Programme Information

Healthy Hits

Healthy Hits is broadcast at 01:00 PM on Monday, 01:00 PM on Tuesday, 01:00 PM on Wednesday, 01:00 PM on Thursday, 01:00 PM on Friday, and 02:00 PM on Saturday.

Louise Oliver pops in to the studio to get you exercising and eating sensibly, washed down with some appropriate music. Louise runs the Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club in the Oxford area and you can find out more by following the link.www.rosemaryconley.com/content/oler-(louise-oliver)/homepage.htm

Email us at: HealthyHits@radiocherwell.com

Below are the diets and exercises from Louise's programmes

BARBECUES

Barbecued food can be a great choice if you're trying to lose weight, as it's cooked in a similar way to grilling. That means you don't need to add oil to the food, just the barbecue rack. On the downside, most barbecues involve an abundance of food and drink, so it's easy to over indulge. Do you stop after one burger or couldn't you make the choice between a burger or a hotdog? "Oh well, I'll have both". We go on to pile unhealthy salads onto our flimsy paper plates like Aunty Normas Potato salad prepared with her homemade mayo. Here's how to enjoy the barbecue without ruining your diet.

1. Fill your plate just once and choose wisely. Barbecued chicken, lean meat, fish and vegetables are all great choices but remove the skin from chicken drumsticks or thighs and cut off any fat on chops or pieces of meat.
2. Sausages and beefburgers are high in fat and calories so limit yourself to just one of each. If you're expected to contribute some food, take along low fat or good quality sausages or homemade beefburgers made from extra lean mince.
3. If you're in charge of preparing food, marinate meat and fish in fat free marinades or use a barbecue seasoning rather than oil.
4. Beware of chips and dips that are always at barbecues. Many dips are made with mayo, oil or soured cream and so are packed with calories. If available, stick to tomato or yoghurt based dips such as salsa and tzatziki. And dip cherry tomatoes and pitta bread rather than tortillas and crisps.
5. Fill up with jacket potatoes or bread and salad. Pasta and rice salads are good choices if they haven't be made with mayo or oily dressings. Potato salad and coleslaw should definitely be avoided. And avoid adding extras, like slices of cheese, to burgers.
6. Instead of mayonnaise, choose tomato ketchup, chilli or sweet corn relishes to accompany salads, they're much lower in fat. But remember they're still high in salt so you shouldn't use too much.
7. Kebabs are great. Fill with a variety of meats and vegetables and nibble away.

So, you can have a barbeque and enjoy the food, just choose wisely. Zing up your tastebuds and not your waistline

BREAKFAST

Were you feeling a little foggy this morning? Did any of you skip breakfast this morning? Because that could be the reason why. Being on a diet is not about deprivation. It's about treating our bodies well so they can perform at optimum efficiency. In our book this doesn't mean reaching rock bottom and then grabbing a high fat, high calorie fast food meal or snack. It means planning what we eat to get the best out of our bodies. So, how can we do this whilst losing weight? Well, breakfast is vital in the battle of the bulge so we need to give it a bit more respect. I know we go on about this, but just think for a moment.If you had dinner at 7.30pm the night before and it's now 7.30 am the next morning then your body has been without food for 12 hours. Now, as we've been asleep for a good portion of the time we haven't needed extra energy, but we do now. If you skip breakfast and don't eat until say 1.00 pm your body will have been denied sustenance for 17.5 hours. How can we expect it to perform? One thing that is likely to happen is our body starts craving food, anything, just get it some calories! And how do we respond? Chocolate bar, biscuits, crisps? And straight away you're off your diet. By eating a sensible breakfast you are much less likely to snack on foods that won't help your body. Even a banana or a piece of toast will help stop your body thinking they've hit a famine and to start holding back on energy expenditure. If you don't have time for breakfast then stopping at the fast food joint or getting something out of the nearest vending machine is simply terrible for your diet. So do try to get up just 10 minutes earlier. Not only is it healthy to eat breakfast but you may see the sunrise, listen to the birds singing,........I won't go any further...... So here are my top breakfast tips:

1. Try to eat breakfast by 10.00 am in the morning so that you are ready for your lunch. You don't want to skip that either!
2. Breakfast gives us energy for the day ahead, especially important as exercisers.
3. Eat breakfast to prevent hunger later and over eating then.
4. Eating breakfast also helps to prevent tiredness and lethargy later in the day.
5. You'll be more mentally productive
6. Many breakfast foods are loaded with the nutrients that your body needs.
7. Eating breakfast will boost your metabolism and in turn boost your diet So what are the best foods to go for? Those that slowly release their energy.
8. Wholegrain, high,fibre cereals such as porridge, weetabix, shredded wheat and bran flakes. Try adding some fruit.
9. Wholegrain or seeded toast, maybe with a scraping of low fat spread, baked beans, egg or marmite
10. Fruit, maybe with some yogurt. Add some museli but watch the calories.
11. If you fancy a cooked breakfast try a grilled low fat sausage with a dry fried egg, 4 grilled tomatoes and 4oz of grilled mushrooms for just 200 calories.
12. The vitamin C from orange juice helps absorb the iron in cereal and helps healing. Watch the calories though!

So to boost your diet remember to eat breakfast, especially if you're exercising

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