Boom! I lost :)

25th November 2016

Never underestimate the power of good morning texts, apologies and random compliments.

YAY, I lost 1.5lb, so now I've lost 10lb in 8 weeks and it's true, in two weeks I felt it, four weeks I definitely started to see it and last week I heard it so many times from people telling me they could see the difference, I'm chuffed, I've managed to stay on track for 8 weeks, not 100% at all but 10lb worth of weight loss and that's more than I expected over the 12 weeks if I'm honest so anything from now is a bonus, if I managed a stone by Christmas I'd be so pleased because I would be able to enjoy my break without worrying too much about gaining a few pounds.

Here is the link to the food I ate and yeah there are a few bites missed off that I consumed! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154488223600862.1073741941.595730861&type=1&l=0be2df15de

I'm well aware my diet wasn't the most varied over the last week but I'm feeling better now and ready to get back to it, I remember a few years ago I did a challenge with myself where I decided I wouldn't eat the same meal twice for a month, I managed it, it wasn't easy.

But my challenge this week is to see how many different ingredients I can include in my diet because variety is what I need to keep me engaged and eating a varied diet ensures we're getting all the nutrients and minerals we need from a health point of view.

Did you know the recommended daily allowance of calcium needed is 700mg for adults, it was pointed out to me yesterday that the photos I take never show milk or that I don't eat yogurts.  Nope I don't eat yogurt and I only have milk in my tea, occasionally I'll have a glass of skimmed milk or a cup of hot milk because I like it.  I did however go for 8 years without cow's milk because I was vegan for those years and I was concerned about my bone density etc so I had a test a couple of years ago and all was good thankfully.

The thing is you can get calcium from non-dairy sources, it's all about making sure you do, that goes for all vitamins and nutrients, you need a good balanced, varied diet and usually you'll be getting everything you need. 

Some foods, such as spinach, contain a high amount of calcium but is bound to a substance called 'oxalate' which hinders calcium absorption.  This is why including other low-oxalate vegetables such as rocket, cabbage and kale are key to a calcium-rich diet.  I love green veggies thankfully, I'm fancying cabbage after writing this now, I had rocket with my salad last night.  Interestingly, calcium in cow's milk is not as easily absorbed, meaning that vegetables such as kale are much better sources of calcium than animal milks or 'dairy'.

Salt and caffeine have been shown to inhibit calcium uptake too, so if you can cut down your intake of those, all the better, I'm glad to say I'm not drinking as much tea as I used to, I prefer water these days, salt is a work in progress, I don't add it to my food when I'm cooking but I do like it on my chips!  Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables will increase calcium absorption apparently, while adequate protein intake (roughly 1g of protein per kg of your healthy body weight) will also help.  Nutrition is a fascinating subject and still a very young science which is one of the reasons, theories keep changing and there are so many different opinions.

Did you know drinking hard water can provide 200mg of calcium daily, although soft water contains almost none!   Other sources of none dairy calcium included tofu, oranges, figs, some beans including baked beans, nuts and seeds. 

It is worth thinking and looking at your meals over the course of a week or so to see if you are getting the variety you need, not just for the calcium but other nutritients and vitamins, this time of year we need Vitamin D, good food sources are;

• oily fish – such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel
• red meat
• liver
• egg yolks
• fortified foods such as most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals

I reckon I eat enough eggs!  You can always take a multivitamin if you're concerned, but yeah I'm setting myself a little challenge this week, my goal is to include as many ingredients as I possibly can, if I include yesterday as it's my first day of my week, I had;

1.    Egg
2.    Skimmed Milk
3.    Cress
4.    Bread
5.    Pork (sticky toffee - so included syrup)
6.    Potato
7.    Green beans
8.    mushrooms
9.    Salmon
10. Lemon
11. Satsuma
12. Lemon & Dill mayo
13. Salad leaves including rocket and watercress
14. Babybel

           Wine :)

Not a bad start, wonder if I can do 100 over the week?  You fancy joining me on my challenge?

A calendar month today will be Christmas day, I'm going to have a cracking good week this week, it's not Christmas yet!  I want a weight loss next week and I'm going to do everything I can to help me get it, I managed my 30 minute walk yesterday too which I'm chuffed to say I made time for. 

Here's to a fantastic Friday!