Skinny Love?

Skinny Love?

 

 

 

Skinny Love, and I'm not talking Bon Iver, or the covers by Ed Sheeran or Birdy either.

 

We are all so fascinated & obsessed with being 'skinny'. But what do people mean by skinny & how do they get there? .Over the last couple of years, learning about various lifestyle changes, fad diets, different exercise regimes, there's a few buzz words floating round one being 'weight loss' the other 'fat loss'.

As we are making changes to ourselves for health reasons, or you want to be fitter & stronger for your own personal goals, most of the time it end's up in some sort of loss over time, so what's the difference?

 

Weight Loss

 

Weight loss, is what a person see's in number's it will be that they've lost so many Kgs/lbs over a week or certain time period, this can also be measured in inches around certain body areas.

 

Weight Loss is essentially where you have a combination of diet & exercise programme to follow, that will result in a loss. But what is this mystical loss, where has it come off from.

Most weight losses, are a result of a diet where there will be no carbs or they are highly restricted, if you have a sedentary lifestyle this will work well as your body will use it's own glycogen stores for energy.

However, if you combine this with an active lifestyle, glycogen can carry 4 times more water weight which means you'll drop the weight quickly as you'll lose the water weight, unfortunately as you will have lower glycogen stores which means when you work out you will be wasting away your muscle mass & become dehydrated. 

 

So now you've got little carbohydrate stores & feel like your becoming fitter because the number on the scales tell you that you are, you might want to try interval/tempo training to add some nice lean muscle so you look toned & defined- don't even bother, well you can try but due to low glycogen stores your muscle will fatigue and there will be an increase in muscle catabolism so your own body will start to use your muscle protein for energy, so now your losing your muscle mass, & the less muscle mass you have the slower your natural metabolism becomes. #Awkward

Congratulations! You've lost water weight & muscle mass, you've become skinny fat! You've dropped some weight, but can't seem to get the definition you'd like, but you're skinny so who cares, right?

 

 

 

Fat Loss

 

Fat loss is the daddy of all losses! Only the tough need apply, fat loss is the endurance test, it requires hard work & determination to be able to succeed. Fat loss differs from weight loss as it just isolates the fat storage on the body, and doesn't effect your muscles or your metabolism in negative ways like weight loss does. Fat loss requires a healthy balanced diet, but doesn't require you to restrict or completely drop a food group. You'll need to eat every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism fire burning, in hand with training, to become a lean mean fat loss machine. So how do we burn fat?

 

The rules for fat burning are very simple & easy to follow, naturally with any loss you want to cut your calorie intake, the easiest way to do this is to cut excess dietary fat, fatty cuts of meat, skin off chicken, full fat diary products, but keep healthy fats in your diet such as salmon, avocado, nut butters.

Keep your carbohydrates in check, as these govern our hormone insulin that either help us break down fat or store it, carbohydrates must be slow releasing & wholegrain as they don't kick up the insulin too much & never eat carbs on their own.

Eat your protein, protein burns more calories whilst your body is digesting it, than what it contains, plus also it helps you build muscle & keeps your metabolism fired up.

Don't eat too close to bed time as this will make our insulin spike and will decrease our fat burn, throughout the day try & eat little often.

Before & after the gym, try & have protein before & protein & carbs after, as the carbs will assist the protein to repair & recover the muscles.

Fat loss requires you to retain or gain muscle mass, so lift heavy & feel the burn, work out for an hour, only one muscle group at a time, with a rest of 60 seconds between sets.

Don't forget your cardio, cardio helps release norepinephrine, which can help fat loss especially on an empty stomach e.g. first thing in the morning, or if you haven't eaten any carbs yet.
Using the fat loss method, will help you melt the fat away to reveal the god or goddesses body underneath, but don't be scared if you step on the scales & you've gained weight. As your building lean muscle mass, this will make you weigh more, but you should be able to see tone & definition & the truth will be in your measurements.

When I started this journey, I started off on a weight loss course because I didn't know any better & this is what a lot of the advertised diet groups & companies do. Over the years, I have tried various things, as I think everyone should to try & find what works for you personally, like everything in life, its trial & error.

I decided to write this blog as I've noticed people on Facebook & Instagram doing well with their 'weight loss' & when they post their food, food diaries, it made me quite concerned that they're not getting enough protein & wondering why their hair is thinning & nails have got brittle, so they need to take a different supplements that help them grow rather than having a healthier diet. Or they're not eating any carbs, then squatting wondering why they're bum isn't getting any bigger. It just see them making the same mistakes I did, in the earlier days & I'm just sat here like....

 

I also keep getting added to various groups, or invitations to pages not to be rude but I'm not interested in Forever Living, Juice Plus, The Cambridge Diet or any other faddy bullshit diets.
I just don't see how people get conned into doing these diets, why would you want to drink a natural laxative for 3 days? Or eat some fruity pills/shakes instead of proper food? Or have your calorie intake reduce to like 500 a day, not being funny but I'm pretty sure my right ass cheek eats 500 calories a day to keep it big & round. So thanks, but no thanks I'll have to decline.

 

Two Out of Three

Two Out of Three

Firstly, if you don't own Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell album, what is wrong with you?

Secondly, how do you know that you’re healthy? What's the right thing to measure yourself by, your Body Mass Index (BMI), body fat percentage, or waist to hip ratio?


Thirdly, why would anyone want to put their health down to a number? Unless it's the number 42, but surely people know whether they feel healthy or not?
 

Body Mass Index (BMI)
 

Body Mass Index (BMI) is way of seeing whether your weight is appropriate for your height. It's quite favoured by the medical professionals GP's and the like, to let you know whether your fat or not. According to my BMI, even though I've lost 5 stone I'm still now overweight rather than being borderline morbidly obese. It recommends that I lose another 20Kg or 2 stone to be healthy. Which when I look at myself I'm not too sure where this would come off from, there's a bit of fat left on my stomach & arms which I'd like to get rid of but I don't think there's 20Kgs of it...maybe there is who knows.

Personally, I don't like the BMI as we all know muscle is leaner & more dense than fat, therefore all of our favourite sports starts would epically fail on this measuring scale & like the rest of us told to lose some weight.

To check your BMI if you want to click here: http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx

 

Body Fat Percentage

Is a little trickier to calculate, unless you have a pair of callipers, which I wish I had.

I sometimes used the weight machines in Boots or at the Gym where is does measure your BMI but also your body fat but sending an extremely small electrical current though your body to measure the fat, whether this works or not I have no idea. Last time I used one of these machines was 2 months ago, where my body fat percentage was 30%.

Also there are measurement systems online where you just need a tape measure here's a link to one: http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat from using this link my body fat percentage now is 27%. It is possible that I've lost 3% in the last two months, with the weight resistance training I'm doing. So with my body fat being at 27% this means for a woman, my age, my body fat percentage is average, however I am working on getting this to the ideal section.

Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR)

 
The waist to hip ratio is an indicator to see whether you’re an apple or pear/hourglass body shape. As people who are more apple shape & carry more fat around their abdomen are more likely to develop heart disease. To calculate your waist to hip ratio you measure you waist & hips in inches & divide. It's simple maths that even I can do it, but here's a link to make it easier: http://www.virginactive.co.uk/active-matters/tools/waist-hip-ratio

Men with a WHR of 0.95 and women who have a WHR of 0.85 or less are in good health and are more likely to be hourglass or pear shaped, however, if your WHR is above this it means you should probably lose some weight due to the risk to your heart.

My WHR is 0.76 which is good; if I did this 3 years ago I think it would have told a different story.

Basically, above is a load of numbers, charts & calculations that are used to figure out whether a person is healthy or not. Now, I personally don't think you should go by just one measuring system, which is why I have demonstrated the 3 above. From these I'm good, average & overweight; which is why I say two out of three ain't bad.

 

A lot of slimming groups will only use one measuring scale usually the BMI, I personally don't like this as I'm currently trying to build muscle & reduce my body fat this scale works against me as muscle weigh's more than fat anyway. Plus by only using one scale I don't think you can get a clear picture of your body. You may find that you have a good WHR but would like to lose more body fat so then you can look into exercise & food changes that could help you achieve this goal. But also don't forget that it also matters what you feel on the inside as a person, as only you will know in yourself whether something is wrong physically or whether new foods/exercise or whatever it is in your life doesn't agree with you. This will be an indication of whether you’re healthy or not...not a load of numbers.

 

 

P.S Sorry for not posting anything sooner, I've been super busy with one thing & another, but will to continue to post regularly as possible. Peace & Love x

 

 

 

Bootea Teatox Review

Bootea Teatox Review

So, I've been seeing this Bootea Teatox all over social media, it's been used by celebrities from those Geordies up north to those Essex birds down south and everyone in between so I thought I'd give it a try to see if it's another one of those gimmick products that's indorsed by the celebs or whether it actually works. So what is it supposed to do? 

Bootea Teatox uses natural ingredients to help cleanse the body of toxins, and built up waste matter from the body via the lungs, kidneys, bowels and skin. Bootea comes with an 

eating plan which is accessible free online, with the combination of the tea, eating plan & an active exercise regime to achieve maximum results, over the 14 days or 28 day Teatox that you purchase. 

I chose the 14 day Teatox, I looked over the eating plan which is vegetarian, they say if you are to eat meat it has to be organic and lean so chicken or turkey. However, I declined to follow the eating plan purely because there just wasn't enough protein in it for my life style, I workout & when I do it's mainly weight resistant training, if I followed their eating plan, yes my weight would drop but I would be losing my muscle mass as I wouldn't be eating enough protein to maintain or grow my muscles, no one wants to be thin & flabby. Here's the link to the eating plan https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0237/2289/files/bootea_flexible_eating_plan.pdf?1395

This is my before photo taken on the Tuesday after the Easter bank holiday, so lots of chocolate, alcohol & my mum's homemade Beef Wellington. #fattie

The ingredients are natural, but I wanted to know whether they had any other health benefits so I looked into the ingredients...

Daytime Tea Ingredients

Oolong Tea- Helps Eczema & other inflammatory skin conditions.

Mate Leaves - Acts as a weight loss tool/ suppresses appetite.

Giner Root - Anti Inflammatory & helps digestive problems.

Fennel Seeds - Reduces bloating.

Lemongrass - Rebalances internal flora.

Dandilion Leaf - Increases kidney & bowel movements.

Ginseng Root - Boots Immunity.

Gotu Kola Leaves - Helps with circulation.

Nettle Leaves - Helps with digestive system.

Nighttime Tea Ingredients

Senna Leaves - Natural laxative

Peppermint Leaves - Helps with digestion

Genugreek Seeds - Helps digestion & reduces cholesterol

Liquorice Root - Lowers stomach acid, relives heartburn/indigestion, mild laxative

Burdock Root - Anti-inflammatory

Hawthorn Leaves - Helsp with digestive complaints

Valarian Root - Helps with sleep disorders (Anyone seen Carry On Screaming - Valaria?)

Psyllium Seeds - A source of soluble fiber/ laxative.

As you can see from the ingredients its suppose to rebalance the digestive system, & with the laxatives "cleanse" the body of toxins.

The daytime Teatox takes a few mornings to get use to the flavour, I usually drink herbal teas so I'm quite accustomed to trying new ones. It smells like nettles, it tastes like nettles, it's nettles; with a hint of a citrus after taste, after a couple of mornings I got quite used to it but the first couple of days it does taste quite bitter. 

The nighttime tea, is actually quite pleasant, I'm a big fan of peppermint tea its one of my favourites, so I really enjoy the nighttime tea. You only have this tea every other night.

The Effects

So naturally by doing a detox/ colon cleanse or whatever they would like to call it, people just want the honest truth about the effects.

The daytime tea doesn't really effect you in anyway, I have the tea in the morning & carry on drinking my regular green tea through out the day. I can't agree that it suppressed my appetite, I was starving for most of the time, I don't think I've eaten so much in ages.

The nighttime tea, however, within like an hour and a half of drinking it, I was on the loo. So the next morning I had my morning tea & breakfast now I think the combination of the two teas & my breakfast, did the job it was supposed to do... I went to the loo 3 times that morning, you will shit through the eye of a needle to say the least, also have really bad farts that will leave you wondering what the hell you've eaten or what has crawled up your ass & died.

The effects of the nighttime tea only happened that badly on the 1st night/morning after, the only other time it flared up like this was about a week later, so halfway through the cleanse, when I had eaten out & had a few mojitos, but it wasn't as severe I didn't go to the loo at night I only went twice in the morning.

The Results



So I've completed my Teatox, overall I do feel less bloated which is good. My after photos were taken this morning 21/04/15, after I had eaten my breakfast & after I had been to bootcamp where we did abs! But I'm not sure whether it's made any visable difference, maybe you guys can be the judge? I've not lost any weight either. I know I didn't follow their food guide/diary thing but if I did it would make me lose weight, but not the right kind, it would have made me lose muscle rather than fat, I'm just not down with that.

Maybe it depends what your diet is like before the cleanse, I don't know I eat pretty healthy anyway, so it might not have worked? Maybe some of you may try it & and get different results... it kind of worked for me as I feel less bloated, but I'm not sure whether I see any physical difference in my photos, but I did enjoy the tea.

Here are my photos together for comparison....

All About That Protein

All About That Protein

Protein, the third & most important food group. Protein contains 22 amino acids, 8 of which are essential which we can't produce ourselves, therefore they must come from food. Amino acids helps us produce hormones, with brain development, healthy bones & growth. 

Sources of protein are split into two groups animal protein & plant protein, animal protein obviously comes from animals and contains all 8 essential amino acids, whilst the plant protein are known as incomplete amino acids as they don't contain all of the essentials.

Now, I don't care whether your Vegetarian, Vegan, Pescetarian, Carnivore, or an omnomnomivore, I'm not going to judge. Myself, I'm a carnivore I like to eat meat it's tasty & I get all my essential amino acids, and my protein intake for the activities that I do. I mainly eat chicken/ turkey, & I have whey protein shakes, I'll have fish a couple of times a week & steak at least once.

So the question is, how much protein should a person be having?

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 0.8g of protein per Kilo (KG) of body weight, which means that I should be eating 65g of protein a day.

Now, we all know that protein is takes longer to digest & therefore keeps us fuller for longer, that's why I have more than 65g of protein a day, because otherwise I would be starving all day & I have a strenuous workout & I need to eat to refuel & repair my body. 

Protein can also be used to help achieve your fitness goals, by weightlifting & eating a high protein diet you can increase lean muscle mass & strength, and lose fat as when you eat more protein it takes twice as many calories for your body to digest it, whilst maintaining & gaining your muscle mass.

But Too Much Protein is Bad for You?

In previous years a high protein diet gets a bad press from things like the Atkins diet where you used to cut carbohydrates almost completely from your diet. To be able to eat healthily & still lose weight you should never cut a whole food group from what you eat other wise bad things will happen.

Or a high protein diet can cause health problems, which if you eat too much of one thing it can cause some fatal disease, this rule applies to all food, especially if you eat something in abundance and then don't use it as fuel for your body. 

When changing your eating habits, I think you should try a various different eating forms as everyone is different & only you will know what's right for your body.Each body will react differently to a different combination of foods, so it's all about experimenting what works for your body & gives the best nutrition for your activity levels

Personally, I've found that if I eat protein frequently throughout the day I stay nice and full & I'm less likely to snack on crap processed foods. If some people are stuck when losing weight its good to mix it up and shock the body into something new, so if you fancy it try eating 5 small meals day & have protein at all of them, whether it's a piece of chicken, a protein shake or peanut-butter on toast. 

Mmm peanut-butter...

Week 8 Update

Week 8 Update

Happy Monday! 

It's that time of the week again, so last week when I updated I had been rather ill, so I lost some weight, now that I'm back on track my weight has gone back up to 81.1KG. To be honest I've not been that good this week, I have been having a few too many cups of tea with sugar in 😱.

So, today I've reset myself, & I'm concentrating on sugar reduction this week in my diet, to see if it makes a difference. I may also cut my carbs slightly lower, and up my fats a little, but I haven't yet decided. 

As I've been better this week, I attended all 3 Buffmaster boot camps 💪, my kickboxing class & yoga. 

Over the last few weeks I've been sharing my weight every week and as you can see it's up & down like a yoyo, last week it was down as I had lost my appetite & hadn't done any exercise & this week I'm healthy & I've gained. 

So I think I'm going to just do a monthly report on how I've done, because the scales are useless especially when weightlifting & concentrate on my measurements, hourglass figure here I come... ⌛ 

Oh here's the link to some of my food diary, I did forget to photography most of it, I've also included my weeks total from myfitnesspal. 

http://flipagram.com/f/SpQMT6HOuP

Obesity in the News

Obesity in the News

Forgive my ignorance, but I never knew that people who are morbidly obese could recieve benefits for this so called "disability".

I understand that people can develop obesity from an underactive thyroid, or from cushing syndrome and depression. These are valid medical reasons that warrant people to have such a benefit, if they let these conditions effect their everyday lives.

However, people who carry extra weight through no fault of their own by eating too much, shouldn't have any disability benefit; they've brought the problem on themselves, they should be able to overcome it by themselves. We all know that by becoming obese & eating the wrong foods can cause health problems such as hypertension, circulatory problems, cancer, depression and diabetes, so I don't see why people should be allowed to claim for the benefit, if they brought it on themselves. They will already be in receipt of free health care to help with the medical problems brought on by becoming obese, so they shouldn't be allowed to recieve disability benefit too.

I was completely appalled one day, I came home from work and scrolled through my facebook feed, to find someone had commented on a video from that days This Morning programme. It was a story about a 15 year old girl, who weighed 17 stone who wanted a gastric band on NHS. She claimed she'd tried everything, and that the pressure of society made her believe that gastic band was the only option left. This is a 15 year old girl, she hasn't even finished developing yet, she could easily lose all that weight with the right knowledge and a positive attitude, and to ignore what 'society' says that its all about how you look, actually it's all about being confident and not to let anyone mug you off.

Watch the interview here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRcSROE0hyM

I actually felt quite sorry for her, and could relate to her situation about feeling down, inadequate in 'society's' eyes, having no self esteem or confidence. I'd actually really like to help her to let her know that actually she's not alone, and that she can do it once she puts her mind to it, and that actually she doesn't need to put her self through unnecessary surgery.

When I first started my weight loss I was half a stone (7lbs/3.1Kg) away from being categorised as morbidly obese, luckily for me I hadn't developed any physical health problems yet. I've written this blog because I believe it's important to educate people about what they're doing to their bodies. I've learnt the hard way & I also fear that if something isn't done to combat this obesity crisis that is sweeping over western civiliations we're all gonna end up like this...



I Wanna Do Bad Things....With Carbs

I Wanna Do Bad Things...With Carbs

I'm not gonna lie, I love all things made with white flour, pasta, bread, cake, biscuits...mmm donuts, & all things sugary & sweet, chocolate, sweets & ice cream. So, naturally all of these things should be enjoyed as a treat every so often, rather than everyday, as they're the wrong kind of carbohydrates we need. 

I know what you're thinking, how could some taste so good, be so bad for us? 

Well it's all a case of Simple vs. Complex carbs. The above mentioned yummy foods are unfortunately examples of simple carbs. This means that the smaller molecules of sugar are absorbed & digested quickly into our bodies. This energy is turned into glycogen & is stored in our cells. If it's not used it immediately turns to fat.  Simple carbs have usually been stripped of most of their nutrients & made more consumer friendly, their high glycemic index (GI) will cause our blood sugar levels to rise quickly causing a sugar rush, once this has ended it was cause our blood sugar levels to dip, & then we begin to seek out more sugar.

Complex carbs, are our friends. They may not taste as great & we may not always be in the mood for them, but they are good to us. Complex carbs can be found in a more natural state foods, this means they haven't been tampered with or processed. These foods are high in nutrients & lower in calories. They're also low GI foods which means our bodies have to work harder to break the food down, to get the glycogen which means that our blood sugar levels are more stable throughout the day. 

Before I started changing my lifestyle I used to eat mainly simple carbs in abundance & not worry about it, I'd never really thought about the nutritional value of the foods I was eating before. Now, I realise how much of the simple carbohydrates turn to sugar, & this is is probably one of the causes of my own obesity, from this I have learnt the error of my ways I now eat complex carbs & because not only are they good for you, they're more dense more so you don't need as much as they fill you up. 

From being educated on carbs, I could then implement an eating plan with my training program for results. I've previously blogged about the Team Dynamix Alkaline/Acid eating plan & about Macro counting, because I'm an endomorph & my goal is for fat loss, I limit my carbs throughout they day, I also don't have any carbs with my evening meal on non-training days. However, it is important to stress that you should never cut one food group completely from your diet, the consequences not only physically but also mentally could be detrimental to you. 

As I am determined to reach my goal, & I show great willpower to be able to say 'No' to the simple carb foods, but don't get me wrong I know my history of being an emotional eater, & if I'm having a particularly bad time I could quite happily sit with a cup of tea & smash a whole packet of chocolate hobnobs, no question. But, even then I still don't display this behaviour because I understand my triggers, & willpower is a wonderful thing...

Plus, now I'm in the habit of eating well & looking after myself, I like to save my simple carb treats for something special as I love Italian food or a G&T or wine. 

Count Your Macros

Count Your Macros

I know you're probably reading the title like this......

Macro's or macronutrients are nutrients that provide energy/calories, in large quantities hence the 'macro'. There are three macronutrient groups that the body needs to function properly. These are protein, fats & carbohydrates. 

So, how do we know how much we need to eat? 

Depending on your goals, will determine how many calories of each of the groups you need to eat. Firstly, you need to figure out your basal metabolic rate (BMR) this is number of calories your body needs just to complete its basic functions e.g breathing & brain function if you were to live as a couch potato.  From this you can either add calories if your gaining or decrease your calories if you wish to lose, as we all know managing our weight is basic maths. Here's a link where you can find your BMR http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bmr_calculator.htm

My BMR is 1612 if I were to live as a couch potato, because I want to lose fat I usually eat 1400 calories a day. This number of calories is enough for me I usually feel nice & full at meal times, however, sometimes I do go over this depending on what I've trained, if it's leg day I'll go over because I know I'll need extra protein for my muscles to recover & repair, some days you're more hungry than others & obviously I go over it on treat days too! When I do go over my calorie allowance it's usually not by that much & I probably end up eating my BMR, and most people reading this probably think that 1400 calories isn't a lot of food, but when you eat clean, you can usually eat a lot more food. You can also find macro proportions based on your somatotype, I'm an endomorph so I basically need to manage my fat & carb intake.

My calorie allowance is made up into percentages of the 3 food groups 45% protein, 35% carbs & 20% fats.  I sometimes play around with the percentages as my goal is fat loss, so I have tried increasing my fats & lowering my carbs, although don't lower your carbs too low otherwise you get grumpy, & no one will like you. 

This is why I find my fitness pal an extremely useful tool, as you can set your daily calorie intake & set your percentages. Then your off ready to record your food diary, I enter everything I eat into it. I'm usually like this at every meal time...

28 Days Later....

So, as everyone knows I reset myself at the beginning of Feburary on a mission to fight the fat & I've been keeping you all updated with my weekly progress. This week I've not been feeling myself & not sleeping properly which has led me to make poor choices when regarding caffeine...I chose builders tea instead of green, also aunt flow is on her way & unfortunately with this comes some water retention & bloating, plus it's end of the month & I decided that I'd been good all month I think I deserved a few G&T's. 

However, from having such a poor week, my weight is 80.8Kg which means I've gained 0.6Kg (1.3lbs) over the month which I don't think is that bad, I'm also hoping that some of this is muscle (fingers crossed). This week my body fat percentage is still 38.1% which means I've lost a total of 0.4% over the last month,which considering I'm an endomorph I'm pretty happy with that. 

This biggest difference has come with my measurements.....

At the beginning of February                        28 Days Later.                    Difference 

Measurements (inches)

Arm: 13.5.                                                              14.                                  0.5 gain

Bust: 37.                                               37.5 (Hooray for boobies).               0.5 gain

Chest: 32.5.                                                          32.                                  0.5 loss

Waist: 32.                                                              32.                                   -

Hips: 41.5.                                                             41.                                  0.5 loss

Bum: 44.                                                                43.                                   1 loss

Upper Thigh: 26.5.                                                26.                                    1 loss

Lower Thigh: 21.                                                   19.5.                                1.5 loss

So over 28 days I have lost 3.5 inches, by weight resistance training working one muscle group at a time & by eating properly, again this week I've forgotten to take pictures of my food (sorry) so there's no food diary this week. 

This week at PT I smashed my PB on the 45 degree leg press 10 sets of 10 reps at 120Kg, which is over my starting body weight back in January 2012. Over the last month I've become stronger & fitter, I can't wait to see my results at the end of March; besides summer is only round the corner & I can't wait, it's time to get buff! 

Pass The Brown Paper Bag Please...

Your Skin

Throughout my teens I had quite good skin; not too many break outs which is quite a relief compared to some girls I know. 

However, when I started losing weight weight my skin became terrible, blemishes & breakouts I'd never experienced anything like it. Hence, the title, pass the brown paper bag I seriously just wanted to hide away my skin was awful, couldn't image what it would've been like if I was in my teens but now I'm an adult in my mid-twenties with acne of someone who should be 10 years younger. Each month the condition of my skin would be different & different patches on face, one part dry, another really oily I just felt like I couldn't win. 

This was something the slimming groups obviously don't tell you when you sign up. I figured out that unfortunately our skin doesn't hide all of our sins. From all the years I had been eating god knows what full of chemicals & harmful substances then stored away in my fat cells for a long time. I was now breaking these down & these radicals that been stored in my fat were now making there way to face, unfortunately there's not enough concealer to hide them. Having the skin of a 17 year old does make you quite depressed, when your 27 & getting ID'd in Asda for a bottle of voddy, when your going out later that night. 

Some months my skin, would back to its usual normal self, and I would feel great, but then it would go funny again. My mum has always taught my sister & I the importance of looking after your skin. So, I've always practised a cleanse, tone & moisturise routine, with the added in exfoliation & face mask. I found its important to try lots of different products to find the best ones that work for you. I currently use a combination of Liz Earle & Ren Skincare.

So I started to do a little research online about what else I could do, to try and help my acne/blemish problem. I found this handy little website, which uses Chinese medicine & reflexology approach to skin mapping for acne. I thought I'd try this first before going to the doctors, because as we all know the condition of someone's skin is usually a representation of what they've put inside the body. 

http://www.skinacea.com/acne/acne-face-map.html#.VODVUmIgGSM

When I returned from travelling last year my skin was bloody awful, literally the day I landed my sister made me an appointment at the doctors. It was really bad, and she didn't want me to end up like her; having just finished 6 months on Accutane & having to wait for treatment for scarring. I've been using Duac cream since November, which has worked well also now I have got my food back to normal, unlike when I was travelling it was extremely carb heavy. 

A lot of my blemishes & acne breakouts were on my chin, with a combination of my skin routine, the Duac cream from the doctors, and with help from the skin map, I've finally got my skin under control. I've realised that I probably wasn't having enough omega 3's in my diet to regulate my hormones properly. As I make sure I have oily fish a couple of times a week, and I also have a flax seed mix I put in my porridge most mornings, this has helped my skin improve considerably. 

(Gorgeous, Aren't I?)

Let's Talk About Fat

Let's Talk About Fat

Take a look at the image above, and really look at it...

Disgusting isn't it? This is what our bodies are filled with, it lays between our muscles, sits between our organs and lines our arteries. Fat. 

I've spent the last 3 years ridding my body of the excess yellow stuff, and it's been a hard slog! The reason I ended up so big was because I was eating an excessive amount of calories & doing very little movement, it's basic maths if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight. Fat takes up more room in the body & therefore 5lbs of fat looks ginormous when compared to 5lbs of muscle (Hence, the stretch marks & cellulite). 

Everybody needs body fat to function healthily, it's just how we are as humans some of us have less body fat than others, some have more. There are two types of fat in the body visceral (which protects our organs) and subcutaneous (under the skin), when I was obese I probably had more visceral fat than what I do now, as over the last 3 years I have lost about 10 inches from my waist which would probably be a combination of visceral & subcutaneous fat. It is important to maintain a healthy level of visceral fat around your organs, too much fat can put strain on your organs leading to serious health problems. 

The foods that I used to consume on a daily basis, we're full of the wrong carbs, wrong fats & full of sugar. Now, that I have changed my lifestyle & my food choices I have a better understanding of what my body needs & how much. 

Everybody needs to eat some sort of fat, what type is what defines whether you gain or lose weight. Yes, that's correct LOSE weight! If you eat healthy fats, this can actually help you shift the fat you no longer want. 

I use my fitness pal to record my food diary everyday, it counts calories & all the nutrients you eat, you just need to remember that fat has the highest amount of calories per gram, so even though you're eating healthy fats, you still need to control how much. (1g of fat = 9 calories, 1g of protein = 4 calories, 1g of carbohydrate = 4 calories). 

Avoid trans fats at all costs! Trans fats come in the form of all our favourite things, crisps, cake, chips, takeaways; all processed & fried foods. Look out for the magic word hydrogenated on packaging, then put it down and walk away. 

Saturated fat is the not so good fat, but you should still have the foods in your diet in moderation as these foods have other great nutritional values, saturated fat is found in red meat & dairy products. 

Poly-saturated fat is a healthy fat, it can help lower cholesterol and usually are foods high in omega 3 fatty acids, which are essential for building a strong body & regulating hormones. Poly-saturated fat can be found in nuts, seeds & oily fish such as salmon & mackerel. 

Mono-saturated fats are also healthy fats, these are my favourite kind mainly because I love olive oil. Mono-saturated fat raises good cholesterol which keeps our hearts healthy, this type of fat can be found in avocados, olive oil & peanut oil. 

It's taken a while, but I have educated myself on what to eat, what not to eat & other nutritional benefits of certain foods, if other people can take the time & do the same then that is half the battle, knowledge is power, use it wisely.

Personally, I always ensure I have a good mixture of saturated, poly & mono fats to maintain a healthy level of fat, but also because the food that contain these fats have other healthy benefits too, and can contribute to fat loss & overall health & well-being.