On Wednesday, i travelled down to London to see my fave group, a-ha

They were doing a live acoustic set at the o2 arena

Usually when I do these kind of trips, I’m always well prepared

I’ll cook some food and take it with me,

Some snacks and water

But this time, I didn’t

For just over a week now, I’ve had no use of my car

It’s absolutely caused havoc to my week

I’ve lost so much time, and therefore, not been able to do the appropriate food shop I’ve needed to do

On Wednesday when I was travelling down, I was running late

And didn’t cook any lunch

By the time I got on the train, I was starving

I didn’t even have any water with me

I was fuming

I had to buy 2 chocolate bars and a drink on the train

When I arrived at Euston, I went for something to eat

And then later on I had a subway sandwich

Yesterday, I went to Burger King for a late breakfast

Certainly, not having a car, caused Chaos to my preparations

While spending about a day eating rubbish, the first thing I noticed about myself, was that I was moody

The foods that id eaten, probably had no nutritional value

I’d hardly had any water either

I even felt fat

Not to mention the amount of money I’d spent ( fast food/ meals are expensive )

Luckily, this is a massive one off moment for me

But for other people, this kind of behaviour is done on a regular basis

Spending £25 or so on chippy meals to feed the family

Eating out

Buying sugary snacks and drinks etc

Very expensive and contributes towards poor health and a low mood

Over the past few days, it’s also come out in the public domain, about the dangers of processed foods and its packaging

Reports are suggesting processed meals, as well as chocolate, sugary drinks, cereal, energy bars and sausages are driving up the rates of cancer

Apparently, these products are particularly putting middle aged women at risk of breast cancer

Processed foods ( any foods or meals that have had an industrial influence ) now makes up half our diet

These meals have very little resemblance to home cooked meals, and the more an individual eats of them, the higher the cancer risk

These meals are also higher in fat, sugar and salt, and also have less vitamins and fibre

Do you eat on the run, or eating a lot of processed meals and snacks etc?

If so, here’s a couple of tips that might help you to eat more healthy meals

1 Always carry water around with you. When your body is dehydrated, it can give off signals that can be misinterpreted for being hungry ( causing you to have snacks )

2 Cooking meals at home is so much cheaper. If you do this, try and cook more than is needed, so you can put some to the side and freeze it for the next day. Try and do this often and get into the habit of doing it

3 I allow myself a ‘cheat day’, where I will have a bit of stodge or chocolate etc. If you are eating healthily ( or trying to ), all the time, it’s good to have a bit of a break every now and again. My cheat day, is a Saturday. Because I ate some rubbish yesterday, I will now have a healthy day on Saturday, so I’ve swapped the days around. It’s a lot easier to stick to a routine, Monday to Friday, so therefore, I use a Saturday for my chest day. I suggest you try and do the same and if you do have a cheat day mid week, swap it for your usual cheat day

4 It really is cheap and easy to put some healthy meals together. The body coach, Jamie Oliver, Gino D’campo etc, are always in the media, putting meals together. It just takes some practice. The more practice you do, the better you’ll become at doing them, and then I’m sure you’ll start enjoying cooking

Remember though, processed meals, snacks, sugary drinks, takeaways, chocolate etc, should be eaten minimally

Paul 🙂

Liverpool Personal Trainer