BMI and Actifry!!!

What do you think about BMI?  BMI stands for Body Mass Index, which is a way of seeing if your weight is appropriate for your height.

It is calculated by dividing your weight (kg) by your height (mtrs) squared, or you can just look at a chart like the one on the left.

It is supposed to correlate with body fat, supposedly the higher your BMI the greater your risk of a number of medical problems.

It seems to be what the medical profession go by when calculating how 'fit' you are in their terms.

However, one of my friends nephews is a P.E teacher. He is very tall, very broad and very well built.  He is super fit, full of muscle with hardly an ounce of fat on him.  He obviously has a physical job, not only that he works out every day at the gym and goes running 4-5 times a week.  He eats a very healthy diet and watches everything he eats, he is passionate about it.

He went for a medical last week, they calculated his BMI and told him he was obese and needed to lose weight!!

Totally crazy isn't it. 

I agree, BMI can be used as a general measure for most people, however, it really doesn't take into consideration a person's build, athletic build at that.  It doesn't differentiate between between fatty tissue and lean tissue.  5lbs of fat takes up more space than 5lbs of muscle, meaning you can fit more muscle into your body than you can fat.  So your weight is not always a correct interpretation of how much fat is in your body.

I think I will just carry on concentrating on increasing my strength and my muscle, replacing my fatty tissue with lean tissue and increasing my fitness and stamina.  However that affects my weight is not so important to me, I will continue to gauge my progress by how many inches I have dropped and how my clothes fit, not get hung up by the scales, as I have said before, they do not define me!!

~BREAKFAST~

 

I wanted oats this morning, I also wanted pancakes, and I wanted something 'cinnamony' with some maple syrup involved somewhere along the line!!

So, I decided on some apple & walnut oaty pancakes with roasted pear and walnuts!


So easy, just put 3 tablespoons of oats in a large bowl, I also added 2 teaspoons of chia seeds, then add 2 tablespoons of fat free yogurt and a beaten egg and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, plus a grated apple!  Then just mix together.

Heat a non stick pan and drop the 'oat batter' mix into rounds, I made 3, cook for about 4 minutes on each side.  Whilst they are cooking add a chopped pear and some chopped walnuts to the pan too and let them 'roast' in the heat.

I then served them up with the pear and walnuts scattered  over the top of the pancakes, a drizzle of maple syrup and a spoonful of fat free greek yogurt.

Absolutely amazing!

The third one was put aside for my afternoon snack after the gym this afternoon!! ;)

~LUNCH~

 

No need for a mid-morning snack today, the pancakes saw me right through!

So today's lunch was another helping of the delicious chicken, lemon and green vegetable soup I made yesterday.  As there was no blog yesterday here is the recipe:-

In a large pan I cooked some spinach, broccoli, asparagus, sugar snap peas and courgettes in some good organic chicken stock.  I then added 2 chopped up chicken breasts and let them poach in the liquid until cooked through.  Seasoned with a good dose of white pepper.

I then simply blitzed with a hand held blender, but leaving some bits whole.

When serving I grated some fresh parmesan and fresh lemon zest over the top and scattered some roasted pumpkin seeds too.

This had such an amazing flavour, and the added lemon zest really brings it alive, I totally love it!

~AFTERNOON SNACK~

 

After a good swimming session today I fixed myself my favourite berry protein smoothie and heated up the remaining apple oat pancake left over from this morning.

 

~DINNER~

 

I love to do a mid-week roast, especially now the nights are drawing in and it has become colder, it makes everything alright with the world! ;)

Tonight I did a yummy roast chicken dinner.

I simply lift the skin on a chicken and stuff grated lemon zest, garlic and lemon thyme underneath.  I add two lemon halves to the chicken cavity and then place it in a rack in a roasting tin so that as it cooks the fat drips away.



I roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes and parsnips in the Actifry without any oil for 45 minutes so that they were lovely and crisp.

I then simply lightly boiled some sliced carrots and roman cauliflower, then used the vegetable water and chicken juices (drained off fat) with a little cornflower to make the gravy.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Incase you were wondering, this is an Actifry...

It is a way to 'fry' foods, especially potatoes, with little or no fat.  It rotates and turns the food you place in the cooking bowl continuously and blow continuous hot air over it, making potatoes extremely crisp even without any oil .  I never add oil to my potatoes, I just cook them dry and they are always crisp and fantastic, I don't even par boil them beforehand!

I also cook numerous other dishes in mine, it is a brilliant 'gadget'!

~EXERCISE~

 

A really good swimming session today, the pool was practically empty so I managed a good 100 lengths, and I loved every one.  Rather than running out of energy the more I do, I find myself getting stronger and this really pushes me on.  It is brilliant.

 

I rewarded myself with a good ten minutes in the steam room and a good 20 minutes in the jacuzzi, well deserved I reckon!!

 

Thanks again for reading

Jo

xx