Week five

Well here we are in week five and I'm finding this healthy eating lark the easiest of all the diet and get fit schemes I've done. Don't get me wrong, the junk food cravings are still there, the need to comfort eat has not gone away, but the cravings haven't manifested into obsession like they normally do when I am dieting.

I don't want to sound like I am bashing diet plans, some are very well constructed and work well for people, I love Slimming World eating plans and did well on them, but I found I slipped back into my old eating habits and piled on the weight again, so this time round I'm trying to find a sensible approach to food that I can live with for the rest of my life. I need to find a way to live with a food addiction, or whatever is wrong inside my head. This time I am learning what foods I can eat healthily and learning to listen to my body and how it responds to the food I eat.

So this last week I got another bad carbohydrate craving, but I am happy that a couple of slices of wholemeal toast and peanut butter knocked them out pretty quickly. Usually food cravings for me, turn into an all consuming obsession as I eat mindlessly through piles of refined sugar and carbohydrates trying to satisfy an unfulfillable need. It is hard to explain, but I need to eat, I imagine this is how alcoholics feel when needing to drink. You know it is bad for you but it doesn't matter, you just feel better whilst eating, even to the point of feeling ill.

This week I had chocolate for the first time in five weeks. I thought that seeing as I have now been off the junk completely for over a month, I would try to see if I could introduce chocolate into my diet without it resulting in the total breakdown of the plan. I bought 3 mini packs of Cadbury's buttons, so that if the worst happened, and I scarfed the lot, I couldn't do too much damage. That afternoon I was working at my desk and decided to crack open the buttons. My taste buds were all a quiver at the prospect of chocolate, but surprisingly the taste of that first button wasn't as satisfying as I anticipated. I don't know if my taste has changed in the last few weeks, but the chocolate didn't give me the usual pleasure hit that it used to. The flavour and texture was nice, but a small bag that would have lasted me all but a few minutes, now sat half eaten on my desk when I went to bed.

Next weeks experiment, I plan to face my nemesis, the Biscuit. 

Dietary Fiber: The important non food

We know we should eat whole grain cereals, wholewheat bread and the magical five a day, as they are a good source of dietary fiber, but what is it and what does it do for us?

Fiber is the the part of plants our digestive system can't break down and use, so in reality it passes through us and provides no nutritional value, essentially a non food. There are two types of fiber in our diet, soluble and insoluble. Pectin and gum are water-soluble fibers found inside plant cells. Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin are fibers found in the plant's cell walls are water insoluble. Each type of fiber serves a different purpose in our gut.

Water soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Soluble fiber is found in peas, beans, citrus fruits, carrots, barley, oats and apples.

Insoluble fiber helps ease the movement of material through your digestive system, a diet without enough fiber can result in diarrhea or constipation. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, beans and vegetables, such as cauliflower, green beans and potatoes, are good sources of insoluble fiber.

Current research indicates that for optimal benefits you should eat around 14g of fiber per 1000 calories, reducing this slightly if you are over 50.

	....	Under 50	Over 50
Men		38g	30g
Women		25g	21g

Tips for eating more fiber

Considering a fist sized, 250g baked potato has five and a half grams of fiber, consuming 38g a day can be quite an effort. Here are a few tips for how I try to cram in the fiber.

Whole grains, this is the obvious one, eat whole grain cereal and bread.

Add flax meal to your food, as one table spoon contains nearly two grams of fiber. I add it to baked beans on toast, soup, bolognese and chilli, by stirring in one or two tablespoons just prior to serving. You can also stir into things like yogurt and coleslaw, but I haven't tried these yet.

A glass of citrus fruit juice with your breakfast, a typical 200 ml glass of OJ gives you and extra half a gram of fiber plus counts towards one of your five a day.

Add chopped fruit to a yogurt, not only does it add fiber, but add a little extra bulk to your snack, which will keep you full longer.

Porridge is not only a good source of fiber, but add in a table spoon of sliced almonds, a table spoon of raisins and some flax meal sweetened with a little honey, gives you a filling low calorie breakfast with nearly four and a half grams of fiber.

Don't peel fruit and veg with edible skins, rather just wash and eat whole.

Lentils or split peas can be added to stews, bolognese or chilli in smallish amounts without effecting the taste, and will add a fiber boost. Or just try split pea soup, maybe with a little lean ham chopped up for added protein. 

Beans on toast is a 'classic' British dish, but this humble staple of student life, when made with wholewheat or wholemeal bread, contains over 16g of fiber. Add a spoon full of flax meal and you can get well over half your daily fiber in one meal.

One word of caution, add fiber to you diet slowly over a number of weeks. Don't just jump from a low fiber diet of burger and chips to wholegrain everything with a side salad over night. Your gut won't have time to adjust, leading to cramps, gas, diarrhea or constipation.


The Science:
The Mayo Clinic: Nutrition and healthy eating
Food and Nutrition Board: Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. September 5, 2002

5 A Day

The government have decided to promote the idea that we should all eat at least five portions of fruit and veg, every day to help keep us healthy. But where did they get the number from?

It turns out that the original five a day was started as the “National five-a-day for better health” program in the USA in 1991 as a partnership between the National Cancer Institute and the Produce for Better Health Foundation. The original program was launched with no actual science to back it up and it has been claimed to have been little more than a marketing ploy by the Institute and the Produce for Better Health Foundation members, which coincidentally turn out to represent most of the US fruit and vegetable growers, and some of the companies that produce the fungicides, insecticides and herbicides used on the crops.

Several organisations have tried to reverse engineer some science into the slogan, but opinions still vary as to how effective five portions of fruit and veggies at countering illness and obesity. This doesn't mean we shouldn't stop eating our veggies, rather we should look at what we are eating and try to make sure we are eating good food.

My theory is that if we look at our bodies and in particular our teeth, it is a safe bet that we evolved to eat a varied or omnivorous diet, just like our relatives the apes. And it is very rare to see an obese chimp in the wild, so we would do well to imitate their diet. Now even on my most enthusiastic healthy eating days I couldn't eat the same food as chimps, but making sure I eat plenty of raw fruit and veggies, lean meat, seeds, grains and natural oils and fats, I get good food my body can utilise correctly. Highly processed foods, take away, packet foods etc all contain abnormally high levels of nutritionally poor calories. What I am finding is the more food I eat that I have cooked or prepared from raw ingredients, the better I feel both physically and mentally.

So don't stress if you can't manage five portions of fruit and veggies every day, but do pay careful attention to what you do eat. Read the ingredients and the small print and understand what you are really eating. Try to make informed and healthy choices and your body will reward you.



The Science:
Paolo Boffetta et al, “Fruit and vegetable intake and overall cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)”, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, (April 2010).

Peri-peri chicken

The fiery taste of peri peri chicken is hard to beat. The original peri peri is said to come from Africa, when the Portuguese explorers first encountered the pili-pili, which is the Swahili name for the notorious birds eye chilli. They blended it with herbs, spices, lemon and vinegar to form what we know as peri peri.

This is not as good as my favorite Nandos peri peri, but this is a healthy option that I can cook at home.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, skinned and spatchcocked

6 fresh red chillies, more if you want it hotter
1 tbsp garlic, blanched and chopped
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp oregano
½ tbsp paprika
60 ml olive oil
50 ml red wine vinegar



How to:

1. Roast the chillies in a 180°C oven for about 10 minutes and allow to cool.
2. Chop the chillies and mix with the garlic, sea salt, oregano, paprika, olive oil and vinegar in a pan and simmer for 2 -3 minutes.
3. Let the mixture cool and then blitz to a puree.
4. Baste the chicken with half the sauce mix and place in a bowl and cover with film and let it marinade in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Cook the chicken in a 200°C oven for 30 - 40 minutes, or until the juices run out clear. Basting occasionally with the remaining sauce mix. You can start the chicken off in a griddle pan to add that BBQ look. 
6. Serve with golden rice and a green leafy salad and a side of home made coleslaw.

Serves 4

The dreaded gym

Losing weight is basically a simple calculation, consume less calories than you expend during the day. Sounds simple but when you are over weight even normal chores can be exhausting, so the thought of trying a workout at the gym is close to impossible. Another factor that makes gyms an unattractive option is that thought that you will be watched by all the fit and skinny regulars, destroying and remaining self confidence you had.

Your body also conspires to keep you out of the gym, the stress the extra weight places on your body causes joint pain, blood pressure problems and you are already fatigued from walking across the car park. It also turns out that fat is metabolically active and secretes hormones that contribute to low grade, chronic inflammation, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The net result is your excess body fat causes you to feel like crap before you even start.

I'm recovering from a serious back injury and really don't want to aggravate it by doing something daft in the name of getting fit, so my plan is to scour the web for exercise ideas that are low impact, free and will start me on the route to conventional exercise. Here is a list of some of the things I have found and am planning to try this week.

1. Toothbrush squats, we all spend 2 minutes stood passively at the sink brushing our teeth every morning, staring vacantly into space. The idea is to do gentle knee bends or squats whilst brushing. The sink or wall will provide a bit of stability if needed at first.
2. Sinkercise, when stood at the sink, stand on one leg. This simple exercise will work your bodies core muscles improving your balance and posture. Try to do this without holding on to the sink or counter top, the slight wobble is what you are aiming to control with your abdominal muscles.
3. Deskerobics, if you find you spend a lot of your day sat at a desk, during your screen breaks, take a moment to do some stretches. Hold each stretch for a couple of seconds, then relax and repeat.
4. Become the office beverage distribution officer, be the one to walk round the office, collect the cups and mugs and make the teas and coffees. Not a huge effort, but the extra mileage on each tea break adds up. Just steer clear of the biscuit box.
5. Stand up whilst on the phone, walk around if you have a cordless phone. You could also try slowly raising yourself up on to tip toe, holding for a couple of seconds then slowing relaxing. This will help strengthen your legs and ankles, but also work your abdominal core.
6. Adverticise, whilst watching TV during each advert break, slowly raise each leg in turn, and hold for as long as you can, then slowly lower your leg, then switch legs. If you are finding this is getting easier, rest a cushion on your foot and try it with the additional weight. You can also add arm stretching and raises to your adverticise routine.
7. This one is for the guys, rather than performing the heroes walk, where you manage to get all the shopping in from the car in a single finger crippling journey, make a trip for each bag, you will increase the distance walked. To add a bit of upper body workout, carry the bag away from your body, at arms length. Mind your back with heavy bags.

One tip I think is going to be helpful is to make 3 lists, the first should be easy activities. The second list should be moderately difficult and the third list should be difficult activities. Each day plan to do three items from list one, two from the second list and one from the third list. Each week re-evaluate your lists and as activities get easier, move them to a different list. Then each month you can compare lists from previous months to monitor your progress.

One word of caution though, diving into any form of exercise when overweight can be potentially dangerous, so make sure you are careful, listen to your body for warning signs and have a chat with your doctor.


The Science:
ACS: New evidence that fat cells are not just dormant storage depots for calories 
Dr. Nicholas Perricone, MD, CNS

Omega 3

So I have heard all over the place that I should be eating oily fish each week to make sure I am getting plenty of omega-3. But I don't like fish, especially the oily kinds, so what should I be doing and what is this omega 3 stuff anyway? Is it just another 'miracle cure all' peddled by the food supplement industry, or is it something we actually need?

What is omega 3? Or to give it it's proper name, omega-3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids needed by the body for essential bodily functions, such as blood clotting and building cell membranes in the brain. Our bodies cannot make these fatty acids itself, so we need to get them from our diet.  

There are two types of fatty acids, one sort is found in nuts, seeds (and seed oil) and some dark green leaf vegetables, the second type is found in fatty fish. Your body needs both kinds of fatty acid, but the good news is that some of the first type of omega 3 you consume is converted to the second type. Science isn't sure how much, and if it is enough on its own, but studies of vegetarians who never consume oily fish have sufficient type 2 fatty acid when eating a diet rich in type one fatty acid.

So with a sensible diet, that contains a balanced source of nutrients, you don't need to take any supplements. If you struggle to get enough of the vegetable based omega 3, fish oil supplements are a good alternative.

Personally I don't want to take fish oil pills every day, so have opted to try to include as much omega 3 rich foods into my diet. So I eat a couple of brazil nuts each day as they provide other essential nutrients. I have also started to add flax-meal to my cooking and as well as being a good source of omega 3, it is also high in fiber, 2 table spoons providing 15% of my daily requirement and 132% of omega 3 (alpha-linolenic acid, type one).

So to answer my original questions, yes we need omega 3 but we don't have to believe the food supplement merchants, a balanced diet will provide enough omega 3 for a healthy body.

The Science:
Harvard School of Public Health: Omega-3 Fatty Acids 
Muskiet FA, Fokkema MR, Schaafsma A, Boersma ER, Crawford MA. Is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) essential? Lessons from DHA status regulation, our ancient diet, epidemiology and randomized controlled trials. J Nutr. 2004;134(1):183-186. 
Cunnane SC. Problems with essential fatty acids: time for a new paradigm? Prog Lipid Res. 2003;42(6):544-568 

Week four

Well I'm just about four weeks in to my new life style and I'm surprised as to how well I am feeling. I still suffer with cravings and the need to comfort eat, but apart from a few minor wobbles I'm doing well.

This week however I when I had to pull my belt in another notch, I decided to measure the distance between the last hole on my belt (where I started) and the 5th hole I used for the first time today. It was an amazing 11.5 centimeters, or 4 1/2 inches for the old folks out there. I admit in the great scheme of things I still have a huge way to go, but 11 and a half centimeters in just four weeks has left me with a grin a mile wide.

Another thing I noticed this week was walking around our village in the summer heat wasn't killing me. I felt like I was walking not waddling for the first time in ages and that made me feel good. This healthy living lark isn't easy, not by a long shot, but I find focusing on these small milestones or feelings of achievement really help, especially when I feel a dip coming on. All the good intentions in the world are no match for a mood dip and the need to eat to satisfy an emotional need. But remembering how I felt when I noticed a change in my body, that feeling of accomplishment, pride and well being does go some way in fighting the need for food.

I thought I had finally rid myself of the carbohydrate cravings, but they were back again this week. Luckily I had a massive computer project to complete this week, so I managed to distract myself with an awful lot of programming and only one minor wobble, but I am happy to report that the wobble only consisted of an extra 2 small slices of wholemeal bread and a soft cheese pretzel from Tesco. I'm happy that when I did falter I made a controlled choice and did not resort to mindless eating that I would have succumbed to only a month ago.

So with a smaller waist and a lighter step, we head off towards month two and August.

P.S. The numbers for the Tesco pretzel are; Calories 315 and 5g of fat (1g saturated). So for falling off the wagon, it wasn't such a bad slip.