I hear this question frequently. May I eat ....?

I will normally first respond with..."what do you think?" and in most instances people will say, " I am not sure, but maybe I should not".

You could get hungry (or feel hunger pains) if you do not get enough protein. Protein, of course, warrants a total discussion on its own. for one or other reason we do not get enough protein. On average we need between 80 gram and 150 gram of protein a day and sportspeople may require even more than that.

Iy you do not get enough protein, the body will react in one of a few ways. You may feel weak, hungry, sleepy or tired. Our natural tendency is to grab hold of something that will give us quick energy. It could be coffee, but in many instances it will be a cooldrink, like your Coca Cola, Fanta, Stoney or something similar. It could also be a piece of bread with jam or something else on top. It may also be a sandwhich or chips, pasta or pizza.

We never grab a banana or an apple first, but we go for the other alternatives.

So, as a general rule, if you want to know if you should eat something, ask these questions:

1) am I thirsty or hungry? (so drink a glass of water first)
2) is this a protein (e.g. fish or chicken or almonds)? If it is, eat this now?
3) Is this a vegetable? If yes, eat it
4) is this a bad starch (carbohydrate, like bread, pasta, piza, cake, rusk ... anything made from white flour) ... then don't eat this?
5) is this a better starch (apple, banana, orange etc)? Eat this sparingly after you have had some protein...

You could boil an egg in water as it contains a good amount of protein, but there could be around 90 calories in one egg. You could eat meat, but make sure it is as lean as possible.

So, pretzels, chips, pizza, pasta is out when you are losing weight.

Beware of the sauces or dressings for salads as it may contain more calories per spoon than one boiled egg!


So you may eat anything, but not if you want to lose weight quickly! Then stick to water, protein, veggies, fruit (sparingly).

I was following my exercise programme religiously and then ...

i was getting a little bit of pain above and below my left eye. I thought it was only some sinus infection, but then the eye got worse and worse and I felt lousy. For almost two weeks i did not exercise at all apart from getting up every morning and moving throught the house.

Then after about two weeks I made it to the gym again. The eye was better and the sinusitis and also the touch of bronchitis that i suspected that was looming.

I did a workout for about an hour with a personal trainer (super quailified and great guy) and I was huffing and puffing. i did not think that I would be able to do much of a running session after that. I was tired!

I started slowly and gradually picke up the speed and ran for 95 minutes. Now. maybe it as too mcuhd for the first day back, but I felt great!

So the most important thing is just to start, to resume, to get back into it. So if you are wondering if you should start, make the following plan:

Agree to meet with someone at a specific time to do something together. It could be a 30 minute walk, it could be a workout in a group or with a personal trainer. If you have a bicycle, you could meet with someone for a ride. The point is : Make a date in your diary/calendar and stick to that!

So if you have not started, make a plan to start.

On the other hand ... 

if you want to get back to a routine, take the same action.  Get started, put it in your diary and arrange with someone to meet with you. If you have a squash partner, phone him or her and set up the game.

You have to start with something...

Now if you are overweight or obese, do not go out and try to run 10 km on the first attempt. you may injure yourself or be so stiff and sore that you do not want to go back for three weeks. Be gentle with yourself. If you have not exercised for a while, visit a doctor so you can get guideliness for your particular health challenges.

Then consider swimming, aqua-aerobics or just walking in the pool if you cannot swim.

If you do not have a pool or access to one, cycling is also soft on the body. 

It does not matter what you do, you have to start exercising at least three times a week for 30 to 45 minutes a time. Later you could increase that. Be wise and get started!