Maybe I’ve missed something somewhere but have to admit to being a bit mystified by the news item highlighting a report which suggests that daily calorie counts may be underestimated (2,000 women 2,500 men).  Nooooooooo – that explains then why we’re all so thin ???

The draft report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition says that the recommended daily intake could be upped by 16% and provides a much more accurate assessment of how energy can be burnt off through physical activity.
Now, to be fair, it is reported that the panel stresses that people should only eat more if they exercise more, given rising levels of obesity. You don’t say…………..

To be fair, there’s probably something in the way this is reported and the BBC article  didn’t provide a link to the actual report. 
If you’re really keen you can read the full report here.

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There is an interesting article in Time magazine (read full article here) entitled “Why exercise won’t make you thin”. This is certainly a “hot” topic and ongoing issue for many runners, judging by the forum threads on Runners World. A common theme for many is that they train, run marathons etc and don’t lose weight. Been there – done that – bought the t-shirt!

We are served up so many conflicting “research” findings these days with regards to healthy eating and exercise that there comes a stage where we nearly switch off from these messages as we go into information overload. It can all seem so complicated and sometimes we can’t see the wood for the trees.

You could read this article and take various messages from it. If you want an excuse to stop exercising then you could maybe find it here. 

The question is – why do we exercise – what do we want to get out of it – is it simply a means to an end?

My brain is becoming so numbed by so many conflicting “health” messages that I need to simplify it down for myself or I’m in danger of going mad! For me the bottom line is still – moderation – cutting out food types completely, banning certain foods only leads to unhealthy obsessions. BUT if you eat more than you need you will not lose weight.  It’s as simple as that. And we need to move more as I think we often grossly over estimate how much movement we do in a day and how many calories we actually burn. Also using food as a reward is always a dangerous and slippery slope.

For me running is about so much more than weight loss (and a good job too!).  Running is about freedom, empowerment, relaxation, de-stressing, challenges, pushing limits, exploring new places…..

And yes I still want to lose weight – to do that I think I need to take my own simple advice – move more and eat less.

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An article in the New Scientist (15 July 2009) “The Calorie Delusion: Why Food Labels are Wrong” says that according to a small band of researchers, using the information on food labels to estimate calorie intake could be a very bad idea. They argue that calorie estimates on food labels are based on flawed and outdated science, and provide misleading information on how much energy your body will actually get from a food. Some food labels may over or underestimate this figure by as much as 25 per cent, enough to foil any diet, and over time even lead to obesity.

The problem appears to be based on the method used to calculate calories – burning small samples of food in controlled conditions and measuring the amount of energy released in the form of heat – whereas our bodies don’t incinerate food, they digest it and digestion – from chewing food to moving it through the gut and chemically breaking it down along the way – takes a different amount of energy for different foods.

Read the full article in the New Scientist

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I was just sorting through some old issues of Runners World magazine and came across this article in the “Mind + Body” section of the March 2007 issue.

Entitled “Hanging Tough – having a long hard think can help you through a long hard run”, it grabbed my attention in light of my near-exit from the Lochaber marathon a week previously.

I still feel sick in the pit of my stomach thinking about how I would have felt afterwards if I had given up. And realising that I’m not as tough as I should be and just how important mental toughness is in keeping going.

As John Shepherd says in the article ” Whatever distance you run, the tougher your mind, the better your performance.” The article continues “Mental toughness is not a standalone quality though. It comes from being physically fit, confident and motivated. It’s not just about overcoming pain.”

The good news is that you can train yourself to be mentally tough although, as the article points out, the bad news is that the best way to learn mental toughness is through tough experiences.

• train well
• train hard (sometimes)
• train for yourself – intrinsic rewards rather than extrinsic benefits
• talk to yourself – at the hardest part of the run
• find help if you need it

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As runners we know how important it is to keep hydrated both during and after exercise. I bring my bottle to work and fill it, and refill it, from my office’s water cooler on a daily basis. I may be filling it up at home from my kitchen tap from now on after reading this article on the BBC Health site “Health warning over water coolers“

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“Low-fat, low-carb or high-protein? The kind of diet doesn’t matter, scientists say. All that really counts is cutting calories and sticking with it”

“Limiting the calories you consume and burning off more calories with exercise is key..” 

It’s what we already know but still interesting article on research from the Harvard School of Public Health Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Read the article here

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I keep coming across articles at the moment about sleep and how important it is and how a lack of it can be detrimental to both health and training. Here are a few of the more interesting bits I have come across.

• Sleep, sport and health
• Sleep deprivation can hinder sports performance
• Exercise and sleep
• Exercise prevents cancer only with sleep

I struggle to sleep solidly for 7 or 8 hours, often waking at least once during the night, so I’m not convinced that the hours that I do sleep are good quality sleep. One of my new strategies just now is to try to cut down on the amount of time I spend on the computer in the evenings especially just before bed as I think often the problem is that my mind is still working overtime and not shutting down when I go to bed.  I was therefore very interested to come across this bit of research today on computer use before sleep.

• Bedtime computer use stops sleep

Finally, at the end of the article on Sleep, Sport and Health there were some useful tips on improving your sleep patterns

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Bananas are soooo good for you. I am now so convinced, having recently read an article detailing all the benefits, that I am trying to eat one every day. I haven’t always been fussed on them, especially if they’re very ripe, but I am now a convert.

bananas

FYI here are just some of the benefits: Read More…

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