Category: Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Do I have to ditch carbs? 🥖

Possibly the most pervasive myth in fitness and nutrition if that if you want to lose weight you need to cut out carbs. Even people who, in one breath tell me they know it’s all about creating a calorie deficit, will in the next breath tell me they’re going to cut carbs. So first off, yes if you suddenly cut carbs (which people usually take to mean bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cakes, biscuits etc) you may lose weight ‘fast’ initially. This is because you’re losing glycogen and water. If your diet is high in those carbs then depending on what you replace them with it may also result in a calorie deficit. But after the initial few weeks it’s only a calorie deficit that will keep you losing weight – whether you include carbs in that or not is irrelevant.

You can definitely lose weight and eat carbs, there is nothing inherently fattening in carbs. In fact carbs are actually really important, especially if you’re active, as they boost performance and fuel your workouts. Your body stores carbs as glycogen in the liver and muscles which is a vital fuel source. If you cut carbs you’ll find your ability to exercise effectively drops and your energy levels decrease. Various carb sources are rich in micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) which are essential for optimal health, energy metabolism and performance. By removing carbs from your

diet, your micronutrient intake might not be sufficient. Importantly many carbs are pleasure foods – foods you enjoy and that make you happy. By cutting them out you’re reducing your own enjoyment when you really don’t need to.

Fat loss ultimately comes down to energy balance. If you’re in a calorie deficit you will burn fat. Many studies support this and show what when calories are controlled how you obtain these calories (be it from carbs or not) has no impact on fat loss. You can lose fat with either a low-carb or high-carb diet.

So carbs aren’t bad, they have loads of benefits. However, if you prefer a low-carb diet, go for it. If your main goal is fat loss, though remember it’s the overall calories that count and if you’re looking to optimize your performance or build muscle, carbs

will definitely help.

Happy Tuesday!🤗

xx

Tuesday Tip: Too much aerobic fitness? 🏃🏼‍♀️

There’s been a lot of discussion in recent years about whether or not too much aerobic fitness and training may actually be bad for you. There’s been a shift away from cardio to a focus on resistance/weight training only. There are claims that high levels of aerobic training (cardio) can damage the heart and reduce longevity.

But is that really the case and if so should be be concerned about doing large amounts of cardio/aerobic fitness training?

A recent study, the largest of its kind, with over 120,000 participants seems to suggest that actually the reverse is true. It tracked people over many years and found that aerobic fitness was indeed, as many hoped, related to disease prevention and overall longevity.

Most importantly, they did not find an upper limit where more aerobic fitness was actually worse for longevity or detrimental to health. This shows that while there are certainly examples of endurance athletes doing extreme things to push their

body that may be unhealthy and cause damage, these are the outliers. It should always be remembered that what people do at the extreme end of sports is almost always done for maximum performance, not health. For the majority of people more aerobic training isn’t harmful.

The study also showed that all levels of aerobic fitness above the lowest levels saw a longevity benefit. You don’t have to get to the highest levels to still add years and health benefits. So if you enjoy it then do it! If you don’t do any then try to add some in. If you are pushing yourself to do more and more at the expense of your enjoyment and it’s leaving you exhausted, and excessively hungry then obviously pull back a bit.

If your primary goal is to use fitness as a tool to live a longer, healthier life, including aerobic training as part of it is absolutely essential. And in this case, more actually is always better.

Happy Tuesday!🤗

xx

Tuesday Tip: Can you boost your metabolism? 🤔

You may have read about various ways to boost your metabolism and burn more calories. But is this really possible?

‘Metabolism’ consists of 3 components:

⁃ 60-70 % basal/resting metabolic rate (bmr) – energy burnt at rest

⁃ 10 % Thermic effect of food (TEF) – energy burnt digesting/storing food.

⁃ 20-30% Activity Energy Expenditure (AEE) – 10-15 % is energy burnt through physical activity (intentional exercise) and the remainder is Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) -all activity that isn’t intentional exercise. NEAT is the most variable component of your metabolism and can account for 15% of total energy expenditure in sedentary individuals and up to 50% in active individuals.

Can you boost these? Short answer not by much sadly!

Your BMR is determined by age, sex, height, muscle mass, genetics which you can’t change much (I’ll come back to the muscle mass).

Eating more protein can increase your metabolic rate as it has the highest Themis effect (takes more cals to digest) BUT TEF only accounts for 10% of total energy expenditure. So this isn’t going to have a significant effect.

Increasing physical activity will increase your metabolic rate BUT, unless you train for several hours per day, the magnitude of this

increase isn’t as much as you think. What about increasing muscle mass? Well yes more muscle increases your BMR so you burn more at rest BUT again the overall impact isn’t as great as you’re led to believe. 1kg muscle burns around 13 cals per day so if you added 5kg muscle (which is a lot!) you’d be burning an extra 65 cals a day.

What about metabolism boosters/fat burners etc? The main ingredient in these “metabolism boosters” is caffeine. And while it’s true that caffeine has a “thermogenic effect” 100mg of caffeine only increases energy expenditure by 3-4% and it diminishes as you build a tolerance.

The one component that can significantly impact metabolic rate is NEAT (e.g. walking, standing, fidgeting, house work, gardening etc ). In studies most of the variability in energy expenditure between individuals is due to differing levels of NEAT which can vary by over 1000 calories per day.

So really the most significant impact on metabolism is to avoid being sedentary and to move more throughout the day like interspersing sitting with standing, taking

breaks to walk and move, using the stairs, etc. So avoid those expensive supplements and fad diets/exercise trends and stick to the basics!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Are you Dehydrated? 💧

Obviously the hot topic this week is the heat wave so it seemed wise to discuss hydration this week. Our body contains 5 litres of water and we can lose 2 in a single workout. Dehydration is a risk, and once you’re thirsty you’ve probably already been dehydrated for a while. So what should you watch for?

#1 Dry skin

Skin is 80% water so if you’re not drinking enough your skin will show it; dull, peeling, dry skin can mean you’re dehydrated.

#2 Fewer loo trips

Kidneys use water to remove waste from blood. When dehydrated they don’t function as well and you’ll need fewer loo trips. So if you’re pee-ing less than normal, drink more!

#3 Dark pee

Generally the darker your urine the more dehydrated you are (some foods also colour your pee). You want straw coloured pee!

#4 Cramps

Muscles are 75% water. If you’re dehydrated the body will divert water and blood from muscles to essential organs so you’ll get cramps.

#5 Blood pressure changes

As you dehydrate your blood becomes thicker as the water-containing plasma becomes more concentrated. With less blood volume to pump blood pressure can drop making you dizzy or light headed.

#6 Headache

The brain is sensitive to the chemical changes lack of water causes, resulting in a headache, often in the back of the head and may get worse when you bend over. A sports drink or rehydration sachet will help.

#7 Constipation

Dehydration causes the intestinal cells to extract more water from food waste in the intestines, causing the waste to become hard, leading to constipation.

#8 Joint pain

Dehydration causes cartilage in joints to rub; weakening and wearing over time. Lack of water delays repair to these damaged joints, causing pain.

#9 Bad breath

If you don’t have enough water then you won’t have enough saliva, so you’ll get a dry mouth and bad breath.

#10 Fatigue

The brain is 85% water. Water deficiency can result in a reduction of the brain’s energy supply, which leads to fatigue, lethargy, and even depression.

Never drink the 2-3 litre daily water quota in one sitting, instead drink regularly, and eat hydrating foods e.g. melon, cucumber, grapes, celery etc.

Get Sipping!

Happy Tuesday!🤗

xx

Tuesday Tip: Macro Tracking? 📈

Clients often ask me whether, in addition to calorie tracking, they need to be tracking their macros i.e. amounts of protein, carbs and fat. As a general rule the answer is no – but like most things concerning nutrition there is no one size fits all.

So first off why might you want to track macros? Well if you are an athlete or are trying to build serious amounts of muscle then yes it may be useful to track your macros as you may need to ensure you’re getting sufficient amounts of carbs to fuel your training or enough protein to ensure muscle building. However for the vast majority of us who are exercising for health and enjoyment or just trying to lose weight then there is no need to track them.

If you enjoy data and find that keeping track of macros helps you stay on track generally then of course go for it! If you have an interest in seeing how your body responds to different macro ratios then absolutely go ahead and track them. If however you’re trying to lose weight then you don’t actually need such a high degree of control over the details. Tracking calories itself can be enough of a challenge, and I’ve found if you then ask people to try to hit certain protein or carb ratios on top of that it can become too much. The amount of focus, concentration and planning required can mean it becomes unsustainable and ultimately leads to failure. It can also lead to burn out, disordered eating behaviour and severely limits social life and enjoyment. In addition the database in these tracking apps is often not accurate enough anyway to allow such a high degree of macro manipulation.

For most people, a balanced diet will be providing plenty of protein, carbs and fat and getting hung up on whether you’re hitting 50 percent or 45 percent protein or carbs etc is really meaningless. A focus on more protein based foods/snacks can help with feelings of fullness and therefore help prevent overeating but you can do that by simply choosing higher protein foods if you so wish.

So in short, don’t stress about the macros. Focus on hitting a calorie deficit and just ensure you’re eating a balanced diet including protein, fats and carbs, nutritious whole foods, fruits and veggies, and foods you also enjoy (even so called ‘junk’ foods).

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx