The Anti- Tesco Value Challenge: Review

Tesco can't solve all, or even a fraction of, the problems in the developing world but we are a positive force.
-Sir Terry Leahy, former Tesco CEO

Sir Terry might not be able to fix the world's ills, but I suspected that he may be able to help me get back to good health after eating way too much of his company's budget-range foods. For the last month I have purposefully avoided salt-laiden Tesco Value goods, and have begrudgingly shelled out on mid-priced food at my local supermarket. I wanted to know whether eating better would make me look better, feel better and- as I documented here- perform better at the gym.

The only Value range foods I've eaten are eggs and bananas, even swapping from Value to Healthy Living chicken portions. I've started to get back into shape, losing a couple of kilos, and generally, I'm feeling a little sharper.

It's a little difficult to assess how I've performed at the gym as I've included such a stupidly wide range of exercises to work on. Some of these exercises I only managed to test once throughout the month. I've been to the gym around five or six times a week as usual. Excluding pad work classes like Kickboxer Circuit and Boxercise (once each a week), I've done weights pretty regularly. Eating better has improved a few of the exercises I work on at the gym, including:

10 minute cross trainer

Hip Adductor (inside thigh)

Shoulder Press

Vertical Dumbell Fly

Chest Press (horizontal)

Sit-up Machine

Perhaps semi-ironically, I'm not only feeling physically healthier. I'm also more mentally sharp, I'm doing well- perhaps better- in work, I'm getting to grips with memory difficulties (i.e. understanding how I should and do handle the issue, not remembering better- Tesco do not employ psychological magicians), and I'm more optimistic. I've also sorted out more Inland Revenue issues, so not buying value food doesn't hurt the wallet as much either.

So it looks like I'll be shelling out on regular food for the foreseeable future. Value products might be cheap, but- as the cliché says- if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.