100 Mile Great Cholesterol Challenge

I announced on the 3rd of October I was supporting HEART UK and John West with their 100 Mile Great Cholesterol Challenge.

Did I complete 100 miles? Wey aye man! That means yes in the North East, haha! 100 miles equated to 3.2 miles, just over 5km a day. I didn’t run every day for 31 days but the combination of my swimming challenge and walking the dog helped me complete my 100 miles.

The whole point of me doing this challenge was to raise awareness of high cholesterol. Something which over half of all adults have in England. By exercising and eating correctly, you can help reduce your cholesterol.

As there aren’t really any symptoms of high cholesterol, it’s very important to take the correct steps now. Chest pain, heart attacks and strokes are all things you could suffer from if you continue with high cholesterol. Here are some foods you should limit in order to control your cholesterol levels:

Butter
Fatty Meat
Full Fat Cheese & Cream
Potato Chips
Dark Chocolate
Cookies & Other Sugary Treats

Bare in mind I said limit. I eat most of the things I’ve listed above. The key here is to limit them. A balanced diet including fresh fruit and vegetables should be consumed along with gentle exercise every day. The combination of these things will help control your cholesterol levels. Foods that naturally help to lower your cholesterol include:

Porridge
Baked Beans
Sweet Potato – I love sweet potato!
Soya Alternatives
Almonds, Cashews and Pistachios
Oats
Lentils

One A Week

Another part of this challenge was to consume once piece of oily fish a week. I probably had three or four to be honest! I’m really into my oily fish this year. It’s great for my skin! Omega 3 fatty acids play a huge role in the development and function of the brain, eyes and the heart. I can highly recommend the mackerel fillets in red chili and korma style sauce. I also loved the pink salmon and I mixed this in with my pasta, light mayonnaise and sweet corn. Delicious!

I really hope you challenged yourself throughout October too? Whether you joined me in the 100 Mile Great Cholesterol Challenge or whether you gave up alcohol or smoking, the point is you are consciously trying to do something good. I love themed months like this because we all need that gentle reminder sometimes. I was chatting with someone last week and he said he’d seen my Instagram post. He’s been consuming oily fish every week and has said he loves it that much, he’s going to continue eating it as part of his regular diet now. This is my point. It kick starts some people.

I used my TomTom watch to monitor my activity throughout October. Coming up, we have a swimwear holiday so I’ll be on my best behaviour for the next few weeks! We finish our swimming challenge soon and I’m also reviewing a pretty cool mat that mimics yoga positions. Look out for that one!

Thanks for reading and I hope you had a great month.