Friday, May 25, 2007

What I Ate Today

Hi I thought another what I ate today was due so on todays menu was.

Breakfast: Three weetabix with skimmed milk

Lunch: 2 sausages baked in the oven
with peas and potato chips

Snacks: Cream crackers with some butter x2
apple and a banana

Tea or late lucnch:macaroni cheese low fat option.

Weeky Weigh In


Hi folks this will be the last weekly weigh in just in case you didn't see my post as in each week as stated it will be now once fortnightly just seems like a better idea to me.

This week shows some gain about 1kg it is hard to see on our scales but I feel better saying around there, perhaps I need some digital scales might make for better readings. The problem with our scales is near a round number say 90kg for instance the indentations are quite cramped it's easier to see when you move further away from the round number.

So here is how it looks


Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Did You Know ?

During our lifetime we can eat 35 tonnes of food, makes you think that does.

Weekly Weigh Ins

Hi I will still be doing these but decided to weigh myself once every two weeks instead, you are probably aware your weight can vary within a week so I felt two weeks would be better on the whole.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Affirmations

Recently I have been trying something new, you can apply this to almost anything you are doing really it doesn't have to be weight loss or dieting that it's applied to whatever you chose it's up to you.

All they are is simple lines about what you wan't to achieve in your life goals etc, for example here is one about food you could use, I choose to eat healthily and wisely,I eat five portions of vegetables a day you get the general idea anyway.

Or you could use the following for weight loss I will be slimmer more healthier, I will exercise 3-4 time's a week, I can see myself as a slimmer more healthier me.

These are just a few let your imagination run wild there are hundreds you could think of, put them where you can see them everyday day, I have got a small A5 folder with transparent pockets in where I will put mine, there are even programs that compile slideshows from images that you can add music to and then add the affirmation to the image, scenic landscapes work quite well I find.

Have fun and make your positive affirmations.

Monday, May 21, 2007

What I have Learned about Weight Loss

This post sums up a few things I have learnt along my weight loss journey, when I first started to try and lose weight I never knew how easy or hard it was going to be, but seeing a clip of someone on television who was older than me losing weight started me on my journey.

He was on something called the G.I diet which was something I never heard of before so did some research and bought a book on this and looked at what needed to be done, It's foundation is based on eating foods that release there sugar more slowly so you feel fuller longer and hence lose weight.

Some foods apparently do have these properties whether that is true or not is another matter I neither have the means or the equipment to prove such a theory, but it seemed to work for me, other things that I discovered are eggs have good appetite suppressant properties if eaten at breakfast or for dinner, soup has the same effect and just recently the apples before a meal three a day one before each meal.

Another thing which I learnt is to eat more slowly, instead of eating like a horse at a trough, the reason for this is it takes 20 minutes for your brain to receive the full signal think about how much food you could eat if your plate was full, when you have a big plate of food in front of you it's very easy to eat it all, but try this eat that plate of food blindfolded and see what happens you'll be surprised.

I have smaller plates and use those now to eat my food on I don't even think about using a big plate there is no point. I eat consciously rather than the other way round instead of eating for comfort, I eat when I'm hungry.

Cut foods out that have lots of refined sugar in them like chocolate biscuits,trifles cake and any foods that are high in sugar, eat more fruit now than ever before, fruit I eat are apples, pears ,bananas nectarines, peaches.

Thats about it really hope you find something useful in this I enjoyed writing this post.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Weekly Weigh In

Hello it's the I speak your weight time of the week again and things are ok, I am now at the 88kg (194 pounds) (13 .857 stones) stage it's hard to see but it is there so here is how it looks.



Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Does a Apple a Day Keep The Weight Away ?

Remember when you where young and someone might say a apple a day keeps the doctor away how about a twist on this catch-phrase.

How about three apples a day keeps the weight away yes that's right three apples a day, this is the first time I have heard of this concept before now actually, I was just looking for some information regarding apples and then came across this by accident.

Someone has written a book around this principle of eating, I am always open to new ways of losing weight as each new bit of information helps me understand more about losing weight.

This way of eating was found out by accident by someone who was trying to help someone who was trying to lose weight, Tammi Flynn had some problems with one of her clients losing weight so adding fruit was suggested one of her favourite was apples and a suggestion was made to eat one half an hour before her meals she did this for seven days came back and said to Tammi "look at this my clothes are looser"
she said it must be the apples, she lost a total of one and half pounds of body fat over a week period, at first Tammi was a bit skeptical so more people where told to try the same thing over the same time frame, and results again and again.

So what is the secret that apples hold well they can stop hunger pangs for up to four hours, eating three apples a day ups your fibre intake up to 15 grams per day, researchers have found that by doing this it slashes your calorie consumption by 10%.

Apples contain there own fibre called pectin which is soluble but has the power to suppress your appetite more than normal fibre, pectin creates like a jelly in your stomach, which takes longer to break down also pectin sends a hormone message to your brain to stop eating. So you have a two fold effect in operation also they prevent blood sugar spikes from happening.

Who would think that one fruit had so many hidden weight loss properties glad I started to eat them because I never used to.

Via http://www.3appleplan.com


Five Reasons To Drink Green Tea

I never knew that green tea was such a benefit to health before now I do drink it but only knew the odd thing about it. On the front of the label on my pack it says it's high in antioxidants.

But looking around it seems there is more it than I first realised here are five reasons to drink it.

  1. It can help with blood sugar stability so keeping your insulin levels in check which as we know is important for losing weight.
  2. May help in lowering your blood pressure
  3. Helps lower cholesterol mainly LDL which is that bad type
  4. Protects your liver from antioxidants which is a valid point the liver is responsible for doing lots of jobs and when it's not working effectively can thwart your weight loss efforts.
  5. Can help with the prevention of cancer.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Are You a Emotional Eater ?

On problem which crops up quite a lot is when your trying to lose weight, we can tend to comfort eat which sabotages or efforts somewhat, quite a while ago now I wrote about using EFT which one woman used in her battle to lose weight.

Even though you may not realialise it stress for some people will trigger the eat now part of your brain and so you do. Not to long ago I came across this site which is based around EFT and thought if you or anyone else might be having this particular problem would maybe benefit from trying it, There are quite a few free videos on the site and a forum here is the address tapping.com there are 13 videos so plenty to look at.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Did You Know ?

Apples are a better alternative for staying awake than caffiene.

Weekly Weigh In

Hello blog readers it's speak your weight time again and now I am at the 89kg
(14 stones) (196 pounds) stage now this week so no gain but a slight loss it is hard to see on our scales but it is there. So onward we go here is how it looks ticker wise no real change there because you don't have 0.5kg increments.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Lower Your Energy Density

If you may be struggling to lose weight and at times it can be frustrating when the scales don't move then it might be worth looking at your energy density to see if you are eating enough water in your diet not drinking it but eating it. In simplistic terms eating more foods that contain water such as fruits and vegetables and low fat foods.

In a recent study which revolved around "energy density" which is based around calories per gram fat being 9 cal per gram and water having none, foods that contain a lot of water such as fruit and vegetables and soup are more calorie dense so you can eat more but without gaining weight.

Dr Barbara Rolls who commissioned the study said

"Increase the water content of foods you eat and decrease the fat content," Roll said.

This lays the foundation for her diet which is called Volumetrics in this particular study people where studied for six months 658 participants where told to do the following one group had a single counselling session the remaining two had eighteen sessions in total the ones that had the counselling where to told to cut energy intake and exercise more, and on top of that do something called (DASH) which is short for
dietary approaches to stop hypertension.

Which focuses on the consumption of more fruit and vegetables and water based foods and low fat food options, what was found from the study was this all three groups lost weight no great surprise there you might say, but all three groups where then combined to see the differences between all three, those who reduced there energy reduction by the most lost more weight than the others five point nine kilograms (13 pounds) to be exact. Compare that with the ones who didn't reduce there energy density who lost two point three kilograms (5 pounds).

Also eating this way you can eat more food without any worry of any added gain approx 300 grams more, I never used to bother eating soup at one time so glad I did now after readfing this brings it home more.

Via http://www.health24.com

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

What I Ate Today

Here is what was on todays menu.

Breakfast: 1 bowl of porridge made with water

Lunch: 1 tin of baked beans with 2 wholemeal pitta bread rather than toast.

Snacks: 1 bag of crisps with salt bag

Tea or late lunch: Macaroni Cheese very low fat option

Did You Know ?

That the daily recommended amount of dietary fibre you should eat per day is twenty five grams.

Good sources of fibre are:
  • Breakfast cereals include Weetabix, Porridge Oats and muesli
  • Brown rice rather than white, wholemeal pasta
  • Fruits that have the highest fibre content are prunes, raspberries and figs
  • Good vegetable sources are the ones with green leaves on lettuce, broccoli and spincach.
Have look on this website and see if you are eating enough fibre you might be surprised at what you find link here

Weight Loss Tips

Have a glass of water about half an hour before a meal the water will fill your stomach and you will eat less food try it and see.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Getting Past The Plateau

As you may well know I hit a bit of a plateau over the past few weeks but thing's seem to have shifted a bit I seem to have gotten past it now or so it would seem. Be able to tell more on Friday which is my weigh in day.


And on the subject matter of plateaus I thought it would make a post incase you may be at a similar postition yourself.

So here are some ideas or tips which may help you incase your stuck.
  1. Don't worry that this has happened it's quite normal to hit these what tends to happen is when you eat less and start to lose weight your metabolism follows your BMR changes this is what can cause the slowdown. Your body needs so many calories to keep you alive basic body functions etc. But as long as you maintain the 500 cal per day with a combination of exercise and eating the right food then you should be ok.
  2. Eat more protien but keep things in balance step up your intake of fruit ones that aren't full of sugar I eat a lot of apples now they curb hunger for me.
  3. Are you a concious eater or a subconcious eater sometimes we eat food without even thinking about what we are eating this may be something that you may not be even aware of.
  4. Eat a few more calories if you eat less sometimes you body will
    go into starvation mode and this will cause a slowdwown.
  5. Start a food log so you exactly know how much you have eaten throughout the day and or week do the same for your exercise as well.
  6. Ask other people how they got through there plateau post on forums or ask on someone else's blog, something someone may say might help everything hasn't or isn't in a book sometimes there are other ways to do things.
  7. Listen to music when you exercise with a portable mp3 player it can make it more enjoyable instead of less boring.
  8. Try eating as many differerant types of foods there is sometimes eating the same foods becomes boring so we tend to go back to how we ate before, we can tend to be creatures of comfort I never used to eat apples but eat them all the time now.
  9. Buy a juicer you might not like eating some vegetables or fruit but juiced they can taste lovely.
  10. Change your exercise routine have a look to see where you have the most fat and work a routine around it make sure you are getting in the fat burning zone.

Im a Fat Slob

Just been reading a post on Spiders blog about the dark side and such which hits upon sensitivity within males and how you can get upset when people say something like your a fat slob in there comments box well I can see how that might upset some people but in a way when you are fat that's all the more reason to lose the weight.

It's just telling like it is it can be sensitive issue I know being overweight but all the more reason to get angry and deal with the problem itself in the end it's for all our own benefit to get healthier lose more weight and use the things that people say to get where we are going so to summarise.

Im a fat slob ish but getting slimmer please leave as many comments as you can in the comments box so I can read them in fact the more the better also can you be creative when you leave a comment make sure it has maximum impact so much to cause a stop to my posting.

There's only a couple of things really you can say about losing weight it takes determination, focus hard work in a word it's not easy but if you work at it you will get there.

Becoming less slobbier and more slimmer ahmen.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Are We Eating Ourselves ILL

Us brits are getting fatter that's no great revelation but is what we are eating also doing us any good ?. According to the NHS that doesn't seem to be the case now in Britain there are 3.6 million people who suffer from malnutrition it seems quite a lot of us are addicted to food with no real goodness instead we eat fatty, salty,sugary,laden foods instead of a healthier alternative.

Hospitals are finding more cases of malnutrition than ever before it seems that we are becoming more reliant on pre-packaged foods instead of opting for fresh fruit and vegetables, which is the reason for this paticular problem. The thing is how often do any of us read the labels to see what the calorie content of the food is or even if it has any nutrition in it I know I never used to.

It was a case of it's food so I'll eat it without even thinking obout the affect it was having on my body, foods everywhere these days on the high street on posters on televison on the internet it's never to far away is it any wonder we tend to be swayed by the marketing men as to what we eat instead of making our own minds up.

Since changing my eating habits I feel on the whole a lot better than I used to especially when I think back to what I used to eat that is.

More people are showing up in hospitals these days with bot bellies and wasted limbs just like in third world countries which is something you don't expect not here anyway.

Via http://news.independent.co.uk

Friday, May 04, 2007

Do Diets Make You Fatter ?

In one of the largest studies on weight loss it has been shown that diets for a lot of people just don't work after a time they end up right back where they first started.
Which in turn makes for more problems in the long run.

In this particular study it highlighted that two thirds of the participants put weight back on yo yo dieting isn't very good for the body as a whole.

  • The findings which where published in the American Psychologist Journal 2004 found that two and half million Australian people had been on tried a low carb diet.
  • The scientists concluded from all there data that diets simply don't work
  • Pooling the results from all the studies showed that people do initially lose weight but in the end gain it all back and in some cases weighed even more than they did before after the diet phase was over.
  • One of the researchers said you can lose between five and ten percent on any diet but once your out that zone as you might call it the weight piles back on.
  • A portion of people monitored over a four to five year period gained there weight back and more besides.
  • Participants where found to put on 5kgafter a few years which is quite a lot.
The conclusion of this study finds that in the long term people can tend to be time poor, want results quickly when this doesn't happen people lose interest and go back to how they where eating before. Look in most gyms after Christmas you will probably find quite a few people in them trying to get rid of there excess pounds eaten over the holiday period then as time goes on the amount goes down gradually.

Some people who where invloved with this study felt good when they had lost there weight but came depressed when they gained it back again hence yo yo dieting.

So many fad diets come out these days it can be overwhelming knowing which one to choose, my advice do what works for you just learn what foods do help with weight loss and eat like that forever it's not how you eat it's what you eat that matters you need to eat that way for life. Forget the word "diet" just eat to lose your weight and stick to it if that's possible.

Via http://www.news.com.au

Weekly Weigh In

Hi everyone it's check in time again so as I climb up to get on the scales, and see what they are telling me, well not much this week but no gain either, still Im not disappointed really been here before just need to work a bit harder and tweak things here and there is all I think, still hovering around the 89.5 kg mark so no real change, but it won't deter me still want to get to my target weight. I can see it in my mind in the not to distant future. So just need to keep on fat busting as they say. In fact in the not to near distant future I might not have a tyre so might need to change the name.

Here is how it looks for regular readers.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Super Food Of The Week

The banana with it's lovely yellow outer casing has lots of inner secrets lets have a look at them:

Bananas are a great way to boost your health as well as helping with weight loss with a low glycemic rating of 30 that's great news if your concerned with blood sugar issues. That is the unripened value just quoted.

Main health benefit's of the banana are.
  • Low in calories 86 or thereabouts per banana which is good from a weight-loss perspective
  • Good source of potassium which is known for helping lower blood pressure
  • Can help with digestion so if you have diarrhoea or any other digestion problems eat plenty of banana's
  • low in sodium and fat
  • 2 grams of fibre per banana
  • Great for people who have ulcers banana's have antacid properties
  • May prevent the onset of kidney problems such as kidney cancer, studies have shown which involved women that those who ate banana's four to six time's a week halved there chances of getting kidney cancer to those who didn't.
Here a few banana ideas for you.

Why not freeze a banana great for summer do this with the skin on, have a sliced banana with your cereal to supplement it.

Have a banana sandwich with some wholemeal bread tastes great.