Tag

calorie deficit

Energy Boosting Snacks for Work and Home

One of the reasons for my weight gain of late is that I don’t eat enough.

Whoa…I hear you say, how can I, howmanymiles, gain weight by not eating enough? Am I some sort of freak of nature who defies the principle of calories in vs calories out?

Well, let me expand (much like my waist). Recently, I dropped some hours at work. Not to become a full-time blogger or even to allow me more gym time. It was to help me manage my caring responsibilities. I look forward each day to welcoming the boys home from school and unfortunately, I have also become accustomed to looking forward to my 3-4pm feeding hour. Which sometimes drifts on to 5pm and even 6pm as I make and taste dinner for the family.

Despite my best efforts, I am not going to bed earlier and I am certainly not getting up earlier in the morning. Each day, it is a mad scramble to get washed, dressed and out to work. No time for breakfast and no time to prepare lunch.

Not that I actually get one. I only work five hours a day and wait until I come home after 3pm to feast. So, to more accurately explain my weight gain, I should say that I don’t eat enough in the morning. I certainly make up for it later and then, when full, I often struggle to do a workout.

And with an Ironman (you did read my Man V Fat post, didn’t you?) to prepare for, I need to find ways to find time to eat in the morning and at lunch.

So, when the good folks at the meeting software provider GoToMeeting sent me their 15 Snacks to Boost Energy and Productivity Blog to read and share, I was instantly drawn to the information and the infographic it contained.

According to the author, Wendy MacAuliffe, part of the reason for my 3pm munchies is due to my circadian rhythm. She states that:

Our circadian rhythms (which influence our sleeping patterns) can also be responsible for creating the munchies. That’s why just as the afternoon slump hits, we go to make ourselves a cup of tea, and reach for the chocolate digestives!

It all starts to make sense. It isn’t that I am a glutton or have a really, really sweet tooth, it is because of that pesky circadian rhythm.

Listed, in the infographic, were 15 protein and fat packed energy boosting snacks that I could sit on my desk and tuck into while working. Not only, would they help me avoid snacking on unhealthier foods later, they would provide me with a much needed energy boost. Something that both my Ironman aspirations and my boss might appreciate.

Admittedly, some of them don’t excite me, but I have to admit, it has been too long since I last ate hummus ( I once lived on it while living on a Kibbutz)

Have a look at GoToMeeting’s suggested energy boosting snacks below and let me know if any of these end of on your desk . I would love to see tubs of nuts, bean and kale crisps replace the almost endless supply of cakes and biscuits in my workplace. And hey, you can still have chocolate, just the dark stuff.

This post was sponsored by GoToMeeting and for posting it, I was paid a fee. As part of my Ironman challenge is to raise awareness and funds for Cancer Research, I am donating the said fee (might need to get a tax adviser to advise on all my blog fee donations) to them

October 2, 2016 2 comments

Health Obesity

Be The Change

written by Stephen Morrison

Day 2, in my quest not to be mistaken for Santa Claus this year, was nothing to write home about and it was certainly nothing to write a blog post about.

I exceeded the recommended daily number of steps (10,000).

December 17, 2015 0 comment

Health Journey Obesity

I really don’t know what I am doing in the Gym

written by Stephen Morrison

Yarr…. I don’t know what I’m doing!

No, it isn’t Talk Like a Pirate Day, but instead it is Stephen’s first day at the gym and like Captain Horatio McAllister, in The Simpsons, I really don’t know what I am doing!

The day started well. I had breakfast (which is something that I too often miss) and I managed to resist the vending machine in my work. And when I say resist, it didn’t even cross my mind and that, on its own, warrants a wee fist pump.

Even walking past endless rows of sweet laden desks didn’t bring out the sweetie monster in me.

By 2.00pm, I was feeling hungry and prior to hitting the gym, I stopped off at my local sandwich shop and had a chicken panini. Not the best choice, but not the worst either and a lesson learned. Although I do not have a lunch break (I work part-time) I will bring food with me. Especially as it is my intention to head straight to the gym.

Which I did today and which did not go quite to plan.

I walked in and although I had spent time in it before with Teresa, I felt like a nervous child entering high school for the first time. I felt alone and I was not sure of my surroundings. I did not know where to go first and even as I entered the changing rooms, I felt like I was trespassing and the onset of a headache (more of that in a moment) did nothing to settle my nerves.

For the past four years I have ran and although I have tried many sports, I have never felt comfortable in a gym. Lack of knowledge, confidence and experience. Hopefully all three will improve as I keep going and as I enlist the help of my Personal Trainer friend Spencer Peek, who works in Pure Gym.

Hiring a PT to guide me in the first few weeks seems like the most sensible approach. I will learn what machines and weights to use and I will have a planned workout for each visit.

But, back to today. My headache became worse and I decided to just do some light cardio. I spent 30 minutes cycling and 20 minutes walking. I tried to run, but my heart was not in it and my headache was not allowing it. For a brief second I lost focus and I nearly slid off the back of the treadmill. Luckily I came to my senses and recovered before suffering any further embarrassment.

Not the best first visit to the gym, but it will not deter me and I will find a way to enjoy it.

Tonight’s dinner was a red Thai curry and I resisted crisps and sweets. I should be going to bed reasonably happy and reasonably early (for a change). However, I am a numbers man and today’s measurements reinforced my need to alter my lifestyle. Yet, again.

As expected my weight, BMI and body fat percentage were as high as they have been in four years. At 234lbs and a Body Fat Percentage of 34%, I have a long way to go.

Also worrying is my blood pressure. At 133 over 90 it is on the high side and I will need to monitor this. The only relatively encouraging measurement was my resting heart rate . At 45 beats per minute, it gives me hope that if I can reduce my blood pressure and weight, I should have a healthy heart and potentially a longer and more active life.

Tomorrow is Day 2 and my goal is to add some more fruit and vegetables to my diet.

December 14, 2015 0 comment

Health Health Rewards Journey Obesity

All I Want For Christmas

written by Stephen Morrison

Is not to be worse than I am right now

Christmas tis the season to be jolly and to overindulge in a festive feeding frenzy. Normally, having spent the year running and training hard, I would accept this and enjoy a few weeks not worrying about the macronutritional content of mince pies and shortbread, but this year is different.

Having put on 40lbs this year, I do not want to exceed that. Since losing all my weight in 2011, I have yo-yo’d a little, putting on a few pounds in the Winter and quickly losing it come Spring.

However, I have never before gained this much and if you have read my previous blog, you will appreciate that my greatest fear is returning to a life less active.

So, I have decided not to wait for a New Year resolution. I am resolved not to gain any more pounds (of fat).

Instead, I will use the rest of December to prepare me for the year ahead. That does not mean that I will procrastinate over plans or spend a small fortune on new training kit (ok, I might still manage the latter). Instead, it means that I will use the next few weeks to devise and implement my new training regime.

It will consist of resistance training at Pure Gym, Shawlands; yoga at Bikram Yoga Southside and my daily active commutes to and from work.

Moreover, It will all revolve around a more structured and consistently adhered to diet. Although I will be using Weight Watchers to record my progress, receive and give support and earn Vitality points, I will not follow a diet plan

I will cut down on my intake of crisps, biscuits, bread, cheese, gums and chocolate. Basically, all the things that I love.

And, when I say cut down, I mean eliminate them from my diet. I am not a fan of any diet that eliminates any type of food, but the simple truth is that I eat far too much of the above and, unfortunately, I cannot currently trust myself to moderate my consumption.

One bite is never quite enough.

I am also going to try and improve my culinary skills, as one of the reasons that I eat too many ready meals and too much toast is that I cannot ready a meal, such as a roast.

So tonight, I have taken my measurements and taken stock of the journey ahead. The next few weeks will not reverse the damage done but they will put me back on the right path.

Three years on and I still do not know how many miles I have to travel, but I do know that it is #timeforme and time to just do it!

“Last Christmas, I lost all my weight and the very next year, I gained it all back” will not be a recurring theme.

Tomorrow, I’ll post my starting measurements and update you on Day 1. As always, your support and encouragemnt is much appreciated.

December 13, 2015 5 comments

Journey

Eat Till You Drop

written by Stephen Morrison

At my heaviest I ate a lot. I ate a lot of the time and I ate a lot of the wrong stuff. Had I not seen “that” picture, there was a real danger that I would literally eat till I dropped. I loved eating that much that I once went to the toilet in a “Eat All You Want” pizza restaurant to make myself vomit. I wasn’t anorexic, I simply wanted to create more space in my stomach so I could eat all that I wanted to.

But all that has changed and if anything I now eat too little.

Too little!? Surely if I cut down on my food, I’ll simply lose fat more quickly? That was how I used to think. Luckily I have many friends who are Personal Trainers, Nutritionists and Medics. While in addition to being a geek, I am also embarking upon my own fitness education journey with Faster who are not only supporting my continued training but also my professional development.

But not everyone has the circle of friends and mentors that I have. Most are confused by the marketing of slimming companies, of food companies and even by health professionals and purveyors of multi level marketing products.

Eat less fat, eat more fat, eat no carbohydrates, eat only complex carbohydrates, don’t eat fruit, only eat fruit and a million other lose fat quickly diets and drinks that are usually based on eliminating certain food types, drinking expensive and heavily processed shakes and drinks or by reducing calories.

Now, there are those who say calories don’t matter. There are those that say ditch the scales. And guess what? Both are probably right.

But let’s be honest. Every fat person who wants to lose weight counts calories and stands on a scale….often daily and throughout the day.

And every fat person thinks I ate too much and got big, so I’ll eat less and lose weight. And I’ll eat a lot less and lose weight even quicker.

And we will. And probably quite a lot. At first. Eventually our bodies will respond to being starved by slowing down, by conserving energy. It’s a smart cookie ( sorry, shouldn’t mention cookies). And the weight loss will slow down and eventually stop.

I could bore you with all the science and research ( there’s lots of it), but we all know what we do next.

We reduce our calories further. And we start doing more cardio. My next post will focus on why that’s the second mistake most of us make, but for now let’s concentrate on the calories.

We reduce them and the scales start again moving in the right direction. But and it’s a big but ( no puns please), the weight loss isn’t necessary fat loss. Our body (smart cookie, remember) is worried. It’s went from having an abundance of lovely food to now being starved. And it’s not sure how bad it’s going to get. So it decides that it’ll keep the stored fat until it really needs it and starts looking for other sources of energy. But we aren’t eating fat, carbs or anywhere near enough calories so the body starts breaking down lean body tissue…ie our muscles. Rather than losing fat we are losing weight and our metabolism slows further. We find that we put on weight if we even eat a little more than normal.

So we cut calories again and do even more exercise. It’s a vicious cycle and minds smarter than mine have written extensively on the dangers of metabolic damage. Google it.

So, what should we do? What is the right way smarty pants, I hear you ask.

Well, I’d recommend that you calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories your body needs to simply survive. General advice is that you then aim to eat about 500 kcals less. With some suggesting that obese people can reduce it by 10-30%

But here’s an idea. Rather than cutting calories why not try switching foods. Eat more veg (chips don’t count) and ditch your refined white bread and pasta for leafy green veg and rice.

But please don’t go down the route of very low calorie diets. It’s a recipe ( always food) for disaster. It’s so tempting to stop eating and to exercise more. I know this because, despite my knowledge, I am STILL guilty of it myself.

I know I should eat more. Especially as I now weight train. But, I’ve conditioned myself to believe that eating food is bad. I’ve been dieting so long and lost so much that part of me resists my new found knowledge. Thankfully I’m improving. Like many, I want to rid myself of the fat that limited my life and my happiness. And I want to do it now.It took me 10 years to go from a normal weight to over 25st and I can’t expect to reverse that overnight. Better to adopt healthy eating that will sustain me and be sustainable. Food is fuel for my body and it will not run smoothly on an empty tank.

Eat more and drop a dress size. Now that’s a diet that should sell.

August 13, 2013 0 comment