Day 874

Day 874...

We have had another rather warm and toasty day again today but we still managed our now regular early morning walk of 1.9 miles in 36 minutes. Absolutely loving this way to start the day even if there are a couple of nasty hills that I really wish weren't there!

And with a mad rush of blood to the head I decided to do some gardening, anyone who knows me will know that this is not my thing. I know next to almost nothing about gardening except trying to keep what we have relatively tidy. So before the day got too hot I spent some time cutting back a couple of bushes and trees that were starting to get a little wild. I discovered why I don't do gardening...look at my arm...

I thought I'd best take things a little easier and stop for a while with a coffee in the sunshine...to be fair although my arm flared up it wasn't sore or itchy and within an hour it had vanished. But I did take a coffee break and used it as an excuse for a little more reading...I'd forgotten what an easy and interesting read this book is...

Anyone interested in being healthy and getting rid of any excess pounds should give this book a read. 

I then stopped by my dads house to check on any mail and make sure everything there was okay. There were two pieces of mail both from organisations that I had contacted back in March when Dad had passed away asking for information about the occupancy at the house...do they not check their records?

Just before lunch I took a little time to get a bit more of my jigsaw done, taking advantage of the room where it lives being in shade and relatively cool compared to else where.

My afternoon has then been an afternoon of being sat at the laptop. I had the letters from my Dads to respond to which didn't take too long but then I needed to chat with Amazon! We wanted to buy a new Kindle and were taking advantage of their trade-in deal; £15 gift card plus 20% off a new device. But we had to return the old Kindle first before we could buy the new one which we had dutifully done over a week ago. We could see from the online tracking that the old device had been delivered to Amazon but they had done nothing with it for a week.

So it was time to figure out what was happening. I finally found the online chat option and managed to 'chat' with an actual person. I was told that they were experiencing some delays due to the knock-on effect of their recent Amazon Prime Day but that if we hadn't heard from them by the 17th to get in touch again and they would process it manually. Not sure why they couldn't process it manually today but at least I'd got an answer.

About half an hour later we received an email from Amazon to say that they'd accepted the old Kindle, applied the gift card to the account and that the discount would be applied automatically on check-out. Call me cynical but how coincidental was that email?! Anyway I went to order my new Kindle but when I got to the check-out there was no discount...then ensued a very frustrated me trying to figure out how to get the discount applied. Eventually I discovered that the discount only applied to a Kindle on its own and not when buying a bundle with a case and a charging dock which is what I was trying to do. It was so annoying that despite going back over their email and following various different links and being told that discounts were applied to 'qualifying' products I could find no information about what that actually meant. Argh! But in the end I managed to order the Kindle, the case and the charging dock and get the 20% discount and use the £15 gift card...phew!

At the end of the day, and despite the heat, Simon and I headed down our gym. I was trying a few more new exercises that today targeted arms and shoulders. I'm really starting to develop a new set of exercises and am liking this new approach to my workouts.

With that I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 873

Day 873...

And with Simon back at work today we had our usual 1.9 mile early morning walk in just 36 minutes and it was another glorious start to the day.

My day has been relatively quiet and has been a simple sort of day. I had a quick Lidl shop to do as we needed fresh salad and a few other bits. It is so handy having a Lidl just a few minutes car drive away and I am finding that without being at work it is much easier to change the way I shop. I am no longer tied to a weekly shop where I try to get everything at once from one place but can now shop when needed and when I feel in the mood to! 

I made a point of sitting outside with my coffee to soak up some sunshine before it got too hot and I have started to re-read one of my low carb books. It's called 'Low Carb, High Fat Food Revolution' and it's an easy and informative read to understand how we got to where we are today and what we can all do to make ourselves healthier and slimmer too.

And while the day was a little cooler, and the sun had not yet reached the window where my jigsaw resides in front of, I decided to take a few minutes before lunch to get some pieces into place. 

Our lunch was a little later today as Simon is very busy with work. They have a deadline looming and so it's a case of everyone working as many hours as they can over the next few weeks. This does mean that our plans for this coming weekend may not happen and at the most optimistic are 'on hold'.

Over the course of the afternoon I was able to get a little cleaning done, a few more jigsaw pieces moved around and some online searching for canisters for storing our tea & coffee. An easy task you would think but who knew it could be so boring and that there would be so little choice! I had to walk away as my eyes were beginning to cross and so instead I headed down the gym!

My workout tonight was focused on mainly abs with a few squats thrown in, but it was a rather sweaty session and a shower was very much needed at the end of it. Although I am quite pleased to report that I had my second three minute cold shower of the day!

And with that I shall see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 311

Day 321...

So today was split into two halves; the morning was work focused and then I had the afternoon off.

I worked from home this morning as I had a 'leaders and managers' online briefing to attend. An hour and a half meeting to be brought up to date on the current happenings within early years.

I was also able to get some other work completed either side of the meeting; keeping up to date with emails, a little banking, some cash flow forecasting and inadvertently the re-organising of my 'bookmarks'!

As my morning finished we ventured outside for a walk and ended up taking a longer walk than we had intended. Ordinarily on a work day we try to be out for no more than about forty minutes but today we took a different route to normal and managed just over 3 miles in an hour.

The afternoon saw me finishing off a piece of work I'd started just before lunch as I wanted to make sure I knew where I'd gotten up to. Then there was a little online shopping to complete before I grabbed a half hour or so to start on my latest book: The Case for Keto by Gary Taubes.

Back in 2014 I read another book by Mr Taubes called 'Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It' and found it fascinating and at the same time confirmed how I'd managed to lose weight a few months earlier. 

In June of 2014 I embarked on a new diet that was being run by my daughters karate teacher (see my pages 'Getting Real' and 'Eating Well, Staying Healthy') which involved looking at the proportion of fat, protein and carbohydrates that I was eating and adjusting them to his recommendations. It was very evident from what I was presented with that I had to cut back my carbohydrates in a big way going from around 230g a day to about 70g! Well suffice to say I did as was recommended and lost the weight and that's when I read 'Why We Get Fat' and learned the science behind what I had done and everything just fell into place.

Six and a half years later I have maintained my weight and still eat 'low carb high fat/keto' and have no intention of changing. I am always looking to learn more about this way of eating and those that know me know how passionate I can be about it so I can't wait to get into this book and find out more.

Our day was finished off with a little gym workout and on a very rainy evening Simon was very glad he only had to venture out as far as the garage! I stayed in the warmth and dry of the living room and watched a documentary on Disney + while I did my exercises - how civilised!!

Whatever you are doing, wherever you may be, take care.
xx

But I couldn't give up...

Oh, but I couldn't give up....

This is one of those phrases that creeps into the conversation whenever I tell people that I follow a low carb/keto way of eating.

OK, so let me make a confession - ‘My name is Jayne and I follow a low carb/keto way of life and I apologise’.

But why do I feel the need to apologise? Why is it that I’m made to feel like some sort of weirdo or freak because I don’t eat carbs?

I have friends who are vegetarians but to the world at large that’s perfectly fine.

I have friends who are vegans and again to the world at large that’s perfectly fine.

But when I say ‘sorry no potatoes for me’ I’m made to feel like there’s something wrong with me!

I can go out and about for coffee or for meals whether that be in a small local cafe, a city centre restaurant or even when visiting friends or family and there are numerous concessions made for diets. Plastered on menu boards everywhere is ‘vegetarian friendly’, ‘vegan this or that’, ‘gluten free’ or ‘lighter options’ but never anything to say ‘low carb’ or ‘keto’.

Now OK I am a big girl and actually following a low carb/keto way of life is pretty straightforward; I have no problem asking a restaurant to substitute in some extra veggies or salad instead of the potatoes or asking for cream when ordering coffee. And to be fair there is now more and more places that will have on their menus (although often hidden at the bottom somewhere) that burgers can be ‘bunless’ or that rice can be swapped for salad.

But I do still feel that what I’m asking for is considered to be a bit weird, often met with a questioning ‘so you don’t want the potatoes?’ Well that’s what I’ve just said!!

I’m really not looking for any special treatment or a special menu just an acceptance that it’s perfectly normal to not want the beige and boring carbs!

Now don’t get me wrong I am aware that we are beginning to see some companies and small businesses that are catering specifically towards the low carb market; often providing a low carb alternative to those ‘western diet’ favourites of bread and sweet things. These items are not necessarily the cheapest but at least it’s good to know that this ‘low carb thing’ is beginning to get recognised. For me personally I am a bit wary of these low carb alternatives as I’m not a lover of the artificial sweeteners that can be used but I think it’s great that options for those that want them are appearing.

At ‘Real Food Rocks’ back in July I was able to try some low carb pitta bread (Low Carb Food Company) and some low carb dark chocolate and raspberry brownies (Deliciously Guilt Free) which were both delicious. And for both of these I would personally consider them an exception to my usual way of eating. In fact if I fancy ‘a treat', something that I would not ordinarily consume, like a cookie or a piece of cake then I will allow myself to indulge. But this is only a rare occurrence and often I will find that sharing a piece of cake or just having a couple of bites is enough to satisfy any ‘craving’ I may have. A phrase we like to use in my home is ‘rare and appropriate’ (a term coined by Penn Jillette during his weight-loss); so for example when I reached the end of my radiotherapy treatment I figured it was appropriate to mark the occasion with a coffee and a nice piece of ‘full on’ cheesecake! So I had a piece of ‘proper’ cake and enjoyed it and that was that!

So let’s get back to what I started with at the top of this post...but I couldn’t give up…

I think this happens to everyone who follows a low carb/keto way of eating as soon as we begin to explain what it means we have the standard response ‘but I couldn’t give up...’ followed by one (or all!) mention of potatoes, bread, rice, pasta. Interestingly the ‘naughty’ foods of cakes or cookies are never mentioned because everyone knows that these are not good for us but the complete indignation that can be met should I dare suggest that perhaps pasta is not all that great is really rather surprising.

For those of us that have found low carb/keto and have experienced the benefits, whether that be weight loss, general health improvements, skin improvements, better mood or reversal of type 2 diabetes and more, we find ourselves wanting to spread the news. I know that I have done a lot of reading and continue to do so. Names like Gary Taubes, Gary Fettke, Tim Noakes, Dr David Unwin, Ivor Cummins, Nina Teicholz to name but a few are commonly spoken about in our house. We actively seek out new information, podcasts and websites. I absolutely love dietdoctor.com for the vast amount of information delivered in an easy to understand way along with a collection of recipes to suit everyone’s budget, tastes and cooking ability.

I find myself feeling quite passionate about this way of eating, especially knowing that the traditional diet of low fat, eat less and move more simply doesn’t work and is actually completely wrong. We have been ‘fed’ information over the past 30 years, and more, that was wrong, that was never tested as it should have been and has never been corrected despite evidence to the contrary.

So when people do ask me about losing weight, or keeping the weight off or simply ‘what is is that you eat?’ I want to tell them as much as I possibly can. But I am constantly surprised that most people seem to stumble as soon as they hear ‘no bread, no rice, no pasta, no potatoes’.

Perhaps I need to change my approach and tell them about all the lovely things they can be eating; all the cheese, meat, bacon, eggs, full fat yogurt, cream in their coffee, green veggies, some berries and my favourite extra dark chocolate!

Everyone knows that cakes, cookies and anything sugary is bad for them but what they don’t understand is that some of our food ‘staples’, and foods that we have been led to believe are ‘good for us’ are actually also full of sugar. I can’t recommend Dr. David Unwin’s infographics highly enough where he equates those staples of our diet to the amount of sugar in them, such an easy and surprising way to get the message across.

Infographic courtesy of  phc.org

I also tell people to try eating the rice, the pasta, the potatoes or the bread just on its own with no sauce or seasoning to see how bland they actually are. These are after all bland and beige and I’ve never known anything that is bland and beige be ‘good for you’!

So ditch the beige and embrace tasty, satisfying and filling foods.

Eat the right foods and your body will do the rest. There is then no need to worry about ‘how much’ or ‘how many calories’ or feeling hungry. Listen to your body, eat when you are genuinely hungry and eat foods that will leave you feeling satiated and full of energy. You will turn your body into a fat burning machine and you will never look back.

Five and a half years ago I took on a challenge to lose a bit of weight, little did I realise back then that I would be able to keep that weight off, drop 2 dress sizes and feel great. I have learnt so much since then and I just want to be able to give those who want to listen and are prepared to give something a chance all the help, advice and encouragement I can.

Taken Summer 2013 - Standard Low Fat Diet
150lbs

Taken Summer 2019 - 5 years low carb
131lbs

 Please go back and read my other blog pieces about how I discovered this way of eating and how I've managed to stick at it for five and a half years.

Eating Well, Staying Healthy
What's Wrong with Real Food?
Four Years On
Eating Healthy and Proud of it
One Year On
90 Day Challenge

Four Years On

And if any of this gives you cause to think then I urge you to just give it a try and you never know what might happen!

Real Food Rocks

If you've read any of my blog before you will know that along with my passion for Disney and tattoos I am also passionate about the way we eat.

My own personal story can be found in these previous posts and pages;

Eating Well, Staying Healthy
90 Day Challenge
Four Years On

But suffice to say I am now a strong advocate of the Low Carb High Fat approach to eating. As a family we eliminated carbs and sugars from our diet just over 5 years ago. We no longer have bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, flours, processed foods, grains or sugars in anything that we eat. Our cupboards and fridge are stocked with yummy cheese, butter, cream, meats, fish, green veggies, berries, greek yogurt and some very high cocoa dark chocolate.

I have lost weight and dropped dress sizes and have been able to maintain it. My skin is better and hopefully I am doing everything in my power to avoid the modern day diseases of diabetes and heart disease; both of which have affected my family directly in the past.

Whilst we do have the odd occasional treat; these are what we describe as 'rare and appropriate', I do find that the longer that we follow this approach the less I look for those treats...which as someone with a self confessed sweet tooth I never thought I would say!

I think the 'kids' find this way of eating the most tricky out of all of us; not because they are fussy eaters but I think simply because they are faced with a society that seems to revolve around social eating and drinking and one that means making good choices are tricky to find.

This past weekend Simon and I had the pleasure of spending a day at Brathay Hall, near Ambleside in the Lake District with about 800 like-minded people at a festival called Real Food Rocks.  This was a festival organised through an organisation called the Public Health Collaboration whose mission is to improve the nations health by changing the way we eat through adopting a low carb approach.

The event was organised by Dr Jen Unwin and was supported by a number of doctors, health care and fitness professionals. There were also plenty of stalls showcasing businesses who promote the use of real food, with real ingredients while also supporting a low carb approach.

Throughout the day there was the opportunity to listen to a number of experts talk about all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. We started the day listening to Dr Michael Mosley and his wife Dr Clare Bailey who strongly advocate the use of fasting, and a Mediterranean style diet incorporating fermented foods. Next we listened to Ivor Cummins the biochemical engineer and author of the book 'Eat Rich Live Long' who spoke about the modern diseases of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease and the positive effects that diet can have on all of these conditions.

Dr Michael Mosley

Ivor Cummins

We than had a short break where we tasted some delicious low carb beef curry served with low carb naan bread from The Low Carb Food Co, followed by a coffee from The Little Blue Pig and a gorgeous chocolate and raspberry brownie from Deliciously Guilt Free.

Beef Curry & Naan bread by the Low Carb Food Co.

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Brownie by Deliciously Guilt Free

Then it was back to listen to some more speakers. We heard Dr Peter Voshol from the Netherlands speak about his success with treating patients with Type 2 Diabetes through diet. We then heard from nutritionist Jenny Phillips as she spoke about the types of food we should be eating which resulted in me buying her latest cook book! After that we came upon Bridgette Hamilton who unknown to us is based not far from where we live; she specialises in helping people kick their sugar addiction and lose weight through her Breakthrough Weightloss program. We ended the day with Dr David Unwin who is a GP passionate about low carb and using lifestyle interventions to help patients fight obesity and diabetes and is one of the leading voices on this here in the UK.

It was so great to spend a day with people that all think the same way as we do. Time and time again it can feel almost alienating to follow this lifestyle. People who choose other lifestyles like being vegetarian or vegan can walk into shops, supermarkets and restaurants and are able to find all sorts of products on offer for them (although these are often highly processed and very far removed from being 'healthy' alternatives).Their friends accept their choice, they will make allowances for them when socialising and may even defend their choice...but choosing low carb does not always cause the same reactions.

Whilst shopping is straightforward as you simply only buy those products that you know are right i.e. real food! But dining out can sometimes be problematic and usually involves having to ask for 'insert name of bland beige carb' to be removed and replaced with veggies or salad but only to be met with a funny look and a question 'so...you don't want...?' Friends struggle to understand what being low carb means and the standard response is 'but I couldn't give up potatoes...bread...pasta...' Then throw into the conversation the 'wish I could lose weight like you', followed by me offering to explain but yet again to be faced with the 'but I couldn't' statement.

I know this way of eating is healthy, enjoyable, satisfying, yummy and easy to do and I just want to be able to help people to follow along and see the same weight and health gains that I have. But when everything that we have been brought up to understand about what is and is not healthy to eat is the complete opposite of eating low carb it is all too easy to understand why people have a problem grasping how this could be healthy.

I am angry that I spent the majority of my life following the 'official guidelines', doing what people in white coats told me or what was published through various media to then find I, along with everyone else, had been misled. It is so frustrating that the 'powers that be' are unwilling to change the dietary advise, that influence from the sugar, cereal and processed food industry is too entrenched with our governing bodies. That pharmaceutical companies need us all to be reliant on medications to keep their profits expanding and they have no interest in getting us healthy 'naturally'!

So I am determined to keep on doing what I am doing; sharing my knowledge, offering help where I can, continuously reading and researching more, learning more and then hopefully lead by example. I will continue to write blog posts about all that I am passionate about and hope that somewhere along the way I can inform and potentially change things for the better.

What's wrong with real food?

Well I haven't wrote a post for a while and to be honest time has been an issue and that's a poor excuse...I really need to start 'making' the time to write.

So here we go as something today sparked in me the desire to write...well OK perhaps more of a moan...but well here goes!

Scrolling through Facebook while waiting for my nails to dry...as you do...and I see one of those sponsored posts by a UK supermarket chain promoting one of their food products.

The product in question is a Blueberry Muffin Fibre Bar - I mean what the heck is that supposed to be! Now on the Facebook post people were raving about this and celebrating the fact that there was even a chocolate brownie flavour. So my intrigue was sparked...knowing full well that this was likely to be more processed food rubbish.

So the bar is being promoted as low calorie (86 cals per bar) and high fibre (5.3g per bar) and described as 'Blueberry muffin bars with a white vanilla flavoured drizzle' Sounds appetising...not! It would appear that the supermarket chain in question has sent some of these new bars out to bloggers etc who seemed to be 'wowed' by them and very quick to point out that they are only '2 syns on Slimming World'. OK shall we talk about how each bar contains 13g of carbs of which 7.2g is sugar never mind how full of rubbish these bars actually are...

This is the actual ingredient list - 'Wheat Flour , Inulin , Sugar , Wheat Fibre , White Vanilla Flavoured Drizzle (7%) [Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Emulsifier (Lecithins), Salt, Flavouring] , Fructose , Dehydrated Sweetened Blueberries (6%) [Blueberries, Sugar, Sunflower Oil] , Palm Oil , Humectant (Glycerol) , Sunflower Oil , Egg White Powder [Egg White, Yeast, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)] , Milk Powder , Modified Maize Starch , Flavourings , Raising Agents (Sodium Carbonates, Sodium Phosphates, Calcium Phosphates) , Citric Acid , Emulsifier (Soya Lecithins) , Salt , Stabilisers (Carob Bean Gum, Xanthan Gum)'

I really don't know where to start. Just reading this list is making my stomach turn, how can eating all of that in one bar be good for you? Just look how many different vegetable oils are in there, how much wheat product and never mind the sugars and all the ingredients I can't pronounce.

Anyone that has read my blog will know that I now follow a Keto/Low Carb High Fat lifestyle but in my past I would have jumped at something like this. On the face of it, and how it's presented to the world at large, it looks and sounds healthy and the majority will think its 'probably better than having a cookie or a chocolate bar'. But with what I know now I don't even entertain the idea of eating anything like this, in fact I feel quite offended that products like this exist, in fact I'm quite angry that the food industry is still duping innocent people into eating stuff like this on the pretence that it is healthy and good for you.

These bars are full of carbs and sugars that you don't need, they are full of wheat products that you don't need, they are full of vegetable oils that you really don't need. In fact there is nothing in these that you do need. A 24g bar is not going to satisfy any hunger pangs, you will be left feeling hungry very shortly afterwards and either resort to eating another bar or heading for the sort of foods you were probably trying to avoid by eating this in the first place.

They are packaged and promoted as being the 'answer' you've been looking for. They fall in line with the 'low fat' model that has been pushed at us all for way too long now. They are made to sound 'healthy' and 'good for you'. The marketing line from the chocolate brownie version reads as this 'Enjoy these bars of chocolatey indulgence when you fancy something a little sweet in your day. High in fibre & less than 90 calories per bar? Delicious!' - UNBELIEVABLE.

They are providing the 'easy' way out to a population that has been poorly informed over the last few decades. When will the message get through that we have all been fed a lie and that is why we are all struggling with our weight and most importantly our health. These should come with a 'health warning'!

If you eat a diet that is full of protein and natural fats then there is no need for items like this. You will get the energy you require from real foods that will keep you fuelled throughout the day. Sure we all feel like a snack now and then or perhaps even a treat but there are better ways of doing it. Most people following a keto or low carb diet are able to listen to their bodies better and recognise when they are 'actually' hungry rather than just eating because 'it's that time of day'. As someone who used to love the sweet snacks in between meals I can honestly say that I no longer crave those snacks. If I do get peckish I simply opt for a chunk of cheese or perhaps a slice of cold meat. Occasionally I may have some full fat greek yogurt with a few berries and I will confess to a little 85% dark chocolate most days.

So let's ditch these 'fake', processed 'foods' and just eat real foods that taste great, are satisfying and keep us looking and feeling great. Simple. No fads, no gimmicks just honest food.

Four Years On...

So this time four years ago we had a bit of a party weekend as Simon and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. And as is customary with any party there was plenty of food and drink.

But on the Monday morning I started something that would change everything I thought I knew about food and diet.

Through a chance conversation with my daughter's karate instructors I took up a challenge they had developed called '90 Day Get Real Fat Loss'. The idea being that try something for 90 days, make a difference to how you look and what you weigh and then keep that change going for life.

Well four years on I am living proof that you can make a change to decades of being told to eat a certain way, that the weight and inches can be lost, that the loss can be maintained and that this new way of eating is easily sustainable.

For years, like I think most people, I'd not been happy with those numbers on the scale or what I saw looking back at me in the mirror. Now I know I wasn't obese, and I probably wasn't even classified as being overweight. Friends would tell me I looked fine, that I had nothing to worry about. But for me it obviously was something I worried about.

My mum was diabetic and so I kind of knew that she had to avoid sweet stuff but that didn't stop us having sweet stuff in the house. Before Simon and I got married and had a place of our own we would pretty much eat whatever we wanted. I knew that too many cakes, biscuits and chocolate bars weren't good for you but I was active...we would be out three nights a week at clubs dancing for hours and then we started going to the gym three, maybe even, four times a week so we were burning off that bad stuff - right?

About a year before we got married Simon's mum was diagnosed with high cholesterol and so Simon got tested in case it was hereditary and lo and behold he too had high levels. In the late 1980's this was all new to us; what did it all mean? The advice given by the doctor was to cut back on our fat and dairy intake as otherwise we were heading for heart problems and an increased risk of dying from a heart attack! With warnings like that we did as we were told. Out went the butter, the full fat milk, no more eggs and forget about cheese and fatty meats literally overnight!

So for the next 25 years or so we followed, what we were all being told to follow, a low fat diet; after all this would work for those pesky high cholesterol levels as well as my mum's diabetes. We ate pasta, rice, stuck to chicken and fish, had cereals and toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. We had low fat or fat free salad dressings and yogurts...in fact anything that had low fat, or fat free, on the label we probably had it in the cupboard and fridge. After all picking up a chocolate bar or dessert or biscuit with low fat blazoned across the packaging meant we could indulge with a clear conscience.

Oh how wrong we were!

So four years ago I decided to try something different. One thing I'd never done was to follow any mass marketed slimming regime...the skeptic in me always thought these were a bit of a scam and besides I really didn't fancy parting with hard earned cash to stand on a scale in a room full of people and be told whether I'd put on or lost a pound! But this 'Get Real Fat Loss' was different; it was developed by a karate instructor (Jason) who had an understanding of nutrition and was fed up of hearing the mums of the kids he was teaching moaning about weight loss and hearing the horror stories of their weight loss regimes. I saw photos of women I knew and the difference that this programme had made to their bodies. These weren't touched up, magazine, promotional photos these were genuine photos viewed on someone's phone. I think it was seeing these real life results that made me think 'what have I got to lose?'.

The great thing was that under the guidance of Jason I had to figure out what would work best for me. After recording my food for a week Jason was able to analyse what I was eating and then come up with the best ratio of fat, protein and carbohydrate that I should be consuming. Now I have spoke about this before on previous posts but suffice to say the big change I had to make was to reduce my carb intake and up my fat! I estimate that my daily carb intake back then was around the 230g mark and this had to reduce down to about 70g per day; that was a big change!

But I was all set to give this a go; I looked at what I had been eating to see where the changes had to be made - bread, pasta, rice, potatoes....OK so my first reaction was what can I have instead of these? Initially I would have a very small new potato with my salad and meat of choice or perhaps I would have literally 3 or 4 chips (fries) with my meal. When it came to rice I discovered very early on that cauliflower rice was a good substitute. But you know what? After a short while I realised that I didn't actually miss these foods and the more I thought about it the more I came to the conclusion that these were actually quite bland and were just 'fillers' on my plate.

About 60 days in I reached my 'goal' weight and by the end of the 90 days I'd lost another 7 pounds. It was the first time in my life that attempting any kind of 'diet' had produced the dramatic results that you dream of. But more importantly I was enjoying my food, enjoying the results I'd achieved and knew that I couldn't go back to my old ways.

But what about exercise I hear you say - well yes when I first started the challenge I would complete a series of body weight exercises at home, twice a day. So simple stuff like squats, lunges, press-ups and a few planks. But these did not get rid of the pounds these simply helped shape and tone what I'd got! For about the past year and a bit I've swapped daily exercise at home for visiting the gym a few times a week. This has proved to be great fun as we get to go as a family and lift heavy weights! I know that since going to the gym I have put on a few pounds but I also know that my muscle mass has increased while my measurements have remained pretty constant.

It was only after I'd reached the end of the 90 day challenge that I came across a book by Gary Taubes called 'Why we get fat and what to do about it'. I remember reading it and everything just fell into place; this book echoed everything that I had done. It gave me the science behind what I had done...I was living proof of what adopting a low carb, high fat lifestyle was all about.

So here we are four years on and we are still a low carb family (Oh yes all for one and one for all in this house!). I wouldn't change the way I eat now for anything. We eat well, we eat till we are full and we enjoy what we eat. I have a fridge full of butter, cream cheese, eggs (lots of eggs), double cream, full fat milk, greek yogurt and cheese. We eat red meat as well as chicken and fish. We have bacon for breakfast every morning! I have red wine most evenings and always a little dark chocolate - 85% is my favourite at the moment. What's not to love about all of that?!

So for some facts and figures;

At the start of my 90 day challenge I weighed 147lbs and by the end I weighed 126lbs, a loss of 21 pounds. I did lose more weight after the 90 days dropping a total of 28 pounds. Since then I think my body has found a more natural weight around 128 - 130lbs which I am quite happy with and have maintained this now for almost 2 years.

I have lost, and maintained, 2.5 inches from my waist, 3 inches from my hips and 2.75 inches from my bust.

Here come the photos - eek! These were all taken on a mobile phone and have not been altered in anyway!

June 2014

September 2014

June 2018

June 2014

September 2014

June 2018

June 2014

September 2014

June 2018

So that's me...now and then...as I've said before if I can do it, anyone can. Low carb all the way!

New Year, New Me!!

Isn't that how all blog posts etc are supposed to start this time of year - New Year, New Me!!

Lots of articles about diets, getting fit, moving more, eating better, being healthy etc, etc and how NOW is the time to do it! After all what better time to do something about your weight, or shape or fitness than the start of a new year!!  OK I hope you can detect my sarcasm as I write this because really?!!

Just because we start a new year shouldn't be the reason to create a new you! If you want to do something about your weight or how you look you should do it because the want is there not because of what time of year it is.

Now I will be the first to admit that over the festive period I have like most people indulged in foods I wouldn't normally have done, probably had a few drinks more than usual and not moved as much as I do usually. So yes the New Year, or rather the end of the holidays, is the kick start back into my usual routine.

There will be lots of 'diets' out there that will promise amazing results in amazing amounts of time or fantastic results by buying their products or sticking to a 'points' system or some other type of gimmick normally involving a 'discounted price' to entice you in. The problem with most of these 'quick fixes' are that they are just that, a quick fix, that doesn't last and the only thing that you can guarantee being any lighter is your purse! Now don't get me wrong some people will use these diets and for them it will work and it may even work long term for them but for most of us we buy in, stick to it for a while until we hit a bump in the road and we go back to square one.

Now for anyone who has read my blog over the last few years will be aware of my own success at losing weight and feeling better about myself and body shape. Have a look at my page called - 'Getting Real' where I go into detail about how I lost weight and started a new way of eating...a lifestyle change.

And I think this is key to anyone who really wants to lose the weight; it is not dieting that will help you to lose weight it is making a change to your lifestyle.

Having changed my lifestyle two and a half years ago I have not only embraced it but I continue to learn more about what I am now doing and how that affects me and my body and how the way most of us eat is doing us more harm than good. And it is a lifestyle that I found relatively easy to adopt and one that the whole family now follows. So what did I do?

Have a look at the page on this blog called 'Getting Real' as well as my post from June 2015 called 'One Year On' as both of these document my journey and how I got to where I am today.

Basically I have adopted what is often referred to as either 'low carb' or 'low carb, high fat' (LCHF) way of eating. This means cutting down on the sugars and starches - so no potatoes, breads, pasta or rice - while eating plenty of fish, meat, eggs, natural fats and veggies (those that grow above ground!).

I don't count calories - lots of studies now show that not all calories are the same; the way your body processes calories depends on where they come from! Take in sugars or carbs and your body doesn't really know what to do with them and so stores them as fat which leaves you feeling hungry...so you eat more (usually more carbs) and so the vicious circle begins. Take in fats and proteins and your body uses these for energy and actually starts burning your fat stores, you also feel satisfied when you've eaten fats and protein and so avoid the cycle of eating more when it's not needed.

The key to all this is to eat real foods and ditch the highly processed sugary rubbish that is way too easily available. Many years ago the official dietary advice to lose weight and keep your heart healthy was to eat low fat foods...the food industry obliged and provided us with a ton of low fat or fat free alternatives. The problem with removing the fat was that the food tasted pretty nasty so the food industry replaced the missing fat with sugar or sweeteners. But this meant our carb intake increased; we didn't feel 'full' so we ate more. The food industry recognised they were onto a good thing by supporting the official dietary advice and so kept on producing more and more processed low fat foods. We now find ourselves with a food industry still supporting the 'low fat advice' and not wanting to make a change because of the detrimental affect it could have to their profit margins.

The latest evidence now tells us that fat has never been our enemy, it's been sugar all along. The advice that governments followed about having a low fat diet was wrong...they simply listened to those that shouted the loudest, those scientists who, at the time, had the connections and believed their ideas to be right...unfortunately for us they were not. I urge you to read a book called 'Why We Get Fat and What to Do About it' by Gary Taubes - a fascinating and easy read which explains why we find ourselves today with the highest obesity and diabetes rates ever, despite following all the government advice to eat low fat.

So the answer is simple ditch the carbs, enjoy fats and protein and eat real food. No fads, no gimmicks, no magic powders simply good, tasty, satisfying real food. And yes you can throw some exercise into the mix as well but the exercise won't make you lose weight; it will keep you fit and will tone what you've got but it's what you put into your body that will make the biggest changes.

I have been eating this way for two and a half years. I complete a set of body weight exercises most days. I dropped from a size 12 (UK) to a size 8 (UK) and have stayed that way. Yes my weight will fluctuate every now and then but it stays pretty consistent. While changing the way you have eaten all your life can be daunting and a challenge I have found it really straight forward to stick to; there's no portion control or calorie counting it's simply finding the right food, eating it and enjoying it.

If you want to make a change, feel good about how you look and at the same time improve your health and well being then give this lifestyle a try. I did, it worked and I'm staying this way!

Please feel free to comment below, or contact me via Twitter @JaynePhipps should you want to know more.

A really good website to give you more information is www.dietdoctor.com