Not so Great
Hi and welcome to another weekly instalment of what’s on my plate, health and nutrition updates and some positive smile-provoking experiences.
What’s New
…Before I get started, I just want to explain I’m a few weeks behind on reporting progress, because it took ages to get my mind around the blog IT stuff. So, there will be a couple of weeks where I provide two updates, because I want to get caught up for the seasonal Winter festivities…
Weight, BMI and Fat Results
… Anyway, let’s review what happened in Week 2. Disappointingly, my weight/BMI didn’t change at all. But, on the positive side, my fat reduced by 0.8%. So, it’s not bad, but I still want to analyse what happened and how I can improve:
Food and Nutrition
So, let’s have a look at what food was on my plate, the healthy and not so healthy choices and identify any tweaks I could make to improve my nutrition…
Cold Virus Appetite:
I think an important factor for me is that I’m continuing to fight off a cold virus. I just feel a bit run-down and tired, but also very hungry! Consequently, my food portions are larger than usual, as I don’t like feeling hungry:
Social Eating and Drinking:
Additionally, the social eating and drinking probably affected my results. Mid-week, I met friends for lunch and didn’t fancy anything on the menu, so I had a bowl of fried chunky chips (typical cold comfort food!). Friday night I ate out, choosing a high-fat option again – nachos with pumpkin, black beans, pumpkin seeds, soured cream, cashew cheese, salsa and guacamole. I don’t particularly regret the nacho incident, as it tasted amazing and at least it had some beans and veg with it:
Other Meals:
It turns out I had a bit of a Mexican-food themed week. I had fajitas for dinner three times! – Twice with a veg assortment and the other, soya-based ‘smoky BBQ ribz’. It wasn’t all Mexican though – lunches were either salad or scrambled tofu with wholegrain pitta bread. Dinners twice included puy lentil ‘shepherd’s pie’ with steamed broccoli, cauliflower and pan-fried courgette. (Annoyingly I forgot to take photos this week!):
Alcohol and Snacks:
I regret the bottle of cider I drank when I dined out on Friday, containing over 200 calories[1]. Later, after several vodkas, I snacked on crisps and chocolate in the early hours of the morning. Subsequently, Saturday became a comfort food-duvet day.
Exercise
I’d usually go to circuit training 1-2 times a week, but I didn’t. Instead, I used my exercise bike most days while watching TV or catching up on health documentaries. I reckon this might have largely saved me from weight gain and reduced my fat percentage:
Summary
It’s clearly been a bit of an off-week and I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t do better. I think feeling ‘under-the-weather’ didn’t help and I’m hoping this cold doesn’t get me eventually. Here’s hoping next week will be more successful…
References
1. Drinkaware, 2019. Units and calories in cider [online]. Available from: www.drinkaware.co.uk/alcohol-facts/alcoholic-drinks-units/cider/.
2. BBC One, 2019. The truth about… healthy eating [online]. Available from: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dxmyk.
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