Burning calories in the Highlands

I am back from my jolly jaunt in the Scottish Highlands and have returned feeling very fit and energetic! Although this was a work-related trip I have managed to fit in LOADS of walking over the past week, spent in the Highlands of Scotland. Most days I managed at least 15,000 steps - and this over rough, hilly ground, and often uphill. I must have burned loads of calories. However, I haven't lost any weight this week because I have been putting in just as many calories as I have burned!!

A typical breakfast consisted of a small bowl of muesli followed by two slices of bread and marmalade. Typically, lunch was a cheese and pickle sandwich (or two, on some days), plus a small chocolate bar (like a Penguin) and a piece of fruit. I often supplemented this with an Alpen Light cereal bar too. Evening meals consisted of three, yes you read that correctly, THREE courses! First there was soup. This is obviously a slider food so it slipped down nicely, leaving plenty of room for my main meal! The main meals were slightly on the small side by 'normal' people's standards but were very large compared to what I have been eating for the last few months. Consequently, I was pretty full after each eveing meal. I didn't finish it every night but passed out leftovers to my more hungry male colleagues! I ate dessert every night too - also consisting of slider foods such as apple pie and a spoonful of custard. On top of all that (as if that wasn't enough), most evenings I also had a pint or two of calorie-laden orange juice and lemonade or shandy - well you've got to be sociable haven't you?!

On the plus side though, when I got home I weighed myself on my new super-duper body impedance bathroom scales (see a post to come later this week) and it seems that my body fat percentage and visceral fat have fallen over the past week. In other words, I have put on a significant amount of muscle. Certainly, the way my legs are starting to feel hard if I tense them up, and the goat-like way I managed some of the steeper climbs, seems to suggest I have developed more muscle.

For now, it's away with the luxury of three course meals and back to some serious, healthy eating. I am only about five pounds away from the magic BMI boundary of 30 that will take me from 'Obese' to 'Overweight' - so I really must get back to some serious business.