Cycling. Health. Covid. Diet.

[Barnsleyrob]

I did the Michael Moseley Blood Sugar Diet at the beginning of 2017 when I was fast approaching 14 st and a BMI of 30. I basically followed the 800 calories a day and cut out bread and alcohol for 8 weeks - the exception being Saturday when I’d have a curry (no rice) with Chapati and a couple of measured spirits.

Although the weight loss was slow, it was steady and I ended up just below 12 st and after reverting to a normal ish diet I settled at 12.5 st. What was surprising was that despite no exercise, I stayed at 12.5 st for around 2 years despite a few decent cruises and regular visits to my local, so testament to the diet kick starting the metabolism.

I‘m just starting to tip over 13st and the missus is tutting So I may be heading for another 8 weeks of veg and chillis !

 

[WheezyRider]

I did the Michael Moseley Blood Sugar Diet at the beginning of 2017 when I was fast approaching 14 st and a BMI of 30. I basically followed the 800 calories a day and cut out bread and alcohol for 8 weeks - the exception being Saturday when I’d have a curry (no rice) with Chapati and a couple of measured spirits.

Although the weight loss was slow, it was steady and I ended up just below 12 st and after reverting to a normal ish diet I settled at 12.5 st. What was surprising was that despite no exercise, I stayed at 12.5 st for around 2 years despite a few decent cruises and regular visits to my local, so testament to the diet kick starting the metabolism.

I‘m just starting to tip over 13st and the missus is tutting So I may be heading for another 8 weeks of veg and chillis !

I don't think you need to do something so extreme. Just two days a week, eat less and don't have any treats on those days. Spread it out, so I do Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The other big thing is boredom. We eat because we are bored, especially in lock down. Find something engaging to do for a few hours and you will totally forget about food.

 

[Barnsleyrob]

I don't think you need to do something so extreme. Just two days a week, eat less and don't have any treats on those days. Spread it out, so I do Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The other big thing is boredom. We eat because we are bored, especially in lock down. Find something engaging to do for a few hours and you will totally forget about food.

One other driver was an ex-work colleague of the same age who was diagnosed pre-diabetic and this is the diabetes reversing regime.

I’m not a foodie, so eat when I need to. My usual regime was 3 alcohol free days and a reasonably healthy diet but the weight crept up. We have a takeaway on Saturdays, which usually does 2 meals, and fast food maybe 2 or 3 times a year. Neither my wife or I eat cakes or sweet treats and we only have biscuits in the house when we have visitors, so in my case the extreme diet was justified.

 

[Foranangel]

Health is very important! We all must practice sport and take care of our health because It's vital!

 

[MeganYterr]

The situation is a bit better now, I could at least go cycle once a day. It is so nice going out after not being able to for so long. I was depressed eating at the beginning of the pandemic because I lost my job and that is when the extra weight started appearing. After that I started working from home and that helped work out. I found an app with some cool exercises and healthy food recipes. It was going great, but I got sick and I had to stop exercising. That kind of ruined all the progress I had, but now when I can go out and ride my bike it is better.

__________________________________________
https://www.modernfit.com/programs/noom/the-only-noom-food-list-youll-ever-need/

 

[Bobajob]

There are varied reasons why an individual might choose to cycle (e-bike or not), but I’m sure for many people, the health benefits are a primary driver. Speaking personally, getting back into shape was the no1 thing that made me want to get back on two wheels (and the hills around where I live was the no1 reason to buy an ebike to let me achieve that original goal!).

However one thing I’ve come to realise, and this is especially true the older you get, is that you can’t exercise yourself out of a bad diet. If you want to be healthy, you need both. Exercise AND a good diet.
And of course, right here, right now, as well as all the other commonplace ailments, we have Covid-19 to deal with. The data indicates that its more likely than not you’re going to catch it at some point, and the only thing that’s going to protect you is your own immune system and general state of health. The statistics also show that its people with co-morbidities/existing medical conditions are the ones by far most likely to die.
So it seems logical that everybody should be doing as best they can to improve their general state of health and get their immune system in peak condition. Which means exercise and diet.

I see a fair bit of talk about the exercise side of things, but not so much on the diet aspect. So I thought I’d start this thread to hopefully instigate a discussion on what people are doing or thinking about changing regarding the food they eat (or the exercise for that matter). Either because you’ve already altered your eating habits when you started cycling and exercising some time ago, or maybe the current situation has given some urgency to re-evaluate your nutritional strategy?

Experiences or thoughts welcome.

The latest medical statistics is that you have a 99.7% chance of surviving Covid I’d you catch it.
that’s bad for me I’m going to get into m covid bunker and hide.

 

[GLJoe]

The other big thing is boredom. We eat because we are bored, especially in lock down. Find something engaging to do for a few hours and you will totally forget about food.

I'd agree boredom can be a factor.

However many people eat more than they should because they are addicted to certain foods. "Me? Addicted ?? don't talk such rubbish ...."

Sugar for example, stimulates the craving parts of the brain.
Dairy contains casomorphins that act in the same way that opium does. Milk contains this so the baby animal keeps on wanting more and more and thus grows fast. Cheese is effectively a very concentrated form of milk!
Ever wonder why so many people can't ever imagine life if they had to give up cheese!

I find it fascinating studying and being more mindful of my own body these days. Now I've weaned (good choice of words there ...) myself off dairy pretty much entirely, any cheese cravings have now gone. I don't generally miss it at all. Except .....
If I see something on the TV and there is say an advert with say a pizza smothered in bubbling cheese, my word ... I can just FEEL my brain pumping out some chemicals that are mood and behavior altering. Literally within seconds.
My visual cortex is obviously triggering other things in my brain/body that's trying to control my behavior. If I had a pizza in the freezer, it would be in the oven in 30 sec flat
God help me if I lived next door to a Domino's .....

(fortunately for my health, I'm too tight to pay for any kind of delivery service )

 

[GLJoe]

... it seems logical that everybody should be doing as best they can to improve their general state of health and get their immune system in peak condition. Which means exercise and diet.

So has anybody changed anything since this thread or Covid started?


I've stepped up my nutrition a fair bit. Tried to grow more of my own fresh veg this year. Got more sun exposure for the Vitamin D as well in the process (but I'm now making sure that I'm supplementing at this time of year ).
And my cycling has been fairly consistent as well which is good. I've been working remotely from home for months and months now, so the exercise and getting out of the house on a regular basis is doubly important.

 

[Scorpio]

A lot of my life has involved manual effort (hobbies, work, DIY) and a long time ago it became obvious for me it's a balancing act between the food you eat and the calories you burn up during a day. During winter I'm less active so don't need to eat as much, long days doing physical work in the Summer means I eat a lot more.

Some of my family are health concious, they noticed a big improvement in their overall health when they reduced their intake of bread (gluten?) & dairy products.

Relevant (and hopefully not against forum rules - let me know if it's a problem and I'll delete), a good friend died yesterday morning with/of Covid. He was middle aged, generally unfit and - significantly - had become very overweight in the past 18 months due to lack of excercise and lots of eating due to boredom. Groups expecially at risk from Covid seem to be the eldery and the overweight / unfit, you can't do anything about your age but you can work on improving your fitness / weight.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

a good friend died yesterday morning with/of Covid. He was middle aged, generally unfit and - significantly - had become very overweight in the past 18 months due to lack of excercise and lots of eating due to boredom.

Very sorry to hear of your loss, Scorpio.

Regarding diet: I've put a lot of faith in easily home made Kefir because:

Kefir: A protective dietary supplementation against viral infection

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a recently discovered coronavirus termed ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome cor…

www.sciencedirect.com

...plus I've reduced my BMI from 30 to 24 (a bit more to go) through intermittent fasting:

Ebikes and the Unfit Very Heavy Rider - A Cautionary Tale for Newcomers

I want to preface this post by stressing this is simply one individual's experience and is not meant to reflect that of all other unfit very heavy riders. That said, hopefully it will also help prospective newcomers, particularly those who are unsure if ebikes will meet their need and who may...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

...and to reduce my age I need a time machine to move my current mind into my younger body, then another time machine to move my younger body to the current time.

I ferment Kefir at room temp for three days, to use up all lactose, sieve the grains to reuse and start again. Kefir grains are cheap, last forever and they multiply:

Amazon.co.uk : kefir grains

Kefir uses lactose to grow, so there's very little lactose.

I've also recently started making my own beanpsrouts, for their probiotics and lack of anti-nutrients. Beansrouts are really easy to grow, and very nutritious:

Some general info and potential problems:

Sprouting - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

...ecoli and other pathogens can be reduced by fermenting in Kefir, or by cooking. Billions of people consume beansprouts every day, raw or cooked.


Here is my latest batch of chickpea beansprouts:






70% of the immune system is in the gut, looking after your microbiome is a good idea:

Human microbiome - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Beansprouts are chock full of fibre and probiotics.


Fermenting mashed beansprouts in Kefir seems like a good idea - that combination tastes quite nice, if nice had a much nicer definition.

Plain Kefir tastes great! A little tart. It's very mildly alcoholic and a good mixer.

BTW... and it could be far too much information: Kefir cured my IBS. I tried every probiotic pill in and concoction in existence, and it cost me a fortune - but in the end, Kefir did the trick! I really didn't fancy a fecal transplant...

 

[vfr400]

I don't go to any of that trouble to keep myself free of covid. I eat a lot of these, which have tomatos in that are supposed to be good for fighting off diseases, but my main protection comes from my bracelets. My method seems to work really well, so I won't need the vaccination. I learned about the power of the bracelets at the London rally. I think the government knows about the power of this symbol because they always allow the rallies without intervention, and nobody worries about social distancing, masks or anything like that. I think the bigger the sign the more effective it is, so I put a big board outside my house to keep the virus away.

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[Nealh]

Pizza's for Dave and for me it's honey from my own livestock, even better is the public doesn't know about beekeepers honey which the beekeeper keeps to him self as it is literally the cream off the top of honey with all the really good nutrition in it.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Alas, eating habits are the hardest to change...

the cream off the top of honey with all the really good nutrition in it.

Really? I thought honey was nearly all sugar.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

I don't go to any of that trouble to keep myself free of covid. I eat a lot of these, which have tomatos in that are supposed to be good for fighting off diseases, but my main protection comes from my bracelets. My method seems to work really well, so I won't need the vaccination. I learned about the power of the bracelets at the London rally. I think the government knows about the power of this symbol because they always allow the rallies without intervention, and nobody worries about social distancing, masks or anything like that. I think the bigger the sign the more effective it is, so I put a big board outside my house to keep the virus away.

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Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Black Lives Matter Awareness Silicone Bracelet Wristband Wrist Band Support at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

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Kefir makes great sourdough pizza bases - use instead of yeast, for a more digestible pizza. However, all cheesy pizza is slow suicide... particularly for most older folk.

 

[Nealh]

No sucrose in proper honey, that is left to Tate&lyle & Silverspoon with their cane sugar and beet sugar. Proper real honey is Fructose and Glucose only from the nectar that fora give, the more fructose it contains the longer it it stays runnier but eventually all will set given time. The cream/froth of beekeepers honey comes from coarse or raw extraction and storing too quickly, when stored air introduced rises with larger pollen/wax particles and lays on top as a frothy element, the beekeeper scoops off the top (cream is what we call it) and use it ourselves. It is super nutritional packed with flavour, it looks a bit unsightly and not unlike the top of Guiness. Not something the public would buy as it looks a bit strange though some people know about it and ask for it, one can charge a premium for this bit of luxury.

I can easily do a pound of honey a week and is the only sugar I use as sweetener it's benefits are superior then just plain sugar/sucrose.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

No sucrose in proper honey, that is left to Tate&lyle & Silverspoon with their cane sugar and beet sugar. Proper real honey is Fructose and Glucose only from the nectar that fora give, the more fructose it contains the longer it it stays runnier but eventually all will set given time. The cream/froth of beekeepers honey comes from coarse or raw extraction and storing too quickly, when stored air introduced rises with larger pollen/wax particles and lays on top as a frothy element, the beekeeper scoops off the top (cream is what we call it) and use it ourselves. It is super nutritional packed with flavour, it looks a bit unsightly and not unlike the top of Guiness. Not something the public would buy as it looks a bit strange though some people know about it and ask for it, one can charge a premium for this bit of luxury.

I can easily do a pound of honey a week and is the only sugar I use as sweetener it's benefits are superior then just plain sugar/sucrose.

I've just been doing some Googling and I can't find any reference to the foam being anything other than honey and air. But if it tastes great, why not?

 

[Nealh]

Honey has great healing powers, a few years ago a beek was strimming his garden and unfortunately to his horror he strimmed a hedgy taking off the spines and top layers of dermis leaving a pink bloody mess of about 100mm or so. Over the course of a few months the hedgy was cared for with regular treatments of his own honey direct to the damaged area, hedgy survived and not only did the dermis repair but the spines grew back as well and hedgy was set free again.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Honey has great healing powers, a few years ago a beek was strimming his garden and unfortunately to his horror he strimmed a hedgy taking off the spines and top layers of dermis leaving a pink bloody mess of about 100mm or so. Over the course of a few months the hedgy was cared for with regular treatments of his own honey direct to the damaged area, hedgy survived and not only did the dermis repair but the spines grew back as well and hedgy was set free again.

Yes honey is amazing for wounds - the sugar content inhibits harmful bacteria, in fact many medicinal herbs from the east use honey as a preservative for that reason.

Interesting reading, which I'm sure you're aware of:

Honey - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Do you have a stash of Royal Jelly? People seem to go mad for Royal Jelly.

There should be a law obligating the owners of garden fences to make hedgehog sized holes in them, because they do get trapped and starve in gardens after wandering in through an open gate. I cut some holes in mine.

 

[Nealh]

I've just been doing some Googling and I can't find any reference to the foam being anything other than honey and air. But if it tastes great, why not?

If the extraction and settling is raw/coarse sieved then one gets added extras like fine wax and larger pollen particles that rise with the air bubbles to form the froth/cream.

A lot of honey is sieved through finer mesh's which removes all wax and coarser pollen particles as well as some of the finer ones, the pollen is rich in vitamins.

Commercial supermarket honey is awful and partly pasteurised to about 70c killing off the goodness and flavour for long shelf life, even worse is a lot of it is fake being from non eu blended honey which invariably means far east and S. Am. These countries dilute real honey for profit with corn syrup and sucrose as well as other sweeteners, unsuspecting buyers don't know the difference and are used to a sweet bland tasteless honey, next time you are tempted to buy honey look on the label if it says honey from non eu sources leave it on the shelf.

 

[Nealh]

Most of my fence is a living fence so any animal can come and go in my garden, 40 -50 ft run of copper beech and 35ft odd feet run of very smelly WInter box or Sarcococca 'confusa' very aromatic in winter. Since last May our regulars have been three fox cubs, now down to just one who is now an adult. He/she comes nearly every dusk /night for some tit bits and patiently sits at the back door, hopefully more cubs will arrive this year. Last time I saw any sign of a hedgy in the garden was a mating pair a dozen or so years ago, I have a house for them but it hasn't been utilised yet.