TheFitDog on training partners

TheFitDog on… training partners

Hi guys! It’s been a while since I last blogged but I am a dog of action so I thought, time to put claws to the keyboard and give you a few more words of wisdom out of my massive square head.

I’m really glad so many of you enjoyed my blog post on the important topic of BALLS. I was a little worried that you might not share my passion but it seems that many of you realise the serious nature of balls. Do you know, I even got a piece of fan mail! Well it was an email but it still counts. Here is a snippet from it:

“I love Office Dog’s blogs – I had to nip out of my office as I was giggling so hard at the blog on balls!”

I am thinking of printing it out and framing it above my bed.

Anyhow, this rainy weather is not much good for ball games (too much skidding) and it’s not much good for sitting outside in the sun, either. So I thought I’d write you a blog post on the topic of training partners.

Recently I met a fine lady by the name of PEPPER. She is brown and stripey like myself so I knew we would hit it off. Now, it can be tricky finding the right training partner, sometimes they are too slow, sometimes they are too quick, sometimes they prefer to use different equipment (balls vs sticks for example) and sometimes their bum smells bad. (Usually bad is good but sometimes bad is just bad!) Pepper and I really hit it off, which might be because we are a similar breed (probably; the jury’s still out on my parentage) or might be because we have similar humans (Pepper’s owners are both into bodybuilding, too).

Here are a few pictures of us enjoying a great workout. This is what we did:

- warm up of walking
- pre-exhaust of jumping in and out of a stinking river
- main session of long sprints
- some stick work
- cool down (walk) and stretching
- PWO meal of water

Do you have a training partner? This is what I look for in a good training partner (like Pepper) and I think you should probably take my advice on this (like most things):

- Are they a similar breed? I mean, are you both big and muscley, or both thin and fast? Just take a look at their breed and build, you will get a fair idea of whether or not you want the same things out of your training session
- Does it make you feel good to be around them? I am pretty positive about things, on the whole. I don’t want a training partner who’s always going on about their sore paw, or their mange. Make sure your temperaments are about the same (but recognise that everyone has bad days)
- Are they likely to turn vicious and bite you? Best avoid these types (unless that’s your thing, of course!)
- Are they hygienically acceptable? I don’t mind a bit of mud and spit but I like to keep myself quite clean. Again, this is your call. For instance, my friend HARVEY is great but gosh he smells. (Sorry Harvey if you are reading this, but you do!) I think he maybe needs a bath. Or his glands seeing to.
- Have they got decent kit and are they willing to share? It’s all very well getting a training partner and thinking “wow, ace ball collection!” but what if they’re all sniffy and precious about the balls? No fun!
- Are they willing to train as hard (or not) as you and as frequently? You don’t want to get attached to them and then find out they only want to train once a month or something boring like that!

I hope this little checklist helps you out so you can find a training partner who can help you meet your goals.

I’m off to eat a fish oil capsule! Nic’s been adding them to my food and, once I worked out how to eat the damn things, I have to say they’re very good. Kind of… fishy! Bye!

TheFitDog on training partners is a post from the Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

20 minute cardio

This morning’s cardio session was just 20 minutes long (well, 30 if you count five minutes warm up and five minutes walking on the treadmill after). Want to try it? Here’s how it went down:

What you need
One staircase (sturdy) with area at the top
One kettlebell, two dumbbells (or two kettlebells of the same weight)
A bleepy stop watch (or a friend with a watch)

What you do
60-seconds: running up and down the stairs (careful – mind you if I can do this and not fall on my face then I’m sure you can too)
60-seconds: exercise (see below)

Do this pairing five times (all the exercises), then have a 60-second rest. Then go again.

a) kettlebell swings
b) squats (I did goblet squats)
c) press ups
d) walking lunges (with the two DBs or two KBs)
e) burpees (HATE)

Total work time: 20 minutes.

Done, and done.

Needless to say, because you’re not working for very long, you need to work very hard. Max effort on the runs up the stairs, gently does it (active recovery) on the way down, max effort on all the exercises. Yes, even the burpees, sorry. You can, of course, change the exercises to suit your ability, your needs and your sport. Enjoy!

20 minute cardio is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydrobuilder protein powder

This week, I’ve been tasting testing some yummy new protein powder from Optimum Nutrition (ON), and it’s high time I told you about it. So, here’s my latest “fitness kit I’ve tested this week” post.

Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydrobuilder (post-training protein powder)

The folk at ON sent me a very generous sample tub of their new Platinum Hydrobuilder protein powder and invited me to trial it. This protein powder is a complex formula, with the protein coming from several sources (fast and slow release) and with extra goodies like creatine and EAAs – everything you need for your post-workout shake. Here’s the blurb:

Platinum Hydrobuilder is an all in one muscle constructor containing 34.5g of protein from multiple protein sources including Hydrolysed Whey Protein, Micellar Casein and Hydrolysed Egg Albumen. It’s enhanced with CreaPep nutrient delivery peptides and 5g of micronised creatine monohydrate. There’s over 13.5 grams of Essential Amino Acids, but only 180 calories per serving. Ideal as a complete post-exercise shake which will help to improve recovery and construct lean muscle.

I have to say, it is truly delicious (I tried the “vanilla bean” flavour, which tastes like custard and smells good enough to elicit a curious remark from The Husband). It also comes in a chocolate flavour. I can’t honestly say whether it’s helped my recovery or muscle-building efforts in just one week but the theory is sound, and it’s certainly good to have a PWO shake with fast and slow release protein, creatine mono and EAAs. This product makes it very quick, easy and convenient to get everything you need into your system as soon as you’ve finished training.

It’s not cheap, but it’s a quality product and does contain added value in the shape of those EAAs and the creatine. And, at the moment, you get free Amino Energy (which I reviewed here) when you order via the ON site.

Oh and I also tried it made into a sort of pudding, just by mixing it with a little hot water and letting it thicken. One word. MORE-ISH!

The ON people also sent me a frankly enormous Platinum Hydrobuilder t-shirt (XXL) – tee hee – along with a very sweet note apologising for the shirt’s voluminous proportions. You know what, it’s actually come in very handy. The Husband is still in a (massive) sling after his shoulder surgery, and has an ongoing need for over-sized t-shirts which can stretch over him, his sling and his bent arm. The Platinum Hydrobuilder tee is being put to great use, so – thank you!

Thanks for the sample, Optimum Nutrition people! You rock.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydrobuilder protein powder is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Peripheral vision

My most recent blog post (last week – sorry for going AWOL) saw me reunited with a friend from my previous life as an endurance athlete. My triathlon bike and I have been out several times this week, making the most of a beautifully sunny March.

Sport brings us a lot of lessons. Exercise, working out, training: whatever you call it, if you’ve done it even once, I guarantee it opened your eyes to thoughts and feelings you hadn’t had before. Perhaps it was that first endorphin rush (it’s true! exercise really does make you feel good!), the realisation that you’re stronger than you think, the joy of finding something, some time, some space just for you.

This week, whilst out on my bike, I realised how different sports teach us different things, all of them important at different times. As yet another car passed by me so close that I could see my reflection in the bonnet and then see the items on the passenger seat, I got to thinking about peripheral vision.

Training in the gym, lifting weights, we tend to focus on one spot. Staring straight ahead (usually into the mirror, if you’re a bodybuilder), we shut out distractions, noises, movements at the edge of our vision. We need to focus.

This focus is no good out cycling on the road. Stare ahead with laser-beam vision and you’re likely to miss that car coming up behind you, the squirrel in the verge, or that pothole to your left.

Different sports, different ways of seeing.

Tapping into your peripheral vision is actually quite calming. When we’re stressed or anxious, we tend to stare straight ahead, unblinking, focused on one spot, ready to run. When we open up our vision to 180* (or more – you need eyes in the back of your head as a cyclist), we feel somehow calmer, shutting off internal dialogue and just enjoying the moment.

Of course, there is a time and a place for that narrow focus. Like when you’re getting ready to lift weights, standing on the start line of a race, preparing to compete. It’s just nice to open up our eyes from time to time and take a look around.

If you’re interested in this kind of thing, a great book to read is “Mental Mastery” by sports psychologist Ken Way. I mentioned it here and you can get hold of it here.

Do you notice things around you more when you do certain types of exercise?

Peripheral vision is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Guest post over on Girl on the River

Hi all, happy Friday: we made it! *wipes brow*

This is very quick post to let you know that I have an interview/guest post over on Girl On The River’s blog: go and take a look. As a bonus, you get to see a bee-yoo-tiful picture of my “muscley fat” Channel swimmer’s back (with a pretty sensational swimming tan!)

GOTR has been doing a fascinating blog series about whether it’s possible to get leaner and stronger at the same time. She’s a journo, like me, so her posts are full of interviews and great Q&As with really interesting people (I don’t mean me! I mean people like Paul Mattick, double World Rowing Champion!)

I hope you like her blog – have a look around – she’s a rower and tackles some interesting issues, tells some funny stories and gives a good glimpse into the crazy world of rowing.

You can follow Girl On The River on Twitter here and Facebook here.

Thanks for the opportunity, GOTR!

Guest post over on Girl on the River is a post from the Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

TheFitDog on ball games

In his most recent blog post, Frankie the office dog promised a future post on the topic of balls. He is a dog of his word, so here is that post.

Hi again guys! I said I’d blog about BALLS and that’s what I’m going to do!

BALLS are really important. Most humans don’t give them enough thought. Unless you a footballer, cricketer or golfer I bet you haven’t even played with a ball in ages! More fool you. Balls are really important. If you ask me (or any dog), it’s no coincidence that the world itself is shaped like a ball.

Think about that for a second.

I am here to tell you all about balls and to inspire you to maybe run after a ball or two this week. So I thought you would probably love it if I went through my BALL collection with you and told you a bit about how I got the ball, what I use it for and why I’d recommend it. Let’s go!

1) Oldest ball

This is the first ball I ever found. What a day that was! Good times. It’s leather based and a bit tatty but that’s probably why someone threw it away. I don’t care. It’s like an old friend. Every once in a while I will dig this one out and have a play, but only if it’s a fine day with no mud underfoot. Plus it doesn’t kick very well. This ball is special!

2) Patchy ball

This was the second ball I found over the park. Are you getting a theme here? Again, it’s a fine leather ball, no real reason to get rid of it, but sadly some people discard their balls once they get a bit old. This one is great for chewing.

3) White ball

Now we are on to the actual workout type balls. This is what you’d call a workhorse kind of a ball, an every day ball which you can rely on to kick really well. It’s more a plastic vinyl type material. It skids really well on dew and snow. When Mark kicks it, it goes miles! When Nic kicks it, it doesn’t go so far. Sometimes it doesn’t go anywhere. Nic isn’t very good at kicking. My favourite thing to do with this ball is to wait til it bounces then jump up and catch it mid-air!

4) Blue ball

This is the third ball I found. Can you believe there are so many unwanted balls out there been discarded by their owners? Blue ball used to be my everyday ball but it’s a bit deflated now. But it’s great to have a blue ball because sometimes I fancy a change of colours.

5) Rugby ball

This ball is stupid. When it bounces, it goes off in another direction?! Mark says this is the whole point. I find it very frustrating and I feel sorry for rugby players. They must spend their whole time wondering what the hell is going on! I don’t really like playing with this ball, but Mark does, so sometimes we have a quick kickabout. Plus it’s actually Mark’s ball anyway and he doesn’t like me to chew it. Are you a rugby player? Does the weird ball annoy you?

6) Orange ball

There is a great story behind this ball! I was on a normal everyday walk with Nic when I saw a garden full of old balls. I was transfixed and I just stopped in my tracks and stared, wagging my tail. Seeing all those balls just made me feel so happy inside! Then a lady came out of the house and Nic thought maybe she’d be cross so she explained that I love balls and was just having a look. The lady said “well my kids leave them all over the garden and I think your dog would appreciate them more anyway” and gave me one of the balls! It’s a brilliant ball because it’s a totally different size to all my other balls, and it’s bright orange, and it was a gift. The greatest gift of all, you might say! Anyway on a related note, that whole walk is a great example of why you should always be optimistic in life. On paper, it was going to be a boring weekday evening walk in the dark. In reality it turned out to be a walk where I got given an orange ball by a stranger! Stay positive guys and remember that sometimes the most ordinary things turn out to be the most amazing!

7) Golf ball

This isn’t really a ball I play with but it’s a fun one to add to my collection. Nic found it once whilst we were walking. The funniest thing about it is that the golf course it comes from is like five miles away! That person must be a really good golfer! Please note this ball is no good for bouncing or chewing. It is OK to push around the carpet and chase for a bit.

8) Comic Relief ball

This ball is a blast from the past. When I first came to live here, Mark and Nic used to bounce it at me because it makes these freaky laughing sounds. I went a bit mad to be honest with you and Mark and Nic took it off me. But they only put it on top of my crate: I might have been a puppy but I wasn’t born yesterday! I found it again straight away. It now lives in a drawer in the kitchen. I might ask for it this evening and have a laugh.

Gosh I didn’t know I had so many balls! It’s ironic, really, because I don’t have any *you know what* balls. This man who is called a vet stole them from me whilst I was having a nap at his place. I’ve asked around locally and it seems this man has done this a lot to many, many dogs (and even some cats). No-one has intervened and to this day he is still carrying on with this practice. What a greedy man! How many balls do you need? I mean, I know I’ve just listed eight but he must have loads more than that now. And what does he do with them? They’re no good for chasing!

Bye, guys! Have fun doing a kickabout or ball-chasing session this week! Just make sure you drink tons of water after.

EDIT 08/03/12 Since writing this post, we have discovered another “white ball” and also a tennis ball in Frankie’s collection

TheFitDog on ball games is a post from the Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

29 reasons to lift weights (audience participation post)

Happy Feb 29th! In honour of this extra added bonus day of the year, I thought I’d come up with 29 reasons to lift weights.

It’s a bit of audience participation: you get to fill the leap-year inspired bonus spot with the top reason of your own.

Lifting weights…

1. Builds lean mass, which is healthy, metabolically active, and looks good.
2. Will make you look better than if you don’t lift weights.
3. Helps build a stable, injury-free structure (so you’ll be able to get up out of a chair in old age without going “oof”)
4. Makes you feel awesome (at the time, afterwards, or both!)
5. Turns you into a bona-fide badass.
6. Can transform your physique, whether you feel you’re overweight, carrying too much fat, too skinny or not shapely enough for your liking.
7. Teaches you new things (not something we encounter often as adults)
8. Helps you reach sport and fitness goals, whether that’s to compete in bodybuilding or get better at endurance or team sports.
9. Helps you learn about how your own body works and what its limits are (or aren’t!)
10. Might surprise you: you’re capable of a lot, you know!
11. Is sociable: there are a lot of local folk down at the gym and they’re there most days. They’re nice!
12. Enables you set goals… then smash them to bits.
13. Cranks up your metabolism so you can enjoy more of the food you like.
14. Gives you an excuse to buy new gym kit, clothing and gadgets.
15. Improves your posture.
16. Gives you a pert round booteh, smaller waist, perkier “pecs”.
17. Boosts testosterone, giving you more energy and focus.
18. Helps you sleep better.
19. Gives you an incredible sense of achievement.
20. Builds and enforces mental toughness which you can carry over into other areas of your life.
21. Proves to you just how strong you are – not just in the gym.
22. Helps with body composition (in other words, gives you a helping hand in the battle against excess body fat)
23. Improves self-esteem (you just lifted *how much*? Look at you!)
24. Shakes up your training routine.
25. Has been proven to help offset diabetes, arthritis and osteoporosis.
26. Makes your clothes fit better (as well as making you look better without them on).
27. Gives you a great conversation starter (“This is Sarah, she likes making her own jam, and this is Amanda, she likes deadlifting her own bodyweight…”)
28. Gives you a quick-blast option for raising the heart rate, burning calories and blasting body fat, even when time is tight.

And 29….what’s your reason for lifting weights? Let me know in the comments!

29 reasons to lift weights (audience participation post) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

TheFitDog on diet

I regularly get Tweets, Facebook requests and direct messages asking for more blog posts from my dog. Yes, really. The thing about Frankie is, he’s not that great at typing. He has lots of ideas, but then he forgets them. And if there’s food around, forget it (forget what?!) But we can not deny the repeated requests of such a strong fanbase.

Here are his posts thus far:
Advice for a happy life
Offers to answer your training questions
Then answers your fitness questions

And here is the latest blog post from my dog.

Hi guys! Today I thought I’d focus on DIET. Diet means food! And food is brilliant.

I wanted to talk about FOOD for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I haven’t been doing much training, just cardio really: long walks and then HIIT chasing after my football (blog post to come on my collection of balls, how I came about them all and how I select a ball depending on what I want to achieve out of my session).

Secondly, Nic recently posted the picture below on her Facebook wall, and I know most of you are probably thinking “wow, how did he get that ripped and muscular? What is his diet?” So I am going to talk you through what I eat, what I like to eat, what I wish I could eat and maybe even some of my favourite products.

By the way, for all you bodybuilders out there who wish you could do such a great rear-lat spread, here’s my top tip. It will never fail you. Just turn around and imagine there’s a CAT in the GARDEN! Honestly, it will make you so puffed up and enraged your lats will flare like mad and you will look massive. Top tip right there, guys!

Obviously I mostly eat actual dog food, but that’s by far the most boring part of my diet, so that’s all I’m going to say about that. As well as dog food, I eat:

- vegetables, mainly cruciferous.
I love the crunch!
Favourites: cauliflower (only the outside leaves), brocolli (only the stalks), cabbage (red or white), brussels sprouts (bit tricky to get a purchase on, can fall out of the mouth and roll around), cucumber. Once, I stole availed myself of a whole entire cauliflower, but I only ate the leaves. Another time I stole caught (as it was falling off the kitchen surface) a red cabbage. I ate the whole thing! Then I was sick a bit on the carpet (which is cream coloured).

- meat! Sometimes I am lucky enough to get odds and ends of whatever Nic is cooking. Here is me taking a look at what she’s got out of the freezer for the week, just so I know what might be coming my way.

When Nic makes something in the slow-cooker, I get to eat my dinner out of the slow-cooker bowl once it’s empty! This is probably my favourite meal of the week.

Nic gets her meat from various places but, in my expert opinion (I am a dog, after all), the best ones are:
- Athleat (I even made it onto their website! OMG! Look – can you spot me?) Nic says put “nicolamillichip” in at checkout you’’ll get 10% off your order. My favourite product is their grass-fed mince, Nic’s is their chicken breast.

Westin Gourmet – I love their sausages (Nic loves their chicken and turkey) and on the topic of sausages, if you go to here, you’ll get free sausages on your order! Whooo-ha!

Nic also cooks quite a lot of “exotic” meat as her treats, I just asked her where she gets it from and she said Osgrow and Kezie. She also gets her fish from Regal Fish Supplies, but I can’t give a personal recommendation on these items as I have never once been allowed to sample any

- Coconut oil.
I just can’t get enough of this. Here are a few pictures of me with an empty tub, and even a video. I just wanted to show you all how much I love it. Nic gives me about a tsp of the oil (it’s solid) on her hand every morning and I go crazy when I see the tub. I think it gives my ears a nice shine; what do you think? Shiny ears are very important. Nic got this tub from myprotein but you can get it other places, too.

Here’s a video of me and an empty tub

- Water!
The only thing I drink is water and I honestly believe it is a big factor in my all-round awesomeness. I’ve tried tea; don’t like it. I don’t fancy coffee and I’ve never been tempted by booze. One thing I would say – from experience – don’t fall asleep of an evening and then wake up really thirsty so you end up drinking a ton of water just before bed. You’ll only need to bark to be let out for a wee in the night!

Anyway, I hope that answers some of your questions about how I manage to be so muscly and shiny. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, feel free to drop Nic a line and she will pass the message on to me. My next blog post will be about BALLS!

TheFitDog on diet is a post from the Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Bare Naked Noodles

Today, thefitwriter blog is mostly imitating a food blog. ie, I have just taken a photograph of my dinner. LOL.

It’s all for a good reason, though. You see, I was sent these noodles in the week, and have just scoffed them for my dinner, and need to tell you about them.

Bare Naked Food have developed noodles/spaghetti which are low carb, low cal, high fibre and contain absolutely no nasties or yukky fake stuff. No gluten, no sugar, just water, konjac flour, soybean fibre and oatmeal flour. “Sauce” notwithstanding, my bowl contained fewer than 30kcals, 1g or so protein, zero fat, fewer than 5g carbs and significant fibre (not surprising, since it’s made of fibre!) *parp*

This is useful for people like me who laugh in the face of traditional noodles and pasta, but sometimes want something noodlesque as a companion for sauces or stirfries. I sometimes use shirataki noodles but, really, they’re not that great. They are absolutely nothing like noodles, in fact. They all stick together and they’re a weird texture and… well, these are just lots better!

Let’s be completely honest, these still neither taste like, nor have the mouthfeel of, actual noodles or spaghetti. But they’re not actual noodles or spaghetti so… you know, what do you expect?

They do have a good texture, a bit like al dente pasta, and no funny taste of their own. In short, I’d much rather eat these than shirataki noodles and I will be buying more of them. This is what they look like, close up.

They take on the taste of whatever you add to them. I tried them with a tuna-type “pasta sauce” but I’d love to try them with stirfry or somehow make them into egg fried noodles? Looks like I need to get some more!

Read about them here (you can get them with a low carb chili sauce) and read another recipe (and decidedly more appealing photos!) in my friend Anna’s blog review of them here. In the meantime, here’s what I did (I can’t believe food bloggers do this kind of thing every day!)

Ingredients
One packet Bare Naked Food noodles
One tin tuna (Mr J West)
1 tbs nutritional yeast
100g quark
Bit of onion and mushroom cooked in coconut oil
Mrs Dash
Black pepper
Fresh parsley

“Recipe”
Mix everything except the noodles in a pan til heated through. Add whatever seasonings you like (I used Mrs Dash extra hot spicy red chili one, and black pepper).
Drain and rinse the noodles. Add the noodles to the sauce, mix and heat through.
Get one of your “special occasion” dishes down from the top cupboard “because this is going on the blog!”, plate up.
Belatedly chop some parsley “because this is going on the blog!” and garnish.
Eat. Feel very full.

Thank you, Bare Naked Food people! Find them online here or on Facebook here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Bare Naked Noodles is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: La Maison du Stevia sweetener tablets

You might have noticed that, all of a sudden, there are lots of adverts on the TV and radio for “Stevia” products. Well, I have, anyway. I don’t do sugar if I can help it. But, like almost everyone, I do have a sweet tooth, and like to sweeten certain things. I really don’t like to use nasty stuff like Sucralose. So, all hail Stevia, a natural sweetener which is 100% plant-based.

Stevia has been widely available in the US, Japan, China and Australia for years, but only recently (November 2011) won EU approval, prompting the flood of products and accompanying adverts.

I was sent a sample of Stevia tablets from Stevia Sweeteners, who stock La Maison du Stevia – a French brand which has been developing Stevia products since 2006 – amongst others.

As you can see, they come in a handy little “clicky box” (<— technical term) which you can carry around in your handbag/manbag/gymbag. In terms of taste, there's no much to say: it's sweet. It's like sugar, but it's not sugar! It tastes really nice, you don't need much and it's very cost-effective (£4.95 for the box of 100 tablets, and I'd be surprised if you need more than one click per cuppa).

So, why choose Stevia over other sugar-free sweeteners? It contains no chemicals, no sucralose, no aspartame. It's completely natural, it leaves no nasty aftertaste and it's very sweet, so you can use less than the equivalent amount of sugar. It's calorie and carb-free and has a glycaemic index of 0.

This from the blurb I was sent:

Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni and its extract Rebaudioside A is the name given to a plant native to South America whose leaves derive a natural sweetener 300 times sweeter than sucrose. Unlike other products on the market which are bonded chemically in China, the extract for La Maison Du Stevia is gently extracted in France using water methods, giving you a high-quality graded sweetness.

The extract offers a sweetness that is calorie-free and with a glycemic index of zero making this the ideal go-to for those with diabetes or those who simply wish to reduce the amount of sugar in their daily diet.

In powder form, you don’t need much (just the tip of the spoon), as it’s 300 times sweeter than sucrose, so a little goes a long way.

You will no doubt start seeing Stevia products all over the place now, but I suggest you take a look at Stevia Sweeteners for a really great range from people who really care about the quality of the products. As well as the tablets I tried, there’s granulated/powdered Stevia (great for “it even looks like sugar” appeal, or for baking), Stevia cubes, liquid Stevia including flavours (I’ve tried this in the past – imported from the States – and it’s great!) and even Stevia chocolate.

Hooray, I no longer have to bribe friends in America to post me Stevia!

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: La Maison du Stevia sweetener tablets is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.