Hello,  

Recipe of the Week

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, Gas Mark 6. Cut the chicken in half and place in a bowl and season well with black pepper.
2. Place the tikka paste ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spread the tikka mixture over the chicken, coating on all sides. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
3. Transfer to a non-stick roasting tin and place in the oven for 15 minutes until lightly roasted. Remove from the oven and stir in the tomato passata.
4. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes to heat through. Check that the chicken is fully cooked.
5. Just before serving, stir in the yogurt and coriander. Spoon into a warmed serving dish and garnish with mint leaves.
6. Serve with basmati rice cooked in boiling water with a vegetable stock cube.

Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.

For a long time I have encouraged my members to be weighed regularly as it is well known that those who keep a check on their weight are more likely to be a healthy weight.  I also wanted to give them an accurate Body Mass Index score (BMI) so they would know if they were in a healthy or unhealthy range.  That requires having an accurate height reading.  However, at some point I had the inkling that when I asked members what height they were I was often surprised by their optimism!  It is a fact that unless you are properly measured using a Stadiometer you may be deluding yourself as to how tall you are.  So, I went and bought one so that I could then take a true measure of their height and give them an accurate BMI reading.

What happened next was a shock to me as well as my members.  In one session alone not one person was the height they thought they were.  Some were out by as much as 2 inches with the average being 1 inch. What they were recalling is the height they were when they were in their 20s and sadly it is a fact that we lose height as we age.  Women will typically lose around 2 inches between 30 – 70 years.  Men lose about an inch by age 70 and 2 inches by the age of 80 years.

There are three main reasons for this:

Spinal Disc Degeneration

The discs between our vertebrae cushion our spine giving it plenty of protection throughout our life but as we age they ‘dry out’ and shrink.  Combine this with injuries that may have occurred over the years and also some genetic factors, almost inevitably these discs will degenerate significantly.  This leads to our spine getting shorter and us almost certainly shrinking!  Sadly, we don't have a lot of control over this, it just happens as we age.

Osteoporosis

The spine is the first part of our skeleton to show signs of osteoporosis.  This is when the bone becomes less dense and small fractures appear making each vertebra far more fragile. These can actually be completely painless so we may not even know it is happening.  But over time our spine may begin to bow over, usually forward and therefore reducing our height.  Thankfully we can take positive action here and we can reduce the severity of osteoporosis with regular weight-bearing activities like walking and strength training.  In fact, everything we regularly recommend in this Newsletter!

Muscle Loss

We will lose muscle mass as we age but, as many regular readers will know, it can be slowed down significantly by doing strength exercises every week, especially the 'core' muscles of the torso.  It is these abdominal muscles that are meant to keep us upright and hold a good posture. Our Pilates programmes and whole-body strength programmes on the website always include plenty of exercise for this area. 

• Standing Band Workout          Floor Band Workout
• Standing Weights Workout        Floor Weights Workout

Now, you’ll love this:  When I measure height I often do it twice and for the second time, I ask them to ‘pull up’ into a good posture – suddenly they are half an inch taller!!