This page should answer a few questions about the blog, about the people involved in Fat Girl, PhD, and about the programme. If you’ve got any other questions, though, feel free to get in touch!
Why is it called Fat Girl, PhD?
I’ve always been the fat girl. From school onwards, that’s always been the case – so I’m pretty much an expert in what it’s like to be fat. But I’m also working on a PhD at the moment – in English Literature, if you’re asking – because… Well, because I’m a glutton for punishment. Fortunately, it’s something of a labour of love, so it’ll be worth it in the end… I hope.
Why did you start the blog?
At first, this whole thing was just a way to keep myself accountable – the logic being that if I started blogging about my weight loss from behind a stack of cream cakes at work, the odd looks from my friends would probably be enough to keep me on the straight and narrow. But as time’s gone on, it’s become a much bigger beast than I’d ever expected – and I love it!
The feedback I’ve had has been utterly amazing – and these days, the biggest driving force behind this blog is you, the reader. You guys are amazing, and I get a buzz from every single message or comment I receive – so thanks!
Who’s Matt?
Matt Peacock runs a company called Ascenté Health for Life, which works with the NHS to empower people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to health and wellbeing support to take control of their lives. He designed the programme that I followed, which has, so far, helped me to lose over 130lbs – and that you can download here - and for that, he was recognised for his Contribution to Physical Activity at the Worcester Sports Awards in 2012.
As the blog grew, I found myself asking Matt for ever more input – because you guys had a lot of questions that I just couldn’t answer alone – and he’s always been on hand to help out. Over the last couple of months, it’s become a team effort – and now, we’re working together to make the programme and meal plan available to everyone!
What do you eat?
A heck of a lot! I eat pretty much in line with the Meal Plan, which we’re working on at the moment. In the meantime, though, here’s a typical day – although I don’t recommend having the wine every day! I’m coeliac, which means I’m intolerant to gluten – so I make substitutions to avoid that wherever I can.
In all honesty though, the most important thing is to eat real food. If you eat clean, and well, you’re half way there!
Breakfast
- 30g serving of cornflakes with 125ml of semi skimmed milk
- 1 banana
- 1 medium sized boiled egg
- 125g low fat peach yogurt
Mid-morning snack
- Small buttered brown roll with 3 slices of ham
Lunch
- Fresh chicken salad with buttered bread roll
Mid-afternoon snack
- 1 apple
Evening meal
- Homemade spaghetti bolognese
- 2 small glasses of red wine
Before bed
- ½ pint of semi skimmed milk
What exercise do you do?
I follow the exercise programme that you can find here. In short, it’s made up of:
- Warmup – 5-10 minutes of full-body activity, such as rowing, or walking whilst swinging your arms
- Resistance Training – following a specific order of weights, pushing the body to stimulate muscle growth, which moderates blood sugar levels and reduces risk of illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis
- Fat Burning – 60-90 minutes of walking, cycling, or another cardiovascular activity, with a measured heart rate of between 115 and 130bpm
That’s it. Seriously.
The fitter I get, the more I’m testing out other activities. I’m a big fan of yoga, and against all the odds, I’m beginning to enjoy pilates – plus, as a real glutton for punishment, I go to a circuits class once a week. For a long time, though, I just followed the programme – and it’s helped me to completely change my life.
There’s a Q&A post on the programme here – so if you’ve got any questions about that, there might be the place to start!
Can anyone do this programme?
We’d obviously recommend that if you’re starting on a new exercise programme, you should check with your doctor first – especially if you’ve got any underlying health conditions, are severely overweight or disabled. That said, this programme has been designed to help people who are obese or infirm – I was both, so I’m living proof that it can help anyone to lose weight, and keep it off.
Are you sponsored in any way?
No – and if I do work with businesses or corporate sponsors, I’ll always make that clear. I do run advertising on here, to try to cover the running costs – and while I can’t be totally responsible for the products that pop up on there, I do try to limit diet products and the like wherever I can.
That said, I’m constantly on a very, very tight budget – so if you’re interested in working with me, visit the Press & Media section for more information on how that works.
If you’ve got any other questions, please feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment below!
