In search of the fountain of youth (Day 9)
Fresh lemon juice first thing in the morning
My weight dropped 0.6kg today to 69.1kg. My Body Fat dropped 1% to 18.5%. My body water increased to 56.0% and my Body Muscle increased 0.5% to 42.4%. It looks like I’m finally getting some consistent results!
I started my day with a hot freshly squeezed lemon juice. I was out of fromage frais so I had my muesli with low fat yogurt, blueberries, blackberries and almonds. The yogurt felt lighter than the fromage frais and had a creamier taste to it. It was a tasty alternative to the fromage frais. They are both delicious, just different.
Wholemeal couscous with sweetcorn, tomato and lemon juice
For lunch I had the spinach with quinoa and fresh orange juice. I got hungry again a couple of hours later and had the spinach with wholemeal couscous that was mixed with sweet corn, tomatoes and lemon juice. Got hungry again a few hours later and ate the same meal again. When you exercise regularly your appetite can increase quite a bit. It’s not good to starve yourself. So if you feel hungry, eat. But you have to be thoughtful about what you eat and how much you eat. You can never go wrong with salads, vegetables and fruit. They are nutrient dense, but relatively low in calories. Its very easy to snack on nuts, which as mentioned before can lead to putting on fat if you’re not careful.
I did my workout in the evening again. This time I restricted it to just cardio. This week I’m experimenting with doing resistance training and cardio one day, followed by just cardio, to give my muscles a chance to rest and grow, followed by a day of resistance and cardio again and so on until the seventh day where I take a day off.
I completed my two laps of Valentines Park in 58 minutes 51 seconds. Didn’t quite beat my record of the previous day but did still do it under an hour. I had wanted to do an extended cardio session today. But by the time I got on the cross trainer I was starving. However I still pushed myself to workout for 15 minutes rather than just the normal 10 minutes. Because I was hungry I didn’t enjoy today’s session as I did the previous night.
When I got home I had a mixed vegetable juice with: beetroot, cucumber, celery, carrot and ginger root followed by a protein shake. For my evening meal I had cottage cheese; corn on the cob (boiled for 5 minutes) garnished with Bertolli Light (made with mild olive oil), sea salt and a sprinkle of garlic and chilli; and a roasted large fat mushroom seasoned with soy sauce and garlic puree covered in melted mozzarella. Bellissimo!
Hard water map of the UK
Earlier this week I looked into whether London tap water has toxins in it or not. It turns out as with any subject there is a huge debate raging about what type of water is best to drink. Some people don’t like the hardness of London water due to the extra minerals in it. However from an alternative perspective some of the extra minerals in hard water (i.e. calcium and magnesium) may well be good for you. It’s why people drink bottled mineral water after all - due to the extra minerals you get in them. Then there is the bad stuff that could end up in tap water (e.g. chlorine, lead and heavy metals) or controversial stuff like fluoride. There is a huge debate raging about the fluoridation of tap water. Some governments say they would like water companies to put fluoride into tap water in order to fight tooth decay amongst children who don’t brush their teeth. The West Midlands for example has been serving fluoridated water since 1964. Check this map of the UK to see if your water supply is being fluoridated. Others, like Alex Jones believe that fluoride is a poison and governments are deliberately fluoridating their populations to make them stupid.
evian
Then you have those who shun London tap water for bottled water and swear by the results of what they experience: e.g. less skin problems, less spots etc. Others argue that bottled water companies do not have the same strict regulations to abide by that tap water companies do, therefore you don’t really know what you’re drinking if you drink bottled water. You’re also paying an arm and a leg for bottled water. Did you know that Evian is French for Naive?
Aqua Optima water filter jug
Another suggestion is to drink filtered water. Filtered water also has many perspectives. The most affordable is the filter jug variety. You buy a jug with filter cartridges, poor tap water into it, and drink the filtered tap water. You can currently (15/08/2010) buy a water filter jug for as little as £4.99 and get 12 months worth of water filter cartridges from £15.29.* Filter jugs, depending on the cartridge used, can reduce: chlorine, calcium carbonate, heavy metals, herbicides and pesticides, while letting magnesium and potassium through (which your body can benefit from). They are not capable of removing fluoride and the particles of other pollutants which are too small to be filtered using their technology.
Whole house water filter
More expensive filtration solutions are attachments to taps, and filtering the water supply of the whole home. There are many kinds, no one system is perfect. Some are capable of removing fluoride; however every system has its pros and cons. If you live in an area that has water supplied which is fluoridated and you believe the evidence that suggests it’s not good for you, then having a system like this fitted in your home may well be a good investment. Fortunately my water supplier, Thames Water, is not currently fluoridating our water supply.
* I’ve just ordered and reserved my Aqua Optima water filter jug and cartridges as I write this. Maybe I have finally found the fountain of youth?! Will let you know in due course if it works!
Al-Khidr and Alexandra the Great and The Fountain of Youth