Yearly Archives: 2013

July 31, 2013

WATCH THE CONDIMENTS.

If you pile your plate with healthy salad and grilled fish or chicken, you may think you’re on a fast track to weight loss. However, it’s the bits on the side that can trip you up.

A dollop of mayonnaise (about 2 tablespoons) caries around 100 calories. Ketchup is better, but depending on how much you use, you could be adding around 50 calories and a whole lot of sugar to your meals.

Why not make your own dressing from fat-free Greek yoghurt instead? And swap normal ketchup for a reduced sugar variety, or use fresh, sliced tomatoes as a garnish instead.

July 26, 2013

SLEEP-BETTER FOODS.

When sleep deprivation hits, it sends your hormones on a roller-coaster ride in search of sugar. For each 30 minutes of sleep lost a day, we eat, on average, an extra 83 calories.

The main 3 factors causing lack of sleep are caffeine, stress and alcohol. As well as reducing these, try the following foods to help you get a goodnights sleep.

Eggs – provide tryptophan, which our bodies convert to serotonin, then store as the sleep chemical melatonin. Start your day with eggs to reap the benefits at night.
Kiwi – research shows that participants who ate 2 kiwis and hour before bed saw an increase in average nightly kip and a boost in sleep quality.
Cherry juice – juice from the Montmorency cherry is rich in melatonin. It can be hard to get hold of fresh cherries, but you can buy them dried or in juice or capsules.

July 19, 2013

BREAK THE HABIT.

You can break your bad eating habits one step at a time. Here are simple solutions for the 7 most common bad eating habits.

Make a plan and stick to it. Consuming the same simple, locally grown or organic foods week to week will help prevent you from resorting to last-minute fast-food (and unhealthy) meals. Avoid using treats, such as ice cream or other sweets, as a reward for a hard day.
Don’t munch on the run. Our brains feel deprived if we aren’t mindful of the food we’re eating. Make a point to eat breakfast and dinner at a table as often as possible. Otherwise, you may end up eating anytime, anyplace – like when you’re lying on the sofa watching TV.
Avoid noshing in the car. You can quickly become trained to eat whenever you’re behind the wheel. Plus, it’s harder to keep track of what you’re eating if you’re driving and munching.
Have a healthy snack, like fruits and veggies, 30 minutes before you eat a meal. It can take as long as half an hour for fullness signals to travel from the stomach to the brain. The sooner you start eating, the sooner your belly will get the message to your brain that you’ve had enough food.
Downsize your dishes. Unless our plates are full, we tend to feel cheated, like we haven’t eaten enough. Try using a side plate instead of a dinner plate to help control those portion sizes.
Bust your eating triggers. If watching your favorite reality show triggers a craving for bowlfuls of your favorite snack, give up eating in front of the TV.
Exercise, exercise, exercise. It will help you maintain a healthy weight, and it can prevent compulsive eating because, like food, it produces stress relief and a feeling of well-being.

July 12, 2013

DON’T CURB YOUR CARBS.

Many of us fear the consequences of carbohydrates and their associations with weight gain have stuck with many dieters.

In fact, this comfort food is an important macronutrient and has major benefits on our bodies. Choosing your carbs wisely could help you to ward off disease, keep the excess pounds at bay and improve your fitness performance.

So, what are the benefits of this underrated food group?:

Essential for our cognitive skills – carbs are the only fuel that our brains can utilise, so without this our brain health and memory deteriorate.
Vital source of fuel for exercisers – they are your body’s preferred fuel for energy. Having the right fuel at the right time is critical to performance.
Helps ward off food cravings – eating the right carbs will help keep to minimise potential sugar peaks and troughs.

So, it’s not about omitting carbohydrates from your diet entirely, it’s about making the right choices based on your own activity levels and objectives.

Check out the following top facts to help you eat smart and rebuild your friendship with the good guys:

The general recommendation is that around 50-60% of your diet should be carbohydrates. These should mainly be vegetables, some fruit, bread and grains.
If you’re trying to slim down, opt for veg like broccoli, tomatoes and peppers with a small helping of slow-release carbs like sweet potato or brown rice.
If you’re training hard you may need a steady intake of carbs throughout the day, plus a carb-based pre-workout snack.
For those who are training, it is recommended that you consume about 5g of carbs per kilo of body weight.
The top carb champs are oats, spelt, legumes, millet, wild rice, wholemeal bread, pearl barley and quinoa.

July 5, 2013

THE WONDER OF WALNUTS.

A recent study suggests that eating walnuts a couple of times a week could reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.

The study of almost 140,000 women found that snacking on 28g of walnuts twice a week slashed the risk by 24%.

For an extra nutritional boost, opt for raw over roasted nuts.

June 25, 2013

Q. ARE SPORTS DRINKS BETTER THAN WATER?

A. There is generally much hype about the benefits of sports drinks, but one must be aware of when to use them and when water is sufficient.

If you exercise for an hour or more, a sports drink can be helpful. Used at the right time (30 minutes before exercise and during exercise lasting longer than an hour), these drinks have been shown to increase performance.

However, sports drink do have a high sugar content, so make sure you use them as an aid to exercise only, and not as a thirst quencher. Stick to water for that!

June 19, 2013

BITE SIZE BEATS WAIST SIZE.

Cutting your food into small pieces could be the key to a slimmer waistline.

Research has shown that those who consume smaller mouthfuls eat slower, which tricks the brain into thinking that more has been eaten.

The increased meal time also allows time for satiety signals to kick in.

Try eating without distraction too, as this forces you to think about each mouthful you take, as well as slow down your eating tempo.

When we sit in front of the TV our brain is on automatic and will just shovel the food in, without realising the quantity that we consume or the speed at which we do so.

June 13, 2013

A HEALTHY COMMUNITY.

Living in a big city such as London, it’s easy to forget the importance of our local communities.

As a Personal Trainer, as with many business owners, my livelihood very much depends on the people in my local community. Therefore, it’s always a great opportunity for me to be able to meet them.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the parents in the area, at the Busy Rascals group in Willesden Green.

Busy Rascals is a fantastic project set up for parents and their babies/children to be able to meet, socialise and participate in various activities including music, dance and parent workshops (www.busyrascals.wordpress.com).

By being able to speak to the people in my neighbourhood, I am able to better tailor my services to their needs.

I started offering home workouts as part of my service just over 5 years ago, and since then the majority of my clients have been, and still are, mums.

Working out at home has given them the opportunity to undertake a regular exercise programme without having to be apart from their children, or having to pay additional childcare costs whilst attending a gym.

June 10, 2013

THE POWER OF HERBS.

Herbs are often underrated for the benefits they have on our bodies. From helping with digestion, to boosting our immune system, the power of herbs can be vast. Invest in these fresh herbs to give your health a boost.

Parsley – The Immune Booster

Contains more vitamin C, gram for gram, than most citrus fruits
Two tablespoons of fresh, chopped parsley contains 150% of your RDA of vitamin K, which is important for bone health
A good source of vitamin A and folate, the latter is important for pregnant women as it has been shown to reduce spina bifida in babies
A diuretic, which helps combat bloating and water retention
Known for its anti-inflammatory properties, which helps with the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Coriander – The Energy Amplifier

Contains a huge range of vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin and folate, which help give us energy
Believed to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure
Best known for its antibacterial and anti-fungal effect.

Basil – The Anti-Ager

Packed full of flavonoids, which have been shown to protect cells from chromosomal damage
Reduces cell damage from radiation and free radicals as well as protect the skin form the sun.

Mint – The Digestion Soother

Can help to break down fat, so is traditionally served after meals
High in vitamin C, vitamin A and manganese which also help with the metabolism of fat and protein.

Rosemary – The Cancer Fighter

Research has shown that it can reduce the risk of breast cancer by blocking some of the damaging effects of oestrogen in the body
High in vitamin E, which is important for skin healing
A strong antibacterial effect that has long made it a remedy for a sore throat.

June 3, 2013

TOP 5 SUPERFOODS TO SUPPORT YOUR WORKOUT.

Add the following superfoods to your diet to help increase the fat you burn and to support your workouts.

Broccoli – helps to revitalise your liver by flushing out toxins from your body and encouraging the breakdown of fat.
Eggs – rich in choline, a B vitamin that can help to regulate fat in the liver.
Berries – a great source of antioxidants as well as fibre for fat-fighting roughage.
Greek Yoghurt – a high-protein food that will help to build muscle rather than fat.
Cinnamon – speeds up your metabolism and helps your body process sugar more effectively, so you’ll dodge that insulin spike that could lead to fat storage.

Lanima Fitness

Personal Training for Women