21st September 2010

Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Lou Holtz

I lost 2lb when I got weighed yesterday, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for more, 3-4lb was my goal and I did what I tell others not to do, aim too high and then end up disappointed, 2lb any other week would have been fabulous! I know I had two extremely bad weeks preceding and got away with only a 2lb gain so really ones balanced out the other! I still feel much better in myself than I have done in a while, more energy, I spent time in the kitchen again yesterday, made a turkey hotpot and a bacon, onion and cabbage mash dish. So that’s the most important thing – feeling better in myself. We also had some amazing weight loss in yesterdays meetings, 164lb lost – WOW!

In my work I notice that the word FAT offends some, I suppose it all depends on the context it’s being used in. Today I thought I’d educate us again, so I’m talking about the fat we eat, not the fat we wear ;-)

Did you know the “Recommended Daily Allowance” of fat for a woman is 70g, for a man 95g. But did you realise curry has around 26g fat, burger and chips could be as much as 45g fat and a Kebab provides an incredible 82g fat!

So if you’re a woman the kebab alone wipes out a whole days fat allowance!

If you’d like to live a little bit longer these takeout meals have got to be treats and not an everyday thing!

The reason that fat matters of course is because fat makes us fat! But also the wrong kind of fat can raise our cholesterol, and over time this can cause a heart attack or stroke. Did you know too that there is good cholesterol that actually cleans away what has built up! Saturated fat actually starts clogging up the arteries and that’s the bad news, this comes from too much full fat dairy -things like cream, pies, pasties, inferior fatty sausages and fatty red meat.

So to help lower the amount you eat, one thing you can do is take the skin off a chicken breast – this cuts the saturated fat by 30%.

Did you know a lot of vegetable oils contain saturated fats so read the label!

The good news and the good fats come from good old Olive Oil because they help stop the bad fats from clogging our arteries up. Try rapeseed and hemp oil – they’re packed with good fats. Obviously don’t use copious amounts of either ;-)

Seeds and nuts are good too and you can easily toast and pop in your cereals. Again remember they are high in points, you don’t need lots.

Foods high in soluble fibre like lentils, beans, chickpeas can lower cholesterol.

And oily fish like mackerel, salmon, tuna and anchovies are great for the good fats. Sardines, just have them once a week, they’re excellent and there only going to cost 35p!

Fish oils are proven to help the heart and are linked with reduced stress and depression.

And it’s not just about the fats, it’s the antioxidants too, good old dark bitter chocolate and red wine, these all contain antioxidants and that’s what stops the fats from clogging up our arteries. So that’s good news isn’t it! You’re going to weigh and point these things though of course, and if you haven’t got the points spare there’s always raspberries and strawberries, which are another great source of anti-oxidants.

Remember life starts now.

Are you living yet?