Tag: tuesdaytip

Tuesday Tip: Lose weight correctly, not quickly 👍🏻

Crash diets, cleanses, detoxes, 6 week challenges, or excessive amounts of exercise may well give you some fast results on the scale but these fast results will very quickly disappear just as fast. So if you want to lose some weight, and then put it back on again, time and time again then definitely go for these options … but if you want to lose some weight and maintain it longer term then perhaps it’s better to take a different approach?

It’s not flashy, and it’s not fast but it does have a far better long term success rate (and costs nothing!). It will definitely take longer than a few weeks, there will be times you’ll definitely feel like it isn’t working, you’ll want to give up, your weight will definitely fluctuate or even ‘plateau’ for a time… but… if you stick at it, if you’re consistent and you’re in it for the long haul I guarantee you can reach your goals- for life.

What is this miracle approach you say? Nothing exciting I’m afraid …

• Eat a moderate amount of calories (incorporate a moderate calorie deficit)
• Moderate your alcohol/ take away / meal out consumption (note – I’m saying moderate – don’t cut it out – just incorporate it within your calories)
• Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit
• Eat a balanced diet – some carbs, some protein, some fats
• Exercise for enjoyment – not to eat. So ignore any extra cals you burn exercising and don’t eat them back.
• Walk
• Get 6-8 hrs sleep
• Stay hydrated
• Find alternative stress relievers that don’t involve food or alcohol

That’s it! You don’t need to pay for some diet/challenge. It does require work and effort – but most things we want to achieve in life do? But if you’re willing to make the effort, and you’re patient and view it as a long term shift then you will reap the rewards!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: Lack of Energy and Nutrition 🏃🏼‍♀️

Very often people will tell me that they’re concerned about their lack of energy/fatigue and want to address their nutrition to fix it. First of all, your tiredness/fatigue is most likely NOT RELATED to nutrition in the majority of cases, but more likely due to lack of /poor sleep, stressful/busy/social lifestyle, and/or your mental health. BUT if you’ve removed these as potential causes, nutrition may be the last piece of the puzzle.

Here are some nutrition factors which may explain a lack of energy.

# Low-carb

Cutting carbs in order to lose weight is an excellent way to feel lacking in energy. Carbs are crucial for optimal human physical and mental performance. So start eating more carbs. If you need to remove some calories elsewhere to fit them in then try reducing some dietary fat/alcohol calories to do this.

# Poor hydration

Maybe you carry your water bottle around all day but do you actually drink from it? One of the side effects of inadequate hydration is fatigue and increased perceived difficulty of tasks. Set water reminders, have iced drinks (even coffee/tea) (cubes will melt), infuse your water, start a habit of having a glass of water with your cup of coffee, etc.

# Eating erratically

You’re no doubt busy and don’t have the luxury of set meal times every day. This can result in skipped meals, and long hours without eating. Obviously as long as you’re getting the right calories in the timing isn’t important from a weight loss perspective but if you’re going 5/6 hrs without eating, you’re likely going to experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hence low energy.

# Too few nutrients

Micronutrients like vitamins and minerals are also essential for optimal functioning, and one of their main roles is to act as cofactors in energy-producing reactions within the body. Not getting enough of these, through a variety of foods can contribute to deficiencies, which can directly induce fatigue. Don’t get too focused on the details just try and add as much variety to your diet as possible, take a multi-vitamin, have fruit or veg with most meals, and choose wholefoods when possible.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: Motivation vs habit 💪🏼

One of the most common things I hear clients say is that they’ve lost motivation or they just aren’t motivated. If they have a few

‘bad’ weeks it’s because they’ve lost motivation. The reality is that if you want to achieve your goals you need more than motivation. Motivation will always rise and fall. When life is busy or hard then your motivation may wane, when you’re unwell or stressed then motivation may wane and that’s normal. Motivation fluctuates, the key to still making progress when it does is habit.

Instead of focusing on being motivated , instead focus on the habits you need to employ in order to reach your goal. So when motivation is high then that’s the time to get those habits in place. Then when motivation wanes you will have the habits there already. Sticking to those habits will get that forward momentum going again.

Focus on the small habits that all contribute towards your goal. Whether it’s tracking your next meal, filling half your plate with veggies, hitting 1000 extra steps today etc.

Incorporate foods you enjoy! This has to be a long term lifestyle change – so cutting out foods you love won’t allow you to do that. Find ways to include the food and drink you love – just moderate the amounts and frequency if you need! As well as this be sure to choose exercise you enjoy! There is literally no point in trying to build exercise habits based on things you hate. You’ll never stick to it! Join a class, try swimming, focus on walking, or resistance training , or join a local sports club. You’re more likely to keep at it if you enjoy

what you’re doing.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Don’t exercise to earn food 🍫

With the recent Easter weekend there will undoubtedly be a lot of talk of exercising to ‘burn off’ those Easter eggs. In fact the media usually produces a list of activities and the equivalent amount of Easter chocolate it would burn. This is actually totally misguided and a really bad way to approach food and weight loss. Aside from the fact that it’s almost impossible to out exercise diet (mainly because we grossly over estimate the amount of calories we burn exercising) it’s also an extremely unhealthy relationship to foster between food and exercise.

If you are choosing to eat something you enjoy, that you want to eat and that fits into a balanced, flexible diet then eat it! You do not need to earn or burn your food with exercise. Food and exercise do not exist in an exchange-based system.

Choose exercise that you enjoy – if running isn’t your thing then walk, if you hate spin classes then try a different class etc. Eat to
nourish and fuel your body, it will then use that fuel as needed on a daily basis. So don’t skip lunch because you missed a workout that day or avoid dessert because you skipped the gym. Remember that your body still needs fuel to function – to fuel the brain, to fuel your muscles to get you from A to B, to fuel all your bodily functions. And remember that you won’t have actually burn as many calories exercising as you think anyway so it’s a futile effort.

So the next time you workout think to yourself – why am I exercising? Is it to feel good? Is it to relieve stress? Is it to move my body in a way that feels good? Or is it punishment or to earn/burn food?

Eat to fuel your body, and exercise because you enjoy it. In regards to that Easter chocolate you may have eaten – view it as fuel to help you workout IF you want to – not something you have to exercise to burn off!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: Reasons to eat Carbs 🥖

When trying to lose weight, thanks to diet culture out there on social media, people often feel they need to stop eating carbs. To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit – and yes of course, reducing carbs may well result in weight loss if it reduced your calories but you definitely don’t need to. In fact there are lots of reasons why you should be sure you are eating carbs.

If you enjoy bread, rice, potatoes, fruit, veg then cutting that out is not going to help you stick to lower calories or sustain that diet long term. Carbs really aren’t the devil and there’s nothing inherently fattening about them (many scientific studies support this).

It’s vital that you do eat carbs – for one they’re the main source of energy for the body – cutting them out will result in reduced energy and focus. They’re particularly important for brain function. Carb consumption helps promote better sleep, improve gut bacteria, and digestive tract health and they are only 4 calories per gram (compared to 9 calories per gram for fat). Possibly most importantly they taste good and the emotional impact of foods should never be underestimated.

So please, don’t cut carbs, you can lose weight and eat them!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx