The Optimise Health Blog

 Here in the UK many still practise the Christian tradition of Lent: the discipline of giving something up to consider living simply, frequently a food item and for health benefit. The idea is to mimic the 40 day fast undertaken by Jesus in the wilderness, when he was tested by the devil and tempted to prove he was ready to start his mission. In England we start by making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday - to use up the sweet stuff in the larder so we are not tempted to eat it again for the duration of lent and to fuel the fast. Today the focus may be more about the challenge of reining in appetite or curbing bad habits like smoking or eating treats to excess and less about Christs' 40 days and nights in the desert being stalked by satan. Interestingly most ancient traditions held in them the concept of feasts: I.E. celebrating a particular event or time of year with a party and food. This meant eating special luxuries or taking pleasure in rarer foods or harvest time...

How did you get to the weight you are now? We all have a back story. My story? I used to be active at school; I was short and "stocky" and had a taste for sweets. As a child I had taken steroid tablets for asthma which tended to delay growth and cause weight gain through appetite - but maybe I was just small and greedy. I was the second shortest guy in the class at 14. I was a good sprinter on the rugby field and rarely fell over as I was so close to the ground. Then I grew, I stretched out and became a skinny 6 ft 11 stone bean pole - my sisters teased me for being a "L" shape as I had big feet and wore DM boots to complete the picture. I liked rock climbing and began to get into cycling mainly to get around. Outdoors exercise became a touchstone. When I went to university I joined the territorial army and spent weekends running around with with my weapon, heavy webbing full of ammo and a back pack full of 15 Kg of kit - I began to "Fill out...

What ingredients are used to make beer? Water, hops and sugar. Alcohol as a chemical is closely related to sugar, so its no surprise that alcohol contains alot of energy in the form of carbohydrates. Alcohol also stimulates hunger so guess what - after a few beers we all need a large kebab! Alcohol is processed through the liver which is the main processing plant in the body for sugar and other vitamins and dietary breakdown products. If you are drinking alot you will usually gain weight and slow down the of other vital processes; when the liver gets damaged through excess alcohol or sugar it lays down fat. The recommended units per week for a man are 21. This means around 10-11 pints of medium strength beer, 21 shots of spirits, or about 2 bottles of wine - but hopefully spread over the week and not all at once! Take a look at your alcohol intake - if you are exercising you will find more stamina if you reduce alcohol. Generally you will lose weight faster if you reduce ...