Category: Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: No quick fix

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: No quick fix 😬

It’s not what anyone wants to hear but the faster you try to lose weight the longer it usually takes. You get stuck in a cycle of losing and regaining the same half stone- stone over and over again. Why? Because you try to do it too quickly. So you’ll be in that cycle for years and years – never making progress. Instead you could aim for something more sustainable and lose the weight over 6-12 months and keep it off long term.

If you’re always looking into the latest trend or fad diet, or forever doing ‘detoxes’ or ‘cleanses’ you’re not only perpetuating this cycle of rapid loss and rapid regain but you are also causing yourself significant damage. You are negatively impacting your relationship with food, your metabolism, your body image, your hormonal balance and your mental health. You’re also making losing weight much harder in the long term.

You didn’t put the weight on that fast so modify your expectations about how fast to lose it. Your body needs time to lose weight and for changes in body composition to take place. Instead of relying on things that in the short term seem too good to be true, trendy and fast, start looking for longer-term, sustainable approaches that fit your lifestyle and personality. Regardless of the approach this will include – being consistent and persistent over time, finding a balance (which varies from person to person but usually involves a level of moderation, rather than extremes of cutting out food groups etc ), finding new habits that support these goals, and building healthy relationships with food and your body. It also important to understand your priorities – when it’s a good time to try to ‘diet’ and when it isn’t – and accepting that sometimes it isn’t a high enough priority and not shaming yourself for that.

There’s no quick fix – no supplement, exercise, 6 week plan, detox or cleanse that will get you to and keep you at your goals. It’s not a short term thing – you’re in for the long haul if it’s going to be sustainable.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: You snooze, you win!

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: You snooze, you win! 😴

Whilst fat/weight loss always comes down to maintaining a calorie deficit there are things which help make this easier – sleep being one of the biggest ones.

Sleep is one of the most underrated contributors to overall health and body composition. Chronic lack of sleep has negative effects on the immune, endocrine, nervous and cardiovascular systems and increases risk of illness and injury. Studies have shown an association between increased BMI and those with a chronic lack of sleep (under 7hrs a night). Studies also show that reduced sleep is associated with an increased energy intake – sleeping under 5.5 hrs a night was linked to an average increase of almost 250 cals per day. A further study investigated the impact of improving sleep length on energy intake and found that extending it to 8 hrs a night led to a decrease in energy intake of 270 cals per day. There was also a link to weight loss in this group (unsurprisingly given the reduced calorie intake). For each extra hour of sleep energy intake decreased by 162 cals per day.

Lack of sleep also impacts your exercise resulting in reduced reaction times, accuracy, strength and endurance. It also results in longer recovery times.

So how can you improve your sleep?

⁃ Aim to set aside approx 30 mins before bed to wind down and destress.

⁃ Aim for consistent sleep and waking times – so try to avoid the pattern of early wake ups during the week and very late wake ups at the weekend.

⁃ Reduce consumption of caffeine, alcohol and nicotine in the 2-3 hours before bed

⁃ Studies have also shown that reducing screen time before bed leads to improved sleep quality, falling asleep faster and waking up less during the night. So aim to put your phone away 30 mins before bed, and avoid viewing potentially stimulating content like social media/news as it can impact your mood/anxiety levels which will result in less sleep.

So put the same effort you do into your diet into your sleep to maximise results!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Don’t exercise to earn food

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Don’t exercise to earn food 🍫

With the recent Easter weekend there will undoubtedly be a lot of talk of exercising to ‘burn off’ those Easter eggs. In fact the media usually produces a list of activities and the equivalent amount of Easter chocolate it would burn. This is actually totally misguided and a really bad way to approach food and weight loss. Aside from the fact that it’s almost impossible to out exercise diet (mainly because we grossly over estimate the amount of calories we burn exercising) it’s also an extremely unhealthy relationship to foster between food and exercise.

If you are choosing to eat something you enjoy, that you want to eat and that fits into a balanced, flexible diet then eat it! You do not need to earn or burn your food with exercise. Food and exercise do not exist in an exchange-based system.

Choose exercise that you enjoy – if running isn’t your thing then walk, if you hate spin classes then try a different class etc. Eat to

nourish and fuel your body, it will then use that fuel as needed on a daily basis. So don’t skip lunch because you didn’t missed a workout that day or avoid dessert because you skipped the gym. Remember that your body still needs fuel to function – to fuel the brain, to fuel your muscles to get you from a to b, to fuel all your bodily functions. And remember that you won’t have actually burn as many calories exercising as you think anyway so it’s a futile effort.

So the next time you workout think to yourself – why am I exercising l? Is it to feel good? Is it to relieve stress? Is it to move your body in a way that feels good? Or is it punishment or to earn/burn food?

Eat to fuel your body, and exercise because you enjoy it. In regards to that Easter chocolate you may have eaten – view it as fuel to help you workout IF you want to – not something you have to exercise to burn off!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: What happens when fat is lost?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: What happens when fat is lost? 😅

There are widespread misconceptions about what happens when we lose fat. It’s important to understand the process of how fat is actually lost to be able to set realistic goals and expectations.

So what we think of as body fat is actually adipose tissue, which is essentially excess energy that is stored for future use. Fat is lost when we create a calorie deficit – usually via reducing the number of calories you consume. When you’re in a calorie deficit the body utilises the stored fat. Triglycerides contained within the fat cells are ‘burnt’ or oxidised to release energy. This involves many enzymes and biochemical processes but the end products are water, carbon dioxide, with energy being released at the same time .

84 percent of the fat becomes Carbon dioxide which is then excreted by the lungs

as we exhale. The remaining 16 percent becomes water and is excreted from sweating, urinating, breathing, Bowel movements, tears etc.

Before you get too excited – breathing faster, or sweating more isn’t going to result in more fat loss! Fat loss happens as a result of a long term, consistent change in your dietary habits abs lifestyle. So sadly, as always, the answer for fat loss isn’t flashy or sexy, but rather dull and rooted in science – a long term calorie deficit achieved mainly via eating less and moving more!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Weights won’t make you bulky

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Weights won’t make you bulky 💪🏼

Many female clients often tell me they don’t want to lift weights because they’re afraid of getting too big or bulky. What they mean when they say this is that they don’t want to put on too much muscle mass – they have visions of chunky thighs, thick necks, huge biceps, heavy set shoulders etc.

The reality is that it’s actually extremely hard to put on significant muscle mass. To get to a bulky or body-builder level of muscularity, you’d not only have to train and diet in an extreme fashion, but you’d have to keep at it for years. I’ve got clients actively trying to ‘bulk’ and it’s a slow process that requires dedication to weight training and to eating … a lot! Body builders and those types of athletes work extremely hard to look the way they do; you won’t end up there by accident, I promise. If you want to gain significant amounts of muscle mass, you’re looking at five to six days of heavy lifting a week, every week for months and months. Doing a few weights workouts a week, or a few pump classes will not make you bulky.

As I always, say you don’t lose weight/fat from exercise – it’s from a calorie deficit. In the same way you can’t put on significant muscle mass without eating a calorie surplus – and a large one at that! Gaining muscle mass comes from a combination of heavy weight training and an excess in calories.

So if you are aiming to lose fat and are at a calorie deficit (or even maintenance/ slight surplus ) then doing weights workouts 3-4 times a week won’t result in large amounts of muscle growth. What it will do though is increase your lean body mass. This has two benefits – it increases your metabolic rate which means you’ll burn more calories at rest. It will also help provide the ‘sculpted’ or ‘toned’ look many people want. By working those muscles you’ll create a solid muscular base so that as you lose fat you’ll start to see the shape you’re looking for. It will also make you feel strong – and that’s a great feeling!

So don’t be afraid of lifting weights – they’re an important component of any fitness program. They’re also vital – especially for women as we age – as a way to help protect against osteoporosis.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx