Hi folks,
Its been a long time since i have posted on here. had alot going on. I have children now, im sure you can understand how time consuming that can be lol.
anyway, since my last post ive done a few things. bad news 1st. With me being a mere human, i like many others have lapses in judgements, mainly with food. I have put abit of weight back on. making no excuses (although i could, pregnant partner wanting to eat for two which meant i did too). but thats all it is, an excuse. I know this. you know this.
So what else is new? onto the good news. apart from now having 2 children I have enrolled on a home study course (as im now busy running aound to find time to actually go to college) and i am working my way to a level 3 Nutrition Consultant Diploma thingy :)
I have also taken steps to volunteer as a health trainer to gain experience in the field of nutrition and weight loss/healthier lifestyles, as this is what i want to do for a living.
I will try much,much harder to keep adding on here. But i will at least check in regularly to answer any questions or to offer my humble advice. Not an expert, YET ;)
I would like to ask that you share my blog to as many people as possible. Ive said it before, if i help but one person thats fantastic. But what if it could help more??? will it kill you to share it? thanks in advance
ps. I dont actually mean my blog will help them fully but it may at least push people to reasses and maybe seek medical advice or that of a proffesional.
gareth
x
Wednesday 15 August 2012
Tuesday 8 March 2011
breakfast ideas
We all know that we need a varied diet,and that breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it kick starts our metabolism,so why do we insist on missing it or eating crap?
with that said then lets see what we can eat! just remember to weigh or check calories when 1st starting out,eventually you can stop that as common sense will take over.
DAY 1: 2 slices of toast,with a low fat spread,or leave the butter/marge and have jam.You could have both but add the calories. 1 banana (or another fruit) And please,with the cereal,lets not have stuff thats just made full of sugar.stick with cornflakes (honeynut if u want),weetabix (or mini ones) shredded wheat with the fruit in them.just not chocolate covered crap! thanks :)
DAY 2: 1 Bowl of cereal with skimmed milk,1 slice of toast and fruit of your choice.
DAY 3: 2x poached eggs on 2 slices of toast (i use a proper egg poacher,i hate poaching just in water lol) and fruit of your choice.
DAY 4: Go on then,have a bacon sandwich BUT grill (ie george foreman) dont fry! or a sausage sandwich if you prefer,just get low fat version and grill
them!
DAY 5:if you like them Kippers (that would be fish) and then your fruit.if not then have crumpets if you prefer!
DAY 6:2x toast, 1x cereal a fruit.
DAY 7: Any varient of any other day! just be sensible and use common sense.And if you can,get some fresh fruit juice to have (not concentrate stuff though if you can help it) as then you have had 2 of your 5 aday at breakfast!
Of course you can alter what you have and what days,like i said,its just a guide,a few ideas. but there is variety there. Can i also say that i took to taking a vitamin drink (dispersable ones that you drop into water) in the morning too. I would also reccommend having the fruit before the toast/cereal etc as it digest at a different rate and you will get the benifit of its energy sooner.
with that said then lets see what we can eat! just remember to weigh or check calories when 1st starting out,eventually you can stop that as common sense will take over.
DAY 1: 2 slices of toast,with a low fat spread,or leave the butter/marge and have jam.You could have both but add the calories. 1 banana (or another fruit) And please,with the cereal,lets not have stuff thats just made full of sugar.stick with cornflakes (honeynut if u want),weetabix (or mini ones) shredded wheat with the fruit in them.just not chocolate covered crap! thanks :)
DAY 2: 1 Bowl of cereal with skimmed milk,1 slice of toast and fruit of your choice.
DAY 3: 2x poached eggs on 2 slices of toast (i use a proper egg poacher,i hate poaching just in water lol) and fruit of your choice.
DAY 4: Go on then,have a bacon sandwich BUT grill (ie george foreman) dont fry! or a sausage sandwich if you prefer,just get low fat version and grill
them!
DAY 5:if you like them Kippers (that would be fish) and then your fruit.if not then have crumpets if you prefer!
DAY 6:2x toast, 1x cereal a fruit.
DAY 7: Any varient of any other day! just be sensible and use common sense.And if you can,get some fresh fruit juice to have (not concentrate stuff though if you can help it) as then you have had 2 of your 5 aday at breakfast!
Of course you can alter what you have and what days,like i said,its just a guide,a few ideas. but there is variety there. Can i also say that i took to taking a vitamin drink (dispersable ones that you drop into water) in the morning too. I would also reccommend having the fruit before the toast/cereal etc as it digest at a different rate and you will get the benifit of its energy sooner.
Thursday 3 March 2011
A Few Hints & tips
Ok first tip and one of the most important,THIS ISNT A DIET!!
we all know a healthy lifestyle means a balanced diet,we cant always eat healthy,it would drive us mad.
So tip two is this. PORTION CONTROL: if your going to have a takeaway ie pizza, order a platter (half a pizza served with chips).But this applies to what you do at home too or any other takeaway,get less than you normally would,fair comprimise isnt it?
Tip Three which i think you will like as it links with tip 2, HAVE TAKEAWAYS or a naughty night BUT ONCE every month (i actually had one every 5weeks,dont know why) a certain amount of 'bad fat' i found kick started my motabolism (but everyone is different).just remember tip 2!
Tip Four: weigh yourself once a month only-if you look every day or week it will drive you mad and you wont see results (trust me) and doing it monthly gives you a target.
tip five:PLAN AHEAD:by doing this you will actually save money too,as you are buying what you want (dont go shopping hungry either)
Tip Six:weigh your food. If your planning ahead you know what your eating and weighing things like cheese will help reduce the fat in take.
Tip seven:Think of your weakness foods!?! and when shopping avoid that isle!
tip eight:there is ALWAYS a healthier (and usually a tastier) alternative to those 'bad' foods ie pizza's,burgers etc (i will give you some ideas later,but if you tell me what you like most i can find alternatives with you).
Tip Nine:when your 'hungry' ask yourself 'i am i really hungry?'. alot of the time when we are hungry we are actually thirsty! so why not try drinking a large glass of water (or fruit juice,or even a diet version of your fave fizzy drink),if you still feel hungry 20mins later,then you probably were hungry!
tip ten:why are you 'hungry'? sometimes when we are bored,sat on are own,feeling fed up or any other scenario,we mistake or rather we convince ourselves we are hungry! so 1st of all try the water trick failing that,talk to yourself about why your going to eat and if you insist on eating eat fruit or yogurt.usually when you or your body 'craves' chocolate it is usually asking for sugar.We all know that natural sugars are better than what you find in proccessed foods,so get a bunch of grapes,banana,apple,kiwi...whatever. Its down to you at the end of the day.
Tip eleven:take a photo at the start,then one every way day (i did both on the 1st of every month)
OK next tip is about excercises!!! urgh! dirty word lol but c'mon we gotta do something.heres what i did,you ready? I walked the dog! yep,thats it,although i did it with my ipod on and instead of music all the time i got an audio book on there which helped me walk that bit further because i wanted to know what happened next! just walk half hour a day or more if you can.i just walked on my days off,grabbed the dog,headed to the beach!
So they were a few tips,if i forgot any i will add more. I just want to say and im not trying to say 'ooh look at me' or gloat.I lost my weight in 6 months,thats apx 7st (or 98lbs). In that time I had takeaways,chocolate beers,ciders etc but was just careful with amounts! Im not saying you will lose the same amount of weight but isnt it exciting that in 6 months i lost nearly a person. even if it takes a year to do its got to be worth it and it WILL be exciting for you too! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!
we all know a healthy lifestyle means a balanced diet,we cant always eat healthy,it would drive us mad.
So tip two is this. PORTION CONTROL: if your going to have a takeaway ie pizza, order a platter (half a pizza served with chips).But this applies to what you do at home too or any other takeaway,get less than you normally would,fair comprimise isnt it?
Tip Three which i think you will like as it links with tip 2, HAVE TAKEAWAYS or a naughty night BUT ONCE every month (i actually had one every 5weeks,dont know why) a certain amount of 'bad fat' i found kick started my motabolism (but everyone is different).just remember tip 2!
Tip Four: weigh yourself once a month only-if you look every day or week it will drive you mad and you wont see results (trust me) and doing it monthly gives you a target.
tip five:PLAN AHEAD:by doing this you will actually save money too,as you are buying what you want (dont go shopping hungry either)
Tip Six:weigh your food. If your planning ahead you know what your eating and weighing things like cheese will help reduce the fat in take.
Tip seven:Think of your weakness foods!?! and when shopping avoid that isle!
tip eight:there is ALWAYS a healthier (and usually a tastier) alternative to those 'bad' foods ie pizza's,burgers etc (i will give you some ideas later,but if you tell me what you like most i can find alternatives with you).
Tip Nine:when your 'hungry' ask yourself 'i am i really hungry?'. alot of the time when we are hungry we are actually thirsty! so why not try drinking a large glass of water (or fruit juice,or even a diet version of your fave fizzy drink),if you still feel hungry 20mins later,then you probably were hungry!
tip ten:why are you 'hungry'? sometimes when we are bored,sat on are own,feeling fed up or any other scenario,we mistake or rather we convince ourselves we are hungry! so 1st of all try the water trick failing that,talk to yourself about why your going to eat and if you insist on eating eat fruit or yogurt.usually when you or your body 'craves' chocolate it is usually asking for sugar.We all know that natural sugars are better than what you find in proccessed foods,so get a bunch of grapes,banana,apple,kiwi...whatever. Its down to you at the end of the day.
Tip eleven:take a photo at the start,then one every way day (i did both on the 1st of every month)
OK next tip is about excercises!!! urgh! dirty word lol but c'mon we gotta do something.heres what i did,you ready? I walked the dog! yep,thats it,although i did it with my ipod on and instead of music all the time i got an audio book on there which helped me walk that bit further because i wanted to know what happened next! just walk half hour a day or more if you can.i just walked on my days off,grabbed the dog,headed to the beach!
So they were a few tips,if i forgot any i will add more. I just want to say and im not trying to say 'ooh look at me' or gloat.I lost my weight in 6 months,thats apx 7st (or 98lbs). In that time I had takeaways,chocolate beers,ciders etc but was just careful with amounts! Im not saying you will lose the same amount of weight but isnt it exciting that in 6 months i lost nearly a person. even if it takes a year to do its got to be worth it and it WILL be exciting for you too! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!
Wednesday 2 March 2011
the decision and plan into action.
The decision i made was simply a lifestyle alteration, NOT A DIET.
In the 1st week of the decision all i did was eat as i normally did.If i was having pizza and chips & a garlic bread (to myself) or spaggetti bolognese (you get the idea). BUT i wrote down everything i was eating on a daily chart and the calorie content. Now,with doing this,you must be honest with yourself.Don't miss off that chocolate bar to make it look better.
By doing this you can see what your eating on paper,add up those calories for the week.now look and see what you ate and when (and why).
The 2nd week was a little tougher,i limited myself to the RDA of calories (2500).I did this by planning my meals in advance.
Im not a big breakfast fan.I dont like eating as soon as i get up,but that had to change.I bought a little scale set to weigh my cereals (and other things) and weighed out my 30g of cerial, i took to these little shredded wheat things with fruit in them,and a banana after. of course i changed it here & there,crunchy nut cornflakes,toast etc, variety is key.
I would take somesort of snack for mid morning, ryvita with low fat mayo and cheese,or snack-a-jacks,mini ryvita,or more fruit.
For lunch we all tend to have sandwiches,righ? well instead of bread,I used either 2 medium pitta breads or 2 tortilla wraps,filled it with tuna and salad, (sound boring?) try adding some sweet chilli sauce,i love the stuff and was my saving grace. again mini ryvita or snack a jacks to go with it and then a low fat yogurt.
mid afternoon,break out a banana,or grapes,....you want chocolate? ok if you must but try a low fat one like a frys turkish delight,just add the calories to your total!
evening meals for me were my favourite.I love chicken & turkey (lower in fat) so i would grill chicken and have it with a jacket potato and salad (again added some sort of dipping sauce).
I will go into more detail if you want ideas for meals,but the above is a general example.
So i did this for 2 weeks, making sure i had my 2500 calories.
after the 2 weeks i dropped it down to 2000. i thought i would struggle doing this but i noticed that i was never REALLY hungry as i was constantly eating and my appetite was shrinking.I couldnt eat full pizzas if i tried!
when i write my next post i will talk more about types of food i ate etc and a bit more of what i did.but for now,start writing down what your eating and follow these steps 1st! ANY QUESTIONS ASK ME, i want to help :)
In the 1st week of the decision all i did was eat as i normally did.If i was having pizza and chips & a garlic bread (to myself) or spaggetti bolognese (you get the idea). BUT i wrote down everything i was eating on a daily chart and the calorie content. Now,with doing this,you must be honest with yourself.Don't miss off that chocolate bar to make it look better.
By doing this you can see what your eating on paper,add up those calories for the week.now look and see what you ate and when (and why).
The 2nd week was a little tougher,i limited myself to the RDA of calories (2500).I did this by planning my meals in advance.
Im not a big breakfast fan.I dont like eating as soon as i get up,but that had to change.I bought a little scale set to weigh my cereals (and other things) and weighed out my 30g of cerial, i took to these little shredded wheat things with fruit in them,and a banana after. of course i changed it here & there,crunchy nut cornflakes,toast etc, variety is key.
I would take somesort of snack for mid morning, ryvita with low fat mayo and cheese,or snack-a-jacks,mini ryvita,or more fruit.
For lunch we all tend to have sandwiches,righ? well instead of bread,I used either 2 medium pitta breads or 2 tortilla wraps,filled it with tuna and salad, (sound boring?) try adding some sweet chilli sauce,i love the stuff and was my saving grace. again mini ryvita or snack a jacks to go with it and then a low fat yogurt.
mid afternoon,break out a banana,or grapes,....you want chocolate? ok if you must but try a low fat one like a frys turkish delight,just add the calories to your total!
evening meals for me were my favourite.I love chicken & turkey (lower in fat) so i would grill chicken and have it with a jacket potato and salad (again added some sort of dipping sauce).
I will go into more detail if you want ideas for meals,but the above is a general example.
So i did this for 2 weeks, making sure i had my 2500 calories.
after the 2 weeks i dropped it down to 2000. i thought i would struggle doing this but i noticed that i was never REALLY hungry as i was constantly eating and my appetite was shrinking.I couldnt eat full pizzas if i tried!
when i write my next post i will talk more about types of food i ate etc and a bit more of what i did.but for now,start writing down what your eating and follow these steps 1st! ANY QUESTIONS ASK ME, i want to help :)
so what did I do?
So lets start getting into it! 1st of all,im introducing 1 rule and 1 only! relax its an easy one............DO IT FOR YOU!
trying to lose weight for other people,weather its peer pressure,to fit into a certain outfit etc etc,wont work. you have to be realistic. losing weight and being healthier is a lifestyle choice.And that was the choice that I made,and I made it for me. I was fed up of being the big one in my group of friends,lacking self confidence etc. it sounds superficial,but its not. once you reach i certain size you lose hope,you lose the belief that it can be reversed,and thats what we have in common. So here it is,this is it. Im now going to reveal the big secret to weight loss that these pill companies and excercise 'guru's' dont wont you to know.
THERE ISNT ONE! yep thats the build up.The secret is,there isnt one.
OK,so there is more to it than that.but its not a secret.
What happens if you live on fast food (pizzas,chips,indian,chinese) or lots and lots of processed food? well,you know the answer.you put weight on
and lots of it.sure you dont notice at 1st but you do. If your like me you eventually just ignore it and in your head your just 'not that big'.
I know how it feels. Im not into preaching and treating people like children,i just wont to share with you what i did...............
trying to lose weight for other people,weather its peer pressure,to fit into a certain outfit etc etc,wont work. you have to be realistic. losing weight and being healthier is a lifestyle choice.And that was the choice that I made,and I made it for me. I was fed up of being the big one in my group of friends,lacking self confidence etc. it sounds superficial,but its not. once you reach i certain size you lose hope,you lose the belief that it can be reversed,and thats what we have in common. So here it is,this is it. Im now going to reveal the big secret to weight loss that these pill companies and excercise 'guru's' dont wont you to know.
THERE ISNT ONE! yep thats the build up.The secret is,there isnt one.
OK,so there is more to it than that.but its not a secret.
What happens if you live on fast food (pizzas,chips,indian,chinese) or lots and lots of processed food? well,you know the answer.you put weight on
and lots of it.sure you dont notice at 1st but you do. If your like me you eventually just ignore it and in your head your just 'not that big'.
I know how it feels. Im not into preaching and treating people like children,i just wont to share with you what i did...............
Tuesday 1 March 2011
eating habbits
From being a teenager (if not younger) right up until a year or so ago ,I always loved food, all kinds of food as long as it was bad lol.
saturday nights were my favourite, sausage rolls with a pile of tomato sauce,crisps,fresh bread sliced like door wedges,lathered in butter, mmmmm!! whats for pudding? chocolate? ice-cream? sweets?....option D please,all of the above.
but it was great,sitting watching TV or a film with my little sis,laughing at whatever was on and sharing some more sweets......................Roll on a few years.
im 18,im working and im wanting to go out drink have fun and meet girls.....easy right?
well the drinking was!
I just lacked that confidence to just talk to girls.ultimately it was that feeling of not feeling good enough and feeling self conscious about my body. So much so that i hated to dance infront of people unless i was really really really drunk!
sure i had a couple of girlfriends but this,im sure was because i got to know them (personality is king people,do not forget that). But pubs & clubs are savage places and only the attractive survive.
I met my 1st long term girlfriend at nearly 23 and we were together 5 years almost and are still friends im pleased to say today!
but in our time together i fell into that age old trap of comfort. she was a good cook,with a habit of good portions and i had a great habit of eating whatever was put infront of me!!! i must've put on 3 stone in the time we had together (im not blaming her,although at the time im sure that was my excuse).
she said she didnt mind,but i did. i became abit of a recluse,i didnt want to go out,or take her out as i didnt want to embarrass her......................eventually i joined a certain weighloss club,and i lost 2st eventually. but why shud i pay £5 a week,i could do it alone!
So,that weight went flying back on,with abit more for good measure!
after breaking up,i did eventually meet someone else,a year later we split up. looking back i know that the biggest reason was ME. well,i didnt want to go out,just wanted to eat takeaway 7nights a week ( i was far too busy to cook) and watch tv,(hey i work all day,i want to chill out).
after that split is when i eventually went to dr about my weight.
As it turned out I had high blood pressure,high cholesterol and was borderline diabetic. it was also about this time i moved my carer into the caring proffession. Seeing people and their illnesses,some at young ages,scared me.
so, december 2009 came, like i was saying earlier .
so,id tried dieting,attempted every fad, participated in excercise so what next? i had a thought,i thought to myself 'Gareth,dont diet,just alter your lifestyle' so i did.
Sounds simple enough? well guess what? IT IS. Note: i said simple,not easy! big difference it takes some effort, especially on the bad days, but like i said i will share with you what i did,as long as you are interested!?!
In todays climate we dont all have £20 or so a month for weight loss clubs,thats why i wanted to start this,its free to all that are interested. and as someone close to me has said,even if I can help one person thats all that matters.....cheers sis!!!!
saturday nights were my favourite, sausage rolls with a pile of tomato sauce,crisps,fresh bread sliced like door wedges,lathered in butter, mmmmm!! whats for pudding? chocolate? ice-cream? sweets?....option D please,all of the above.
but it was great,sitting watching TV or a film with my little sis,laughing at whatever was on and sharing some more sweets......................Roll on a few years.
im 18,im working and im wanting to go out drink have fun and meet girls.....easy right?
well the drinking was!
I just lacked that confidence to just talk to girls.ultimately it was that feeling of not feeling good enough and feeling self conscious about my body. So much so that i hated to dance infront of people unless i was really really really drunk!
sure i had a couple of girlfriends but this,im sure was because i got to know them (personality is king people,do not forget that). But pubs & clubs are savage places and only the attractive survive.
I met my 1st long term girlfriend at nearly 23 and we were together 5 years almost and are still friends im pleased to say today!
but in our time together i fell into that age old trap of comfort. she was a good cook,with a habit of good portions and i had a great habit of eating whatever was put infront of me!!! i must've put on 3 stone in the time we had together (im not blaming her,although at the time im sure that was my excuse).
she said she didnt mind,but i did. i became abit of a recluse,i didnt want to go out,or take her out as i didnt want to embarrass her......................eventually i joined a certain weighloss club,and i lost 2st eventually. but why shud i pay £5 a week,i could do it alone!
So,that weight went flying back on,with abit more for good measure!
after breaking up,i did eventually meet someone else,a year later we split up. looking back i know that the biggest reason was ME. well,i didnt want to go out,just wanted to eat takeaway 7nights a week ( i was far too busy to cook) and watch tv,(hey i work all day,i want to chill out).
after that split is when i eventually went to dr about my weight.
As it turned out I had high blood pressure,high cholesterol and was borderline diabetic. it was also about this time i moved my carer into the caring proffession. Seeing people and their illnesses,some at young ages,scared me.
so, december 2009 came, like i was saying earlier .
so,id tried dieting,attempted every fad, participated in excercise so what next? i had a thought,i thought to myself 'Gareth,dont diet,just alter your lifestyle' so i did.
Sounds simple enough? well guess what? IT IS. Note: i said simple,not easy! big difference it takes some effort, especially on the bad days, but like i said i will share with you what i did,as long as you are interested!?!
In todays climate we dont all have £20 or so a month for weight loss clubs,thats why i wanted to start this,its free to all that are interested. and as someone close to me has said,even if I can help one person thats all that matters.....cheers sis!!!!
my weight loss
Hi there,my names is gareth,im currently 31years old and weigh now apx 13 1/2 stone. so what? well,i did weigh just over 20st at my heaviest!
in October 2009 after visiting the Dr. and being told i was morbidly obese,I decided it was time to lose weight!
Well,that was the plan,i went home and ordered pizza!
I mean come on,ive always been 'big' and was always told 'your tall,you can carry it' or 'your big boned', so what did it matter if i was fat?
It had always bothered me deep down,that i wasnt thin,couldnt buy and wear the 'nice' clothes and that i never felt good enough. Besides it was to late to turn this around. There was no way on earth i could lose weight! I'd bought all the machines from tv adverts,all the weigtloss miracle tablets,joined the gym ( and pretty quick stopped going) id done all i could,id given it my all,110% effort,hadn't I?
The TV and society was telling me this was how you do it and that it was easy! maybe i was just meant to be fat!
In Dec 2009 i decided,i wanted to do something something very little,a slight alteration,and guess what?
IT WORKED!!!!!
in October 2009 after visiting the Dr. and being told i was morbidly obese,I decided it was time to lose weight!
Well,that was the plan,i went home and ordered pizza!
I mean come on,ive always been 'big' and was always told 'your tall,you can carry it' or 'your big boned', so what did it matter if i was fat?
It had always bothered me deep down,that i wasnt thin,couldnt buy and wear the 'nice' clothes and that i never felt good enough. Besides it was to late to turn this around. There was no way on earth i could lose weight! I'd bought all the machines from tv adverts,all the weigtloss miracle tablets,joined the gym ( and pretty quick stopped going) id done all i could,id given it my all,110% effort,hadn't I?
The TV and society was telling me this was how you do it and that it was easy! maybe i was just meant to be fat!
In Dec 2009 i decided,i wanted to do something something very little,a slight alteration,and guess what?
IT WORKED!!!!!
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