Tuesday Tip: Activity Tracker Caution ⌚️

Fitness trackers and smart watches are a brilliant tool to help get you moving, to track your activity and steps and to give you an idea of the intensity of your workout BUT they’re not a great tool for measuring calories burned.

The assumption is that these expensive watches are fairly accurate at measuring your calorie expenditure during exercise / daily life. The reality is most of these haven’t been tested at all and vary hugely in accuracy. A 2016 study found that whilst some trackers were only up to 8% out when sedentary they overestimated activity (including walking) by up to 40%. A further study in 2017 found some trackers overestimated exercise calorie expenditure by up to 93%!

I was reminded of this just this week. I had to replace my activity tracker and noticed the new one appeared to be suggesting I’d burned more calories than I usually would in various classes. So I did a direct comparison between the two and one measured between 50- 150 cals more than the other for each of my classes. That’s a significant difference!

This is why if you’re eating back your calorie burned from your tracker (or even just eating back half of them) you’re likely to be eating any calorie deficit you’ve accrued and may find you’re not losing weight/fat. So if you do have an activity tracker don’t use it to measure the calories you’ve burnt so you can go and eat them! You can however use them to measure your relative burn to see how ‘hard’ you’re working or how used to your workout you’re becoming by using it as a relative measure of effort

and by using the heart rate data. You can also them to measure steps (again accuracy varies a bit but they’re still great for seeing how active you are).

As I’ve said before – separate the exercise from the food side of things. Exercise for mental and physical well being, NOT to earn food.

Happy tracking! 🤗

xx

Tuesday Tip: Understanding Ageing Changes 👵🏻

Scientists have known for some time that ageing isn’t linear. As we age, our bodies undergo various changes that can spike at certain milestones. A recent study has identified two distinct phases – around ages 44 and 60.

The study assessed ageing at the molecular level (RNA, proteins, metabolites) and microbes (gut and skin bacteria). It found significant changes in metabolism at two ages – around 44 and 60.

For instance, at around 44 the ability to metabolize substances like caffeine and alcohol shows a marked downward shift. By age 60, there is also a shift in immune function, kidney health, and skin and muscle decline. These changes are accompanied by an increased risk of age-related diseases, including cardiovascular issues and diabetes.

The mid-40s spike in changes was initially thought to be driven by perimenopausal shifts in women, but the data revealed similar changes in men around the same age. This suggests that menopause may contribute, but other factors likely influence these changes for both genders.

Does this mean we’re doomed to accept these declines? Well yes and no. You can’t reverse the process but you can do some things to help mitigate the impact. The study revealed the importance of physical activity and exercise to help mitigate some of these changes in muscle function and metabolism. Also with the decline in the ability to process caffeine and alcohol it might be wise to reduce consumption as we age. Managing stress is also beneficial and as always focusing on a balanced diet rich in nutrients is vital.

It’s also important to recognise these changes impact men and women and whilst many may also experience symptoms of peri menopause/menopause some of these changes are merely a result of the ageing process for everyone.

Understanding the ageing process empowers you to maintain your well-being as you navigate these significant life stages. Rather than worrying about these changes, embrace proactive health measures.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Weekend woes 😬

This is an extremely common pattern I see in my clients, and myself. Weekdays are often “ok” calorie wise or even good, and then weekends it goes a bit off track. A common pattern is as follows:

• Super restrictive eating during the week (1200 cals or below)
• Cutting out everything you ‘enjoy’ to meet those low calories
• Resulting in low energy, fatigue, hunger, cravings and resentment.
• Ineffective workouts as energy levels are low
  Then the weekend hits:
• Willpower is low and because you’ve been ‘good’ all week you indulge without restraint
• Brunches, take aways, meals out, drinks, food-centred social events etc tend to occur and you don’t bother calorie counting.
• You also snack on everything you’ve been craving all week.
• End result – massively over your calories over those 1-3 days
• This pushes your weekly calorie average up and halts progress
• You wake up on Monday feeling rubbish, like a failure and end up being more restrictive the following week.
• And it continues….

How do you resolve this?
For starters view your week as a whole and consider the average calories over the whole week. Avoid being too restrictive on weekdays but recognise you’ll want more calories in your budget to spend at the weekend. So save some calories on weekdays (100-150 per day). You’ll head into the weekend feeling less miserable and better able to exercise some control. Plan the weekends – reduce some of the indulgences but factor in some of the things you enjoy. Plan ahead for restaurant meals, drinks etc using those extra calories you’ve saved.

So it’s two pronged – eat a little more during the week, eat a little less at the weekends. Track your weekends rather than viewing them as a free pass. Consistency is key!

Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx