Harry Fenton
Keep the pounds off with good nutrition
When I was studying to be a personal trainer in 2008 one of the modules that I had to pass was diet and nutrition. As a long-term fitness fanatic I had always been mildly interested in what I ate but, for the first time, I began to look at my diet in detail. Interestingly, I realised that the experts still disagree on some fundamentals of nutrition and what constitutes a good diet.
I was brought up in a Bournemouth guest house and luckily for me, mum was a superb cook. Guests would come back year after year for her delicious steak and kidney pie and mashed potatoes. Celebrity chefs had nothing to match her plum duff. My brother and I would help with the washing up whilst devouring huge platefuls of leftover chicken casserole, lemon meringue pie and steamed pudding with golden syrup. I must have eaten at least 4,000 calories on some days. However, when I left to join the Army I only weighed about 8 stone and you could count my ribs because I burnt off everything that I ate. Football, cycling, swimming and adventuring used up all the food and kept me skinny.
Neither mum, nor any of our guests had any idea what a calorie was, or what “glycaemic index” could possibly refer to. Of course nobody needed to because obesity was uncommon. Housewives home cooked fresh food using recipes their mothers taught them. They also remembered food rationing and were careful not to waste anything or over-indulge. A meal out or a takeaway was a big event.
What has changed since those guest house days of the 70s? De-industrialisation of the workforce, the motor car, computers and computer games, fear of the great outdoors causing children to stay in their bedrooms all day, processed food, television. And there is now such a variety of culinary creations that mum couldn`t buy. Hard to believe now, that I didn`t taste pasta until I was in my 20s. Most significantly of all, sugar consumption is up 31.5% since 1990. Food, diet and obesity has now become a major health issue.
When I meet new clients I am struck by how little most of them know about food labelling. Unfortunately, food producers purposefully make it difficult for us to work out the sugar content of processed food. For a start, if it says “low fat” in big letters on the label, it probably means a high sugar content. Sugar is added for taste and bulk. Glucose, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, lactose, syrup, dextrose, treacle, molasses and fruit juice concentrate are all forms of sugar! If you do buy processed foods you should try to avoid these ingredients as much as possible as sugar is the main cause of obesity and contributes to many common and very unpleasant diseases, such as Type 2 Diabetes.
Starchy carbohydrates (potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, etc) also break down in our bodies into sugars that provide our main source of energy. However, if we don`t use that energy it will rapidly turn to stored fat. The quicker the sugar is released from the food the higher the glycaemic index number (GI) of the food. High GI foods are generally to be avoided if you are trying to lose weight. One of the highest is the humble baked potato! Anything with refined sugar in gets a fairly high score, as do most processed foods. Porridge scores only 1, so it is a great breakfast food, it breaks down slowly and gives you sustained energy. Most cereals aimed at children score badly, as does white rice. Peanuts, green vegetables and chickpeas are slow release and score well. It is a good idea to learn a bit about GI numbers.
During the average week I cycle about 80 miles, lift weights 6 times, walk the dog about 40 miles and generally keep active. However, I only seem to need about 1800 calories a day to maintain my weight. I think the Government guidelines of 2500 for men and 2000 for women are far too high. 2000 for men and 1500 calories for women would be closer to the mark. Obviously, manual workers, such as builders and fishermen, need a good deal more that this.
Breakfast like a king, lunch like an Italian (olive oil, salad, tomatoes, etc) and dine like a pauper is a good idea.
There are a few other things I have learnt that can help you keep the pounds off. Breakfast like a king, lunch like an Italian (olive oil, salad, tomatoes, etc) and dine like a pauper is a good idea. Eat most of your food early in the day and do not feast late in the evening otherwise it will turn to fat before morning. Eat the healthiest foods you possibly can and try to avoid processed foods. Even shop bought soup is usually full of sugar so make your own. Drink plenty of water in whatever form you like but no energy drink unless you are actually running quickly at the time! Don`t diet, just carefully change your eating habits and aim for a long-term reduction of weight. Eat slowly, because it takes 20 minutes for the ‘full-up’ reflex to reach your brain. If you wait a few extra minutes you may realise that you are actually full and don`t need a second helping.
And lastly, find a form of exercise that you enjoy and do it as often as you can. It`s easy for us “weirdos” that run, cycle, surf or whatever.
Not so easy if you don`t really do exercise. Most of my clients start to enjoy it after a few weeks and begin to experience endorphin highs with very moderate amounts of exercise. Female clients that would hate the gym environment often take to training at home on a cross-trainer and using light dumbbells. Walking is a wonderful form of exercise, as is dancing. Put on some Donna Summer and have a quick disco in your own lounge every morning. Add a few weightlifts of bags of flour and you have a workout! Just do enough to make you puff a bit and remember to keep off the plum duff!
If you found this article interesting and would like help exercising or dietary advice please contact Harry Fenton (tel: 01803 770752). Harry is a qualified Personal Trainer with over 30 years experience in training and competition. As a 54 year old, he understands the problems of keeping fit when you are older and now specialises in fitness for the over 40s.
First published By The Dart March 2014