Fat people are happier?

Have you ever heard the saying “Fat people are happier people”? How did that phrase come to be?

One theory is that those who are overweight are happy about it and don’t spend endless amounts of time denying themselves food and drink which give them pleasure.  Another is that without the worry of their weight on their minds, they can focus on other areas of their lives which make them happy!

But how can overweight people be happy if their health is suffering, they don’t appear attractive to others, they are invisible to most clothes shop assistants and they can’t do small amounts of physical activity? I know Mums who feel embarrassed to wear a swimsuit because of their weight and miss out on playing on the beach with their children.  I also know women who dread going out because they don’t have the confidence to wear fashionable and flattering clothes.  Wardrobe and confidence crisis is also common in women who are just slightly overweight and are conscious about flabby bellies, love handles emerging from the top of waistbands and wobbly underarms!  There is also of course the issue that even though obesity levels are rising fast, we still live in a “fattist” society in which an overweight person often attracts abuse.

We all need reasons to change our ways, lose weight and keep it off. Perhaps you have read about how a Supersize Mum slimmed down and now shares her daughter’s clothes and is so much happier?. When I needed to lose 3 stones, it coincided with the time several friends and family members had recently been diagnosed with long term conditions such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes or heart disease. I also noticed that soon after being diagnosed, these people instantly seemed to look much older than they really were. It made me resolve to look after my health whilst I still have it, lose the excess weight and reduce the risk factors of developing such illnesses. I see my return to a healthy weight as the key not only to better health, but also a powerful tool in fighting the ageing process and looking younger for longer!

Am I happier? I have realised that nothing tastes as good as the freedom to do what I want and wear what I want without feeling embarrassed and self conscious!

Join me and the Supersize Mum in finding your inner motivation to a younger and healthier looking you. Meanwhile, I’ll keep you posted on my own journey in trying not to slip back into old, bad habits.

We’re getting Fatter!

Yahoo last week reported that We’re getting Fatter  and that 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030.

The report states that some of the counter measures include new anti-obesity drugs, health promotion and new recreational facilities to encourage physical activity. The problem I see is that we if we continue to do what we’ve always done, we’ll get what we already have – continued rise in obesity!

Never before have we had so much free information available at our fingertips. Yet for many, the messages about healthy eating and managing our weight doesn’t seem to be getting through. Have we reached a point where we have to start questioning whether we are being given the right advice?

The NHS  The Eat Well Plate recommends that a significant proportion of our daily calories should come from complex carbohydrates (carbs), ideally in the form of wholemeal pasta and bread, brown rice and potatoes. Wind the clock back thousands of years and we find early man ate very few carbs and obtained many of his calories from animal fats and protein.

As a child, I ate lots of carbs, even unhealthy ones like cakes, biscuits and crisps. I was never overweight and none of my friends who ate similar foods were either. However, I did walk 2 miles to school each way every day, I played outside with friends after school, rode my bike and ran around in the park. We now ferry our children around in the car because we are worried about their safety,  increasing amounts of homework keeps them at their desks and they prefer to meet their friends through social media rather than play in each others’ gardens. Adult lives are just as sedentary if not more as time pressured parents struggle to make time to cook, spend time playing with the kids or do any exercise.  We probably need to eat less than our parents’ generation and yet the ever growing abundance and variety of foods available today tempt many of us to eat more than we can burn.

Is our increase in consumption of carbs along with reduced activity levels the lethal combination that leads to weight gain and obesity?

I haven’t acknowledged it until recently, but since I lost 3 stones after the birth of my second child, I do eat less carbs than before and I have sustained my weight loss. I feel the time has come for the World Health Organisation (WHO) or the Department of Health in the UK to call for research on the merits of high protein/low carb/higher natural fat diets in the fight against obesity.

It is becoming clearer to me that if you are of normal weight and are physically active, or have a high metabolic rate (lucky so and sos’) or have the willpower to eat moderate portions, you can eat carbs and maintain your weight. For many trying to lose weight however, reducing their calorie intake whilst following the NHS The Eat Well Plate is not a diet they are able to sustain. A higher protein and fat diet will keep them fuller for longer and may help reduce the temptation to cheat or fall back into bad eating habits! Could Atkins, Paleo and Dukan be the NHS recommended diets of the future for the obese or will the power of the food industries prevent proper research of these increasingly popular diets and encourage us to continue getting fatter!

Skinny Weekend Away

A weekend away can be quite daunting for the weight watcher, worried that weeks of effort could be unravelled within 2 days of indulgence. One thing is true! If you are not going to deprive yourself it is likely you will gain some weight. Providing you are prepared to return to healthier habits when you return home and think ahead about what you are prepared to indulge in and what’s off limits, you can minimise the damage and shed the extra pounds gained soon after!  This is how I approached my weekend away.

I decided my indulgences for the weekend would be a cooked breakfast, at least one 3 course dinner including desert plus wine with lunch and dinner. I also resolved to eat less bread, avoid fried foods and choose fish, poultry and game over other fattier meats! So I ate a cooked English breakfast on both mornings and this included grilled tomatoes and mushrooms so that I was getting some of my 5-a-day. I skipped the toast and cereal as these are foods I eat for breakfast at home and this weekend was about having a little of what I fancy! I chose to eat fruit rather than drink fruit juice as you consume less calories this way and more fibre!

I decided that lunch was going to be the meal in which I would be the least indulgent. This meant I had to avoid the rather tempting trio of meat pies on the menu when we stopped for a pub lunch on the first day. I chose roast venison instead and I was not disappointed! On the second day, I had roast turkey, equally good! I ate the vegetables before the potatoes and Yorkshire pudding so that if I felt full and couldn’t finish the dish, I would have eaten the healthier and less calorific part of the meal.

In the evenings, I avoided filling myself up on bread before the starter (and you don’t need it if you’ve already eaten well twice that day). I chose a fish dish on both days and again, ate the vegetables before the potatoes! I also avoided chips and opted for crushed new potatoes or a jacket potato to save on calories I preferred to squander on things I love more.  Although I wanted a desert, I found that I was already quite full and happy to share with someone!

Sticking to my chosen food indulgences meant I didn’t feel guilty about having wine and champagne even though they contain a lot of calories. You just take these into account when you do the maths!

With no domestic chores to do when staying in a hotel, I find there is more time for active pursuits than at home. I went on a long walk with the family before lunch on one day and a long shopping trip on another!  It wasn’t enough to burn all the excesses of the day, but every little helps!

I gained about 3lbs over the weekend which all things considered was not too bad! Having returned, its back to The Eat Well Plate  NHS food plan and eating a little less than normal for a week or so until I’ve lost the extra weight! Snacking on extra fruit and vegetable based soups helps control hunger between meals!

What would your indulgences be for your weekend away?

Slimming Clothes

I personally feel better for being slim, but most people look great if they dress appropriately for their size and shape.  Having reached my ideal weight, I still sometimes have those “Feeling Fat” days – perhaps because I’ve been indulging, not been active enough or feeling bloated around the middle. I like the illusion of being slimmer than I really am because when I feel good, I automatically look better! I also think that whatever our goals, we are unlikely to ever reach them without cheating a little or sometimes using deception. That’s why I love the tips and advice in Wear Slimming Clothes.

Personally I avoid wearing white jeans or trousers because if my husband answered truthfully to my question “Does my bottom look big in this?” he would be a dead man. If I wear bootleg trousers, I ensure they are almost floor length to give the illusion of a slimmer leg. Apparently wearing layered clothing of the same colour but in different shades can also have a slimming effect!

There’s no worse time for those “Feeling Fat” days than shortly before going on holiday with the stress of achieving the bikini body. Then there’s the problem of that after lunch bloated feeling whilst on holiday when I feel compelled to cover up in a large sarong for a couple of hours. Perhaps an after lunch change into one of the swimming costumes at BonPrix could be the answer! They look great and won’t break the bank balance. I wish I had known about these costumes when I was going on holiday shortly after giving birth. The strapless red tankini dress is my favourite – good enough to lunch in and hide the evidence afterwards!

Which costume will you take on your next holiday?

White rice increases diabetes risk in Asians?

According to the Daily Mail, new research has found that “eating white rice could raise your risk of type 2 diabetes”, a condition in which the body finds it difficult to regulate blood sugar. White rice can potentially release high levels of sugar into the blood when the starch it contains is digested. This has led to the speculation amongst researchers of the link between white rice and type 2 diabetes.

This is potentially bad news for me as an Asian because white rice is a staple within the Indian and Asian diet. What’s more, studies have shown Asian people also have a greater risk factor for developing diabetes. Interestingly, the above research found the link between white rice and the risk of developing diabetes was evident in Asian but not Western participants. Is there a link therefore between the diet of Asian people and the fact that they are more prone to developing diabetes? Does this signal the end of the Great British favourite “Rice and curry” for me? As is often the case, the answers are not straightforward since there are several risk factors for developing diabetes. Furthermore, this research suggests consumption of white rice is linked with diabetes but doesn’t establish white rice as a definitive cause of the condition.

On the positive side, white rice is low in fat and according to the NHS guidance The Eat Well Plate, foods we should be eating more of are starchy foods i.e. bread, pasta, potatoes and rice. However, “brown” and “wholemeal” carbs do keep you fuller for longer and help reduce the temptation to overeat when compared with “white” carbs.  This helps with weight control and is an important benefit since obesity is also a risk factor for developing diabetes. So a sensible option for me would be to switch to brown rice. However, I personally think it doesn’t taste great with Indian food. Furthermore, the research involved participants eating four portions of white rice per day which doesn’t quite fit with the concept of a varied and balanced diet. So a sensible compromise would be for me to eat small amounts of white rice and more wholemeal chappatis and rotis (equally delicious and minus the butter when watching my weight) with my curry. Once again, I am reminded of the catchphrase   “Everything in moderation” – it seems I can’t say it enough!

Make-up: Life’s Innocent Pleasure

Apparently, over 8000 people entered the Lorraine: Naked competition earlier this month. Those of you who didn’t watch, don’t worry, it’s all about faces, not bodies. The competition, as part of a Superdrug national campaign was to find Britain’s most naturally beautiful people, unenhanced by make up, botox or plastic surgery. The winners all received a Superdrug goody bag (I wonder what was in that), a modelling shoot and will be featured in a forthcoming Superdrug advertising campaign.

Isn’t it great that there are so many people in the U.K. content to go out as themselves and are happy in their own skin so to speak? Should I be worried that I won’t leave the house without my Rimmel Liquid eye liner  and a gorgeous long lasting lip gloss such as Clinique Long Last gloss wear in Fireberry?

I think that depends on why I wear make up in the first place. Quite simply, it makes me feel fantastic! It’s one of the few pleasures in this world that doesn’t make you fat, increase your chance of heart disease, diabetes or cancer or isn’t illegal.

 

A life without make up can be quite dull. Can you imagine the Oscars or Baftas without it?  Would female TV presenters enjoy a successful career if they didn’t wear make up? We are not all blessed with the obvious good looks the winners of the Lorraine: Naked competition have and is it any more wrong to want ourselves to look better that it is to want our houses to look better?

Many men seem to prefer women to wear only moderate amounts of make up and look more natural. Whilst they might prefer younger women this way, does this still hold true for women as they get older? Society has a habit of being unforgiving towards ageing women and it’s no wonder that women have resorted to survival tactics that still make them look attractive, feel younger and full of self esteem.

It’s great if you like your natural look and it’s not wrong to want to enhance it. Make up for me is one of life’s innocent pleasures!

3 mins exercise per week the key to fitness?

The BBC Horizon Programme, The Truth about Exercise describes how a few relatively short bursts of intense exercise, amounting to only a few minutes a week, can deliver many of the health and fitness benefits of hours of conventional exercise, according to new research. This is brilliant news to me because since the birth of my second child, the mere thought of fitting in a full exercise regime breaks me out into a hot sweat and I haven’t even left the office chair. How do I find the time between work, childcare and a home to look after? Yet I don’t feel confident in putting these research findings into practice.

So I’ve asked myself, before people invented the gym, aerobics, fitness DVDs, marathons etc. how did people lose weight and keep fit? Well, physical activity was inbuilt into their lives, not something extra to be scheduled into an already ridiculously busy day! I have decided that this is the way forward for me. So, whilst I was on my second maternity leave, I put my baby into a pushchair and started to walk my daughter to and from school. Every day, I walked a little faster with my daughter riding on a buggy board at the back of the pushchair when she couldn’t keep up. I started taking the stairs instead of the lift, I walked up escalators instead of riding them and walked to the tube station instead of parking the car at the station. When I had spare time in the evenings, I did sit ups, stretches and stomach exercises! Late night retail therapy involving walking around the shops for 2 hours weighed down by multiple purchases is my favourite. I walk fast enough to get slightly out of breath and it means I can get to more shops in the allotted time.

Holidays are a great time for exercise because without the domestic chores to worry about (unless you go self catering) there is more time and I use it to swim between 30-40 lengths a day whilst hubby looks after the kids. It might seem like a waste of valuable holiday time but I can’t think of many greater pleasures than to be somewhere hot and sunny, in beautiful surroundings and swimming in an outdoor pool!

Have any of my efforts made a difference? Slowly but surely (like Transport for London on a good day), my walking has got faster. I get less out of breath having walked up the escalator or climbing the stairs. My body has started to regain its shape and become more toned! What’s more, I enjoy the exercise I do, I don’t get stressed about it and I have been able to maintain my efforts! The best bit is there’s no monthly subscription or smelly changing rooms involved!

 I don’t know whether 3 minutes of intense exercise per week is the key to fitness but what I do know is that every little helps!