Tag: tuesdaytip

Tuesday Tip: How to be healthy 🥗

The health and wellness industry loves to sell you the idea that to be healthy you need cold plunges,infrared light, expensive trackers, trendy supplements etc . But the truth? You only need to nail a few basics to cover most of your health and fitness needs.

# Reduce bodyfat and build muscle

Too much body fat raises health risks, but you don’t need to be shredded. Research shows the lowest mortality risk is around 20- 22% body fat for men and 25-30% for women, which is quite attainable. Also vital is building and keeping muscle as it supports metabolic health and helps prevent age-related weakness.

# Move more
Sitting for 10+ hours a day can raise your risk of death by up to 192%. Even light movement, walking, household chores etc adds up. Around 7–9000 steps a day is a great target but it depends what your baseline is – something beats nothing.

# Eat mostly well
Eat a balanced diet including protein, carbs, fruit/veg and plenty of whole foods. Include healthy fats and enough fibre too (around 14g per 1000 calories). It’s fine to have sugar/junk food – just have it in moderation.

# Don’t overdo the booze
The idea that a little alcohol is healthy is false. Health risks rise with ANY consumption of alcohol. It’s one of the few actual carcinogens (cancer causing) foodstuffs. The less, the better.

# Prioritise sleep—especially regular sleep
Short sleep is linked to higher health risks, but this is often also linked to high stress and poor diet it’s hard to tease apart the biggest risks. Regular exercise can offset some harm of short sleep. Sleep regularity (consistent wake/bed times) may be more important than total hours.

You don’t need a magic hack to be healthy. Move your body, lift some weights, eat sensibly, keep alcohol low, and get consistent sleep. Do that, and you can safely ignore 90% of the wellness info online.

Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx

Tuesday Tip: Walking in Weighted Vests 🏋️‍♂️

Another month another social media fad – walking in weighted vests are the latest thing fitness influencers claim are essential. Now whilst a weighted vest can make a walk feel a bit tougher, it’s not the muscle-building, fat-burning, bone-strengthening miracle some influencers make it out to be.

Let’s look at the claims. It claims to effectively build muscle. Wearing a vest doesn’t come close to traditional resistance training. It might offer a slight challenge for beginners, but for real gains, you need proper lifting with progressive overload. Could you do squats, lunges, and jumps with a vest – yes sure but it won’t help with moves like deadlifts, presses, and rows etc.

They claim it improves bone density, however studies show that even when worn for over 7 hours a day, the impact on bone density is minimal. Exercise itself is the real driver behind stronger bones.

What about increasing fat loss? Wearing a weighted vest might increase calorie burn slightly (about 1 extra calorie per minute while running with 10% bodyweight), but to see any meaningful fat loss effect, you’d m need to wear it for 8+ hours a day, which also increases the risk of back pain and injury. That’s a steep trade, off for a tiny reward.

So in short

⁃ Walking with a weighted vest is not a fat loss hack

⁃ It won’t build muscle or strengthen bones on its own

⁃ It can add variety or intensity to your walks or bodyweight workouts for some exercises.

If wearing one makes your walk more enjoyable, go for it! All movement is good movement. But if your goal is meaningful fat loss or strength, stick to what works: lift weights, move consistently, adjust your nutrition, and stay patient.

No trendy shortcut can replace the basics. Don’t let social media ‘experts’ derail your progress.

Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx

Tuesday Tip: Does when you eat matter? ⏰

Let me preface this by saying that fat loss is all about calories in vs. calories out. To lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit. No timing trick or magic eating window can override that. But when you eat can make it easier (or harder) to stay in that deficit.

Your body isn’t just a calorie calculator, it runs on a 24-hour cycle called the circadian rhythm. This internal clock responds to light, dark, and food. Insulin, the hormone that helps manage blood sugar, plays an important role in this. Insulin sensitivity is naturally higher earlier in the day, meaning your body processes glucose more efficiently at breakfast and lunch than it does at night. So what does this mean! You’re better equipped to burn, not store, energy earlier in the day.

On the flip side, eating late, especially close to bedtime, can work against you. Studies show people who eat most of their calories late at night tend to store more fat and have a higher risk of weight gain. Why? Because your body is winding down, not ramping up for digestion and energy use.

So what can you do?

• Frontload your meals: eat more earlier in the day when your metabolism is more active

• Don’t skip breakfast (unless it genuinely works for you and if you’re not getting the results you want then it isn’t working)

• Try to finish eating at least 2–3 hours before bed

• Avoid late-night snacking, even “healthy” snacks can quietly tip you out of a deficit

No need to overhaul your schedule overnight, but small shifts can make a big difference in how easy fat loss feels.

Consistency still wins but timing can be your secret weapon to help you stay on track.

Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx

Tuesday Tip: Scale not moving? ⚖️

You’ve committed to your plan, you’re tracking your intake, hitting a calorie deficit daily and yet the scale hasn’t budged. Frustrating, isn’t it?

Before you start second-guessing everything, here’s something to keep in mind: fat loss does not equal

weight loss, at least not on a day-to-day basis.

A daily 500-calorie deficit theoretically equates to around 1/7th of a pound (65g) of fat loss per day – that’s about a spoonful in actual fat volume. It’s small, subtle, and easy to overlook. Add in the fact that your body constantly fluctuates with water retention, food volume, and glycogen storage, and it’s no wonder the scale doesn’t always cooperate.

So you could be steadily losing fat while the number on the scale stays the same. This is completely normal, especially in the early stages of fat loss when changes are microscopic or when you’ve only got small amounts of fat to lose. It’s easily hidden by other factors like hydration levels, digestion, and hormones.

So what can you do?

⁃ Zoom out. Look at trends over weeks, not days.

⁃ Measure progress in other ways, like how your clothes fit, your energy levels, strength, and measurements.

⁃ Stay consistent. The process is working, even when the scale isn’t showing it.

⁃ Trust that the deficit is compounding and will eventually become visible change.

Most importantly: don’t quit just because the data doesn’t look dramatic right now. The work you’re putting in is adding up behind the scenes.

Patience, consistency, and perspective go a long way on this journey. Keep going – you’ve got this!

Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx

Tuesday Tip: Staying Healthy on Holiday🌴

Summer holidays are here now and many of my clients are going away and worrying about maintaining their fitness, so here are a few tips for staying healthy on hols.

#1 Workout anywhere

If you don’t have access to a gym or don’t want to spend your precious holiday time in one then no prob – take a resistance band with you and a skipping rope and you can do some cardio and resistance work wherever you are. 5 mins of skipping and a 5 – 10 min band workout is easily doable (crab walks, hip abductions, etc 2 – 3 sets of 10 -20 reps).

#2 See the sights

See the sights and get some activity in! Take walking tours around the city, guided treks in the countryside, hire a bike or a kayak, take a snorkelling trip etc. They are a fun way to get out, get active and see new places and make the most of your time away.

#3 Pack snacks

Finding healthy foods at airports and on planes/ferries etc can be tricky, so come prepared. Throw a few cereal bars in your luggage, pack fruit for the plane/ferry – this will hydrate you as well. If you’re out on day trips grab an extra apple or banana from brekkie and take that with you, or buy some local fruit and store it in your hotel mini fridge.

#4 Take time out

Emotional health is important too. Yes holidays are meant to be relaxing but they can bring their own stresses – especially if you’re herding small people around too! Try to take some time out to de-stress – try some yoga, meditation, even just a few mins of deep breathing.

#5 Try something new

What better time to try something new? If you’re at a hotel with outdoor activities give something new a go – paddle boarding, mountain biking, volley ball etc or perhaps they have classes etc so it’s a perfect time to try them.

#6 Explore

Don’t obsess about not finding somewhere to workout – just get out, have fun, explore and enjoy your holiday and you’ll probably find you’re more active than you realise anyway!

Happy holidays 🤗

Xx