I only live in Leeds, I would have come but it’s my BF’s birthday today and we’re out for shenanigans tonight so I doubt we’ll be up that early! I’d be interested in more Peaks rides as it’s only an hour away for us though.

ahh my gym does kettlecise on a wednesday, I was intending to go before hurtling over the handlebars on tuesday and screwing up my right shoulder – going to the physio next weds instead!

The interval training, would that be best done on stationary bike/turbo trainer so I could set a programme or up resistance etc?

steep and technical climbs is my ugh zone! I can slog it up a gradual ascent pretty well since I’ve had a roadie. But if it gets steep and rocky, I just can’t seem to get the momentum to get up and over things.

Wooo, whats the secret ingredients they use?

They say “protein and balanced carbs” which is how I try to cook myself. These are just convenient for lunch at work when I’ve got busy days (obviously I’m not busy today since I’m on here lol)

Compared to a lot of ready meals, they don’t have vast amounts of crap in them. Most are around the £3.99 mark

I’m addicted to M&S fuller longer meals at the moment, they stop me snacking in the afternoon.

Genius gluten free seeded bread lightly toasted so it doesn’t fall to bits, filled with goats cheese, roasted peppers and chilli jam – awesome!

I find Giant WSD bikes suit me best. I am 5’5″ and longer in the torso than legs.

Shoes are really important to try on, I have a pair of Time shoes that I got in an online sale a couple of years ago, they were a real bargain, just got lucky that they fit! I think Shimano do decent mid priced shoes, mine are MTB shoes as it happens but I ride them on my road bike and they are fine, I have wide feet so I find the MTB shoes a better fit for me.

Took my bf to Fazenda last year for his birthday, nom nom

I’m from Myanmar, apparently!

Mol, the Quakers are alive and well! Where I live there is a pretty active Quaker community.

I do love pandas, and have got a few gratuitous panda items, I have to admit! Most have come from trips abroad though and therefore remind me of nice holiday times, or of the people who brought them back for me.

Hmmff….cookeaa my boyfriend tells me I have too much bike/sport stuff!

I think we are all quite attached to Stuff in our own ways. My boyfriend was raised by Quaker parents who were very strict/frugal about buying new stuff, consequently he’s a bit of a hoarder and hardly throws anything out unless its falling off him. Has caused problems with him wearing worn out hiking boots for example on long hikes and then getting really badly blistered, wet feet, after insisting he didn’t need new ones. The good side of it is that he isn’t bothered about brands, appearance, having the latest things, but the bad side of it is that he will often do things ill-equipped and risk his health/safety because he won’t spend the money to kit himself out properly. We’ve gone hiking with my boyfriend’s dad a few times and he ridiculed us for having decent day packs and bringing sun cream and “all this stuff you don’t need” (like food) because he can survive hiking all day carrying his dad’s old army pack in blazing heat on just roll-ups and a few sips of water apparently!

So, being militantly non-materialistic can have its downsides too. It’s funny because I’m a Quaker too and I try not to accumulate too much stuff or have stuff just for the hell of it that doesn’t serve a purpose, but I refuse to cross the frugality line into meanness.

I switched to Santander after a myriad of problems with Lloyds. However, I will be switching to my local credit union when they get their internet banking up and running – I already save with them and you can’t get a better place for service plus this is more ethical banking.

Can’t drink beer but I do like a pint of cider after a ride!

hmm choccy soya milk….certainly cheaper than sports drinks. might try that. I’ve got a shake made with almond milk and mashed banana for when I get home tonight.

Aye, well done socialists – if you hadn’t voted for a bunch of idiots who spaffed money at all the wrong things, we could have built some houses for those who don’t have a place to live.

Yes, because the right wing parties are so well known for their compassion towards the poor and vulnerable and spending money on social housing and social improvement programmes.

Agree custodial arrangements quickly – don’t chop and change too much, kids need stability at that age.
Definitely do not badmouth the other parent or get the kids involved in adult arguments.
Reinforce that both of you love them and it is not their fault in any way shape or form

I agree with the posters who have said try to keep rules the same in both homes, but the reality is that you both might have slightly differing opinions about parenting, rules, what the kids can/can’t do. So long as this is clear to the kids, and they get time to adjust, they will adapt. My mum would allow me to stay in the house alone for example for a few hours when I was 12, my dad thought this was abhorrent and wouldn’t allow me to stay alone in the house until I was 14. But they broadly agreed about most things, so small things weren’t a big deal. If I whinged to my mum that Dad wouldn’t let me do something, she would simply say “that’s your dad’s decision when you’re with him and in his house”. She did often disagree but they would not have that conversation in front of me – they backed each other even though their ideas on discipline and rules particularly for teens were not always the same. It’s possible to do although not easy, you have to have respect that you are both trying to parent in the best way for the kids. It also helps to avoid the kids learning that they can play you off against each other.

I get the science behind iDave – I try to do low GI but I just cannot eat many pulses, so it’s not for me. I wish I could – I love falafels, hummus, refried beans. But they don’t love me and if I train after eating pulses I will get horrific acid reflux and bloating that lasts a few days. It’s worse if I combine pulses and meat – urrgh.

Now I try and base my diet around good quality protein, vegetables, some fruits (the lower fructose/fructan ones like blueberries, rhubarb, canteloupe melon and bananas) and small portions of low GI carbs like sweet potato, quinoa or basmati rice. Once or twice a week I have a bit of cheese as I can’t do much dairy. Tried Torq recovery after my rides but whey protein just bloats me, so my recovery drink now is almond milk.

Weight is starting to drop now, slowly, but I can feel my clothes are looser.

Even though I don’t follow iDave myself I can see it works for others and think it’s a good thing that it’s out there.

TSY, your approach sounds quite sensible. I tend to exercise in the evenings so I might stick to protein and veg during the day and a bit of fruit and have some carbs in the evenings. I can’t eat carbs at lunch time anyway because I fall asleep!

I do exercise, 2-4 times a week. I was playing badminton on a Monday until I got a shoulder injury, but I’m just looking at going back to it now. Tuesday/Thursday my dog is in doggy day care, so I try and do something after work on those days, ride or a class at the gym. Mon, Weds and Fri I come home from work and walk the dog for 30-60 mins.
Weekends OH and I try and get out for a ride, but it doesn’t always happen, social/family commitments, but if we don’t ride it’s a longer walk with the dog.

I have already lost around 9-10lbs in the last year but plateaued somewhat and not lost or gained the last 6 months.

I dunno, it feels low to me, probably because I’m used to eating a bit more than I should be. I’ve neither lost nor gained much weight for around 6 months, but I’m not that happy with my size and shape, hence the drive to do something about it.

inflammatory bowel disease and weight loss is a pain the arse

agreed! I hear ya there. People think if you have IBD, you’re going to be thin. One word – steroids :( not had any of those now for 8 months though.

One thing that concerns me about the mega low calorie thing is that as soon as you eat normally again you would stack it all back on surely?

Toby – I’m not massively overweight, only slightly but I do have a bit of extra round the middle that I’d rather not have. My priority is being fit, over weighing a certain amount.

My problem with idave and that type of diet has been that I can’t eat legumes/pulses and nuts, not in any quantity anyway, so I’m kind of restricted to meat/fish/eggs and veg! Using MFP has definitely highlighted that I’m eating too much sugar though, so I can act on that.

Phil, I’ve noticed that if I eat a protein breakfast, something like eggs and spinach, I’m fuller for longer. My usual breakfast of choice is soy yoghurt and gluten free almond granola, but I’d say I get half an hour more of being hunger free with the protein combo.

slimjim – when we’re talking sugar, do you mean fruit as well? I have reluctantly noticed that my one glass of orange juice in the morning is pretty much my whole sugar allowance for the day! Probably not a good use of the calorie allowance….

I think I’m in the same boat as the OP.

I added strength training to my exercise regime – I either do Body Pump once a week or the strength training regime one of the trainers at the gym did for me. Since doing that, I’ve noticed that my jeans are getting a bit looser.

If you’re an apple shape (tend to put on weight around the tummy) strength training and low intensity exercises are recommended.

http://www.channel4.com/4beauty/wellbeing/getting-fit/exercises-for-body-types#apple

Diet wise, low GI foods, avoid big blood sugar spikes by eating foods high in sugar or refined carbohydrates, and get enough protein particularly if you’re strength training.

Yeti, I have a strict gluten free diet (coeliac).

I try to avoid many GF substitute foods as they tend to be loaded with sugar and additives to make them taste anything like acceptable. Occasionally I have a GF pitta bread or a bacon butty with Genius bread (weekend treat).

I don’t generally eat dairy any more, I used to be a cheese and Cadburys Giant Buttons fanatic, but I was advised by my doctor that a diet high in dairy could be making my Crohns worse, so I stopped eating it and switched to almond/soy milk. I think maybe the couple of lbs lost so far may just be from cutting out cheese and chocolate :oops:

I can’t tolerate legumes really in any quantity which is a shame because I quite like lentils and beans and hummus and stuff like that….can only have small amounts of them.

I guess it’s that whole “do I really know how much I’m eating” thing

I’ve always found it difficult to lose weight, have modified my diet recently and I think I’ve dropped a couple of lbs but because I don’t own any scales at the moment I don’t know really!

I was the mtb-er in our relationship – I got the OH into it.

We now ride mostly together on weekend rides but in the evenings I ride with other ladies and he plays football or rides with his mates, so he gets to do the testosterone-y things that lads do like hurl themselves off stuff.

I’m not as fast as OH up hills, especially as I do have the odd bit of time off because I have Crohns and can get unwell from time to time, that can stand in the way of me building a lot of fitness/stamina. OH rides for fun mainly, I don’t think his main goal is “go as fast as possible” so it doesn’t tend to be a problem, unless it’s me getting frustrated that I can’t go as fast as I’d like.

My mum has tachycardia. She had an ablation 5 years ago which didn’t work. She now takes low dose beta blockers, she isn’t on warfarin. She is scared to exercise much in case it sets off an attack, but then she never was particularly active before.

Her triggers are caffeine, dehydration, alcohol, stress and getting too hot (she can’t go in a sauna or anything like that, or have a hot bath).

She does yoga for stress which seems to help and she doesn’t really drink alcohol. I have had a couple of episodes of elevated heart rate after drinking alcohol as well which has led me to cut down on drinking quite a lot, as maybe there is some genetic propensity there.

I generally don’t weigh myself. I go on how my clothes feel on me – if they are tight, I know I’m a bit porky and need to sort it out!

There was a good supernanny episode that dealt with it I think or it might have been that Jo Frost extreme parenting. I don’t remember it in detail but essentially the key points were I think:

1) don’t give it attention, fuss or worry.
2) don’t offer alternatives to the food you are eating – midlifecrisis had a good strategy for that.
3) distract during meals – try picnics so you can look at things that are going around you and make it fun
4) give small manageable portions -don’t overface them

That said do look out for anything that could be a sign of an allergy/condition – diarrhoea or persistent constipation, failure to gain weight, bloating and excessive gas, eczema or rashes, getting indigestion a lot (kids will complain of tummy or chest pain). The reason I say is because my nephew was put down to being fussy and turned out to be coeliac like me – he had IBS-like symptoms, always a bloated stomach and his appetite was either ravenous or nonexistent and he had cravings for very specific foods – specifically starchy carbs and sugary things (because he wasn’t absorbing nutrients his body was crying out for energy).

Teenagers are always starving hungry.. no matter how much they eat.. and they lie, and cheat and steal and don’t think about the consequences of their actions

Former youth worker here….hideous generalisation that makes me feel sorry for all teenagers who try and get their voices heard by adults who think this way about them. Don’t forget that kids also tend to copy the adults around them.

and if they go to the OP’s wailing neglect and hunger, I’m sure he rewards them with those lovely choccie biccies that their mum doesn’t allow at home.. and a fiver each for fish and chips.. and crisps.. and ham sandwiches..

If their mum is an alcoholic she won’t be giving a crap enough to care whether they are eating choccy biccies or not. I accept your point that cash given directly to the kids might not get used for the right things though.

but no.. because their mum has had the temerity to cope with a drink problem at some point in her life.. suddenly all rationality goes out the window..

The majority of rationality does tend to go out of the window when you are in the midst of a drink problem/addiction, because the addiction is the most important thing in your life.

what about phoning the parents, or paying them a visit..?

The OP said they had tried that but now the mother is avoiding contact.

My focus, FWIW would be to help the kids with coping skills – be there for them, ensure they know they can phone you if things are bad. The grocery cards are a good idea or paying for school lunches. Have them to stay for weekends so they get a break. If you feel the situation is bad enough to call social services, talk to the kids about it first – they may not want that to happen, they may feel that they can cope with support from friends and family. I would also speak to them before you tell school as well – they may not feel comfortable with their teachers knowing their home situation.

Teenagers may be contrary at times, but they are not all sly cheats and liars and manipulators, some teenagers are bright, sensitive and more sensible than the adults around them, and if you talk to them, they will probably be able to come up with some strategies with some sensible adult input that will help them the most. If they say they cannot cope with things any more, then it’s time to call in the authorities I think.

yup, lateral meniscus tear 3 years ago.

Had physio and keyhole, got back on the bike 6 weeks after keyhole but like kimbers it took a couple of years to get it completely right.

It makes sense to me that eating a lot of processed food and sugar would be bad for you, not just in a weight sense but in that it’s nutritionally poor.

I kind of go by these principles (along with being gluten free through necessity)

1) Cook from scratch where possible using unprocessed ingredients

2) Don’t shop when you’re hungry – anyone see that episode of Secret Eaters? People chose higher calorie and higher fat foods when they shopped after not eating all morning, and ate 3x more.

3) Listen to your body – after several years of living with digestive disorders, that’s become the main one for me. My body knows what it likes and doesn’t like – I can’t tolerate large quantities of starchy foods, dairy products or pulses, the skin off apples, pears and potatoes (weird I know) or fizzy drinks.

4) Eat for a healthy lifestyle and long term health, don’t “diet” (unless you are really overweight/obese obviously) if you make your diet a positive lifestyle choice not about deprivation and motivated solely by being thin, you are more likely to stick to it.

Well, I’m female, and I’m no stranger to diets and weight management theories but I’ve never read Women’s weekly…..

I actually LIKE on here that you get guys debating diet and food issues, because so many men think it’s a bit rubbish to care what you put in your body and then they end up letting themselves go and doing nowt about it for fear of looking like a nancy in front of their mates going on a diet and not swilling beer and shovelling in chips.

I’m pretty hopeless up hills to be honest. I do try, but I’m a “non responder” and my aerobic capacity does not increase with exercise. I have to compensate with strength/endurance training, but I’m never going to be able to race up hills very well. I accept this, and my other half accepts that I’m not going to be as fast as him. I’ve only ever made small improvements in hill climbing ability, so I focus on improving technique instead.

Q1. Have you heard of/visited Lee/Cragg Quarry Mountain Bike Trails?
Yes, been a couple of times, but not recently

Q2. Would extensions to and better linkages between the existing trails in Lee/Cragg Quarry and the bridleway network make you more likely to visit this area?
Yes, definitely especially if I come with people who are keener on the XC stuff than trail features.

Q3. Would the provision of 10 way marked mountain bike routes starting from Lee Quarry mean you would consider extending the length of visit to the area?
I would be more likely to camp over and make a weekend of it. I wasn’t aware there was much at Cragg Quarry so I’d investigate that. Maybe I’m a bit lazy but I like way marked routes as it’s a hassle getting your map out every five minutes and I think I have a bit of “map dyslexia”!

Q4. Would linked activities eg art installations which act as “usable art” such as a shelter, on the mountain bike network encourage you to visit more often?
I think they would be cool, provide a showcase for local artists/craftspeople, provide something a bit different, I’d want to come and see them if they were there.

Q5. Do you think a “Trail Head” facility in Rossendale would make Lee/Cragg Quarry and bridleway network a more attractive facility? What other facilities would you like to see – toilets/showers/bike shop/café/please state any other

You can’t beat a decent set of toilets! Bike wash and a drinking water source is always useful, as is a shop that at least sells parts/food etc – someone always forgets something!

I’m 2 months older than Mr Panda. I always dated older guys when I was in my early to mid twenties – my boyfriends were usually in their 30’s – I found guys in their twenties were immature, not good at commitment but very good at cheating! But the older guys often came with baggage…..last relationship there was a 7 year age gap (I was younger) and he had a kid and a crazy ex. I ended it because we were definitely in different life places, and made a conscious decision to go out with someone closer to my own age and without children, and I’m much happier now.

Sounds selfish but I couldn’t deal with all that stuff – an ex wife who would “scweam and scweam until I’m sick” and get what she wanted, a kid who was sadly caught in the crossfire and very damaged, and all the while being expected to be the adult one who was always nice and polite and never complained about being treated like crap.

Now I aint gonna defend the Tories, but I reckon he had the previous government in his pocket and all….

I blame the crackdown on bullying in schools. If there was more bullying of fat kids allowed I’m sure a lot of them would do something about it, not least through the extra exercise they’d get running away from the bullies.

Oh yes, because bullies’ taunts so often reflect the reality of the person they bully, bullies would never call people fat when they are in fact not fat, and only thin kids are bullies.

Idiot.

Most overweight people do not have a medical condition. But it is often the case that possible underlying medical conditions are underinvestigated, such as underactive thyroid, food allergies/intolerances, hormonal conditions such as PCOS or reactions to contraceptive hormones, coeliac disease….

If only it were that simple! I’m not going to rant again about the disgraceful lack of treatment that some thyroid patients receive and how I’ve had to go outside of the NHS because of wanting a reasonable quality of life.

Thyroid conditions rarely get fixed, they get managed, and it’s difficult to get dosage right. The NHS often thinks it’s a case of “here’s some thyroxine, off you go” but it’s not that easy. My stepmum had her thyroid out because of cancer, the NHS were great at treating the cancer but the aftercare and management of her thyroid hormones were absolutely diabolical.

As a few people have pointed out BMI isn’t one size fits all, you can be within healthy weight range and be like me, someone who stores fat primarily round the stomach area, therefore being at greater risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Diet and exercise plans need to be tailored to an individual’s body shape and existing health conditions, it’s not enough to say “eat less, move more”.

What about people who have conditions like PCOS, underactive thyroid, mobility issues etc which make it harder for them to lose weight?

I have 2 friends with PCOS – one who is very conscious of managing her weight, and tries very hard to eat well and stay active, and one who doesn’t try. But both of them are overweight, though the friend who makes an effort is a stone or so lighter, she is still what may be classed as “fat” or at least “chubby”.

I would argue though that she is healthier than the friend who doesn’t bother to eat healthy or exercise. She aint ever gonna be a skinny minnie, but I don’t think she should be made to feel that she isn’t acceptable because of that.

Maybe I should get her on iDave!