At the last few Fitter Food events I’ve discussed the role of relationships in health. Not something you might consider when you decide on a health or fat loss goal, but actually, it's hugely relevant.
We’ve been inundated with emails and questions about how to support memory function and inject some life back into our flagging brains. Interestingly, it’s actually our lifestyles that are destroying our ability to remember where we left our keys, if we switched off the oven and what our pin number is. There are so many things you do across your day to support cognitive function, many of which will also lower your risk of most chronic diseases, help you lose weight and perform better.
If you've been on a mission to lose weight and things are stalling, or worse still going in the wrong direction and you're actually gaining body fat, here are a few suggestions and ideas that might help you get back on track with your fat loss goals.
Most people interested in health and fitness right now have their own journey with macronutrients. Paleo and the Atkins revolution opened up our eyes to the notion that perhaps fat wasn't the enemy after all but rather carbs including bread, rice, pasta and potatoes were causing our waistlines to expand and spill over our jeans in true muffin top style. Of course this is a hugely simplified version of events and it's clear that the goal with any macros is simply finding your sweet spot. However, gaining back your confidence eating carbs again after a low carb diet can be tricky business and is often fraught with fears of weight gain.
One of the most common trends that seem to be driving a number of health issues and fat loss fails today is the fact that many people are creating a debt crisis with regard to their body. In life we need a healthy bank balance in order to pay for our living costs and do the things we enjoy like going on holiday or eating in a nice restaurant. Similarly, our body has a limited reserve of funds available for essential physiological processes and tasks – we’re referring to vitamins, minerals, hormones and all the vital nutrients that keep us alive and kicking. It has some spare resources stored away just in case we need to occasionally go above and beyond.
Nutrition and health information is constantly evolving; once vilified saturated fats like coconut oil and butter are now considered superfoods, cardio was the solution to fat loss then HIIT made an appearance and we're now just waiting for the tables to turn on peanut M&M's. Despite the fads and fashions that come and go there are some fundamental aspects of health that have continually stood the test of time and advanced in scientific research. Despite many of them being obvious components of health I wish someone had emphasised their importance to me a few years ago, healthy living would have been much easier and enjoyable for a start.
I’m a member of a group on Facebook called Did You Run Today? (DYRT) As the name suggests it’s full of enthusiastic runners who share their running stories, log their routes and ‘got soaked in the rain’ photos. It’s nice to see the support given to beginners just starting out confused about footwear or tracking devices as the old timers dive in with lots of helpful tips and advice. There’s families running together and even the dogs are getting involved. The group has a fantastic energy and super friendly atmosphere that serves to motivate and support it’s members on their running journey, but what if you didn’t run today?
Us ladies are a little more complicated than the fellas when it comes to having healthy hormones as the female hormone cycle during fertile years is geared towards reproduction. Optimal amounts of certain hormones are required at different times across the month to ensure the maturation and release of an egg occurs from the ovaries and that a pregnancy can be supported sufficiently should it take place. A number of hormones need to synchronise and a delicate balance must be maintained across the 28 days to ensure these necessary biological changes can take place.
I posted on Facebook a while back that perhaps there's a little too much effort going on when it comes to fat loss and people might be missing some quick wins which could be achieved by kicking back a little and simplifying things. When an individual decides they want to change their body composition and focus on getting healthy it often starts off all guns blazing. There are plans to eat boat loads of steamed kale, smash HIIT sessions daily and answer to no one but the weighing scales.
Following on from my previous blog on the female contraceptive pill I received a lot of requests to detail other contraceptive options and any potential health implications or side effects. In this blog I'll discuss the coil and barrier methods including condoms and the diaphragm. I've also had some blokes ask if I can cover vasectomies just in case they need to prepare themselves for the responsibly ;-) My biggest dilemma with this blog was what to use as the featured image lol!
A topic we discuss regularly is hormone health, particularly in Fitter 365 our membership group. Some of the latest content has provoked some interesting discussions about hormone supplementation with many members asking about the health implications, side effects and how they could support themselves more nutritionally. This blog series will get you up to speed on female hormone therapy, kicking off with the contraceptive pill.
I recently posted in our membership site Fitter 365 about the importance of individuality when it comes to your nutrition and training. We can all be guilty at times of constantly comparing ourselves; our physique, our training achievements, the 'cleanness' of our eating regimes, the number of steps we've taken and it can all get a bit out of hand. Changes you once felt proud of suddenly don’t seem enough and you’re racked with guilt about not putting in enough time, effort and energy. You need to try harder!