Hi °C | Lo °C 'Fair City' star Aoibheann McCaul tells us about how she's preparing for the Cycle Against Suicide next month.
#1 HEALTH TIP
Remember – Take care of your body – it's the only place you have to live.
On a scale of 1 to 10 . . .
I'd give myself a 7 – I don't smoke, I don't drink very regularly, but when I do it's for a night out, so that would be more than the recommended units.
I eat regularly and enough – sometimes too much! I eat too many sweets, but I exercise very regularly as well.
I drink plenty of water, and I am not hugely into tea or coffee, but I drink plenty of green tea. I could probably do with a better sleeping routine!
DIET
Since I've started looking after myself better, I've tried various regimes, but I have definitely reduced my carbs and increased my protein.
I drink plenty of water, and make sure I eat regularly. I love sweets – and have previously cut them out all together – but then when I'm 'bold' I end up eating far too much of whatever I'm craving – so now I don't completely cut out anything.
I would generally only eat pasta/ bread/potatoes, when eating with others or when eating out, but that can be quite regularly for me.
SUPPLEMENTS
B Complex: My lips were always chapped, and I find it really helps.
Omega 3: Most Irish people don't get enough of it in their diet, and I started taking it when I was training a lot, to help my joints and to aid in fat loss.
Magnesium: I have poor circulation, and I was waking up with pins and needles/dead limbs a lot, but I've found this really helps.
EXERCISE
As my goals usually involve weight loss/ maintenance, I have found that weight training is most effective. I think these days any trainer would tell you to lift weights to lose weight – as opposed to long duration cardio, which your body gets used to very quickly.
I will do weight training three-six times a week depending on my schedule, and when I'm actually trying to lose weight I do high intensity interval training on cardio machines, which I enjoy for the challenge!
I'll have to start doing more endurance cardio as I intend to do the Cycle Against Suicide – but hopefully the weather will pick up and the evenings will stretch – which makes going for cycles much more enticing.
My only vice
Sweets – I can eat an unnatural amount of sweets – especially jelly beans.
natural foods
Raw nuts are an easy snack to carry around, and stop me going for a packet of crisps if I'm out and about and get hungry.
Irish Independent
