Recipe of the Week

The fish can also be cooked under a hot grill for 6 - 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pieces. Check the fish is cooked by carefully pulling the flesh apart, using 2 knives. The flesh inside should be light pink in colour and not wet in appearance. When cooked, the flesh will flake away from the skin easily.

Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.

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When I heard on the news that there was yet another drug available to help reduce the levels of obesity I thought 'here we go again!' But I have to say I have a mixed response to it this time.

On the one hand, having been in the industry for over half a century, I think something radical has to be done to stem that rise and the serious ill-health that follows as a result of folks being an unhealthy weight. It is astonishing that 1 in 4 of the adult population is now classified as obese – the worst in Europe!  On the other hand, I just think it is unlikely to work in the long term – yet again.  But let's try to be optimistic this time.

So much more needs to be done to affect real change. I believe that our government needs to be more proactive in setting food standards both by getting food manufacturers to change how they prepare our food and also by getting the supermarkets to change how they sell it to us. But let's give this new approach a chance, I say. Rumour has it that all those on the drug will be supported in making the lifestyle changes necessary for them to carry on after the two years are up. I do hope so.

It is quite radical to inject yourself regularly in order to help you lose weight but many people have tried many things previously without success so it is not surprising that they are prepared to give anything a go. 

To help you stop smoking you just stick a patch on your arm or pop in a tablet - and they appear to work well.  The irony here, though, is that if we give up smoking our health drastically improves.  With eating, we have to eat or we will die!  Because we have to eat to be healthy, it is clear to see the complexity of trying to lose weight.

I have often had people sit before me saying they are 'desperate' to lose weight, but in a very short time it is clear to see that they are unable to make the lifestyle changes necessary to make it happen. It's just too hard! And without some lifestyle changes, Wegovy won’t work either. Hopefully, there will be many who enter the Wegovy programme who will make it work but I fear that, sadly, many will fall by the wayside – and that is always the case with these new pharmaceutical interventions, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t keep trying. In my opinion, it is the level of support they get during those two years that is the critical factor. 

The work we have done with Leicestershire Police has been very successful primarily because their Wellness Programme involves a tremendous amount of support for each individual.  We all know that when someone has our back, we work harder! There is regular weekly contact with everyone on the Wellness Programme. The brilliant and committed support team check and re-check on everyone regularly. They also greatly encourage the 'buddying up' principle.

That level of support is difficult for the NHS to supply, of course.  It feels like we need a whole army of volunteers to help those who enrol with this new drug, so each has a mentor to support them. If they did, after the two years are up, they would be far more likely to be on the right course for permanent success.

There will be some of you reading this Newsletter who fall into the category for being eligible for this initiative, i.e. you are at the upper end of the obesity category with a BMI over 35 or, if you have an underlying health condition, you may be eligible if you are 30 - 34.9 BMI.

It is important for all of us to KNOW OUR BMI. We shouldn’t avoid it because we prefer not to know - our health depends upon it.  Just go online to the NHS BMI Calculator.  It is quick and easy to do.  Then, if you choose to go on the Wegovy Programme if you are offered it, please commit to all the advice you are given and be determined to make it work. 

You may have tried making lifestyle changes but simply can't sustain them and then you have ended up doing what you always do.  Never beat yourself up but also never stop trying.  The advice we give you here every single week really works, so why not see us as your ‘mentor’ who keeps reminding you of what you need to do?  A weight loss of just one pound per week is massive when you think long term – in 3 months you will have lost a stone (14lbs)!

Exercise and moving more is what we encourage you to do every week but if you need to lose weight, it only works if you combine it with eating less food. Why not have another bash at doing it without having to resort to a drug to help you? Go Back to The 28-Day Immunity Plan. There are no hard and fast rules as to how often you are allowed to try.  If at first you don't succeed...

Did you know... 

"Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!"
"Block the absorption of fat, carbs, and calories with this pill!"
"Wear this and watch the pounds melt away."

We've all seen the advertisments that promise weight loss with no effort. Strange how they always seem so expensive... From Sam Fox's Bai Lin Tea to Ayds diet chewies every one's a winner - for the people selling them!

Metabolism Boosters
At the top of the list of diet scams are pills based on herbal ingredients that promise to boost your metabolism and help you burn calories or fat faster. Herbal remedies are easy to manufacture and sell as they aren't controlled in the same way as drugs. Most of the time they are just ineffective; once in a while they can be dangerous.

Fat- and carb-blocking pills
Pills that claim to block your body's absorption of fat or more recently carbohydrates, are also commonly-sold diet scams. Even if these fat and carb blockers worked as they say they do, researchers say the effects can be dangerous if not just plain unpleasant.

Herbal Teas
Teas based on herbal ingredients are also touted as diet aids, but researchers say the main ingredient in many of these teas is caffeine, which is a diuretic and leads to water loss. Losing water isn't losing fat.

Diet patches and jewellery
Patches that deliver drugs through the skin have become popular for helping smokers quit and relieving menopausal symptoms but experts say no effective weight loss drugs have been designed to be delivered through the skin via patches or by wearing something in contact with the skin. Most of the time, these patches contain the same ineffective herbs found in dietary supplements or teas.

Body wraps or "slim suits"
The thick, layered sweat suits once popular decades ago have morphed into silver "slim suits" and fat-melting body wraps designed to lock body heat in and melt away the pounds. But researchers say the only type of weight loss caused by wearing these outfits is water loss caused by excessive sweating. As soon as you take a drink, you'll gain all that water weight back.