Monday, 12 September 2011

Bring on brekkie...

12th September 2011

If you judge people you have no time to love them. Mother Teresa

Monday morning and over the weekend I’ve used all of my weekly ProPoints allowance and every activity ProPoints I’ve earned except one, I’m pleased with that though because I have genuinely had everything I’ve fancied except lager, because I know if I start drinking that, it’s like drinking pop, so I didn’t put temptation in my way and I left it on the shop shelf!  How was your weekend?  Are you looking forward to getting on the scales this week?  I’ve changed my weigh in day to Thursday so I will be sticking to my 29 dailies and any activity ProPoints I can earn I will use only if I need them.

Mom and I took Alfie out for another walk yesterday, not too far, we were out just half hour or so but mom loved walking round the pools at Essington and chatting to anyone who made eye contact ;), and all this walking and running got me 6pp on my pedometer which in my world is a large glass of wine as we all know.  It’s alcohol free from today till weigh day though, and I’m going to remember to take that chicken out of the freezer today and make a curry I think with one of them.  I’ve also got leftover mashed potato and cabbage so a bubble and squeak type dish perhaps, plus there’s some potatoes left so maybe a corned beef hash.  Potatoes are cheap and filling so always a good option, especially now the temperatures dropping.

It’s still really dark outside, I’m already missing the light mornings, even Alfie isn’t showing signs of moving yet and normally he’s at my ankles waiting to go out.  We will still fit in our walk before work, just leave a little later.

This week I’m mostly going to continue my mission to eat healthy not just to eat to lose weight, I’m looking at the filling and healthy list (green highlighted foods) and yesterday before I ran I had a handful of almonds and raisins and a banana to give my body some fast energy, it was too early for a meal so I could just about manage that and my body did seem to appreciate it, I found running easier.  I mean think about it, if you go to bed around 9 or 10 like I do then sleep till 5, and the last thing I ate was around 8, then my bodies gone 9 hours without any fuel, then I’ve been going out with the dog for at least an hour then running, no wonder my body has struggled, it’s running on empty literally, so a little food to get it started is needed. 

I think the mistake we all make here is once we realise we should have something for breakfast we can go a little crazy and have more than we need, I worked out that 35g of fruit and nuts were 4pp, that’s plenty to get me through a half hour run, then my body can start burning off my existing fat for fuel.  Breakfast is important and I know it’s not something everyone can stomach, so find something you can, if not cereal, maybe fruit or a cereal bar, a bagel with some soft cheese.

So this week, why not join me and start every day with a satisfying breakfast to help set you up and keep you feeling full until your next meal.  I did notice that there is evidence to suggest that breakfast eaters weigh less than people who skip breakfast.

Eating breakfast is like filling up on an empty petrol tank. When you wake up in the morning, your body is low on fuel, like a car running on empty, so the idea is to choose foods that will kick-start your engine by:

·         Giving your body energy to run on.

·         Possibly preventing you from overeating later in the day.

And lets be honest, we all know if we skip breakfast, we're often more inclined to make up for it the rest of the day, in fact, if you're a classic 'snacker', eating breakfast can help you avoid those impulse munchies. In fact, a 1992 study suggests that skipping breakfast can often result in eating more to 'make up for it' throughout the rest of the day.

The ideal breakfast is based on carbohydrate and protein, apparently the most satisfying breakfasts work two ways, rapidly raising blood sugar levels for a quick burst of energy, followed by a longer term energy boost from high fibre, complex-carbohydrate, protein-containing foods that are more slowly digested.

Of course, if you love fresh fruit or sweet cereals, you can still include them in your breakfast. For example, you can mix a handful of your favourite cereal with a carton of low fat yogurt and some fruit, such as apricots or blackcurrants. If you have a blender, you can make delicious smoothies with fruit, such as bananas, and skimmed milk. Or if you have time how about:

·       Grilled back bacon and tomato slices, on brown toast, half a bagel or a muffin.
Delicious grilled kippers.
Hard-boiled or scrambled eggs (or egg whites) with a couple of crispbreads.
Low-fat yogurt.
A banana and a small handful of peanuts or almonds.

If you don’t have time for all because you’ve got to get to work, how about a packed breakfast? Try a hard boiled egg (make up a batch one evening while you're making dinner, cheese triangles or fresh fruit or those dinky little packets of raisins or dried apricots. And for those times when you really can't stop, keep a stash of Weight Watchers Snack Bars in your desk drawer or glove compartment.

If you can’t stomach the idea of eating breakfast at the crack of dawn, as long as you eat within several hours of waking up you'll be fine and many people prefer 'elevenses' anyway. Try a few grapes, half a glass of fruit juice or a plain crispbread. After a few days, your body might naturally look forward to its morning wake-up call and you can try more substantial meals.

If you’re of the belief that eating will put your hunger into overdrive, don't worry - research suggests that the opposite is true. Many people experience less erratic eating patterns (like mid-afternoon and after-dinner munchies) when they eat several small snacks and meals throughout the day. There's more good news, according to experts, in addition to being slimmer, people who eat several small, nutritious meals are often healthier than those who eat one or two big meals per day.

Don’t know about you, but I’m off to hard boil an egg!


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