Tag Archives: Walking

Healthy Eating…No to Diets…Walking…is the new gym and it’s FREE!

 

Welcome once again to Carol’s boot camp…So how is it all going?  Talk to me in the comments and let me know… I love hearing from you 🙂 I am in the process of rescheduling and updating my earlier posts(not)before time I will add and I have been prompted into this because of all the spam I am getting therefore I am taking Hugh’s great advice on rescheduling and updating older posts in the hope that I can reduce the spam I am experiencing plus any new followers may not have read these posts…

As you know my favourite form of exercise is walking you don’t need any fancy, expensive equipment or extortionate gym fees because it is FREE now who doesn’t love a freebie? particularly one which is simple to do, with no bouncing about a room with lots of other sweaty bodies…Although of course if that is your thing and you enjoy it then carry on…each to their own…smile…

Walking keeps you fit and is a great aerobic exercise if you walk at a brisk pace, feel warm and slightly breathless then you are on the right track as it raises your heart rate and burns those calories.

I am on a new mission as every year now I am one year older and as I only have one body I am determined to get it as fit as I can…I now start at 7am every morning come rain or shine and walk to one of my local markets and back..the only time I don’t walk back is when I buy rice and that is too heavy to carry although it is a great reminder of how much 5 kilos weigh when your body is even 5 kilos overweight…

Already I have noticed a great difference as my daily step count is up and I have increased my daily goal, I feel healthier and have now started timing myself on my outward walk and I am getting much quicker …there and back to the market is about 8.5km…I then do the same in the late afternoon but to a closer market and my average daily steps over the month are 14,033(64.78km) so far this month which I am more than happy with…

Did you know??? If you walked briskly at 4 miles an hour for 30 minutes then it would burn approx 150 calories…

You may feel slightly tired for the first week or two but you will soon notice the difference and have much more energy as all those endorphins will be released and give you a natural high.

But I don’t have time?

Come on…You can walk to work, to the station or the bus stop if you take your car then park a little further away and walk.

Take your lunch to the park and then go for a walk around the park.

Walk to the shops which is what I do and if I have too much shopping then I get a bus or taxi back home.

Instead of taking the lift walk up the escalators or take the stairs.

Meeting a friend for a coffee and a chat?  get a takeaway drink and go for a walk and chat…

It goes without saying that if you have a dog then give him a walk or borrow a neighbour’s dog…

Do you have an elderly neighbour who loves to get out? then take them along…

All things which will certainly make you feel good and we all love to feel good …Don’t we? The bonus is you will get fitter and lose some kilos as well.

Treat yourself to one of those Fit things which count your steps and calories lost or check if your phone has free fitness apps so no excuses you will be surprised with just a few little changes how much fitter and better you will feel.

I love to walk because I see more, people say hello and that makes you feel good…

children-450925_640

Kids love to walk so if the school is within walking distance …Then walk to pick them up and walk home …It gives you time to chat about what you see, and ask how their day has been and makes everyone that little bit healthier.

NOTE: Always check with your doctor before you start any new exercise regime.

However walking is proven to reduce your risk of many health conditions including reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure and strokes and it is low-cost and low-impact exercise.

Just 20 minutes a day and you will see a difference in yourself and you can fit it in anytime…so

No-diets-No-excuses

Who do you cheat??? Yourself!

I can’t go without giving you a recipe ..can I? So I will hand you over to the lovely Dolly who will be guest posting in a few weeks on here as she knows more about tofu than I do… So without further ado, I give you Penne Tofu with impostor alfredo

Enjoy!

I will say that from someone who hasn’t yet tried tofu that this does look very nice so on my next trip into town I am going to see if I can get some tofu…So watch this space…

Thank you for reading this I hope you enjoyed it and found it helpful if you did please feel free to share your tips on getting moving xxx

 

No more Diets…Healthy Eating …

BANNER CHOCOLATE CAKE peanut butter rice cakes

Hello and welcome… How is your healthy eating going are you still feeling enthused after all that Christmas Fare and ready to eat healthily, have more energy and keep the advancing years at bay? Or is that old enemy Will Power creeping into your life… He creeps about silently but deadly… He just loves it when you sneak a piece or two of that cake that is saying ” Eat me”

Taking a slice of chocolate cake

His little face lights up and he knows he is winning…

Did you know that the more you resist the temptation that he starts to disappear…He does like a willow the wisp…

The thing is the more you give in he grows bigger and like the gremlins, he sprouts out lots of little Will Powers they are so small they can sneak in anywhere…

gremlin smiling

They are so clever they plant little ideas and feed on your thoughts…and before you know it you are back to square one…

I will now turn you over to Sally @ Smorgasbord as she has some very sensible ideas on how to find some willpower unlike my little flight of fantasy…haha…So please pop over to Sally’s and if a Gentle Detox is how you like to start your New Year then Parts 1 & 2 will tell you all you need to know …Three brilliant posts full of good ideas and sensible easy to understand information to get you up and running…

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/01/06/smorgasbord-health-column-the-gentle-detox-part-three-willpower/

Who remembers rice cakes??

processed rice cakes

Way back in the late 1980’s to 1990″s when I followed one fad diet after another…When low fat and high carbs were one of the Die(t) trends…Rice Cakes were touted as the thing to eat…Cardboard in taste although low-calorie at 35 calories a cake…Looking back they were nothing more than a mouthful or three which had minimal vitamins and minerals, no fat, no fibre and maybe just maybe a gm of protein…Refined carbs which converted very quickly into sugar, they were sprinkled with salt and generally sprayed with artificial flavourings…Did they take my mind off food…No! They left me feeling sluggish and still craving so I demolished the whole packet…

Please tell me they are not still on sale??

Healthy Snacks:

Greek yoghurt and berries with granola.

Hummus with veggies…Get the recipe here

Dark chocolate with 1 oz of almonds or walnuts.

Guacamole with red peppers

2 hardboiled eggs with some cherry tomatoes

A cup of homemade vegetable soup…When I was cold I used to keep a pot simmering and if I felt a bit peckish then I would just pour my self a mug full and it kept away the hunger pangs.

Salsa with baked tortilla chips or veggies.

To bake your own using corn or flour tortillas, a light brushing of oil or a spritz of cooking spray and a bit of salt, you can bake tortilla chips in your own oven and enjoy them while they are still warm.

Peanut Butter and a banana wrapped in a whole grain wrap.

To make your own Peanut Butter couldn’t be easier…

Rather than buying store-bought peanut butter which is full of nasties, it is easier and it is very quick to make your own.

It is the quickest easiest recipe to make ever, the kids can help blitz it and as well as being tasty it has no nasties.

Let’s Cook!

Take 500 gm raw peanuts. Put in oven on tray and cook on high for 10 mins. Take out of oven and reserve a few (if you like crunchy peanut butter) like me. Put the remainder of nuts in a food processor and blitz at 1 min intervals scrapping down the sides. Do this for 4 mins or until smooth.

Add 1 tsp of salt,1 tbsp oil and remainder of reserved nuts if using.

Blitz again for 1 min and put in a suitable container. Stores in fridge for 3/4 weeks…….IT’S DELISH!

Just a few snack ideas to keep you going… What is your favourite snack ???

We all know that to enable us to get healthy we need to up our exercise…

Exercise…That has always filled me with horror…I have braved the gym in the past but no more…I think that with exercise it needs to be something which you enjoy doing and  I enjoy walking and at my age, I think that is enough I have also and I think it is the time of year…I am a tidy person…A neat freak…I feel the need to clean out drawers and cupboards…So each morning I tackle one or two and it is surprising how all that up and down and cleaning out the cupboards is a good little workout…No cupboards today…It was my bathroom cleaning day my ensuite walls and floors and my grandson’s bathroom…What is so difficult about screwing back toothpaste tops, shower gel and shampoo lids etc …

toothbrushes toothpaste no lid

After cleaning 3 bathrooms and that is no mean feat…I went for my morning walk so I feel quite energised at the moment…

Tomorrow I tackle another cupboard…

What is your favourite exercise???

Thank you for reading and please keep the comments coming I love to hear from you it makes my day xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week xx

Healthy Eating…No more diets…Eat yourself slim…

No more...Diets Healthy eating (3)

Welcome …It is that time the week when we talk healthy eating or I talk healthy eating… For the past few weeks, I have read many interesting posts and e-mails ..Those e-mails… Is anyone else getting more junk mail??? Keep to the point Carol!

One of the common themes in those e-mails and posts are that those Hidden Added Sugars…Yep, I am going to say it…They creep into everything and are changing our taste buds… We are craving more processed foods which are BAD for us…Those sneaky manufacturers are still winning all the way to the bank.

What am I doing about that? Well for starters I am going to make sure that you are all aware of what is going on in the food industry and it is not getting any better.

I have noticed that a few pounds have crept on and I don’t like it!

Starting from yesterday and I have to admit I was prompted by a post from Sally over @ Smorgasbord health and the little chart and great advice she produced …

Now before I start… I will say I don’t count calories and don’t believe you should be on a perpetual diet your whole life but I do believe we should know that what you eat has consequences for both me and you, our health and lifestyle. 

I only eat 2 meals a day and follow an 80/20% rule and I walk.

BUT

Reading through the chart ALTHOUGH much did not apply to me…Some did …It shocked me and tied in with what I have been reading about added sugars.

So this illustration is a one-off really as I don’t count calories as you know.

Those 2 digestive biscuits I was having with my early morning cuppa equated to 150 calories so in 1 week 1,050 calories in 1 year 54,600 calories which equals 16 lbs of FAT and a 7.3-kilo weight increase…Over 5 years that could be a whole small person…

I started keeping a food diary yesterday and at the end of the week, I will be looking at what I ate and deciding what I am changing and how I am going to respond.

I do walk but lately because of the extreme heat and rain I have missed a few days here and there.

That is going to change I am going to research a step thingy so I know if I am doing at least 1 mile a day ( I think I am) BUT if I am totally honest something has caused those few pounds to creep on…

It doesn’t just happen…Does it??? So for me…

No-diets-No-excuses

Who do you cheat??? Yourself!

A few missed days of walking, sometimes 3 digestive biscuits, a sundowner or two every night, I have no excuses I am in charge of what I eat and how much I exercise… I only cheat myself …My scales don’t lie …

I am visiting that International shopping isle once too often methinks when I go shopping …

Here is a link to some free pedometer apps which will track your steps for a fitter, healthier you… I am going to try one or buy something which will record my steps for me…Black and white doesn’t lie, does it?

Yesterday I also read an interesting post on our immune system and what happens after we eat that chicken sandwich...To say it was an eye opener and I have read plenty of that this last week but it has, in turn, it made me so much more focused again…

All this Healthy eating is not just about losing weight but it is about looking after the only body we have or will get…

Sally also published a shopping list of nutrients and what foods we should eat to get that protection through our immune system … I went through the list and made a shopping list from each section of what I do buy and what I don’t buy as often…Some I don’t buy ever, however, it is not that kind of list it is multi-choice and some I only brought maybe one or two of the choices and others most of it… I was pleasantly surprised …

But that isn’t true really as we do eat healthily and a lot of vegetables and not very much processed foods…However, I need to do that bit more. I am healthy and don’t have any real health issues but I am backsliding and I got the kick up the bum I needed this week…

I gave it to myself as I am quite good at that…So Food diary it is this week and having a good look at what I am eating .. I even weighed my portion today and I never, ever do that…because I cook I have a good eye and many things I judge by that eye and sometimes double-check myself and I must say I am pretty accurate but I just wanted to see what I was serving myself ..

I hope you do read the links and let me know if you are keeping a food diary and how it worked out …It is really easy to do the calculation yourself as I will do at the end of the week and make my chart…

Thank you so much for reading this post and if you have found this helpful and know some of your friends and family will then please hit your share buttons …Thank you xxx

Connect to Carol( Moi)

Blog: https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you  for reading until next time stay safe, laugh a lot and keep that food dairy do it as a family and discuss your findings as a family they will thank you for setting them on a healthy eating path  x