22.

Pub Grub: Yes or No

Everyone loves to eat out, to indulge themselves on something delicious.
But some pubs have been claiming that they’re changing, that they’re healthy and suitable for any diet.

I am not one to believe this.
To me, pub food is and will always be stodgy, and something to eat when you need cheering up.

There are always ways to make your meal healthier when you’re eating out; some are listed below thanks to NHS Change4Life:

•         Try swapping fried rice for steamed rice, or fried noodles for boiled noodles. You could take this one step further and go for steamed dished on the menu containing vegetables, chicken or fish.
•         Dishes made of tomato or vegetable sauces usually contain less fat than ones with creamy sauces. Try swapping your usual curry for a madras or tandoori dish when you’re eating out.
•         When you’re having pizza, swap your usual cheese stuffed crust with a thin, crispy crust instead and choose lower fat toppings such as chicken, prawns and vegetables.
•         When picking a starter, change your usual fried starter like prawn toasts for something like soup. Soup will contain less fat and will fill you up, which means you’re less likely to eat your entire main course.
•         If you usually have an alcoholic drink with your meal, choose the smaller size! This way you will most likely drink less, which means less calories, and you might save a few pennies too.
•         If you’re eating out, some restaurants offer free refills of fizzy drinks with your meal. This makes it easier for you and your children to consume more calories and more grams of sugar. Try asking for a jug of water on the table instead of refills, this is free too!
•         You don’t always have to miss out on your favourite take-aways. When you really are craving good grub, swap for the ‘low fat’ option.

To explore the Pub world further I spoke to Simon Pick, the owner of the pub, The Plough, Littlethorpe.  I asked him all about his food and the health industry, our conversation goes as follows:

“Do you think that your food is healthy?”
Simon replied: “I think it is. You can always improve things, but we always try and get things like sour cream, all of our dips, low fat.
“I don’t think that when people come here for a meal they generally think about the health aspects of the food, they just want to come out and stodge."

I asked: “Has anything changed in the industry recently?”
He said: “The industry has become a lot tougher, and no one makes as much money as they would do, it is very competitive.
“Everyone has to have an angle to get customers in, our angle is that everything is home cooked, we don’t buy any of our meals in, this means that we can get away with charging slightly more for our meals.

“There has also been a legislation change in allergens. On our menu’s we now have to state that if you do have an allergy, you can ask and we will tell you whether our food contains it.
“We don’t all have to know what every meal contains but we must be able to find out. That is the only thing that has changed massively, the most prominent thing.”

I also asked: “I know that schools have had to be governed, they have had to change salt content and include vegetables in every meal. Has anything like that changed in the pubs?”

Simon replied: “We are not governed like in schools. However, we do get customers asking to put no salt on their chips. Because everything is homemade, we can change how much salt is in our cooking.

“Because every batch of our food is different, the pies for example, one may have a little bit more salt in than another. So a customer may come in one time, have a pie, and say it has too much salt in, and then come in another and say it is perfect.
“Salt content is something that we are very much aware of and we can also advise about.”

My last question was: “Is the food market in pubs really competitive around here?”
Simon said: “Around here, it is very competitive. Every pub or eatery has a different angle. Ours is that all of our food is homemade.
“The Narborough Arms is cheap and cheerful; you get what you pay for. The Dovecote is higher end than other pubs in this area, and is more of a dining experience and they do charge a little more than the rest of us. And finally the last one is Spice 45 and that’s completely different as it is a curry house.

“We have recently had to put our prices up because of the competition around the area. This is the first time we have had to do it in 18 months.”

If you do want to go out for healthy food, there are healthier options that you can pick. However, if you are on a health kick, then steer clear of the pubs. Yes, go out and enjoy yourself as much as you can, however, if you do want to tone your body and lose some weight, the pub is not the way to go.

http://www.nhs.uk/change4life

10.

6.12"

Getting my time down today has given me an amazing push. I ran alot further 6.15KM and I still managed to get my time down, as I ran it in 38:10 Minutes which I am very proud of.

Yes, my boyfriend did let me down and said that he didn't want to run with me today and so I went on my own as usual.

Unusually warm today I went out in shorts which was a massive step for me, yes I might go clubbing in town in a little mini dress, but there I don't stand out. But running in shorts, everyone stares at my legs while I run, feeling self conscious I went anyway.

While people stared at first I thought: "Why did I do this to myself, why did I put myself out there, with flabby legs and scattering hair?"

But then I thought: "I have to do this sometime, and its a good way to get my confidence up. 

YOU CAN STARE ALL YOU WANT BUT ARE YOU DOING EXERCISE?"

I'm feeling a lot better in myself today and therefore have eaten more than yesterday, but still being healthy. 

But if I burnt 400 calories running, surly I can treat myself later? 

9.

4.83KM

After a very boring five hour shift this morning, I decided to cheer myself up by going on a run in the summer sun!
I ran 4.83KM, on my usual route I did it in 30:40 Minutes which is reasonably good since I didn't stop once on the way around, however, it was no personal best for me. I NEED TO IMPROVE, and fast!
Running 6:18 Minutes per KM isn't bad but I would like it to be better.
Tomorrow I will be running with my boyfriend, now, he has never ran before and therefore it won't be a personal best either.
On Friday it will be a rest day and therefore I wont be doing anything, which I am glad about.
On Saturday I will be running with my mum again and it still won't be a personal best.
On Monday, it will be the start of my new running plan. Not long distance but short - Under 5KM, but with a shorter time per KM. 

Running today made me feel amazing, free and almost liberated and therefore I feel very refreshed and positive about myself.
However eating only, cheerios at 6.30AM this morning, a breakfast bar at 2.00PM and two ryvita's at around 4.00PM I know that this is not enough but I am afraid to eat anymore for feeling bloated and fat.
My mind will never be the same after being diagnosed with anorexia however hopefully I will get better, and hopefully soon, because I am feeling the same as before.
Hopefully I don't go back down that road.

8.

Leader of the pack

Going running with the whole 'crew' doing the race for life: Mum, Kirstin (My sister) and Suzanne, I was the designated leader and therefore I had to run back and forward giving everyone pointers and telling them what they were doing wrong.

Although we only ran 4.5k it was a whole new workout in itself.

Half way through Kirstin got cramps in her calves, this is when we realized that she runs like Phoebe (If anyone has seen this episode of friends it was hilarious), or like a puppet. 

In addition to this, my mums knee restraint stopped her circulation. So, I was the one who had to run home with it in my hand just waving about.

However Suzanne who is the oldest of all of us, surprised me, she has a lot of stamina and rarely had to stop. 

I have belief in all of us, however this could be a long journey to help them all run 5k without stopping.

Food-wise, after giving up crisps for lent, I have had a MASSIVE blow-out. Bank holiday monday I ate at least four packets of crisps. So today I was on a low again and therefore my diet has started again. I have positive thoughts and hopefully I can do this now. 

This is very helpful, I recommend to anyone.

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/

7.

Lets get serious

No one is a fitness freak, no. 

Someone may make it a habit to run, to stay healthy or lean, but nobody is that obsessed about something.

After this side of the week, not eating well, I feel bad about myself and yes, this makes me want to run, as far and as long as I can. 

So that's what I'll probably do, tomorrow when I'm back on it I will get lost in my exercise and fitness because of how I feel, because that's how my mind works.

I went into Leicester town last night, yes I was drinking and yes, I do know how many calories are in alcohol, but sometimes, you need to let your hair down! However, after the state that my friends were in, I have no intention of going again soon. 

So it's time to start my serious training for the Race For Life. 

Running 4 times a week, and lean meat and vegetables only, this time I will stick to it, no one will stop me this time!

I'm so excited to start training,

BRING IT ON!

6.

Couch Potato

Exercising is all well and good, but when you train, you ache, and therefore you need a rest day.

So mine was today.

Joined by my very good friend Turaya Jones, we sat all day, under a blanket and watched awful daytime TV.

Drinking green tea (Obviously) and Camille (which is my new favourite) we put our aching legs up for the day and laughed at Vines, scrolled through Facebook and Tweeted to our hearts content.

In my opinion it is VERY important to have a rest day, not only your mind needs to rest but your muscles too. Your muscles need time to repair and in the process they will get stronger and as a result you'll be able to go even further.

Tomorrow, while I'm running, I will be judging whether this is actually the truth and I will write it in my next blog. 

In addition to an exercise rest, I've had a diet rest. 

Whilst drinking buckets of tea, we ate sushi and Thorntons chocolate whilst lounging on the sofa.

Today was a good day, but I'm hoping training tomorrow will be even better!

Bring on tomorrow!

5.

31MPH

While the wind was blowing 31MPH this morning I still ran.

Although I was being blown around the little streets of Enderby,feeling that I was indoor sky diving, it still felt amazing to run. 

3.77km in 20 minutes, I didn't think that was too bad. 

Yesterday wasn't a good day for me, after an unsuccessful doctors appointment I went downhill in myself. Whilst being swallowed up in my own emotions I didn't want to be around anyone and therefore I distanced myself from my family and stayed in my room all night.

Feeling slightly better today after some retail therapy though!

£50 isn't bad for 4 items I guess.

I'm bored of doing the same thing day in, day out. I run, I blog, I sit. 

I want to try new things, I want to freshen up my life, yeah, going up into town at night is all well and good but what should I do in the daytime?

Any Suggestions?

2.

Saturday Drizzle

Although I did go to Frankie and Benny's for a full English breakfast (Which I fully deserved.) I did go on a run. 

I am running the race for life with my mum and sister for my Grandma, who unfortunately I never got to meet and I regret that.

However, we are doing something for her now.

So I'm having to train my mum and although she is slimmer than usual she has no fitness at all. We ran 4km all together in 28 minutes which is not bad for her fitness level.

But whilst I was running with her and was thinking: "What have I let myself in for?" I then thought:

"It doesn't matter how fast you go it matters that you GO!"

I do love my mum and I know for a fact that she can do this race for life. 

Now I just have to live with the regret of having a full English breakfast while I'm at work. 

So lets GO!

1.

Everyone has body issues.

Well, I may just be talking to myself here but I want to share my thoughts and feelings while trying to get lean and fit to run the race for life. If all goes well here then I will be running marathons for all sorts of charities. But, lets just take it one step at a time.

I have suffered with Anorexia, Bulimia, and Depression. I think this is due to the fact that every day I see girls the same age as me, skinny, fit and happy with their body. 
Don't get me wrong I know a lot of women do not like their bodies or the way they see themselves when they look in the mirror, and therefore I want to change that.

I will train everyday and report back to say how it went, and if there was any progress.
This is not a blog for an audience, this blog is to help me get through my own body issues, and if it helps others along the way then that's great!
So, here's to getting started.