British = bad?
I went to a Spanish Tapas bar yesterday and it got me thinking......
It's
a known fact that we are the "America of europe" when it comes to
obesity, you only have to about 5 minutes on any high street in the
country and this becomes plainly envious, let alone look at the NHS
figures for obesity & disease rates.
So what's up
& what has Spanish Tapas got to do with this??
Well
let me tell you.... we all know that in order to stay healthy and in
shape two things are needed.... a great training regime and..... a
healthy and fulfilling diet!
As a nation we have never
been famous for great food... and although the french have laughed at us
for a long time things in London have gotten better recently with the
boom in fine cuisine. But it's not fine dining or the occasional meal
out that i'm talking about... it's everyday eating habits. If you
compare us to the rest of europe the cause is obvious......
Our
diet has been laden with carbohydrates and "bad" fats, the absolute
worse combination for health and weight loss!! dishes like fish and
chips (batter & white potato chips!!) the fry up (bad fats, salt and
lots of carbs!!) also our eating habits are quenstionable... three set
heavy meals a day (the best way to slow your metabolism) also our love
affair with alcohol (again empty carbohydrates)
now let's
look at the spanish.... the very word Tapas means "snacks" and that's
what they do... snack, they eat at least 4 or 5 smaller meals a day thus
keeping their metabolisms fast..... 1-0 to spain. The food they eat is
much fresher and their meals include much more meats and fresh fruit and
vegetables, so more protein and more vitamins & minerals (great for
weight loss and health) 2-0 to spain! they also eat more fish (ironic
considering we are an island) and a lot less carbs, 3-0 to spain! Paella
I hear you scream!!! well unlike us tourists when we flock there they
only ever eat that early in the afternoon never for dinner! they way in
which all carbs should be treated!! 4-0 to spain, and we all know that
few nations drink like us, infact they are usually disgusted with our
behaviour (although the bar tenders enjoy the profits) 5-0 spain, oh
what a thrashing!! full time, game over!
But is it all
rose (excuse the joke) for Spain? not really..... or eating habits and
the american fast food restaurants are creeping in over there and
undoubtly they are also getting fatter, let's just hope they realise,
like the people changing their lives for the better everyday that I work
with, before it's too late and put a holt to it.
viva
españa!!
