Tag: getactive

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Burning fat or just burning cash?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Burning fat or just burning cash? 🔥

Fat burners – you’ve seen them on social media, you know people taking them, you may even have taken them yourself. But do they work and are they worth the money?

Fat burners are combinations of food based natural or chemical products which claim to burn fat/increase metabolism. Common ingredients include caffeine, green tea extract, green coffee extract, ginseng, pepper, capsicum etc. More dangerous ingredients include bitter orange, yohimbine, garcinia etc (linked to risk of stroke, heart attack). They claim to increase fat oxidation, induce thermogenesis, affect fat burning hormones/enzymes, etc. In reality they do none of that.

There is limited evidence that SOME fat burners may help reduce hunger (for people in bodybuilding competition prep where calories are unsustainably low), though they’re linked to gastrointestinal distress so not a great option. They usually contain caffeine so provide a stimulant effect but a study in the journal “PLoS one” found that coffee has exactly the same effect on exercise performance and endurance (i.e. an instant coffee an hour before you workout).

They increase metabolism slightly, in the short term (increasing heart rate) but in terms of increasing BMR i.e. calorie burn at rest, which is what is needed to burn more calories (and hence fat), the effect is negligible. A 2017 study found an increase of 65 cals in BMR. This is a tiny increase over the day and won’t lead to increased fat loss. Green tea extract has been shown to increase fat oxidation (i.e. fat burnt by the body) BUT this only leads to fat loss IF you are in a calorie deficit, as fat stores are simply restored the moment you eat. Another study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found no difference over 6 weeks between fat burners and a placebo in fat loss (or muscle mass).

Bottom line – if someone is selling you fat burners stop, think and reconsider. Aside from the potential health risks, you’re throwing money down the drain. Make yourself a coffee or green tea and enjoy the same effects with less risk for less money.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: why you’re not losing fat

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: why you’re not losing fat 😆

Sometimes we feel like we’re doing everything right but we just don’t seem to be losing fat. In my experience it comes down to 4 main reasons.

# You’re not aware of what you eat

Are you tracking your food? If not then how do you know if you are over eating or not? Studies show that people underestimate the number of cals they think they’re eating. Easy solution – track what you eat, weigh your portions, add up those calories.

# You’re less active than you think

Studies also show we usually over estimate cals burnt and how active we are. Even if you’re working out every day you may not be as active as you think if you spend the rest of the day sat down. NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) is vital – it’s the cals burnt through every day life (fidgeting, walking, cleaning, etc). If this is low then you’re probably not as active as you think you are. The solution – get an activity tracker and measure your steps to see how active you actually are. Also don’t be tempted to eat those calories back – even the trackers over estimate the cals burnt, so treat them as bonus cals rather than something to eat back.

# You’re sleeping badly and/or stressed

Lack of sleep and stress in themselves won’t make you gain weight, but they impact on your cal requirement, energy levels, hormone production, and ability to make good choices. If you’re tired you’re likely to crave sugar etc. So get to bed in good time, turn off your devices etc, try to reduce stress, look for alternative ways to cope (adult colouring books, have a bath, walk etc).

# You’re not consistent

Consistency is key. It’s not about perfection, there will always be blips etc. Being 100% only 40% of the time won’t get you results, but being 80% compliant 100% of the time will. You may have the odd bad meal etc but if you don’t let it derail you you’ll get to your goal. e.g. if you end up having a pizza as there’s no low cal options you could write off the whole day and over eat, or you could enjoy a slice of pizza, and eat normally the next day…Focus on nutrition, be as consistent as you can, track and stick to the plan whenever you can.

Happy Tuesday 🤗 xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Boost your metabolism

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Boost your metabolism 🙌🏼

We’ve all seen products which claim to boost your metabolism and whilst things like caffeine, Green tea, black pepper do increase metabolism it’s only short term. There are however a few other things you can do to maximise longer term metabolic benefits

# sleep cool

A recent study found that participants who slept in cool bedrooms (<18 C) doubled their amount of brown adipose tissue (tissue that actually burns cals). More brown fat means an increased BMR all day.

# Eat carbs

During exercise your muscles use stored glycogen. If you don’t consume enough carbs glycogen levels will be low and you won’t have the energy to exercise as intensely and you’ll burn fewer calories during and post-exercise. So include carbs with every meal.

# Slow weights

Weights based workouts are essential for building lean muscle and increasing bmr but if you’re rushing the reps you’re missing the benefits. It’s important to be slow and steady in the eccentric phase (lowering) as well as the lifting. Eccentric movements are more muscularly damaging and require more cals to repair. Studies have shown an increased fat burning of 5-9% just by focusing on the eccentric phase.

# Eat fat

Eat fatty foods particularly polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g. walnuts, sunflower seeds and oil, fish etc). These enhance the activity of genes that control fat burning. Just be aware they are calorie dense so have a small portion.

# Hiit it

Include high intensity interval training in your workouts rather than just steady state cardio. Studies show increased fat loss due to greater post exercise oxygen consumption ie greater post workout calorie burn

# Get salty

Include table salt (which contains iodine) in your meals (or iodine rich foods such as seaweed, shrimp, cod and eggs). Iodine is essential for the thyroid gland which modulates metabolism. You only need 1/2 tsp salt per day.

# Hello sunshine

Exposure to daylight is linked to lower BMI. It regulates your circadian rhythm, controlling your sleep, how much food you consume, how much energy you burn—all essential components of a healthy metabolic rate. So get outside!

Happy Tuesday 🤗 xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Calorie tracking 101

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Calorie tracking 101 📝

When people tell me “calorie counting doesn’t work for me” I’m a bit skeptical… why? because the ONLY way to lose weight/bodyfat is through a calorie deficit. So if you’re counting your calories and not losing fat then something is going wrong somewhere – and unfortunately that’s usually human error.

The most common problems are either not tracking consistently (or not doing it for long enough to see an actual result) or not tracking accurately. Consistency is fairly self explanatory – you’re either being consistent or you’re not – and if you’re not well then you know exactly how to change that. The accuracy though is slightly trickier.

It’s actually very easy to make errors in tracking calories. Now for things like fruit and vegetables if you’re estimating cals then it’s no big deal. But for foods like nuts, seeds, oil, avocado, hummus – and other high cal food then small errors can impact massively on your calorie intake.

So if you’re trying to count calories then it’s really vital you are weighing and measuring your food – using digital scales. As well as ensuring you’re eating as much as you think you are, it will also help you learn what portion sizes actually look like which means when you HAVE to guess you’ll be much better at it.

Do you have to weigh your food forever? Not if you don’t want to. You’ll get to the point where you don’t need to. I don’t anymore – but every now and then I go back and recheck my portions to make sure they’re still what I think they are. But if you’re trying to lose fat sustainably with a modest deficit each day then I’d definitely recommend you weigh as much as poss.

Happy Tuesday 🤗 xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Take Twenty mins

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Take Twenty mins ⏰

I know it’s hard to fit everything in and perhaps spending hours at the gym or meal prepping isn’t possible, but in just 20 mins you could still do something positive towards your goals.

#1 Go for a walk

Take a 20 min walk, either after lunch or as an afternoon or morning break. It will burn some calories, get you some fresh air (and maybe vitamin D if the sun is out), energise you and get any food you’ve eaten moving through your system. It helps to lower blood sugar levels and appetite, and reduce cravings. 

#2 Prep something

So you may not have time to make a full meal but prep things you can; prep veg for later, or boil up a batch of grain/potatoes etc for the rest of the week, make a big salad, roast veggies, or cook some fish or chicken fillets. Then later all you need to do is add dressings/herbs/ spices and reheat. So no excuse to reach for the takeaway if you’re back late.

#3 Do a workout

You don’t need to go to the gym to workout. Try a short hiit workout at home or work. This can be anything from combinations of things like squats, lunges, pushups etc, to more intense moves like burpees, jump lunges, jacks etc or just a bout of skipping?  Or even a short jog or some intervals (2 min jog, 1 min walk for the 20 mins) – something is better than nothing right! 

#4 Plan

Spend 20 mins and plan your meals for the week, schedule in your workouts, or write your shopping list – if you have a plan you’re far more likely to stick to it.

#5 Take time out

Take 20 mins and do something totally different, for you; read a book, sit in the sunshine, have a cuppa, catch up with a friend. These things are just as important as the food and exercise when it comes to sticking to your plan.

#6 Sort your cupboard/drawer

There’s something really cathartic about organising isn’t there? So sort through a food cupboard, bin the out of date stuff, pull things to the front that have been forgotten at the back, sort your tupperware etc You’ll feel much more positive about eating healthily if everything is easy to find and plus you might find some ideas for meals that you’d forgotten. 

Happy Tuesday 🤗 xx