Mark Inglis Blog

Well Ive done it again. Ive failed at losing my belly fat. Since September 2009 I have increased in weight to what I was three weeks ago, 143.9 Kilos. I am now on the fourth week of my attempt to lose the belly fat and I have lost 1.7 kilos thanks mainly to building a polytunnel on our new allotment. Its hard work buit its doing me the world of good. I need to lose 3.23 pounds this week to have lost half a stone in a month which is a healthy weight loss for someone with a BMI of 45%. I plan in the coming weeks to keep up with the allotment and increase my gym and swim session. I will keep you posted on how I am porgressing. I have also given in to the frenzy that is Acai berry and have signed up for an Acai Berry product that claims to aid dieting. I hope those among us who laugh at such products understand how desperate I have become about my weight problem. I have decided to try anything in the hope I find a product that helps me lose the belly fat. The product I have signed up for is Admirable Acai and the intial signs are good as I have lost weight for all of the 3 weeks I have been dieting. I will continue taking this product and report back the findings in the next few weeks. This is the website that convinced me to part with my hard earned cash so if you want to try the acai craze you can get a free trial by visiting Absolute Acai Berry or by visitng the product page here.

What I find amazing is when I see many people down at the gym talking and carrying out hundreds of stomach crunches, sit ups or other abdominal exercises.

The fact is that there are far more effective ways to lose abdominal fat than sit ups. Yes sit ups will help you tone the muscle around your stomach but if you are like me and the muscle is under several crunches of fat, the best and most effective way to lose stomach fat is to regularly undertake a full body workout program. This is because in order to lose fat from around the body, you need to live a calorific deficit lifestyle. You need to consume less calories than you burn for a prolonged period of time. My personal favorite piece of equipment for doing this is the cross trainer as 20 minutes of hard work can burn in excess of 400 calories.

But remember, in addition to your exercise program eating a balanced healthy diet is crucial to long term successful weight control. Plan what you keep in the cupboards and plan you meals as you would plan you exercise and overtime you will see your abdominal fat reduce.

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Well its Saturday again so you all know what that means…… your free delicious recipe. Here it is, enjoy making it any most definitely enjoy eating it. This recipe serves four and is delicious and healthy and vegetarian; it’s a mixed bean pan fry and takes less than 25 minutes to cook, who says fast food is unhealthy! It should go along way to helping you keep losing the belly fat.

The ingredients you need for this recipe are as follows:

· 350g mixed green beans;

· 2 tables spoons of vegetable oil;

· 2 crushed Garlic cloves;

· 1 red onion, halved and sliced;

· 225g firm marinated tofu, diced;

· 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice;

· ½ tea spoon ground Tumeric;

· 1 tables spoon of mixed spice;

· 150 ml of fresh vegetable stock;

· 1 table spoons of Sesame Seeds.

To prepare simple chop the beans and place on a plate until required.

Using a medium frying pan heat the oil and add the onion and Garlic, cooking it over a low heat for two minutes stirring regularly.

Add the Tofu and cook, stirring softly regularly for another two or three minutes until it begins to turn golden brown.

Lower the heat and simmer for between five and seven minutes or until the beans are tender. Sprinkle over the Sesame Seeds and serve straight away.  Enjoy.

If you are like me and have well, quite a bit of belly fat to lose; you need to put a plan into place to ensure you do indeed start to lose the belly fat and other excess weight. So what does your plan need to include?

The first thing you need to look at is how are you going to increase your exercise?  This may be to plan on taking the dog for a walk twice a day without fail; it may be to get a dog to walk! If you are serious about losing the belly fat, it may be that you want to join a gym. This will involve going to the gym of your choice for an induction whereby an instructor will show you how to use the equipment whilst determining your fitness level and planning your exercises for a six week period.

I find that every six weeks I change my exercise schedule just to stop boredom setting in. If you choose to join a gym, the instructor will show you how to warm up and down and this is extremely important. Warming up and stretching prior to your session and at the end will reduce the amount of Lactic Acid which builds up in your muscles. This is the cause of the day after stiffness that many people who do not warm up and stretch properly will suffer. Also you will want to at first take your exercise slowly and let your body become accustomed to the exercise. This will reduce the likelihood of injury which can set you back weeks or even months. I am still getting over a gym injury which has prevented me from training for 6 weeks. It has been painful and very frustrating to not be able to visit the gym; so go easy and talk to your gym instructor even doctor before increasing your exercise.

If you stick at it at the gym within 1 month, yes that’s all it will take; you will start to feel like you have much more energy. As part of your exercise routine you should include belly exercises which will assist you in losing your belly fat. Do not be alarmed if you do not see quick results, if you belly fat is pronounced as mine it is going to take a lot of patience and will power to lose. Persevere and you will see results and slowly your belly fat will lose the battle. In my next post I will cover what I believe to be as important a factor as exercise in losing weight, nutrition. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Well just when we thought we had broken the back of winter here in the United Kingdom, Mother Nature springs a surprise and we are back to rainy cold days. My belly exercises are becoming a day to day routine and the weight I piled on last autumn is now starting to slowly disappear.  So how do you keep the pounds from disappearing whilst enjoying food still?

For me, one word answers that question and it is variety.

In order to keep the belly fat and other excess weight at bay you must make your diet as varied as possible in order to ensure that your motivation remains high and you do not become bored with your weight loss plan. So think diet, exercise, health and weight in that order. Keep your diet as varied and low in fat as possible, this is true for your exercise as the more varied your exercise plan the less likely you are to become tired of the same routine. Think health when you are struggling with the first two and weight last of all as if you get your diet and exercise plan correct, slowly you weight WILL fall. So have a comprehensive plan that you work towards on a day to day basis. If you have the odd poor day, don’t panic or worry just restart you plan as if the poor day did not happen. Exercise is good for you so the more you do the more you will feel the benefit inside. For me it is not the day of the exercise where I feel the benefit it is the day after when I usually feel on top of the world. The more exercise you participate in the more you belly will reduce in size and keep it up and you will be well on the way to changing your life forever. Although when I am at the gym a lot of the time it does not feel like it but exercise is good for you so enjoy it and keep it going. My wife and I have had many discussions where I have said that exercise has to be at the top of the priority list after the kids and before housework – needless to say she does not agree.

So in order for you to fully understand the relationship of calorie intake/expenditure to the amount of excess weight you are carrying I would spend a weekend researching on the internet. Find out how your body works but take breaks through the day to go for a few fifteen minute walks. When planning your diet try to make sure it consists of a food plant based diet that takes in as many raw fruit and vegetables as possible. Eating them raw ensures you are consuming all the vitamins and minerals that they contain. Boiling them reduces the amount of these vitamins and minerals as they are taken up by the water. This really is a simple method for beginners that will kick start your lifestyle change. Although living healthily is a little bit pricey but hey last thing we need is to eat poorly because this is our health we are trying to improve and personally I don’t think you can put a price on improving your health.

Kind Regards

Mark Inglis

Hi Everyone

Things have been rather hectic here as my mum is in hospital so I have been backwards and forwards to visit her. I am pleased to report that she is on the mend and should be out of hospital later this week. What has this done for my attempt to lose belly fat, well it has helped get me out of the house which is the place where I watch TV so it has had a positive impact upon my weight loss. In addition to this I have been taking the hound out on my bike, boy has he got energy to burn!
Now for the next week my aim is to cook meals everyday starting with this beautiful prawn and sea lettuce tempura. Living in the UK it is easy to find sea lettuce all around the coast of the UK on rocks and in the many rock pools that frequent the sands of the estuaries dotted around the coast. I’m sure it is as easily obtainable around much of the world with a similar climate to the UK. It can be eaten raw however it is beautiful put together with prawns and Japanese tempura batter (shh, it is nice though).

Here’s the ingredients:

· 1 bag of freshly collected sea lettuce which has been trimmed and washed with fresh water;
· 3-4 dozen big fresh prawns;
· 1 small bunch of fresh spring onions which have been chopped into 3 cm lengths;
· Olive Oil for deep frying;
· Salt.

The Tempura Batter.
· 250 grams plain flour;
· 1 big or 2 small egg yolks
· 350ml water
· A pinch of salt.

Dipping sauce.
· 2 tables spoons of soy sauce;
· 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar;
· 2 spring onions, cut finely.

Boil and blanch the live/raw prawns in a pan of well salted water for 30 seconds then drain and leave them to cool prior to peeling. Take a piece of sea lettuce and wrap each prawn. Thread the prawn and sea lettuce bundle onto a cocktail stick with the spring onion mixed together on the stick. You should try to get 3 prawns on 1 stick.

To make the Tempura batter briskly mixes all the ingredients adding additional water if needed until the mix resembles think paint. You should not over mix the batter as this can reduce the light texture that is required, if there are some lumps don’t worry.

To make the sauce mix the soy sauce and the rice wine vinegar then add the chopped spring onions. Heat some olive oil in a large pan and dip each cocktail stick in the batter then drop straight into the hot oil, fry for about one minute until crisp. Drain the prawn tempura on kitchen roll dip and enjoy. I know batter is fattening but the key to losing weight is variety and not over indulging, it does not have to be boring!

Kind Regards

Mark Inglis

Hi Everyone

Well I went to the hospital yesterday and was hoping to return to work today but unfortunately my shoulder has not gone back into its socket and there is still what they believe is fluid preventing the joint going back into place; anyway enough about me.

How is everyone doing? Is your weight loss still progressing as you had hoped? Mine is up and down at the moment. It is not helping having lots of time on my hands and I am hoping to get a lot more active once I am fit again. My weight loss program has been moving along nicely and I have lost another 2lbs this week which is fine as far as I am concerned. I have started eating lots more fresh fruit and vegetables and I have even started to snack on carrots which I love. So what are your favorite foods, click on the forum link to the right and let the community know how you go about fighting the cravings. Anyway I am now going to have a salad for my lunch now and take the hound out after for a long walk. Keep the motivation high and most definitely keep smiling!

Now that the weekend has come to a close the time has come to get back on track. I have to be honest and say that over the last few days I have completely fallen off my weight loss program. My soccer team won and their closest rival lost which led me to celebrate; and when I celebrate I do it in a fashion only I know.

But that was then and today is a new day and I can continue on my journey to lose belly fat. So many of us have experiences of binging for a few days then only to find it turns into a week, a month and on the cycle goes……

The key for me is to live in the present, if you do have a day, week or even month where you over eat; and let me tell you I have had hundreds even thousands of binging periods. My wardrobe is hung with clothes that are too small but I will get into them one day.

So if you find on this exciting journey that you have had a few days of over celebration or over eating, don’t look back with regret, hold the memories of the event(s) dear and move forward. Losing weight is not a mountain which you move along effortlessly, it has uneven ground that you must travel across to find where you are travelling to……….

Kid Regards

Mark Inglis

Hi Ladies and Gents

Yesterday I went for a 7 mile bike ride with Willow our black labrador, he loved it and so did (apart from the hills). The sun was shining and the daffodils blooming. Today is a little greyer but I am off out again soon on the bike. So if your sat around wondering what to do, get outside (if its sunny) and enjoy the fresh air. Do what you can whether thats a short walk or a long one,  start enjoying the days like we used to; forget the pressures of modern living and take time out for you.

As I am in such a good mood on this spring morning. Here is a free publication that you may find useful. Please feel free to pass this on to as many people as you like so they can benefit from it.

Here is the link

http://planet-weight-loss.com/reports/24_types_of_food_15_98_3546.zip

This is just one of the multitude of free weight loss literature that I give away. My subscribers receive, within 1 week, 2 free publications worth a total value of $57. Sign up above or to the right to get your free copies.

Looking for to meeting new people who are on the same weight loss journey.

Kind Regards

Mark Inglis

Planet Weight Loss

On this lovely March morning I sit with a coffee looking out over the picturesque Lake District. The daffodils are poking their heads to the clouds and the birds are busy building nests for their new arrivals. Life is great and my quest to lose more belly fat, although hindered by my recent shoulder dislocation is on my mind.

Having watched my team Liverpool FC trounce Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford my spirits are high and I am looking in a positive way at how I can increase the loss of belly fat and excess weight from other areas of my body. Well the first step has to be diet and in particular alcohol intake, I do enjoy a tipple and after yesterday’s game I must admit I enjoyed the afternoon with a nice bottle of red wine.

If we are to continue to lose weight and that belly fat, its is crucial that alcohol intake is controlled as it is not only high in calories but it can lead to loss of inhibitions and an increase in the likelihood of eating food whilst intoxicated. The next day can also be a factor as the reduction in your blood sugar levels due to the alcohol is likely to leave you feeling like you want to eat. So if you are like me and enjoy the odd fine ale or bottle of red wine, still enjoy it, but ensure that you prepare in advance by eating food that is going to raise your blood sugar levels and plan on going to the gym the day after to counter the previous days jovial jaunt.