Archives
0800 040 7526
-
February 24th, 2011
Energizer Bunny
If you have read the previous blogs then you will already have had a fabulous breakfast with protein in it, and have had lots of water instead of coffee. After lunch, have you noticed how you have an uncontrollable urge to have a nap? This energy crash is caused by consuming lots of carbohydrate in one go. So to stay alert and witty after lunch have lower GI carbohydrate (like vegetables) and combine it with a lean protein which will fill you up for longer and avoid a crash. If you like it it’s also good to have some spicy sauce with lunch as this increases the metabolic rate making you even more lively. For a list of low GI foods have a look at the nutrition fact sheet on our knowledge page.
-
February 23rd, 2011
Wakey Wakey! Boost your energy part two.
Ah, this old chestnut again, breakfast. Missing it means that you have gone for a very long time without food, thus your blood sugar levels will be shockingly low and you will be feeling like a two toed sloth that has missed its hibernation. If you had dinner at 7 pm, then by 8am you have gone without for a whopping 13 hours. Even when sleeping you will use around 75 calories an hour, so you are now down 775 calories. Having breakfast will provide the fuel you need to get going in the morning and it will also prevent you from having cravings for sugary bad things later. Try to include some protein in your breakfast too as this will keep you feeling fuller for longer and will help to maintain healthy muscle mass. This in turn will keep your metabolic rate going better, giving you more energy and also burning more fuel to keep you slim and trim. A good practical example of this would be eggs. Whole eggs are fine but if you want to be super healthy then try a mix of whole and egg whites scrambled or in an omelette.
-
February 22nd, 2011
Simple tips to boost your energy
Today the first in a series of small but effective things that you can do to stop feeling tired and get a little more get up and go. You may have heard some of these tips before but read on and you might learn something new as well as reinforcing what you already knew but have yet to put into practice.
Tip 1: Substitute coffee for water. A bit like sugar, coffee may give the illusion of giving your energy levels a boost, but this is short lived as the drug starts to leave the body the high turns into a low and your energy levels plummet.Tip 2: Dehydration is a leading cause of tiredness and by the time you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated, so it’s important to be pre-emptive. Carry a small bottle of water with you and sip from it all day long. Not only will this extra water make you feel much more lively but it will also allow your metabolic rate to increasse and your body to work properly. These two things are also vital if you are hoping for some weight loss. Another way to tell if you are dehydrated is to look at your wee – anything darker than straw couloured and you need to have some more water pronto!
-
February 21st, 2011
Winner! Lucy in Maidenhead wins a Personal Trainer for a month.
At the start of the year we announced the Diets Don’t Work fitness scholarship in the Maidenhead Advertiser. Hopeful trainees were asked to write to us saying why they thought they should win and how they would benefit from the personal training sessions. We received lots of great applications, many of whom were desperate or could really have benefited from the sessions. After much deliberation we have awarded the sessions to Lucy in Maidenhead. She will now go through the consultation process, nutritional assessment, profiling, guidance and of course 8 personal training sessions with training director Adam Atkinson.
We will hopefully get some great results and will keep you posted right here as well as updates in the Advertiser. Go Lucy go!! -
February 9th, 2011
Fitness cheat tips – a summary
For those of you who made new year’s resolutions but are now struggling to keep going in the gym and on the eating front here are some brief tips on how to cheat your way to health and slimness.
Tip one: leave the butter out of the fridge. By doing so it will spread much less thickly (as much as 30 calories less per slice of toast) and you could save yourself 280 calories (or a small tasty meal’s worth of calories) every week. Even better, substitute butter for a healthier spread or just try food without. You might be surprised how you get used to it.Tip two: Put all the good healthy foods on the middle shelf of the fridge, and if you can keep all salads and vegetables out of the salad drawer and on this middle shelf too then great. Things that might not be so good can be hidden on the bottom shelf, perhaps any processed foods or ready meals, and the really bad items can go at the back on the top shelf. This is where the clotted Cornish cream can go. Research at Cornell University found that you are 27 times more likely to eat healthy foods if they are within easy reach on the middle shelf in the fridge. Basically you know that you are lazy, so turn this to your advantage!
Tip four: if spending 1 or 2 hours a week at the gym has proved unsustainable then try a mini super circuit of skipping and dynamic resistance training 3 or 4 times a week. This shorter bout of more intense exercise can prove much more effective than a long slog in the gym.
Tip three: instead of boiling or frying vegetables try to steam them in a microwave. This method of cooking is not only much quicker but retains many of the vitamins and nutrients that are lost in the boiling process.
Tip four: get professional help. Even if it’s just for one or two sessions, having a go with a personal trainer or nutritionist can help to focus your energy on where you need to improve and what sort of training you need to progress. This will keep it both time efficient and sustainable.
Small steps make big differences. Go for it! -
February 9th, 2011
Cooking with a microwave can keep the nutrition in
77% – that’s the increase in micro-nutrients that you get by cooking vegetables in the microwave when compared with boiling or frying. Try putting a little bit of water in the base of a Tupperware dish, leave the lid very slightly off to avoid explosions, and steam those veggies! And we’re not making it up, the journal of health science said so.
-
February 9th, 2011
If you must have butter..
then make sure that you keep it at room temperature. Although as personal trainers we advise the majority of our clients in London to swap butter for a healthier spread (olive or other plant based spreads). If you are getting good focussed exercise and eating reasonably well for most of the time then you can have butter if you must. However, by keeping it at room temperature it spreads more thinly than if stored in the fridge; this could save you 34 calories per slice of toast. Multiply that by 5 days and it’s a great big 170 calories saved! This will help with weight loss and a healthy you.
-
February 1st, 2011
Cheat colds in your sleep
One of the reasons that our personal trainers look so young and good is their penchant for proper sleep. Not only will sleep reduce the effects of father time, lessen your chances of a heart attack and give you more energy, but by getting 8 hours a night will reduce your chances of getting a cold by a whopping 300% compared to those getting 7 hours or less. (Carnegie University, Pittsburgh). So go to bed early!
