mindset – Every Step Fitness

Tuesday Tip: Attentive Eating

March 23, 2021 Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Attentive Eating 😋

Although calories are the overall determinant of weight loss/gain there are many factors which influence how likely you are to stick to your calories. One such issue is distracted eating. Distracted eating is becoming increasingly common due to today’s increasing reliance on electronic devices etc. Attentive eating is essentially removing distractions whilst eating, and monitoring the true amount of food being consumed. This allows you to more accurately remember how much you’ve already eaten which can help reduce over eating for the rest of the day. It helps you to focus on what you actually need food-wise , rather than relying on external cues like plate size, packet size etc.

A recent review of 10 studies showed a significant increase in the amount of food consumed when distracted e.g. by TV, mobile phones etc. I’m sure we’re all aware of times when we’ve been focused on our phones or the TV and not even noticed the plate of food we’ve just inhaled! The studies also showed that there was also an impact on meals later in the day. So those who were distracted would then go on to eat more in subsequent meals. This is related to the working memory of what you’ve eaten. If you’re distracted then the memory of what you’ve eaten is distorted (you remember eating less than you did which results in eating more later). A simple study tested this by asking participants to recall what they’d eaten in their last meal before eating an afternoon snack. Recalling previous meals led to participants eating less, compared to those that recalled non-food related memories.

So what does this mean for us? Distraction definitely increases the amount of food consumed both at that time, and later on in the day, and impacts on your memory of what you’ve already eaten that day. So removing visual distractions and eating attentively will help reduce the chance of over eating. Actively considering what you’ve already eaten that day before you eat the next snack/meal also helps. In terms of the practicalities of doing this this is yet another reason why tracking your food can really help you to stick to your calorie goal.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Emotional Wellbeing

August 25, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Emotional Wellbeing 💜

With the final bank holiday coming up many people are having a final “break” away. Holidays are a time to relax, switch off and enjoy time with family and friends. Whilst they’re often a physical rest, they should also be an emotional rest. Even if you’re not getting away and just having a holiday at home, this is still an opportunity to make your holiday time count emotionally as well as physically.

#1 Give yourself permission to rest

Rather than planning loads of activities actually allow yourself time to rest, even if that’s hard with children or family. You might have to be pretty strict and plan “down” times.

#2 Figure out what you need

If you are feeling drained or exhausted, it’s a signal to take time for recovery. The common misconception is that recovery has to be passive e.g. lying on a sofa. Physical rest is important but so are things such as hiking, being outside in nature, gardening, socialising etc. Your usual day job will affect this; if you read a lot in your job, you might find that sitting and reading is not what you want to do, but exercise and getting outdoors could work better for you.

# 3 Be present

Simple things you can do include putting away your phone, turning off your computer and making sure you have out-of-office replies to work emails to help stay present. If you find your thoughts drifting to things that cause you stress then try to shift the focus back to what or who you want to focus on.

# 4 Set aside social time

Connection and social relationships are critical to promoting wellbeing. Spending meaningful time with friends and family is a great way to improve your emotional health. Create opportunities for quality time together such as cooking and eating together and playing games.

#5 Make memories

Lasting memories are created when we engage our senses. This is often easier on holiday as all our senses are triggered when we experience something new. Trying something new or getting creative, with friends and family is a fun way to strengthen connections and gain a sense of accomplishment. It can also make you feel more motivated to get back to work after it.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Fitness and Exercise

All 20 Ten Min Bodyweight workouts (pdfs and full playlist)

August 9, 2020November 5, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Here are all 20 of the pdfs of the ten minute bodyweight workouts below and the link to all the videos on YouTube (click on the 1/20 to move through all workouts) or go to the main page and the playlist is there (https://youtube.com/user/ukphd)

Ten exercises, ten mins in total and no equipment required – just yourself, a watch/iphone to time it, and a mat if you want one for your knees/hands.

If you have more time then you can always do it twice or three times, if you don’t have ten mins then just do half! Get everyone involved! 🙂

Bodyweight Circuit 10

Bodyweight Circuit 11

Bodyweight Circuit 12

Bodyweight Circuit 13

Bodyweight Circuit 14

bodyweight circuit 15

Bodyweight 16

Bodyweight Circuit 17

Bodyweight Circuit 18

Bodyweight Circuit 19

Bodyweight Circuit 20

Have fun! 🙂

Fitness and Exercise

Bodyweight workout number 20!

July 29, 2020July 30, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Workout 20!

This marks the 20th of my ten minute workouts – that’s 200 mins if you fancy doing them all together (any takers? nope – thought not lol!). With the gyms now all open or about to open this seems like a fitting time to make this the last one – and it’s a nice round number!

So we finish with a few faves – seagulls (fast feet), basket ball shots, burpees!! What more could you want?

Ten exercises, ten mins in total and no equipment required – just yourself, a watch/iphone to time it, and a mat if you want one for your knees/hands.

If you have more time then you can always do it twice or three times, if you don’t have ten mins then just do half! Get everyone involved! 🙂

If you want to do it “with me” then the video is below.

Or you can use the pics below or download a pdf of the workout here: Bodyweight Circuit 20

Have fun! 🙂

Fitness and Exercise

Bodyweight workout number 19!

July 22, 2020July 23, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Workout 19!

Shuffling into the workout today! Then off for some skiing… (very appropriate at this time of year…)

Ten exercises, ten mins in total and no equipment required – just yourself, a watch/iphone to time it, and a mat if you want one for your knees/hands.

If you have more time then you can always do it twice or three times, if you don’t have ten mins then just do half! Get everyone involved! 🙂

If you want to do it “with me” then the video is below.

Or you can use the pics below or download a pdf of the workout here: Bodyweight Circuit 19

Have fun! 🙂

Ps. If you missed the previous workouts they’re here: Bodyweight Circuit 18, Bodyweight Circuit 17, Bodyweight Circuit 16, Bodyweight Circuit 15, Bodyweight Circuit 14, Bodyweight Circuit 13, Bodyweight Circuit 12, Bodyweight Circuit 11, Bodyweight Circuit 10, Bodyweight Circuit 9, Bodyweight circuit 8, Bodyweight Circuit 7 Bodyweight Circuit 6 , Bodyweight Circuit 5, Bodyweight Circuit 4, Bodyweight Circuit 3, Bodyweight circuit 2 and my first one is here (Bodyweight circuit 1)