RSVP Diet and Health

Body Beautiful – Hayley Rock This month, Hayley Rock, managing director of Concierge Dublin, gives us a sneak peek into her fridge and takes us through her average daily dietary pattern and exercise regime. 5ft 8inches 9 stone Size 8 Food Diary From An Average Day 8am – Special K (Aldi version, one third of the price and twice as nice) 10am – banana and toast 1pm – couscous with two raw chillies chopped and two slices of toast 3pm – banana 7pm – paprika baked salmon, wholegrain rice and a stir-fry with broccoli, pepper, mushroom, chilli and garlic 9:30pm – tea and two slices of brown bread Exercise -At the moment, I don’t really do any exercise bar a half hour walk to the office and back every day. I have tried bikram, boxercise and personal training in the past, but I’m finding it really difficult lately to get motivated. I also think when I am fit I need a lot less sleep, at the moment I need nine hours a night so I really need to get back on the healthy train. Supplements -I take Vivioptal every day. It’s an all round good multi vitamin. It’s good to know if I’m being really bold on a particular day, there’s at least some kind of back up in the system to keep me going. Diet and Detox -I drink juice quite a bit. I go to Zumo in Stephen’s Green and the staff are brilliant. They don’t even have to ask, they know their customer. I get a carrot, celery, cucumber and wheatgrass juice – it tastes as disgusting as it sounds. I’m all about balance, I’ve never dieted as I am blessed with a fast metabolism, but I try to incorporate good eating habits into my life. I’m no angel though; it wouldn’t be unusual for me to waddle into Abrakebabra after a night on the tiles! Biggest Weakness -My biggest weakness would be bread – it’s the biggest part of my diet. I have tried to cut back to four slices a day, but realistically it’s more towards the six mark. I managed to give it up ...
Foods To Boost Your Immune System As the never ending bad weather continues and our bodies are fighting to keep the dreaded cold and flu away, research from Livestrong.com has proven that certain foods along with rest and keeping warm can help boost our immune system. RSVP has put together a list of the yummy foods, that along with a well balanced diet can help boost your immune system. Yogurt Flavoured, plain, or stirred, yogurt is a great source of good bacteria called probiotics. These healthy bacteria have been all the rage and yoghurt is very important when it comes to digestion. But, what does it have to do with not catching a bug? According to livestrong.com about 70% of our body’s immune system response is found in our GI tract and because our gut is on the front lines when it comes to contact with external bacteria, it’s important to keep our gut healthy to keep us healthy overall. Garlic One small clinical trial found that in a study of 146 subjects, individuals who received a garlic supplement daily for 12 weeks reported fewer days of illness. Although the results of the study were subjective, it may not hurt to add an extra bulb or two to tonight’s dinner dish and it tastes delise. Carrots As you can imagine, our skin is one of the most important lines of defense, protecting our insides from the outside world. It’s crucial to keep our skin healthy and vitamin A (found in carrots) plays an important role in this. Vitamin A acts as an immune enhancer internally as well and a deficiency of this vitamin can weaken our immune system, increasing risk of infection. So how much do we need? For adults, a range of 700 – 900 micrograms is recommended. Other sources of vitamin A include: kale, broccoli, squash, cantaloupe, apricots, fish and sweet potatoes. Black Tea Hot tea is a common cold time staple because it’s soothing on the throat, but there may be more benefit to this than originally thought. Black tea contains a small amino acid called L-theanine, which may help to support the immune system. A small study from Brigham and ...
RSVP’s Fit Food Facts – Round Up Fit Food: An avocado has more than twice as much potassium as a banana. Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fat, which is easily burned for energy. Fit Food:By the age of 65, individuals who haven’t engaged in exercise on a regular basis may incur a decrease in their muscular strength by as much as 80 percent. Fit Food: Strawberries are loaded with vitamin C and are only 45 calories per 8 berries and they taste delicious. Fit Food: A whole, hard-boiled egg has 78 calories, and a whole fried egg has 90 calories, or about 15 percent more calories than the boiled egg. A fried egg gives you 6.8 grams of fat, and a boiled egg has 5.3 grams of fat. Fit Food: Broccoli contains twice the vitamin C of an orange. It has almost as much calcium as whole milk–and the calcium is better absorbed. Fit Food: There are 200 calories in 290 grams of grapes. You can burn 200 calories of grapes with 38mins cycling, 18mins running, 30mins swimming, 50mins walking. Fit Food: Studies show that people who have a little extra body fat, but exercise moderately, are healthier than thin people who get no exercise at all. Fit Food: Take fish oil supplements – They burn fat and supply essential fatty acids. Fit Food :Severe calorie restriction is hard to keep up, and it also slows your metabolism. Taking in less than 1,000 calories per day will significantly lower your resting metabolism, making it difficult to continue losing weight. You must eat to maintain your resting metabolism and burn calories. Try to eat five or six small healthy meals throughout the day. Fit Food: It takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose 1 pound.Combining diet and exercise to create a 500-calorie daily deficit will then add up to 3,500 calories — and a 1-pound loss — per week. Fit Food: The banana is the only fruit that takes close to 45 minutes to get digested. A medium banana contain roughly 110 calories.Slow digestion means a slow release of energy, this is good, especially for athletes.
The Food Nanny Anna Burns is supernanny for your kitchen. Her book, The Food Nanny, sets out to equip parents with the very simple tools needed to stop this current (and undeniable) trend: our kids are getting fat and it is our job as parents to change this. “At the moment, there seems to be no rules at all around eating for kids,” admits Anna, “and what I mean about that, is that you see kids drifting around food constantly. In this generation of parents, we’ve lost the formalities that did exist around eating not that long ago. In my own childhood, and I’m not that old, we did have three meals a day and that was it. In the book, what I aim to do is to give parents the tools and techniques very specifically to get back on track to that quite old fashioned but very straight forward formality around eating and when we do that, we have a very good fighting chance of preventing our kids from being overweight in the future.” Here, the Food Nanny shares with us some of her top rules and tips for a healthier diet and a healthier future for our children. The first rule – and the most difficult one for most parents – is to say ‘NO’ to passive consumption We indulge our kids these days like they’ve never been indulged before. We need to be in a position to say no, because we have the cheap supermarkets. Food has never been less expensive for us, and when our kids see something and they want it, we tend to give in. If you get used to saying no for unnecessary requests for food, it’s a discipline for us as parents to do it, but it’s the most important step. Another important rule is the idea that we eat only at the table People don’t quite get it initially, but if that is the only thing that you take out of the book, that if your bum is not on a seat you don’t eat, then it will actually change your child’s eating habits for life. I use For example, ...
How To Avoid The Christmas Bulge We all know we tend to binge during the Christmas holidays. For some strange reason we feel we are entitled to eat an entire selection box or a full block of cheese – it is Christmas after all and Santa is fat and jolly so why shouldn’t we be the same! But did you know, on average, people gain between 5lbs – 10lbs over the holidays and this is weight they carry into the New Year and struggle to lose. So before you go too wild and stay eating until you feel sick, think of the hardship you will be putting yourself through to lose the excess weight come January. I am not saying to diet over the festive season but be aware. A pound is actually a lot of weight. The Christmas dinner is not the biggest problem, turkey and vegetables are all healthy. One blow-out meal will not push you up a dress size but if you do wish to cut calories, choose white turkey meat, removing the skin (saving about 50 calories per portion) and stacking high the unbuttered veggies, but it’s your Christmas dinner! To put on 1lb of body fat you need to eat an extra 3,500 calories – not that hard to achieve on Christmas day. A 100grams of wensleydale cheese has 359 calories and who really measures how many grams you are going to eat. The real issue is the weeks of abandonment on either side of Christmas day, the party snacks, the mince pies, the pudding, the cheese boards, the cocktails. So the overall average weight gain works out at just an extra 500 calories a day, which is a mince pie and a couple of glasses of wine. So here are a couple of things you can do to avoid having to hire a personal trainer in January. Drinking wine or better still wine spritzers instead of cocktails or creamy tipples such as Baileys can help to keep things under control. Alternating each alcoholic drink with a glass of water is another good moderation trick. You drink less. Be strict with the canapés, party food is ...
Start To Lose Your Baby Weight Pregnancy is the most natural thing in the world but it can takes its toll on your body, including stretching your abdominal muscles and skin, and promoting fat storage around your hips and belly. The joys of being a woman. Then, when your baby is born, finding the time to get your body back into shape maybe difficult but it can be done. Once you discipline your mind and stock the fridge with healthy treats you will get your old body back and all in the comfort of your own home. Having a good diet is essential, no matter how much exercise you do, diet is key and you need to be extra disciplined to begin with, then eventually wean the fatty treats back in, well on occasion. Diet Step 1 Eat a low-calorie diet. No amount of exercise will make you lose weight if you over consume food. Remember 30% exercise, 70% diet, you are what you eat. Estimate your daily calorie need with a basal metabolic rate calculator or simply join myfitnesspal and record your daily intake of food, you will see how many calories/fats/carbohydrates you are consuming daily. Don’t be rewarding yourself with a slice of chocolate cake, this can become a habit, you want to make chocolate cake a treat. Discipline is key but with it you will soon see the results. Step 2 Breastfeeding your baby burns hundreds of calories every day. Producing milk takes a lot of energy and the energy used increases to about 500 calories every day when you breastfeed. In fact, the fat your body stores during your pregnancy is meant to provide energy to produce milk for your baby. Step 3 Eat fiber-rich vegetables, fruits and whole grains. These will fill your stomach and reduce your food consumption, helping you stay within your calorie allowance without feeling hungry. Its common sense but sometimes hard to maintain but eat from the ground, keep it simple and your baby weight will disappear. Step 4 Drink plenty of water throughout the day and just before a meal. Water will fill your belly, which can help reduce your food intake. ...
Anti-Aging Foods We all know that exercise and healthy living will keep us looking young and fresh, so the more water and fruits we drink and eat, the better our skin will look. Have you ever looked in the mirror the morning after a hard night on the tiles? Dehydration can add years to your face. But there are certain foods that will improve your skins appearance, boost your energy levels and help build a more positive, younger looking you. Livestrong.com recently made a list created by Chris Mohr, PH.D owner of Moherresults.com who reckons if you add the following options to your diet, you will see multiple benefits. Blueberries - These colourful little berries are high in fiber, loaded with vitamins and minerals, and a great source of antioxidants that may help protect the brain and skin. Wild Salmon- As we age, it’s common for brain function to decline. Omega-3 fats, like those found in wild salmon, however, can protect the skin, brain, eyes, heart and joints. It is suggested that you get up to 12 ounces of fatty fish per week. Pistachios- These little green nuts are not only high in nutrition, but they also have a major benefit over other nuts — they come in a shell. According to a study published in the journal Appetite, subjects consumed 41 percent fewer calories when in-shell nuts are offered compared to those already shelled. Whey Protein- As we age, muscle mass begins to decline at around 1 percent per year. This loss becomes a vicious cycle — loss of muscle means lower metabolism, loss of coordination and balance and the list goes on. Fortunately, combining strength training with a little “magical” by-product of milk (whey protein isolate) can do wonders. Try adding it to a smoothie, mix in some blueberries, and you’ve got a winner! You can find whey protein powder in most grocery stores. Greek Yogurt- This type of yogurt has double the protein and half the sugar of regular yogurt. Search for a Greek yogurt that has probiotics, special cultures that are great for gut health. Greek yogurt also has less lactose than regular yogurt which makes it easier ...
Top 10 Low Calorie Foods White Fish -White fish includes a wide variety of fish with white flesh such as tilapia, cod, sole, and herring. If prepared boiled or baked without added fat, a 3.5 ounce serving of white fish has only 110 calories. Not only is white fish low in calories but you also get the added protein. It’s a winner. Chicken Breast-A 3 ounce serving of chicken breast without skin contains only 138 calories, 3 grams of fat and 27 grams of protein. The best way to eat a chicken breast is baked, boiled, or grilled without skin. Chicken breast can easily be added to salads for added protein and flavour. Sprinkle some seasoning on top for added flavour. Low Fat Cottage Cheese-Cottage cheese is low in fat and calories but high in protein. One 4 ounce serving of fat free cottage cheese contains 80 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 6 grams of protein. Again read the labels on low fat products to check salt and sugar content. Broccoli-A steamed ½ cup serving of broccoli only has 33 calories. Broccoli is also considered a wonder food because of its antioxidant vitamins and cancer fighting sulphur containing ingredient known as glucosinates. Fat Free Yogurt-A 4-ounce serving, or small container, of yogurt contains around 40 calories. We need a certain amount of calcium in our diet as it helps fight higher body fat and bad cholesterol. Be careful, as some of the low-fat options have a lot of salt and sugar to add flavour so read the labels. Oatmeal-Old-fashioned oats contain only 110 calories and are the best choice for breakfast. Oatmeal contains water-soluble fibers that help lower total cholesterol. Old-fashioned oatmeal is free of sodium and cholesterol and very low in fat. Cook with water if at all possible and add a drop of honey. Brussels Sprouts-Brussels sprouts contain 142 percent of the recommended RDA of vitamin C. A small 4 ounce serving of brussels sprouts, without added fat are only 40 calories. Lentils-One 4 ounce serving of lentils is about 70 calories. Lentils contain high levels of proteins, dietary fiber, folate and Vitamin B1. Lentils are one of the ...
What To Drink And When To Drink It LIVESTRONG.com wrote a great article recently about what to drink and when to drink it. People seem to forget how many calories are in certain drinks and most of the time we drink way more calories than we need and I am not just talking about alcohol here. In fact, adding empty liquid calories is one of the worst dietary offenses we make. But the problem isn’t just the added calories; it’s also that many junky drinks can also influence hunger and fullness—thus coaxing you to eat even more. Here is what LIVESTRONG.com had to say about the liquids we drink on a daily basis. When to Have… WATER >>You’re feeling fatigue, have a headache, or are just plain old grumpy: In a study published in The Journal of Nutrition, participants who were dehydrated by more than 1 percent reported decreased mood, lower concentration, and headaches. According to the study’s authors, certain neurons detect dehydration and may signal other brain regions that regulate mood and cognitive functions. “A rule of thumb is that women need about 11 8 oz. cups of water a day and men need around 15 cups,” says nutritionist Amanda Berhaupt-Glickstein. >>You want to lose weight: In meeting of The American Chemical Society, researchers found that over 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals three times per day lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake. Good guidelines: Drink two cups before every meal. >>You exercise for less than 90 minutes: Just because you sweat doesn’t mean you should reach for a sports drink. Yes, you need water for rehydration and because it helps lubricates joints and provides cushioning to organs and muscles, along with many other vital processes. However, people often overestimate their needs for sugar and sports drinks when exercising, says Lisa C. Cohn, owner of Park Avenue Nutrition in New York. “Really, only water is needed unless you are active for more than 90 minutes with moderate to high intensity.” Drink about 15 to 20 ounces two to three hours before exercise, and 8 to 10 ounces 10 to 15 minutes beforehand, ...
Have Your Cake And Eat It Too… Kind Of… HOW TO EAT CARBS AND LOSE WEIGHT Carbohydrates have got a bad reputation when it comes to weight loss. “No carbs before Marbs” and “Carbs are the devil” are just some of the things we hear day in and day out, and diets such as Atkins haven’t helped things… When it comes to shedding body fat fast a lot of people resort to the no carb approach, and it works, temporarily anyway. But what most people are still unaware of is that they can eat carbs and lose weight. In fact, they should eat carbs to lose weight and keep it off long term. Yes, really! See, here’s what’s happened… Over years and years of consuming a diet full of processed carbohydrates, a lot of people have grown extremely insensitive to one of the most important hormones in our body. This key hormone can either help you achieve your ideal shape and size, or it can keep you overweight no matter how hard you try to fight it. Insulin helps your body keep blood sugar at bay, by clearing it quickly from your bloodstream after a carbohydrate rich meal, and sending those carbs to be stored in muscle tissue to be used as energy. However, thanks to diets packed with insulin and blood sugar spiking carbohydrates, a lot of people are suffering from some level of insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin is no longer able to efficiently remove blood sugar from the blood stream to be used as energy, so it ends up as body fat. As a result more and more people are getting bigger and bigger, and finding it harder and harder to lose weight. On top of this insulin resistance can lead to type II diabetes and an array of other horrible physical and mental health problems. So what can we do about this, and how can we continue to enjoy carbs and lose weight too? We could go completely low-carb for an extended period of time in an attempt to repair our insulin receptors and increase insulin sensitivity. But most people would rather die that go low-carb long term. And then we’d have to reintroduce carbohydrates back in to ...
On A Diet? Check Out The Top 9 Fat Loss Factors If it was as easy as eating healthily and exercising you’d already look and feel the way you want to look and feel, and therefore you wouldn’t be reading this right now. But it isn’t. There is more to it and you know it. In fact, there are 9 key factors that have been keeping your body from burning fat, and you from achieving the shape and size you desire. The sooner you fix these, the sooner the weight will start to fall off you quickly and effortlessly: 1. DIETING If you have dieted more than once in the past, or if you are a woman for that matter…, then you’ve been messing up with your metabolism; the natural equilibrium of the chemical reactions that happen when we eat and drink, which are in charge of the transport of substances to the cells in our body. When we diet we reduce our daily food and nutrition intake, which sends signals to the brain that we are in a famine state. Cutting down calories stimulates the body’s production of the hormone ghrelin, a hunger-stimulating peptide that makes us overeat after the diet is over. Wonder why you end up putting all the weight back on? It has nothing to do with will power and everything to do with chemistry. Start treating your body and your brain like you love them, and they will show you they love you back. 2. MALNUTRITION When we diet we deny the body of the nutrition it needs, so even though we may lose weight we often end up malnourished. We often develop insulin resistance, which puts our body in a nutritional famine. This causes huge highs and lows in our blood sugar, which leaves us craving unhealthy foods such as high sugar or high salt foods. Start nourishing your body and brain with plenty of water, good quality protein, fruit and vegetables of all colours. Take a good quality multivitamin supplement daily. 3. POOR DIGESTION When we eat overly-processed, pre-cooked, or fast foods, our digestive system also enters a nutritional famine, and our body goes into fat storage mode. These so-called foods kill the good bacteria in our digestive system that ...
Fatgirl Slim: August 2012 I have a wee bit of a confession to make. I wasn’t as dedicated to the old diet lark as I should have been this month. That’s a bit of an understatement actually – I actually fell off the wagon quite spectacularly. And in doing so, I even got on my own nerves. You see, it all went downhill when I became ill a month ago. As I mentioned before, I’m never, ever sick, so when I was suddenly laid low with a chest infection, head cold, earache and sore throat, I was quite devastated. Particularly as I couldn’t be superior over my always-sick friends (they’re skinny little wagons too, but that’s probably a coincidence) and smugly claim that I’m just “never, ever sick!” The illness lasted for three weeks and it finally lifted after antibiotics, steroids and drinking my own bodyweight’s worth of Night Nurse. Apart from feeling terrible, two other factors made me feel even sorrier for myself. The first was that I still had to work, as the life of a freelance journalist generally doesn’t allow for such luxuries as sick leave or annual holidays, so there was no curling up on the sofa and watching endless episodes of CSI, Judge Judy, and Confessions of an Animal Hoarder. Well, in truth that’s what I do on a normal day anyway while tapping away distractedly on a keyboard, but I digress. The second was that my parents were away, so the one person I’d like to think would be as fascinated by and interested in every last cough and splutter out of her darling eldest child, i.e, my mammy, was off sunning herself in Turkey on one of those amazing pensioners’ month-long deals. Sure, she texted every day and called regularly to see if I was still alive, but that wasn’t quite the same as her running to my house to bring me chicken soup and clean my kitchen. In fact, when I went to collect her and my father from the airport, all pale and hollow-eyed and fragile, I was greeted by a plane-load of jovial OAPS coming through ...
5 Food Tips For Lean Legs and Happy Faces! By Anna Aparicio Thin, but not too skinny, and not to muscly either. Slim hips, cellulite-free and toned thighs, small calves, skinny ankles… When it comes to talking about our legs, we seem to have what we want pretty clear. Jennifer Lopez’ legs, maybe? We all have different body types and are genetically predisposed to store fat in different areas in our bodies. However, studies show there is direct correlation between the type of foods we eat and where in our bodies we store body fat. So, if you are already working out hard, drinking clean filtered water and eating healthily, but have been finding it hard to shift fat in your lower body, there are certain “magical” foods that may help you finally get the lean legs you’ve been yearning for. Because hormones dictate fat burning, if you have a tendency to store fat around your hip and thigh area, you may be suffering from The Estrogen Effect. Researchers believe that there has been a substantial increase of estrogenic and oestrogen-like chemicals in our environment. Because of the high prevalence of these chemicals, women and men are becoming over-feminised (do “man boobs” ring a bell?); contributing to decreased sperm counts, increased infertility, and increased hormonal toxins stored in our body fat. According to Ori Hofmekler (Author of The Anti-Estrogen Diet and The Warrior Diet), there are several anti-estrogenic components in foods we eat every day that help mitigate the effects of these chemicals in our environment. By eating more of these foods, you’ll be able to detoxify some of these oestrogens from the body and reduce stubborn lower body fat, balance your hormones, and even reduce the risks of cancer. 5 Food Tips For Lean Legs, and Happy Faces! Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage – highly anti-estrogenic vegetables. Choose organic when possible. Eat them raw, lightly steamed, or in curries, and watch your hips and thighs shrink! Kale and spinach do the job too. Citrus fruits – contain bioflavonoids like rutin and quercitin, which are best known for their antioxidant cancer-fighting properties. Use lemon and lime in your cooking, or add them to hot water or organic herbal teas as ...
Hot Tips for a Hot Beach Body! We know… more exercise and less cake. But isn’t there anything else we can do to look and feel a little better this summer? These hot tips from Anna Aparicio will have you slipping into your bikini before you can say beach! FAST & LOOSE From about 4am till10am, the body is in detoxification mode. This is why many of us do not feel hungry first thing in the morning. Drinking water, freshly-pressed juices and herbal teas only will assist in this process. Loading the body with food at that time can interfere with the detoxification process. So, it’s better to have breakfast around 10am when your body has completed the detox stage and is ready for feeding, or even wait until lunchtime. At that stage we usually start feeling hungry, which is the body’s way of letting you know that detoxification is finished. This natural process is an amazing inbuilt health and beauty treatment that we get every night for free, just for being human! Fasting until after 10am or until lunchtime has been proven to be a great detoxing tool that can help boost health and accelerate weight-loss. During this period, it’s advised that you drink plenty of mineral or osmosis-filtered water to aid your organs in flushing excess toxins as well as eliminating excess fluid retention and bloatedness. Caffeine-free organic herbal teas are allowed, as are freshly pressed vegetable juices. But say no to coffee, breakfast tea, or soft drinks! Plan ahead so that the first meal you have after your fast is packed with lots of vitamins, minerals, protein and good fats to help rev up your metabolism, boost your energy levels and promote overall health. SQUEEZE IT LIKE IT’S HOT A very much taken for granted fruit, lemons prevent sepsis, or bacteria build-up in the body. They are also anti-scorbutic, a term referring to their ability to prevent disease and to help purify the body of impurities. They can also relieve symptoms of indigestion, such as heartburn, bloating, gas and cramping. And lemon water has been proven to aid in the cleansing of the bowels, as well as dissolving uric acid and other poisons ...
Fatgirl Slim July 2012 – Diary of a Reluctant Dieter July 2012 So two things that I achieved this month: (A) Finishing the mini-marathon and not coming in last, waheyyy! This is my fourth time walking the Dublin 10km marathon, and as I mentioned last month, on the other three occasions I romped home in the last ten people. This meant that the musicians along the route were all dismantling their equipment as we trundled past, and the medals were being packed away in a van by the time we finally reached the end. So it was nice this year to be in the middle of it all with the Kare4Kasey gang, and even nicer that the sun shone, unlike the last time, when the torrential rain made it even harder. We finished it in 2 hours and 15 minutes, which is 25 minutes faster than last time. I was quite pleased at the result, as was Karen Barody, my fitness consultant at The Hospital Group. Obviously Sonia O’Sullivan can rest easy for another few months, but if I end up skinny by next year, she’ll need to watch her back! (B) Buying a dress in size 22, rather than my normal 28-30. While 22 isn’t exactly Kate Middleton territory, it means that I can now fit into clothes from some high-street stores. Up to now, I had a handful of shops, online sites and boutiques to choose from, but the thing about shops for big people is that their clothes tend to have equally big price tags – New Look being the honourable exception. I would prefer to buy Irish, but for some reason, Irish fat shops charge ridiculous prices sometimes, possibly because they presume we have no other choice. They’re wrong though as we do. I bought a dress from an online US site last year, and it was delivered to my house for €120 less than it was selling for in a larger ladies’ boutique in Dublin. While I don’t want to spend a lot on clothes that hopefully won’t fit me in a few months, I had to buy two dresses this month. One for a charity event that I ...
Weight for It – with Aisling Holly – MD of The Hospital Group MD of The Hospital Group Aisling Holly discusses the growing cosmetic surgery and weight-loss industry in Ireland, how celebs maintain their looks, and why Irish women are queuing up to have the most intimate procedure of all! It’s almost like selling confidence in a bottle. It really gives you that feel-good factor to be able to change someone’s life, or to have a part to play in that change. As managing director of The Hospital Group, a cosmetic and weight-loss clinic that has established premises in Dublin,Cork, Galway, Aisling Holly is committed to providing patients with the best in care and customer service in the most secure environment possible. And this lady knows her stuff when it comes to the business of being beautiful! Dealing with both surgical and non-invasive procedures on a daily basis means that Aisling has an expert opinion on all aspects of cosmetic enhancement, and is happy to openly share her own personal experiences on the process. She is also not afraid to hold back when it comes to giving her views on the celebs who have availed of it in the past! Taking the time to chat to RSVP at the Clarion hotel in Cork, Aisling shares with us the fascinating facts about Ireland’s growing cosmetic surgery industry, talks excitedly about the groundbreaking new technology that’s about to hit our shores, and gives us the inside scoop on how the stars maintain their Hollywood looks. Aisling you’re looking fantastic at the moment. Would you consider yourself to be an advertisement for the services that are on offer at The Hospital Group? Absolutely. I’m thirty-seven going on thirty-eight and it’s much more acceptable now to start maintenance, shall we say! I’ve had no surgical procedures on my face, but I’m certainly a great sampler of facial fillers and Botox. It’s all about choice of practitioner first of all. I’m very fortunate to work with Mark Hamilton in particular, for the simple reason that Mark will only give me what he thinks I need as opposed to what I want! The advice I would give anybody who’s having their first experience ...
Fatgirl Slim – June 2012 DIARY OF A RELUCTANT DIETER Andrea Smith June 2012 So three stone down now and it’s the little things I’m noticing really. My rings, which have been wedged onto my fat fingers for years, are now too loose. I was always around 17 and a half stone for most of my adult life, but over the past three years, it had crept up to 20 stone and the rings wouldn’t budge. Now they come off easily, although you’d want to see the permanent indentations that have been left behind. And my skirt started falling down as I was walking down the street the other day, but luckily I caught it in time and saved myself from total mortification. If I was to analyse why I got so heavy in the first place, I think it was more down to laziness and lack of self-discipline than anything else. When it comes to some areas in my life, work in particular, I’d be really fussy and thorough and disciplined, but I’d be much more casual in my personal life. I had a terrible diet and ate all of the wrong things at the wrong times. I had several jobs in my 20s that involved late nights, such as being a cinema manager, and I’d often come home and eat at all hours. And I’ve lived by myself for the past ten years and have never cooked a meal during that time– I know, I know, disastrous! My oven has only been switched on twice in that time, so it is literally the most expensive ornament in my house. I often had cereal or popcorn or even chocolate for dinner, and I was a total carboholic. So my weight gradually crept up, and I wasn’t really that bothered, if I’m being very truthful. I always thought I looked fairly okay, whether it was true or not, it was my reality at the time and that’s all we can go by. People were usually complimentary about my clothes or my face, and I operated on the principle that if you act with confidence, people will react positively to you. ...
Fatgirl Slim – April 2012 DIARY OF A RELUCTANT DIETER Andrea Smith April 2012 You know the way your head can tell you one thing, but your heart tells you something else? Well this month I’ve learned a new variation on that one. While my head is 100% committed to this weight-loss programme I’m on, there are times when my stomach seems to be telling me something completely different. Take, for example, a couple of Sundays ago when I went off to the local garage to get the papers. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself that day, as my parents were abroad on holidays, meaning there was no nice family day ahead, and I was also in the middle of a particularly trying work problem. As soon as I entered the garage, the most tantalising aromas wafted over from its deli and bakery sections, and my gloom deepened at the prospect of the boring chicken breast and tomatoes waiting for me at home. I was determined though, wasn’t I, so how did I suddenly find myself queuing up to take possession of a glorious ham and cheese panini? And by the time I made it to the cash register, how did a bar of chocolate and packet of crisps inexplicably make their way into my basket? And shortly afterwards, into my mouth! The moral of the story is that I should never go to places selling food on an empty stomach, and should particularly avoid them if I’m in the middle of a pity party! The second time I fell off the wagon, and headfirst into a platter of delicious, but forbidden, foods was at my friend Rita’s birthday party. A leap year baby, she was only 12, officially! There I was virtuously sipping on my Diet Coke, when a massive platter of wings and dips and chips and sausages arrived on each table. Everyone dived in – me included, as I assured myself that one night off wouldn’t make a difference. This was followed by a slice of birthday cake, and I was quite happy with myself until I stood on the scales the next morning. Two pounds ...
Fatgirl Slim – March 2012 DIARY OF A RELUCTANT DIETER March 2012 REASONS FOR DIETING: I’d like to have sex again before I die. Men don’t fancy really fat women – unless they’re one of those weird, feeder types! If, by some miracle, I was to find a date, it would be nice if we didn’t look like Jack Sprat and his wife walking down the street. You can’t really be all girlie and dainty when you’re twice the size of your man! It would be nice not to have to ask for the pregnancy seat belt when boarding a flight. Particularly as the cabin crew always forget, and you have to ask all over again as the flight is taking off, this time with the people beside you staring at your massive stomach. Despite being the healthiest person I know, my father had a triple bypass when he was 47 and I’m now 43. Tick tock! I’ve always been a fat adult, although thankfully not a fat child, and I am very happy and content. My weight really, really doesn’t bother me, and I know most of you won’t believe that, and will think I’m in some sort of denial, but I promise you that I rarely give it a second thought. Which is probably how I ended up morbidly obese! You know that syndrome, body dysmorphia, where you think you look awful no matter how great you look – well I think I have whatever the opposite condition to that. I look in the mirror and always think that I look okay! I suppose I’m one of the lucky people whose self-esteem isn’t bound up in my appearance, probably because none of my close friends have weight problems and dieting is not a topic that we discuss with any regularity. That makes us unusual among women. I once worked in an office where the manager weighed all of the girls working with her on a Friday, and recorded their weight-loss on a chart on the wall. The girls, none of whom were fat, spent the freezing winter picking miserably at fruit bowls over lunch, praying that she’d be too busy to make them freeze their bums off ...