Tag: tuesdaytip

Tuesday Tip: Training for a Summer body? 👙

As we head towards summer there’s a lot of social media posts around talking about exercising to get your bikini or summer body. Now aside from the fact that, generally speaking, fat loss (which tends to be the real goal) is almost impossible to achieve from exercise (you need a calorie deficit) it’s also not an ideal goal.

The issue with training for a ‘summer body’
is that it’s merely a goal to be constantly slim or lean without any other performance goals attached. The standards are arbitrary and the likely result is that you’ll never feel slim enough. It’s hard to escape this desire to slim down for summer as it’s so pervasive in our society and we start buying into it from a very young age. Now that’s not to say that wanting to lose fat for summer is necessarily a bad thing or something you shouldn’t do – ultimately it’s your body and you can choose what you want to do with it. But if it’s a pressure you are trying to avoid then perhaps it’s worth considering replacing that summer body goal with more stable goals that will serve you all year round, not just for the summer.

Ultimately the exercise routine and diet that you can do consistently, over the entire year, is the best one for you. Not the one that you can only manage for 4-8 weeks at a time because it’s unsustainable for you and your lifestyle. Try repositioning your goals – for example goals of longer life, better quality of life, strong bones, quicker recovery from illness etc. Train for your old man/woman body – you want dense bones, strong muscles, good balance, a healthy heart and functional independence. When you’re 80 you want to be able to carry your shopping, lift your grandchildren, reach to put things away on the top shelf, get up from your chair unaided, stop yourself falling etc. If you try to focus on these sorts of goals you may find you are able to exercise and eat in a way that isn’t overly restrictive (on the food side) or inconsistent (e.g. sudden bursts of over exercising then weeks of months of no exercise). It also won’t feel like punishment.

Think about the long term and think about what will serve to keep you healthy and functioning for longer. Starving yourself, drinking ‘detox’ juices, cutting carbs, hours of cardio etc won’t – eating a reasonable amount of calories from all food types and working to include cardio and resistance training for strong muscles, heart and lungs will!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: Don’t go too low 📉

It’s tempting when you start trying to lose weight to panic and cut calories drastically – because surely a bigger deficit means quicker results right? To a degree yes but…. It never really works and this is why.

Our bodies are designed and have evolved to essentially make losing weight and fat hard. Fat loss goes entirely against our main drive to survive so conserving energy and maximising fat storage is a good evolutionary strategy. If energy consumption (calories) are reduced drastically the body will adjust processes to ‘fit’ the calories you consume. Now this doesn’t mean you can put on weight if you eat too little – that’s just a myth. What it does mean though is that the body compensates for a lower energy intake by reducing energy expenditure.

It does this in two ways. Firstly it reduces NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), – these are the subconscious incidental movements and processes in your body e.g. your heart rate may slow, body temperature may change, and hormones such as leptin, T3 and T4 adjust to reduce energy expenditure. As a result your BMR may decrease.

In addition you will subconsciously move or fidget less than you usually would. So you may find you don’t stand up or tap your feet etc as much, you may be less inclined to take the stairs and take the lift instead, you may find you drive instead of walking places as much, you might not get up to go get things you’ve left in other rooms (e.g. not going upstairs to get the hoodie you want to wear and grabbing whatever is handy downstairs instead), not getting up to get a glass of water if you’re thirsty, feeling generally low motivation to exercise/walk etc. You probably won’t even notice you’re doing any of this.

So as you’ll be expending fewer calories the deficit you think you have becomes smaller. In addition you’ll feel low, hungry, tired and tend to obsess over food. This means the tendency to binge/overeat either when you have a ‘cheat’ day or when the diet ends is high. This is why you often find any weight you’ve lost will come back quite quickly.

So rather than heading straight in to an aggressive 800-1000 calories a day diet (for the umpteenth time in the past few years) try aiming for a higher number of calories with a smaller deficit. A smaller deficit allows you to thrive and stick to the newly acquired habits you need to stick to, consistently, to move towards your goals. Work more on delayed gratification. Something that takes longer but feels easier is far more likely to work out the way you want it to.

If this resonates but overwhelms you at the same time, that is also completely normal. We are designed to want instant gratification and results so it’s ok if it feels counterintuitive to start with. But trust me, stick with it and you’ll reap the benefits – play the long game!

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 burned 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 your 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: Outdoor Activity Ideas 🚶🏼‍♀️

As the weather has become milder and with Easter and school holidays here it’s a great time to get some exercise outside! If you can’t stick

to your usual routine, or get to the gym, then here are some ideas for some ways to spice up that outdoor exercise – for the whole family.

Geocaching is a great option to make local walks more interesting. Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunt that uses any GPS enabled device (probably your phone) to help you navigate to a set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the hidden geocache (container). You can download a free app to get started and all you need is your phone and a sense of adventure! There are geocaches all over the country – go to geocaching.com to get started.

Play walking bingo! Pick a theme – it could be wildlife related in the local parks, or local buildings etc. Make a list and then set off on a walk to spot those items. It’s Bingo when you’ve spotted them all!

Scavenger hunts – similar to walking bingo but this time to collect the items. These work best with nature-related themes. Make a list of things to find – a lichen covered twig, evergreen leaves, moss etc etc.

There are lots of wildlife and plant ID apps out there now – try downloading some and head to the park to ID some of the local fauna and flora. Or how about a litter pick? Head out with a bag and make it a competition for who can collect the most?

Closer to home, now is a good time to start preparing the garden for spring, or try making a homemade seed propagator and start to decide what you might grow later in the year and plant some early seeds.

Aside from this there are the usual outdoor games – frisbee, homemade skittles (bottles of water for the skittles), a little mini Olympics etc etc. Let your imagination run wild!

Hope some of these ideas help keep you amused, no matter your age

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Are Seed Oils Bad? 🛢️

If you’ve been paying attention to health trends lately, you may have heard that seed oils are apparently toxic. People claim that they cause inflammation, heart disease, and should be avoided at all costs. But is that really the case?

Despite the sensational headlines, the science doesn’t fully support these fears. A recent review of human research on seed oils suggests they’re not as harmful as some claim. Seed oils, like soybean, canola, sunflower, and corn oils, are simply vegetable oils extracted from plant seeds. The main concern is their high content of linoleic acid, an essential omega-6 fatty acid, which some argue may raise bad cholesterol or increase inflammation.

Whilst some studies have raised these concerns, newer, higher-quality reviews show that seed oils may actually benefit heart health. Replacing saturated fats with seed oils can lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, two key markers of heart disease risk. Plus, research suggests higher linoleic acid intake is linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease and even a reduced risk of dying from it.

As for inflammation, the evidence is weak. A 2020 meta-analysis found no strong link between linoleic acid and increased inflammation. Even drastic reductions in linoleic acid didn’t lower levels of inflammatory markers.

So, should you avoid seed oils? Not unless you’re specifically intolerant or have a personal preference and don’t an actually like them . The idea that they’re “toxic” or harmful is, like many trends out there in the media, vastly overblown . Eating a balanced diet with a variety of fats – saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated is far more important.

Bottom line: Seed oils aren’t the villain they’ve been made out to be. Focus on the overall quality of your diet rather than obsessing over individual ingredients. Health isn’t about fearing one food; it’s about the bigger picture. So don’t stress over every drop of oil you use. Your heart will thank you.

Happy Tuesday! 🤗

Xx