Week 1 results of detox inc pics of food!

Hello everyone! This is the seventh day of my DETOX!

I decided to stop taking pictures of my food today until I try out some new recipes!

I'm actually quite enjoying it, I've not craved naughty things too much.

I've just been offered a FREE sandwich at Costa and I kindly declined. That's just an example of the willpower I have!!!

First of all, here is a picture of my whiteboard and my scribblings out of my weight as you can see. There's a slight update today, I've still 13 stone 8.6 but I've dropped to 18.9% body fat.




So, let's compare my results so far between 30th April and 6th May (today):

30th April: 13 stone 12.6 = 88.2kg
19.7%

6th May: 13 stone 8.6 = 86.4kg
18.9%

I've dropped 4 pounds and 0.8% body fat which is progress.

Now here's my mathematical side showing... If you read my last post then you'll know I really don't want to lose weight, I just want to lose fat! But to lose the fat I need to lose the weight... Now at the very low end I'd maybe go down to 12 and a half stone which will have me looking pretty slim. That's a little under a stone what I am now. There's 14 pounds in a stone. Let's times 0.8% body fat (what I've dropped so far) by 3 (which takes us up to 12 pounds, only a couple of pounds away from a stone) With me? That takes us up to 2.4% body fat. Now let's minus 2.4% body fat from 18.9% body fat. This equals 16.5% body fat.

Basically, the above means that based on this weeks results, if I go down to 12 stone 9.6 then I will go down to 16.5% body fat. In fact let's say I drop another 4 pounds to 12 stone 5.6 then I will go down to 15.7% body fat. Hopefully I'll lose a bit more percent in fat but I'm being realistic. Once I'd gone down to that weight I'd start to add the weight back on gradually with minimal body fat. I would like to go in cycles like that until I reach a weight and body fat percent I'm happy with.

So there's all the math for you! Let's have a look at the food starting from Friday 1st May: (I won't post the same food twice so I don't bombard you with too many pictures)

Banana and  porridge oats with soya milk

Flavoured green tea

Fresh carrot juice

Banana, egg, honey and soya milk

Greek yoghurt and frozen raspberries

Green tea

Apple

Chicken, sweet potato,spinach, tomato with seasonings

Flavoured green tea

So the above is showing you exactly everything I've had within that day. I do sometimes like to eat the same things each day so now (to save being repetitive) I will post other meals/snacks I've had during the week:

I had a couple of spare turkey fillets so I mixed them in with tomato, red onion, egg and seasonings (I think that's everything)

I know I've posted this before but I felt I had to post it again as it's so nice and also I added hummus and mixed veg into it!

Here is porridge (which I've had for breakfast every morning for goodness knows how many years) but this time I added chopped apple on top instead of banana

Here are some banana, eggs, honey and soya milk again. I couldn't be bothered to squash the banana as you can see, tastes good but better mushed

Here are the green teas I have when indoors. Apple and pear is my favourite but orange and lotus flower is nice too

There was an afternoon where I didn't feel too hungry and a bit sick so I just had a tin of tuna mixed in with tomato

I discovered these. Dates, figs and walnuts! No added ingredients and great for a little snack

Another lovely snack, strawberries and banana!

I got some oat cakes too. Don't taste of much but great to snack on, will add feta cheese to a few at some point!

Ok, so this was meant to be a soup but I didn't have a blender, it's butternut squash mixed in with sweet potato, celery, carrot and red onion

Another meal here consisting and chicken, tomatoes, brown rice (which is allowed) and peas

My aim now is to get a proper exercise routine put in place to start toning my body up. I'm sticking to body weight for the time being as weights aren't compatible with me at the moment!

I'll be back soon with another update,

Thanks for reading x

Nutrition - Food Pyramids and the rest...

Hello!

As I said in my last post, I'll be briefly moving onto nutrition for the next few days. I didn't mention this in my last post but I have an exam next Wednesday. It's a resit that I've been putting off for around a year now! I was due to go in October but was too ill from my M.E. to make it. I failed by 1 mark last time! It's a vicious circle... my worst time of day when I have bad brain fog, aches and pains with fatigue is 1st thing in the morning which is when the exams are, non negotiable - if it was in the afternoon I'm pretty sure I'd have passed it long ago... anyway, got to be done!

I'm fairly knowledgeable about nutrition, it's all the technical terms I get a bit confused with at times!

1st of all, the human body repairs itself daily and requires energy to maintain. Oxygen, food and water are the most important ingredients!

What can healthy eating be defined as? The "technical" term is "food intake that promotes the correct and optimal operation of the structures and systems of the human body". Seems simple enough?

So next, there is what is called "Macronutrients" and "Micronutrients".

Macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein and fat whilst the micronutrients are vitamins and minerals.

The macronutrients are used for structure, function and fuel within the body.

However, the micronutrients are needed in smaller amounts. It's also used to activate the energy that is contained in the macronutrients.

Food is used to repair and rebuild vital structures constantly in the body though not all food we eat is digested, some parts of food will be excreted.

There is a certain organisation that is needed in the body, this starts with the cells, the tissue, organs, systems and eventually the human body.

In 1992, a "National Food Guide Pyramid" was made to help people choose what they have in their diet. It was very vague so a new "US National Food Pyramid" was made in 2005.

It was helpful with regard to servings but didn't give any advice regarding the macronutrients quantities.

This included:

•  Fats, oils and sweets to be used sparingly.
• Milk, Yogurt and cheese group - 2-3 servings
• Vegetable group - 3-5 servings
• Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts group - 2-3 servings
• Fruit group - 2-4 servings
• Bread, cereal, rice and pasta group - 6-11 servings

Moving onto the "new" pyramid... it is a lot more thorough and improved!

• At the bottom of the pyramid it has "daily exercise and weight control" as priority
• 2nd level it has "whole grains, healthy fats/oils, vegetables and fruits
• 3rd level consists of nuts, seeds, beans and tofu as well as fish, poultry and eggs
• 4th level consists of dairy
• And to the top of the pyramid are food to be used sparingly such as refined foods, red meats and butter

The biggest reason the pyramid was changed due to the fact that in a healthy balanced diet, some fats were necessary in larger amounts.

However, there are still advantages and disadvantages...

Obviously, the pyramid will get people to think about their diet though the pyramid isn't aimed at individuals but more so certain populations. The pyramid shows that processed food should be minimised along with alcohol whilst foods such as fruit and vegetables are encouraged. It's still very unclear on the amounts that should be included in portions. The pyramid is a good starting point but more advice would be needed overall, especially for someone who wasn't knowledgeable about food portions etc.

In the UK, there has been an adapted version of the "US National Food Pyramid". It is called "The Eatwell Plate".

This is divided into different sections like a pie chart. Fruit and vegetables, bread, rice, potatoes and pasta taking up a large section of the chart whilst meat, fish, eggs, beans, milk, dairy foods, foods high in fat take up a small section of the chart.

There are 8 healthy eating tips that have been stated by the FSA (Food Standards Agency).

These include not skipping breakfast! It is true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!! Drink plenty of water, around 6-8 glasses a day. Cut down on sugar and fat that is saturated. Eating 2 portions of fish a week including one oily, eating 5 portions of fruit/veg a day and also basing meals on starchy foods such as rice/pasta etc. Get active and try to be a healthy weight! Eating less salt too, no more than 6g.

The average target calories per day for Males and Females are 2550 and 1950 respectively.

When working on your diet, it's also very important to get the right balance between the macronutrients. No less than 50% carbs, no less than 9% protein and no more than 35% calories from fats.

That's enough for now!

I'll be back tomorrow with some more facts!!!