Category: Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Understanding Metabolism

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Understanding Metabolism 🤓

Despite what you might think most of your daily calorie burn doesn’t come from exercise. It’s driven by your metabolism (converting food cals to energy) which determines the number of cals you need to maintain your weight.

Your calorie burn consists of:

#1 60-70% Basal metabolic rate; the cals you need at rest, to survive; breathing, digesting, filtering waste, nothing more. It varies with body size (bigger = higher bmr), composition (more muscle = higher bmr), age (younger = higher bmr), genetics, hormones (thyroid hormones) and health (ill = higher bmr).

#2 10% is from food thermogenesis (digesting food). Protein requires the most to digest. 0-3 percent of fat cals are used to digest it, 5-10 % for carbs and 20-30 % for protein. But as food thermogenesis only accounts for 10% of daily burn, eating more protein will only have a small effect on your metabolic rate.

#3 20% is from physical activity; walking, workouts, and day to day activities; typing, carrying heavy loads, standing, fidgeting, shopping, etc.

So if you aren’t seeing the results you want, but are tracking your food right, then maybe you’re overestimating your calorie burn? There’s lots of tips out there to boost metabolism e.g. eating more frequently, or not eating late at night etc but few have studies to back them up.

Some tips which are backed by science include:

# including strength training in your workouts. Boosting your muscle mass increases your BMR and burns more calories at rest. You don’t have to lift big weights, body weight exercises are also effective.

# increase intensity in your workouts; short bursts of intense effort increase afterburn e.g. intervals when running, swimming or cycling, or doing workouts that naturally include it like hiit/ bodyattack/ circuits etc.

#3 Eat enough protein. You’re still only contributing a little extra burn, but by ensuring you have protein with every meal you will not only burn a little more digesting, but more importantly you’ll feel fuller for longer, and you’ll have amino acids to support muscle recovery and repair.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Outdoor Activity Ideas

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Outdoor Activity Ideas 🚶🏼‍♀️

As lockdown progresses, and especially with half term here for some, I know that some of the same old walks are starting to get a little samey!

So here are some ideas for some ways to spice up that outdoor exercise – for the whole family.

Geocaching is a great option to make local walks more interesting. Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunt that uses any GPS enabled device (probably your phone) to help you navigate to a set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the hidden geocache (container). You can download a free app to get started and all you need is your phone and a sense of adventure! There are geocaches all over the country – go to geocaching.com to get started.

Play walking bingo! Pick a theme – it could be wildlife related in the local parks, or local buildings etc.Make a list and then set off on a walk to spot those items. It’s Bingo when you’ve spotted them all!

Scavenger hunts – similar to walking bingo but this time to collect the items. These work best with nature-related themes. Make a list of things to find – a lichen covered twig, evergreen leaves, moss etc etc.

There are lots of wildlife and plant ID apps out there now – try downloading some and head to the park to ID some of the local fauna and flora. Or how about a litter pick? Head out with a bag and make it a competition for who can collect the most?

Closer to home, now is a good time to start preparing the garden for spring, or try making a homemade seed propagator and start to decide what you might grow later in the year and plant some early seeds.

Aside from this there are the usual outdoor games – frisbee, homemade skittles (bottles of water for the skittles), a little mini Olympics etc etc. Let your imagination run wild!

Hope some of these ideas help keep you amused, no matter your age (I’m definitely going to have a go at geocaching!)

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: 3 Easy Diet Tips

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: 3 Easy Diet Tips 🤗

Sometimes it can all seem a bit daunting – starting a new fitness regime, trying to eat healthily etc and at this time of year with the current lockdown and home working/ home schooling etc it can be so overwhelming that you just stop! Lots of studies have shown that adopting small habit changes lead to success with weight loss and healthy eating, so here are 3 easy steps you can take every day, that will soon become healthy habits.

#1 Focus on what you CAN have

We all have that slightly rebellious streak in us – when we’re told we can’t have something we want it more. So a simple mind shift can make all the difference in not only sticking to healthier eating but also being happy about it! Don’t think of all the foods you can’t or shouldn’t have — discover and rejoice in all the new and delicious foods you CAN eat. And remember you can have everything – just in smaller portions!

#2 Put it where you can see it

Studies have shown that just putting ‘healthy’ food out on display makes you more likely to choose them. Keep fruit on your kitchen counter, or at your desk. Arrange your cupboards so low calorie snacks are the first thing you see. If you must have the other stuff in the house then hide it. Invest in a sealable tupperware to store the chocolate or biscuits etc in. In the fridge try to keep healthy lower calorie stuff at eye level – carrots, sugar snap peas, yoghurt, grapes etc. Have tupperwares of cut melon, pineapple, berries, crudités etc in the fridge too if you can. The goal here is to make those foods as easy and accessible as possible.

#3 Get up, Stand up …

Recent research shows that being seated all day is actually a greater health risk than smoking (in terms of increased risk of cardiovascular disease). So… get up! Whenever you can – stand! Choose to stand up when having your morning cuppa, checking email, waiting for appointments, if you can then walk while you take work calls etc. Aim to stand more than you sit if at all possible!

There you go! Easy as 1,2,3!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: celebrate the small successes

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: celebrate the small successes 🏆

We’re past ‘blue’ Monday – supposedly the most depressing day of the year and into Feb now. This is the time when many people give up on their New Year’s exercise and diet resolutions. It’s easy to get despondent if you’re not seeing the scale shift but just because you’re not losing weight it doesn’t mean your weightloss journey isn’t a success. It’s all about creating sustainable, long lasting habits that help you to live a healthier lifestyle, so we need to celebrate those too!

So today’s tip is all about celebrating the small successes! Here are a few examples:

– Often maintaining your weight is a victory itself. It’s just as hard to maintain as it is to lose so if you’ve maintained then give yourself a high five!

– Doing your belt up a notch tighter, choosing a smaller clothes size, finding the clothes you have are a little looser in certain areas… are all massive successes!

– Maybe you’ve just completed your first run! Or your first online workout, or long walk! That’s amazing!

– You’ve managed to fit exercise regularly in to your weekly schedule – that’s awesome!

– Perhaps you’ve avoided the extra snacks, or said no to the dessert you’d usually have, or passed up on that glass of wine with dinner – huge successes! Be proud!

– Maybe you’ve seen improvements in things like blood pressure or cholesterol etc or you’ve been able to reduce your medication as a result of lifestyle changes you’ve made.

– Getting through that workout without having to stop, managing those burpees or push ups , hitting a higher step goal each day, completing full push ups – these are all things to be proud of.

– Choosing healthier options without even thinking about it. Have your choices changed? Sometimes these changes happen without us even realising it.

– maybe you’ve had a stressful day or week but managed not to turn to chocolate , crisps, cake, wine – whatever your favourite comfort food/drink is. That’s a massive achievement!

So here’s to all those successes that the scales don’t measure! Do you have some to celebrate? (we all do!) – share yours below! 🤗💜

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Loose Skin Post Weight Loss

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Loose Skin Post Weight Loss 😱

Losing body fat (and weight) is generally full of positives – lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, better blood glucose levels etc but there is one side effect many of my clients mention that isn’t so good; loose skin. When someone loses a significant amount of weigh you can end up with loose skin – typically in the stomach, arms, chest or thighs.

Factors that make this more likely include sudden, dramatic weight loss, age (skin loses elasticity as you age), a history of sun exposure, smoking and finally genetics. Sadly there’s no magic supplement you can take to contract the skin but there are some small things you can do to help.

#1 Slow and steady

Aim for gradual, sustainable weight loss if possible. The slower you do it the more likely the skin will contract as you lose weight.

#2 Resistance training

As well as increasing bone density and improving functional strength, regular resistance training will improve lean muscle mass and help make the skin look firmer. It’s not actually changing the skin itself but the extra “pump” can make the skin appear firmer.

#3 Hydrate

Staying hydrated will help improve the skin’s overall appearance, helping it to stay firm. Aim for 2-3 litres of water across the day (more in hot weather or when working out). If you struggle to drink enough try increasing liquid intake with things like soups, and fruit as well.

#4 Collagen

Some studies do show improvements in skin elasticity, blood circulation to the skin and less dryness with increased collagen consumption. Add this to your diet with bone broth, chicken, pork or salmon skin, Egg yolk, gelatin, soybeans and other legumes, spirulina and agar.

#5 Consult your GP

If you have large amounts of excess skin and it’s impacting on your physical or mental health then speak to your GP about surgical options to help. This is obviously a last resort but for some it is the only option to remove large amounts of excess skin so shouldn’t be discounted.

The important thing to remember is that excess skin is not harmful, and the health benefits of losing weight FAR outweigh the risk of some loose skin.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx