Category: Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: More Exercise ≠ more calories 🏃🏼‍♂️

Most people view exercise as ‘more is always better’ when it comes to burning calories. However, more exercise doesn’t always equal more calories burnt. Studies show that whilst energy expenditure does increase with increased activity it’s only up to a point E.g if you go from being sedentary to active, you’ll see an increase in energy expenditure. But if you’re already active and increase physical activity levels further, you aren’t likely to see energy expenditure increase linearly because the body adjusts other processes to maintain total energy expenditure within a narrow range. A recent study found weight loss was only half of what might be expected when burning an extra 2500 cals per week, because of behavioural adaptations that reduced 24-hour energy expenditure.

This explains why people don’t always lose the expected amount of weight despite doing more physical activity. It is also why I ALWAYS tell clients not to view exercise as a way to burn calories and why you can’t ‘eat back’ the calories you think you’ve burnt.

Studies have found that as energy expenditure is increased the body compensates by approx 30 percent. E.g if you increased physical activity by 500 kcals, rather than total energy expenditure increasing by 500 kcals it only increases 350 cals.

Also those with more body fat actually compensate more than lean individuals, compensating by up to 50 %. This means that those predisposed to increased body fat may be that way because they’re ‘energy compensators’ which is another reason why using exercise as a weight loss strategy isn’t always successful.

So essentially this reinforces the fact that you can’t out-exercise diet – not only is it unsustainable but also the number of calories you think you’ve burnt is far less due to energy compensation (and the added inaccuracy of activity monitors!).This isn’t to say you shouldn’t exercise or be active; of course you should for a whole host of health benefits. And of course it will increase your energy expenditure, just not as much as you’d want it to and the extent to which it does will decrease, and eventually plateau, as you reach high activity levels. Focus on the diet for weight loss and exercise for health and enjoyment! Any increase in energy expenditure should be seen as a bonus, not the sole reason for exercising

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: When a calorie deficit is no longer a deficit! 📉

To lose weight/fat you need to be in a calorie deficit, and to be in a deficit you need to be consuming fewer calories than you’re expending. You may notice that as you progress your weight loss slows or stalls – which means your deficit is no longer a deficit. Why might this be?

#1 Metabolic Adaptation

As you reduce calories over time your body makes efforts to conserve energy through subconsciously down regulating. For example you burn fewer calories through incidental movements (NEAT – non-exercise activity thermogenesis), your heart rate may slow, body temperature may change, and hormones such as leptin, T3 and T4 adjust to reduce energy expenditure. As a result your BMR may decrease. Whilst metabolic adaptation alone won’t make a massive difference it does still play a part.

#2 Body weight reductions

When you weigh less you typically burn fewer calories at rest, and you’ll also burn fewer calories for daily activity and exercise e.g. 10,000 steps at 85kg burns more than 10,000 steps at 75kg.

#3 Habit changes

Often we are stricter with the calories earlier on in the weight loss phase and less strict layer on. Habits change as time progresses and as a result you may be consuming more calories than you realise or being less active than before. As weight loss progresses hunger and desire to eat increases so this can lead to you eating more without even realising you’re doing it. Studies have shown that portion sizes increase subconsciously as time goes on. In addition activity decreases slightly. These changes may be small but they contribute to the loss of the calorie deficit.

So if you find that weight loss is stalling just consider these reasons. Solutions may include reducing calories further, or going back to basics with tracking and checking portion sizes etc, but equally sometimes it may be time to focus on maintenance for a while. The option you choose may change over time and will depend on you and your goals.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Snackcidents! 😱

I’m sure we’ve all been there – you’re doing well sticking to your ‘diet’ and then all of a sudden you have a snackcident … a snack appears in your hand and before you know it it’s been inhaled! Disaster!! You may as well throw in the towel eh? But instead of giving up here are some tips to stay on track.

First off – you haven’t ‘ruined everything’, ‘binged’ or ‘gone off the rails’ – you’ve just had more calories than you planned today. Shaming yourself and making yourself feel guilty isn’t going to help. All it will do is cause a downward spiral.

So what can you do?

Borrow from other days. If you’re calorie target for the day was 1600, but you actually ate 1900 then just reduce your calories for the next 3 days by 100 cals. Then you’ll still be hitting and average of 1600 per day for the week.

Reflect on it but don’t berate yourself or dwell on it. Just try to think about what the trigger may have been. Was it boredom? Was it lack of planning? Was it because actually your plan wasn’t realistic in the first place? Was it peer pressure? Was it emotional? Identifying the triggers can help to prevent it in future – it may be you were being too restrictive so factor some snacks in future. If it was peer pressure then try to think of ways to avoid that – speak to your friends and family and get them on board, or prepare some ‘excuses’ if you need them etc.

You may see people suggesting you should exercise to get back the calories. As you know I always caution against trying to out-exercise diet (mainly because it’s really hard to burn enough to combat it but more importantly because it creates a really bad association between eating and then ‘punishing’ yourself with exercise). So whilst you definitely can’t and shouldn’t try to out exercise food it doesn’t hurt to be active and it also helps to release stress and emotions. So if you’re feeling pants about over eating – go and get active! Not to ‘burn it off’ of rather to make you feel good – endorphins and activity will make you feel better!

Remember snackcidents happen – and they’re not the end of the world!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Reset/cleanse your gut? 💊

I feel this probably needs saying – especially after the holidays when lots of people are coming back from indulgent breaks away and I’m hearing a lot about how they feel they need to ‘detox’ or ‘reset’ their systems.

So do you need ‘reset’ or ‘cleanse’ your gut? The short answer is no! You cannot cleanse your system or colon, nor should you want to – bacteria are a natural part of fecal matter and they keep your gut healthy. Taking products which purport to cleanse or reset the gut usually are simply laxatives in one form or another, encouraging rapid emptying of the bowels which actually results in more harm than good.

Feeling bloated, constipated and heavy after a holiday or time of indulgence is absolutely natural and to be expected. It’s not fun of course but it’s not something you need to spend money on ‘cleansing’ away. The maximum transit time for the gut is approximately 60 hrs – that’s 2.5 days – so if you’re having any sort of bowel movement within that time then things are ok! And if you’re not then it’s time to seek some medical advice – not an over priced diet supplement. Reasons you may feel bloated and constipated after holidays/breaks etc include eating more than usual, different eating routine, less exercise (regular exercise encourages bowl movements), altitude and dehydration effects (from flying and /or the location), alcohol, stress, hormones, increased salt intake and lack of fibre.

It’s definitely not a pleasant experience, but there are some things you can do to prevent it, help it and keep your gut healthy! Staying hydrated is an easy one so drink lots of water. Get active – even just walking will help improve bowel movements and reduce bloating. Reduce your alcohol intake and increase your fibre intake – fibre helps increase transit time in the gut (it also helps control blood sugar and cholesterol, and reduces the risk of colon cancer and cardiovascular disease). Increase your consumption of whole grain cereals, fruit and vegetables to help.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx