How hard is it to be healthy?

In a society that lives on media, surrounded by a wealth of information, you would think that being healthy is the easiest thing ever right? Fancy eating something different? google it. Fancy a new work out? google it. Want inspiration? Google it or buy a fitness magazine. Heck their is Instagram, facebook, twitter and numerous other sites you can visit for information.

But what happens when you scratch beneath the surface? When instead of inspiration or something new, you want facts and solid, reliable information? Well, so far my answer is. Confusion.

Since the beginning of the year i have been trying to get healthy, to be in the best shape possible. So far I have learnt this means eating the same boring food over and over again. Getting so bored you fall off the wagon and eat your way through a large bag of crisps, several cakes and innumerable chocolate bars. Not exactly conducive to the task of becoming the best possible version of me.

So I started reading around 'macros', how much protein, carbs and fat i need to consume on a daily basis. How to calculate this. When to eat. You name it. And frankly, every single website I go to tells me something different. Some say you have to be completely organic, others say the answer relies on taking supplements with every meal. The problem here is the overwhelming amount of information. But not only is there 'too much' but we the readers, actually don't know how reliable the websites are.

So I went back to meal hunting, and realised basically i need to live off salads all year round to lose weight. Anything that sounds nice and different has ingredients that are either impossible to get hold of, or cost a blinking fortune (on a student budget here, my favourite shops are lidl and wilko).

So i want to be healthy, but what is healthy? Surely eating right is only one part of it (though i realise a big part of it) i exercise a lot and am not seeing many changes. So what makes us healthy? A BMI of 18.5-25? A waist to hip ratio of 0.8 or less? These things are taken as gosiple. But the latest research tells us this may not be so. And perhaps rightly. I'm sure we all know a person that is pretty muscluar, but by conventional measurments would be classes over weight. I have a friend who is a personal trainer, he is quite the specimen of fitness. With a BMI very close to 25 he is techinically 'healthy' yet the doctor (without really noting how he looks or his job) has told him to lose 11kg. Erm yeah, do-able if we chop of a leg...

All this information overload has left me questioning what it actually is to be healthy. How easy it is in a modern day to be the healthy individual? I'm finding it very hard. The information is conflicting and overwhelming. All this superfood non-sense. Just tell me, healthy or not? Sadly until I figure this all out, I think my goal of losing weight and being the healty, toned individaul i want will stay off piste.

Martial Arts Mania!

It has been a fantastic week at the University of Nottingham!! Not only has my lab work gone well (makes a change for sure!) but it has also been Martial Arts Week!!

Held annaully in February, it is a week where anyone in the university can come and try any of the martial arts the university has to offer for FREE. No memberships are required. Just rock up and give it a go!

The University of Nottingham has a good choice of martial arts:

• JKD
• Wing Chun kung Fu
• Judo
• Jiu jitsu
• Taekwondo
• Thai Boxing
• Boxing
• Karate
• Aikido
• Capoeiro 
• BJJ 
• MMA

I have been studying Judo for 5 years now and I think it is a good sport for learning discipline, focus and is is a great way to blow off steam. More info about Clubs in the UK can be found here British Judo.

I have in the past also tried BJJ.  But ever eager to try new things, I went along to a few sessions to find out what they were about.

Wing Chun, Karate and Thai Boxing were my top three to try. Wing Chun Kung Fu was great!! Lots of movement, it is a martial art that really gets your movements flowing. Punching and blocking punches were the tastes of the session. I felt as a 1 hour introduction it was really great and the atmosphere was buzzing.

Karate was a full taster session. Lots of form drills and learning to punch in a manner similar to Wing Chun. A bit of basic sparing was taught. I also learnt that karate does do some ground work, which got me quite excited. Wasn't aware of that!! Again a really fun bunch of people.

Thai boxing turned out to the most popular of the taster sesssions! The room was so packed that accidently knocking people was inevitable! Three or four people to one set of pads. The atmosphere was serisouly electric. Rumour has it they have mental fitness sessions!

All the session were fun, welcoming and interesting. I firmly believe their is a martial art for everyone.

To end the week, all martial arts were invited to go and play laser tag!! Brilliant!! What better way to spend the weekend and shows what a fabulous social atmosphere our clubs all have.

On a judo note, this weekend was also the paris grandslam in Judo, which i got to watch plenty of. Nice to see team GB bring home two bronze medals!! Nice one guys!

Training all out

Meh, last week was far from great. I ate too much cake (very tasty though) and only trained four times, but three days on from a PT session led leg day and i still can't walk normally. 

For a change I have not stood on the scales nor took any measurements. I did something worse. I tried on every item of clothing in my wardrobe. Yeah. Not much fits. It was a very depressing experience. 

That being said, it has made be determined to up the ante this week and train like a beast. Whilst the PT is away I have no-one to hold me back from over-training. (Worry not, I still plan to have at least one rest day. Got to love Sundays)

So to up the beast mode, I have designed a meal plan, with much reduced gluten, dairy and processed sugar. And before you think I'm doing this ALL for weight loss, i suffer badly with IBS and I don't know the cause, so I'm trying to see if reducing gluten and dairy intake helps me a bit. Obviously processed sugar is pretty bad, so yeah, that is a fat loss thing ;) 

Below is a copy of everything i plan to eat and train, oh and at uni, this week is Martial Arts Week, so I plan on trying lots of new martial arts, but still make time for at least one Judo session.

Nb. my week starts on a Saturday because that is when i food shop, but clearly the fun begins tomorrow...MONDAY is ALWAYS the day to take on a challenge. 

See what you guys think, any suggestions are welcome as are requests for any recipes for above.

What do you think? Over-training or manageable??

Beast mode is enabled!!!

Bipolar depression. Beyond the sufferer.

What do you think of when you hear the words bi-polar depression? Crazy person? A person so miserable they can't get out of bed? Someone who doesn't care about how they dress or look. 

Bipolar depression is a medical disorder where the sufferer has periods of extreme depression followed by periods of mania. 

You think the person's mood goes in waves of 'highs' and 'lows'. This is an over simplification of the issue. 

My mother is bipolar, has been since my teenage years. I've seen her during her 'highs'. Frankly it is worryingly impressive. Her energy is incredible, she can have the house cleans in a trice. She zooms around like she runs on energizer batteries. So why do I worry? Well, i cannot tell you the number of times i've stopped her walking out in front of cars. In her mind, she can stop them, in her mind, she is going to cross the road and NOTHING will stop her. 

But this isn't a wave we ride with frequency. More often than not we see her stuck at the bottom of a very black hole. She spends 14 hours a day in bed, she lives by routine, household chores are too much energy, even eating a meal is too difficult. She'd rather go out and have it made for her. 

Now I have the greatest sympathy with anyone suffering with mental health. I've seen it and their is a lot of help out there. So before i go further, i want to say if you, or anyone you know is suffering depression. You are not alone and their really are people/places you can turn to for help. I write from the UK as such i can say they best people to talk too are your GP, use the NHS, use the charity MIND. 

However, i write this post, not as someone who suffers, not as someone you knows what this illness is like. But as someone who has seen it in a loved one, as someone who has been a carer. And let me tell you, Bipolar is bad enough the person afflicted, but it is truly awful for the family as well. Children become carers, partners suffer. Your partner is put up on, until they are drained and exhausted and suffering themselves. Your children may end up suffering from depression to an extent. They may experience friends turning their backs on them, because they can't understand, they can't deal. 

Depression is still a poorly understood illness. The toll is paid not only by the person that suffers, but by the family as well. Your life will never be normal is you are waiting, on tender hooks, constantly for the phone to ring to say they have put themselves in hospital again from self-harming.

Here is my message. If YOU are dealing with someone that suffers a mental health problem. You are not ALONE. And as hard as it is, be a little selfish and look after yourself, make sure you get help if you need it, make sure you have people that you can trust and talk to. Make sure that you are never so affected that you risk developing mental health problems yourself. That is a deep black hole that is hard to get out of. BELIEVE ME. Take up running, go to the gym, do something, do whatever it takes, to make sure you remain the person you are. 

Stay strong. 

Stay Healthy.

The misconceptions of PhD students

In the two years I have been studying for my doctorate, I have came across numerous misconceptions. It could just be a UK thing for all I know. But recently It has been thoroughly irritating me.

So here they are:

1. I will be a doctor at the end of the process (correct) - therefore i can be asked in passing about medical issues. This is  HUGE bugbear of mine. All doctors are not created equal. I will not be a medical doctor as I have not done a medical degree. I will be a doctor of science (rather generic no?). It seems that beyond academia people do not understand the difference. I am tired of explaining the difference and it is putting me off using my hard earned title (assuming I pass my viva)
2. I get 16+ weeks holiday a year - basically people think everyone at university, gets stupid long holidays. NOT true (though lord above, I wish it was). A PhD is a job. You get 25 days holiday a year. No more, no less. 
3. I have exams all the time - whilst this is true for some universities, it is not the case for me, I have one massive oral exam at the end. Please don't ask me about this, it is a source of much stress. 
4. I only do a few hours a day - again, this might be true for a few students. But most of use treat this like a job, a 40hr + a week job. Yes sure, I may leave work at 4pm. But I am at work for 7am. Some days i do stupid hours, for example, last Friday i did an 11 hour day. And I often work  extra hours at the weekend. 
5. Your supervisors know what you are doing - definitely not true, sometimes you get one that is completely clueless, so clueless it leaves you bemused as to why he is your supervisor. They often have no idea what it takes, experimentally, to get the work done. 
6. You can have no life - sadly this is a fight, most students will loose. I fight very hard for gym time (it keeps me sane) and a bit of judo time (well some social interactions is required) but general outings with friends do go by the by a bit. It is sad and takes a person far better than myself, with more energy to be perfectly social.
7. Experiments will always work the second time  - PAH! This is science. Sometimes it doesn't work, because for reasons beyond explanation, it bloody well doesn't want to
8. You supervisor is 'shit' on you occasssionally - it happens.  Sadly you just have to deal. Not really any different to having a boss. 
9. You are paid well - Utter rubbish. Whilst those of us on Stipends do get this tax free, it is well below the national average. In 2014 the National average wage was £26,500. Most PhD students get paid around £13-14, 000. Yeah. That's right. Peanuts. Most of us live hand to mouth, savings are a thing of dreams. And no, before you ask, it doesn't increase in line with a rise in minimum wage. For the whole of your PhD you will see ZERO change in your income. Oh and as soon as you submit, your stipend stops. So have that job ready, but remember, re-writes and corrections will then been done, unpaid, in your own time. 

So their we have it. 9 Points. All of which I have had to answer/deal with this week. Despite this. I do like my PhD and as hard, difficult, depressing as it can be. I will be grateful on the day i wear my cap and gown, that i have done this.

The angst of listening to others lose weight - week 2 and zero gains.

What a great week!! I've been to the gym four times in seven days, weight trained on each occasion and even gotten back into my spin classes. :) Hit a new PB on the squat rack of 60kg! I've eaten less processed sugar and more fruit and veg!! ALL GOOD. So why when i stand on the scales have i gained a pound?!

It is not fair. I listen to my friends in the staff room who have all started Slimming World or Weightwatchers whom in the first week have lost 5lbs each! 5lbs!!! I'm like, but you are only dieting?! I'm eating better and exercising and in week two I have gained the pound i lost in the first week!! WHAT THE DEUCE AM I DOING WRONG HERE?? I have literally lost nothing, not each an centimetre off my waist.

So i sit back and think. OK. Well my goal is bodybuilding, so maybe I've gained a pound of muscle. That can happen in a week right? I mean i have no idea, honestly, if that is even possible. i suspect that i would be delusional to think I can gain a pound of muscle mass in a week. I have loads of fat to lose so what is going on?

It has been a real knock to my confidence. I cannot lie, it took me a while to climb out of bed this morning and i experienced a lot of negative thoughts. I have finally plucked up the courage to take a picture of my body:

Plenty to be working with. I have came up with two options.

1. I'm not doing enough cardio to burn fat
2. I'm eating better, but eating to many carbs and calories in general

This is something for me to work on this week. Cardio I can do something about, indeed I have booked in for 3 Spin classes this week. In addition to weight training. I will attempt yet again to improve my diet. But with out the advice of a nutritionist I am not sure how much improvement i can make on my own, whilst their is a lot of information on the Internet, sometimes it is too much and too contradictory. And as a student, a nutritionist is out of my price range. Which leaves me to figure this out for myself.

But let me end this blog on a positive note. For their is positives to be taken from this week.

1. I am making an effort to improve my health
2. I 'feel' stronger - which i like
3. I have more energy
4. I have less spots - adult acne is a pain, and this week not one new spot (jinxed it now I'm sure)
5. I am happier - perhaps not in my body, but in my mind - and this is a big and important change.

I hope, you, my readers, are keeping to your resolutions. And having more success than myself. If you have any nutritional advice that is cool, i would totally appreciate it.

And remember. Not all changes occur on the outside. 

Week 1 - change has begun

What a week!! Anyone else body clock having issues resetting to stupidly early mornings?? 

This week has been all about finding my feet, ready for the big progess and changes ahead of me. I have cooked healthy meals, ate healthy snacks (this is super hard as i still have christmas chocolate in my house!) and started to figure out my exercise program. 

I have genuinely enjoyed cooking healthy this week, mostly becuase it has been easy and after the excess of christmas, a welcome change to my body. I've enjoyed quorn chicken stir fry, wholewheat spagetti bolognase and my favourite dish was chicken wrapped in bacon. This dish is healthy, tasty and worked out at less than 50p a portion for the meat!!! I was so impressed I am going to share the receipe:

• Packet of chicken thighs or breast
• Packet of bacon - cut the fat off
• 1 large orange - grate the rind and juice
• 1 large lemon - grate the rind and juice
• oregano
• chilli powder
• garlic
• parika

 Wrap each piece of chicken in one rasher of bacon. Mix the juice and rind of the lemon and orange with three crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp of parika, 2 tsp of chilli powder and 1/2 tsp of oregano. Pour over the chicken and bacon and marinade for at least an hour. Cook at fan 180 for 50 minutes or until juices run clear. Serve with brown rice and side salad. Absolutely delicious!!

I've been to the gym and let me tell you after three weeks of barely moving my butt, those classes were a killer. FTR circuits and abs core and flex on day and a bike class that left me wanting to vomit another. Of course my goal is to become ripped (well at least develop some muscles) so i've done weight training and also been to judo (again vomit worthy session). In order to really hit my goals this year, I headed to the gym to see my PT and talk throuhg what i wanted to do. He gave me three separate programmes to work specific areas of my body and then put my booty through its paces. 48 hrs later and descending stairs still presents a challenge. 

Change has began and progress is in motion. I hope you have all enjoyed  the first week of January and that your resolutions are on track. Tomorrow i'll put up my new stats (weight loss or gain?? what do you think?) and guys try the receipe!!