Louisa's Weight Loss Blog

2012 - better on the big screen I suspect

Last night, Jonny and I went to the first showing of the new film 2012 staring John Cusack and the only other name I recognise, Thandie Newton. I won’t give the plot away to those who haven’t seen it yet, but it wasn’t the greatest film I’ve ever seen. Yes, it’s rather predictable in some places, the acting leaves much to be desired and there are plot holes that should be better explained. However, if you enjoy general chasos, death and devastation and if you like to watch famous monuments crumble such as the Washington Monument, the Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro or the Vatican in Italy, this is definitely something you might like.

Anyway, standing at the cinema I was appalled by two things. The price of food (£6.50 for a crappy frankfurter hotdog and a massive sugary fizzy drink) and the quality of the food and drink on offer.

There was a Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream stand, a huge kiosk for pic and mix sweets and the aforementioned hotdogs, nachos and the obligatory popcorn.

Considering this kind of thing is crammed with salt that is deliberately intended to make you thirsty and quaff gallons of the expensive fizzy drinks, I do feel somewhat outraged. Why does this make me so cross? Most cinemas have a policy where they do not allow you to bring your own food in.

This is wrong for a few reasons:

1. Their portions are gigantic and they encourage you to buy a medium rather than a “small” drink by reminding you that it is only 20p more.
2. You don’t realise how much you are eating when you’re sat in a cinema and in my teens, if I had popcorn it was usually eaten by time the half an hour of ads finished before the film started!
3. They actively encourage you to buy food by making the food stands more prominent in the lobby than the box office. By time you’ve waited 10 mins to buy your movie tickets, you’re hungry because your brain has been bombarded with images of food!

How can you get past this?

Take a big handbag to hide your snacks of suitable portions. Drink water instead of a litre of evil fizzy drinks. Do you remember my blog posts about fizzy drinks?

Total Chunk Top Tip: Cinemas are a business like everybody else but dieters need to be aware of their underhand money-making techniques. Until cinemas are offering diet-friendly snacks for those dieters who really enjoy a little munch when watching a film on the big screen, my advice is to take your own food and do not apologise if you are ‘caught out’. Dried fruit, rice cakes or a small packet of crisps are all OK in moderation but if you’re really trying to lose weight, get used to not eating whilst distracted with a good movie.

I am like Superman, by day I work as an anonymous copywriter, you might have seen some of my work and will never know. By night, I am a vibrant advocate of weight loss! Scouring the internet, trying to dispel weight loss myths, call people upon bad (or just ridiculous) “advice “, and generally try to make the internet a more interesting place.

Unfortunately, for me, last week the company I work for moved offices. It is only a few extra miles on top of my journey, but I now spend an hour a day driving. This frustrates me for two reasons

I love driving but when I spend an hour a day driving, I do feel as though my time could be better spent...

1. Petrol now costs 105.9 English pennies per litre of unleaded fuel. This is £1.06 to everyone else. Therefore it now costs £50 for me to fill the tank of my little Corsa. This makes me sad.
2. The traffic is awful in the mornings so driving to work takes up an hour or more of my precious time.

If you’re really trying hard to lose weight, this is time wasted.

Or is it?

I drive around in this little purple corsa. Sure, she is a bit old and I need to adjust the clutch tomorrow as the gears won’t go in but she is called Vivienne and she is my baby. If I were to make a lot of money, I would probably tidy her up a bit but I’d make sure I’d get some decent mileage out of her, I’d never sell her unless I really had to. Anyway, in the car I sing for pretty much the whole journey and I couldn’t help but wonder: Does singing burn off calories?

I did a quick search on Google and the results pointed towards singing and waving your arms in church. Now, I am not a believer in any religion and I don’t wish to enter into a debate about my lack of religious belief here. Although I am happy to clarify that Richard Dawkins really helped me clarify my non-beliefs.

Anyway, after much searching, the general consensus appears to be that you burn off 4 calories a minute singing. This is 240 calories an hour. I expect this is if you belt songs out as opposed to shyly humming.

I wouldn’t replace singing for the gym or anything, but for burning a few extra calories when you really can’t do much else, plug in your ipod and pretend you’re Whitney Houston or Pink in the car! I’ve been singing in my car since I passed my driving test back in 2004 and I’ve come to enjoy the weird looks from bemused drivers. I suppose people seeing me (a young woman singing in a car covered in flowers) would think I am weird but I couldn’t care less! Belt out your favourite songs!

I would be very surprised if I were to come across a woman who is not remotely interested in shoes. Women in particular like shoes because they are a great way of expressing your personality. Even Tory MP Theresa May is often photographed in weird yet always wonderful foot-orientated creations.I would very much love to go shoe shopping with her, she certainly seems to find some individual items!

A woman's way of expressing her personality - shoes!

For women who are losing weight, high heels are a wonderful way of creating a beautiful womanly shape. If you wear high heels with a pencil skirt that cuts a couple of inches below the knee, you create an elegant image but better still, your calf muscles appear far more shapely.Once you learn how to balance in high heels, you are more likely to adopt a better posture. Your bottom is pulled forward, your tummy gets sucked in and your shoulders go back. You can appear to have lost several lbs just by wearing high heels and standing properly.

I have been madly in love with Office’s Iron Fist range. I am completely undecided about which pair I would like as there are several I want! Unfortunately, funds dictate that I may only have one pair of shoes. I had to buy some smart flatties at the weekend as high heeled shoes are not always practical if you have to walk a fair distance during the day at work.

Total Chunk Top Tip: If you work in an office, it is fine to wear high heeled shoes. Not only can you create a sexy silhouette if you wear a pencil skirt, your posture improves, your calf muscles look more defined and your confidence will sky rocket. If you find high heeled office shoes uncomfortable to wear, there are several foot treatments to prevent blistering if you wish to persevere. Good posture can take pounds off your appearance. Give it a try!

This isn’t exactly breaking news, this story came out last year. I was watching a gig earlier on this week and the drummer was really going for it and working up a right sweat! That reminded me of a study done by the university I did my undergrad degree with about the amount of calories burned off by drummers. Wait for it…. In an energetic 60 minute drumming session, you could burn off between 400-600 calories!

Drummers can burn off an extraordinary amount of calories in one gig

I did music at school up to AS Level (year 12). I played in a steel band, I could play piano, guitar, trombone and I could get a tune out of most instruments I picked up. You could say I was a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’! The one thing I could not do for the life of me was play drums. I could do a ‘boom boom CHHH!’ very slowly and with little consistency. Would I like to play the drums now? Of course I would! It was never practical as we didn’t have enough room at home for a set of drums and my parents were already shelling out for piano lessons. I taught myself to play guitar and the steel drums and trombone lessons were thanks to the school.

According to this study, drummers are top athletes. When football (soccer) players are tired for days after a 90 minute match, drummers are expected to perform every night for weeks on end. Twice if they are putting on a matinee performance. Their heart rates can reach a peak of 190 beats per minute and the average is about 140-150 beats per minute. This is really impressive!

So why are some drummers really fat? When you are on tour, it is hard to eat properly, there is a big drinking culture too. So when you’re drinking say, ten pints of beer at 200 calories each most nights… you can see how the weight can pile on.

If you are looking to lose weight, consider learning to drum, it’s a bit slow to begin with but once you get going you can not only lose weight but you could join a band and start performing. The confidence boost of performing on stage is amazing, take it from a seasoned teenage performer!

Forgive me this evening, I have a nasty headache tonight but I wanted to get this post out so apologies if it isn’t to my usual high standard.

I don’t mind you guys knowing that I like to be diligent and know how you have come to Total Chunk. I use Google analytics to see how you got here and I’ve apparently been popping up in search results when people ask the oracle, Google, to tell them what is in a belgian bun so I thought it useful to expand on.

Was this what you're looking for?

Obviously, every cake varies somewhat, but ONE belgian bun will vary between 350 and 400 calories. It contains about 30% of your recommended daily intake of sugar and about 20% of your fat.

Is it worth it?

If you’re going to eat more than one then the answer is no. I’d be very surprised if anyone could eat more than one without feeling very, very sick anyway! Cake is a privilege, not a right. I have introduced ‘Cake Friday’at work so we have cake at 11am on a Friday and only on Friday. It is a treat and is a good way of reminding myself that cake is just that. I now only eat cake on Fridays and sometimes on a Sunday.

Yes, it is worth it if you can be sensible for the rest of the day. Diets often tell you that you can’t have this and you can’t have that. This is why diets don’t work, because you feel restricted and hard done by and can only see the long term picture of never eating what you want ever again. To lose weight successfully, you need to change your lifestyle in a maintainable fashion.Strict denial is only successful in severe cases.

This does mean you can have treats but you need to adjust the rest of the meals you have planned that day. It means saying no to sauce or dressing on your salad that you have instead of a curry with rice, poppadoms AND naan bread! Alternatively, you could take part in an impromptu spin class, do an exercise DVD or take a walk to visit friends. You should allow yourself something you want, you just need to stay within calorie limits for the rest of the day or do some extra exercise. There is no limit to your creativity in how you go about it.

I had a rare day off today and decided to visit a lunch time spinning class at my gym. It was great, I left the class covered in sweat, glowing and cheerful after such a heavy but rewarding workout.

Spinning is a really hard going, high energy workout involving a big heavy bike and adjustable settings that can make your workout harder or easier. A group of people will get together and cycle to the music and turn the settings up and down as the instructor tells you to. The higher the settings, the heavier your legs get, but if you can build a speed up, it actually feels like the pedals have taken over your feet and the bike is cycling for you. This is SO not as painless as it sounds!

Even though it is heavy going, spinning is a great class to start with if you’re getting into fitness. You’ve got the group setting, so you have other people and an instructor to spur you on, the music is high octane and banging, you’re not forced to balance with your knees on a Swiss ball or obliged to squat into a pose with foot cramp. You can only do your best with what you can do, so you might not turn that quarter turn or sit down and pedal for a few moments while everyone else is stood up. Of course you can only get out of it what you put in, but I couldn’t run for 45 minutes, but I can cycle with no break damned hard for 45 minutes so I leave the class feeling well worked out.

Spinning is great if you don't feel comfortable cycling outside in any weather.

Spin classes at the gym are often very popular and at peak times after work, you will need to book, I think this is a great motivator to go, book a class or two a week and you pretty much have to go otherwise you’re denying someone else a place. My gym also does 7am and 12.45pm classes, so you can go first thing in the morning or in your lunch hour. It’s a very popular class that encourages a lot of regulars so it’s a great opportunity to meet other people, get tips, encourage each other and maybe even make fitness friends.

Spinning has had some common misconceptions, like you will still burn fat for up to two days after a class. It is true, the more exercise you do, the more your metabolism will continue to burn fat, but two days is too good to be true. However, you do burn a lot of calories in a class, so twice weekly classes on top of your diet is going to see results. No one exercise is going to change your body completely, so you will need other cardio, resistance and toning exercises, but I would recommend spinning every time as a great fat burner!

Amelia

Have you noticed at the gym, or in sports magazines adverts, they display a various array of protein powders, tablets and bars with beautifully toned and muscled men and women? They appear to be an important part of any gym goer’s diet if you want to get that perfect body. Maybe you wouldn’t dare have anything more than an isotonic drink for fear of buying the wrong thing or have bought every single powder and tonic going.

These supplements are fantastic in terms of providing that energy boost or to aid muscle recovery. However, for the average dieter or gym goer, in taking large volumes of these are not necessary as they actually may contribute to weight gain.

Carbohydrate bars are eaten with the intention of obtaining that initial burst of energy, and yes, I have been known to eat one in bed before getting out for a super hard morning gym session as that guarana boost doesn’t take many minutes to kick in. However, an intense workout is required to ensure that you have burned the calories consumed and of course fat. A sedate half an hour on the exercise bike is not going to cut it. Intense cardio and resistance training for over an hour where you feel your heart rate work at over 80% will work wonders for losing that weight, so a little cereal bar like that is negligible.

Will you really burn this off to see the benefits?

The same goes for protein shakes where you add milk to a powder and have that after your work out? You’re looking at approximately 100 calories per scoop of protein powder PLUS milk – whole or semi skimmed? That workout is beginning to look a bit pointless now…

I believe now and again as an occasional boost or as a quick substitute that these supplements are an easy and convenient way of getting the nutrition you need, but these supplements are intended for athletes and the hard core exercisers. Ideally, you need to get your nutrition to run your body from the food you eat. I think for the average dieter, it’s easy to think of a protein shake as a quick fix to a ripped physique, but there are more considered ways of doing it.

Total Chunk Tip – be wary when looking at protein supplements. These are intended for athletes so may be more calories for energy that you need

Who here likes crisps? I do too! They are a nice snack but they are not by any means a healthy option. Crisps are full of oils and fats and although the crisp makers have made an effort to reduce oil and fat content they are still not your best option.

Crisps are a nice snack but should be limited

When dieting, you should not feel as though you are denying yourself everything you like. Multipacks of crisps are smaller than the individual packs you might buy and can save you up to a whopping 100 calories compared to the big ‘grab bags’ you buy at the front of the supermarket or at the garage.

32g multipack of McCoys flame grilled steak crisps is 165 calories. a 50g packet is 258 calories. See the difference? The great thing is that very rarely do I feel cheated eating 18g less of my favourite crisps. I am genuinely satisfied after a smaller packet, we only eat the whole packet of crisps in front of us because it’s there and we trust the manufacturers to give us a satisfactory portion. Multipacks are the way forward people!

Total Chunk Top Tip: We all know that to lose weight successfully and KEEP IT OFF, we can’t deny ourselves a little of what we fancy. Think ahead and keep multi packs of your favourite crisps in the car or at the office. Try not to get sucked into buying individual packs and you can save up to 100 calories and still be satisfied.

I have really been getting into X factor over the last couple of weeks. I’ve found the live shows really exciting and nerve wracking at times. I HATE the twins with every fibre of my being! They are certainly amusing but that isn’t good enough for a talent contest when there are so many talented singers who would give their right arm for such an amazing opportunity. Then they’re wasting it d***ing around in red PVC jackets! What I do know is that Ricky had a few more weeks left in him and he was cruelly sacrificed by the voting public. I’ve just been watching the new Sunday show and it’s been so nerve wracking i’ve been snacking on doritos with hot salsa. Oops.

Miss Frank are brilliant but the pressure will be on to lose weight

I’m not sure who I think will win yet but I do like Louis’ act Miss Frank. They are fresh, sassy and fabulous! However, they are hardly the image of a typical girl band and I believe that if they wish to pursue a career after X factor, they will have to reassess their image. They were incredible last night but the girls are on the chunky side and most record companies would have them agree to go on a diet as a part of their contract. My advice to the girls if they choose to lose weight (and anyone undertaking a job that requires a lot of energy to get through the day) would be to not rely on sugar to keep your energy levels up. Avoid refined sugar like the plague! Caffeine in black coffee has its benefits but should not be relied upon to keep you awake beyond your natural capabilities. Indulge in brown rice and lots of high-fibre  filling vegetables that give you bundles of energy. The GI diet is great for giving dieters plenty of energy although it is a lot of effort to prepare every meal. They will need this wholesome energy to cope with demanding dance routines and a hectic schedule.

Total Chunk Top Tip: If like X Factor act Miss Frank you may be embarking upon a hectic lifestyle and you want to lose weight, do not rely on sugar and caffeine to keep your energy levels up. Try the GI diet as a way of getting lots of energy released slowly over the day.

I have been too busy with my new job and my philosophy exam to update Total Chunk this week but do not fear, I am back for good. All my good intentions went to hell and losing weight has been the last thing on my mind… so much so, that I ate a huge amount of cake this evening because I really didn’t know what else to do!

Anyway, just because I have been cramming knowledge in for my exam (it was on Wednesday) it doesn’t mean I haven’t been bursting with ideas for my beloved weight loss blog.

Today’s topic is detox diets. Celebrities such as Carol Vorderman will have you believe that they are the best thing since sliced bread. I can reveal here and now that there is actually no medical basis for such rave reviews.

Water is a natural detox on its own merit but too much is harmful

Don’t get me wrong, a detox diet will not harm you if you only follow it for a couple of days. Unfortunately, people are drawn in to undertaking potentially dangerous diets with false promises of weight loss. If you restrict your diet to 500 calories a day or less, you will of course lose weight on a detox diet. You will however, not be getting the nutrients you need to keep your immune system up and if you participate in a low calorie, high plant intake diet your body could go into starvation mode. When your body goes into starvation mode, you will hold on to fat as your body will try to conserve it for as long as possible for energy. Detox diets also have a high water intake and last year, a woman died as a result of drinking too much water. Water poisoning can happen to anyone of any age, health status etc. The water dilutes the salt your body needs to function and as a result your brain will swell and you could suffer potentially devastating consequences such as brain damage.

The truth is that you do not need to detox your body. Your liver and kidneys do the bulk of the filtering out of toxins with no outside assistance and rarely do they actually NEED it. You might feel ‘cleaner’ after three days of ‘detoxing’ but the likelihood is that you will be tired and lacking energy from a lack of protein and carbohydrate.  You will also probably gain more weight than you lost over the few days as your body is trying to regulate itself. When you are dieting, consistency is the key!

I also strongly believe that there is no need to detox using enemas regularly as this encourages your excretory system to become lazy. So when you stop using them, you could certainly find it hard to have a natural bowel movement. If you ask your doctor, I expect you will be given the same advice.

Total Chunk Top Tip: Detox diets will not help you lose weight as a part of a long-term solution as your body will find it hard to regulate itself and you may gain weight. If you feel compelled to detox, do not participate for longer than three days and be careful about your water intake as too much can be very harmful.