Category Archives: Healthy Eating

Preparing for a Long Haul Flight

International travel is a different experience than it used to be…

Back in the day, long-haul flight preparation would generally start with a visit to the Executive Lounge for a few stiff drinks – a quick start for an enjoyable flight. I didn’t worry too much about what time of day it was, the impact of changing time-zones would just be accelerated by an early buzz.

My arrival on the plane was celebrated with a glass of Champagne and some pleasantly warmed salted cashew nuts. A couple more pre-dinner drinks would help get me “in the zone”. Then I’d have a glass or two of wine to accompany my meal as I enjoyed a film.

A well-executed plan would result in me being overcome by waves of exhaustion as the film reached its climax – leaving me ready to sleep through the rest of the flight.

How things have changed!

Firstly, long-haul flights are a much rarer occurrence for me. I still travel a fair amount with work, but the locations I visit are much less exotic nowadays. As a result I no longer have a shiny Executive Club card; my pre-flight preparation therefore takes place with the masses.

Fortunately, not having access to the Executive Lounge is much less of an issue when you’re not looking to get “tanked up”. Since the Heart Attack I have severely reduced my alcohol intake. I still enjoy a drink when I have one but I only drink very occasionally – my last was in October.

As I write, I’m 37,000 ft. in the air above the North Atlantic on my way to Houston for a few days on business. I’ve just enjoyed the low fat meal option, I’m keeping myself well hydrated and I’ll stay active to keep the blood flowing.

The excitement of international travel has subsided somewhat for me, and the flights don’t pass in quite the same way as they used to, however, I’m sure I’ll arrive in much better shape and it’s clearly more sustainable this way.

When I arrive I’ve got a hard week’s work to look forward to… perhaps I’ll treat myself to a glass of wine on the flight home!

Fruity favourites

Confused

3 Replies

Every so often someone will ask me what I’ve done to lose weight, or what should be included as part of a Healthy Heart diet?

Over the past 9 months I have managed to get myself into reasonable shape, partly through exercise and partly through watching what I eat and drink. I’ve taken a fairly hard line in determining what I should be consuming: low saturated fat, lots of fruit and vegetables, no alcohol, no caffeine, low salt. I have not dieted as such, when I’ve been hungry I’ve eaten. However I have generally avoided processed food and stuck fairly religiously to the “good” stuff.

The problem is, having made these changes to my diet, I’m confused myself… what is the “good” stuff?

There’s so much contradictory information out there, new research is released on an all too frequent basis. It’s difficult to know what to do for the best. Since my Heart Attack I’ve been paying fairly close attention, and I’m confused. What is it like if you just catch a newspaper or radio headline? How is anyone supposed to follow a simple, healthy diet based on the “noise” that’s thrown at us?!

Here are some snippets from recent articles:

More research needed into fat guidelines (The British Heart Foundation 17/03/14):

A study suggests there’s not enough evidence to back the current UK guidelines on the types of fat we eat. But we think more research is needed before suggesting any major changes.

At the moment guidelines generally encourage us to swap out saturated fats – found in foods like dairy products – for unsaturated fats found in products such as margarine or sunflower oil.

But this analysis, by researchers including BHF Professor John Danesh from the University of Cambridge, of 72 separate studies suggests this change does not impact on our risk of developing heart disease.

So that’s clear then! Bad fat might not be as bad for us as we thought! Excellent!

Living and working near takeaways linked to obesity: (The British Heart Foundation 13/03/14)

People who live and work near a high number of takeaways are more likely to be obese than people less exposed to these outlets, according to new research we helped to fund.

The researchers found that those who live or work near to takeaway outlets were almost twice as likely to be obese than those who encountered the fewest outlets.

Being obese isn’t good for you, I get that. I’m assuming, although the article doesn’t mention it, that you need to eat the Take Away food in order to put on weight.

Apparently, giving people information to make healthy choices will reduce the risks of living in this sort of environment… assuming they know what a healthy choice is after they’ve absorbed the information!

Are we too sweet on sugar? (The British Heart Foundation 04/02/14)

Added sugar is associated with increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD), researchers have claimed.

A US study used national health survey data to examine added sugar consumption as a percentage of daily calorie intake. Higher levels of added sugar were then linked to an increased risk of death from CVD.

And so it goes on… sugar, salt, carbohydrates, this fat, that fat, vegetarian diets, Mediterranean diets. There is even news that chocolate might be the answer (or part of it, at least). What to do?

For me, there are some basic guidelines that seem to make sense:

You have to eat. Not eating is not a great idea… not very sustainable.
Things that look like they did in their natural state are generally better for you.
It’s good to eat a variety of different things.
Processed foods can contain a multitude of evils, beware!
Don’t over-eat, manage portions sizes.
Practice moderation and balance.
Try to avoid obsessing over food, it’ll take a lot of fun out of life!

From my perspective, if you’re aware of what you’re consuming it’s a big step towards doing the right things. I don’t feel like I’m in a position to suggest what to eat, or not.

As I’ve already said, there’s plenty of advice out there. Good luck in deciding which advice to follow!

Christmas preparations

3 Replies

Christmas Dinner is going to be a bit different in our house this year…

The centre-piece of Christmas Day, in the past it has been the focus of weeks of preparation. We gather tips, tricks and recipes from all the major TV Chefs through religious dedication to each of their “Christmas Specials”. Over time, layer upon layer, a luxurious feast is conjured up in our minds.

For some, the Christmas preparations take a little longer to complete!

A “gravy” day and a “stuffing” day preceded the main event. Christmas Eve was spent in preparation, the first of the bottles of Christmas wine were cracked open to raise the spirits and foster the creative juices.

Lists were written and re-written; trying to make sure that nothing was forgotten in the dark recesses of the fridge and that it all arrived, cooked to perfection, in precise synchronisation.

Not so much so far for me this year…

This time around it’s taken a while for my excitement and enthusiasm to build, I think largely because a healthy diet and abstinence are incompatible with Christmas “highlights” (habits or traditions?) of old.

My contribution to preparations started yesterday with a trip to M&S to collect the Christmas order… not an insignificant task as it turned out. I heroically stood in line for 90 minutes, holding my nerve as our allotted “window” came and went. The relaxation techniques I learned at Cardiac Rehab came in handy as I “patiently” waited my turn. Others didn’t fare so well… losers! How can the Christmas rush come as a surprise to large stores?

Having safely commandeered the supplies, today marks the start of the preparations proper. I’m not going to worry so much about what I eat on Christmas Day, but I’ll still going to err on the side of healthiness and restraint.

Slabs of extra butter have been removed from the ingredients list and no geese will be harmed in the making of our Roast Potatoes this year. I love Roast Potatoes… crispy on the outside and fluffy in the centre. Goose fat used to be the Christmas “treat” that made them extra-indulgent and tasty. As I haven’t enjoyed a Roast Potato since June, I think even an ordinary one will do the trick!

Are you feeling peckish yet?

Fortunately Turkey is good, I can pile into that, and of course the Vegetables are generally OK (although look at the packets on prepared veg, you never know what they’ll add!). I’m even going to have a little gravy… very exciting!

Right… that little monologue has got me right in the mood, and it’s just started snowing outside! Brussels Sprouts, here I come!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I might even allow myself a tasty dessert!

Fat and Bald

6 Replies

I turned 43 this week. I definitely consider myself middle aged despite the fact people try to convince me that I’ve got a long way to go… middle age starts at 60 apparently (mostly according to people too young to really care, or old enough to be horribly biased!).

Like many men of my age, I had been losing the battle to maintain the physical attributes of my youth… although, to be fair, I wasn’t fighting very hard. I was drifting towards the stereo-typical look of a middle aged man who’s slightly let himself go… “Fat and Bald”.

My personal journey into middle age took an “interesting” twist with the Heart Attack in the summer. I am quite proud of what I’ve managed to achieve since in relation to getting myself into decent shape…

It’s been 150 days since my first post-Heart Attack visit to the Doctor. At that stage, I had been out of hospital for about 10 days, and I was able to walk for about 15 mins, twice a day. My Body Mass Index was about 29 (Overweight, borderline Obese) and the amount of superfluous weight I was carrying seemed ridiculous (See: It all smells a bit fishy – 28th June 2013).

Since then I’ve lost about 40lbs and really started to build some strength and fitness. For the first time in a very long time, my weight is officially in the “normal” range:

To achieve this. I wouldn’t say I’ve dieted as such. If I’m hungry I eat. I just tend to eat much more healthily. I have significantly reduced the amount of fat and sugar I consume. I haven’t drunk any alcohol. I eat lots of fruit and vegetables. I also make sure I have Breakfast every day, which I think makes a big difference. Regular exercise has also made a huge impact.

In summary, as far as the “Fat and Bald” equation is concerned, I am fighting back (and winning) on the “Fat” front… which brings me to hair loss!

I visited the Barber’s today. A not particularly frequent or regular trip to get my hair cut. I have to say, I look forward to these visits less and less as time goes on. In particular, I don’t look forward to the end of the visit when a mirror is produced to check that I’m happy with the back of my head… actually, “No, I’m not!“.

My poor baldy heid!

My hair is quite fair. Technically I could argue I still have a reasonable covering of hair however it isn’t very effective at making itself seen! In short, I have a bald patch that has been increasing in significance in recent years.

In the great scheme of things this really isn’t a big deal (although it causes much amusement to some members of my immediate family!) and I’m looking forward to the day when I get all my hair cut short so the patch becomes irrelevant.

In the meantime, I guess it acts as a good reminder that time only moves in one direction, and I should spend my energy on things that I can directly influence.

Let middle age roll on… I’ll fight it where it matters!

The unwelcome patron

Your life in their hands

I’d like a “Man Salad”

6 Replies

I’ve found eating out tricky since I’ve been watching what I eat. I want to eat healthily. I want to eat a varied diet. I want to eat well. However, one of the big challenges is that despite this, I still have a man’s appetite.

Deep Fried Cheese & Chips. Tasty, but not the healthiest option!

My menu options are extremely limited in many of the places we go out to eat. I guess people offer what sells. For example, it’s surprisingly common to find deep fried cheese and chips as the (what I would expect to be “healthy”) vegetarian option!

I realise I’m overly strict on myself with my menu selections (some might argue I’m getting close to the point of obsession). I am definitely being more strict than I need to be (technically I can eat anything, just not loads of the wrong stuff). In my defence, I feel like I’m on a roll and I’d like to stick to it. It seems to be doing me good, so why change it?

Since the Heart Attack, I’ve generally favoured Sushi joints for socialising as I get a good selection of food that I know hasn’t got lots of hidden bad stuff in it. This does however result in tricky stand-off when I eat with someone who’s allergic to seafood! I have also discovered that teenage kids can only take so much fish! So going out starts to become an issue.

Not what I had in mind!

The menu restrictions often result in me ordering some sort of salad (dressing on the side). The good thing is that I like salad ingredients, some of them a lot. The bad thing is that my hunger is rarely fully satisfied. Why? Just because you order salad doesn’t mean you have the appetite of a tortoise.

I think the logic must go along the lines of:

People who order salads are watching what they eat …
People who watch what they eat want to lose weight…
People who want to lose weight need to eat less…
To help them eat less we’ll give them a smaller portion…
Therefore, people who order salads get smaller portions!!!

No!!! What I really want is a “Man Salad”.

Some places “get it” (see last night’s example below), most don’t.

That’s what I call a salad. Nicely loaded on a large plate.
Substantially more than a nibble!

How nice would it be for an order to go along the lines of:

Waiter / Waitress: “… and for you sir?”
Me: “I’d like a Salmon Salad please. Can you bring the dressing on the side.”
Waiter / Waitress: “Certainly sir. And, how hungry are you?”
Me: “Oh, I’m hungry.”
Waiter / Waitress: “Then we shall prepare you a proper salad sir. A man’s salad. Would you like a larger table?”

Tired and Grumpy

1 Reply

There are different sorts of tired: Exhausted, Fatigued, Weary, Drowsy, Pooped, Jaded, Sleepy, Run Down, Flagging, Broken…

As predicted by people that know better than me, I was tired this morning. Which sort of tired I don’t know exactly as it took me several hours before my brain had warmed up sufficiently to properly assess the situation. By which time the feelings had leaked away.

untitled (34) There are many days when I return from work feeling jaded. A sort of dull fog gathers around my head and upper body as the work day wears on. It’s not a positive tiredness, it’s one that grows despite you, rather than one you’ve actively gone out and earned. Since the Heart Attack, I’ve found myself slightly more aware of this sensation, perhaps because I’m more aware (“listen to your body”) or perhaps because I’m affected more.

In the old days I would have poured myself a drink and the woes of the world would have drifted away. Now, I choose exercise. An hour on the bike is sufficient to blow the cobwebs away. A post-exercise buzz, and everything is tickety-boo all over again.

I continue to sleep well, but occasionally wake up feeling sleepy. Again, in the old world I would resort to chemical stimulants to liven me up. A couple of strong coffees and I’d be “good to go”.

imagesCAFA5V8Z I’ve also eliminated caffeine from my diet, so I guess I’m a slower starter than I used to be. This is, however, offset slightly by the fact that I am not impacted in any way by the after effects of alcohol and unhealthy late night snack-attacks!

As it turns out, the early morning sleepy feeling can also be accompanied by grumpiness. Severe grumpiness on some occasions.

This morning was a case in point…

I had an introduction to the gym last night. The 20:15 start time seemed fine when it was arranged, but as it happened, I got home from work feeling jaded. I snuck in a very short period of shut-eye before getting ready, but not enough to make a real difference,

The introduction session was good. It turned out that there is a lot I can still do in the gym, providing I’m sensible, and keep my feet moving.

By the time I finished, however it was 21:00, and I hadn’t actually done any exercise. Having made the effort to get there, and inspired by the introduction, I figured there is no time like the present, and launched into a gym session.

Afterwards I felt great! My exercise buzz wiped out my fatigue. I was ready to take on the world. By the time I got home, I was not however ready to sleep.

So I sat up for a while before heading upstairs…