Many people increase their carbohydrate intake in the winter, but make sure you choose the right ones.
Avoid fast-release carbs such as bread and cereal, because they cause a sharp fall in blood glucose levels, creating cravings for sugary foods.
Instead, go for slow-release carbs with a low GI, such as wholegrains, seeds, nuts, peas and legumes. These will keep blood glucose levels even and make it easy to snack healthfully.
Kettlebell exercises, such as swings and deadlifts, tone your entire body because your stabiliser muscles have to work extra hard to keep you upright as you move.
As well as strengthening your bones and making you look leaner, evidence suggests it can also help to prevent everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s.
To replenish muscle tissue after your session, go for protein-rich foods, such as almonds, natural yoghurt, turkey slices and eggs.
Stretching out before a workout is a must to starve off injury and prime your muscles for the workload ahead.
Dynamic moves, such as arm circles and leg swings loosen up any tight muscles. They also get your blood pumping and loosen your joints.
Factor in a carb snack like oatcakes and houmous and you’re well on your way to a winning workout.
High intensity intervals are one of the best ways to burn fat – and keep burning it throughout the day.
Your session should last about 20 mins. Try 30 seconds of sprinting followed by 90 seconds of walking, repeated 10 times.
Then load up on omega-3-rich oily fish, such as salmon, served with salad leaves, tomatoes and raw peppers. Omega 3 foods keep you satiated and turn on fat-burning genes.
When planning your warm up, makes sure you include specific movements that mimic the ones in your workout.
Think about the areas of the body that will be used and perform dynamic (moving) stretches that will take your muscles gently through a full range of motion.
This prepares your body for the movement patterns and also gives you time to improve them before adding further load.
Did you know that turmeric boasts antioxidant compounds that could repair your body post run.
Curcumin, the spice’s active ingredient, fights inflammation, providing relief to aching muscles.
Try sprinkling it over roasted vegetables or adding it to soups and stir-fries.
Poor posture creates fatigue by causing muscles, ligaments, and joints to work harder than they do when your body is aligned correctly.
Experts estimate that looking down at a 45-degree angle uses five times more energy than holding your head in an upright position. The added strain on muscles also decreases blood (and oxygen) flow to your brain by as much as 30 percent, making you feel tired.
To check your posture, draw an imaginary line from the middle of your ear through the centre of your shoulder and hip. Or have someone take a photo of you from the side – bad posture is easy to spot.
Correct your slouch by strengthening back muscles. Try two sets of 20 shoulder rolls forward and backward twice a week.
A recent survey discovered that the average British woman will spend 31 years of her life on a diet! If you’re looking to banish the fat, take a look at these exercising tips.
Explode the fat
Also known as jump training, plyometric exercises, involve stretching the muscles prior to explosively contracting them.
This type of training mimics the motions used in sports such as skiing, tennis and volleyball. Due to the level of intensity of this type of training, it results in high calorie expenditure.
Bear the load
Weight-bearing activities, such as walking and running, use more calories than those in which your weight is supported, like swimming and cycling, because you have to support your own body weight.
To optimise your calorie burn in the gym, swap the cycle and rower for the treadmill or stepper.
Forget the gym
Believe it or not, your 30-60mins sessions in the gym might not be the most important ingredient in your fat burning endeavours. Recent research has coined the term non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) referring to standing, moving, and even fidgeting during everyday tasks.
Scientists have found that this can add up to as much as 350 calories per day, the equivalent of a moderate intensity 60mins studio class.
So resist the phone and email at work, go talk to people face to face. Enjoy standing in queues and even on TV nights regularly get off the sofa and move around a bit!
Want to burn fat and keep the weight off for good? Read on…
Running on empty
Exercising in the morning, on an empty stomach, is a great way to shed fat.
Research shows that fasting (which is essentially what happens overnight as we sleep) leads to increased adrenalin and reduced insulin levels, creating an environment that is more conductive to the breakdown of fat for energy.
Heart attack
Alternating your exercises between upper and lower body results in an extra calorie burn because your cardiovascular system has to work harder.
Peripheral Heart Action training, as this is known, challenges the heart to keep pushing blood from one extreme to the other, in order to deliver oxygen to fuel the muscles.
A routine like this also allows you to move straight from one exercise to the next, as muscle groups get a chance to rest, so you can get your workout done quicker.
Don’t get isolated
Compound exercises require several muscle groups to work together in harmony, as opposed to moves that specifically target one muscle.
The beauty of these exercises is that they are more demanding and so will tone your muscles but at the same time burn more calories.
It’s time to ditch the diet! Here are some super-easy tips and tricks to help you reach your ideal weight and stay there for life.
Refuelling hazard
The more you exercise, the hungrier you get and so you might eat more or believe you ‘deserve’ to eat more after a good workout. In some cases you might just want to eat more as a reward for having survived the session.
It’s important to eat according to our whole day’s activity level, not just according to how hard you’ve exercised in the gym, particularly if you have a sedentary job.
Turn on the afterburners
Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is the term given to the body’s attempts to recharge and restore itself immediately after a workout, a process that results in additional calorie burn.
Research has shown that high-intensity interval training leads to greater EPOC than steady cardio workouts, so turn up the dial with alternate bouts of maximum effort and rest for serious results. Try the Tabata format – eight periods of 20 secs full-out work followed by 10 secs recovery.
Muscle up to slim down
Lifting heavier weights for fewer reps will promote muscle growth, but don’t worry, you won’t end up getting manly muscles, because women lack the necessary testosterone to get bulky.
The important thing to know, here, is that a kilogram of extra lean tissue will burn an additional 100 calories in 24 hours.
If you consider that a resistance training programme can reasonably be expected to add 3kg of muscle mass to your body, this equates to using up an extra 300 calories a day, just by doing your everyday activities. This adds up to a whopping 14kg of fat loss over a year!