I’m hungry, it’s late afternoon and I need a snack to tide me over to dinner in a few hours. A new season apple has caught my eye and to ensure I keep my blood sugar levels on an even keel, I need to have a protein/healthy fat source with it. Today my choice is a small handful of almonds and seeds.By now you know I’m all about keeping your blood sugars as even as possible to ensure the hormone insulin doesn’t wreak havoc by shutting down your fat stores. If your fat stores are shut down they won’t be used as your main energy source. If dropping the weight is what you’re seeking then high blood sugar levels will defeat your purpose and your efforts. That was a nice little segue into another weight loss tip!I digress as my topic today is fruit related …I have always found it a little amusing – read annoying – that women’s body shapes are referred to as a piece of fruit!! I think we can (and health professionals do) use more appropriate descriptors when it comes to body shape – but more on that later! For now you may have heard the following-
There is a movement to move away from the “fruit” titles and head to something a little more alluring celebrating the female body and you can see exactly what I’m talking about in this 2 minute video below. (Perhaps the girls should have been properly debriefed before they were interviewed – but you’ll get the idea!) I think it’s important that we move away from names that don’t promote us when 80% of women (way too high!) sadly find issues with their body and body shape. More often than not it drives women to have an unhealthy relationship with food and dieting and sadly sometimes taken to the extreme. Body image is how you perceive yourself, and how you assume others perceive you. Why are we so unkind to ourselves? I cannot imagine the statistic is that high for men – they all think they look like George Clooney and Bradley Cooper – and don’t try to tell them otherwise!! On a more serious note it is agreed that fat stored around your middle puts you at greater risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. That’s not the ideal. So if that is your shape then you may like to look at ways you can reduce your risk from these health issues. So for all those apple /Reuben/endomorph shaped people out there…take action sooner rather than later, knowing there is some truth in the well worn saying…..An apple a day… Be Healthy & Happy Caroline x |