Vitality Show!

Yes, yes... I realise that this report is over a month late (the Vitality Show was on the 21st March!), but I have been a little busy lately so thanks for sticking with me!

The nice people at Maxitone had sent me some tickets to the Vitality Show taking place in Earl's Court in London. Unfortunately they were weekday tickets and as the show closed each night at 6pm I wasn't able to get along.

Luckily, the awesome company that is Wholebake who make the amazingly delicious drool-inducing 9Bar, (which I scoff on a regular basis!), were also giving away tickets and I was very fortunate to receive a pair of weekend tickets - rock on!

So, that afternoon my lovely friend Gemma and I rocked up, albeit it rather late (my fault!) at the show.

First we went to see Mark Gould (MD of Wholebake) to say thanks for the tickets and to make some important 9 Bar purchases.... ooooh yeah!

I'd eaten one of their pumpkin bars the day before and it was so tasty I practically inhaled it!! Seriously, I was going to photograph it like I usually do but it was gone before I'd blinked!

Mmmm...

I think my favourite flavour is the Flax one though... that might just be because it helped more or less resurrect me from my self-induced-hangover-from-hell deathbed.

Seriously, I was in a bad way! I managed to (despite lying flat out on my back) gingerly nibble my way through one of these beauties and felt somewhat more human (did end up with crumbs in the bed mind!!)

Anyway, enough about that!

Next I took Gemma over to say hi to Kate Wells who is probably the busiest woman in the world as she manages both Maximuscle and Maxitone brands! She's absolutely lovely and super positive about Maxitone's role in helping women to get into shape :-)

Next Gemma and I nipped over to the Studio 1B stall as I'm quite keen to get some more pics taken as I (think I!) look very different to how I did at the Maxitone Body of 2009 photoshoot, definitely in the arms at least!

They had a special deal going where you could get a session including hair, makeup etc - and a print - for £10 so I immediately snapped it up...

Then they took a pic of me and Gemma:



At first we were both thrilled with the picture but stood there looking/feeling slightly bemused... what was odd about that pic?!

We'd been airbrushed!!! I was bag free and my skin was all one tone (my skin isn't rubbish but it's definitely not *that* smooth!)

Not sure how to feel... I mean I like the pic, it looks good and it's definitely me, but I guess I felt slightly insulted that they'd just gone ahead and computerised all my imperfections away without prior warning haha!

So now I'm not sure if I want the photoshoot anymore, will I be photoshopped? Will it be a true representation of me or just somebody else's interpretation of how I *should* look?!

Anyway - onwards!

Next I was conned into buying an EFX wristband which I feel a bit of a wally about. I fell for their Balance Test 'proof', and the testimonials of people claiming to have had their pains relieved and, in particular one person who said their tinnitus had cleared up - something I've been suffering from for about a year now.

Obviously it didn't cure anything and I'm now going to see an ENT specialist in a few weeks... wish I'd just done that earlier and saved myself spending £25 on what is a not unattractive, but still utterly useless, piece of black and pink rubber!!

We visited the Shinzo stall, where I picked up some powdered green tea:



I'd read (in Men's Fitness I think) that Japanese Green Tea boosts your metabolic rate by quite a decent whack so thought I'd try it out.

I have plenty of green teabags so was keen to try the powdered stuff as they'd expertly mixed it with apple juice and it did taste rather lovely.

If you mix it with water it's not entirely hideous, but does taste like you're eating the two day old remnants of a mowed lawn.

Next onto grab me some Bear Nibbles! Has anyone eaten anything from this company before? Their stuff is lovely and super healthy too! The fact that there are so few ingredients on their packets speaks volumes!

I picked up some Granola Nibbles:



Man these are delicious! They're under 100 cals and sugar-free! You can add them to things like 0% fat greek yogurt to make a much healthier version of the crappy synthetic chemical and sugar pumped offerings you find in the yogurt section of your local supermarket!

Look at these beauties!



That's the Apple Crumble version, the Cocoa Cherry Pie is also really tasty, the cherry pieces are so cute and they look, and taste, like they should be unhealthier than they are!!

I also picked up a couple of packets of their mango pineapple Fruit Nibbles which are just divine!

Gemma and I carried on browsing round, tasted some yummyness but didn't really get tempted by anything else until I got to a cheese stall where they were selling off humungous lumps of half fat extra mature cheese for £2!! I bought one, of course, it lasted forever and I can safely say it knocks spots off the Sainsbury's Davidstowe 1/2 fat cheese which is the only other low fat cheese I can stand!

I can't remember the name of the company who made the cheese - dammit! I really want to get some more... might contact the organisers of the show to see if they can send me some details!

So, all showed out, Gemma and I decided to beat a retreat... however, our plans of escape were soon scuppered by an energetic and enthusiastic Swinky girl, eager to make a last-minute sale, who managed to ensnare us with talk of beautiful hair accessories and live demonstrations of such.

Damn this girl was good!

I ended up buying two as was so impressed. To be honest they're just what I need as I'm pretty rubbish with all things girlie. Don't get me wrong, I love my make-up and apply it with great gusto (but only when I'm going out, mind!) but as for all other aspects of girlyness - i.e. hair, nails, handbags, accessorising etc... well I'm just really quite lacking, truth be told! *hangs head in shame*

I don't really wear much - if any - make-up during the day, I'd rather wear a rucksack than a handbag, and I'll take flats over heels any day! But then I'm quite tall so don't really need the added height unless... I'm trying to create an impression! ;-)

So, what I'm trying to say is that I don't really even blow-dry my hair let alone curl/dye it - or even get it cut very often for that matter!! But these Swinky gizmos are fab as a hair spaz like me just has to slide them in and voila - instant pretty hair!! :-D

You can even jazz up your boyfriend's hair too - here's the lovely glamorous Joe modelling one of my Swinkys for your viewing pleasure ;-)



Now, isn't that just beautiful?! ;-)

Laters

TJx

Proof (me!) of the benefits of exercise, resistance training and diet on bone density

On 17th May 2006, the week before my 27th Birthday I had a bone density scan performed at the place I used to work.

I'd heard I could get a special corporate deal - they're usually rather expensive - and I was quite worried because of the osteoporosis risk present in my family history. My own Gran had really bad osteoarthritis and I was concerned about my own bones - particularly because I knew that my diet was poor as I was still in the grips of my various eating disorders and I was worried about the effects this had on my body.

The results of the scan were quite scary - especially given my age - but not particularly surprising. Years of poor eating, inadequate supplementation and a lack of exercise had left me with a below average reading:

(see the clear square on the graph *below* the average line)



I'm not going to lie and say that *immediately* after that reading was taken I turned my life around and started exercising and eating properly because that's simply not true, it's taken a good few years to turn my life around.

I *had* started running at the point, and completed a triathlon, but I was still bulimic and I was drinking excessively.

The following year saw the breakdown of a six and a half year relationship, a change of job, home (three times!) and my son starting secondary school! All stressful stuff :-(

However, 2007-2008 saw me in a happier place where I began a relationship with Joe and gradually started to claw back control over my eating - what went in, and what stayed down.

Last year I decided to enter the Maxitone (then Maximuscle) Body of 2009 competition and started this blog to help me record my efforts and keep me motivated.

I rediscovered my love of weight training (the last time before this that I'd picked up any weights was when I was 19/20!!) and found focus and also, unexpectedly, support through the people who read and comment on my blog!

I can't even begin to describe how beneficial this blog has been in my recovery. Although I'd managed to conquer my bulimia before I started keeping my online diary, and I'd really like to think that I wouldn't ever have gone back to that dark place again - I know that this has kept me strong and it serves as a daily reminder of how far I've come and just how different a person I am to that miserable, scared, selfish, helpless woman who almost destroyed her body.

I can safely say that I will NEVER go back to that again, not now I've experience how good it is to look and feel strong.

I have learnt so much over the past year as a result of reading other people's blogs, and health articles, fitness and muscle magazines. I never thought I'd find a way of eating which was healthy and suited me down to the ground.

I especially never thought that this would be a bodybuilder's diet!! It's true though, the amount of money that is invested on research into how different foods and nutrients interact with, and improve your body, its functionality and performance is amazing! I'm pretty sure that no other diet organisations/plans/food manufacturers invest so heavily in science-driven proof!

Anyway, what I'm saying is that I've finally reached an equilibrium between the food that goes in and the way I feel about my body. My desire to feed it, fuel it, keep it running at full strength and capacity for as long as possible has finally conquered all other thoughts of reaching an impossibly slim size.

Although I don't run as often as I'd like to because of long-term injury, I do a lot of dumbbell - as well as bodyweight - training as well as more aerobic high-impact classes (like Boxercise, Zumba etc...) and I walk a lot as well.

I also do spinning classes and cycle too but it's important to note that these do not have any effect on bone strengthening, neither does swimming, rowing, or any other exercise where your bodyweight is supported.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't do them as they are hugely beneficial to your cardiovascular health, just that you should incorporate some impact and resistance training in there too.

Basically, any exercise which results in impact will stimulate bone growth.

ALSO, weight-training promotes bone growth too because the stronger muscles become, the more demands are placed on surrounding bones that they attach to. This stimulates bone formation, as the bones strengthen to meet the demands placed on them - all good news in the fight against osteoporosis/degeneration :-)

Aside from the training I eat healthy whole foods, incorporating lean meats, healthy fats and lots of green veg as well as skimmed milk, cottage cheese etc...

I also take a Boots effervescent Calcium and Vitamins D & K supplement - EVERY day! I dissolve it in a large glass and add a teaspoonful or two of Fibresure too to help keep up my fibre intake.

The result of this lifestyle change was evident when, at the Vitality Show last month I took another bone density test and got this result:



I now have *above* average bone density instead of below!

:-)

To break it down for you, here's how the graphs compare



and here's a comparison of the two readings' results

17 May 2006 (top readings)

Reference age Score - T: -1.4
Age-matched Score - Z: -1.5

Reference age density percentage - T: 79%
Average age-matched density percentage - Z: 80%

(top readings)

21 March 2010

Reference age Score - T: 0.4
Age-matched Score - Z: 0.5

Reference age density percentage - T: 105%
Average age-matched density percentage - Z: 107%

To say that I am thrilled by these results would be the ultimate in understatements!!

I'm going to get another scan taken in a couple of years time, I'm optimistic to see an even greater percentage above average :-)

Stay strong :-)

TJx