In my quest to adopt a healthier lifestyle, I reckon that I need to do the following …
- Loose weight
- Lower my blood pressure
- Reduce my cholesterol
The first item on the list will help with the others.
In the past, I have used an app called MyFitness Pal, which can track food intake taking into account any exercise taken. For example, if I expend two hundred calories I can, in theory, eat an extra two calories worth of food and still meet my target.
To lose some weight, I have set an ambitious target of dropping a kilogram every week. This has resulted in a daily target of 1,500 kcal. This is the nett food input taking any exercise off, as it were.
I started using the app today but to add extra complication I was asked to attend a belated birthday meal for Skye at Frankie’s and Benny’s.
With only around eight hundred calories remaining for the day, I scanned the on-line menu and picked the beetroot and bean burger and fries. Substituting the fries for sweet potato fries reduces the calories but I can’t put a figure on it.
The meal went well but I succumbed to the desert menu which added another three hundred and fifty calories taking me a tad over my daily target.
As well as tracking the calories, I need to be wary of the type of foods that I eat, cutting back on sugar and saturated fats.
Other changes needed …
More exercise – now that the knee is starting to complain less, I can (slowly) ramp up my walking. I have next year’s Tissington Half and Charnwood Marathons to aim for.
If I can stick to the above my BP and cholesterol should fall. I also have to see the doctor next week, armed with my twice-daily BP readings, who can adjust my medication to help control both.