Enjoy your Food

Ah yes Enjoy your food, every last mouthful. Ask yourself when was the last time you did this ? I mean really enjoyed and savoured your food, or is food just an activity that has to be done? Most of us are guilty of wolfing our food down whilst watching television or whilst on the run. Little wonder we miss the signs our body gives us to say we’re full. Next time you eat, eat consciously. What I mean is take your time and enjoy the tastes and flavours. It may be an idea to put your knife and folk down in between mouthfuls to prolong the experience. You will be amazed at, firstly how long you take and secondly the urge to LEAVE FOOD ON YOUR PLATE when your body says I ‘ve had enough now!!

Listen to your Body!

Listen to my body? Sure give it a go, you’ll be amazed at how good your body is at sending you signals to say when you’re hungry or full. Unfortunately we tend to override these signals, thinking we know better. This results in a desensitisation to our own appetite mechanisms which  mean we never know when to stop eating!!

Only eat when you are hungry

OK I make no appologies for the simplicity of this one. Forget your FAD diets, with no eating after dark unless its cardboard, or whatever. This is simple but effective. The idea here is you only eat erm…. when your body tells you, i.e. when you are hungry. Here’s the second crazy part, stop eating when you are full! This way you will eat regularly throughout the day the amount that you actually require at the time. Eat small portions, say 300-500kcal several times in the day. Try Low GI foods (fruit, vegetables, graines, pulses, rices and pastas) rather than high GI sugary foods (sweets, cakes, sugary drinks). This will have two benefits. Firstly it will keep you fuller for longer and help ensure blood sugar levels remain constant throughout the day which in turn will help keep the hormone insulin at lower levels. The presence of high blood sugar levels is coupled with Insulin which ultimately inhibits fat metabolism, not great it you want to shed a few pounds.Secondly small portions have a manageable calorific content whereas binge eating at the end of the day may result in excess calorie intake and storage. Funily enough research shows time and time again the benefits of eating breakfast. Those who have a healthy breakfast are much less likely to gain weight than those who skip breakfast all together.  

Choose Berries as part of your 5-A-Day

When it comes to including fruit and vegetables as part of your balanced diet let’s face it some fruits pack    more of a punch than others. Although most fruits contain many vitamins, minerals and fibre Berries such as Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Cranberries and Raspberries contain a nutrient called Anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant which is found in abundance in the berry family. Recent research has shown that Anthocyanin found in these ‘Super Berries’ not only reduces the risk of CVD by reducing ‘bad’ cholesterol and raising ‘good’ cholesterol but they may also have a preventative effect when it comes to many other diseases such as Cancers, Diabetes and Alzheimers.

So when you are reaching for the fruit in the aisles consider these powerful little berries ! A handful of blueberries on your porridge or a glass of fresh cranberry and Raspberry juice every day will go along way to boosting your immune function. For more information about what constitutes a portion visit the 5 A Day website here.

Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate

In the last newsletter we touched on ‘Moving More’ and energy balance. Well to lose weight you need to be thinking in terms of creating a negative balance, i.e expending more than you consume. Well that’s easy I hear you say, let’s just not eat anything!! Well unfortunately it is simple though not that simple. First you need to calculate your BMR. Your Basal Metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate at which your body burns calories for basic bodily functions such as breathing, circulation and maintaining constant temperature.  

Women: BMR = 655+(9.6 x weight in kilos)+(1.8 x height in cm)-(4.7 x age in years)
Men: BMR = 66+(13.7 x weight in kilos)+(5 x height in cm) -(6.8 x age in years)

This equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will underestimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will over-estimate calorie needs).

If you are inactive or sedentary multiply BMR by 1.2

Fairly active (exercise 1 – 2 x week) multiply BMR by 1.3

Moderately Active (2 – 3 x week) multiply BMR by 1.4

Active (hard more than 3 x week) multiply BMR by 1.5

Very Active (hard daily) multiply BMR by 1.7

The figure you have now is your estimated daily energy requirement. If you want to lose weight it is essential you know what your current eating habits are and what your daily energy intake. If weight loss is your goal then look at creating a deficit of around 500kcal a day. Remember every 1lb of fat is equivalent to 3500kcal, so over a week that’s 500kcal a day. You can now start to break this down further by doing say half an hour jog (based on 8km/hr for a 60kg person) which will burn 250kcal and not eating that chocolate bar (250kcal). A safe, sustainable weight loss is up to 2 lbs or 1kg per week.

Improve your Childs Memory and Attention with a Low GI Breakfast

A study conducted by Northumbria University showed the importance of feeding your child a low GI breakfast. They had two groups of children aged between 6-11 and fed them either coco-pops that rapidly elevated blood sugar levels after consumption or a starchy all-bran breakfast cereal that released the energy much more slowly. Hourly memory and attention tests were then administered thereafter and researchers found that although both groups as expected declined in performance, the group which consumed the startchy breakfast faired much better in the subsequent tests than their counterparts. Therefore to help your child stay attentive and boost concentration go for the low GI option of all-bran. Alternatively try eating the following breakfast;

Muesli or porridge with banana or raisins

Wholegrain toast with spread

Fresh fruit Juice

Will Lifting Weights only make me bigger?

Ah, a popular misconseption amongst many gym goer wishing to lose weight. Unless you are engaging in a specific strength routine several times a week which is tailored for low repetitions and big weights then you won’t be buffing up like Arnie.

At Fitstar Coaching we subscribe to the importance of both cardivascular and resistance training as part of any fitness and health routine. In fact encouraging some muscle growth will actually help you lose weight paradoxically. For every half a kg of muscle mass your body will burn upto 50kcal extra per day. So if you do the Maths then you will discover that an extra 5 kg of muscle mass will burn a whopping 500kcal a day, equivalent to a Big Mac if you are that way inclined…which I hope you are not!!

The Glycemic Index

The Gycemic Index is probably one of the most useful tools to get to grips with in terms of sustaining a healthy balanced diet. For a non-fad, reputable way of improving your health, managing your weight and generally feeling better then understanding a little about the Glycemic Index (GI) is a great place to start. The carbohydrate food you eat will at some point end up as glucose. The speed at which this process happens depends upon the food, with some being converted rapidly whilst others more steadily. The Glycemic Index is a measure of the glucose levels in your blood after consuming a carbohydrate food.

Carbohydrate foods are scored on a scale of 1-100 with white sugar or glucose obtaining the top score of 100. The lower the GI value then the slower the release of glucose into your bloodstream, foods such as lentils and pulses have low GI values. In contrast to this high GI foods such as white bread, fizzy drinks and sweets release glucose much more quickly into your system. Eating a diet rich in High GI foods is a contributing factor to risk of Diabetes and obesity. Chronic elevated levels of blood glucose puts extra strain on the pancreas to produce a hormone called insulin, which helps to regulate blood sugar levels. Not only does insulin help regulate blood sugar levels but it also supresses fat metabolism!! Therefore by eating a low GI diet not only are you keeping blood sugar levels at bay and feeling fuller for longer but you are also encouraging your body to burn more fat as a fuel source.

 

Go Bananas!

Yep you got it, next time you need a burst of energy reach for one of these little beauties rather than a ‘Convenient’ unhealthy snack. Bananas are an excellent source of  many vitamins and minerals as well as providing a great boost of energy when needed most. So in a single banana you get for your investment; Fibre which helps maintain a healthy bowel and digestive system, B vitamins essential for your body to create energy, Magnesium for muscle and nerve function and potassium for water balance. In fact a glass of water and a banana (not mixed together though) is a great cheap and healthy alternative to many sports drinks. OK so that’s a load of great reasons to go bananas, but there is more! Bananas also contain a protein called Tryptophan which your body converts to Seratonin which helps you relax and generally feel good.

Drink a Glass of Water to keep that hunger at bay

Next time you reach for a quick snack you know you shouldn’t be how about reach for a glass of water instead? Initial symptoms of dehydration include sensations of hunger that won’t be quenched by nibbling alone. Pour yourself a glass of water, drink it and notice if the hunger subsides. If it doesn’t then you’re hungry, eat some food !! You will be suprised though how often the water trick works.

Move More

Hi there and welcome to the first part of a series of newsletters published by Fitstar Coaching tackling the whole area of weight management. Weight management can be a daunting and confusing subject area with contradicting information often rendering you frustrated and none the wiser. The aim of these Newsletters is to give you a no-nonsense, simple and effective solution to weight management. Whether you want some tips to lose weight, maintain or even gain weight then the principles here will help you on your quest. If you are after a quick fix detox diet or celebrity fad diet then you will be dissapointed!!

Part 1: Move More !Yep you got it, Move More. The simple laws of thermodynamics mean that you will stay the same weight when energy in (Food) is equal to energy out (exercise). So expending more energy than you take in will result in weight loss, it’s that simple! When you consider that every 1lb (1/2kg) of fat is equal to 3500kcal then you can start to understand what you need to do.So every 1lb of fat is 3500 kcal. If you wanted to lose 1lb a week you need to be thinking of creating a calorie defecit of 500kcal per day. That is consuming 500kcal less than you expend every day. How I hear you say ? Well that’s easy, Move More. People often get discouraged because they think that they must go to the gym to exercise or go out running. Although both are great you needn’t do either. Unless you are lying in bed all day you are burning calories above your resting rate.

So by simply moving more you will burn more calories. Parking a little further from work, taking the stairs at work, walking to the shops, gardening. playing with your kids, standing up or anything that will raise your pulse will all add up.