Tag: detox

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Protein isn’t magic!

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Protein isn’t magic 🔮

I talked about carbs last week – the devil food 😉 so now I thought I’d touch on the supposed super star – protein. Eat more protein and you’ll lose weight – right? That’s the rhetoric out there isn’t it? Well I’m sorry but protein isn’t magic – I wish it was, but it just isn’t!

The idea that eating more protein will magically alter the laws of thermodynamics and make you lose weight regardless of how much you eat is just silly. There is a basic law of physics at play here – to lower fat content of the body (i.e. to lose weight), you have to reduce the calories consumed, or increase the calories burned – where these calories come from makes no actual difference. In fact it’s been clearly disproved in many studies – in one study from Columbia University they fed participants liquid meals of fixed calories, some with vastly more protein, some with more carbs, some with more fat – but all contained the exact calories required for the participants to maintain their weight. Guess what – they all maintained their weight… even those eating more protein…

Now that’s not to say protein isn’t super important and a useful factor to consider though. There’s no denying that higher protein foods tend to keep you fuller and more satisfied for longer (especially when combined with fats), and as I’ve mentioned before there is a small increase in the calories used to digest protein (very small and not enough to really influence overall weight loss), it’s also full of vital amino acids for muscle repair and building. If you’re a body builder and looking to put on large quantities of muscle in a short time then yes def prioritise protein (but you’ll be over eating anyway as your goal is muscle gain… not weight loss). If you struggle to stick to your calories because you’re always hungry then yes definitely consider upping your protein and fats a bit in your meals – but not at the complete sacrifice of carbs (otherwise you will crash and burn).

So there it is – yes protein is great, but no it isn’t magic! So no need to fret over it too much!

Happy Tuesday 🤗 xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Carbs are ok

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Carbs are ok 🥖🍞🥔

Carbs are the devil right? We all know someone that cut carbs and lost a stone in 4 weeks or whatever… so obviously carbs are bad?

There is so much conflicting, scientific sounding rhetoric out there blasting carbs – saying you shouldn’t eat them, or if you do eat them you should only eat them at certain times, or that cutting them will result in massive weight loss (well yeah if you cut any major food group out of your diet you’ll lose weight – you’re eating less!).

This is not actually true. The common argument is that carbs cause insulin to be released and to spike and therefore it’s bad because that insulin will somehow cause fat to be stored ….well sorry but all meals do this – and in fact some proteins cause a greater response than carbs! In addition those insulin level changes have no direct impact on weight gain or weight loss. You have to be eating more than you’re using to store fat.

Carbs are the body’s preferred fuel source – breaking them down to glucose, but if there are no carbs around the body simply breaks protein to glucose instead. This applies at any time – not just when you’re exercising- because we need glucose to function – both physically and mentally.

Does that mean that there is no point in eating more carbs at certain times and fewer at others? No – you can definitely choose to have more carbs when your body may need extra fuel eg when working out, or in the morning when you’ve not eaten all night. But it’s not black and white and you certainly don’t need to ONLY eat carbs at these times and you definitely shouldn’t be avoiding carbs altogether.

How many carbs you eat doesn’t determine your weight loss – it’s total number of calories eaten and calories expended that matter. Carbs are just one part of the equation that you can play around with to help you meet those goals. There’s no need to obsess over carbs – yes small tweaks may help and YOU may find it easier to only eat carbs in the morning, or whenever, but if you like carbs eat them – just manage your portion size.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Sweet sleep

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Sweet sleep 😴

Most people need more sleep. Too little sleep causes hormonal changes which influence appetite (and weight), mental alertness, motor function and the immune system. Better sleep improves recovery, and aids weight loss.  Here are a few science backed tips.

#1 Stick to a sleep schedule

Sleep is all about rhythm; a stable sleep schedule will help you get to sleep, sleep more soundly and wake refreshed. You need to figure out your chronotype (early riser, night owl etc) – there are online tests to help. Combine your chronotype with your lifestyle and come up with the best fit. Then stick to it – every day; not just week days, every single day (even holidays).

#2 No caffeine after 2pm

Caffeine still has 50% of its stimulant effect 6 – 8 hours after consumption; a 4pm coffee is still having a stimulant effect at 10pm. It disrupts melatonin production (the sleep regulating hormone). Even if you think you sleep fine after coffee, studies show less deep and REM sleep and far poorer quality. It’s not just coffee that contains caffeine – tea,chocolate, and energy drinks do too. Cut caffeine consumption gradually and replace with other options.

#3 No alcohol within 3 hrs of bedtime

Alcohol is a commonly used sleep aid, but it’s probably the worst!  It helps you fall asleep, but drastically reduces sleep quality and REM sleep. It causes restless, fragmented sleep and inhibits melatonin, messing with your bio clock. You’re more likely to wake frequently in the 2nd half of the night, not get back to sleep , and you will suffer fatigue, mental slowness, irritability and often sleep badly the following night. Ensure you have your last alcoholic drink over 3 hrs before bedtime so it can be metabolised.

# Here comes the sun

Five minutes of sun exposure in the morning resets your body’s bio clock and strengthens your natural sleep-wake cycle, regulating melatonin production. Morning sunlight exposure causes melatonin to drop so you feel alert and awake. If you can’t get outside exposure to bright light indoors works too.

Don’t let another night go by with rubbish sleep! Try these tips

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Bigger weights aren’t always better

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Bigger weights aren’t always better 🏋🏻‍♀️

If you want to get stronger and fitter you have to lift heavy weights in the gym, right? Wrong! Several recent studies have shown this isn’t the case at all. You may have seen mention of this on the TV last week, I’ve had a look into the study behind the story.

Recent studies in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that lifting light weights (30 -50% of 1 rep max) for more reps, was just as effective as lifting heavy weights (up to 75-90% of 1 max rep) for 8 – 10 reps both for increasing strength and muscle size. Participants took part in a 12 week program of total-body resistance training (leg press, bench press, shoulder press, leg extension, bicep curls) – half used light weights, half used heavy, all lifted until failure. After 12 weeks, both groups made equal gains in strength and size, except for the chest press, where in fact those lifting lighter weights showed greater gains! Muscle strength increased 25-30%, and both groups put an average of 2.4 pounds of lean muscle on. In addition, biopsies of the muscles showed there was no difference in the growth of muscle fibres in either group (type I and II).

If you want to get stronger then you need to increase your muscle mass (don’t confuse this with getting “bulky”) by activating as many muscle fibres as possible. Day to day activities use the type I fibres first. As demand on muscles increase (more reps, or more weight) you recruit type II fibres – which is what you want. Conventional wisdom states that you can ONLY recruit type II fibres by lifting big weights for fewer reps, but what these studies show is that you don’t need to do that. The key is lifting to fatigue – with whatever weight you choose.

Great news for anyone who wants to get fitter and leaner but doesn’t fancy lifting heavy weights in the gym. You CAN still get strong by doing things like body pump, or workouts with smaller weights IF you are reaching fatigue by the end of the set or track. Lift to the point of exhaustion and it doesn’t matter whether the weights are heavy or light.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Understanding Metabolism

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Understanding Metabolism🤓

Despite what you might think most of your daily calorie burn doesn’t come from gym workouts. Calorie burn is driven by your metabolism (converting food cals to energy for your body). Your metabolism determines the number of cals you need to maintain your weight.

Your calorie burn consists of:

#1 60-70% Basal metabolic rate – the cals you need at rest, to survive; breathing, digesting, filtering waste, nothing more. It varies with body size (bigger = higher bmr), composition (more muscle = higher bmr), age (younger = higher bmr), genetics, hormones (thyroid hormones) and health (ill = higher bmr).

#2 10% is from food thermogenesis (digesting food). Protein requires the most to digest. 0-3 percent of fat cals are used to digest it, 5-10 % for carbs and 20-30 % for protein. But as food thermogenesis only accounts for 10% of daily burn, eating more protein will only have a small effect on your metabolic rate.

#3 20% is from physical activity – walking, workouts, and day to day activities; typing, carrying heavy loads, standing, fidgeting, shopping, singing etc.

So if you aren’t seeing the results you want, but are tracking your food right, then maybe you’re overestimating your calorie burn? There’s lots of tips out there to boost metabolism e.g. eating more frequently, or not eating late at night etc but few have studies to back them up.

Some tips which are backed by science include:

# including strength training in your workouts. Boosting your muscle mass increases your BMR and burns more calories at rest. You don’t have to lift big weights – pump classes or body weight exercises are also effective.

# increase intensity in your workouts; short bursts of intense effort increase afterburn e.g. intervals when running, swimming or cycling, or doing workouts that naturally include it like hiit/ bodyattack/ circuits etc.

#3 Eat enough protein. You’re still only contributing a little extra burn, but by ensuring you have protein with every meal you will not only burn a little more digesting, but more importantly you’ll feels fuller for longer, and you’ll have amino acids to support muscle recovery and repair.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx