No gimmicks, No Excuses..........Just Results

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

We don't diet, we eat healthily, we exercise regularly, we indulge occasionally, we always support our fellow team mates! Always!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

"The whiter the bread, the quicker you’re dead!" – old saying.

The topic of conversation during this mornings boxing class, was as usual the food you are all missing during 'Shrink'. White bread with peanut butter, white bread and butter, BBQ shapes and shortbread biscuits all made the list this morning. Here's the low down on white bread.

The difference in taste between white and brown bread is significant, as is the texture and obviously the way it looks. When you are brought up on white bread, it can be really difficult to make the change.

There's some other things you might like to point out about white vs. brown as sometimes the words "because it's better for you" just don't cut it with a white bread addict:

White bread is made is from wheat flour from which the bran and germ have been removed. This is where much of the nutritional bread value is. White bread is lower in zinc, fiber, thiamin, niacin, trace elements and "good" fats and oils. White bread in many countries has to be fortified with vitamins and minerals *by law* during the bread making process. These are usually sprayed into the mix. It's somewhat ironic that the nutrients that are removed from wheat are re-added by this means. Nature provides, we destroy, then add it back in via a man made form.

Once the bran and germ is removed, the flour is bleached using potassium bromate, benzoyl peroxide or chlorine dioxide gas. Potassium bromate is also known as Bromic Acid or Potassium Salt. It's an oxidizing agent, can be fatal if swallowed, is harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin and may also cause kidney damage. Benzoyl peroxide is another irritant that can kill animals, birds, or fish, and cause death or low growth rate in plants. Chlorine Dioxide is also a pesticide and even though it breaks down very quickly, it is ranked in the USA as one of the compounds most hazardous to the environment.

So even before the baker adds his chemical magic, there's some pretty solid cons relating to white bread. Another point to note is that anything that needs "refining" requires more energy resources to do so.

By the way, just because bread is brown in color doesn't necessarily mean it's brown bread in the traditional sense of the term, i.e. meaning whole wheat or wholemeal. Check out the ingredients on the bread that you buy and ensure that the first ingredient is whole wheat or wholemeal flour rather than enriched wheat flour or just wheat flour. Enriched/wheat flour is the same type of flour used in white bread. The presence of caramel also is an indicator that it's not true brown/wholemeal bread as caramel is used as a coloring agent. A couple of other ingredients to avoid if possible are fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oil/fats; aka trans fats.

The general rule of thumb is the less ingredients in the bread and the presence of wholemeal flour as the major ingredient, the better it is for you - and the planet

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Week 4 Results are in!

Well done everyone for producing good results in week 4, which is one of the hardest weeks to get results from, mostly because your motivation wanes and training is hard. But you will find that this week you will be feeling fitter and training will become more enjoyable. Also the light at the end of the tunnel can now be seen. I'm sure that your friends and family have noticed your new svelte figure, which should give you new found motivation. Come On!