Health and Fitness: What I've Learned

And #TuesdayTwirl

Is This Mutton's guide to finding exercise and a maintenance regime after losing weight. Picture by Chat GPT

Dear friends. Last week I came to a satisfying realisation. Maintaining my health and fitness is now a cherished part of my life. I no longer worry unnecessarily about falling off the wagon and piling weight back on. I have all the tools I need.

The realisation came during a fitness bootcamp with FitFarms. This was my third one and I recommend it if you're struggling with diet and exercise.

Below: Power leggings, Sweaty Betty; top, Adidas; trainers Gola.

Recap on my Weight and Fitness Journey

It's taken a long time to get where I am now. I went through a period of about 15 years when my weight was more than I wanted it to be. My nadir was 12.5 stone (79kg, 175 pounds).

How Gail Hanlon of Is This Mutton looked at 12.5 stone

I had returned to the UK after living in Germany and was living in a town where I didn't have much of a social life. I'd typically eat, on a Saturday night, a pot of houmous with crisps followed by a full size quiche with chips and then a large rice pudding.

Of course I've tried all the diets going, over the years. I constantly yo-yo'd, losing weight and then putting it back on.

It's much harder to keep weight off than lose it, in my view. When you start dieting, and successfully start losing weight, you get the bit between your teeth. However, over the months bad habits creep back. Everyone hails the weight loss injections - Wegovy, Munjaro etc - as miraculous, but I would be interested to see how people fare on their own once they give up the pen.

My Personal Game Changers

Discovering the benefits of eating more protein
Stopping calorie counting
Making time to exercise, when I was working, and now I'm retired, having a routine I enjoy and find easy to stick to.

I've expanded on those below.

More Protein

Protein and good fats offer a lot in the way of satiety and muscle development. I consciously try to fuel my body with good nutrition. If I slip, and of course I do! - I immediately notice the difference in how I feel. Sugar and alcohol (even just one glass) definitely affect my sleep.

I have far more energy with a combination of protein, good fats and good carbs. I also try to practice good gut health because there's more and more evidence that the gut controls everything.

I've shared before a sample day or two's eating, but it changes frequently. I always used to have poached eggs for breakfast but now I've moved this to lunchtime to try to avoid eating cheese, my bête noire.

I confess I don't cook from scratch as often as I should. I usually have 2 or 3 M&S ready meals with salad each week. I like their new Nutrient Dense range. It's very filling and packs a good amount of protein.

Typical Day's Menu

Breakfast: Greek yoghurt - the full fat version, not "Greek style" - with Keto Hana granola, which is carb and preservative free, plus blueberries, raspberries, and a drizzle of honey.

Lunch: Two poached eggs on 1 slice of toasted rye bread or seeded sourdough, with Marmite. Plus a mug of Freja bone broth.

Dinner: salmon fillet either with stir fry veg and lentil noodles, or with mash and roasted vegetables. Followed by red grapes or 2 squares of 85% dark chocolate for antioxidants.

If I'm going to be out and about, I take a bottle of ready made Huel with me. It's delicious, satisfying and has OK ingredients (I always check for things like palm oil, emulsifiers and e-numbers). I go for the original Huel, 400 calories. The new low-calorie version doesn't have any satiety.

Calorie counting - Yes and No

Well, I just mentioned calories - and it does help to regulate your eating if you have an idea of your basal metabolic rate and what you're actually consuming. But I no longer count the calories of everything I eat. It was very liberating to stop.

Making time to exercise

When we don't exercise, we have 101 reasons why not.

When I was working, I had a long commute by car and generally left the house early to avoid traffic. That was my excuse. I claimed I didn't have any time to exercise. I didn't want to be getting up even earlier.

On frequent business trips I often took my gym kit but didn't use it. Madness.

It all changed when I started the Walk 1000 Miles challenge. I started walking at lunchtime. It was a fairly short walk but they all add up. I'd do longer walks at the weekend. Japanese Walking, which my husband does, takes 30 minutes and research shows it has great benefits. Adding weighted vests and bags add some extra challenge.

Now I'm retired, I aim to exercise at least 5 days a week. Every day starts with a gentle standing stretch routine for 10 minutes. I walk, generally 5 miles each time; lift weights, either at home or in the gym, and do Pilates for flexibility once or twice a week. In spring and summer I do less walking but add cycling. A typical ride is around 25 miles with a coffee stop. We increase the distance to 50 miles when training for a holiday with long cycling days.

Walking is great for contemplation of nature and for listening to audio books or podcasts. If I'm going into London I still get my steps in by getting off the tube or bus early and walking.

The key thing is to find activities you don't hate. If you liked dancing, find a dance class. You don't have to join a gym but can find Pilates, yoga, t'ai chi and martial arts in many local halls and churches. Reformer Pilates studios are springing up all over the place. Nearly everyone can access a swimming pool.

If you want to start running, investigate your local running club. Ours has a beginners course. It's a very friendly and supportive group. Our club also runs classes in yoga, Pilates and circuits at the clubhouse.

If you don't like walking on your own, find community walks via Event Brite, MeetUp, Facebook community sites and your local council. The same applies to cycling, if you haven’t done it for years and don't want to do it on your own.

I don't bother with much cardio, except on the bike sometimes. It's less important as we get older. Lifting weights is key over 50. Our muscle mass deteriorates even more quickly after menopause. It doesn't have to be weights. Resistance bands can be just as good. Find a workout on YouTube.

The good things about building muscle is that it triggers your body to burn fat for a long time after you've stopped your workout. And it helps to make our bones stronger. We can exercise all we like, but if we fall over and our bones are weak, we'll do ourselves harm.

Once you have a fitness routine, it's important to shake it up occasionally. Hence my trip to FitFarms! Last week I discovered I loved dance classes, and rediscovered a love for Tabata and Bodypump. I did some boxing too but that will never be a favourite.

I also find it invaluable to have a few sessions with a personal trainer each year. We can develop bad habits. Plus we need adaptations as we get older to avoid injury.

Supplements: Cells are the Thing

I don't bother with vitamins except biotin (B7) which is invaluable for hair and nails. I take it every other day, and have done for 3 years.

I do take quite a few supplements to improve cell renewal. I buy them from Youth and Earth (not gifted).

Liposomal Spermidine, taken before bed, helps clear out zombie cells. As we age, the body gets less efficient at doing this. In the morning I take Krill oil capsules (Omega 3) which have definitely sharpened my memory. I take Preservage before I eat anything. It boosts the longevity genes (Sirtuin) and delays cellular senescence. The blend features trans-resveratrol, curcumin, Quercetin, and BioPerine.

Last but not least, I add a sachet of Bimuno to a glass of water each day. The late Dr Michael Mosley was a big fan of this. It's a clinically researched prebiotic that feeds beneficial gut bacteria, supporting digestive comfort, immunity and everyday gut health. Dr Mosley also believed it improved the quality of his sleep.

I don't bother with collagen drinks or supplements. There's very little research on whether or not they actually work. The bone broth I have at lunchtime has natural collagen in it.

My Other Essential

I love my Samsung Watch8. It tracks my fitness and sleep goals and, unlike many others on the market, offers premium services without a subscription. These include blood pressure, ECG and monitoring of antioxidants.

My Tips for Maintaining Weight Loss

If I go to a fabulous restaurant, I'll have whatever I want. As I don't often have dessert, I make sure I order a starter. Too often I find everyone going for main and dessert, and I lose out! The next day, I'll skip breakfast to prolong my fasting period.
Life would be intolerable if I had to give up the things I love. So I treat myself occasionally to houmous on my salad, crisps, cheese, a Scotch egg, slice of quiche.
If I have a bad "eating day", or couple of days over Christmas, I just rein it in a bit afterwards by eating no carbs.
Be firm with other people. Friends and relatives are often disconcerted when you lose weight. It challenges their perception of you. If they offer cake or expect you to glug wine, be firm. Just say no thanks.

Aside from the above, I aim to eat a healthy balanced diet 80% of the time.

I hardly ever drink alcohol. It's not a hardship. If I'm at the fabulous restaurant, I'll have a glass of Champagne and a cocktail. That will do me. Below: with Janice and Penny at The Berkeley Hotel

I'd be happier if I was a stone (7 kgs) lighter, but it would be too hard to exist on a BMR which would probably be around 900 calories a day. Plus losing body fat will inevitably mean losing facial mass. So I'm staying where I am.

A quick throwback to last week's post on going grey. Thanks for all the comments. I failed to tell you that my hair is still quite dark at the back, which means it would be quite multicoloured if I were to grow it out without the help of a hairdresser.

Anyway, I've decided not to change it for the forseeable. I saw Susannah Constantine on IG using a cream from Prime Prometics that conceals grey hair, and I've ordered it. It comes in a shade for blondes as well as other colours. I'll report back!

Are you in a good place for health and fitness? Anything new you are trying, or want to try? Do tell in the comments.

Nothing was gifted for this post. Is This Mutton is non-monetised for the best reader experience.

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