Okay – so I haven’t posted in over a month – I’m so sorry!  I don’t know how that happened, but I’m glad to be back.

I’ve been reading a fascinating book, called “the Optimal Health Revolution” by Duke Johnson, MD.  One of the chapters is dedicated specifically to obesity and I found the whole thing so interesting.  I’ll share some of the information with you today.

Here are rates of obesity by country and gender (and these are from 2000 – so they will be even worse now.)  I’m just including a few.

Australia: Men 63% and Women 46.8%

Canada: Men 71% and Women 56%

China: Men 16% and Women 23%

Japan: Men 26% and Women 22.6%

Russia: Men 45.3% and Women 56.4%

UK: Men 62.8% and Women 53.3%

USA: Men 60% and Women 50%

There are a lot of high numbers there!  I think I should throw in the definition of obesity here just to give some context to this.  One of the most popular definitions of obesity is body mass index (“BMI”).  I’ve done a post about BMI previously, but just as a recap, you find out your BMI by doing your weight in kg multiplied by your height in meters.  If your BMI is 30 or above you are classified as obese.

In his book, Dr. Duke Johnson gives a list of what he considers to be the top 13 risk factors for Obesity.  I’ve listed them below with a few comments of my own.

1. Ignorance (i.e not knowing the risk factors, so keep reading and you’re one step ahead!)

2. Excess calories

3. Obsession over fats and carbs. This refers to the fads of eating certain ratios of fats, carbs, and proteins.  Instead of doing this, you should focus more on eating the right fats, carbs, and proteins.

4. Lack of exercise

5. Narrow focus. I think this requires some explanation.  The diet industry has led us to think about one aspect of our lifestyles in order to figure out how to lose weight.  This might be exercise – “Use this one magic piece of exercise equipment and lose 10 pounds this week!”  This might be diet – “If you eat this magic soup recipe every day for a week, you’ll lose 15 pounds!”  Hopefully that gives you the message.  Essentially, to avoid obesity, or to lose weight so that you’re no longer obese, you must look at your whole lifestyle, rather than just one tiny part of it.

6. The TV, the PC, and the WWW. You probably get what this means, but in case not, this just has to do with how much time we now spend in front of either the television, our computers at work, or surfing the web after work or on the weekends.  These are all inactive experiences, so if this makes up the majority of your time every week, you can’t possibly be getting much exercise.

7. Coping with stress by eating. Wow, I can relate to this one!  I can definitely eat a lot (and the wrong things) when I’m stressed…or sad…or really excited – I always refer to it as emotional eating.  With people working long hours and dealing with other stresses in their lives, an obvious “release” for this stress is snacking.  Unfortunately this usually means choosing unhealthy, non-nutritious snacks, which are quick, easy, and cheap.  Smoking is another big one, and is equally unhealthy.

8. Snack foods. I am still amazed at the abundance of snack foods there are to choose from.   Cakes, cookies, chocolate bars, chocolate molded into weird shapes, potato chips (in all shapes and sizes), strange packaged dips with crackers, and many more.  Even the ones that advertise themselves as “healthy” snacks are usually loaded with sugar, fat, preservatives, and other things that contribute to obesity.

9. Feeding our emotions. This may sound similar to number 7, but what Dr. Duke Johnson is saying is that many people treat food as a reward.  I was just discussing this with a friend the other day and we were talking about how many families bring up their kids to think of ice cream, burgers, or other sweets or candy as a reward for doing something well or getting homework done.  This leaves those kids with an emotional connection with those foods.  Another common thing in childhood is being forced to finish a plate of food.  Again, this is a negative connection with food, so as those kids grow up they always finish everything, even if they’re full.  (And for anyone who lives or has visited the USA, you must realize how damaging this can be…portions in America are massive.)

10. Quitting on your new lifestyle. This refers to the many times that we start a new way of eating or a new exercise plan, only to give up a few days into it.

11. Restaurant food, both fast and slow. People do eat at restaurants more now than ever.  I’m sure there are people who NEVER eat a meal at home.  You know, just pick up a bagel and coffee on the way to work.  Grab a sandwich at lunch.  Then get something to go from your local Chinese restaurant because you worked so late or are too tired to cook.  However you slice it, you will definitely consume more calories, fat, salt, and sugar if you are eating in this way.  Sure, it’s okay to eat out – I love it – but you can see how this lifestyle can pack on the pounds.

12. Genetic predisposition. This is the one factor you can’t change, but look at the other 12 you can change!

13. Lack of adequate sleep. This may sound silly, but lack of sleep or not getting good quality sleep truly impacts your body’s natural functions.  People who can find a way to get more sleep can lose weight naturally, without changing anything else.

You’ve now got a great list to work from.  Try to address one at a time and go from there.  Obesity has horrendous consequences on your life!  It’s not just an aesthetic thing!

To your health,

Kimberly

I tried Abel & Cole for the first time about six months ago.  In case you don’t know who Abel & Cole are, you can check them out here:  www.abelandcole.co.uk.   They are a UK based food home delivery company, but they do primarily organic products, and specialize in fruits, vegetables, and meats (red and white.)  They have an ever expanding range of products though, so you can get some dairy products, some pantry items, baked goods, and even organic booze.  I can’t name everything here, but you get the idea.

Delivery

The way the delivery works is that there will be a designated day that deliveries are made in your neighborhood.  (Check the website to ensure your postcode is included.)   So, you can make one order every week, every other week, or on whatever interval you choose.  You can also ask for weekly deliveries, but then skip a particular week if you happen to be on holiday, or just don’t need anything.

The delivery charge is 99p (a total bargain!) and everything comes in a cardboard box (or cold store box for temperature sensitive items) which is left at your door on your delivery day.  If you are a regular orderer, you can leave your boxes from the previous week outside for Abel & Cole to take away.

For the most part the packaging is very environmentally friendly.

Now, about the food:  The fruits and vegetables from Abel & Cold are outstanding!  The flavor that you get from their items is so much different from the produce you get at the grocery store (even the store bought organic items.)   You have to be prepared to put a little bit of effort in when your order first arrives in terms of washing the dirt off of your carrots/parsnips/courgettes etc, but I actually really enjoy that.

Also, if you order heads of lettuce, again you need to be prepared to wash the leaves thoroughly before consuming.

Abel & Cole put together different boxes each week, so if you want a variety of vegetables, fruits and vegetables, or just fruit, you can order the boxes.  They also offer basic or luxury boxes (with either standard fruit/veg or more exotic fruit/veg.)  And then you can order different sized boxes depending on how many people you have in your household.  Needless to say, they have a great variety to choose from!

My preferred method of ordering however, is just to choose my own fruit and vegetables and other goods.  I tried the basic veg box for my first few orders, but I found that I was too choosy about what I wanted each week.

However you decide to do it, the website is awesome and so easy to use.  It just takes a few minutes to go on and do your weekly order.  Or if you have set it up and like the same foods in the same intervals, you don’t have to do a thing.  You just leave your settings as they were and your order shows up each week.  They use the credit card or other method of payment you’ve set up with them each time you order, so you don’t have to enter your details more than once.

Pricing

I’ve done some price comparisons against similar quantities of organic vegetables from Sainsbury’s.  I think most items from Abel & Cole are more expensive than the grocery store.  BUT, the extra cost is pretty minimal and I still think it is good value for money.  The products from Abel & Cole do taste better than some of the produce you get from the grocery store.

And my real reason for not minding the small additional expenditure is the fact that it saves me from having to visit the grocery store very often.  In fact, I don’t really need to ever go (but, I still like to once in awhile!)  By not making so many visits to the store, I avoid all the silly impulse purchases that you end up adding to your cart at the store.  Looking at my monthly grocery spend now, compared with my pre-Abel & Cole days, I spend on average about £50 less now.  Yes, £50!  I think that is great savings.  And I feel great about what I’m eating (and the packaging I’m not having to throw away.)

Conclusion?

All in all, I think Abel & Cole is definitely worth a try.  You can do one order and never use it again if you don’t want to.  Or you can be like me, and love it and continue to use it.

If you already use it, or do try it, let me know what you think about it.

To your health,

Kimberly

I was listening to the radio this morning and heard about a website called www.mydaddycooks.com.  It is a very new site, but has gained a lot of popularity in its short life.

It is, in the simplest sense, a series of videos showing how you can make home cooked, healthy meals with your children.

The site’s founder, Nick, features in all of the videos with his 2 year old son, Archie. I watched one of the recent videos, and it was absolutely adorable.

Nick did a short interview on the radio and his story was really interesting.  He said that 2009 was a tough year financially for he and his family (I know he is not alone in that regard!)  But, instead of letting the pressures get to him, he decided to do something great for Archie.  I don’t remember his exact words, but he said something along the lines of “My wife and I reevaluated what was most important in our lives and decided that having happy parents was the most important thing for Archie.”

I thought that was a great comment – and amazing that he and his wife came to that conclusion when in reality many people can’t get past the financial/work/relationship stresses that we all deal with on a daily basis.   I’m not saying it’s easy to deal with all of those things.  But, what is most important for your loved ones?

Nick also said that he felt that Archie was learning to have a very healthy relationship with food (real food!), which is also an extremely important thing.  I’ve heard that 1 in 5 UK children are now already overweight when they start school.  Woah!  That is astounding.

Mydaddycooks.com looks like a great example of doing something positive for your family.  Why not do that yourself?  It is fun, inexpensive, and healthy!

To your health,

Kimberly

The Afternoon Slump

Whether you work in an office, from home, at a construction site, out there on the roads everyday, or anywhere else, I think most of you will have experienced the afternoon slump.  This is something that seems to kick in somewhere between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, or if you have an early lunch, maybe sooner.  It makes you feel like curling up and going to sleep.

I can remember times when I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open in front of my computer.  It was the worst feeling and it was horrible thinking that someone might see me with my eyes closed, even if just for a second!

And since a midday kip normally isn’t possible, due to work commitments, location (I certainly don’t have a nap room at my office!), or any other reason, what do we end up doing?

This slump usually makes us reach for something to bring us back to life.  Some form of caffeine.  Maybe chocolate.  Maybe even just some fresh air or an ice cold glass of water.

How to Avoid It

Whatever it is that helps you get through this afternoon fatigue, you don’t have to deal with this feeling ever again.  What is it that has rid me of the PM slump and can help you do the same?

Nutrition.

What you eat (especially at lunch time) can help you avoid the afternoon tiredness.  Once I started cutting out high carb lunches, and/or sugary things right after my lunches, I noticed a huge change in my energy levels.

What exactly did I do?  I substituted bread heavy sandwiches (i.e. baguettes, baps, rolls) with whole grain sliced bread sandwiches.  Or I substituted any type of sandwich with a salad.  I also made sure I was getting wholesome vegetables in my meal.  Just to clarify, this doesn’t include iceberg lettuce and a couple of slices of cucumber.  I’m talking about hearty vegetables, like spinach, rocket, or other nutrient packed leafy greens.  Broccoli, green beans, carrots, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, and sweet potato are good options (and there are plenty of others.)  You can steam some of these to have as a side dish with your salad/sandwich, or you can just have them raw, either on your salad or on the side.

One other thing I did was to make sure I was getting some healthy fats.  This includes putting some good quality olive oil on my salad, having some avocado, or adding seeds/nuts to my meal.  These all provide the “good” fats to your meal and help you stay full for longer.

Finally, I made sure to have some lean protein.  If you’re a meat eater, this can be turkey, chicken, or fish.  If you’re a vegetarian, this can be low-fat cheeses or tofu.  Just like fats, protein also helps you stay full longer.

Sweet Tooth

Now, regarding what I said about not having sweets, candy, cookies, etc right after eating, here is what I found.  If I really needed to have something sugary, I waited until a couple of hours after I had my lunch before I indulged.   By doing this, I was giving my lunch a chance to digest a bit and my blood sugar levels a chance to stabilize before feeding sugar into my body.

Now, I have to just say a quick piece here about sweets.  If you’re trying to follow a healthy eating plan to lose weight, just be a healthy person, or for any other reason, sugary things should not be a big part of your daily diet.  This includes sugary drinks…even fruit juice.

Blood Sugar Levels

Why does eating high carb (especially low quality carb) and sugary things make you tired?  The short answer to this is that these things all hit the blood stream really quickly and heavily, causing the blood sugar levels to increase rapidly.  This makes the body give out insulin to help control the blood sugar levels.  Because the blood sugar levels were sent so high, the amount of insulin given out is more than what is necessary to control it, and therefore, it brings the blood sugar levels down to an even lower level than they were at before you ate anything.

Where does that leave you?  Tired.  And probably wanting more food and/or caffeine to compensate for that.

This is not a healthy cycle to put your body through on a daily basis.

In Summary

The things I’ve talked about in this article should actually apply to all of your meals.  If you follow these principles, you will have more energy, feel happier, be healthier, and lose weight.  Even if you’re happy with your current weight, if you’re not eating like this now and you change your habits to follow these principles, you’ll probably lose a few pounds.

To your health,

Kimberly

We are well into the first week of 2010.  On my first day back at work I heard so many people (mostly women) talking about “being good” in the new year.  They were referring to their eating habits, in case it wasn’t obvious

I have to admit after my overly indulgent Christmas celebrations, I feel the same.  I think it is natural though, simply because you probably have been going to more social activities, getting less sleep, possibly stressing about buying presents or about travel plans, etc.  All of these things invite more lenient or excessive eating habits and more drinking.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with this – it is a really fun time of year for many people.  I certainly enjoyed it!  But, it can leave you feeling sluggish and unmotivated.

So, what is your New Year’s Resolution?  If it has to do with diet, nutrition, fitness, or just general health, you are certainly not alone.

I have made a commitment to get back into a more regular fitness program…despite the freezing weather.  I did a 10k back in October and then haven’t done much since then.  I mean I’ve done a bit of running, a few weight sessions, and had some gym time, but nothing very consistent.  Now is the time to get back into it.

If your resolution is not fitness or health related, that’s fine too.  There are lots of things that are good to commit to in the new year.  Whatever it is, stick with it!  Don’t be a statistic – one of the people who keeps their resolution for 2 or 3 weeks and then gives up.

And I would love to hear your resolutions if you’re willing to share!

To your health,

Kimberly