Belly-fat project 2013 – evaluation

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This week a year ago I did some research on belly-fat and metabolic syndrome. The abbreviation LCHF turned up more and more often in the articles and I started to do research on that too. The Belly-Fat project 2013 was born, with LCHF-diet, Exercise and Vitamin D as ingredients. What has happened during the year:

LCHF
I have been on a liberal Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet where I kept the amount of carbs in the ingredients under 5 %. Eating a absolute minimum of pre-processed food, pasta, rice, potatoes, cakes, pizza, hamburger etc. I admit I have cheated a few times. I have posted photos and comments on Facebook to share the journey, inspiration for some, nuisance for others, and to show that it is possible to make food quite easy and tasty without starch, carbs and sugar.

I like to thank the chefs at our canteen for adjusting the servings and remove the carbs for me.

Followed Kostdoktorn.se, among other blogs and articles, regarding low carb food and have changed my view on what healthy food is. Here are some learnings:

“fear” light products and sugar more than full fat products
a calorie is NOT = a calorie, it depends where they come from and to count them is not necessary
it’s NOT about calories in vs. calories out
it’s NOT about eating less and run more – eat smarter
sugar is toxic and addictive
what really makes us fat and what we eat today was decided by 3 men back in the 70’s
egg and bacon is healthy, taste great and you are allowed to eat as much you like 😀
full fat cream instead of milk in the “latte” tastes great

Exercise
During the winter and spring I trained for the Göteborgsvarv (½ marathon) that took place 17 May. According the organizers, it was the hardest Göteborgsvarv ever with very warm and humid weather that included rain, thunder and lightning and hail. I completed with a time “a bit” from my goal (2 hours) and landed on 2.20. I am going for another attempt 2014…

2013 has been a year with lots of rollerskating, both on my “old school” side-by-side or the new name I learned, quads, and on the inlines I “had to” buy. Being a part of Malmö City Skaters and like to join the different tours and to keep pace with the others, I got myself a pair of inlines in the end of May.

I was appointed tour leader for the Malmö City Skaters’ “Sunday stroll”, approx. 20 km trip in moderate speed along the bike paths in and around Malmö. I also joined as many Thursday tours as possible. These were a bit faster and sometimes also longer, often with Olle as tour leader – many nice trips on good AQ, thanks for that (learned that there is an AQ-rating – Asphalt Quality…).

The club chairman, Gisle, started some lessons with technique practice. BIG success and it turned out to be a permanent Tuesday evening event on the Ribersborg boardwalk, with guest instructors like Lasse and Madde. You guys thought me how to skate inlines in a correct way, VERY thankful for that.
We have continued the Tuesday training indoors, which is perfect for practicing turns, stop and to control the skates on small spaces.

Other rollerskating events during 2013:

Ørestadsstafetten – 25 May. A team of 3 do as many laps as possible in 90 min. Gisle, Peter and I was competing for Malmö City Skaters. I was the only one on side-by-side (this was when I decided to buy a pair of inlines).
Sweden 12H Roller – 17 August. 12 hours of interval rollerskating. Teams with 6 members that takes turns rolling the 1,8 km race track in Falkenberg. Fantastic team spirit and atmosphere where the “pros” and “amateurs” participate in the same competition.
Copenhagen Inline Challenge – 1 September. My first marathon on inlines. 6 laps on a 7 km track on the roads around Ørestaden, Copenhagen. Started to rain 30 sec. after start and kept on until last lap…time 2:10
Berlin Inline Marathon – 28 September. An absolutely magic and fantastic experience. 6.500 rollerskaters, several 100.000 spectators cheering and making lots of noise along the streets of Berlin, music at the start and the end… time 2:03
Night Skate Malmö – approx 6 Friday evenings this summer we roll along the streets of Malmö with police escort. Among the many highlights I like to mention when the police men joined us on inlines and when they played music from the patrol car, incl. “Breaking the law“. Thanks to the Malmö police force for helping out with this event.
Friday Night Skate – Every second Friday during the summer 600-1.500 rollerskaters join for taking over some of the streets of Copenhagen.

Vitamin D
We get vitamin D from when the sun hits the skin and very little from food. More and more research shows that lack of vitamin D can play a major part in different infectious diseases, winter/ spring depression, cancer, heart disease, autism, general pain, obesity etc… Read more on this quick lesson about vitamin D (in Swedish).

I am eating this:

As result of the Belly-fat project, I have lost approx. 13 kg, and most important, approx. 10 cm waist line. The “side effects” has been more energy, no sugar craving/chock (especially in the afternoon that I suffered from before), less inflammations like cold, allergy and skin issues, no stomach problems etc. I am going continue this journey…

LCHF Fralla

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Alternativ 1.

1,5 dl mandelmjöl
1 dl creme fraiche
2 ägg
2 msk smält smör
2 msk fiberhusk
2 msk sesamfrön
1 tsk bakpulver
Ev vallmofrön

Sätt ugnen på 200° C. Blanda alla torra ingredienser. Rör i ägg, creme fraiche och smör. Klicka ut smeten till bullar/frallor på en plåt med bakplåtspapper, strö eventuellt över vallmofrön. Grädda i mitten av ugnen i ca 15-20 minuter tills LCHF-frallorna har fått en fin gyllenbrun färg.

Från LCHF-bröd.se

Alternativ 2.

50 g smör
2 ägg
2 dl fet yoghurt (helst Rysk)
0,75 tsk salt
2 tsk bakpulver
2 dl mandelmjöl
1 dl pofiber
2 msk fiberhusk
Vallmofrön (eller exempelvis solrosfrön, pumpafrön, sesam, riven ost etc)

Gör så här: Vispa samman ägg, ”halvsmält” (så det lätt går att blanda ihop) smör, yoghurt, salt och bakpulver. Häll i och blanda samman med resten av ingredienserna. Låt stå i cirka 5-10 minuter så att fiberhusk och pofiber hinner absorbera vätskan så att smeten/degen blir fast. Rulla till 6 stycken bollar. Lägg dem på ugnsplåten, strössla över vallmofrön. Grädda i 175 grader i cirka 15-20 minuter eller tills de fått fin färg.

Från jillsmat.se

Google knows me…

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Berlin Inline Marathon 2013

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Around lunch Thursday 26 September four people from Malmö City Skaters, Johanna, Oskar, Peter and me, left Malmö for Berlin. After approx 7 hours drive by Peter and including a pic-nic in the German country side we arrived to the home for the weekend, Youth hostel Aletto. After checking in we looked for a place to eat this late hour. Found a nice Tibet restaurant in the neighborhood. First time for Tibetian food, very nice.

The plan was to do some sightseeing in Berlin Friday. We ended up spending approx 4 hours at the Sport and Health fair at Tempelhof Airport. Picked up the start number, looking at and buying some merchandise etc.

The limited sightseeing in the afternoon included Panoramapunkt at Potzdammer platz with a beautiful sunset with 360 degrees view over the city. Walked to Brandenburger Tor to see the finish area for the marathon. Meet up with Joachim and Jonas for dinner at a small and nice Italian restaurant close by. Had a very nice spaghetti with chantarelle and cream sauce, not much LCHF about that… 😉

Saturday morning we did a “photo walk” around the hood. Back at the hostel we got ready for the Berlin Inline Marathon, that started 15:30. U-bahn to Französiche strasse, brisk walk to Brandenburger Tor where we meet with the rest of the Malmö City Skaters.

Approx. 6.300 participants on small wheels joined this event, the biggest inline race in the world and for the 17th time. After the mandatory and traditional Malmö City Skaters group photo we headed for the starting point. Fantastic atmosphere already, loud music and speaker pep talk. Felt a bit nervous but after start it disappeared and got goose bumps when rolling pass all the spectators that were cheering and making lots of noise.

During the 42 km we passed several sights and lots of people along the streets cheering. Remember especially when coming around a turn and this wide boulevard opened up, only with roller skaters, not a car or other traffic in sight.

Had good company by Jesper behind me during the first 30+ km. Found different “packs” to follow but feel I need to practice that discipline some more to next year.

Got really tired and ache in the lower back after 32 km. Must have been the part of bad asphalt and little uphill 😉

Reaching “Unter den Linden” with Brandenburger Tor at the end was a great feeling and also the last part before the finish line. Tribunes on both side packed with people with bells and a selection of other equipment that could make noise. On top of this loud music and a speaker working hard to boost the “stimmung” to a maximum. My goal was 2:00-2:10 and the time showed 2:02 that I am very pleased with. I like to roll as fast as possible but I also like to get most of the atmosphere and sights as possible. Bart Swings of Belgium set new record – 59:28! Guess he didn’t have time for any sightseeing 😉

Since we were a bit late for the common Rolling Vikings dinner, the Malmö crew decided to meet at Steakhouse Asador, Wilhelmstrasse 22. Recomended by Jonas and turned out to be a very nice place with great food. The company was great too :-D.

The 40th. Berlin Marathon started at 8:45 Sunday. After breakfast and checking out we went to Brandenburger Tor area to see some of the action. Approx. 40.000 runners joined and 35.500 finished. Wilson Kipsang also set new WR with nearly the same time as me, 2:03!

Since Peter had injured himself during the inline race I drove back to Malmö. Thought I should get tired but Peter’s Audi A3 was nice to drive and it turned out not being a problem at all, was a bit surprised. Left Berlin around 16.00 and returned to Malmö around 24:00.

Hope to repeat this event next year, think it’s the same date, 28 September. Registration is here and open 4 November.

Thanks to the Malmö City Skaters crew and well done everybody:
Johanna, Karolina, Peter, Oskar, Björn, Jesper, Joachim and Jonas

Katrinetorp Landeri, Malmö

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Living in Malmö for about 7 years I never visited Katrinetorp Landeri, located only 10 min. from Malmö city. I’ve passed it several times wondering what it actually was.

Together with Mickey and my sister, Ann-Marie, we payed it a visit one sunny Sunday in August. The mansion is from early 1800 and the beautiful park/garden behind it is divided into different areas. Well worth a visit…

Sweden 12H Roller

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Augusti 17 I was team leader in one of Malmö City Skaters’ two teams that participated in Sweden 12H Roller at Falkenberg’s motor race track. It’s a rollerskate/inline relay race with 6 members in each team. The start is at 8:00 and finish at 20:00. Each team member roll one lap, approx. 1,8 km. The team with most laps wins. One of Malmö City Skaters teams came third (the one I wasn’t team leader for ;-), congrats, well done.

It rained for the first 2 hours and then the sun came and dried the track. A fantastic day with great team spirit. It was really fun to be in the same race as the “pros” instead of being a spectator.

The race track

London 2013

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Summer vacation 3-10 July.

Easyjet from Kastrup to Gatwick. Hold luggage only, no check in. One hold luggage really means ONE, no camera or “man purse” on the side. I had booked the tickets with Ingo Johansson and that what it said on the boarding pass. It says Ingvar Johansson in the passport, not smart. It cost normally DKK 720 to change it but the assistant was very nice and changed free of charge, thanks a lot for that!

Took the regular train, Southern, from Gatwick to Victoria Station (when we finally found the right platform and train). Takes little longer than the Express but is half price. Buy a train ticket that include day pass on the tube. Approx £15/pers. Continued with the underground from Victoria to Oxford Circus and then it was only a few minutes walk to the flat at Dufours Place (had problems finding that too, tip: get a proper map from the start ;-).

Booked the flat via airbnb.com. It had two bedroom, two toilets, a large living room area incl. kitchen and a balcony. Prime location:

1 min. walk to Carnaby Street
2 min. walk to Oxford Street
5 min. walk to Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and China Town
10 min. walk to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery
15 min. walk to Buckingham Palace
20 min. walk to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye

The sightseeing:
3 July [Map over the route] China Town Piccadilly Circus M & M’s world at Leicester Square, 4 floors with M&M’s accessories and the scent of the candy!!! Trafalgar Square. Watching young and old climbing the lion statues etc. The Mall
4 July [Map over the route] Window shopping along Oxford Street Hyde park with speakers corner and chipmunks Walked along Piccadilly (the street) to find a Burger King. Finally, found one at Leicester Square Covent Garden with shops, restaurants and street artists
5 July [Map over the route] Tottenham Court Road where we visited CEX, a second hand gaming and mobile phone shop Homemade chicken sandwich lunch at the lake in Regents Park Baker Street, look at that line to Sherlock Holmes Museum!!! In the evening we took tube Piccadilly Circus to Waterloo Station to meet Roma Dinner at OXO Tower restaurant. Fantastic place, service, food and view. Walked back on Southbank and Huntingdon Bridge, heading home
6 July [Map over the route] Camden Market (Close encounter with black man, he thought I took many photos of his daughters and should publish them on the internet!!. He called the police etc. Puha…I was innocent, he was weird…) Walked along the river to Primrose Hill where we had homemade chicken sandwich lunch (again) with beautiful view over the London skyline Walk through Regent Park with beautiful gardens and large play fields Portland Street and finally Carnaby Street
7 July [Map over the route] The Mall to Buckingham Palace. Watched the changing of guards, good timing 🙂 Westminister with RINGING BELLS!! kept on and on and on… Big Ben Took a River Thames cruise to Tower Bridge and Tower of London Walked the Murder Mystery Trail. Great fun and came around some interesting places Met Sandra and walked back along north bank to Westminister Finished with dinner at an Italian restaurant of Regent Street. Served by nice Swedish waitress called Linn
8 July [Map over the route] Took the buss from Piccadilly Circus to South Kensington Visited V&A museum to see a David Bowie exhibition but far tooo long line… Went to Harrods and looked at all the glitter and fancy electronics Lunch at Serpentine, Hyde Park, (yes, chicken sandwich 😉 and looked at the BST set up Buss to Tottenham Court to pick up the tickets at Dominion Theater Visited a Carphone shop where Mickey found the Nexus 7 for £179 After refreshing at the flat we went back to Dominion Theater for We will rock you, AWESOME!! 😀 (good idea to have picked up the tickets before, another line…)
9 July [Map over the route] Started by visiting the mega toy store Hemley’s Walked along Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus and then to Leicester square for lunch, Pret a Manger Saw Despicable Me 2, 3D, Empire 1, 1000 seats. Great experience Went for dinner at Five guys, Burgers and fries. Good timing, looong line when we came out Watched Hangover in the flat
10 July Mickey bought the Nexus 7 at the Carphone Shop, Oxford Street. Tried to bargain, 2 for £320, but no 🙁 Packed and waited… Tube Oxford Circus – Victoria Station. Got the refund from Oyster cards at Victoria tube station Train, Southern, to Gatwick Plenty of time and the flight delayed approx. 30 min, dep. 17.55 The End

Tips:

Get an Oyster card. Deposit £5. Fill up the card. You get the deposit and the amount not used on the card refunded when you return the card at a tube station.
lastminute.com, discount tickets or buy them at Piccadilly Circus

Cervinia 2013

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Easter week (23-30 march) we spent skiing in Cervinia, Italy, together with a colleague of mine, Bo, and his family and friends. Bo arranged accommodation and taxi from Milano airport to Cervinia. All we had to do was to buy flight tickets – thanks a lot Bo 🙂

The correct name is Breuil-Cervinia and has together with Valtournenche and Zermatt (Switzerland) over 350 km of slopes. The majestic “Toblerone” mountain Matterhorn (4.478 m), called Il Cervino in Italian, is the focal point from more or less where ever you are. An other focal point is the Plateau Rosa (3.480 m). From here you can start the 22 km slope down to Valtournenche (1.524 m). It should be the longest slope in the world but that include a very short ride in a chair lift.

On the map below it’s only the Italian side of the ski area, “Local” ski pass. We had plenty to do on this side and didn’t try the Swiss side (Zermatt). Get the skirama as PDF

1. The apartments had prime position next to the piste (see it on Google piste view) – really Ski out – Ski in. Fantastic view over the village and Matterhorn.

2. Across the piste was the After ski bar.

3. The first day, Sunday, was very foggy and the visability was at a minimum. First run Mickey turned left at #13 and I didn’t see him and the rest of us turned right at #7. Waited long time at the bottom but no Mickey – NERVOUS!! Guess he didn’t bring the phone since he didn’t answer…
Went up again took #13. – no Mickey – VERY NERVOUS!! Went to the ticket office. They were VERY kind and helpful and tracked Mickey via the ski pass and he checked in at the Plateau Rosa ski lift…I waited… and waited. Mickey had apparently decided to go from the very top station all the way down. WAS I GLAD TO SEE HIM AGAIN !!

4. Cervinia have many very nice slopes. One morning after a night of snowing, #6 was fantastic for carving.

5. Last part of Thursday afternoon was spent on #22. Lots of snow and secluded – FANTASTIC!!

6. Last supper at Hotel Astoria (next to the ticket office and lift station). Our host Angelo served a delicious menu. If you are in the neighbour hood, try the lunch here as well.

Image gallery:

Two months with LCHF and Belly fat project

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LCHF diet:
During the first two months I have managed to stay away from pasta and rice. Regarding potatoes, I have sinned two times and little bit pommes (with a MAX burger – schhh don’t tell any one). Friday mornings, 2-3 slices white bread due to the common dept. breakfast meeting. Apart from that, only low carb bread.

I’ve been drinking beer ONLY at a couple of occasions (for me, that’s an achievement :-P). Friday and/or Saturday it’s been some red wine… Apart from these major cheats, there have been some minor. Even so, I’ve been relatively good, if I may say so.

Supplement of Vitamin D and Omega 3:
Check

Exercise:
Been running at least twice a week and fitness once a week (Work out program). This is increasing with roller skates when the season starts.

Status:
The first couple of weeks I was tired, especially when driving to and from work – not so good… That has passed.
The afternoon fatigue (sugar hunger) I sometimes experienced before this diet is decreased and often not present.

When running, I noticed some lack of energy compared with before. Could also be bad shape in general 🙄

Overall, it’s feels ok.

The thing that puzzle me the most though, is that the scale doesn’t move at all. I lost 1 kg in the beginning and now it’s stuck at the same spot. It’s not the main thing but I find it strange after reading quite a few articles and blogs about the LCHF diet how fast and much some people loose weight (and others don’t).

If you experienced that there is no weight loss, here are some reasons why. You are welcome to let me know if you have other suggestions:

You have tried “Starvation diets / yo-yo diets”
You are too stressed – not enough sleep
You eat or drink things that prevent weight loss
You don’t eat enough
You don’t eat enough fat or protein
You eat too much dairy products
You eat too much nuts, fruit or veggies with much carb
You build muscles
You have only a little overweight

Read more at: Kolhydrater i focus (article in Swedish))
and more about training, weight loss and LCHF (also in Swedish)

a “not so strict” smoothie:
Strawberries, yoghurt, ginger and almonds.

LCHF Recipes

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Avocado & egg jumble
Avocado
Spring onion
Boiled egg
Philadelphia cheese
Gorgonzola cheese
Mayo
Herb salt, salt and pepper (chili powder)

Mix cheese, mayo, onion and spices.
Chop avocado and egg and add it to dressing.

Low carb gratain
500 g white radish, peeled and sliced into 5 mm thick slices (alt. beet root, little bit more carb)
1 pinch of salt
2 l water
2 yellow onions, peeled, sliced
3-5 cloves of garlic, pressed (number depending on size)
3 cup sour cream (34%)
200 g Philadelphia cheese
4 cups whipping cream (40%)
1 pinch ground black pepper
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated (or other flavorful hard cheese)

Preheat oven to 100 degrees (or 175-200 for shorter time).
Boil water with salt and cook radish for 5 minutes (or until soft).
Drain.
Mix sour cream, Philadelphia cheese, cream and garlic, add black pepper.
Layer radish, onion and sauce in a baking dish.

Bake gratain in 1 to 1.5 hours. (if radish is boiled, soft less time in oven)
When it starts to get color and feel soft, add the grated cheese.
Bake in the oven a few minutes, until the cheese is golden color and texture.

Gorgonzola sauce
3 dl whipping cream
1dl sour cream
50g gorgonzola
½ finely chopped red onion
2pcs finely chopped garlic cloves
1tsk Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chicken stock
20g butter

Swede/Turnip frites
Peel and cut the turnip into 0.5 cm thick rods (so they look like french fries).
Boil the turnip sticks in salted water for 5-6 minutes.
Put the rods on a towel so that the water runs off.
Fry the turnip in any kind of oil until they got nice golden brown color.
Let the fried drain on a plate with paper towels so that excess oil is sucked up.
Serve as accessory to meat, chicken or fish. Or to dip in i.e. Aioli…

(Source: LCHFklubben.se)