What to do when you have a lot of weight to lose

There are often times when we think that losing half a stone, or a couple of kilos will make all the difference – dropping a dress size or even just having clothes sit more comfortably on you. Then there are times when you need to lose a significant amount of weight, a couple of stones, a raft of kilos - and the task can be a daunting one indeed.

Here are some tips and ideas if you are that person who has been told that you are overweight and you need to lose weight for your health and well-being.

Step 1: Try not to be overwhelmed by the task. Simply owning it, declaring it and being responsible for the task ahead is a great starting place. Don’t beat yourself up for “letting it get so bad” or that you have so much to do, you will give up on the first hurdle.  Be brave. Be strong. Be determined to succeed.

Step 2:  remember that your health gets better immediately, and that the small changes you make now will directly impact your blood cholesterol, your blood pressure, your insulin sensitivity and hopefully, your mental health too.

Step 3: Remove temptation.  Remember you are human. If you are hungry and that chocolate is in the house, it will call to you.  The minute you open the cupboard/fridge/bag and you see that item that will making losing weight much harder...staring at you...then you will want to eat it. So, cold turkey your house and make being high fat, high sugar items at least a 20 minute walk away – doable in emergencies....

Step 4:  Add it as much moving around as you can. Each little bit of moving will help you. So try to speak to people in your office by getting up and walking rather than sending the email, yes, do that get off the bus a stop earlier or try a 15 minute walk before food – breakfast, lunch, supper. If you can, then add it a longer period of activity at least 3 times in the week – if you are not doing this already, remember that this is going to be a challenge to fit into your life, so pick a time that is most convenient, get a friend to come with you or post it on FB that you are doing something. It is going to help you massively both physically and psychologically, so take the step.  Chose and activity that you like and aim for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 90 minutes three times a week.

Step 5: Cut out as much fat from your diet as you can. Sure, we need some fat, but small amount as it has double the calories of anything else, so reduce the amount of fat on your bread and butter, reduce the excess fat on meat, stop frying food, steam, grill or bake. No cream, smallest amount of cheese or none at all, but don’t be tempted to be so strict that you give up.  Make small changes every day.

Step 6: Reduce your sugar intake – esp. processed sugar (white looking, been through a chemical process, does not look like home baking (too “perfect” looking)).  Reduce any biscuits, cakes, snacks, chocolate and make sure that people don’t tempt you in work.

Step 7: Throw out your scales - don’t weigh yourself. Honestly, if you have a mountain to climb, each pound lost, put on, stayed the same, is pretty demoralising.  Lots can depend on the food you ate, amount of water you drunk, time of the month. So use your eyes, feel your fat (it goes “thinner” and less chunky), use clothes and keep your eye on the end goal and not all of the small steps.

Step 8:  Set yourself a goal and when you reach it, a reward (that is not food).  Make small goals with small prizes e.g.  Cutting down your fat all week gets you a trip to the cinema/new book/makeup etc. A month of exercise – gets you a day trip out or a day of lazing in your PJs all day long...  Be inventive with your rewards and make sure you stay focussed.

Step 9: Increase your water intake. Start the day by sipping a glass of water before your early morning tea. Aim to drink a full glass of water before each meal time and at the end of the day when you go to bed

Step 10: Be organised. Plan your meals in advance, get your shopping list sorted, buy local. Cook in batches so that you have enough food all week. If you want a snack then eat your lunch a bit earlier. Eat protein with every meal and plan around what you have going on in your calendar all month.   Have a look at my other posts for more meal ideas.

So. Be brave. Think long term and keep at it xx

Menopause – does exercise help?

The menopause is an important part in the life of the human female body; when fertility comes to its natural end, and when significant body changes occur that can affect both your physical health and psychological wellbeing.

Triggered by a gradual reduction of hormonal level as the ovaries fail to produce sufficient oestrogen, the menopause can bring about both physical and mental health changes.   The chance are that the symptoms of increased general irritability, anxiety and mood swings (and possible depression) might not be so easy to spot (!!) but more distinctive night sweats, hot flushes increased headaches, dizziness  and  joint pain might be harder to ignore...

The menopause also increases our vulnerability to other chronic diseases such as the risk of coronary heart disease rises, partly due to the natural ageing process and partly to the diminishing defensive properties of oestrogen.  

The menopause can be defined by an absence of menstruation for more than 12 months in women over the age of 35.  The transitional period of the menopause, where we start to see hormonal fluctuation, can last for many years, and may be referred to as the "climacteric" period. This transitional phase can begin from as early as 30 years old, with 51.4 years being considered the mean age for menopause in western women and in general, most women will have completed the menopausal transition by the age of 60.

One of the more distinctive (and frustrating) side effects of the menopause cycle is increased intra-abdominal fat and changes to body composition and fat distribution, more commonly phrased as "middle age spread".... As fat redistributes and the body changes shape, it is likely that many menopausal women tend to feel more self-conscious and this can then turn into a lack of self-esteem to take up exercise.  However, it is really important to remember that increases in fat-mass- especially in what is known as the "hip to waist ratio," where you start to lose your natural "waist" has a direct impact on our cardiovascular health.  Oestrogen offer us protective measurements by allowing the blood vessels to operate more efficiently, but without it there is more chance that your arteries will fur up without some interventions such as healthy diet and regular exercise.

The good news is that there is a pile of research that says exercise can reduce the distress associated with the menopausal transition. Women who are physically active in both the peri- and post-menopausal stage report less severe physical symptoms, as well as improved psychological well-being and higher levels of self-worth.  Even better, you don’t even have to be big into fitness – and even walking where you get slightly out of breath can show improved self-esteem and quality of life, even if there were not any changes to fitness, or reduction in body fat. 

Don’t think that exercise is only there to help your physical health. Your mental health is just as important – and especially at this stage of life which can be really trying – not only with the physical changes which are difficult and challenging, but also in the "grieving" process that our time as a women, where we could have babies (if we wanted)or we could work on our fitness with the aim to see significant improvements - where as now we train to maintain fitness and stop the decreasing bone and muscle mass, loser skin and other wobbly bits that use to be firm...then doing exercise to simply improve our mood is worth it alone!  Remember, your feelings of self-worth, self-perception and well-being can all be improved by exercise, as exercise stimulates the brain chemicals to elevate mood and feeling alert. Women who do aerobic activity (step, running, swimming, aerobics cycling etc) regardless of whether they were on HRT or not, show increases in well-being and a reduction in stress levels. 

Aim to do 20 -30 Minutes aerobic exercise about 3 times a week, weight train about twice a week  - please use my earlier posts on ideas of what to do.  There is no need in general, to reduce levels of intensity or frequency just because of the menopause.  And finally, please please please - aim to do things you enjoy so that you get those hedonistic pleasures...

Being Mindful

In a world of fitness, it is often not easy to think how mindfulness might play a part in improving health and well-being...for a start, how do you measure it – not in reps, not in weight loss, not in numbers we can see....but to miss out on the benefits of developing resilience in a busy world, is to miss out on a vital component of health.

The psychological aspects of fitness are well documented. A sportsperson will often face times when they need to control anxiety – maybe before a race, before the try conversion, the penalty kick off, serving out the winning set – and sports psychologists have found a range of ways that we can harness the capabilities of our mind to bring about a reduction in anxiety as well as an improvement of skill and achievement.

Here is how “being mindful” can help you not only get the best out of your workout but also to make you feel GOOD J - and you will notice this difference without stepping on the scales!

Ok – the basics. Being “mindful” is to be aware of what is happening to you NOW.  The way that your seat feels, the rhythm of your breath, the thoughts that are passing in and out of your mind. It is about paying attention to the world around us and to ourselves, without “pre-living” with what is going to happen in the future, or feeling “trapped” by things that have happened in the past. In our busy lives, it is easy to get into a cycle of rushing from one thing to the next, living in your “head space” where all the worries pile onto you – being mindful can help change your perspective but understanding that the thoughts that you are having, are just that, thoughts. They have no power or influence to become reality, but you have the power to still the rush of anxiety by being “mindful” of your situation and in the long term bringing about greater peace and happiness to your life.

Your first steps might be to just to start to notice your thoughts, your feelings, the sensations in your body and the world around you. Just pick a time that you will do this – maybe your walk to work, or when you sit and eat your lunch or in the evening when instead of watching telly or surfing the net, you simply sit and stare for a while. You can go on a course where mindfulness skills are taught – these are usually over about 4-8 weeks and are led by a trained Mindfulness Instructor.  You can of course set aside time for a more structured way of being mindful – such as going on doing meditation, yoga or tai chi

Here are my short suggestions for ways to be more mindful with your fitness goals.  First, I am going to show you a technique used by sportspeople to calm anxiety, called “centering”

Centering - Awareness of breathing

•          Place right hand on your belly button area

•          Place left hand on chest – around your heart

•          Exhale fully

•          Inhale and as you do so, think about the breath moving down towards your right hand.  You should be aware of the hand rising and falling as you do your deep breath.

•          Your left hand remains still – so keeping the breathing deep and not chest area

•          Repeat 3-5 times minimum

•          Emphasise the calm feeling associated with this exercise

•          Focus on NOW

Here are some other quick suggestions that you can try this week J

• Why not try and stand somewhere different in class – see the class from a different perspective – who stands where, what the light is like in this part of the class, how do you feel being in a different place...etc
• Say hello to a new person – connecting with different people is good for your mental health.  In a gym or class situation, you both already have something in common and a great opening phrase to get a conversation started.
• When you are working out, take time to notice the body sensations that are going on – and don’t panic!!  Enjoy your workout.  Be aware of your breath, your heartbeat, your muscles working, that bead of sweat running down your face
• When doing an exercise – focus – where are you feeling it, how does it feel. Think about the changes that you are making right now to that muscle fibre, to your strength, your flexibility
• Enjoy the dancing element of the classes, don’t worry about what you look like, let your body move freely
• At the end of the session be thankful and grateful, no matter how wreaked you feel, at least you did this for you, and made the effort

Enjoy your small trip into mindfulness, and if you enjoy it then set about making this a regular part of your fitness regime – you won’t regret it.

Anxiety 1

Something happened to a very good friend of mine yesterday, where anxiety physically stopped her from doing something she wanted to do. For her - and for anyone else out there, here is how exercise can help reduce and manage anxiety.

Anxiety can be described as "A negative emotional state which is characterised by nervousness and worry which is associated with  heightened "arousel" in the body".

You can experience "State Anxiety" which describes feelings of anxiety "right now".  And also "Trait Anxiety" which tends to be general feelings of anxiety across all situations – like a personality trait – unfortunately, those with high trait anxiety will have higher state anxiety

Both trait and state anxiety can manifest themselves in different ways.  They can be mental – or Cognitive anxiety – e.g. negative thoughts and nervousness or more physical which is Somatic anxiety – e.g. muscle tension, butterflies

The relationship that you have between you "felt arousal" – i.e. how anxious you may feel – and then the subsequent emotional response depends on your cognitive interpretation of your anxiety.  

That is to say, you can feel anxious but you may interpret this to be pleasant or unpleasant.  Some people function better in what is known as a "Telic state" where you tend to enjoy more serious behaviour, like making plans and prefer low anxiety arousal levels.  Others prefer a "Paratelic state" where behaviour is spontaneous; they are more concerned with now and prefer high arousal or enjoy anxiety as they see it as exciting.

Understanding how you function and react to anxiety will be a great step towards helping yourself deal with stressful situations.  

You can experience Tension-stress - which is the discrepancy between your preferred state of being (calm or hyper!) and your actual arousal levels.  It may bring with it unpleasant emotions.  Telic people may then see a stress situation then full of threat and anxiety, whilst partelic people may feel boredom and not enjoy the lack of threat in a situation.  

Telic people have to employ "effortful coping strategies" to help deal with the situation whilst Paratelic people might create challenge in order to face this – maybe start and argument, make themselves late, be unprepared etc.  Try to think about how you react.  Can you start to see and understand how you function in stressful situations?  This will all help to you make plans to deal with your anxiety. 

There is more to understand about anxiety and I will post again about this. We will look at some coping strategies that may work for you and examine which is the best way to reduce anxiety – Relaxation, Goal-Setting, Imagery or Self-Talk? In the mean time, here is some information about the positive effect of exercise on anxiety – regardless of which state you may be in J

• Exercise has a low to moderate anxiety reducing effect, equivalent to other non-pharmaceutical interventions
• Exercise programmes of 10 – 15 weeks can reduce trait-anxiety across a wide range of subgroups
• Single sessions of moderate aerobic rhythmic type exercise lasting at least 20 minutes is most likely to result in reduction in state anxiety
• Single session of moderate exercise can reduce short term physiological reactivity and to enhance recovery from stressors
• Higher levels of fitness are associated with less physiological reactivity to and enhance recovery from stress – a stress buffering effect.
• Mops up excess Free Fatty Acids and glucose
• Uses adrenaline, noradrenalin and Cortisol in an appropriate manner
• Reduces acute rises in BP – especially diastolic
• Reduces muscular tension
• Aids relaxation

If all else fails, at least there are minions to make you smile...

How to start...

The Beginning

Day One – ok, let us try to make a start on the whole dark art of “losing weight”.  First things first, your body is made up on many things, and the weight that you weigh on the scales is the total sum of that – so we need to be smarter in our desire to change body shape, by listing it all. Guys, please use chest measurements in the same position as the "Bust 1 and 2" :)

Date	Total Weight	Bust 1  Fullest part	Bust 2  Under bust	Waist 1  narrowest part	Waist 2 across belly button	Hips 1 on hip bones	Hips 2 widest part of bottom	Thigh 1 top	Thigh 2 middle part

So, fill in the details – you can measure and weigh either all metric or all imperial.  Repeat this every week.

Secondly, we need to remove temptation.....interestingly, a study showed that if there was a box of biscuits on your desk, you would keep eating each time you saw them, you ate less if they were on the desk across the room, and even less if they were in the cupboard out of sight.

So, step one, is to remove from your view all of the calorie-laden-no-nutritional-value stuff that we like to pick on when feeling fed up/bored/L’Oreal advert (cos I deserve it moment)........ Even more interesting is the psychological study done on “wanting” something...so, if there were 2 jars of biscuits, one with only 2 “special” biscuits in that you were not allowed to eat, the other full to the top with biscuits, us humans, would crave to have the “special” biscuits...and would sometimes even reject the normal biscuits! So, be aware. So don’t be surprised if you crave the thing “you can’t have”.  It is like being dumped by your beau ...you will be pining for them.  Be kind to yourself – distraction techniques work to a certain extent  so phone a friend, take a bath go for a walk etc etc.

Please, allow yourself a treat at least once a week, but make sure that you exercise the total quantity of the item (s) you wish to consume on that day (and in addition to your other exercise).  However, if we do eat things that are close to hand, please make sure that you have a bowl of fruit somewhere obvious where you will walk past and pick one up, that you have a bowl of chopped veg in the fridge right in front of you as you open the door (put in as many colourful veg that you can – peas in their pods, green beans, red or yellow peppers, radish, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks etc).  Nuts and seeds are also good for trace minerals, so a tub of them (with a lid on so that you don’t eat too many...) out on your kitchen top.

The third and final bit of day one will be to do some exercise. We know that even a single bout of exercise can immediately change the level of fat swimming around your body, and that repeated bouts of exercise will let you access your fat stores quicker and for a longer. So, wake up your body’s fat burning potential by doing some exercise – the good bit is that it can be anything, as long as you enjoy it – and try for at least 30 mins.

Day One Summary

• Weigh and measure
• Remove all temptation that will encourage hips from hell and replace with heavenly hips temptations...
• Kit-kat workout – work out how much exercise for a treat and burn it off before you get it.
• Exercise for at least 30 minutes

Decision Balance Sheet

A “Decision Balance Sheet” (DBS) can help you evaluate the pros and cons of making changes and can help you start to take up exercise or even take on a new exercise challenges. Sometimes, we want to make changes – such as losing weight, getting fitter, having a healthier lifestyle. But there are often “reasons” or “barriers” as to why we never seem to get around to it. These barriers are often real but can be perceptions too and understanding what our barriers are will help us overcome them. 

By using a DBS you will be able to help yourself make the changes that you want.  This is because the DBS can highlight the positive benefits of change – and no one is likely to change unless the gains are greater than the losses! 

Here is an outline of how a DBS works – and on a quiet Sunday, why not sit down for 20 mins and do your own?  It really helps.

First, you need to get 2 pieces of at least A4 paper (or more if you need!).  You can just scribble away or if you like being creative - go for it with colours, highlighter, stickers and drawings!

You will need to be 100% honest with yourself here.  No-one is going to see or read this, so there is no need to feel embarrassed or ashamed of the things you are writing down.  By being honest, you will gain good understanding to how you think and feel when you are approaching changes and you will be able to put in place things to help you overcome this.

Now, on your sheet you need draw a line down the middle.  Title one side Gains to Self and title the other side Losses to Self.  On each side you have 3 questions that you need to answer.  These are:-

• On Gains to Self
• Important to Others,
• Approval to Others
• Self-Approval

• On Losses to Self
• Important to Others,
• Disapproval to Others
• Self-disapproval

Here is an example of how this might look for someone who wants to lose weight and take up exericse:

• Gains to Self – Better Body, More Energy, Loss of weight, Clothes fit better, won’t be so embarrassed going on the beach on holiday,
• Important to Others – I will feel healthier so I can play sport with my children, I will be more attractive to my partner – OR I will be able to go to the gym with my friends and they will like that, OR my doctor will be pleased that I am brining my weight into a healthy range
• Approval to others - My children would like to see me more active, my partner would like me to lead a healthier lifestyle,
• Self-approval -   I will feel more confident
• Losses to Self – I will have less time to spend on my hobby
• Important to Others – I will have less time with my family; I will have less time to devote to my work
• Disapproval to Others – my boss thinks it will take time away from work
• Self-Disapproval – I will look silly exercising as I am not fit

These are of course just guidelines.  You now need to do your own – they can be as short or as long as you like

We know that increased awareness of the benefits of exercise and gains to you for both physical and mental health can help you overcome barriers you may have and be more receptive to change.  So, much to gain and nothing to lose – this is just a paper exercise; the next step is of course doing it...! Have a look at other people and see what they do, get a friend to come along with you, give yourself a treat or reward and maybe pin your balance sheet up on the wall to remind yourself as to what you are aiming for xx

Osteoporosis - 1

As you know, I am often telling you that weight training should be an essesntial element of your workout – and mostly people do this or think about this to help them lose weight or to maintain a taught and trim body. However, there are alos some more serious implications to bone health and investing the time in your body now will pay dividends as you get older.  I will post again about osteoporosis, but here is a general outline and how exercise can help – later posts will look at calcium enriched diet.

Our body is able to continuously recycle its bone mass throughout our life.  However, the rate of bone recycling tends to peak during our youth and decreases after the age of 30. Your bones are formed and re-formed through the processing of certain cells in your body called osteoblasts and osteoclasts.

Osteoblasts originate in the bone marrow and are responsible for the slow process of laying down new bone through mineralisation of calcium. On the other hand, the osteoclasts are then responsible for the demineralisation of old bone cells, performing an important job of eliminating damaged tissue, such as broken bones and dying cells.

These processes are age-related and once peak bone mass has been reached at about the age of 30 we can start to see that the degeneration of bones starts to outstrips mineralisation or bone building effect. So we need to introduce weight bearing exercise at a young age – but this is still important as you get older so that you continue to strengthen the bones within you body.

This picture shows healthy bone on the left and the right shows a bone starting with osteoporosis and showing the start of the "gaps" which makes the bone more fragile and susceptible to breaking. There are other risk factors that can also start to a fragile bone structure – this initial stage is called Osteopenia (meaning loss of bone mass). Without some kind of exercise and dietary intervention, this condition or early stages will most probably progress to Osteoporosis. The loss of bone density loss is gradual and can occur without you noticing any evident symptoms – and the first time you might be aware is when the conditions are well advanced.  You might only be aware that you have osteoporosis with you break a bone by falling or even have a spontaneous break for no reason.  The table belows outlines some of the risk factors for osteoporosis.

Primary Risk Factors - Female, Age, Slight Build, Asian or Caucasian Race

Secondary Risk Factors - Premature menopause,Primary or secondary amenorrhoea, Primary or secondary hypogonadisum, Previous fragility fracture, Maternal history of hip fracture, Low body weight, Smoking,  High Alcohol consumption, Prolonged immobilisation, Low calcium intake, Vitamin D deficiency

            We know that exercise can benefit the body in many ways and luckily, it can help with osteoporosis too.  You will need to take into account the following. 

•  Bone loading - to improve and maintain bone mass
•   Weight training
•  Running – especially up hills
•   Posture - to protect the spine from distortion and help with respiration
• Pilates
•  Yoga
• Core Stability
• Plus, more dynamic exercises
• Balance – to lessen the chances of falls
• Pilates
• Yoga
• Dance
•  Dynamic exercises

This is the first of 3 articles on osteoporosis and I will give you more detailed advice on exercise and diet in later posts.

Insulin response

 A short but sweet (lol!) post today...more to follow tomorrow..

Insulin is a hormone which has an effect on our body’s metabolic system.  It helps to regulate how the body stores and uses fat and glucose. The amount of insulin released is dependant on the level of glucose within food – see the article on GI (Glyceamic Index).

Insulin helps the muscle and fat tissue to take on board glucose so that we can use it for energy when we exercise. There is a spike in insulin just after we have eaten, but there is also a steady flow in the blood stream to control glucose levels.  

The spikes stimulate the cells and liver to take up the glucose when it is plentiful.  If you have high levels of glucose anyway, then the body will convert this into fatty acids and store as fat.  The other thing that happens is that when insulin spikes, it stops the metabolism of fat (i.e. stops you fat burning) and encourages fat to be stored in fat cells. 

Now don’t freak – this is important if you are doing lots of exercise, but can be a real pain if you are trying to lose body fat. So, we want to limit the “spike” by choosing low GI food, and reducing the number of spikes that we have in a day. Hence the move towards less carbs etc... But if you are exercising and training hard, then you will need to have the carbs in your diet. Plus, eating wholegrain will help lower cholesterol and keep the gut healthy.

Ideally, eat low GI foods, take regular exercise, increase your daily activity and enjoy your life. There is nothing evil in carbs -  much of it is to do with our lifestyle and portion size...

40 Day Challenge...

Yesterday was the first day of Lent and I was listening to a radio programme where people were talking about what they were going to “give up” for the next 6 weeks.  The idea behind Lent is based in Christianity and is one of penance and self-denial, leading up to Easter weekend – lasting around 6 weeks.  Although Lent is strongly connected to religion and the 40 days the Iesu spent in the desert enduring the “temptations of the devil”, much of today’s society use it as a way of collectively abstaining from an item or items that are perceived to be “bad” for us.  There are other ways that this is done in many other religions and maybe there is something good in human nature that drives us to a time of self-denial of the thing that we want the most that we think if we give up we become a “better” person. 

So, regardless of your religious or non-religious beliefs, are you considering giving things up?

Here are some of my suggestions that you could try for a six week period that will touch the elements of self-denial in the face of temptation....and if your will power is not what you hoped it would be, then I also have a reverse Lent idea where I will suggest things to take up over the next 40 days.

Sugar - seriously, the easiest way to feel better, reduce weight, reduce bloating, etc is to give up sugar – in particular processed sugar.  No added sugar in tea or coffee, nothing with sugar in it biscuits, cakes, chocolate, sugary cereals, etc. 

Alcohol - give your liver a holiday...

Internet – only 30 mins a day (outside of work of course) – includes, phone, ipads etc as well as pc....use the spare time it to do something useful

Take up

5k Challenge – run, walk or cycle 5K EVERY day.  Wear a Fitbit or pedometer or walk for about an hour, run for 30 mins.

New exercise – find something that challenges you or take up a sport you did as a child – even roller skating....!

Pay it Forward – mental health is as important as physical health so every day for the next 40 days be kind to someone, give someone a compliment, help someone out...