The last year hasn’t been the easiest at times as so many people I love and care about had their lives negatively effected by chronic disease and despite having brilliant medical care, it just wasn’t enough.
We were so chuffed to speak to Dr. Chatterjee, star of the BBC One series Doctor in the House about all things health and nutrition. Check out the video below.
I recently got chatting to a lovely lady in a coffee shop after Hamish plonked his head in her lap requesting an ear tickle ? We got chatting about what we do for a living and I mentioned I was a Nutritional Therapist. She asked if I thought nutrition might be helpful for her, she had been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and was now struggling with the onset of menopausal symptoms.
At the same time all the Facebook updates appeared last month about winning or losing out on a space in the London marathon I was greeted with a Facebook memory about completing my Royal Parks Half Marathon. I never made it to running a marathon as the experience left me with a pair of knackered knees and some of other health issues that stopped me from running for a couple of years. I consider it a blessing now as I dread to think where I’d be if my body had allowed me to run a marathon, I often joke with Matt that I simply can't be trusted once those trainers are on.
In my last blog I discussed how men tend to approach nutrition and whilst they have their “commandments” and attachments to condiments they’re generally speaking a little more laid back about the role nutrition plays in their health. Us ladies on the other hand are pro’s at making this a full time business alongside other demanding roles in our lives, like having a career, being a mother, sister, friend, etc. I’ve been totally guilty of this myself in the past, if you bring on the detail I will over analyse, overwhelm, over Google and overthink all of it!
Fellas, it's no secret, testosterone levels are on the drop. In fact, testosterone in men has dropped rapidly over the last 50 years. This is due to many factors such as nutrition, alcohol consumption, smoking and other lifestyle factors, however you CAN do something about it. Now some things are a little out of our control but many things are and can be changed in order to optimise your bodies natural testosterone production.
I've had the opportunity to work with several blokes and I'm currently living with a rather large eating machine of a man (Matt!) so I’ve been afforded a great insight into how guys approach nutrition. One of the key things I'm always keen to coach guys about is how to recognise the signs their nutrition and lifestyle is working against their efforts in the gym and therefore hindering progress towards their performance or body composition goals. Here are the 5 signs your man food needs a makeover...
'When's the best time to train in order to lose body fat?' is a question I get often. It usually stems from the myth that training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is more fat burning. Truth is, there is little evidence to support this claim and this can often be counter-productive. Instead, I have always said the most effective time of day to train for fat loss is the time of day that would allow for the most adherence.
It's all very well us telling you to eat Fitter Food but not so helpful if you struggle with appetite control and managing your portion sizes. It's actually a common issue, especially if you're looking to lose weight as you may have lost the ability to eat intuitively and listen to your tum when it tells you it's full, or even more damagingly, override its message that you've had enough. You may find this difficult to believe but our body actually has natural appetite regulating and weight management mechanisms in place to prevent us from eating too much, an essential part of achieving and sustaining your fat loss goal is kicking this system back into action.
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.
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.