It's .... measurement time and the differences to the start day are shown below .....

Weight: - 15st 10lbs ... (-18lbs) ... always weigh-in, ..... fully clothed and with shoes on
Waist: - 40.0" ... (-4.0")
Chest: - 46" ... (-2.0")
Shoulders: - 48" ... (-1.5")
Upper Arms: - 14" ... (-1")
Upper Thighs: - 27" ... (-1.0")
Resting heart rate: - 42 beats per minute ... (-16bpm)
BMI: - 28.6 (-3.3)

My weight has come down 1lb from last week but 18lbs over the last two months ..... a good result. To me what's more satisfying is the reduction in my resting heart rate - down 16bpm. This is very good news and more greatly suggests that small positive changes to a lifestyle can bring big returns to ones overall health and well-being.

Also this week I had my blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked. This is something you should consider if embarking on a lifestyle change! Without going into too many facts and figures, my blood pressure was perfect and total cholesterol levels were 4.40mmol/l which is below the healthy recommended upper level of 5.00mmol/l. Naturally I will monitor these in coming months and perhaps bring my cholesterol levels down a little more.

As my body recovers from a long period of bad use ... I am finding like many others whose lifestyles have changed for the better that my energy levels ar beginning to sore. Additionally I am thinking more clearly and positively which greatly helps confidence.

..... Nutrition can be explained in many different ways and can end up being very confusing. When government steps in, even when acting in the best interests of a population, sometimes the way information can be presented can create a misunderstanding by the people its intended to help. This may have been the case in the way that food pyramids were used when they were first introduced in the early 1990's. Since that time the method to simply explain nutritional needs and exercise has be revised .....

The Food Pyramid

The food pyramid takes into account the years of research and test results that have happened since the old pyramid first came out. The new food pyramid more accurately depicts what portions of food should be eaten in relationship to the other foods.

The new food pyramid includes:

• Grains
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Milk
• Meat and Beans
• Oils
• Physical Activity

Each section is a different size to show how much of that food group you should be eating compared to the other groups. You have to take into account your age, sex and physical activity level when planning your menu. Men usually have more muscle mass and burn calories differently than women do. Older adults may need fewer calories than younger ones. If you need to lose weight, then you need to adjust your portions accordingly. To lose weight, you have to burn up more calories than you eat each day. And you should eat healthy food choices to improve the nutritional value of your diet.

A Closer Look at the Food Pyramid

Lets look closer at each of the new food pyramid groups.

Grains include bread, pasta, oats, crackers, and rice just to mention a few. It is recommended that you have a total of at least 3 ounces of grains per day. To really help you even more make sure that your bread, pasta, crackers, and even cereal have whole grains in them.

Vegetables include all the vegetables or the 100 percent  vegetable juices. You do have sub groups of vegetables, which are: dark green (like broccoli), orange (like carrots), dried peas and beans, starchy ones, and others. You need to eat more from the dark green and orange groups than the other groups.

The fruit category includes all fruits and the 100 percent pure fruit juices. Fruits are our main source of vitamin C so they are vital to our health.

Oils are just fats that are in liquid form when at the temperature of the room. This is like the certain oils we use in cooking. This is the narrowest strip on the food pyramid you need to watch how much oil you consume and try not to go over the daily-recommended level.

The milk group includes most dairy products except for cream, cream cheese, and butter. These three are excluded because they lose their calcium during processing. So choose from the diary sources inside this pyramid that retain their calcium value such as milk, yogurt, and other types of cheese. Also make sure they are the low fat or even fat free choices.

Meat and beans include any of the meats and protein rich beans. Of course with the meat it should be lean meat. Dried beans, fish, eggs, and nuts are part of this group too. To cook the meat or fish you need to grill it, bake it, or even broil it for the low fat way to prepare it.

Physical activity is recommended on a daily basis of at least 30 minutes a day. This should be done at a moderate pace if you are not used to activity otherwise you can get more vigorous with it. It can be anywhere from walking to running to gardening.

If you pay attention and follow the recommendations of the new food pyramid, you may live a longer, healthier life.

..... Fartlek is a funny sounding word so what is it?

Fartlek, a Swedish term that means "speed play," is a form of interval or speed training that can be effective in improving your speed and endurance.

Fartlek running involves varying your pace throughout your run, alternating between fast segments and slow jogs. Unlike traditional interval training that involves specific timed or measured segments, fartleks are more unstructured. Work-rest intervals can be based on how the body feels. With fartlek training, you can experiment with pace and endurance, and to experience changes of pace. Many runners, especially beginners, enjoy fartlek training because it involves speed work. But it is more flexible and not as demanding as traditional interval training. Another benefit of fartlek training is that it doesn't have to be done on a track and can be done on all types of terrains ... roads, trails, or even hills.

To do a fartlek workout, try introducing some short periods of slightly higher pace into your normal runs. Maintain the faster pace for a short distance or time intervals, such as 200m or 30 seconds. The intervals can vary throughout the workout, and you can even use landmarks such as streetlights or telephone poles to mark your segments.

Once you complete a fast segment, slow your pace to below your normal running pace, until you have fully recovered and your breathing has returned to normal. Then return to running at your normal pace, and incorporate more slightly fast intervals later in the run.

Fartlek training puts a little extra stress on your system, eventually leading to faster speeds and improving your anaerobic threshold.

I like the above training as opposed as it adds variety and spice to an active regime ...

Next Time ...

• An early morning swim
• Are energy drinks or gels really beneficial on a long run?

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The summer so far has been the best we have seen for many years. Plenty of sun but with enough cleansing rain to fil the gaps and feed our land. We are fortunate to live in a part of the world where we have great variation in weather ... and this again is something to be positive about. Although I do hear plenty of moans to the contrary?

I love the breaks in the sunshine when the rain helps to clear the air. I find it the best time to go for a walk and reap the benefits of the freshness of the outside ... (please see my earlier blog entry).

At the start of week eight, I have moved out of the 16st bracket with a good 4lb loss now weighing in at 15st 11lbs ... whoop whoop! But just remember this is all down to small changes in lifestyle that anyone can manage.

..... Our bodies need good fats. We have been indoctrinated into believing that all fats are bad fats and that we must not eat any of them or we risk a whole array of heart conditions and becoming overweight. In actual fact, whilst there are bad fats and we must do our best to avoid these bad fats (or risk the aforementioned conditions) there are many foods that contain healthy fats that we must consume.

Healthy fats are essential in a healthy diet because fat is needed in the body as a store of energy. Fats also act as an insulating source that prevents us from lowering our body temperature (similar to hair). If we do not eat good fats then we are in danger of jeopardising our health which is something that must be avoided.

Of course, we must avoid bad fats and the problem is that many of the foods that we love to eat are dripping in these bad, or saturated, fats which is why we are told to avoid them. Pies, sausages, cakes and burgers all contain these fats and are all seen as foods that we must avoid. It is true that an over-consumption of these foods will result in you taking in too many saturated fats and risk many coronary diseases.

However, we should not be put off from eating good fats and these healthy fats can be found in many foods which are not only healthy but also taste good. Fish, for example, is oily and contains these unsaturated fats (in particular, omega 3) which provide you with innumerable health benefits. For those of you who don’t like the taste of fish there are also nuts and even avocado which provide healthy fats and can be incorporated into a meal as an extra and not the main focal point of the meal. You can therefore feel the benefits of these healthy fats without having to taste the foods!

When is food considered high in fat? How much bad fat is allowed in order to serve a healthy meal?
As a guide, if food contains more than 20g of fat per 100g (20% fat content), then the food is high in fat. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if 5g of this 20g is fat that saturates (i.e. saturated fat) then the food must be avoided because it is packed full of bad fats. If food is low in fat then it contains fewer than 3g of fat per 100g (3% fat content). The ideal food contains between 3g and 20g of fat and lower than 1.5g of saturated fat.

Here are some examples of healthy fats. Nuts like pistachio, almonds and many other types contain good fats. You can easily include them in your daily diet, without exaggerating, of course. More good fats are provided by the Avocados!

As mentioned above oily fish also contains healthy fats like Omega 3 which have the properties to keep your heart healthy. Some of the best fish types are: Perch, Trout, Mackerel, Salmon (... higher content of fats including good ones). You should include fish in your every day diet and serve it at least once a week!

Later in the HB website there will be a full-breakdown on the nutritional benefits of fats in the diet.

..... So can we compare walking and running? When considering the argument for walking vs running for weight loss, there are a number of factors to consider. Let’s make this easier by listing all the pro’s and con’s of walking vs running.

Walking vs Running Pro's and Con's

Running Pro’s

• It’s a very quick way to get fit 
• It’s comparatively cheap to do 
• It’s relatively simple, you don’t need any particular skills or talents 
• You’ll get a real high after finishing your runs 

Running Con’s

• It’s often too over facing for beginners and anyone who is overweight 
• It places a large amount of stress on the joints of the ankles, knees, hips and lower back 
• You’ll need to buy a good pair of quality (often expensive) trainers 
• Most people don’t enjoy the feeling of pushing themselves out of their comfort zone that far. 

Walking Pro’s

• You can walk anywhere and at anytime. 
• If you’re struggling to fit in a walk one day, it’s very easy to build up your steps by walking around the house 
• You don’t need any specialist equipment 
• Your walking workout starts the moment you leave your front door 
• You don’t have to get sweaty or work too hard 
• You can work at different intensities depending on how you feel. 
• It’s a really enjoyable type of exercise that is also very sociable 

Walking Con’s

• It’s thought of as being ‘too easy’ 
• You need to be consistent to see any results 
• The fitness improvements won’t always be as quick as with other sports 

Whenever you’re comparing walking vs running you should also think about your past experiences of exercise and what you actually enjoy or hate about it.

If you love pushing yourself to the limit then you might automatically think that running is the only option.

However this is simply not true!
You could consider using power walking or just briskly walking up a steep incline on a hill or a treadmill instead. I guarantee if you walk as fast as you can on the steepest incline you can use that you’ll be shattered at the end of it, if that's what you like.

When comparing walking vs running in terms of which is the most effective one for you to use to lose weight, then I suggest that you look at it this way...

Most people would run maybe a couple of times a week as a beginner and they’d be lucky to run a maximum of 5 minutes in total. This would burn off around 150 – 200 calories.

However if they instead went for a daily walk for 30 minutes at a time they would burn far more calories, up to 1400 per week depending on how fast and what terrain was walked over.

So there are many reasons to consider before deciding on walking vs running, it’s not just the obvious answer that you might at first think. Again I will go into more detail on this, in later blog updates.

Next Time ...

• What is the food pyramid?
• Fartlek is not a naughty word and is good for you!

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