key2weight

Food Labelling

Traffic light labels are a great way to make healthier choices. At a glance you can see which foods are healthier compared to others. Products with mostly green lights are the healthiest foods to go for. Foods with amber lights are okay most of the time and those labelled with red lights should be eaten only occasionally.

A growing number of supermarkets and food manufacturers are using traffic light colours on the labels of some products to help you make your choice.

Traffic Light Source Food Standards Agency – www.food.gov.uk

Nutritional Information

• Low Fat or Reduced Fat

  Low Fat indicates that the product contains less than 3g fat per 100g or 100ml. However, be careful as often sugar is added to replace the fat, which means that the item can be high in calories; you may actually consume more calories than if you used the full fat option. Reduced fat foods contain 25% less fat than the standard product and are not necessarily low fat – check the nutritional information!

• Saturated Fat and Energy

  Currently people are eating far more saturated fat, on average, than is recommended, and rising levels of obesity indicate that energy intakes currently exceed energy requirements. Both these issues raise serious health concerns, particularly in relation to cardiovascular disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes.

  In February 2008, the Food Standards Agency published its saturated fat and energy intake programme, which aims to reduce saturated fat intakes and contribute to helping consumers achieve and maintain energy balance – www.food.gov.uk

• No Added Sugar and ‘Unsweetened’

  The term ‘no added sugar’ means that no additional sugar has been added to a product other than the sugar occurring naturally e.g. from fruit and milk. It can also mean that artificial sweeteners have been added. It is important to be aware that these foods can still taste sweet and have a high sugar content. ‘Unsweetened’ normally means that no sugar or artificial sweetener has been added to the food to give it a sweet taste.

• Salt

  Most people eat too much salt. This can raise blood pressure, which increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. We can all take steps to eat less salt by shopping wisely and being sparing with salt at home.

  The Food Standards Agency is currently running a major public health campaign to reduce salt consumption in the UK. – www.food.gov.uk

  Salt is chemically known a sodium chloride therefore sodium will often be listed in the nutritional information and you may never see the actual amount of salt listed. The UK recommendation for salt is 6g a day. You can calculate the amount of salt by multiplying the amount of sodium by 2.5.

Using the Eatwell Plate

The eatwell plate makes healthy eating easier to understand by giving a visual representation of the types and proportions of foods people need to eat. Download the Eatwell Plate PDF

Exercise

It can take a couple of weeks for your body to settle down to efficiently use fat for energy, so notice how your body is reacting and if you already exercise, adapt your routine to suit. Make sure you drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration. As your weight comes off, you’ll probably become more active naturally.

Becoming more active is terrific as it burns kilocalories, reduces stress levels, improves your health and helps you sleep better.

Experts advise at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day at least five times a week. Moderate activity is anything that makes you breathe faster and feel warmer such as walking, swimming.

High impact exercise needs to be powered by energy from food intake, and this is obviously less while on Key2weight diet programme, so be realistic about what you will be able to achieve.

If you are already exercising and quite fit take it easy for a couple of weeks and you’ll be able to regain you’re current levels of exercise when you’re in full ketosis.

If you are new to exercise, don’t push yourself. Build up your exercise levels gradually.

Remember that it is just as important to integrate exercise into your daily life, no matter how small – small changes can have a big impact on your health!

Lower Ab Toner

First lie flat on the floor and place your hands under your bottom. Then raise your legs straight up. Using your abs slowly lower one leg until it is almost touching the ground.

Do NOT let your legs touch the ground until you are finished with this exercise. Return to your previous position and slowly lower your other leg. Do these 25 times.

Reverse Crunches

Take the same position as the Alternating Supine Leg Walks with your legs straight up. Bend your knees until they are in a 90-degree position. Make sure you are using your abs to hold your legs in this position!

Hold this position for a few seconds and then lower your legs until your feet ALMOST touch the ground. Repeat this exercise 5 times, making sure that your stomach muscles are tightened.

Leg Lifts

Lie on the floor with your hands once again under your bottom. Then lift your legs straight up, lifting your butt with them. Do 25 reps of this exercise, one again making sure that you are using your abs.

Walking

Make a determined effort to walk throughout the day. Get off the bus or train a stop or two before your destination and walk the rest of the way; park your car in the furthest space in the car park; walk up and down stairs (no lifts); walk the children to school; walk to the local corner shop for your newspaper or milk, etc.

15 min moderate walking will burn 52 extra kcal*

Housework Can Do the Trick!

Turn those tiresome chores into healthy positive ones! Turn on the music and clean the windows, hoover, dust, wash up, iron and burn off those calories.

15 min hoovering / dusting will burn 38 extra kcal*

Get Out In the Garden

Mowing the lawn, weeding and digging all count.

15 min weeding will burn 52 extra kcal*

Clean Your Car

Time you ran your car through the wash? Why not wash it by hand? It’s cheaper, better for the environment and a great form of exercise. Put your back into it and you’ll get a better result!

15 min moderate car washing will burn 43 extra kcal*

Play Actively With the Kids / Get Some Friends Together

How about heading for the park for some football, rounders, catch the ball… or dusting off the bike for a leisurely ride? Exercise at a pace where you can still talk.

15 min recreational cycling will burn 45 extra kcal*

Bicycle Exercise for Abs

Want to know the most effective ab exercises? The following ab exercises are the results of the American Council on Exercise’s study to determine the most effective ab exercises. While ab exercises won’t spot reduce fat from the belly, strong abs are important for keeping your body healthy and protecting your spine. For more about flat abs, visit my Abs Page for articles, workouts, FAQs and more.

The Bicycle exercise is the best move to target the rectus abdominis (i.e., the ‘six pack’) and the obliques (the waist), according to a study done by the American Council on Exercise. To do this exercise correctly:

• 1. Lie face up on the floor and lace your fingers behind your head.
• 2. Bring the knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on the neck.
• 3. Straighten the left leg out while simultaneously turning the upper body to the right, bringing the left elbow towards the right knee.
• 4. Switch sides, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee.
• 5. Continue alternating sides in a ‘pedaling’ motion for 12-16 reps.

Exercise Ball Crunch

The exercise ball is an excellent tool to strengthen the abs and comes out number three for working the rectus abdominis. To do it right:

• 1. Lie face-up with the ball resting under your mid/lower back.
• 2. Cross your arms over the chest or place them behind your head.
• 3. Contract your abs to lift your torso off the ball, pulling the bottom of your ribcage down toward your hips.
• 4. As you curl up, keep the ball stable (i.e., you shouldn’t roll).
• 5. Lower back down, getting a stretch in the abs, and repeat for 12-16 reps.

Vertical Leg Crunch

The vertical leg crunch is another effective move for the rectus abdominis and the obliques. To do it right:

• 1. Lie face up on the floor and extend the legs straight up with knees crossed.
• 2. Contract the abs to lift the shoulder blades off the floor, as though reaching your chest towards your feet.
• 3. Keep the legs in a fixed position and imagine bringing your belly button towards your spine at the top of the movement.
• 4. Lower and repeat for 12-16 reps.

Long Arm Crunch

This move, ranked 6th in the ACE study, emphasizes the upper part of the abs. To do it right:

• 1. Lie on a mat and extend the arms straight out behind the head with hands clasped, keeping the arms next to the ears.
• 2. Contract the abs and lift the shoulder blades off the floor.
• 3. Keep the arms straight and avoid straining the neck. If you feel neck pain, take one hand behind the head while keeping the other arm extended.
• 4. Lower and repeat for 12-16 reps.

Reverse Crunch

It may seem like the reverse crunch is for the lower abs but, remember, the rectus abdominis is one long muscle, so you can’t separate upper from lower. To do this move right:

• 1. Lie on the floor and place hands on the floor or behind the head.
• 2. Bring the knees in towards the chest until they’re bent to 90 degrees, with feet together or crossed.
• 3. Contract the abs to curl the hips off the floor, reaching the legs up towards the ceiling.
• 4. Lower and repeat for 12-16 reps.
• 5. It’s a very small movement, so try to use your abs to lift your hips rather than swinging your legs and creating momentum.

Full Reverse Crunch

In a full verticul crunch, you really work the abs by involving both the upper and lower body. To do it right:

• 1. Lie on your back and extend the legs up towards the ceiling.
• 2. Place hands behind your head (lightly cupping it) and contract the abs to lift the shoulder blades off the floor.
• 3. At the same time, press the heels towards the ceiling, creating a ‘u’ shape with the torso.
• 4. Lower down and repeat for 12-16 reps.

Plank

The plank exercise ranked number 10 in the ACE study and is a great way to build endurance in both the abs and back, as well as stabilizer muscles. To do it right:

• 1. Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor.
• 2. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows.
• 3. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.
• 4. Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air.
• 5. Hold for 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.