Mr WLB likes to be helpful – occasionally. He gets concerned that I will run out of words when it comes to writing this everyday…me, run out of words? How can he not know me after so long?! 
So he sends me little links to articles that he thinks might be of interest. Some I have already read, some I look at the headlines and roll my eyes and skip the reading for the sake of saving my sanity, and some I might have just missed.
This past couple of weeks I have been treated to the following:
‘Eating lots of meat and cheese in middle age is ‘as deadly as SMOKING”
‘Children’s diets ‘far too salty”
”I thought eating Special K with double cream and jam was HEALTHY’: Man piled on the pounds thanks to ‘balanced diet’ that was actually loaded with calories’
‘Boxing gloves, push-ups and jogging: Would you hire a personal trainer for your six-year-old?’
‘The five-second rule DOES exist: Eating food that’s been dropped on the floor isn’t always dangerous – especially if it’s toast’
‘The $189 weightloss wristband that can automatically monitor EVERYTHING you eat and drink’
and…
‘Why fish will keep you active: Eating plenty in old age can reduce chance of medical or physical illness by 39%’
Now this was only a small selection of the emails I received from Mr WLB. What is he trying to do to me…to you…if I write about all of this stuff? It’s confusing at best and dangerous at worst I guess!
I am actually going to dig a little deeper into a couple of these articles – mainly because I immediately had one view reading the headline, but then rationalised this view in one case…and absolutely confirmed my initial thoughts in another. I will focus on the double cream and jam and the personal trainer for children over the coming days. So I don’t want to harp on today about these two and ruin the surprise! 
First up was the meat and cheese article…a life without cheese is not worth thinking about as far as I am concerned – you can keep your cake, your chocolate, and your puddings…but if you think of taking my cheese away from me, I will commence fisticuffs!
So this was a delight from the Daily Mail – although it was written about widely – but according to the DM, eating lots of meat and cheese in middle age is as deadly as smoking, according to scientists. A study of thousands of men and women aged 50-plus found that those who ate the most animal protein were almost twice as likely to die early as those who ate low amounts. They were also more than four times as likely to be killed by cancer – a figure comparable to smoking. The researchers blame the protein found in meat, cheese, eggs and other animal products for feeding tumours and fuelling the ageing of the body’s cells. They recommend that those in their 50s and early 60s cut back on these products – and instead get their protein from fish, beans and lentils.
Now, I then read that meat is good for those 65-plus…so restrictions don’t need to last forever. Then I went on to read that the American findings were being challenged…’others questioned both his findings and the comparison with smoking. Heather Ohly, an Exeter University nutritionist, said: ‘Smoking has been proven to be entirely bad for us, whereas meat and cheese can be consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet, contributing to recommended intakes of many important nutrients.’ Dr Carrie Ruxton, an independent dietician and spokesman for the industry-funded Meat Advisory Panel, said the result may be due to those who ate non-animal protein getting more fibre from fruit and vegetables. Professor Tim Key, a Cancer Research UK scientist based at the University of Oxford, said the study was small and more research is needed to confirm the link between protein and cancer deaths. A spokesman for the Atkins diet said the high-protein diet highlighted in the study is very different to the Atkins diet. He added that the popular eating plan can be modified to make it vegetarian or vegan.
Forgive me for not quite holding back a snort when I read that a spokesman for the ‘Meat Advisory Panel’ and a spokesman for Atkins had commented…given their bloody too obvious to state interest in seeing us walloping down meat and cheese!
Seriously though – surely everything in moderation is okay? If you are troughing down bacon and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, ham and cheese rolls for lunch, and a big meaty roast dinner…there may well be a problem! Get some fish, some beans, some lentils…anything other than meat day in day out! Is this really newsworthy?
Then I read the ‘children’s diets are too salty’ article on the BBC News website. I am a food label junkie – I check everything out before I buy stuff. The vast majority of my meals are cooked from scratch. The processed food seems to be the culprit. Lead researcher Prof Graham MacGregor, who is chairman of both the charity Blood Pressure UK and the lobby group Consensus Action on Salt & Health (CASH), said: “It is very difficult for parents to reduce children’s salt intake unless they avoid packaged and restaurant foods and prepare each meal from scratch using fresh, natural ingredients.” He said manufacturers needed to do more to cut out salt – each 1g reduction in salt consumption would save thousands of lives from heart disease and strokes.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “On average, we are eating approximately 2g of salt more each day than the recommended amount and it is vital that we address this. This is why we are working with industry through the Responsibility Deal to reduce the amount of salt in foods. We have just finalised new salt targets for 76 categories of food and call on industry to sign up.”
Argh – the fecking ‘Responsibility Deal’…the voluntary shite I spoke about the other day. If we are really serious about tackling health issues, why is this a voluntary scheme?! I won’t step onto that soap-box though for fear of getting bloody stuck on it!
Cooking from scratch was the message that I took from this article.
So, so far we have ‘everything in moderation’ and ‘cooking from scratch’.
Then I went on to read the ‘five-second rule‘ article. I actually laughed when I saw this headline, as a friend of mine at school always used to say this – I remember her brushing dirt off a sausage roll before eating it…I think we actually shared it!
I think what I found most funny was the fact that research has been conducted into this five-second phenomenon – not wishing to rain on the parade of the researchers, but surely there was better way of directing the funding that this research would have needed?!
Regardless of my views, microbiologists tracked the transfer of common bacteria from indoor floors. They monitored toast, pasta, sweets and biscuits dropped onto carpet, laminate and tiled surfaces. Apparently carpeted surfaces were least likely to transfer bacteria to any of the food. Pasta had to be picked up in five seconds but toast could sit on floor for longer.
Well, that’s it – I know for sure that I am going to sleep like a baby tonight…safe in the knowledge that, should I ever drop toast, I don’t need to be Speedy Gonzales when trying to retrieve it off the floor!
So, so far we have ‘everything in moderation’, ‘cooking from scratch’ and ‘don’t drop your fecking food on the floor…but if you do, pick it up quick and all is well!’.
It was then turn of the wristband that tracks everything it seems. Apparently ‘GoBe is the only way to automatically measure calorie intake—through your skin, by reading the glucose in your cells,’ the firm behind it says. ‘Simply wear it to see calories consumed and burned, activity, hydration, sleep, stress levels, and more, delivered effortlessly to your smartphone.’. It works by combining data from a pulse sensor, an impedance sensor to measure fluid level in tissues, and accelerometers to measure movement.
This sounds bloody marvellous – I was pretty impressed. They have a working prototype…so fingers crossed that this gets released to the masses. It looks like the $189 price tag is via the Indiegogo crowd sourcing project that they are running…I think general retail value will be $299.
I am seriously excited about this – I would love something like this…a proper good gadget! Although the delightful readers of the Daily Mail don’t really agree – I can’t resist sharing these with you..
‘Where is that crisis? People still have too much money…’
‘Get a pen and notepad and write down your daily intake so you can monitor it that way.’
‘Hilarious, the next version will harvest all your info for the insurance companies… Bathroom Scales, £9.99 for a flash set…’
‘Just another way for “Big Brother” to track and gather information.’
‘Pen and paper does the same thing and costs £114.50 less!’
‘I already have the full size version – my wife.’
‘My wife could do all of that and it did not cost $189.’
I do love the fact that a DM reader confused his dollars with his pounds – confusion seems rife with the DM and it’s readers…and I am sure that all of the ‘wives’ out there will be thrilled to be tasked with the role of keeping track of their partners health! As for the chap who said ‘it did not cost $189′…’it’…I do hope that he isn’t referring to his wife as an ‘it’! Mr WLB knows far better than this!
I don’t really care what the DM readers think – I am one of them after all – I would bloody buy one…anything that makes changing your lifestyle easier is all good as far as I am concerned. Plus, I have not yet kicked my watch fetish into touch!
So, so far we have ‘everything in moderation’, ‘cooking from scratch’, ‘don’t drop your fecking food on the floor…but if you do, pick it up quick and all is well!’, and ‘monitoring of food intake and energy output is good’.
The final article contributing to tonight’s ramblings was the fish article – it’s good for you apparently…really?!
Eating animal protein reduces chance of illness by almost 40 per cent and helps the elderly stay active in later years, the study found. Apparently animal protein is key for building muscle and can help protect against falls. Fish is also good as it contains omega-3 fatty acids – which can help prevent dementia and eases arthritis.
So one article saying that animal protein can be worse than smoking…and another saying that it’s good? Although there is an age caveat it seems…as soon as you hit a certain age you can bring on the bacon!
Déjà vu – it seems that a lot of articles give conflicting messages when it comes to health and wellbeing! I get so frustrated with this – we spend too much time chasing the latest fad in these bloody publications…we end up looking like a fecking dog, chasing it’s tail, and getting fatter and jaded with the advice we are bombarded with!
So, so far we have ‘everything in moderation’, ‘cooking from scratch’, ‘don’t drop your fecking food on the floor…but if you do, pick it up quick and all is well!’, ‘monitoring of food intake and energy output is good’, and ‘protein is good…as as most natural food groups’.
For me, this lot just points me right back to Slimming World. No militant eating plans or processes. Healthy and balanced eating. Cooking from scratch. Monitoring your food. And using plates so that you don’t drop your food!
Seriously though – there is a balance. Extremes of any sort are not good. They are not sustainable. I don’t tie myself in knots reading the latest articles anymore…because I know that the simple and basic advice that Slimming World gives – which incidentally fits with the advice given by my dietitian, and by the diabetes specialist that I see – is well-researched, accurate, sustainable, and encourages change at a pace that we can deal with. I sometimes wish that Mr WLB would stop sending these articles…but they are good to read…they help me realise that I am on the right track.
Anyway – that’s my rambling nearly over for the night.
I had a weird night as Mr WLB was up until 4am with work stuff and I couldn’t sleep without him. Then I was woken by the neighbours yappy dog early. It was PT day today – which was great. I am so pleased that I decided to work with this trainer…he’s ace. He keeps me in my place and helps set my expectations…I am not superwoman and need to be reminded of this every now and again…so when my lips turn blue as I am working hard – or my body is screaming for mercy after all I have put it through over the years – he helps sort me out…and then gets me back on my feet again! After this I had to worm two of my horses…which is always a joy. Then we headed to the shops, then home for a late lunch. I have had two coaching client sessions this evening – which were fab. And I am now thinking of heading to bed as it is my WLB Pilates session tomorrow and I get to meet some lovely blog readers…exciting stuff!
Breakfast: Cherry porridge and a banana (5 syns).
Lunch: Leftover veggie bean chilli with rice (2.5 syns).
Dinner: Spicy lentil soup with cheese, spinach and red onion toasties (2 x HEA and 2 x HEB).
Snacks: Total Greek yogurt with fruit, and a Nakd bar (7.5 syns).
A good food day. Cherry porridge for brekkie with a banana for just before my training session. Then it was leftover veggie bean chilli with some rice for lunch. Dinner was lovely – but I went overboard with the chilli and curry powder! I made a lentil and veggie soup…tomatoes, onion, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, veggie stock, chilli flakes, madras powder, and red lentils. It was really nice…but made my nose run lots! Then it was my usual fruit and Greek yogurt combo with a Nakd bar for my snack.
Exercise: 10 minutes elliptical machine followed by 60 minutes of awesome personal training – today we did lots of work with medicine balls and Vipr tubes…needless to say that I am feeling it now!
Thank you for reading,
Weight Loss Bitch xxx
WeightLossBitch
On a health and fitness driven journey to lose over 32st / 448lbs / 203kgs – yes, it is a considerable amount – I am committed to losing my excess weight without the aid of weight loss surgery, diet pills, or quick fixes…as there aren’t any! Changing my eating habits and building up my fitness levels, along with addressing the ‘head issues’ will be crucial in order for me to achieve my goal. Living in England as a 31 year old super morbidly obese woman can be challenging to say the least. I have been shouted at in the street and verbally abused far too many times to mention; hence the name ‘Weight Loss Bitch’…the day I am just called a ‘bitch’ instead of a ‘fat bitch’ will be the day that I know I have cracked my weight loss! With many reasons to lose this weight I am documenting my journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would like to keep a record of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and the challenges I face with such an enormous task to tackle. Secondly, I would also like to inspire and encourage other people who are in a similar situation and to show them that significant amounts of weight can be lost naturally…with a bit of motivation, hard work, dedication and will power. Thirdly, all of the blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweet-ing, Pinterest-ing and YouTube-ing keeps me occupied and keeps my fingers out of the fridge!
Join with Google
Join with Facebook