Thanks mate, I actually cant wait to start my new diet 2morrow. I'm sitting here absolutely starving, so hungry that I feel dizzy but I cant eat anymore wedges and thats all I have in the freezer. The only other thing I have in my cupboards is weetabix. Oh and some brown bread on the side, i'm gonna have some toast I think. By the way, I have my bread and toast with bertoli spread, not butter and have done for over a year now. I went to asda earlier and just got back. I wrote down the prices of stuff like carrots, cod etc...etc...so 2morrow I can set a budget every week for that kind of food. I tell ya, healthy eating can be expensive when you got a high metabolism like me.

Thanks again.

Local butchers is always the best bet. I tend to just go once per week and freeze all my meats up for the week. You should be fine to leave it for a night in the fridge before eating also.

Dont be too afraid from Butter although a good spectrum of fats is best. Organic full fat butter or Anchor butter (as good as organic) is good for you as long as you dont eat it like chocolate . Bertoil is good aswell and the better choice if you are overweight or have been diagnosed with high cholesterol levels.....although fats in the diet dont cause high cholesterol themselfs!

Some yoghurts wouldnt be a bad addition to your diet. I prefer to avoid the low fat ones as they tend to get packed with extra sugar. Yeo valley is my personal choice.

SJ

Just to second both of these. I only eat butter, as I hate all other spreads. I don't eat a great deal of it, partly because I only have bread at the weekend. I had my cholesterol tested just after Christmas (probably the worst possible time!) and, to quote my GP, there are people who'd give their eye teeth to have such a low level. So butter isn't that evil.

For yoghurt, I tend to buy low fat natural yoghurt, without any nasty sugar or sweetener added, and eat it with fresh fruit (or in my breakfast smoothies). Still, if you only like the ones with fruit already added, it's probably better than nothing.

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Cautiously potter-along puddy

I was also wondering, tonight is jogging night so have you guys any idea which food is best to eat before a jog? I need lots of energy to complete the 4.5 mile run and normally eat roast potatos done in the oven (without covering them with oil, just put them in the oven and cook), but I have to squeeze them down as the taste makes me wanna bork. Considering I only go joggin every 2 days, would it be a good idea to drink one of those high carb drinks with a normal meal before I start the run? Or maybe one of those high carbohydrate bars?

Bananas are the perfect pre-run food, or some nice bread with peanut butter or similar. Potatoes would be... ok... but if they make you want to hurl, then best to choose something that's actually tasty. I think the important thing is just to eat regular meals with a variety of food in them.

Is it that the potato wedges are the only thing that you feel you want to eat? Or do you eat pretty much anything, but never really feel hungry?

I was eating potato wedges cos they gave me enough energy that I didnt have to eat for about 4 hours. I totally hate bananas, which is a pitty really. I might have some spring vegetable soup with wholemeal bread (I can eat about 3/4 of the loaf when eating soup), plus I eat alpen fruit and nut cereal bars which give me quite a bit of energy. They got 67g of carbohydrate in them (but 31g of that are sugars). I looked on the bag of roast potatos and it says 18g of carbohydrate per 100g with the wedges being 26g of carbohydrate per 100g so thats why the wedges give me enough enegry normally to complete the run.

The roast potatos taste sickening to me, but the wedges (although my taste buds are going off them) taste not too bad to me. I might have this before a jog :

1 plate of potato wedges (whatever fat in in the wedges will hopefully be burnt off anyway)
2 alpen cereal bars
1 bowl of spring vegetable soup with 8 rounds of wholemeal bread
1 muller amore orange luxury yoghurt (25g of carbohydrate in the tub)

How about that?

I got quite a few of them muller orange yoghurts in cos they got quite a bit of carbohydrate in and 88mg of calcium too.

Just to make a few points on cholesterol...

Unless you have a cholesterol problem, then foods high in saturated fats/cholesterol will not cause you an issue. Diet only contributes to about 4% of the bodys total cholesterol production. the rest is created by the body and regulated.

Egg yolks are back in fashion

Scarib, you seem to know your stuff. How do I know if my cholesterol is OK without having all the tests done?

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It's about getting out there and doing the distance, time doesn't matter apart from making it.

You dont to be honest. Possibly Boots do some sort of OTC tester kit to save going to the Quacks...

I fancy going and getting some blood work done soon. Probably a good idea for anyone involved in intensive exercise routines every now and then, especially as we get on a little. It could point out a minor deficiency etc which if corrected could make a massive difference.

SJ

Thanks for that. I don't think I have anything to worry about. There is no history of heart disease in the family. But you're probably right, it's always worth keeping on top of it.

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It's about getting out there and doing the distance, time doesn't matter apart from making it.

I think family history seems o have allot to do with it, along with lifestyle factors...the bigger picture like exercise, stress levels, smoking, drinking and diet on top of family history as you say.

Just had a look there. There is over the counter tester kits available for about a tenner. Think ill give one a bash out of curiosity.

They take into consideration your total cholesterol count with regard to your HDL levels. If the result is high, but the HDL is high then you are in good nick as HDL is the "good" cholesterol. LDL is the baddies! This is what i hope to be like as high healthy cholesterol is good for natural testosterone production

I take 1 of them benecol yogurts everyday to help keep my cholestorol in check.

Hi all

Looking for some nutrition advice on running days.

I try to watch what I eat. Breakfast is porridge with grape juice. Mid moring snack is fruit and fibre without the milk. Lunch usually consists of 1.5 chicken breasts, chillies, peppers and big handful of baby spinach followed by 2 kiwi fruit and a banana.

Before I started running I had lots of pasta but seemed to put on the weight with that.

After lunch I really don't have anything till after my run which is usually around 6.30pm. Should I be taking something else late afternoon? Sometimes if I have something light an hour before the run it seems to lie in my stomach.

Should I try a cup or so of pasta say about 3.30/4.00pm? Have a feeling my energy level has dropped off before my run.

Advice more than welcome.

Cheers

Gary