Skipping breakfast is NOT a good option

OUR recruits are scoring full marks for effort on their commitment to sweating it out in the gym.

But up until now, the teams haven’t had any nutrition lessons thanks to Mother Nature’s obsession with Monday night snow storms.

This week NHS Oldham dietician Louise Brown was finally able to educate the gang on what they should — and shouldn’t — be eating.

My heartfelt sympathy must go to Wide Load for having to put up with Chaddy the Owl and his refusal to give up the food he loves.

In the past week alone the round-bellied mascot has enjoyed two trips to the carvery (where he had double helpings of everything but vegetables), an enormous fry up before Latics took on Leicester (so the 12 pints of post-match Stella would have something to soak into) and countless cheeseburgers.

Captain Nicola Melvin is doing her best to get the cheeky chap in line but I’m starting to think this guy is beyond help.

The teams were asked to write down their personal reasons for losing weight to kick start the session.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching but many of our recruits cited improving their sex life and being able to fit into sexy lingerie as their key motivation. Ooh la la.

But as Louise told the group of the health benefits of losing weight - drop in blood pressure and cholesterol, reduced risk of dying from heart problems, cancer and diabetes and an improvement in joint problems, breathlessness and sleeping patterns - the teams gained fresh motivation.

The eight rules of eating well are basing meals on starchy foods, eating lots of fruit and veg, eating more fish, cutting down on fat and sugar, eating less salt, being more active, drinking lots of water and never skipping breakfast.

::Starchy foods — such as bread, rice and pasta — should make up a third of meals and provide the energy to keep us going.

::Fruit and veg pump us full of vitamins and antioxidants providing we eat a range of different colours.

::Oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and trout, contains omega 3 which is known to keep the heart healthy.

::Saturated fats can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood so we should stick to unsaturated which can lower blood cholesterol.

::Eating too much salt can raise blood pressure which means you are more likely to suffer from heart problems or have a stroke.

Physical activity helps to burn off extra calories which the body would store as fat if they were not got rid of.

We often mistake thirst for hunger so drinking plenty of water can help us to stave off phantom hunger pangs.

Most importantly is not skipping breakfast as this essential meal sets you up for the day and helps you to control your weight.

So with important lessons learned the teams trouped off for another week of weight loss.

Next week, our recruits will be facing a gruelling circuit session with OCL’s Jason Bailey.
Find out how they get on in next week’s Chronicle.