Bell Peppers

I am sure you have seen orange, yellow, green and red peppers but going into detail about all four would be fair too much work for to do so I am going to focus on red peppers.

Red peppers are more mature than the others and destroy the others nutrient wise.

These bad boys aren't just there to give some added colour to your dish.


Peppers have anti cancer properties thanks to all of those antioxidants

Massive amounts of vitamin C with 92g giving you 157% of you RDA which is about 1.5x the amount you would get from a green pepper.

Full of Beta Carotene which your body uses to make into Vitamin A.

" But why can't I just get more vitamin A into my diet?" I hear you whine.

Well you could however vitamin A in high quantities is toxic.
 If your body goes to the trouble of converting beta carotene it will only take as much as it needs, unlike my gold fish that I accidentally over fed who had no self control and ate it's self to death!

Peppers do have 16% of your daily vitamin if you are in the least bit worried anyway.

16% of your vitamin B6 which, among other things, will help convert glucose into energy.

11% of your daily B12 which helps with making DNA.

10% of your vitamin E which helps stop free radicals running rampant in your body and helps you look younger.
Peppers also have a high water content which will also help make you look younger.

Smaller amounts of vitamins B1, 2 and 3.

7% of your daily fibre.

To protect the more delicate antioxidants I eat them raw, either in a salad or toss them into a chili con carne.

Mushrooms

You might not have mush room on your plate for them but you should clear some space on your  for this fungi!

If you enjoyed that you have good taste and we can be friends.

 Now on to why you should be chomping on mushrooms.

Mushrooms exposed to UV light is a source of vitamin D, which isn't destroyed when you cook them.
Interestingly enough it seems that mushrooms are the only plant based source of naturally occurring vitamin D with about 5% of you daily amount in 100g of mushroom.

Boost you immune system.

May prevent cancer.

100g of mushroom have about 13% selenium which helps boost your immune system, reduces asthma treatment, helps maintain thyroid function, helps prevent heart disease, helps fight ageing.

As none meat sources of selenium go mushrooms are pretty high on the list, although 100g of brazil nuts contain almost 3500% of your RDA.

100 grams of mushrooms is almost a quarter of you vitamin B2 and almost 20% of your vitamin B3 with some B6 and B12 thrown in to boot.

Aids weight loss.
Due to the B vitamins in mushrooms they help your metabolism because B vitamins help you turn sugar into energy rather then turning it into a spare tyre.

Apparently there is a mushroom based diet called the M plan where you replace one meal a day with mushrooms to reduce fat in woman from their thighs, waist, bums and upper arms while keeping their bust size.

I imagine eating a meal consisting of nothing but mushrooms you would be eating fewer calories than your normal  meal choice.
 Mushrooms sate your appetite quite well so you would probably snack less as well.

The M plan would be a quick fix and I don't think many people would be able to stay on it for life in order to maintain their weight loss, but possibly a future 2 week challenge I can undertake.

Perspirex, antiperspirant

I was kindly sent some Perspirex antiperspirant to review.
 Being a fitness blog finding a product that promises to get rid of embarrassing sweat patches is a God send!

It is available in  three varieties, original, comfort and strong.

I was given the choice between original and comfort, since my skin has been known to be sensitive in the past I chose comfort.

Perspirex promises to alleviate sweating and odour for 3-5 days.

Perspirex neutralises odour but it isn't fragranced it's self

I used Perspirex on the first day, applying it the night before as instructed and lived my life.

I only tested it out on my arm pits.

If you suffer with a incredibly sweaty interguteal cleft, bum crack for those of you that didn't know, then you will have to get some and test it for yourself, unless you want to pay me to risk the sanctity of my own.

I avoided any exercise more than normal activities such as going to work or food shopping and I was as dry as a bone in the Sahara.

On day 2 I downloaded Pokemon Go and went off on a long Pokemon hunting walk  and I thought I was going to be washed away in a flood of my own sweat!

Admittedly the temperature had increased a great deal compared to the day before and even though I was only walking it was too much for Perspirex to hold back the tide.

I gave Perspirex another go and went to gym but ended up sweating again, not as much as I normally would but sweat none the less.

I wore vests when testing out Perspirex so I can't currently up load a picture of my sweaty pits but I will

endeaver to wear a tee shirt and get hot and sweaty.

Saying that my pits did develop any body odour, on that front it succeeded and I had no adverse effects from the antiperspirant.

Perspirex did out preform my normal antiperspirant so if you feel you have an issue with either wetness or odour then you should give Perspirex a try.

Check out their website by clicking here and taking their quiz to see which one is right for you.

Caulirice

A bit of a novelty review here!

Caulirice is cauliflower trying to masquerade as rice and comes in original and pilau varieties.
I tried the original version.

It tastes exactly like a cauliflower flour head and has the same texture it's just not as fixed together as an actual cauliflower.

If you are trying to trick yourself into thinking you are you eating rice then this isn't the product to go for, although if you are wanting a low calorie plate filler then this might be right up your street.

Caulirice has almost 100 fewer calories than all the varieties of rice that I could think and almost 150 calories less than pasta.

Just like rice, caulirice is gluten free.

A 200g pouch of cauliflower cost me £1.99 where as an actual cauliflower

would of cost me 95p, I am no master chef but I think I could manage to make caulirice but you are paying for the convenience.

Caulirice will last a year where as cauliflower probably won't last a week.

If you are a thoughtful cook who picks up food with the intention of making a delicious meal but end up on JustEat instead then this is a better alternative.

If you like the taste of cauliflower then give Caulirice a go, just don't try and trick your kids with it.

Forza Raspberry K2

I was kindly sent a tub of Raspberry K2 by Forza to review so let's get into it!

Raspberry Ketones are found in, yes you've guessed it, raspberries!

These ketones are supposed to help you use fat for energy, your go to source is normally carbohydrates, then protein then when it really has to decides to crave away at your fat stores. 

Raspberry K2 is essentially Raspberry Ketones with a few added extras to help them work more efficiently at using fat for energy rather than fat being stored on your love handles. 

The extras are lots of caffeine, vitamin K2 and choline.

I am sure most of you are familiar with caffeine and weight loss but if you are not basically from a weight loss perspective it increases your metabolism and in some people it helps suppress appetite.

 Unfortunately for me if food is put in front of me I am going to eat it because I am a pure beast!

Vitamin K2 helps increase skeletal metabolism helping you get stronger bones but also helps your blood clot, helps protect against heart disease and may reduce your chance of prostate cancer by as much as 35%.

Choline helps with liver function, nerve function, helps with energy levels and helps maintain your metabolism.

But does Raspberry K2 work?

Well yes and no in my opinion.

The recommended dose is a hell of a lot of caffeine if you are not used to it with 600mg a day which is slightly more than 6 cups of coffee.

You should be aware of this before taking it and of course consult your doctor is you are at all worried or at the very least do you research.

I adapted to the caffeine pretty quickly, I would say this is because I started taking Raspberry K2 straight off the back of reviewing Muscletronic.

The capsules were easy you take,  you just need to have them with a glass of water so no need to worry about eating anything with them.

I do feel they helped my fat loss.
 My diet has been diabolical for about a month and a half, partly because my mood has been terrible so instead of hitting the gym and addressing the issue I decide it was best to eat like a beast.

I don't think the Raspberry K2 was the reason my mood was so crappy, I believe I was a bit deficient in vitamin due the tradition British summer this year, I started supplementing and my mood improved and the sun came out.

By this time my birthday had rolled round so I thought funk it, I am having a break from blogging,realign my chakras and binge on Iceland buffets and Echo Falls.

I feel the Raspberry K2 minimised the fat gain and I actually lost an inch on my waist despite my bad behaviour.

This does not mean you should rely on supplements to get to you fat loss goals and to demonstrate this here is a picture of me this time last year and me now.

This was done through exercise and diet, no supplements other than the occasional Caffeine Pro tablet and protein shakes which I had as a pre workout and post workout respectively.

My final thoughts on Raspberry K2 are that if you are already living a healthy lifestyle and just want a final little flourish then give them a go.
If you are out of breath from reading this post you should probably have a look at your lifestyle before pinning all of your hopes on a supplement.

If you would like to try Forza Raspberry K2 for yourself then click the link here and use the promo code FZ2 for 10% off.

If you are a bit shy about buying on line Forza Raspberry K2 is available at Boots but no discount for the shy guys!

Eggs as bad as cigarettes?

Body builders can't get enough of eggs, just ask Gaston of Beauty and the Beast fame.

 Chicken periods, technically that's  what eggs are before you gasp in horror, are revered for their muscle building potential but are they all that they are cracked up to be?

Eggs are a complete protein, which means they contain all the proteins our bodies need, which makes sense since if the egg had been fertilised it would of grown into a chicken.

They also contain vitamins B12, B5, B6, A, selenium and trace amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, vitamin E and folate, keep in mind these are all found in the yolk, the white is just protein.

Now that sounds too good to be true doesn't it?

Well it might be because  there was a study in 2012 that suggests that eating whole eggs could be as bad for you as smoking.

Now this study wasn't perfect, for starters they relied on participants to recall the amount of eggs they have eaten, easy if you have an egg religiously every day and not so easy if you are like me and infrequently eat eggs.

The way the eggs were cooked was also not taken into consideration, frying an egg isn't going to as healthy as boiling or poaching an egg.

The sample size was small and the average age of the participants was 62, you are going to need an excellent memory to estimate how many eggs you have eaten in 60 years!

This study, even with as many flaws as it worth noting having a high cholesterol diet can damage your arteries.

You can always just eat the egg whites as many people choose to do as most of the cholesterol is in the yolk.

 You can even try some Quinoa Porridge, with 100g containing a little less protein at 4g compared to 6g of protein in one large egg but is also packed full of other benefits.

 You can also get back that 2g of protein back depending on What kind of milk you use with Soy being your best bet if you want to avoid cruelty to animals and to get almost as much protein as cow's milk.

Check out my post on Quinoa and my post on Soy as it also has a bad reputation for being bad for you.

Click here to check out NHS websites page on eggs being as bad for you as cigarettes.

The egg industry, just like the dairy industry is incredibly cruel to chickens.

 I have mentioned before I am not a vegan but if you are interested in how the eggs get from the hen to your plate then check out the link here to and watch some of the Bite Sized Vegan's videos, don't worry the one I am linking isn't mega graphic.

Mar - Jun 2016 Progress

This is going to echo my last progress post  but hey ho, what are you going to do about it?

Well I suppose I could knuckle down and start achieving the goals I have set for myself but we shall see about that.

I have been putting off writing this post for as long as I felt I could but I guess I need to bite the bullet and get on with it.

April was the month of my first event of the year, a 5K Bubble Rush.

Nothing major but something to panic a bit over when you realise the furthest you have jogged this year is the perilous journey from your bed to the bathroom at 4:30am.

The Bubble Rush did me a lot of good physically and mentally, it gave me the idea to start reviewing parks in the Leeds area, with Kirkstall Abbey and Roundhay Park being the best known and generally give me a kick up the rump!

May mirrored January in most ways.

My fire for exercise, eating and blogging was well and truly lit, in fact I  churned out the most blog posts in one month than I ever have.
 Hopefully the quality of the posts are fairly consistent and to add to that,I hope the quality is high to start with because my posts are poo then I hope the consistently isn't quite there!

And if you manged to get your head around that last paragraph then you deserve a congratulatory pat on the head!

You will of course have to go ask someone nearby to administer it because I am far too busy trying to lead the life of one of those instabitches who spend their lives on beaches sipping their detox teas and looking incredibly basic.

I went to my first bloggers event of year at The Lighthouse Store which was put on to help increase awareness of people living with Autism and their employability.

I also attended the The Body Power Expo in Birmingham, sadly I wasn't invited and had to pay but maybe one day guys!
 The ticket price was worth it just to see some Ex on the beach stars in the flesh because I am a sucker for trashy tv!

I continued with my park tour which included the Leeds/Liverpool Canal and the Killer Armley Steps.

I made some ice cream with the Muscle Mousse  I was sent.

 The main reason I am mentioning this as a point of worth is because Muscle Mousse liked it enough to post it on their instagram!

I would say the main talking point of May was the 2 week Banana Cleanse and also went Gluten Free for 2 weeks.

June was a real let down after my mammoth May, I really let myself down.

I went Dairy Free for 2 weeks, explored some Milk Alternatives and made a Cricket Cake, that was about it.

 I guess it's time for the progress picture!

How have Calvin Klein not snapped me up yet?

Not a massive change but I have lost fat, terrible results for 3 months!

 If you check my Forza Raspberry K2  then you can see a comparison of my condition this time last year and now.

 In the mean time I need to concentrate on getting into the gym regularly to get hench as funk!

Pokemon Go the fitness app.

Pokemon Go hasn't launched in the UK yet but I managed to download a version onto my android phone and have a bit of a play with it.

Load times were horrendous, constant screen freezes as I was about to seal the deal with the Clafairy that lives in the next street over and Pokemon not generating on my 4 mile walk, this is the problem with not being patient enough to wait for the official release!

But I am skipping over the point here, Pokemon Go is an amazing fitness app!

It encourages people to get up and go outside in search of Pokemon, yes some people have been lucky enough for a Pidgey to fly into their living room or find a Psyduck chilling out on the toilet but sticking to your house is not going to cut if you want to catch them all.

I have been literally running through the streets of Leeds trying to get to Pokemon, I don't even run for the bus but give me the chance to catch a Staryu and I transform into Usain Bolt.

Pokemon will get people outside while the buzz is alive and well, hopefully the Pokemon Company will come up with a way to increase longvity to the app.

 There are safety concerns to be aware of with people using the app while driving, crossing roads or generally not being aware of your surroundings.

 Pokemon do seem to know that we are a race are prone to causing our own doom and have a warning pop up as the app connects to the over pressed servers.

With any prolonged use of mobiles, whether it be using an app or just texting there is a chance you could grow yourself a hunch back, with the constant curving of your spine giving you kythosis.

If you are desperate to give the game a go then click here to download the game for android, you may have to disable a feature on your phone that prevents you downloading apps from anywhere other than from the Play Store.

Just be aware it isn't the finished product so if you have problems with it you will have to wait for the yet to be announced official release date.

The best thing about Pokemon Go is that it's so accessible to everyone of all ages, shapes and sizes as long as you have a decent phone and a good battery life, people in there early 30s can bask in nostalgia and kids can play a fun game.

If you know anyone that loves Pokemon and wants to start getting more active then this game is a great why to ease them into it and maybe bag a Charizard while you are at it.

Fit Shaming

No you didn't misread the title, since I wrote a post on Fat Shaming I thought it would only be fair to write about Fit Shaming.

I am sure I am not the only one who has encountered this.

 Basically the negative reaction people give you when you want to do something "fit" and no I am not talking about that fine little thing at the other end the bar!

The other day me and a friend went off for a run but before we set off one of my neighbours asked what we were up to and once we had said we were off for a run her face turned to that of almost disgust!

When I was trying to get people get people to join me on my first Tough Mudder people would give me negative reactions like " why would you want to do that"?

Not  said with a tone of curiosity but with an air of bewilderment and again almost disgust.

Well Shannon why do you want to snort a line of coke off a bouncer's cock every Saturday night? 

I don't actually ask her, that would be rude and if that's how she wants to get her trills that's up to her.

This seems to be acceptable than if anyone says they are going to spend their Saturday night in the gym, you get looked at like you are possessed by the devil.

A Devil with rock hard abs and glutes you could crack an egg on!

The fact is that 67% of men and 57% of women in England are classed as obese, people should be exercising more.

Not only will you be more likely to live longer, healthier lives but you won't be left wondering if this is the cream cake that will cost you your vision from your self induced diabetes.

If the #Fitfam isn't for you doesn't mean that you should discourage anyone who is trying to make positive changes in their life style, consciously or subconsciously.

OK so it's not so much shaming, when you are rocking your summer body while poor flabby Shannon sits in her over sized tee shirt you are fairly going to feel ashamed.

But this negativity toward people who want to be healthier isn't helping anyone, I know loads of people that like the idea of getting fitter but lack the confidence and need a boost.

They do not need to hear "why would you want to go for a run"? 

Yes you can justify yourself by saying I want to get fitter, I want to lose my belly, I want to look like a goddess when I am naked but some people just do not have the fight or the drive and will give up.

Next time you hear someone say I am off for a run, remember coke head Shannon and wish them a good time.

Fitness Success Obstacle Gym

I came across Fitness Success Obstacle Gym thanks to Paul, one of the instructors at Out Door Fitness UK when  he posted a video on Facebook and just had to get down there and have a look for myself.

Located at Rothwell, Leeds, West Yorkshire I would be silly not check out their facilities when they are on my door step!

The Obstacle is gym is what you would imagine it to be, all the obstacles that you would imagine from an event like Tough Mudder etc where practical of course.

It would be nigh on impossible to run an the bigger obstacles that Tough Mudder boast without the resources that Tough Mudder have all year round.

Me and my friend Sam booked in advance online for £12 a week before, there isn't an office on site to pay entry.

 The instructor had back to back bookings so I didn't get opportunity to ask about  paying on the day or other questions  that I would of liked to ask for the purpose of the review, I could always drop an email but meh, you get what you pay for from my reviews.

I strapped on my New Balance Trail Running Shoes trainers and Big Red Apparel  shorts and away I went!

The obstacle gym has hills, tyre runs, logs to carry, cargo nets, walls to climb, monkey bars and of course lots of mud and water.

This makes it perfect  training for a mud run or just for the experience of running a no pressure, affordable and accessible course at any time of the year.

Group and corporate bookings are accepted.

I really enjoyed myself and you really do get good value for your money.

My only negative  with the obstacle gym is the lack of facilities, you go out, cake yourself in the finest of Yorkshire mud but then have no shower to get rid of it once you have finished.

There are some cabins that are used as changing rooms with lockers, which I imagine are incredibly cold in the winter particularly after being soaked in water and mud and a portaloo.

The obstacle gym has own being going for about a year so I am hoping that some sort of system will be introduced so I don't need to carry 5kg of mud home with me.

That being said if you are serious about training for a mud run and you have the chance to hit up the Fitness Success Obstacle Gym.

Because I was quite hungover to say least on the day of my visit I was in too of much of hurry to get home and toss my guts up at home I didn't manage to take any pictures of the course but luckily you can click here to view a video and possible book yourself in to test the course yourself.

I wish the every success for the Obstacle Gym and hope it continues to grow, maybe organise a bloggers event in the future to help further spread the word.

Snickers Protein Bar

I fell for the hype and snapped up a Snickers protein bar for £2.50 at my local High Definition Supplement store.

I enjoyed the Snickers protein bar, although I would of preferred a traditional Snickers bar however they only pack 3 grams of protein per bar.

The bar does taste like a Snickers bar but the base is more stodgy, like all the other protein bars I have tried.

Because Snickers have tried to essentially create a more protein packed version of their normal bar it lags behind in most protein bars and shakes in the amount of protein it contains.

Quest bars having 20g per bar and Snickers having 18g of protein per bar.

Quest bars also have slightly fewer calories than Snickers, so if you stick with your Quest bar you are going to be getting more protein, lower calories and quest bars actually weigh more so you get a bigger bar as well.

Snickers Protein bars are a bit gimmicky but I liked the taste of them more than other protein bars I have tried and 18 grams of protein in one bar is nothing to turn your nose up at and would buy them again.

Mars protein bars were out of stock at the time of me writing this post but when Hi Def get them back in I will be sure to give them a review.