Tag: fitnesstip

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: Burn baby burn

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: Burn baby burn 🏃🏼‍♀️

I’ve said before that calories count so as well as knowing how many you’re consuming it’s important to know how many you’re expending too. Many gym machines estimate calories burned, but sadly they aren’t always accurate. In fact, many inflate the number of calories you burn. They usually only take into account your weight and age, and some don’t even do that!

A study from the University of California found that machines like treadmills, spin bikes, elliptical trainers etc over estimate by 13 – 42 percent

So how much are you actually burning? Actual burn varies with height, gender, age, body composition and fitness so the figures below are still estimates, but they’re based on a recent Harvard study which measured averages from a broad selection of people. They concluded that the cardio exercises that burnt the most included spinning, swimming, circuit training, treadmill running and vigorous weight lifting

# Stationary biking / spinning

Moderate cycling on a stationary bike burns approx 210–311 calories per 30 mins. An intense 30 min spin class burns 315–466.

# Swimming

This is far better than you’d expect -burning 300–444 calories per 30-mins. It’s a great cardiovascular exercise and easy on your joints.

# Circuit training

A combo of intense cardio and resistance training like circuits, hiit, or even attack/grit classes will burn 240–355 cals per 30 mins.

# Treadmill running

Running at a 12 min mile pace will burn 270 – 380 cals per 30 mins. Adding an incline will increase this. Even better, try some intervals to burn even more and give you an after burn too.

# Vigorous weight lifting

You’ll burn 90–133 cals per 30 mins, but remember the more muscle you build, the more energy your body burns at rest. So despite the lower burn during it you should still include it!

These are only averages – more accurate than the numbers on the machine – but not necessarily correct for you. So take your exercise calories burn with a pinch of salt, treat it as a bonus and try not to ‘eat back’ all of them!

Happy working out! 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: Perfect Pineapple

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: Perfect Pineapple 🍍

Last week I talked about beating sugar cravings by increasing fruit intake (amongst other things) and an ideal fruit to have is pineapple! It’s one of my fave fruits and here’s why!

# 1 Guilt-free – it’s low calories, fat free and low in sodium with only 82 cals per serving. It’s a great sweet snack to curb those cravings

# 2 Boost immunity – pineapple contains half your daily recommended dose of vitamin C. This boosts your immune system, prevents heart disease and joint pains and helps prevent colds and flu.

# 3 Bone strength – pineapples contain 75% of the daily recommended dose of manganese, an essential mineral for developing strong bones and connective tissue. Recent studies suggest it also prevents osteoporosis in post-menopausal women, so even more reason to enjoy it.

# 4 Eye Health – pineapples help reduce the risk of macular degeneration, a disease that affects the eyes as people age. It’s a great source of beta-carotene for eye health too.

# 5 Gut health – pineapples are rich in fibre which is essential for intestinal health and linked to reduced risk of colon and bowel cancer and reduces constipation.

# 6 Respiratory health – pineapples contain enzymes called bromelain, which have strong anti-inflammatory properties. They help ease respiratory issues such as asthma, allergies and coughs. They also have mucolytic properties to break up and expel mucus.

# 7 General inflammation – those same bromelains have an anti-inflammatory effect on the rest of the body too – helping with muscle recovery and joint protection

So eat it as it is, throw it in a smoothie? Or grill it for a delicious carameliased dessert but get snacking on some pineapple this week!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Combat sugar cravings

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Combat sugar cravings 🍬

Reducing sugar has loads of health benefits: boosting the immune system, improving mood and helping reduce calorie intake. But it’s hard to cut back and beat the cravings for sweet things. So after Easter (and no doubt a lot of sugar!) I thought I’d offer tips to combat those cravings.

#1 Regular meals – have balanced meals spread throughout the day to avoid getting overly hungry and reaching for a sugar fix. Ensure meals have a combination of protein, fats and fibre to keep you satisfied.

#2 Sleep – I’ve talked before about how important sleep is. Less sleep means more hunger hormone ghrelin is produced, so you’re likely to eat more. If you’re not getting enough sleep you’re also likely to reach for a sugar high to get you through your day.

#3 Boost natural sugars – try to up your intake of fruits and sweet vegetables early in the day to combat later cravings. Try berries, applies, sweet potato, beetroot etc, but eat them rather than drink their juice. It’s the fibre in them that helps to slow sugar absorption, thereby avoiding the sugar high and subsequent crash.

#4 Boost gut bacteria – recent research shows that gut bacteria affects which foods you crave. Fermented foods like yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi etc actually reduce sugar cravings. They contain probiotics which supplement “good” bacteria in your gut and help them multiply.

#5 Eat Bitter foods – this is a toughie but bitterness counteracts sweet cravings. When you’re dying for something sweet if you can have something bitter instead it will reduce your craving. Things like grapefruit, rocket, radicchio, radishes and kale are good (try kale “crisps” as an easy snack option). Also after eating bitter food sweet foods taste even sweeter which means you can satisfy the craving with less sugar. So something like an apple will satisfy you when usually it wouldn’t.

Your taste buds regenerate every 3 weeks or so, so the longer you reduce your sugar intake and consume more bitter foods, the fewer sweet-craving taste buds you’ll have left making it easier in the long term.

So time to pair all that left over choc with a nice bowl of kale!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: To snack or not to snack?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: To snack or not to snack? 🍪

To snack or not to snack .. that’s the question! Conventional diet wisdom promotes regular snacks as an aid to weight loss, however the evidence is mixed.

Pro snacking – when there’s a large gap between meals, your blood sugar drops making you tired, and likely to over eat later. So regular small snacks in between meals will stabilise blood sugar and prevent this. Research shows that this can help people lose fat, particularly those with type-2 diabetes. In this context high protein and fibre and low carb snacks are best. Snacking can also help people who struggle with portion control as it prevents you getting overly hungry and bingeing.

Anti-snacking – whilst snacking can help some people, studies show inconsistent results and it can derail your fat loss. The more you eat the more your insulin levels fluctuate; this rollercoaster can cause cravings and fat storage. To avoid this increase fibre and protein in meals to smooth out the insulin curve and keep you full for longer. Although internet experts often recommend 5-6 meals a day to “keep your metabolism running” research doesn’t support this. Instead of controlling appetite several studies show that snacking can have the reverse effect by causing people to eat more, rather than less. Plus it’s good to feel hungry; you shouldn’t graze all day. The key is a little hunger, but not too much.

Everyone is unique and the desire and need to snack are influenced by age, emotions, activity, main meals etc so you have to work out what’s best for you. Experiment; if you always snack twice a day, try reducing it, and vice versa and see how you feel with different eating patterns, often we eat the way we do out of habit.

So ignore the hype; to snack or not to snack is up to you; your goals, work schedule, food preferences etc and it’s not a requirement for weight loss. But it can be a helpful strategy when used appropriately. One good approach is strategic snacking at around 3/4pm to help stave off evening hunger, and there is some scientific evidence to suggest a plan of three balanced meals and one snack works well for weight loss.

Happy snacking! 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Less Sleep More Fat

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Less Sleep More Fat 😴

There’s lots of evidence now about the link between sleep and weight. Getting less than 7-8 hrs sleep a night is linked to higher BMI. A 2015 study showed that losing just 30 mins sleep can lead to weight gain and increased risk of obesity by 17% and insulin resistance by 39 % and this multiplies for every further 30 mins lost.

A university of Colorado study found that lack of sleep was linked to food choices and meal patterns. Those with less sleep ate more, but also chose food higher in fat and carbs, ate smaller breakfasts but were more likely to snack after dinner. Another study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that lack of sleep resulted in participants eating an average of 300 extra calories per day (and mostly saturated fats). This is due to the impact sleep has on the hormones that regulate hunger and fullness – ghrelin and leptin.

Ghrelin tells your brain you’re hungry – less sleep means more of this is produced. Leptin, tells your brain you’re full – lack of sleep causes this to drop. So you feel more hungry and less full – meaning you’re likely to eat more. Cortisol levels also increase which cause the body to conserve energy and store fat.

I’ve talked about ways to improve sleep before but key things are reducing exposure to light and electronic devices an hour before sleep, increasing exercise in the day, cutting out caffeine (after 2pm) and alcohol (3 – 4 hr’s before bed) and sticking to a regular sleep schedule of bedtime and waking.

Sweet dreams!

Happy Tuesday 🤗 xx