3 Foods for SERIOUS fat loss

When it comes to fat loss everyone seems so fixated with energy density. Whilst I think it’s important to bear in mind the energy density of food, it’s more important to look at the nutrient density.

Check out these nutrient dense foods for SERIOUS fat loss…

Eggs (I mean whole eggs, not just the whites!) – Loaded with vitamins, eggs are one of nature’s most perfect foods. Plentiful, inexpensive and easy to prepare, eggs are a fantastic source of protein.

Rich in calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, folate, B6 and B12 and that’s just the yolk! Choose your egg from a free-range organic source and boil or poach for the best results.

Nuts - Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, macadamia… I’m not fussy. Time and time again nuts are proving to be a health food that you cannot do without! With abundance in unsaturated fats (the healthiest type!) studies suggest that those that eat a small handful of nuts everyday have the lowest body mass index.

Sure, nuts are high in calories, but you don’t have to eat a large quantity. Just a small handful and the fat loss will be out of this world!

Berries – loaded with antioxidants (cancer fighting nutrients) berries contain (amongst other things) calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin K. Rich in fibre, one cup of berries can provide up to 10% of your daily requirement of fibre. This is important as it can balance your blood sugar, which ultimately leads to fat loss!

When choosing berries beware as they are high on the Environmental Working Groups list of most consistently contaminated foods (with pesticides and other chemical). Therefore, regardless of raspberry, strawberry, blueberry or goji berry choose an organic source.

There you have it. Include these foods in your day-to-day diet and watch the fat fall off!

LonDONE!

When William James said ‘beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never pushed through the obstruction’ I have a feeling he was referring to the London Marathon.

Although it wasn’t part of my training plan, and despite not really being fit enough (I have only consistently got up to ten miles), the opportunity was to good to miss. On the Tuesday when I accepted the place, due to my friends’ injury, I never really had any doubts.

I had previously accompanied Nikki on a 16-mile training run. After all, it was only ten miles more!

I can now confirm the London Marathon is the most fantastic and by far the toughest event I have ever participated. Perhaps it was due to the lack of high mileage in my legs, or perhaps it’s the way I ran it, either way during the last couple of miles, as William James described, there were elements of fatigue and distress and I had to find sources of strength never taxed!

It was fantastic. From the bus journey up to the event right through to Nikki’s birthday gathering in the evening. It was the most incredible day.

I started from the blue start line at quarter to ten and saw nothing of the difficult start many had warned about, the first few miles I made fast progress and reached the three-mile point in less than 23 minutes. I had a plan to try and run at a 3hrs 45mins that meant I would have to run about eight-minutes thirty-seconds every mile. After the first three miles this plan changed a little as I found my comfortable speed running eight-minute miles.

The race went incredibly well up to the twenty-mile flag, at which point I was on for a time of 3hrs 30mins if I just maintained my speed. After a brief consultation with a guy next to me, I decided I could run a little bit faster. And this was the start of my decline.

It seems like such a cliché – The last six miles were the toughest I have ever ran.

Lets make this clear - there was no wall. Between miles twenty and twenty-one I managed to increase my speed slightly, however, after that my legs started to tighten and it was the beginning of the end.

At first my quads began to cramp, which caused me to adjust my running style ever so slightly. I continued for another few miles when after passing the 25-mile marker I felt like I had been shot in the back of both legs. It was the most painful cramps I have ever experienced. So much so at that point I couldn’t stand upright! I made my way to the side barriers to try and stretch but being so tired this was really difficult. And this is where the crowds of supporters really keep you going. After getting a policewoman to stretch my legs I got back on my feet and ran all the way to the finish line.

I finished the London Marathon in a time of 3hrs 44mins and 26secs.

I thoroughly enjoyed my London Marathon experience and can’t wait to have another go. I learnt a lot about running during the day including pacing myself, using energy gels and hydration and perhaps most important how far twenty-six miles actually is, and I cant wait to have another go!

This was fantastic experience for my Six Marathon Challenge in September. I can’t wait to get out and run – just as soon as my legs stop aching!

A Healthy Breakfast

What better way to spend a wet May Bank Holiday than making some delicious and healthy pancakes...

Apple Flax Pancake (1 serving)

1 egg
1 tbsn natural yoghurt
1/4 tspn vanilla
2 Tablespoons flax meal (ground flax seeds)
1/3 apple - chopped into 1/4-inch or smaller pieces (you can also use roughly mashed bananas or blueberries)
Sprinkle of cinnamon and/or other spices as desired

Beat egg with yoghurt and vanilla until well mixed and fluffy. Add in flax meal, apple or fruit, and desired spices; stir until mixed. Let sit for 2-3 minutes while you preheat a non-stick skillet with a bit of coconut oil.

Pour batter into bottom of small skillet and cook a few minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

Serve spread with natural peanut butter (my personal favourite), or some yoghurt and fruit together!

Starbucks Addict

After coming back from Vegas I find myself strangely addicted to Starbucks.

Now that I can read the menu (sort of) I really love it.

Starbucks appear to be everywhere and whilst it’s always quite a cool and trendy place to be, I am under no illusion that it is an unhealthy addiction.

No self-respecting fitness professional should admit to such a weakness and not with my drink of choice.

However, the occasional cup of coffee once in a while is not such a bad thing. That being said my choice The Venti Mocha Frappuccino (500 calories, 82g sugar, 17g fat!) is not very healthy!

Fortunately, the purpose of the blog post was to provide the readers with a healthier alternative to this satisfying, tasty coffee-flavoured icy treat.

But first be warned…

Unless you are ordering a regular coffee Starbucks can be a minefield of unhealthy food and drink.

Most of the foods and drinks are calorie dense and will cause fluctuations in blood sugar (which leads to fat storage). Fortunately, I have created a nourishing alternative.

The Vanilla Cinnamon Mocha Smoothie (awesome name, I know)

And, its only about 150cals and contains a good portion of protein.

1 serving of protein powder (Pro Amino order at www.mt-order.com (advisor no. 101-268)
1 heaped tsp of instant coffee
½ tsp of cinnamon
250 ml of rice milk
150ml of crushed ice

Blend (in a blender?!?) and enjoy.

You’ll never miss a frappuccino again!

Back to reality...

My holiday seems like a long time ago…

It was brilliant though!

We spent a few nights in Vegas went out on a road trip to San Diego and LA and then back to Vegas. We ate, drank and gambled… We visited theme parks, saw shows and on the odd occasion sat on the beach…

The Californian coastline was beautiful. And as I’m sure you’re aware the Americans can make something out of nothing. We saw the world’s largest thermometer, the worlds lowest point and even saw a tiny Elvis.

After having a great time its back to reality with a bump.

In five months I will participate in The Trans Britain.

It’s fair to say that I’m not a seasoned runner. In fact in 2009 you can count the number of times I went out running on one hand. In general I don’t regard running particularly the healthiest or the most efficient form of exercise.

Nevertheless a challenge is a challenge.

I will keep you updated with my progress…

A Breath of Fresh Air

When it comes to fat loss and fitness one of the foundation principals has to be breathing. It goes without saying - breathing is fundamental to life. You can survive approximately thirty days without food, you can survive for about ten days in a moderate climate without water, but you can only survive up to three minutes without oxygen.

It is estimated that you take between 15,000 and 25,000 breaths per day, and whilst it might not seem like a big deal to many, breathing correctly can have a huge impact on the way you think, the way you feel and the way you look.

For many of the people that visit my studio I look at various aspects of their health and well-being including nutrition, hydration, exercise, digestion, sleeping patterns and thoughts and emotions, but time and time again improving their breathing patterns has turned out to be a simple and very effective way of getting them to look and feel better.

Sure, it’s not the most important aspect of fat loss but you will be surprised at how big an impact it will make.

Speaking to my friend Judith Davis from Spinal Breath just last week made me realise just how big a deal it is. Judith made the point that if you watch a baby breath they will go up and down like a bellow. Somehow over the years, perhaps due to stress and anxiety, we seem to change our breathing patterns to shorter shallower breaths. In Judith’s opinion shallow breathing leads to a shallow expression of self and that the way we breathe is the way we live our lives. To change our life – we need to change the way we breathe.

Whilst I appreciate Judith’s spiritual sentiment I think you can also look at a number of more physical aspects of breathing that are very important.

In my experience, shallow or inefficient breathing mechanics requires an increase in respiration and heart rate. This in itself requires excess energy to fuel. This also creates excessive load on the respiratory muscles such as the scalenes, which causes what’s called a forward head posture. This can lead to headaches, neck tension, fatigue, poor concentration, and can even make your blood more acidic due to less oxygenation of the blood (this is important because diseases are more prominent in acidic environments).

Furthermore, diaphragmatic breathing pulls air into the base of our lungs, where, due to gravity, our blood tends to be. With oxygen being a key nutrient this can lead to more oxygenated blood and more energy. Also due to the location of our diaphragm as it contracts and relaxes it massages our liver, bladder, and small and large intestines so therefore aids digestion and elimination.

As a side note the diaphragm is one of your core muscles so getting it to function properly can lead to a reduction in back pain.

You get my point… breathing properly is important.

So what do we need to do?

In my opinion, Judith’s advice was fantastic. She suggested the at the beginning of each day you should make a commitment to becoming more aware of the way you are breathing throughout the day.

In simple terms two-thirds of a breath should come from your belly. So by putting one hand on your belly and the other on your chest you can simply monitor how you are breathing.

Judith also suggested every morning and evening you should take 20 conscious breaths. It doesn’t take very long so I guess you have nothing to lose!

If you wanted any help and support of course you can ask me for more info or you can book in with Judith at Spinal Breath on 01483 828497 and become aware of The Art of Conscious Breathing.

What does a Personal Trainer eat?

This week in preparation for a course this weekend I was asked to fill out a food diary. It’s not something that I have done for a long time and it proved to be a very interesting exercise. Needless to say I did not need the countries top sports nutritionist to cast his eye over it to tell me that I can improve in certain areas.

Most people will look at this and think it is very good. Sure its packed full of natural foods (aside from the fruit cake and the chocolate!!) and I appear to eat at regular intervals. However, the accompanying section which measured my reactions to foods (appetite, fullness/satisfaction, sweet cravings, energy levels, mental/emotional well-being) before, immediately after and two hours after was fairly revealing.

Of late I have been training really hard and at times (particularly in the afternoons) I felt hungry and tired. I attribute some of this to my poor sleeping patterns and erratic working hours. Certainly food for thought…

Monday

8.50am – Porridge Oats w/ Rice Milk and 2 Scrambled Eggs
10.50am – Small handful of Almonds and a small handful of seeds and a Pear
12.50pm – Large slice of Fruit Cake (post training!!!)
1pm – Two Trout Fillets w/ Small Jacket Potato and Spinach Salad
4.20pm – Small handful of Walnuts and a small handful of seeds and an Apple
7.45pm – Red Thai Curry (homemade: Rib Eye Steak, Asparagus, Green Beans, Mushroom, Sweet Corn) w/ Basmati Rice

Tuesday

6.55am - Porridge Oats w/ Rice Milk and 2 Boiled Eggs
8.50am - Small handful of Cashews and a small handful of seeds
11.30am – Tin of Tuna on Ryvita w/ Mayonnaise
1.30pm – Diced Tuna Steak in 2 Wholemeal Wraps w/ Cherry Tomatoes and Mixed Salad
4pm - Small handful of Walnuts and and a Pear
7.20pm – Chicken Breast wrapped in Bacon (with garlic) w/ Stir Fried Asparagus, Green Beans, Mushrooms and Courgette
9.30pm – Green and Blacks Creamy Milk Chocolate (A small bar!!!)

Wednesday

6.50am - Porridge Oats w/ Rice Milk and 2 Boiled Eggs
10.10am – Small handful of Almonds and a small handful of seeds and a Banana
12.30pm – Two Trout Fillets in 2 Wholemeal Wraps w/ Cherry Tomatoes and Spinach Salad and a raw Carrot
17.50pm – Apple
9.30pm – 3 Lamb Steaks, mashed Potato, Carrots, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts and Gravy

Thursday

6.45am - Porridge Oats w/ Rice Milk and 2 Boiled Eggs
10.15am – Small handful of Almonds and a Pear
13.15pm – Two Chicken Breasts, Mixed Salad, 1 hard-boiled Egg, Olives, Cherry Tomatoes
4pm - Small handful of Cashews and a small handful of seeds and an Apple
7.30pm - Red Thai Curry (homemade: Turkey Breast, Green Beans, Mushroom, Courgette) w/ Basmati Rice
9pm – Left over Thai Curry!


Just to let you know everyday I supplemented with fish oils and a good quality multivitamin. I also trained hard everyday.

I found myself eating when I wasn't hungry, having the occasional sweet craving, certain meals filled me up, I experienced peaks and troughs in my energy, I found I was waking up tired every day... Again I can attribute this to my poor sleeping patterns last week but being aware of this means that I can work to improve it.

Needless to say I eat better than most! I am looking at making some changes so will give it a month and repeat the process. I will keep you updated.

If you are interested in doing the same thing email me and I will forward over the diary. I will even spend 10 minutes looking at it if you wish…