CARDIO:

60 mins walking

CARDIO/STRENGTH:

20 mins ‘kickbox fast fix’ dvd

STRENGTH:

alternate bent over rows - 3 sets of 12 reps (5kg)

bent over rows - 3 sets of 12 reps (2x5kg)

alternate bicep curls - 3 sets of 12 reps (5kg)

bicep curls - 3 sets of 12 reps (2x5kg)

alternate preacher curls - 3 sets of 12 reps (5kg)

resistance band pull downs - 3 sets of 12 reps

lying dumbbell pull overs - 3 sets of 12 reps (5kg)

………………..

BREAKFAST:

2 slices wholemeal toast with low fat spread

LUNCH:

bacon sandwich (i just fancied a bit of comfort food)

DINNER:

gammon and spinach sandwich (wow ive had loads of bread again today! only just realised, writing it all down here!)

SNACKS:

banana

apple

2 oranges

2 plums

protein shake

yoghurt

can of coke

1 small choc chip cookie (i mean REALLY small!)

porridge

..sue xx

but even with all that bread, ive only gone 3 grams over my recommended carb allowance, so thats ok. i never realised before how much damn bread i eat sometimes!

just short of 1600 cals today, which is great. ive been going a little over, because,well, i dont know, i just have, but not by lots. so its good to go a tiny bit under for a change!

..sue xx

my paleo quest hasnt gone so well today. ive eaten quite a bit of bread, about three slices. but never mind, not the end of the world.

its not like am allergic or anything, im just trying to stay off it, and apart from today, ive been off it for two weeks now! thats damned good for me, because i would normally eat bread every single day!

dont know why i ate it today really. just one of those things that sort of happened without me worrying too much about it.

i was focusing too much on work and other stuff to really care lol.

anyway, yes, nothing major. a bit of bread wont kill me!

..sue xx

gone over on my carbs and calories today, but not by too much. had about 300 cals too many, and my target for carbs is between 204 and 221 grams, and today ive had 232. really not worth losing sleep over!

and again, i dont take off my exercise cals, so no great disasters. im 300 cals over my ”allowance”, but ive burned off over a thousand in exercise today.

im a little under on my fat, and spot on for my protein.

so all in all, even with that stupid hypo earlier today, ive had a pretty good day!

..sue xx

todays dinner (somewhat a favourite of mine, with just a few minor adjustments this time)

baked sweet potato, mixed salad leaves, fat free cottage cheese and baby pickled beetroot.

it was gorgeous!!!!!

..sue xx

Whether you need to take off a few pounds, or you just want to maintain the weight you have and stay fit, regular exercise combined with appropriate fitness nutrition is the key.

Many of us assume the way to trim down and tone up is to cut calories in addition to working out. And while it’s important not to overeat, you may not realize that regular, nutritious meals and healthy snacks — rather than a calorie-restrictive diet — will put you in top form. (When you diet restrictively to lose weight, the weight loss is typically water and muscle, not fat.)

Fitness nutrition should be well-rounded

So what’s the best advice about nutrition for ex-couch potatoes? First of all, check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program. Then remember that the best fitness nutrition emphasizes eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean animal protein, and eating less sugar and added fats. No single food type can adequately provide for your nutritional needs — different foods offer different nutrients — so by eating foods from the various food groups you can be sure you’ll have the nutrients you need to get and stay fit.

Although the food you consume greatly affects the quality of your exercise routine, you don’t want to eat just before your workout. Try to eat at least 30 minutes to an hour before you begin, as eating just before exercising may lower your blood sugar and decrease your performance. When you have your meal, however, eat foods that are high in complex carbohydrates. Pasta, bagels, baked potatoes, rice and fresh fruit are best because carbohydrate-rich food provides long-lasting energy.

Avoid eating high-fiber foods right before your workout (such as broccoli, baked beans, or bran cereal) because these foods may produce gas, which can be painful during exercise. And stay away from sugars and sweets (such as soft drinks and candy). Although high-sugar foods will give you quick burst of energy, it doesn’t give you the nutrition you need or last long enough to be of any real benefit. Also limit eggs, meat, cheese and other fatty foods before you exercise. Because these foods take longer to digest, grabbing a cheeseburger or chowing down on scrambled eggs before a workout will only make you feel sluggish and tired.

Drink plenty of fluids

What else do you need? Fluids. When you exercise you may become dehydrated without realizing it — thirst often means your body is already dehydrated. Stay well-hydrated by drinking at least 7-10 ounces of water or other fluid every 10-20 minutes. (Stay away from drinks with caffeine, however, as they actually cause your body to lose fluids.) Water helps to regulate your body temperature, helps deliver oxygen to the tissues by keeping blood volume up, assists the kidneys in removing wastes, and helps with fat burning and muscle growth.

After-workout nutrition

And what about after the workout? What you eat right after you exercise is just as important as what you eat before your workout. Your muscles are fueled by glycogen, which is basically stored carbohydrates. Any carbohydrates you consume prior to exercising can’t be used as efficiently as those that have been stored. (That’s why marathon runners load up on carbs the night before the race.) The best time to increase your intake of carbohydrates is after exercising — that’s when your muscles are hungry for them. So have a carbohydrate meal after your workout, but also include some protein for muscle repair and growth.

so not so great presentation (i had already had a forkful or two haha), but i just ate this :) salmon, a small baked sweet potato, with a teaspoon of low fat spread and a PILE of garden peas. delish!! and good for you too. its all in there. protein, carbs, good fats, vitamins etc.

..sue xx

so on todays nutritional feedback, it tells me i am on target for protein and calories, i am ONE GRAM over on fat (lol), and i am a little under on my carbs, which isnt like me at all! very strange! im usually all about the carbs lol.

not a bad day though, especially seeing as i havent really done any exercise, apart from a little walking.

havent had my ”main meal” yet, even though its already after seven pm. im having steamed salmon with a small baked sweet potato, and a very small scrape of low fat spread, and a peach to finish.

..sue xx

Carbohydrates are essentially sugars. The primary sugar of the body is glucose. Glucose is the first line or preferential source of energy for the body. The body needs glucose in certain tissues and cells in order for them to function correctly. When the blood glucose (or ‘blood sugar’) is low, the body will breakdown its glucose energy reserves to replenish the concentration of the blood glucose to the proper level. Glucose is stored in the body as a longer molecule called Glycogen. Glycogen is stored mostly in the liver and in much smaller amounts in muscles. When the blood sugar level drops, glycogen is broken down into its smaller units (glucose) and is released into the blood stream.

If the body does not have enough blood glucose, and has used up all of its glycogen storage units, the body will make glucose. This process is complex and results in new glucose molecules being produced so certain cell types can continue to function correctly. This recreation of glucose occurs at the expense of proteins in other tissues, usually muscles. In other words, muscle tissues are broken down, if necessary, to keep the blood sugar up to the correct level.

The minimum amount of carbohydrate required to prevent the starvation activation systems (ketosis) of fasting is 100 to 150 grams per day. Carbohydrate is needed to satisfy the glucose requirement of the brain (120 Grams per day), red blood cell (30 grams per day) and wound healing (20 to 60 grams per day).  These tissues primary fuel is blood sugar or glucose. Muscle tissue is preserved by providing 180 to 200 grams of carbohydrate per day. This is the minimum carbohydrate requirement without the body resorting to breaking down other tissues to build new glucose.

In simplistic terms, a person eats carbohydrates and the body absorbs the sugars for cellular function. If you eat enough carbohydrates, the body will keep its reserves in place. If you eat too many carbohydrates, the body will make the glucose storage molecule called glycogen. If you eat excessive amounts of carbohydrates, and the liver is full of storage molecules, the body will take the carbohydrates and make fat. If you do not eat enough carbohydrates, the body will break down its reserves from the liver. When the liver is ‘empty’ of carbohydrate stores, it will make more blood glucose at the expense of other tissues, primarily muscle. So in short, too much sugar and you get fat, not enough sugar and you will loose muscle. As a last resort, the body will burn its fat reserves for energy, and will do so also using carbohydrate to burn the fat.

The Numbers You Need to Know

— By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

“Help, I am way over in protein!”
“I’m not meeting my fat goal. Is this a problem?”
“How many carbohydrates should I be eating?”

Based on years of research that examined the relationship between nutrient intake and disease prevention, generally-accepted ranges have been established for carbohydrates, fat and protein intake. These healthy ranges also help to ensure that a person is getting a sufficient intake of other essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. The recommendations are:

• 45% to 65% of calories eaten should come from carbohydrates.
• 20% to 35% of calories eaten should come from fat.
• 10% to 35% of calories eaten should come from protein*.

The SparkDiet takes a middle-of-the-road approach with these ranges. Our specific breakdown is approximately 50% carbohydrates, 30% fat and 20% protein, all of which fall into the healthy ranges above. *Because our members are striving to meet weight loss goals through calorie restriction, we also recommend a minimum level of protein—at least 60 grams daily for females and 75 grams daily for males. This requirement will help prevent muscle loss and promote feelings of fullness among dieters. Both your Nutrition Tracker and the chart below reflect this recommendation.

Your intake of carbohydrates, fat and protein may be somewhat higher or lower than the SparkDiet recommendations, due to your taste preferences, cooking style, culture, fitness routine, health conditions and day-to-day changes in diet. Does that mean that your intake is bad or dangerous? No!

Do your best to meet at least the minimum recommendations for calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein as outlined on your Nutrition Tracker. The table below converts these percentages into grams needed each day based on calorie intake:

Monitor your diet in these ways:

• Eat a healthy, nutrient-packed diet.
• Watch your calories daily and try to keep them in your recommended range.
• Check your carbohydrate, fat and protein intake based on your SparkDiet recommendations. As long as they fall in the healthy range listed on this chart above, you will be meeting your nutrient needs.
• Choose whole grain carbohydrates like brown rice, whole wheat bread and pasta, oats, and avoid refined carbohydrates like white rice and white bread.
• Choose heart-healthy fats and avoid trans fats found in processed foods.
• Choose high-quality protein sources such as lean meats and plant-based proteins instead of fattier cuts of meat.

The Big Picture: Food as Fuel

— By Dean Anderson, Fitness & Behavior Expert

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Good nutrition provides the foundation for your goals, whether you want to lose weight the healthy way or fuel high-level physical activities. Unless you eat “the right stuff” at the right times, you aren’t going to get very far in either direction.

Unfortunately, what counts as the right stuff often depends on the situation. Your body can’t do everything at once. Restricting your calorie intake to promote weight and fat loss can make it very difficult to build muscle mass or train for endurance events. If you’re trying to combine any or all of these goals, things can get pretty complicated.

This article will help you understand the role that carbohydrates play in fueling exercise and recovery and how both the timing and nutritional makeup of your meals and snacks can help you achieve your performance goals.

Fact #1: The more you exercise the more carbohydrates you will need for fuel.
With all the emphasis placed on exercising to lose weight, many people are surprised to hear that exercise itself doesn’t actually burn much fat as fuel. Exercise uses up the calories you’ve eaten, but most “fat burning” occurs when your body then has to turn to fat stores to fuel basic bodily functions.

To fuel moderate and high intensity exercise, your body relies primarily on carbohydrates (glucose), which are broken down quickly to fuel muscle cells. (Your body can’t turn fats and proteins into usable energy quickly enough to meet the demands of exercising muscles.)

Therefore, higher intensity cardio and strength training activities will burn more glucose as fuel, and more calories overall. Learn more about the myth of the “fat burning zone” by reading this Ask the Expert Q & A .

Action Step: Don’t limit your carbohydrates. Most people need about 100-150 grams (400-600 calories) of carbohydrates every day just to fuel their brains and central nervous systems. On top of that, you need additional carbs to replace the energy stores you used when exercising. If you’re trying to lose weight, research shows that a diet where 55-60% of total calories come from carbohydrate is ideal for most physically active people.

It takes time to digest your food and turn it into glycogen, which is the primary fuel your muscle cells actually use during exercise. Glycogen is made out of glucose (which comes from carbohydrates) and is stored in both your muscle cells and liver. As long as you’re eating enough nutrients to meet your activity needs, your body can store enough glycogen to handle about 2000 calories worth of high-intensity activity or 4000 calories worth of lower-intensity activity—even if you haven’t eaten in a while.

If you’re highly active, you should plan your meals and snacks so that you don’t run out of muscle glycogen at the wrong time (like in the middle of an exercise session). A marathon runner can deplete her glycogen stores before the end of a single race (called “bonking” or “hitting the wall”). A more casual exerciser can run out of glycogen after a few days of not eating enough carbohydrates and total calories to replace it.

Action Step: Eat enough total calories to support your activity level. The combination of a low-calorie diet and a high level of exercise will force your body to breakdown muscle tissue to meet your immediate energy needs. Total calorie deficits of more than 500-1000 calories per day will actually inhibit exercise performance—even for moderate exercisers.

The most important window for replenishing glycogen is the four to five hours immediately after a vigorous exercise session. During this time, the enzymes responsible for this process are more active and effective.

Most healthy people don’t really need to eat immediately before exercise. But eating a small snack or meal 20-60 minutes before an exercise session will trigger an insulin response that helps glucose enter your muscle cells, making it easier to exercise without discomforts like dizziness, faintness, or a general lack of energy. But if you or your stomach prefers not to eat before a workout, you should have plenty of muscle glycogen to fuel one to two hours of moderate to vigorous exercise before eating. To learn more about exercising in the morning or on an empty stomach, read this Ask the Expert Q & A.

Action Step: Eat a good post-exercise meal. Sports nutritionists recommend that active people eat about 250-300 calories (with a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein) within 90 minutes after exercising. This breaks down to about 50-60 grams of carbs and 12-15 grams of protein.

When you put these facts together into one big picture, you can see that keeping your glycogen tanks topped off is the key factor to maintaining your ability to perform at a high level while losing weight; the Action Steps outlined above will help you do just that

YES and NO.  In trying to keep everything as simple as possible here at the site, I am going to stay true to my word and do that.  Carbohydrates turn into sugars in the body when they are consumed.  There are helpful carbs and there are carbs that are basically empty carbs.

On average, we will need to consume 50 to 55% of our daily intake of macro-nutrients…those being ( Protein, Fats, Carbohydrates) as carbohydrates.

When I say that there are helpful carbs and and empty carbs, this is what I mean.  Have you ever eaten a very sweet thing, felt a rush of energy and then a half hour later feel your energy crash?  Say a donut or a candy or chocolate bar?  This happens because the sugars contained within those food stuffs are re-fined sugars that usually lack the fibre content to balance out the sugar content.

These would be considered fast release sugars (carbs)and give a quick hit of energy, but the lack of substance to them leaves them vulnerable to sudden crashes.  For those times you do need a sweet hit, natural simple carbs such as fruit are your best bet.

Fruit contains fiber which balances out its sugar content so makes that energy hit a little more slow-releasing and sustainable than a refined carb such as a cookie or chocolate bar.  Fruits are also a great source of vitamins that protect your body against disease, so when you satisfy that sweet craving by reaching for a banana or handful of berries, you are also doing yourself some good.

Here are some examples of Simple Sweet Carbs with added fibre

Strawberries
Raspberries
Plum
Pear
Melon
Oranges
Peach
Lychee
Kiwi
Lemon
Grapefruit
Cherry
Cranberries
Apples
Bananas
Blackberries
Blackcurrants
Blueberries
Grapes

Here is the quick hit list of UN-HELPFUL REFINED CARBS (when trying to lose weight)

Jams and Jellies
Honey, unless you buy natural
White bread
Soda, Donuts
Cookies, Candy and chocolate bars
Chocolate (dark is best if your gonna have it)
Fruit Juices ( these lack fibre, whole fruit is best), but still not at the less active parts of the day

Fudge
Flavoured waters (Gatorade, Vitamin waters, Ice Cream

We have an index in the nutrition world called the Glycaemic Index or GI.  This index allows us to rank certain foods on their immediate effect on blood sugar levels in the body.  They are scaled from 0 to 100 on the chart and creates a more accurate picture of the release of sugars into the blood, but for the KISS principle, lets keep them at slow, moderate or fast release.

Lets take for instance…White Bread or a Jacket Potato.  These are refined simple carbs and a natural carbohydrate but are equally classed as a high GI or a fast release sugar.  Whereas eating say Whole Grain Bread, Beans, Pulses, Legumes are considered low GI and release their sugars into the blood stream slowly with out the spiking nature of the previous example.

There are also added effects on the breakdown of sugars which can be, the degree of cooking (processed foods are digested more quickly increasing their GI),  The fat content, (fat slows the digestion process), the fibre content, (the fibrous nature in the food act as a barrier to digestion, decreasing their GI), and the type of starch, (viscous, soluble starch such as those found in Oats slow the digestion process, decreasing the GI.

The only healthy way to deal with refined simple carbs are to keep them as an occasional treat. Anything with added sugar, or made from refined (white) flour is likely to lack the fibre to balance out the sugar, and has little nutritional value to make it worthwhile.  In addition, refined carbs may contain hydrogenated vegetable oils, additional fat, and processed sugars.

Eating refined carbs like a cookie in the morning will neither give you the energy nor give you the nutrition to maintain a balanced body.  So the key here guys is to eat often, at least 5 times per day and try to eat foods that have a slow release element to them in order to sustain your hunger over a longer period of time.

Here are a few helpful guidelines for taking out excess carbs and putting low GI foods into your nutritional intake.

• Severely limit any foods with a HIGH-GI

• Eat carbohydrate rich meals earlier in the day when your body has the opportunity to burn the calories during your busiest times of the day.

• Try to also eat some kind of protein with every meal or snack, as these are high in fibre and make you feel more full.

• Eat 7 or more servings of fruit and fresh vegetables per day.

• Include green leafy vegetables when ever you can.

• Try to have a salad every day!

• Eat WHOLEGRAIN breads and cereals with a LOW-GI.

• Snack on fruit and low-fat yogurts.

• Choose cereals for breakfast that are based on oats.  Porridge and muesli’s are perfect for this.

• Eat GRAINY BREADS and PASTA’S.

• Eat pasta or noodles in place of white potatoes.

• Use basmati rice instead of long grain rice.  Brown Rice even better.

• Eat more pulses…Beans, peas and lentils.

• Have nuts frequently but sparingly.  Although they are high in saturated fats, they are also heavily nutrient-dense.  Moderation is the key on nuts.

• Eat higher-GI foods during or immediately after an exercise session.

So keep this in mind guys as you try to adjust your eating habits.  Think smarter!  Don’t always take the easy way out.  Anything worthwhile having, usually has some work involved in getting it.  Try and think as logically as you possibly can regarding your nutrition and especially in trying to LOSE WEIGHT!

SUGAR HIGHS AND FAT STORAGE
Carbohydrates can give you a short burst of energy, and this is why athletes may “bulk up on carbs” right before competition. But if the carbohydrates are not quickly burned off, they eventually will be stored as fat.

This is the case even with healthy carbohydrates, but the situation is much worse with junk-food carbohydrates, which offer only empty calories stripped of vitamin and mineral content.

One example is a particular brand of candy bar that, over the years, has been promoted in commercials as a means of obtaining a quick burst of energy. In fact, this and all other white-sugar-based sweets give only a quick “sugar high,” followed almost immediately by a much lower energy “low”—and in the long run by the accumulation of fat.

Fat is the only form in which the body can store carbohydrates for the long haul, meaning that the “fat-free” stickers on many a package of cookies or cakes in the supermarket are as meaningless as the calories themselves are empty.

Carbohydrate consumption is one of the main reasons why the average person is so overweight. With an in active lifestyle, as is typical of most adults in modern life, all those French fries, cookies, dinner rolls, and so on have no place to go but to the fat-storage centers in the abdomen, buttocks, and thighs.

Of all carbohydrate-containing foods, the least fattening, of course, are natural nonstarches, such as fruits and vegetables (assuming they are not cooked in fat). Next on the least-fattening list are starchy natural foods, such as potatoes, and most fattening of all are processed starches, whether they come in the form of rice, wheat, or potato products.

So if you are more active during the day…then try and eat the majority of your food in that part of the day and actively give your body its natural ability to burn calories effectively and efficiently at the right times of the day.  REMEMBER…if something tastes….really good…like cakes, cookies, chocolate..there is a reason for this.

NOTHING is FREE guys when it comes to food and snacks.  Manufacturers make these products like this to entice us to BUY MORE Good tasting stuff…AND GET MORE FAT!  It’s a NO WIN situation guys and don’t get caught up in the hype and the sugar rush.

I want you to jump off that endless cycle and merry GO round…. TODAY! NOT TOMORROW...TODAY!.  Start thinking clearly and understand that your body REALLY wants to be looked after and just operates at its optimum peak at its proper weight and with lean muscle tissue.

After ALL…this body has got to last you for the rest of your life!  And it’s the only one you got.