Category: Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Cortisol and Belly Fat 😓

Cortisol makes you gain belly fat is a common myth. The idea is that the stress hormone causes stubborn belly fat and therefore we should avoid cortisol ‘spikes’ at all costs (which translates to suggestions to avoid certain workouts etc), but is that really the truth?

Cortisol is essential. It helps regulate energy, inflammation, and even fat metabolism. Levels naturally rise and fall throughout the day, with a large spike in the morning (part of your circadian rhythm) and smaller increases during activity or stress. Research shows these short-term rises are not harmful, they’re protective and necessary. Exercise, fasting, even drinking coffee trigger temporary cortisol increases, and that’s a good thing. These transient spikes mobilize stored fuel and support recovery. If cortisol alone caused belly fat, athletes and early risers would all struggle with weight gain, which clearly isn’t the case.

So where does the belly fat myth come from? Chronic stress or Long-term elevated cortisol has been linked to appetite changes, sleep disruption, and overeating. But importantly, cortisol doesn’t directly add fat to your stomach. Instead, chronic stress often leads to behaviors like late-night eating, less activity, poor sleep etc that add up over time. The hormone plays a role, but it’s not acting in isolation.

Some also claim exercise spikes cortisol and therefore makes fat loss harder. Acute exercise-induced cortisol is good – studies show that long-term training actually lowers resting cortisol levels and improves stress resilience. So workouts don’t make you fat, they make you fitter and more stress-tolerant.

Remember – cortisol spikes are normal and often beneficial. Chronic stress may influence weight, but mostly via the habits it can create, not hormones alone. Exercise helps regulate cortisol long-term. If you’re concerned about ongoing stress or health issues, consult your doctor—not social media.

Stressing about cortisol is more harmful than the hormone itself.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip : Gained Weight Heatwave? 💦☀️

At this time of year there’s a lot of frustration from my clients who feel they’ve been ‘good’ and stayed within their calorie goals but the weight on the scales has gone up!

It’s very common, but before you panic or decide that a calorie deficit doesn’t work and it’s time to give up, just remember that it’s totally normal.

Hot weather can make you heavier, without you gaining any fat.

When it’s hot, your body naturally holds onto a little more water to help regulate your temperature and maintain blood volume. So you retain a lot more fluid. On top of that, your blood vessels widen to help you lose heat, allowing more fluid to move into your tissues. This is why during hot weather feet and ankles look puffier, hands may feel swollen, rings feel tighter, your trousers may feel tighter and you feel a bit ‘squishy’.

The scales can easily go up a 2-3 pounds because of it. It’s not fat. To gain 3 pounds of body fat, you’d need to eat roughly 10,500 calories more than your body needed. If you’ve been consistently eating in a calorie deficit, that simply hasn’t happened. And yes maybe your calorie tracking is off (and that’s another discussion) but it’s unlikely to be that far off in such a short period of time.

So don’t panic, don’t slash your calories, or try to do a tonne of extra workouts and definitely don’t think you’ve failed and give up. Instead, stay hydrated and drink plenty of fluids, stay consistent with your eating, and keep moving and doing your usual exercise. Once it cools down for a few days the extra fluid will be excreted and the scales will

go back down.

The scales only tell you what you weigh today, not how much fat you’ve gained. Sometimes they’re measuring the weather more than your progress!

Happy Tuesday! 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Staying Consistent in Summer ☀️

Staying consistent with your health and fitness routine over summer can be tricky. When the temperatures rise routines change, motivation can dip, and suddenly the habits that felt easy in spring start slipping. With a few small tweaks you can keep things going even through the summer heat

1. Move Early

Hot days drain energy fast. Try getting your steps or workouts in earlier before the day heats up. Getting moving early means you’re less likely to skip it due to tiredness or last-minute plans for drinks in the sunshine.

2. Adjust Your Meals

When it’s hot, appetite can drop. Take advantage of this and focus on refreshing, high-protein options that keep you satisfied without feeling weighed down e.g. cold salads with grilled meats, picky bits, fruit salads for snacks etc.

3. Prioritize Sleep

Poor sleep means low energy, low motivation, and more cravings. Hot rooms don’t help so try to keep your sleep environment cool, leaving curtains drawn during the day to avoid the sun heating the room, using fans, opening the windows, investing in cooling bed linen etc

4. Modify Your Workouts

If your gym or home space gets warm, longer rest periods are key. Overheating can affect performance and health. Take your time between exercises, sip (don’t chug) cold water, go for lower impact options etc.

5. Stay Hydrated

Dehydration will kill your energy and make it harder to stay on track. Keep a water bottle with you all day. Coconut water, watermelon, cucumber and other hydrating snacks can give you an electrolyte boost too.

Remember, it’s not about being perfect, it’s about being prepared and consistent. Keep your habits realistic, flexible, and summer-proof.

Happy Tuesday! 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Should you avoid ultra-processed foods? 🍪

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are vilified across social media at the moment. Eating things like a biscuit or packet of crisps is touted as akin to smoking. So do you need to avoid them like the plague? Probably not!

UPFs encompass a huge range of foods from sweets, crisps and sugary drinks to wholegrain breakfast cereals, fortified plant milks, baked beans, protein yoghurts and even some wholemeal breads. Basically anything that contains ‘industrial ingredients’ you wouldn’t n find in a typical kitchen and often also hyper palatable. However

lumping them all together doesn’t tell us much about how nutritious they are.

What matters most is your overall diet. If most of your meals are based around vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, beans, quality protein and healthy fats, then having the occasional biscuit, ice cream or ready meal isn’t suddenly going to undo destroy your health.

Equally, if your diet is made up mostly of highly processed foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients, that’s a different story. It’s the overall pattern that counts, not one individual food.

Context matters too. A protein yoghurt might technically be classed as ultra-processed, but it’s very different nutritionally from a packet of biscuits. Looking at protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and overall nutritional value is far more useful than simply asking, ‘Is it a UPF?’.

In fact even things like olive oil are technically ultra-processed so it’s a silly blanket term to use really.

Rather than fearing foods because of a label, focus on the bigger picture. Build most of your diet around minimally processed foods, enjoy processed foods you enjoy without guilt, and remember that consistency beats perfection every time.

Healthy eating isn’t about avoiding one category of food. It’s about creating habits you can actually stick to.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Eat More to Lose fat? 🤔

Social media is full of some pretty bad health and fitness advice. One of the most common pieces of advice is when fat/weight loss stalls you probably aren’t eating enough. You’ll hear things like ‘You’ve damaged your metabolism.’,

‘You’re not eating enough.’,

‘You need to eat more if you want to lose weight’ etc.

It sounds brilliant – we all want to be able to eat more and lose fat but is it actually true?

The short answer is usually no.

If you’re maintaining your current weight, you’re already eating roughly the amount of energy your body is using. Eating significantly more calories won’t suddenly switch your body into fat-burning mode. To lose body fat, you still need to create a calorie deficit over time.

So where does this myth come from?

When we diet, our bodies do adapt. Metabolism slows slightly as we lose weight because we’re carrying less mass and our bodies become a little more energy efficient. Hunger hormones also increase, making it harder to stick to a calorie deficit. This is called metabolic adaptation, and it’s real—but it’s nowhere near enough to stop fat loss altogether.

What often happens is that people unknowingly eat more than they think. Portion sizes creep up, weekend treats aren’t counted, cooking oils get forgotten, or activity levels fall because dieting leaves us feeling tired. It doesn’t take much to wipe out a calorie deficit.

That doesn’t mean eating more is never appropriate. If you’ve been dieting hard for a long time, a planned period at maintenance calories (sometimes called a diet break) can make dieting feel more manageable, support training performance and reduce hunger. But it isn’t a magic reset that suddenly restarts fat loss.

If you’re genuinely stuck, don’t assume your metabolism is broken. Before increasing calories, take an honest look at your tracking, activity levels and expectations. Often, a few small adjustments are all that’s needed.

Your body is incredibly adaptable, but it still follows the same basic principles of energy balance. Consistency beats shortcuts every time.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx