. Later on: Cardio Box

Food today:

  • Shredded wheat (I know, a creature of habit)
  • brazil nuts
  • dried apricots
  • strawberries
  • wild and white rice, spinach, ham, houmous, cucumber, tomato, olives, red onion (have you noticed it's often a variation on a theme?)
  • chicken cooked with onion, chillis and spices, with thai salad and rice noodles
  • 4 pints of water
  • 2 cups of fresh black coffee (as usual)

Monday, September 18, 2006

Chow Mein


    Since I still don't have time to concoct a reasonably interesting entry, I'm providing the chow mein recipe, as mentioned recently:

    Serves Two Quite Piggie People
    • 2 blocks of medium egg noodles
    • bunch of spring onions ,cut into whatever size you like
    • a red pepper, whatever size pieces you like
    • some mushrooms, sliced (I use 250g chestnut mushrooms)
    • bag of beansprouts
    • some garlic (I use a whole bulb)
    • some sesame oil
    • some dark soy sauce

    Cook your noodles. Rinse them in cold water immediately, to stop them cooking further and sticking together. Make the sauce by mixing 4 tbsp (yes, tablespoons) of soy sauce with 2tbsp of sesame oil (don't worry, sesame oil is good for you and a good proportion of it will be left behind in the wok, anyway). In olive oil, stir-fry your red pepper, mushrooms and spring onions until they're as you like them. MAKE SURE THERE IS NO EXCESS JUICE LEFT IN THE WOK ONCE THE VEGGIES ARE COOKED-DRAIN IT. Add the beansprouts and garlic and cook just long enough to get them warm, then add the noodles and the sauce and do the same again. Nick has his with spicy prawns. I have it as it is.

    Food today:

    • shredded wheat
    • dried figs
    • dried apricots
    • black grapes
    • mackerel, spinach, red onion, cucumber, half an avocado, olives, sweetcorn,
    • chow mein
    • 4 pints of water
    • 1 cup of black coffee

    Weight: 8st 9

    Fat: 29%

    Exercise: 200cals. squats and stomach. Can't really complain, as burning those 200 cals only took 30 mins, with no travelling time, unlike when I was a gym member. And 30 mins has got to be worth it.

    Saturday, September 16, 2006

    Weekend

    Saturday Food:

    • shredded wheat
    • strawberries, plain
    • dried fig
    • watercress, baby spinach, ham, half an avocado, red onion, olives, cucumber, tomato
    • baked potato & chilli
    • 2 pints of water
    • third of a bottle of wine

    Sunday Food:

    • shredded wheat
    • strawberries
    • brazil nuts
    • dried figs
    • watercress, ham, houmous, onion, tomato, cucumber, olive
    • more olives
    • dried apricots
    • wild rice/white rice and chilli
    • wine
    • 3 pints of water
    • 1 cup of black coffee

    Exercise: 400 cals, most of Hotpants and the weights and stomach bits of Davina

    Weight: 8st 8.5

    Fat: 29%

    Friday, September 15, 2006

    Headache

    It's another short post. I've had a headache for two days now, which I find extremely irritating, seeing as I'm being so healthy. It's all down to the tension in my neck, which is caused by all the little niggling worries at the back of my mind. Usually I have quite a symbiotic relationship with my Little Worries. I let them live with me and they in turn spur me into action (that should be scare me into action). But they must have got the better of me these last two days. Oh, how much I detest a headache! I did my Hotpants workout and some housework this morning, in the hope that the endorphins would banish the discomfort and it worked for about an hour. I'll get some root ginger this afternoon and make an infusion to drink. If that doesn't work, well ibuprofen is the last resort.

    Sorry about this moaning.

    Exercise: 300 cals Hotpants (plus another 100 for washing floors and the bathroom!)

    Food today:
    • shredded wheat
    • ratatouille and chicken from yesterday (delicious it was, too)
    • huge apple from garden
    • brazil nuts
    • 2 Carr's cheese melt crackers
    • 1 cup of black coffee
    • 3 pints of water
    • watercress salad with mackerel, new potatoes and various salad bits
    • 2 dried figs
    • couple of glasses of wine

    Thursday, September 14, 2006

    PMT? What PMT?

    Yes, this morning I suddenly realised that in the last few days I have not been Evil Incarnate. Usually - no, not always, but sometimes - I suffer so badly from PMT it's scary. It only lasts a day or two but the power of it is incredible. I am completely taken over by the PMT demon and am not myself at all. I won't go into the details and bore you silly, but it's bad. BUT this only happens when I'm eating badly and not exercising. Almost without fail, I don't suffer a single PMT symptom when I'm active and eating well. So, there's another reason to carry on (for the sake of my loved-ones, especially Nick!).

    One day I will be better organised and outline all the reasons a good diet helps with PMT, but today I am too lazy.

    Weight: 8st 9.5
    Fat: 28%

    Exercise: None

    Food today:

    • two slices of wholegrain and cranberry bread, toasted and spread thinly with jam
    • brazil nuts
    • ham, spinach, red onion, olives, cucumber, houmous
    • chicken cooked in a tomato and mushroom sauce, with 50g brown pasta and lots of ratatouille

    Wednesday, September 13, 2006

    Encouraging

    Well, I started this mission ten days ago (just before I decided to blog it) and it has already made a difference, not so much on the scales, but enough for me (and Nick, this morning) to notice the difference in my jeans. I couldn't wear the jeans anymore because, although I could squeeze them on, they were uncomfortable and looked pretty bulgy. There's not a huge difference but it's enough to make a difference. And I haven't starved in the process. Just got to keep up the healthy eating and the exercise.

    I can't seem to separate the healthy diet part from the exercise part. I know I've said so many times, but I'm an all-or-nothing sort of person and this is the area where it most shows. One of the reasons I sometimes put off the diet bit is the fact that I feel can't do it without exercising, and if I don't feel like committing myself to the exercise, I just can't be bothered with the healthy eating. I can see how ridiculous that is - after all, we should try to eat in a reasonably healthy way every day, regardless of any physical activity (even if it means having the odd treat so we don't feel too deprived). But unless I feel like doing both, I don't feel it's worth it. Talk about making it hard for myself! Especially when I know it's so illogical. Having said that, exercise is what makes all the difference. Not just in losing weight or building muscle, but in general health and feeling great, and not crap. Also, oxygenating your cells through exercise is excellent on the anti-aging front.

    Weight: 8st 9
    Fat 29%

    Exercise: 350 cals
    Davina's Power of Three

    Food today:
    • shredded wheat
    • tuna with houmous, spinach, olives, sweetcorn, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber
    • pear
    • 1 Carr's cheese melt biscuit
    • prunes
    • 5 pints of water
    • 1 cup of black coffee
    • one big fajita (red, yellow and green peppers, onion, chicken, spices, olive oil, sprinkled with lime juice and wrapped in a wheatflour tortilla wrap)

    Tuesday, September 12, 2006

    Even Quicker

    I have a lot to do today, so it's just the basics.

    Weight: 8st 9.5
    Fat: 28%

    Food:

    • Shredded wheat (surprise)
    • Two Carr's Cheese Melt crackers with houmous, some brazil nuts and some spicy couscous from yesterday
    • Home-made chowmein

    Today's meals are not as balanced as usual (too many carbs and no quality protein). I went to visit my mum in Bletchley for a large chunk of the day, amongst other things.

    Exercise: 170 cals. Davina Kick-boxing

    Monday, September 11, 2006

    Quickie

    As the title implies, it's a brief post today. Is it possible for the Princess to do this, you ask (you would have a point there).

    This morning my weight is 8st 10 and fat, 29%. It does tend to go quite slowly when I'm doing it this way - not cutting back completely on all the oil and the oily foods. But this is okay, as long as the oil consumed is the right kind. In fact, it's better for you (well, maybe not if you drizzled oil over EVERYTHING). My fat % will go down and I won't have deprived myself too much in the process. However, note that I haven't eaten one biscuit/piece of cake/packet of crisps etc. etc.)


    Food today:

    • Porridge with milk
    • dried ready to eat prunes
    • brazil nuts
    • houmous, spinach, red onion, olives, tomato, cucumber (got to use it all up)
    • salmon baked in soy and orange sauce (with spring onions, garlic, ginger), spicy couscous, rocket and various salad bits
    • 3 pints of water
    • 2 cups of black coffee
    • unless I say otherwise, our meals are home-made

    Weight 8st 10

    Fat 29%

    Exercise: 330 cals Dan Karaty's Hotpants workout - 35mins (slipped that one in at 7:45 between putting Charles to bed and eating dinner). This is such a fantastic cardio workout I can feel rivulets of perspiration crawling down my neck as I type. Lovely.

    Sunday, September 10, 2006

    Altered State of Mind

    Okay, I know it's only been less than a week since I started this, but already I'm seeing some benefit, though not the skinny kind. Whenever I buckle down and shift my focus to a healthy diet and some regular exercise, after a little time I suddenly realise that I haven't been my usual self - I mean the one that worries about contracting a life-threatening disease every five minutes. There are two reasons that a healthy regime has this effect on me:

    1. I'm too busy thinking about eating and doing healthier things to concentrate on bad thoughts.
    2. The very fact that the thing I'm concentrating on is a healthier way of living helps to reassure me that I'm perfectly healthy.

    So there you are. Another good reason to "do the right things" lifestyle-wise. I'll still have a little coffee and wine, as I've found that if I don't, I find it more difficult to maintain.

    Right, food today:

    • shredded wheat and milk
    • avocado, raw spinach, radish, red onion, olive, ham, houmous, tomatoes, cucumber (you may have noticed that my lunch is often a variation on a theme-it's cost efficient)
    • Thai salad (romaine lettuce, grated carrot, cucumber, sesame oil, olive oil, lime juice, red chilli, fish sauce) with glass noodles and chicken.
    • Third of a bottle of rose wine.
    • 2 cups of black coffee
    • 4 pints of water

    Weight today 8st 9.5

    Fat 30%

    Exercise: 300 cals Dan Karate's Hotpants workout (a cardio killer!!!!).

    Saturday, September 09, 2006

    Magic Mirror




    This is the mirror I exercise in front of. It's magic. It makes the viewer appear thinner by quite a bit. I must say, even though I know it's not the real Alice looking back at me, it's still quite motivating, if only because I know maybe I could look that trim!

    I didn't weigh myself this morning, so no figures today. I'm eating a healthy lunch right now and I do have my evening meal planned but we're going out tonight (not a common occurrence), so who knows what might happen?

    Food today:

    • Shredded wheat (yes, again)
    • mackerel, red onion, radishes, sweetcorn, tomatoes, cucumber, olives
    • chilli (home-made, with extra-lean beef mince) and a baked potato
    • a few brazil nuts
    • 3 pints of water
    • 2 cups of black coffee
    • wine. Qty to be determined

    Exercise: 200 cals Davina's squats (hundreds of the things) and stomach exercises.

    Friday, September 08, 2006

    Me in 2004



    Here is a nice little photo of me looking chubby. This is the roundest I've ever been. Funny how the excess fat doesn't go on evenly all round. I mean, when I gain pounds (I'm about a stone heavier in this photo, than I am now) it mainly pads out my hips. Okay, I do look fatter all over but my body-shape is completely different when I'm fatter. When I lose some fat, my hips slim down much faster than my waist, for instance. I wonder what my body-shape would be if I got the fat % down to, say, 23%.

    Anyway, this morning I weigh 8st 9.5. But my fat content is back up to 30%. This is normal, at least for me. I know the fat percentage will catch up, but only as long as I exercise enough and don't diet too much. I'm dismayed when my weight goes down and the fat% doesn't change. This is very bad news, as it means I'm losing lean tissue and not fat. Cripes.

    Today is shopping day, which means that I'll have something quick for my dinner tonight (maybe even a jar of Loyd Grossman pasta sauce "convenience meal". I can't help it. It's my treat and one of my favourites. Tomato and basil or tomato and roasted garlic, or chilli. But there are much worse convenience meals). Or maybe I'll resist the temptation and just have salad and mackerel.

    By the way, check out this mother and daughter. I'm not suggesting body-building is for everyone (not me, anyway), but I look at people like this for inspiration. If I remember rightly Kelly (the older one, who is over 70) didn't start training until she was in her fifties. Look what she's achieved. Surely I can achieve a fraction of that?

    Weight 8st 9.5

    Fat 30%

    Exercise 410cals (320 cals Davina's Cardio Box and Upper Body workout with weights and 1 minute cardio intervals, plus 90cals vigorous hoovering session whilst haer-rate still up - it's more effective).


    Food today:

    • shredded wheat and milk (yes, my breakfasts are repetetive)
    • dried apricots and some olives (running out of food)
    • adzuki bean chilli
    • blackcurrants
    • tiny bag of yoghurt-coated cranberries
    • loyd Grossman bolognese sauce (much lower fat than his others) and brown pasta.
    • Brazil nuts
    • third of a bottle of Jacob's Creek Shiraz Rose
    • 4 pints of water
    • 2 cups of black coffee

    Note: I have posted this in advance of the actual eating of it. I will amend it if it deviates from the plan.

    Thursday, September 07, 2006

    Ouch!



    Well, I still can't do any exercise, since I can barely walk. I don't have an injury, I just ache. That Davina workout is so good (and I have tried a few). It really does work if you put the effort in, but my inner-thighs and my bottom and the back of my legs are so sore, I was aware every time I moved in my sleep. That is how much my fitness has slipped since February. I'd been doing Davina's two DVD's for three months almost every day and had no problem doing that. I know that the next time I workout (maybe tomorrow) the aching will be less that time. Fitness and stamina do improve pretty quickly.

    Anyway, reasons the Davina Power of Three DVD is so good:

    1. It's not namby-pamby dancing.
    2. It's a no-nonsense workout that gets straight to the point with no messing about.
    3. It's hard work and really is good for stamina.
    4. You don't need a lot of room to do it.
    5. It incorporates free-weights. Resistance training is a very important part of exercising.
    6. There are hundreds of squats in this workout, but there are lots of variations, so they're not boring.
    7. The stomach section is good. I hate stomach exercises but there aren't so many in this that it's beyond me. But there are enough to make a difference.
    8. It really gets your heart-rate up with intervals of cardio throughout.
    9. I like Davina.

    If I don't feel like doing the whole of the Power of Three workout, I'll do the cardio-box from Davina's 30 minute workout DVD. Now, that is fun! Lots of springing about and kicking out and punching. It's very upbeat and burns about 170 cals (as opposed to the 350 or so for the Power of Three).

    Now is the time to apologise for the artistic quality of my photos on this blog. I haven't been worrying too much about presentation, in favour of just posting a pic of something as it is. So, please excuse spills, cutlery, and general lack of effort!

    Weight today 8st 11

    Fat 29%

    Food consumed:

    • shredded wheat with a little milk
    • spicy couscous with spinach
    • almonds
    • some peas
    • butternut squash roasted with onion, in balsmaic vinegar & olive oil, chicken with hot chilli coating, roasted punnet of cherry tomatoes and green and yellow pepper
    • 4 pints of wtar
    • 1 cup of black coffee

    No fruit today, as I've run out and it's shopping day tomorrow.

    Recipe for Spicy Couscous

    Bunch of spring onions, red or yellow pepper, 1tsp each of cumin, coriander and paprika. Generous pinch of saffron. 225g of couscous. 350ml of stock (I use chicken stock from a cube). A few cloves of garlic.

    Stir and fry the crushed garlic, coriander, cumin and paprika in just a little olive oil for a minute (but don't burn the garlic!). Add the stock, saffron, chopped spring onions and chopped pepper. Heat until it comes to the boil and then pour in the couscous. Give it a good stir. Take it off the heat and put a tight lid on it. After 5 minutes or so, stir it and it's ready! You can squeeze some lime juice on, or add pine nuts or whatever. I'm not afraid of adding a little more oil, myself. I don't really count calories but I like to have some idea of how much of something I can eat without being a piggy-wig. Cooked using 15ml of oil, there are about 1000cals in this recipe. The weight of the whole lot, cooked, is around 750g. A portion of about 200g is approx 280cals (ish). When on a diet you must consume enough calories to stop your metabolism from slowing down. You must eat enough.

    Yum yum yum.

    Wednesday, September 06, 2006

    Way Back When


    On this new blog I will try to post my current weight and fat% every day, together my my daily food consumption. Sometimes I may choose to ramble on about something relevant (even if only tenuously relevant).

    I was thinking the other day about my eating habits back in my late teens and early to mid twenties. As a child, of course I was taught about the vitamins, and fat, protein and carbohydrate. I knew their roles vaguely but nobody ever stressed the importance of nutrition or the effect it has on your health, beneficial or otherwise.

    By my late teens I was working. Nobody was cooking me a main meal at home, so I used to grab a salad sandwich (I really do mean: white bread, cucumber and tomato-that's it) and revel in the fact that, since the only thing I'd had for lunch was a mug of hot chocolate (for energy), I should be really nice and skinny soon. In fact, I only weighed about 7st as it was. There were days when I just could not be bothered to stand up, I was so lacking in energy and I remember wondering why I'd feel so drained all the time. Surely I wasn't supposed to live my life feeling so terrible? I honestly did not know it was due to my eating habits.

    The years passed and I bought a house and became interested in cooking more than hot chocolate and my eating improved slightly, though in a erratic manner. My weight was always around 7.5 st in my mid twenties.

    Then I picked up a book called "Food-Your Miracle Medicine", by Jean Carper and it was an epiphany for me. As I turned the pages I couldn't believe what I was reading, and how exciting it was - that food could have such a curative effect on the body, and affect your hormones, physical and mental health, ageing, and the list goes on. From that day on I was much more aware of the food I ate and how lacking my nutrition had been for years. It's a subject I still find fascinating.

    Now I sometimes wonder at how I treated my body. After all, what can be more important than good health? And it's a fact that everything we do over the years has a cumulative effect on our bodies, so who knows how much harm is done through the failure to educate children properly.

    Disclaimer: Sometimes, when I'm feeling a bit devil-may-care, I will eat crappy food for a few weeks (I mean that as well as the good food, I'll eat biscuits, vanilla ice-cream, crisps, buttered toast with jam etc) , knowing all the time how bad it is for me. But the good always wins over in the end.

    I started to learn anatomy and physiology a few years ago, so I could go on to learn nutrition and
    one day be a clinical nutritionist but I have no willpower when it comes to home-study and gave-in (my OH still reminds me, as it cost A LOT).

    • shredded wheat with a small amount of full-fat milk
    • walnuts
    • raw spinach, ham, houmous, cucumber, tomatoes, olives
    • 2 cups of black coffee
    • 4 pints of water
    • naturally-dried apricots
    • adzuki bean chilli (adzuki beans, red pepper, carrots, stock, tomatoes, tomato puree, onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, chilli powder) and brown rice with rocket


    weight today 8st 11 (123lbs)
    Fat 29%

    Suddenly my fat percentage is 29%, and not 30%. My previous 30% reading must have been borderline with 29% and not 31% as I'd assumed.

    BTW There may not be any exercise for a couple of days, since my inner-thighs, front and back of thigh, chest, arms etc...are ACHING LIKE CRAZY from my Davina workout. I only did two thirds of each exercise, trying to avoid too much aching. Ha! After a few times I'll be able to do it more often. But I'll start off slowly.

    Tuesday, September 05, 2006

    An Explanation





    1. I have been feeling terrible lately. Really, I have. Most people are only aware of how good they usually feel, once they feel ill! Not me. I know I usually feel great and I am not often worn out. I might be a bit sleepy-tired, but not exhausted physically and mentally.

    2. I have too much fat on the outside; it follows that I must also have too much fat on the inside, as well. This is not good. My body fat percentage is 30 or 31% at present and that is not healthy.
    3. My clothes do not fit well. This is uncomfortable and annoying. It means I'm wearing a small percentage of the clothes I own. I am bored with the clothes I am wearing. I could squeeze into the others, but would look and feel horrid.

    4. A high percentage of body fat is ageing. This is very bad. Apart from all the other facts I could throw at you, just get this........did you know that eating too much sugar is one of the best ways to age your skin? Sugar attaches itself to the proteins in our collagen (the stuff that makes our skin elastic) and causes them to become stiff and inflexible, thereby causing wrinkles and sagging (a very simplified explanation). It's true. And, of course, a diet too high in sugar and fat is going to make you...fat.

    Right. All the above reasons are why I've decided to document this journey (if you're wonderimg why make such a big deal of losing ten pounds, I'll tell you: it's not that difficult to lose ten pounds, but it's harder to lose ten pounds of fat. And ten pounds of fat makes a huge difference for a person of 5ft 2). My aim is to lose 7 or 8% of body fat, and be 23% and 8st 2 (I've done my calculations). I'm only 5ft 2, so it's not skinny. I don't want to be skinny and if it starts looking like 8st 2 is going to make me look unhealthy, I will alter that target. Skinny is not my aim. Healthy and fit is. And I certainly don't want to look skinny whilst having a high body-fat percentage, like lots of skinny people. So, the aim is to lose body fat and not lean tissue, which is where exercise is so important.

    I am not going to fastidiously eat the correct proprtions of fat, carbohydrate and protein, as I did before. It was very time-consuming and took over. I had to find out how many grams of protein, fat and carbs there were in everything I ate, and then convert it to the number of calories, and then enter it into an excel chart, which calculated the percentage of calories obtained from fat, protein and carbs. Then I realised that, since I'm not into competitive body-building, it was a bit over the top. Nevertheless, there are some useful lessons I learnt, such as: don't go crazy on too many carbs, eat some good protein every day, get enough fat (good fat) and try not to go for more than about three hours without eating, to keep the metabolism working.

    The best e-books for inspiration are Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, and Jon Benson's Fit Over Forty. My favourite clinical nutritionist is Patrick Holford. No, I'm not going to go crazy. Just sensible. I found that if I eat sensibly and work out a bit on most days (including some resistance training), it works. And the best thing is the energy. Oh, and the fact that you don't have to go to a gym. Do it at home.

    Vital statistics:
    2004 (this is scary)
    fat 34%
    weight 9st 8
    Hips 39"
    waist 34" (get that!)
    Arms 12"
    Thighs 22"

    New Year's Eve 2005
    Weight 8st 10
    Fat 28%
    hips 36"
    waist 29"
    Thighs 21.5"

    Today
    weight 8st 12
    fat 31%
    thighs 21.5"
    hips 37"
    waist 30.5"
    arms 11"

    As you can see, some of today's measurements are not that different to the December ones. Do not be fooled. My body has a higher percentage of fat and the eye can really see that, even though the measurements are similar.

    Exercise Today
    First two parts of Davina's Power of Three video (legs and then upper body). A run around the garden (pushing Charles on his trike).
    Cals used: 400 I can tell, as I have a Polar heart-rate monitor.

    • millet porridge cooked with lemon zest and cinnamon
    • blackberries
    • lots of raw spinach, red onion, chilli mackerel, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, sweetcorn (no sugar or salt added)
    • red seedless grapes
    • 4 pints of water
    • 2 cups of fresh coffee
    • some naturally dried apricots
    • home-made chowmein (yellow & green peppers, mushrooms, beansprouts, spring onions, egg noodles, loads of garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil). Will post recipe one day soon.