Getting heated over weighty issues

By Virginia Winder
Every day there's a new challenge and today's came during a conversation with a grumpy bloke.
"I am sick of hearing all this stuff about obesity," he said. "It's simple, just don't eat so much and do some exercise."
When I countered that perhaps it's not as easy as all that and how a great deal of people struggle with losing weight, he shook his head with a look of disdain on his face.
Then he suggested that we're all getting too touchy feely and the real issue is that fat people (meaning me, my mother and millions of people worldwide) are just lazy and not particularly intelligent.
By this time, I could feel the anger welling up in me. I was indignant for all the people who have struggled with their size, who have been on diet after diet only to put it all back on again (and more), or who have a genetic predisposition to putting on weight.
"That's just an excuse," he said of the latter.
At this point I realised the discussion needed to end, before I said something I might regret.
You see, even though I'm now on the road to fitness and better health, I've spent about 17 years overweight.
But nobody could ever say I was lazy.
In fact, that was my problem - I was so busy working there was no time in my life to focus on exercise. I've always loved food (still do) but I was eating many of the wrong things as a quick fix to get me through each day. I was doing the best I could, but didn't have much energy left over to make other decisions.
I will, therefore, defend anybody who's overweight, because it's a tough place to be.
On my quest, I'm learning what foods will fuel me best, how important it is to have goals, rediscovering the joy of exercising and the wonder of being fit.
But it was my time to change. I had my ultimatum - the knife or my life (see my first blog).
It's important though to accept yourself, no matter what size you are and feel good inside. The truth is, I've rarely felt hideous or unattractive, although I know I'm no supermodel. My decision to change was purely for my health and then came the decision to become an athlete again.
Other people will have their own tipping points and reasons for making changes.
Whether you do, or don't do, I'll never judge you, won't purposely do anything to make you feel guilty and will accept you all, as you are - with an open heart and open mind.

Today, I:
Worked for 7 hours
Slept for 8 hours
Swam 40 lengths of a 50m pool
Walked for 50 minutes
Ate two fantastically nutritious meals, but missed dinner (not a good idea)
Drank two cups of coffee
Drank 1.5 litres of water

The Goodness of People - Day 2

This is a day of thanks.
Today I feel buoyed by the wonderful people who have shown their support for my quest to be healthy. Friends have offered to go swimming, biking and walking with me. What amazing people out there!
Arohanui (great love) to you all.
I've also had some wise words from a friend who lives on an island on the other side of the world to New Plymouth, New Zealand, where I live.
She took the time to write an email filled with sound advice about losing weight, getting fit and taking control of one's life.
Here are 20 of her helpful tips:

1. Take baby steps on this journey.
   
2. Changing very small things can make a big difference.
   
3. The ONLY way to lose weight (non-surgical way, that is) is to use up more calories than you take in. BUT that doesn't mean ripping into a whole lot more exercise or eating a diet that's so restrictive you give up at the end of the first week.
   
4. Eat more protein - protein triggers the production of a hormone which tells you you're full. Sports nutritionists advise eating a MINIMUM of 20g of protein at breakfast and to eat protein at every meal.
   
5. Don't skip meals. Ever! In fact, instead of having just three meals a day, try five or six smaller ones - this will help you stave off hunger pangs.
   
6. Use a slightly smaller dinner plate - even when you know it's smaller, you'll eat less.
   
7. Choose low-calorie versions of your favourite foods BUT avoid anything with sweeteners in - you might think you've satisfied a craving for something sweet but your body will know you haven't had real sugar and the next chance it gets, it'll urge you to eat something high in sugar. [It's OK my friend, I can't bear artificial sweetners - they hurt my throat.]
   
8. Switch to virtually fat-free milk and yoghurt.
   
9. Buy canned fish packed in water rather than oil.
   
10. Avoid highly processed food and ANYTHING with hydrogenated fats in. It was a bit of a shock to me to find that nutritionists now all agree that butter is better for you than margarine. You can recognise a hydrogenated fat because it's something that is normally liquid at room temperature but which has been altered to be solid (eg, the canola oil in margarine, olive oil in butter alternatives, palm oil in anything).
    
11. See if you can stick to eating only foods which were around 500 years ago.
    
12. DON'T avoid fats. Some of the essential vitamins that you need are fat-soluble. You need around 25g of fat per day in order to get enough of these and about 35% of your daily calories should come from fat. Mix up the types of fat - saturated, poly- and mono-unsaturated.
    
13. You can increase your metabolic rate by increasing the amount of muscle you have - muscle uses up more calories. You're at an age where resistance training is important anyway. Even if you get a couple of half-kilo weights and do some arm exercises for ten minutes (while you watch the news or whatever) each day.
    
14. Soup! A well-blended soup will keep you feeling fuller for longer than if you'd eaten the same ingredients as a meal with a glass of water.
    
15. The wider the choice, the more you eat, so stay away from buffets.
    
16. Small amounts of exercise count. If you're doing something around the house, put on some music that's loud and with a beat and dance your way through it. If you're having a conversation on the phone (rather than taking notes), stand up and walk on the spot. Every little tiny bit of exercise will make a difference.
    
17. Make sure you don't get dehydrated. It's a myth that you should drink eight glasses of water a day - the water contained in your food and in cups of tea etc also counts. But if you're trying to lose weight then increasing your fluids will help.
    
18. GET ENOUGH SLEEP. It is a proven fact that people who don't get enough sleep put on weight. Read about it here:
    http://thyroid.about.com/od/loseweightsuccessfully/a/sleepdiet.htm
    
19. Consider following the rules set out in Paul McKenna's "I
    Can Make You Thin" self-hypnosis programme. Those rules are: When you are hungry, eat. Eat what you WANT, not what you think you should have. Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful (ie, sitting at a table with no distractions). When you think you are full, stop eating.
    He makes the point that most of us have forgotten how to listen to our bodies and we really don't consciously recognise feelings of hunger or fullness.
    
20. Don't expect miracles - set realistic targets. Aim to lose 500g. Then aim to lose another 500g.

Thanks my friend.

Today I have:
Worked 9.5 hours
Walked for 20 minutes with the dog
Eaten two good meals
Worked through lunch and ate a piece of apple cake instead (not a good move, but the cake was made for me!).
Given up a wonderful job at Puke Ariki to try and cut back on my hours (all my jobs are fantastic)
Slept for 8 hours!
Watched Clementine play basketball.