Tuesday Tip: Turmeric Benefits🌿

Turmeric is one of those “wonder spice” ingredients that gets talked about as if it can fix everything — inflammation, joints, brain health, heart health, fat loss… the lot. As always, the truth is a bit more complex.

The main active compound in turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin appears to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and has been studied for joint pain, arthritis, metabolic health and brain ageing. The best evidence is around reducing joint pain and inflammation, particularly for arthritis, ageing joints, or those of us who are active and put our joints through a lot.

The key is the dosage. Most studies looking at general wellbeing use around 500–1,000mg of curcumin extract per day, and for joint pain/inflammation often around 500–1,200mg per day. One teaspoon of turmeric powder contains roughly 200mg of curcumin, so you’d need quite a lot to get close to study levels.

Absorption is another issue. Curcumin isn’t absorbed well on its own, so it’s usually taken with black pepper extract — piperine — or with a meal containing fat. In studies, an effective combination is often around 500mg curcumin plus 20mg piperine daily.

So should you use it? As a food — absolutely, if you like it. Add it to curries, soups, eggs, roasted veg, rice, lentils, marinades etc. Pair it with black pepper and some fat to help absorption. It’s colourful and tasty, but it’s not a magic cure and it’s not replacing sleep, exercise, protein, fibre, fruit/veg or prescribed medication.

It can be tricky however to hit the useful dose without huge quantities of raw turmeric. So that is where supplements may come in – particularly if you suffer from joint issues. But many products don’t contain the required amount. If you choose one, check the curcumin dose and whether it contains piperine or another absorption aid.

As always do check with your GP if you have any other regular medications / conditions too before you start taking it.

So in summary, turmeric in food is a lovely spice but not a cure all. A good curcumin supplement may help joint pain/inflammation, but choose carefully.

Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx

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.

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: Portion Control 🥗

Portion control is super important for healthy eating and long term, sustainable fat loss but it’s one of the hardest things to master. Here are a few tips to help you naturally control portion sizes and develop healthy habits.

1 Aim for 50/25/25

Start by filling your plate half full of veg or salad, then a quarter with protein and the remainder with whatever starchy veg or carb you’re having (potato, rice, squash etc).

2 Set aside leftovers

If you plan to eat some for lunch tomorrow etc then set it aside at the start rather than after – that way you won’t be tempted to keep picking after you’ve eaten your portion.

3 Share

When you’re out at restaurants or cafes consider sharing with whoever you’re with. Portions are usually massive at restaurants so it can easily feed two, especially with things like potatoes or chips.

4 Smaller plates

Lots of studies have shown that eating from smaller plates leads to less calories being consumed (even when subjects are allowed to top up the plates). So choose side plates and small bowls to trick yourself into eating less. We’re conditioned to clear our plates, even when we’re already full, so this way you can clear your plate and not over eat.

5 Take a whiff

As well as our eyes our noses are heavily linked to feelings of satiety. Take time to smell the food you’re about to eat – breathe in the scent and savour it. Studies have shown this helps to limit the number of calories consumed by tricking your brain in to thinking you are more full than you are.

6 Don’t eat from the bag

Put your food or snacks out on a plate before eating then, rather than eating from the bag. Visually seeing your what you’re eating sends a message to the brain about the quantity you’re consuming and leads to less likelihood of overeating.

7 Put away distractions

When you’re eating focus on eating. If you’re distracted by TV, phones, etc then studies have shown you’re likely to over eat. Pay attention to what’s going into your mouth and you’ll be better able to recognise when you’re full and stop before you overeat.

Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx

Tuesday Tip: Average Calories 📊

You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight but that doesn’t mean you need to be in a calorie deficit every single day. This is where people often get confused and struggle. It’s averages over weeks and months that count.

If you’ve determined that you need to eat 1700 cals per day to give you a deficit to lose weight most people assume that means they have to have 1700 every single day to get results. But of course it doesn’t work like that – in reality you just need to average 1700 cals per day. Some days you could eat more calories, and some days you could eat fewer, but if you’re averaging 1700 cals by the end of the week, you’ll be on track.
E.g.
Monday – 1700 calories
Tuesday – 2200 calories
Wednesday – 1400 calories
Thursday – 1700 calories
Friday – 1500 calories
Saturday – 2000 calories
Sunday – 1500 calories

Weekly Average – 1714 cals (basically on target)

Now, let’s say that you hit 1700 cals every day for a week, but then you have a day where you have a bit of a blow out at the weekend.
Monday – 1700 calories
Tuesday – 1700 calories
Wednesday – 1700 calories
Thursday – 1700 calories
Friday – 1700 calories
Saturday – 2600 calories
Sunday – 1700 calories

Weekly Average – 1828 calories.

So yes in that second example you’ve gone over but your weekly average is still not far off the deficit goal and long term that small amount of extra cals won’t stop progress. So many people will have a bad day and think they destroyed their progress for an entire week, but that’s not the case. You’d have to have that blow out Friday, Saturday and Sunday to have any meaningful impact.

You will have days where you go over your calories – intentionally or unintentionally. When that happens, don’t panic and think f*ck it and then ruin the next few days. Just put it behind you and, most importantly, get back on track the next day. Do that, and you’ll still be moving in the right direction.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: Watch the weekends 🥂

If you’re trying to lose bodyfat then consistency is key; a consistent calorie deficit over weeks/months to see a sustainable change.

Often we are great at achieving a calorie deficit during the week but weekends signal downtime, changes in routine and relaxation – which means relaxing on the food side of things too; allowing yourself what you want, or just not being mindful about tracking.

It’s very easy to blow your calorie deficit in one night, even when you think you’re being good. You’re out to dinner, but you’re going to be ‘good’; you have a small healthy starter, for main you go for the fish, with veg and you only have a little potato – fine right? But you have a few of your friend’s chips, and a few mouthfuls of your other friend’s dish.. oh and a few olives (but you didn’t have the garlic bread so that’s good)… and only one glass of prosecco… so that’s good? There is NOTHING wrong with any of that. BUT if you’re convincing yourself that you’re only a little over your cals and you’re not bothering to even try to track it because you don’t know where to start then you’re in for a bit of a surprise. In reality you’ve just clocked up over 1300 cals on a ‘good’ meal and BOOM you’ve just eaten or drunk away your deficit from the whole week.

The choice is yours, but the only way you can make that choice is by acknowledging what you’re consuming over the weekends and by continuing to log. You want to aim for an average deficit over the entire week so you need to know what you’re doing at the weekends.

So here are a few tips to help.

– Check the menu in advance and decide what you want

– Estimate the cals in your meal (using similar foods and then add a little extra for oil/butter etc)

– Don’t dip in to others’ plates

– Have slightly smaller breakfasts/lunches the day before and after to buffer the meal out

– Remember those foods will all be there once you reach your goal so decide what matters most to you now – if it’s the meal then just have what you want and enjoy it, but log it so you can see where the extra calories are coming in. If it’s reaching your goal then consider pulling back a bit.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx