Words Of Wisdom... From Pinterest.

I've got a confession to make: I just discovered Pinterest. And it's dangerous. Seriously. I'm on holidays from work and yesterday I got lost in there for Two Whole Hours. I almost forgot to eat lunch. Anyway, in the hope that something productive might come of my 120 wasted minutes, I thought I'd share these little pearls of inspiration with you...

loseweight-safe.com

Of course, if you want to follow me on Pinterest, you can do so here. But sign up at your own risk.

The Best Video You Will Watch This Week.

This week I saw an interesting video. It's called Hungry For Change. It's not a diet like Atkins and it's not groundbreaking. It's good, honest information about food and nutrition. And it had me nodding along for the full hour and twenty minutes.



The best bit of advice I got from the film? When it comes to changing your diet, don't restrict – add. Add in the good stuff. Get your recommended serves of veggies, fruit and good fats. Eventually it will crowd out the bad stuff, because there simply won't be room for anything else.

Of course, there is heaps more to learn from this video and if you get the chance to sit down and watch, I really recommend it.

Food For Thought...

It's no secret – losing weight is hard. Keeping it off is harder. But is there a reason obese people struggle so hard to keep the kilos at bay? Could it be that their bodies are actually working against them? A very interesting piece in the New York Times looked into just that, and if you're interested in the topic, it's well worth a read...

While researchers have known for decades that the body undergoes various metabolic and hormonal changes while it’s losing weight, the Australian team detected something new. A full year after significant weight loss, these men and women remained in what could be described as a biologically altered state. Their still-plump bodies were acting as if they were starving and were working overtime to regain the pounds they lost. For instance, a gastric hormone called ghrelin, often dubbed the “hunger hormone,” was about 20 percent higher than at the start of the study. Another hormone associated with suppressing hunger, peptide YY, was also abnormally low. Levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger and increases metabolism, also remained lower than expected. A cocktail of other hormones associated with hunger and metabolism all remained significantly changed compared to pre-dieting levels. It was almost as if weight loss had put their bodies into a unique metabolic state, a sort of post-dieting syndrome that set them apart from people who hadn’t tried to lose weight in the first place.

That's not to say that overweight people can't slim down and stay that way. The results just indicate that it may be harder for them. While at 60kg, I can maintain my weight by eating a certain number of calories and doing a certain amount of exercise, someone who gets down to 60kg from an obese weight may find they have to eat less calories and workout for longer in order to maintain the same weight – because their bodies process food differently and respond to exercise differently.

It's preliminary research, but it could go some way to explaining just why it's so hard for obese people to lose weight and keep it off.

Simple Swaps.

This week, I stumbled across this fabulous link to 89 Simple Swaps That Could Change Your Life at The Greatist. So basic, so easy to implement. Check out the full list, but here are a few of my faves...

• Incline for flat treadmill. In a perfect, outdoor world, flat roads rarely exist. (Sorry, Midwestern readers!) Add some hills to that treadmill run by cranking up the incline and feel the muscle-building burn! 

• Foam rolling for static stretching. Need to get the knots out? Try using a foam roller instead of sitting and stretching to the toes. It’s almost like a personal massage. 

• Homemade post-workout snack for a protein bar. Bring a PB&J or another post-workout snack to the gym rather than buying a protein bar. We need some after-exercise fuel, but don’t get it in the form of excess sugar! 

• Greek yoghurt for sour cream. Sour cream can taste pretty good in a burrito. To get that same creamy coolness, add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to amp up the protein and slash the fat. 

• Frozen grapes for popsicles. It may sound a little weird, but hear us out. Stick a bunch of grapes in the freezer and snack on them a few hours later— it’s like eating bite-sized Popsicles with no added sugar! 

• Keeping the same bedtime for winging it. Setting a bedtime schedule may help us fall asleep faster, so pick a good time and try to stick to it!

Looking For A Reason To Get Fit?

This site has more than a few ideas. What's yours?

Reasons To Be Fit

Reasons To Be Fit

Reasons To Be Fit

Stay Positive. It's Friday.

Positive Notes

Has this been the longest working week in history or what?

It definitely calls for a vodka tonic and maybe a visit to this awesome little Tumblr I discovered called Positive Notes which is jam-packed full of – you guessed it – positive notes!

Just the right amount of cute and corny – I dare you not to feel a little inspired.

On The Couch: Oh, Lordy!

While we wait for a small eternity for channel seven to bring back Downton Abbey (seriously, enough – just show it already!) I've been avoiding spoilers like the plague. But it's been quite a chore given just how freaking excited I am about the new season. So excited, in fact, I did a personality test to find out which Downton character I am. Try it, it's surprisingly fun.

I'm Lord Grantham by way.

 

 

If You Missed Giaan Rooney In Sunday Life...

Sunday Life

 

Do yourself a favour and read her piece here. It's a funny and interesting account of how she had to re-think her entire diet when she retired from swimming – and how it changed the way she looked at her body. Here are the highlights...

Going on a diet... "Everyone says to me now, 'It must be so nice not to be on a diet.' And I'd think, 'Are you kidding? It's the first time in my life I've had to watch what I eat.' Back then, when you are doing six or seven hours of exercise a day, six days a week, you can eat whatever you want, as much as you want. There were no holds barred because everything was fuel and you burn it off so quickly."

Finding out she was gluten intolerant... "While I was swimming, my diet was all about carbs – pasta, bread, potatoes, rice – things that functioned well as fuel. I only discovered after I retired that I am gluten intolerant. Nowadays, if I eat too much pasta or bread, I can look like I'm three or four months pregnant. I didn't realise it at the time, because the exercise managed to balance it out somehow."

Letting go of the competitive instinct... "I had no idea how to exercise for health – I only knew how to train towards a goal. I loved Pilates, so I started turning up to class five days a week until my instructor finally pulled me aside and said, 'Giaan, there's no Pilates at the Olympics, so just chill out. You only need to be here twice a week.'"

Seeing her body in a new light... "I was lucky to have walked out of swimming and straight into a job with Channel Nine. But for the first time, I also became aware of how physically different I was compared to everyone around me. Having come from a career where it was all about what your body can do and not what it looks like, I've always had a healthy body image. All of a sudden, in a television environment, I no longer had that clear-cut relationship."

There's Little Glamour In Running.

Sacha Goldberger @ My Modern Metropolis

But there is a real brutal honesty, as these intriguing pictures show. Last year, photographer Sacha Goldberger stopped joggers at a park near Paris and took their picture. A week later, he invited them back to his studio and snapped them again in their regular daywear. The results are surprising...

What If You Had To Stop Doing That Thing That Makes You You?

Last week I had an ache in my right foot. It was painful to walk, even more painful to run. Luckily, after a few (of seemingly very long) days, it subsided – but it did get me thinking: What would I do if I couldn't train? And then almost like someone upstairs was reading my mind, this story popped up on Elle about a runner who was forced to stop due to injury. And while it's a story about running, it's also a really honest, thought-provoking account of what happens when you have to stop doing something you really love.

Duff's Got The Stuff.

Daily Mail

Back in 2003, I kissed goodbye any chance I had of ever being considered truly cool when I purchased Hilary Duff's first post-Lizzie McGuire album Metamorphosis – and then proceeded to sing So Yesterday to anyone who would listen.

But regardless, I've always been a big fan of the Duffster. And not just because the lyrics to her songs are so deeply felt out (I mean, "Why not take a crazy chance, Why not do a crazy dance"...) Also because, after admitting she struggled with an eating disorder, Hils has got her health back on track with a very balanced attitude to life – and boy does it show! The former teen queen has been flaunting her revamped beach bod Italy this week and it looks like those gym sessions have been paying off – she looks trim, toned, but not too thin. How refreshing.

And even more refreshing, Hilary admits that, like everyone, "I go through stages where I feel super motivated and want to work out every day, and then I won't work out for two or three weeks and I'll feel like s***. Then it's time to hop back on the wagon again."

Gotta love her. So rich. So famous. Yet somehow, so goddamn normal.

How Do You Measure Up?

 

You might jump on the scales every morning, fingers crossed behind your back for an acceptable number, but do you know how you measure up in terms of your waist circumfrence? Do you know how much your body burns every day just getting around (because, yes, breathing and walking to the fax machine all burns kilojules)? If you don't, check out these nifty calculators. 

 

They're very useful figures to know if you're serious about weight-loss. Your BMI might not always be the most accurate indicator of good health – it doesn't know how much of you is fat and how much is muscle – but, as Shakira would say, your hips don't lie.

On The Couch: Mad Men Yourself.

I'm a bit addicted to Mad Men at the moment. And by "a bit" I mean I've worked my way through three full seasons in about as many weeks. So when I saw that you could Mad Men Yourself, I was there in a jiffy. And this is me in all my '60s cigarette-smoking glory. Wanna imagine yourself with Don Draper (and who wouldn't)? Do it here.

Girl Crush: Christina Hendricks

Daily Mail

Because I will use just about any excuse to post pics of Christina Hendricks, I couldn't resist sharing this little quote from the divine Mad Men actress about her body confidence.

"If there’s anything to be learned from me it’s that I’m learning to celebrate what I was born with, even though it’s sometimes been inconvenient. Having larger breasts has made it harder for me to shop throughout the years, but I’ve learnt to love it."

It's hard to believe that she could ever not love that figure, which threw even the size-zero fashion world into a tailspin several seasons ago, but there you have it. Body love isn't something you achieve when you get the perfect body, it's something you learn. And it's something we all have to keep working on – even Christina.

If You Want To Read A Really Inspiring Wellness Blog...

Check out The Wellness Warrior. It's penned by former glossy mag writer Jess Ainscough who, after being diagnosed with a rare and agressive cancer called Epithelioid Sarcoma, became a self-confessed "carrot juice-guzzling, lentil-loving vegan" on her path to natural healing. The blog is inspired by Jess' journey but also has heaps of really easy-to-digest info about general health and wellness. If it's a topic that peaks your interest, this is definitely one to add to your favourites (if it isn't bookmarked already).

How Tweet It Is.

I first got Twitter about two years ago. I was working at Shop Til You Drop and our ed had just heard about this awesome new social networking tool that everyone was saying would be the new Facebook. We had to be ahead of the curve. We all had to start tweeting.

I used it as a way to share all of my thoughts (even the most boring and irrelevant ones) and suffice to say, the novelty wore off pretty quickly – there wasn't really much time for tweeting between the crazy deadlines of a monthly magazine. But I've since signed up to Twitter again and this time I'm loving it.

Because this time, I'm using Twitter to listen. There are a lot of interesting people and businesses tweeting out there and even if you have nothing to say, there's still a lot you can get out other people's tweets – especially where health, fitness and wellbeing is concerned. So I thought I'd quickly share some of my favourite health tweeters...

@womenshealthaus: The clever clogs at Women's Health magazine consistently provide interesting links to articles, interviews and recipes – and they even tweet on weekends.

@SusieBurrell: One of Australia's leading nutritionists, Susie always has good tips and an everygirl approach.

@nytimeshealth: Your go-to for interesting articles on all things health-related. (Also see @nytimeswell where blogger Tara Parker-Pope gives you her take on the latest news and findings.)

@_sarahwilson_: She's all about making life a little better and if you don't read her blog, you really should.

@SELFmagazine: Don't scoff. Self actually posts a lot of really good ideas and links.

@MishBridges: Because Michelle Bridges is fabulous. Even on Twitter.

@chewoverthis: Nutritionist Kathleen Alleaume doesn't post so often she'll overrun your TweetDeck, but when she does, it's always thought provoking.

And for the TV addicts... @vulture: It's New York Magazine's entertainment and culture blog and is worth a look for the hi-larious episode recaps alone.

Of course, if you want to follow me, you can @fitcouchpotato. Who are the most interesting people you follow?

Oh Dear, It's Monday Again.

Olly Moss

How did that happen?

If you're already in the office, feeling frazzled and preparing to draft your resignation letter – stop and take some time out to do nothing. At. All.

Two minutes is all you need. Just click here. Relax. Gather your thoughts. Then go get 'em.

Has Anyone Got A Map?

Map My Run

I've had the Map My Run ap on my iPhone for yonks, but I've never really used it. Silly me. It's gold. You can map any route and it will give you the stats, like how far you're going and how hilly the roads are. And it's too easy – even for the technologically challenged. I reckon even my mum could map a run. Like I said, it's gold.