Running to lose weight? Should I run long/slow or short/fast?

I recently came across a Q&A on Runners world and here is what was aid on the topic:

"To lose weight, am I better off running lots of slow miles or fewer but faster miles?"

The simple answer is running at any speed expends about one hundred calories per mile. However, running at a seven minute per mile pace does burn a few more calories than say running at a ten minute mile pace because of the added effort. So, in the short-term, running fewer but faster miles does burn more calories.

The problem is when you add on lots of extra miles in a high gear, you risk getting injured. Adding a few slow miles each week is going to create a steady calorie deficit and over time that's going to help you reach your weight loss goals."

So what do I make of this from my experience?

Well running hard and fast regularly keeps workout times short... but I also seemed to get hip flexor injuries...especially on striding out sprints... You also "run" the risk of tripping up (I broke my ribs after a fall at speed and not having time to put the"brakes" on at a tree trunk obstruction which was obscured!), You're more likely to tear things, or do something suddenly at speed, twisting etc. And less time to assess things using proprioception.

What may work is doing a long distance but with some short bursts of speed to get your heart rate up. Like Interval training. Also trying to maintain your speed uphill will add some more burn as it requires more effort. Fartlek training a Swedish variation of interval training meaning speed play may be beneficial not only for a safe and effective workout in terms of calorie burning, but in terms of getting you fit Cardio-vascularly as you will be getting your heart rate up and down lots whilst retaining a training workout heart rate!

Anyway... just some thoughts! I want to write a blog on Multi-Vitamins...And taking a break from "dieting" in its traditional sense in order to lose more weight following a plateau.

Mmmm... new healthy super breakfast with added fibre

So, I was suffering still a bit with *ahem* gut problems despite making significant changes to the way I eat and by switching food choices for healthier or higher fibre/wholemeal versions. This still wasn't cutting the mustard so I decided to add some bran to my diet. For fear of having to give up my beloved prune porridge for breakfast, I modified it. It's still quite low in calories but it's low GI, very filling, sweet and tasty. It's enriched with natural antibacterial honey - so helps ward off sore throats etc. Porridge oats are renowned for the cholestrol lowing properties. Skimmed milk adds a little fat, protein and calcium without going overboard. It helps make the porridge a bit creamier too. The prunes provide a good natural source of fibre and sugar and vitamins and the bran adds iron and fibre to the pot too.
Here is how I make it:


Ingredients:

40g 100% pure rolled oats - no thickeners or crumbly bits in this - I bought "Tesco Finest" which were on special at the time by chance!
100ml skimmed milk
100ml water
30g chopped prunes
10g bran flakes or All Bran
2 teaspoons - granulated sucralose based sweetener
1 teaspoon pure clear honey - or Manuka if you can afford it!

Method:

Basically, mix all these ingredients EXCEPT the honey together and soak overnight in the fridge - it's not essential but helps soften the bran more. Microwave or cook in a pan checking on it regularly for either method so it doesn't bubble over. Give a good stir if cooking in microwave half way through cooking and stir continuously. Once cooked serve with the teaspoon of honey to sweeten and add a lovely rich sweet taste.

Energy: 278 kCal
Carbohydrates: 50g
Fat: 3g
Protein: 9g

My fantastic dinner out that not only had I earned during the week, but during the day too.

My boyfriend and I didn't get to spend our four year "anniversary" together so we booked a hotel in Manchester, Lancashire for the weekend and decided to treat ourselves. So we stayed at a 4* hotel.

The evening we arrived I ate very light ( a 165kCal salad and a 78kCal oat bar with some diet coke and peppermint tea) meal and had been to the gym in the afternoon. Before my other half arrived at the hotel, I squeezed in a 30 minute ish (just over) swim in the hotel pool and had a chill (or heat!?) in the steam room and Sauna!

On the Saturday morning I got up for 0800 and did a 40 minute x-train workout followed by a 30 minute swim which was about 1km / 1000m of swimming and tricep dips.

We had a healthy breakfast in general, a couple of mini pastries, fruit and fibre with skimmed milk and some fresh fruit! It was spot on. We then spent about 5 hours walking around town shopping, and not doing an awful lot of eating. I had a mini sushi for lunch at 170kCal and another oat bar at 78kCal. Needless to say I was hungry by dinner time!

I snacked on a couple of apples between lunch and dinner... and then had this AMAZING feast of:


Nocellara olives,
Beef Carpaccio
Starter sized portion (boy am I glad as even that was big!) of rigatoni with a slow cooked beef, tomato and porcini mushroom ragu with a side salad
Some Italian bread- Ciabatta, Foccacia and rosemary thin crisp bread
Crostata di Lampone with real madagascan Vanilla ice-cream
One Caffe Italiano (Long black coffee with Galliano liquor) with a mini biscotti
2 Bellini Lampone (Black raspberry bellini - Chambord with prosecco)
1 Bellini Fragola (Strawberry Bellini - Crushed strawberries with prosecco)
1 Martini Frutta of the forest (not so nice!)

Boyfriend had the bread and olives (we shared)
Calamari Fritti
Pizza Fina - Pollo Parmigiano
Sorbetto Limone
Plus a couple of Peroni beers!

Yes it was 2000 calories of food but a) I had worked out rigorously during the day b)planned to eat that many so went easier on lunch and breakfast and snacks and c) opted for smaller/healthier portions/dressings where possible. I still didn't go over my DIET calorie intake... Good for me eh!?

Look at the food, exercise and my weight loss so far! Impressed? I am! :)

Reply to Beverly on Controlling and managing hunger

Sorry beverly, it wouldn't let me reply there but here are my thoughts on the questions and scenario you asked and painted a picture of for me. Maybe others can apply this to their plans too.


Hey there, as I've said, I'm no expert. But I tend to find I'm hungry ish about every 3 hours or so. I have a snack then which isn't going to give me a sugar rush and then crash. I eat at 0720, 1030 and 1230 and then have a 1430 snack and then gym it up in the evening. I don't eat dinner 'til about 1930 most days. One of the key things is to savour your food. So many benefits including stopping overeating and allowing your body to say "enough" I eat 3 small crisp bakes (like Garibaldi biscuits) as my morning snack with a cup of green tea. I break off little pieces savour and chew it properly and sip my tea in between mouthfuls. I think you're eating far too few calories. I tried it at 1200kCal a day and it didn't work. Initially lost a bit but it's not sustainable. I now eat about 1500 a day and then exercise about 1000kCal between 5 and 7 days a week. There is ALWAYS a cardio element in my workouts, some strength training just to help tone my muscles but in general, I focus on either speed work or long distance efforts. I've lost more weight doing this than from any other fads.

Forget slim fast,

Forget diet pills,

Forget protein shakes

Just eat smaller portions of what you normally would eat so you never feel deprived, try to cut out the fats where possible (not all-you need some!) and drink plenty of fluid. To be honest, the first 2 weeks were the hardest, I must have had an over stretched stomach as I felt really hungry at first but as I got a grasp of portion control and was rigidly strict about it, I found the portions recommended were more than enough. For example, I'd easily be happy serving myself up with 200g of dried pasta weight - now I serve between 75-80g dry weight of wholewheat and it's always enough! Of course I could keep eatring for the taste, but serving your food up on a hot plate and eating slower really tricked my brain. I also found I was suffering with a few intolerances. So when I ate lots of high fructose fruits like plums, or casein rich dairy foods such as hard cheeses I'd get bloated, feel fat and be in cripplng pain. Taking these from my diet and finding alternatives - plums I replaced with apples, bananas and carrots and a couple of prunes but varied them around so as to create variety in my diet. I replaced parmesan and cheddar and proper feta with reduced fat halloumi and a cheapo salad cheese. I haven't suffered as a result of any of those!

I also added more black pepper, green tea and spices to my diet. They all have benefits such as providing anti-oxidants to the body which help with organ function, blood, skin, hair and nails and have thermabolic properties which MAY help boost your metabolism a bit. Especially cayenne and black pepper. I like to use cinnamon too as it's also got lots of great properties.

The reason I like to use green tea is that its delicate enough that it doesn't need milk or sugar and so you're not adding calories through that yet it's still a nice hot drink and more water. So many flavours too, especially by Twinings.

May I suggest you opt for a slightly higher calorie intake and a slower weight loss rate. I'm trying to lose 1lb a week but I'm losing about 2. However, I am very active and rigid.

Half the battle is planning, I try to plan my meals a week in advance or so. That way I can factor in what exercise I need to do - especially if I'm going out. It stops me wasting food, wasting time, and means I'm much more organised. For example, just before bed I prepare my morning's breakfast for the next day. If you look at my MFP diary, it's pretty much always the same during the week, occasionally different and the weekend I mix it up a bit. I also iron my clothes for the next day meaning I can optimise sleep!

In the morning I wake up at about 0650 (I use sleep cycle which is an ace app as it wakes you at a good time in your sleep cycle so you don't feel groggy, I honestly can tell you it has worked EVERY time for me) I get in to the shower at about 0700 and then get dressed. As I'm putting my shoes on etc I cook my Porridge in the microwave and by the time I've finished accessorising it's done. I'll have prepared a cup of green tea when I woke up too so it's had chance to brew AND cool.

I go to work and am in for about 0800. I work for about 2 and a half hours then have a break. I make a cup of green tea and have my biscuits and relax! I finish for lunch at about 1200 where I go prepare a sandwich, have some water and green tea! I eat it slowly, relaxed with some crap on the telly.

I go back in to work at about 1300 and work til about 1430 where we get an afternoon break. I'll have a slice of banana cake or fruit bread ~ 100kCal then with a glass of water or cup of green tea and work for about another hour or two. After that I come back and go to the gym until about 1800. I really work up an appetite. When I get back, I sit back and log any changes I haven't marked up on MFP and take a moment to chill out before going for a long relaxing shower - try a cellulite roller brush or similar - they are effective - if you have a problem that is! And then go prepare dinner. I always try to have about 200g of plain boiled veggies occasionally with salt. Never with butter or oils or anything.
If I go out for dinner, I don't deprive myself... (See in a later post what I ate and still haven't suffered from the effects despite it being a 2000kCal dinner!) I will have an indulge, I just make sure its all factored in and if needs be, lots of phys!

Most of all-I'd suggest you opt for a slower weight loss rate as it'll last longer and be easier and when you go to maintain calories, you won't be far off meaning it won't "shock" your body too much.

Some people have said that they divide their weekly calories throughout the week unevenly - never less than 1200kCal a day - in order to trick the body and it's metabolism. This APPARENTLY (although I'm not fully read up on all the info yet) stops the body going in to starvation mode and makes it keep it's metabolism high from days where it gets a lot of calories meaning on the days you eat less its still quite high! Eating sugars/carbs is important which is why it should be the largest portion on your plate.

I'm sure you've heard it all before, but a portion for an individual is basically a serving the size of their clenched fist. For meat, it's about the size of a deck of cards. I tend to eat about 125-140g of Turkey breast though which is slightly more. However I steam it, it's very lean and most of the remaining fat comes off when steamed so it's actually quite good for you!

Just remember, every one is unique and there are soooooo many factors that will change your weight loss acheivements and requirements. Height, Frame Size, current weight, Goal weight, rate of loss, activity level and training - some hard exercise will make you retain glycogen and water in your tissues which can add a few lbs for a few days after exercise, medical problems, what sort of nutritional values your calories contain (from carbs/protein/fats etc), medical issues, fitness levels etc.

Hope this helps, sorry couldn't be clearer!

Good work on the phys though! Keep smashing it up! :)

Calculating an ideal weight for your height, age, frame size and lifestyle!

Follow these steps and calculations to find a good healthy weight for you!

•Step 1 - Multiply your height in inches by itself and and then that number by .031. 
66 inches x 66 inches = 4356 x .031 = 135 (This is your weight at a body mass index of 22) 

•Step 2 - Multiply the number by .95 if you have a small frame, leave it unchanged if you have a medium frame, and by 1.05 if you have a large frame. 
(To determine your frame size, measure around your wrist. 
Under 5'2", small frame is less than 5.5 
Medium frame is 5.5 to 5.75 
Large frame is more than 5.75. 
5'2" to 5'5", small is less than 6 
Medium 6 to 6.25 
Large is over 6.25. 
If you are over 5'5", small frame is less than 6.25 
Medium is 6.25 to 6.5 
Large frame is more than 6.5. 
•Step 3 - Add one pound if a sibling or parent is obese. 
•Step 4 - Add 2 pounds for each decade you are over age 20. 
•Step 5 - Add 5 pounds if you've had any children. 
•Step 6 - Subtract 1 pound if you exercise and weight train once a week 
2 pounds if you do it three times a week 
3 pounds for five or more days a week. - 3 
•Step 7 - Add 4 pounds if you smoked at least a pack a day for a year or more and have quit. 
•Step 8 - Add 1 pound if you allow yourself a treat now and then.

Controlling and managing hunger

I felt this is was an important post. It's something I've struggled with in the past, but now I can manage it well.

The key to success with hunger is thought and planning!

There are many times during the day when I see something that takes my fancy and even though I'm not actually hungry, I'd be tempted to eat it. This is most people's downfall when it comes to managing and controlling what we eat. These sort of items TEND to be the high calorie/high fat products that always taste OH SO GOOD!

However, I've realised that by managing when I take my meals and allowing pre-meditated snacks to be incorporated in to my food diary, I can manage to resist these sweet treats more often than not!

My top tips are this.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS Have breakfast. A sweet and nutritious breakfast that contains low GI elements as well as some Medium and High GI elements WILL get your metabolism going. Coupled with lots of fluids; water, tea and coffee; You should be able to satisfy your appetite until mid-late morning. Mid-late morning I tend to take a healthy sweet snack such as raisin and apple crisp slices. They satisfy my need for something sugary and biscuity and no-one at work questions my eating habits as they look like regular biscuits. However, the ones I opt for are lower in fat and calories than regular biscuits. On top of that, I can break them up easily in to smaller pieces and eat them slower. Eating slowly allows your brain to register that food is going in to the body and by the time you have finished eating, you should feel satisfied. I also have some fluids at this point. My favourite is green tea as it has been said to have many health benefits as well as help with metabolism and controlling appetite. I'm not sure if its proven, but it works for me. Drinking whilst eating or sometimes instead of snacking is a good thing. It means you stay hydrated, don't confuse thirst for hunger and the added benefit of being hydrated is that your metabolism works more efficiently. Other benefits are that it helps cleanse the body of toxins etc which can lead to poor skin, infections and cellulite!

When I come back at lunchtime, I select a careful lunch, often it seems small but has many elements. Sometimes, seeing multiple items tricks your brain in to thinking theres more foods there. It also helps satisfy your cravings. For example a little bit of savoury, a little bit of sweet. This helps you maintain balance in your diet too enabling you to get the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that your body needs. It also means that you get a little bit of everything you fancy!

Again, eat a little more slowly than normal, if it's a sandwich, put it down in between bites and don't take huge mouthfuls... It'll spare you embarassing yourself with table manners habits when you're with company too!

Mid afternoon, have a snack, something like the banana bread I suggested or even the biscuits like earlier! Another good alternative is a banana- eat it slowly!

Savour your food! Enjoy it and actually stimulate your taste buds and your brain!

Cooking dinner from scratch helps too - all the aromas satisfy your hunger that little bit! Drink lots of water whilst you cook to help you feel fuller by eating time and stop you over eating!

Try fill your early evening with an activity. I go to the gym after work. so 'til about 1800 I'm at the gym, buring calories. When I get back it's time to slowly just mong out, get undressed, get showered and put my gym kit in the wash. By the time I'm done - it's time to cook dinner! I finish eating around 2000 and then feel quite full for a few hours. At about 2200 I feel a little peckish so this is when I opt for the carbohydrate snack. Why? Because fuelling your body with sugar/carbs before bed means you go to bed with your blood sugar high which will help you get to sleep! Sleep is great for maintaing a healthy body, cell repair etc aside from all the obvious stuff. Things like Horlicks with milk, a couple of oatey biscuits or a mashed banana on toast are ideal. Avoid chocolate as it contains caffeine which could mean you wake up in the middle of the night when it kicks in.

Eating a little later at night helps prevent you snacking ALL evening which is where the calories, and the pounds really add up!

Hope these tips help!

Lovely Super Tasty, Banana and Strawberry Loaf oF Bread

This Lovely Banana and Strawberry Loaf of Bread can be prepared using overripe fruit. It's low GI, full of protein, VERY low in fat, metabolism boosting, nutritious, easy and quick to make and bake and easy to store and pack as a boosting snack! It has quite a chewy Soreen type texture with a lovely crust but soft and sticky inside. I find that if I have this as a mid afternoon snack or about 2 hours after lunch, it keeps me satisfied until about 1900 - meaning I can have a late dinner, fit in a good gym session and not run out of energy. The key features of this healthy snack being it's low GI so releases energy slowly and steadily, contains significant protein which helps keep you fuller for longer, and the slice itself can be eaten slowly and in a satisfying filling way! Use Muscovado sugar instead of caster sugar because its healthier and helps give the bread it's lovely rich brown colour and slightly treacle/mollases taste. It's also lower in terms of its GI and contains less calories/g than refined sugar. Bananas are renowned for their low GI, rich in potassium (great as a post workout snack) and are best used in this recipe when black - a great way to stop food wastage!

Makes 14 slices.

Ingredients:
2 Egg Whites
140g Dark Brown Muscovado Sugar
300g Ripe Bananas
200g Fresh Strawberries
40ml Semi-skimmed Milk
200g Self Raising Flour
2 Teaspoons (or more if you like!) Ground Cinnamon Powder
Some Freshly Grated Nutmeg
2 Tablespoons of Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder.
50 - 100 ml Cold Water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Prepare a loaf tin ... Preferably choose non stick but even so, line with greaseproof paper with the tiniest bit of butter, just to make it stick! This will be negligible in terms of fat/calories.


In a bowl mash up the bananas, strawberries, milk and vanilla extract until lovely and frothy. Add the water to the mix (You can add more later if the consistency seems too thick). Next, add in the muscovado sugar and mix thoroughly with the banana/strawberry mixture to help it separate and dissolve. In another bowl, whisk the egg white to try and make them a little thicker, whiter and frothy, this will help the cake rise a bit better. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, these have great thermogenic and health benefits, but they can be overpowering, I recommend 1-4 teaspoons, I use about 2 and a half. Sift in the flour and baking powder and try your best to fold it in to the mixture but you can whisk it all up again just to get some air in otherwise.

Pour the mixture in to the prepared loaf tin using a soft spatula to get the last bits out of the bowl and then bake in the oven for about 50 mins to an hour. It should split on top a little when it rises as it bakes. To test if its cooked, place a skewer in. The outside should seem a little "tough" and there should be quite a bit of resistance pulling the skewer out, with some very thick mixture on it. This is normal, just make sure that it's not really liquidy, it should be quite hard to wipe the mixture of the skewer if cooked.

Take the loaf out of the oven when cooked and take it out of the tin ASAP and leave to cool on a wire rack. When cool, cut in to 14 individual pieces, they should weigh about 45g each. If you choose to, wrap each piece up individually and keep in the freezer or fridge 'til needed. It should keep well in the fridge for about 10 days and for many months in the freezer.

Nutritional info per slice:
Energy: 114kCal
Carbohydrates: 26g
Fat: 0g (negligible)
Protein: 2g

Healthy cooked breakfast!

Tying on from the last post,

I have a 217 - 252 calorie (depending on if you use margerine or not) healthy cooked breakfast for anyone thats interested!

Ingredients
1 medium egg
2 x 22g slices Hovis Nimble Wholemeal bread
1/2 tin Chopped tomatoes or whole plum tomatoes in juice (about 200g)
Optional 10g (about a teaspoon) Bertolli light or other low calorie low fat margerine (adds 35calories)

Scramble or poach the egg whilst toasting your bread and microwave or heat your tomatoes.
Serve the tomatoes on one piece of bread and the egg on the other. Use the margarine if you're having it as you please. In the egg or on the bread - or half and half!

Values below are for without margarine first and with margarine second.
Energy: 217 kCal/ 252 kCal
Carbohydrates:22g/ 22g
Fat: 8g/12g
Protein: 15/15g

Diet shakes - meal replacement shakes

So... here is my perspective on those notorious and what seem to be ever so popular "diet shakes".

The average diet shake contains approximately 215 calories - whereas it contains lots of essential vitamins and minerals, it tends to be also quite high in sugars and not a very satisfying meal. Using these shakes you are meant to replace 2 meals a day (breakfast and lunch normally) with one of these shakes, snack on up to 2 low calorie, low fat snacks (about 100 calories each) and eat one balanced normal meal of around 600calories. Giving you a grand total of 1200 calories a day.

Whereas this may seem easy, the willpower you need to sustain this for a few weeks is immense. A shake can taste pretty manky and fake, is not filling, relies on you using milk (some people are intolerant to dairy and lactose) and they also don't release energy slowly over a long period of time, leaving you feeling hungry. As they are quite sweet, they can encourage your body to prepare for a big physical session as often follows when your sweet tastebuds are activated, if this doesn't happen, then you are likely to start storing fat. This is one of the reasons that using some sweeteners may not help that much with weight loss if not supported by exercise.

Diet shakes can only be used short term and in my opinion, there are plenty of healthy 200 or thereabouts alternatives which will leave you feeling MUCH fuller and slowly realease energy. On top of that, they taste soooo much better.

Here is one of my favourites. It is balanced and provides plenty of protein and low GI carbohydrate to help keep you fuller for longer!

Healthy Lunchtime Tuna Fish Sandwich

Ingredients:
60g Drained Tuna Fish in Brine (sunflower oil will add more fat and calories)
2 x 22g slices of Hovis Nimble Wholemeal Bread
1 teaspoon light mayonnaise
35g sliced tomato (about 1/2 a salad tomato)
15g chopped red onion

I know it's a sandwich but if you make it this way it will hold together better! Spread the mayonnaise on the bread 1/4 teaspoon each side- this will help make it stick together better! Mix the chopped onion and tuna fish together and fill the sandwich with this, place the sliced tomatoes in and Voila! One healthy sandwich.

Energy: 207kCal
Carbohydrates: 19g
Fat: 2 g
Protein: 21g

And how about this for a healthy low fat and low GI breakfast:

Healthy Porridge with Prunes

Ingredients:

40g Scottish Porridge Oats
75ml skimmed milk
175ml water
1 teaspoon clear honey
25g stoned and chopped dried prunes

To make the porridge add the water and milk to the oats in a pan and heat til thickened, or place the water, milk and porridge oats and microwave for about 2 or 3 minutes, check it regularly so it doesn't boil over on the microwave and give a stir to make sure its cooked through properly. Add the teaspoon of honey to sweeten and the prunes, mix and eat! Just make sure its not too hot before you eat it!

Energy: 223kCal
Carbohydrates: 40g
Fat: 3g
Protein: 7g

On top of that, there are a number of ready meals out in the supermarkets that are around the 200 calorie mark which make quick light meals for the day. Tesco do a Light Choices ready meal (find in the chilled ready meals aisle) which is only 200 calories - minced beef and potatoes. It's ideal for lunch or a light dinner. Supplement with lots of fresh steamed or boiled vegetables if having for dinner and you will find it filling and tasty.

My experience with diet shakes was not great, I suffered badly with the large quantities of milk I was consuming a day (about a pint!) and found myself "crashing" after the sugar levels had depleted. They taste pretty synthetic and I ended up gaining weight, probably due to my exercise regime being in the evening and not after the shakes.

However, I found that using protein shakes by companies such as Maximuscle (for men) and Maxitone (for women) I felt less hungry and lost some weight. However these are very expensive and also don't taste that nice. Not synthetic, but just a bit manky! The strawberry and chocolate ones weren't too bad but they are made with water so do taste exactly like the powder in water even with the texture. Benefits are that they often have a few extra metabolism boosters, full of protein - great if you're wanting to achieve toning but not lose weight but if you are trying to lose weight, they provide support for developing lean muscle tissue. In addition, they are very low GI and 30kCal less per serving than your regular diet shake.

Summary:
Diet shakes cannot be used long term
They tend not to be sustainable
They do not leave you feeling satisfied
Being made with milk they can cause you stomach/gut discomfort AND bloating
They taste pretty poor
They can be expensive
There are better actual food meals that could replace these and leave you feeling fuller for longer and provide better nutrients.

If you want more on this topic, let me know and I'll write more!

Burning a few cheeky calories can be fun!

My course recently organised an inter-course sport afternoon as part of a Force Development day! I wasn't knackered but played a few short games over the period of an hour or so... so I burned off a few calories! I wasn't knackered but I did run about a fair bit! I had chance to go to the gym too thereafter! Why not organise an office / work bonding or sports day and get the blood pumping and the fat burning? Charge £5 entry per team and use it towards a prize... perhaps health and fitness related? A heart rate monitor? A spa treatment/sports massage? A running shop voucher? Hope these inspire you! No-one is unhappy! I'll be posting a few more ideas on here about how to get everyone around you to support you in your fitness goals and maybe even get them to join in on the band wagon!

Tasty Spicy Parsnip, Apple and Carrot soup

This meal is super easy to make and super tasty. In addition it is low GI, low in fat, low in calories and a fantastic metabolism booster. The recipe serves 4, but nutritional info is per serving.

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

165g finely chopped onion - white or brown

425g washed, scraped and chopped parsnips

200g washed, scraped and chopped carrots

110g of sweet gala apple, cored and chopped (leave skin on - approx. 1 apple)

100 ml semi-skimmed milk

3/4 teaspoon finely ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of sunflower oil for frying - use less if possible!

1 teaspoon finely ground coriander

1 teaspoon finely ground cumin

1/4 cup of fresh finely chopped parsley

1/4 cup of fresh finely chopped coriander

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 litre of water

In a stainless steel pan gently fry/soften the chopped onions in the sunflower oil - if you can don't use any or as little as possible. Next add the chopped carrots, parsnips and chopped sweet gala apple. Quickly cook these before adding about 1 litre of water and 100 ml of semi-skimmed milk. Finally add about 3/4 teaspoon of finely ground cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin and 1 teaspoon of ground coriander. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Simmer until the vegetables and fruit have softened. Finish off the dish by adding 1/2 a cup of finely chopped fresh parsley and fresh coriander before blending the soup in to a smooth soup. Divide between 4 bowls and garnish with fresh parsley and coriander.

Serve as an starter to help fill you up before a main meal or have as a lunch. 

Great accompanied with wholegrain or malted brown bread.

Calories per bowl: 145 kCal

Carbohydrates: 24g

Fat: 3g

Protein: 3g

Cut the calories - a little bit at a time!

Trying to lose weight?
Don't want to give up your favourite foods? Willing to make little changes? Don't want to feel deprived?

There are a number of ways you can cut calories/fat etc from your diet without stopping eating your favourite foods.

Here are some of the small changes I made:

When drinking fruit juice, I have a 200ml serving instead of 250 ml - that spares me an extra 24 kcal each time and to be honest I don't notice.
If you have milk, try downgrading to a different fat level. I went from full fat to semi-skimmed, and then semi-skimmed to skimmed. Sounds horrible, but eventually you can tolerate it and in fact enjoy it. In fact I now go about half and half with water and skimmed milk in most things such as on cereal, in porridge and if I want to make a milky hot chocolate, in that too.
Changing from butter to a margarine may not only reduce your calories, but in addition will lower the bad saturated fats you are ingesting in most cases and raise the good fats like the polys. This eventually can help with your cholesterol. In addition, if you can, avoid having it where possible and reduce the amount you have too. A slightly mounded teaspoon is approximately 10g and this in the lower fat spreads such as Flora Light and Bertolli Light is about 35kcal too. So if you're having a sandwich, try and avoid it, or just butter one piece sparingly if you really can't avoid it.

If you look around the supermarket or your grocery store, you'll often find lower fat versions of the products you're looking for. Whilst you're new to making diet changes, it's worth spending a little extra time looking at the nutritional information on the packs and comparing products. It will help you choose better and decide if you REALLY need that food.

I find that some of the Tesco value products are nutritionally the best and really they just have ugly packaging. They can be much cheaper too saving you money! However be careful that reduced calories doesn't mean increased salt and other bad stuff like fat. In addition, changing everything sometimes doesn't work. For example, I tried to make custard with half skimmed milk, half water and granulated sweetener. Whereas the sweetener wasn't too bad a replacement for the sugar (it was a sucralose derived one) the water and milk was a tad overkill and whereas the consistency was fine, the taste was just a little too watery! Lesson learned-never again!

Other changes to make - if you're having some baked goods, try cutting them in half and breaking the treat up over the day or having half one day and half the next - half the calories - half the fat - same taste!
Try opting for a smaller loaf - I've changed to Hovis - Nimble Wholemeal bread... at 48kcal a slice it's half the calories of a normal slice, and to be honest, once you get used to smaller portions you don't notice the size... In fact, I think that full size loaves look ginormous now!

Other little changes - drinks.
Try switching from regular calorie soda/pop to the diet version or even better water. This will help with your fluid uptake too and metabolism of fat. It should also prevent any bowel or bladder/kidney problems. If you hate the "taste" of water, maybe invest in a water filter to help eliminate any extra metals etc that may be in the water tainting it. Alternatively, add a small amount (not regular amount) of squash to just give it a hint of flavour, or even have a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice in it. Switch from 2 sugars in your tea/coffee to 1 and from 1 to half or even sweetener. If you can avoid the sugar and sweetener all the better. Black tea on it's own can be very good too. Even better, switch black tea for green which has LOADS of health benefits and a brilliant effect of your metabolism. It comes in so many flavours too to take away the "acquired" taste.

However; if you're having any kind of sleep issues I recommend avoiding all caffeinated drinks altogether, or at the very least all after about 1500 (3pm). Remember - chocolate contains caffeine so this would include cocoa/hot chocolate! Other things to note on this matter is having a carbohydrate snack such as Horlicks and a biscuit or something similar about an hour before bed will help release the hormone Melatonin in to your body which helps promote sleep. A hungry animal won't sleep as he will want to hunt for food - a satisfied animal will sleep! The same applies to us humans!

Breaking up healthy snacks throughout the day between meals MAY help control your appetite and help with portion control. Making sure you eat your dinner properly and focus on it as opposed to something like the TV will mean you eat at a pace where your body and head know it is getting full as it can take about half an hour; if you rush you can end up over eating and feeling pretty bloated later. Exercising portion control by measuring out your food is great as you won't over serve and in fact, most of the time is plenty! If you feel peckish- try and exchange sugar rich and fat rich food for something like a crunchy apple or even better, some crunchy carrots. These will satisfy your "need" to eat through the physical chewing and biting yet be low in calories - vegetables are better than fruit generally as they tend to contain less fructose and sugars so will irritate your stomach less and also you will get less calories from them. Root vegetables are fantastic as they are low GI too which means they release energy slowly so you don't hit as great a sugar high and then crash quickly. The same goes for wholemeal over whiteflour products.
REMEMBER, ALL FOODS HAVE A PART TO PLAY IN YOUR DIET SO DON'T TOTALLY BANISH ONE TYPE NECESSARILY!
Even I like to have some white toast with butter when I go home to visit my family.

Anyway - thats just my quick version of some quick calorie savers for you to try!

Fitness Tools and Tips - an Introduction

In this post I just want to talk about a few bits and pieces which I consider core to MY personal fitness training.

First my trainers. Personally I have Asics Gel 1150 trainers, I replace them every 6 months. I bought these trainers after having a gait analysis done at "Up & Running". I only did this as I was consistently getting lower limb problems whilst I was in Initial Officer Training. However, since then (and a whole lot of rest!) I've not had any lower limb problems as a result of running. They are extremely comfortable and cushioned! BUT... this doesn't mean that these trainers are for you... my point here is, if you're going to be doing a lot of exercise, invest in a great pair of trainers that are comfortable and provide the correct support and performance for your biomechanics. It costs around £10 to get a gait analysis done, some do it for free; normally if they charge they offset the cost of the analysis against the trainers you buy from them if you do. Trainers should be replaced every 6 months and treated well, leave them to air properly to prevent sweat build up causing you infections on your feet, bacterial or fungal. ALWAYS wear socks, if possible absorbent/padded ones designed for sport. If possible rotate between 2 pairs so that if you exercise every day you can allow the other pair to dry out properly. NEVER wash your trainers. You could damage the structure of them as it tends to damage / degrade the rubber and other materials in the trainer.

Secondly; my Polar Heart Monitor. I use this in the form of a chest strap which then transmits to the cardio equipment in the gym. This helps me know which effort/training band I'm working in and also it allows me to look at my heart rate over a period of weeks for the same exercise. This helps me know if I'm getting fitter and adapt my training, perhaps run at a faster pace or for much longer to avoid not gaining any further benefit.

Thirdly; another key bit of equipment is my iPhone with Nike+ & Nike+GPS on it! Both apps are amazing and really help me train. Especially when out on long runs; Nike+GPS can be a God-send as it provides feedback such as distance covered, average pace, total time and even "Attaboys" and cheers if you link in to Facebook. On top of that you can upload your runs to Nike+ running and track your progress and look at your workouts. With Nike+GPS you can see your run on a map (Google maps) and see your pace at various stages of the route - the faster you were the greener that part, the more red indicates you were at the slower end of your slowest pace. In addition, it will calculate an estimation of calories burned from your biometric data such as height, weight, age and gender. It also helps it calculating your pace due to your height. The other good thing about my iPhone is that I can carry a piece of safety equipment(phone!), a music player and a fitness tracker all in one handy device that fits into an arm sleeve when I run. It's fab!

Finally... when I work out in the gym, my final friend is the water bottle! If interval training on the treadmill, you need to keep well hydrated and after any phys session its important to make sure you hydrate to prevent inefficient post -workout fat and calorie burn, dehydration and some of its more sinister symptoms and side effects, and also to help you cool down. Its also needed by your body to help flush out the toxins, lactic acid and help repair muscle. Remember, weight lost immediately after exercise is purely as a result of water loss and not actual body weight! Don't cheat yourself! Look after your body!
On that note, post workout protein shakes can be effective and really good, but remember, they do count towards your daily calories and can be full of additional rubbish and calories - you should find out what serving size you need for your height, weight, effort and goals. Also, you can add electrolyte powder to your water in order to help balance the salts lost during sweating, careful again, if you're hoping to achieve weight loss, some of these contain a significant amount of calories. Finally, if you're doing a long workout (over an hour) of sustained endurance exercise, for example, a long run, I recommend you have a drink with some energy such as a sports isotonic style drink to add some carbohydrates to your body as your body will only be able to sustain efficient energy burn for a certain amount of time, adding a little boost will help you maintain safe and effective exercise that you will gain benefit from. You can also consume "Go" gels which are a carbohydrate gel, usually fruit flavoured. They are good because they act quickly and effectively, but you must drink water with them which can be a little inconvenient of doing a long run outside.

Thats my tips to fitness and exercise for today! These are just personal choices and experiences, there are a multitude of other ways to help you out, these are a small selection that work for me as an individual!

Now get your bum out and about! :)

Creating and managing a food diary

In this post I'm going to tell you about food diaries; how and why to keep one.

So, why should you keep a food diary?
There are a number of reasons as to why; firstly it's a great way of planning meals. I always plan what I'm going to eat a few days before hand just so I know what I'm going to buy and how much of it. This helps to stop wastage. It also helps me plan and factor in when I can indulge myself. For example, if I know I'm going out for dinner on a certain day I can make a rough estimation of what sort of meal I'll be having and the calories etc in it. To avoid overeating for the day, I can make sure I eat appropriate amounts of food and of certain nutritional value in the rest of the day and/or week. In addition, I know the days I exercise and can plan meals around that and my lifestyle. For example, I'll probably go for a low calorie/ low fat filling ready meal on a Tuesday night as I finish work with just enough time to get changed and go to my netball training session. By the time I've finished netball training, it's starting to get quite late and I'm usually very hungry. A ready meal takes a short while to cook and if its filling, I'll feel satisfied, meaning I don't snack on quite so much later before bed. Keeping a food diary helps you to analyse your eating habits if you are trying to achieve a certain goal. For example, you could be undereating, overeating, not eating enough of the "right" thing, not drinking enough fluids and eating certain things at certain times of the day or eating particular items due to emotions. It's all very useful though to log all this information. It also is great if you have noticed a change in your digestive system or a suspect allergy/intolerance. If you can link something to certain symptoms, you can take the information to your doctor who will suggest a useful course of action whether it be to discount it, eliminate it from your diet or send you for testing or to a nutrition/dietician. You should NEVER eliminate a food group off your own initiative, such as dairy products, fruit etc unless under strict medical supervision, control  and monitoring

So How do I keep a food diary?
Anyone can keep a food diary. My advice is to use one online such as at www.myfitnesspal.com ; it is much easier for you to track your diary here as it provides the nutritional value and physically shows you if you are under eating/ overeating and a breakdown of the components of your diet such as fibre, carbohydrates, protein and minerals. It compares them for you against the recommended allowances and also can produce reports. It also allows you to track your energy expenditure against this.

However, if you go down the hard route, you may decide to keep a paper food diary. Here, you will have to base all your info on your own calculations of the products you are eating. This can be very time consuming and sometimes inaccurate. However, what you could do is write down in a paper diary what you are eating and the quantity and later upload/transfer this information on to an online diary. This is particularly useful if you are without an internet connection for a few days for example.

If you know your Daily Caloric Needs (see previous post) you can also use this to calculate how much exercise you need to do in order to "negate" or cancel your overeat as some days you will.

Other points to note:
It's ideal to track the amount of fluids you are taking on board... cups of tea and coffee etc all add up to sneaky calories when added with milk and sugars (a cup of tea or coffee with milk and 2 sugars is about 28 calories.... have 3 or 4 a day and that's a sneaky 100 ish calories!) It's the same for all those cheeky fizzy drinks and squash. Even keeping an eye on diet drinks is ideal as they can contribute to weight gain, bloating, fatty deposits etc. Not only that, but it may help with your eating habits analysis.

Reemember, it doesn't matter if you go over your daily caloric needs you can always burn off the extra and don't kid yourself by underestimating portion size and also everything you eat.

Hope you found this useful!

Basal Metabolic Rate and Calculating Daily Caloric Needs

Basal Metabolic Rate what is it?

All the time we are above we are using energy. Energy to keep or vital organs functioning, energy to keep us warm, energy for digestion, producing enzymes, allowing muscles in our gut to move, our heart to beat. So even when we are at rest or even asleep, you can see we use energy.

The Basal Metabolic Rate is the amount of energy required for us to stay alive if totally sedentary, for example- staying in bed all day.

To calculate your BMR use your current weight and height measurements. There are two formulas, one for men and one for women. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE RIGHT ONE!


Imperial BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

Once you have calculated your BMR you can then calculate your Daily Caloric Needs dependent upon your activity levels.

Your Daily Caloric Need number is the amount of energy required for you to sustain your weight at a specified activity level based around your BMR. To calculate it, see the table below:


Harris Benedict Formula
To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:
If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

The activity level also includes your general daily activity. So for example, If you are sedentary you probably work in an office at a desk in front of a computer with little exercise.

Lightly active would be the above doing exercise too around 3 times a week.
Moderately active would be someone who spends most of their day on their feet such as a nurse and who is doing exercise about 3 days a week.

This information can be used to determine if you are over or under eating for your activity, height and weight which can be useful if you are trying to lose or gain weight.

Next blog - keeping a food diary and then some recipes!!!

Body Mass Index

The body mass index is a ratio figure to indicate your weight compared to your height. It gives a good indication in most people as to their physical body fat to lean tissue composition. It does have its limitations and I am no longer convinced that it is that accurate for myself as I haven't gained any "size" yet my weight has gone up since getting very physically active suggesting I have become much more muscular. I prefer using the body fat percentage method to look at my physical composition as that gives me a figure which I think reflects my physical body better. I'll post that later.

Calculating your BMI is easy - there are a number of online calculators of which I have posted links at the end of this post. 

However if you want to do it for yourself then you can use the calculations below.

You will need your bathroom scales, tape measure and a pen and paper to do this plus a calculator if you are mathematically challenged! If possible get someone to assist you as measuring your height if it's unknown can be a bit tricky.

Using the scales, measure your weight in either pounds or kilograms. There are 2.2 lbs approximately to a kilogram and there are 14 lbs to a stone of weight. If you measure your weight in lbs, measure or use your metric height converted to inches. There are 12 inches to a foot and there are 2.54 cm to an inch.

Imperial BMI Formula

BMI = ( Weight in Pounds / ( Height in inches x Height in inches ) ) x 703

Metric BMI Formula

BMI = ( Weight in Kilograms / ( Height in Meters x Height in Meters ) )

A BMI of less than 18.5 is considered Underweight. This is unhealthy. 

A BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal/healthy.

A BMI of between 25 and 30 is considered overweight which starts to increase your chances of illness and poor cardiovascular and respiratory health.

A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese and this will greatly increase the risk of you developing cardiovascular and other health problems. Risk of heart attacks and strokes and other medical conditions such as sleep apnea are of significant increase.

As a final thought to this remember, if you train lots, especially for hypertrophy (enlarged muscles-bodybuilding) you are likely to have a high BMI. If this sounds like you, I suggest you do a body fat analysis instead to look at your lean to fatty tissue ratio. In older people it can give a false "reading" too as they tend to have a lot of muscle wastage.

Next Blog...calculating BMR and daily caloric needs.

Links to online calculators:

http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx - very good and approved by the British National Health Service
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Resting Heart Rate

This is just a quick post on Resting Heart Rate The normal range is about 60-90 BPM although this can be extended a little. Very athletic people or people who train a lot will probably be below 60...personally mine is usually around 49-56 BPM. I run a lot and cover long distance when I do.

Heart rate under 60BPM is defined as bradycardia. This can be a problem but usually its a result of hypertrophy of the heart muscle which means it is much more efficent so needs to pump less often. It's in this instance called Athletic heart syndrome/athlete's heart or athletic bradycardia. Generally speaking, this has no negative effects on the body. It typically happens in people who do cardiovascular training for around an hour most days of the week on a long term scale.

If your heart rate is lower than 60 BPM and can't see a reason why it may be worth taking a quick trip to the docs. If your RHR is more than 90 BPM its worth looking at why.

There are reasons its slightly elevated:

You might be anxious at the time of taking the reading - also called white coat syndrome - it often affects blood pressure readings too.

However, if you don't engage in much physical activity you probably will have a higher resting Heart Rate too. 

Remember, if you are concerned SEE YOUR DOCTOR - but it's probably nothing, there is natural variation and in my previous post you can see other factors that affect your resting heart rate

Heart Rate

Having taken your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) we can now calculate your Training Heart Rate (THR), Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) using your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) and Resting Heart Rate.

Firstly this is all based on a commonly used model, but it is a model so you may find slight variations. However, I find it to be spot on.

Calculate your MHR.

MHR = 220 - age in years

Calculate your HRR (sometimes also called your Working Heart Rate WHR).

HRR = MHR - RHR

Calculate your THR according to what you want to get out of your workout.

The calculation for this is to take your HRR (or WHR) and multiply it by the percentage of the effort level you want divide by 100 

For example for 60% effort

HRR (or WHR) X (60%/100) = THR for 60% effort

It can also be calculated like this 

HRR (or WHR) x 0.6 = THR at 60% effort.

Please see below for the bands you require for your goals.

Full example.

I am aged 23.

My Resting Heart Rate - 49 Beats Per Minute (BPM)

Therefore my Max Heart Rate (MHR) is:

220 BPM - 23 years = 197 BPM

My Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) or Working Heart Rate (WHR) is:

MHR - RHR = 197 BPM - 49 BPM = 148 BPM

For a 65% effort workout:

WHR or HRR X 0.65 = 65% effort HR

148 X 0.65 = 145 BPM 

or for a 90% effort Heart Rate

WHR or HRR X 0.90 = 90% effort HR

148 X 0.90 = 183 BPM

The Energy Efficient or Recovery Zone - 60% to 70%

Training within this zone develops basic endurance and aerobic capacity. All easy recovery running should be completed at a maximum of 70%. Another advantage to running in this zone is that while you are happily fat burning you may lose weight and you will be allowing your muscles to re-energise with glycogen, which has been expended during those faster paced workouts.

The Aerobic Zone - 70% to 80%

Training in this zone will develop your cardiovascular. The body's ability to transport oxygen to, and carbon dioxide away from, the working muscles can be developed and improved. As you become fitter and stronger from training in this zone it will be possible to run some of your long weekend runs at up to 75%, so getting the benefits of some fat burning and improved aerobic capacity.

The Anaerobic Zone - 80% to 90%

Training in this zone will develop your lactic acid system. In this zone, your individual anaerobic threshold (AT) is found - sometimes referred to the point of deflection (POD). During these heart rates, the amount of fat being utilised as the main source of energy is greatly reduced and glycogen stored in the muscle is predominantly used. One of the by-products of burning this glycogen is lactic acid. There is a point at which the body can no longer remove the lactic acid from the working muscles quickly enough. This is your anaerobic threshold (AT). Through the correct training, it is possible to delay the AT by being able to increase your ability to deal with the lactic acid for a longer period of time or by pushing the AT higher.

The Red Line Zone 90% to 100%

Training in this zone will only be possible for short periods. It effectively trains your fast twitch muscle fibres and helps to develop speed. This zone is reserved for interval training and only the very fit are able to train effectively within this zone.

Heart rate variations for a given intensity

A reduction in heart rate for a given intensity is usually due to an improvement in fitness but a number of other factors might explain why heart rates can vary for a given intensity:

• Dehydration can increase the heart rate by up to 7.5%
• Heat and humidity can increase the heart rate by 10 beats/minute
• Altitude can increase the heart rate by 10 to 20%, even when acclimatised
• Biological variation can mean the heart rate varies from day to day by 2 to 4 beats/minute