Category: metabolism

3
Nov
2022

Meal prep – what, why and how?! Top Tips

The term ‘meal prep’ gets thrown around a lot by fitness enthusiasts and there are now countless businesses offering this as a support for weight loss and other nutrition or fitness goals. It simply means pre-preparing meals and storing them until you’re ready to eat them, often preparing several meals at a time in advance. Whilst the term may conjure up images of repetitive and bland chicken and rice in a tiny little Tupperware tub – it doesn’t have to be like that! Meal prep isn’t just for those on restrictive regimes and can be a huge help for any fitness and nutrition goals or just those of us living everyday busy lives that would like to make some healthy changes. This blog covers some of the benefits as well as some top tips if you want to give it a go yourself!

10
Aug
2022

Restaurant and Takeaway tips for healthy eating

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that we promote a balanced approach to health and fitness – with no foods being ‘good’, ‘bad’ or ‘off limits’. However, as personal trainers one of the questions we get asked often is how to still enjoy takeaways and meals out without it hindering healthy weight management, weight loss or other fitness goals. As ‘fast food’, or at least not home-made food, has become cheaper and more accessible over recent years this has led to suggestions that this is contributing to rising levels of obesity and weight gain. This blog aims to give some simple suggestions and tips to make sure you don’t have to miss out on enjoying social events and food treats, whilst also being able to maintain a healthy balanced diet and weight management.

18
Mar
2022

Exercise for Weight Gain/ Eating Disorder Recovery

When it comes to exercise programmes, we often think of losing weight as one of the key motivations. Whilst it’s true that weight loss is one of the most common reasons for wanting to make lifestyle changes (dietary, exercise etc), it’s not the only one. This blog covers exercise for weight gain and follows on from the previous 2 blogs on eating disorders. There are many reasons why people may want to gain weight, but exercise shouldn’t be demonised as always contributing to weight loss. Below are some top tips on making sure exercise supports weight gain if that’s a personal goal, whilst enjoying all of the other physical and mental benefits that are so important.

18
Jan
2022

BMI, weight loss, body fat and persevering…

In the fitness industry, one of the most common complaints or queries we get when somebody has recently started on a new diet and exercise plan is… why has my weight loss stopped/slowed down? People often start off in pursuit of weight loss full of enthusiasm and commonly see the numbers drop drastically on the scales for a few weeks, spurring them on to expect this will continue. However, over time despite still trying just as hard to exercise and eat well, the numbers on the scales become too stubborn to budge. Sometimes people may even notice clothes feeling looser and other desirable changes, yet the scales register no weight loss. Why does this happen and what does it mean? This blog aims to explain why weight loss doesn’t necessarily equal fat loss and why there is far more to it than a number on the scales.

6
Oct
2021

Healthy lifestyle changes – Tracking progress without using the scales

Whilst weight loss is undoubtedly one of the most common health and fitness goals, it is sometimes wrongly viewed as the key determinant of progress when trying to improve our exercise and nutrition habits. One of the most common questions personal trainers gets asked by people who have recently embarked on a new plan is ‘why haven’t I lost much weight?’ There are many possible reasons for this, including the fact that we all lose weight at different rates, you may be building muscle and you could be getting weighed at different times of the day or week and/or using different scales. These are just a few explanations, but the majority (if not all) of the personal trainers I know would urge their clients to explore other ways of measuring progress rather than the often soul-destroying focus of chasing a certain number on the scales. Embarking on a new healthy living plan should leave you feeling energised, proud and encouraged. If the scale is having the opposite effect, consider giving it a break for a while and focusing on other ways of measuring progress such as those below…

8
Jun
2021

Hydration – Information and Top Tips

Here in the UK this week we’ve been enjoying a rare period of beautiful, warm, sunny weather. Knowing we have to make the most out of it while it lasts, many of us have spent as much time as possible outside getting any hint of a tan we can or at least soaking up some vitamin D and fresh air. Hopefully we’ve been aware of the health implications of the sun for our skin and made sure to keep topped up on suncream, but have you considered other ways that the temperature affects your health needs? One of the main areas to cover here is hydration and this blog aims to answer all your questions about this crucial topic for health and wellbeing at all times, not just in the height of summer (however long that may last?!)

18
May
2021

Calories, Metabolism and Weight Management – Facts not fads

When it comes to health and fitness, nutrition and calories are often discussed in conjunction with any exercise or weight-related goals. Rightfully so, as caloric and energy intake can have a huge impact not only on our weight but our overall health and energy levels. Whilst this can be a confusing area for many, and talk of calories may be avoided through fear of shaming or obsessing, this blog aims to give you some facts and ideas that may help with any weight or energy related goals.