By Heather It's getting harder isn't it? Over the winter large hot meals look ever more inviting, going outside for a jog is the last thing you want to do on most days and the couch keeps saying, "get your duvet and come hang with me". Well, if you're not facing these problems, "lucky you", is all I can say. I personally prefer outdoor exercise and last year, for the first ever, I managed to maintain my outside jogging regime through the winter. This year, I can add running in the rain to my ever more hardcore exercise profile (it wasn't planned, I'm not that mad!). Here are a few tips for maintaining your motivation during the winter: 1. Go out around midday (somewhere between 12 and 2 p.m.), even during the winter, it's always warmer around then. 2. Wear more layers as it gets colder. I normally wear three layers on the coldest days. A long sleeved shirt, a t-shirt and a sweat shirt. 3. Wear gloves. They really help to keep you warm. 4. Get a running mate. I prefer to run alone because I think better if I am on my own but some people find it harder to skip their jog if there's someone else that would be disappointed. 5. Don't over do it. I only jog outside twice a week, 5km each time. If my target was higher than this I probably wouldn't go out at all. 6. Exercise indoors. Get a DVD that you like. You'll be more inclined to do the work out routines if they are no more 30 or 45 minutes. 7. TV time is work out time. I never used to exercise when I was watching TV but I've found it to be a most convenient time to work on my leg drops (I'm trying to build my resistance) and an even better time to lift weights. If you manage to do just 15 minutes that's good enough. If the weather is really bad: snow or rain, that's a good reason not to go out. If you injure yourself you won't be able to exercise for a very long time so if there's a week when you simply can't go out, then don't. Obviously, if you live in a country that is covered in snow for much of the winter it makes much more sense to join a gym during the winter months. Fortunately for me, London does not usually get snowed over for more than a week throughout the winter period. Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy
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By Heather How often have you proudly eaten well at breakfast, walked out with your chest held high and then later in the day wondered: "where did it all go wrong?"!! It's very easy to eat a good healthy breakfast, most people manage at least that. However, at about mid-morning bad food decisions start coming into play! I have a few tricks that have helped me curb the mid-morning/afternoon hunger pangs: 1. Stay hydrated What you think is a hunger signal could just be thirst, many people get them mixed up. In fact, I don't even wait to get the signal before I drink my water, I drink on schedule:
Nowadays I find that I am too busy for a mid-morning glass of water nor do I feel I need a snack. I always wanted a mid-morning snack when I was in a regular job but in my life as an entrepreneur: almost never! Perhaps that was a sign of boredom. Do I drink anything else? I usually have one cup of tea after my first two glasses of water in the morning and that's it. I won't usually drink anything else even if I go out for a meal. Water is my staple drink, followed by tea. 2. "No, thank you." Make this your standard response when colleagues offer you food. We often go astray because friends and colleagues offer us tasty treats. Say no even if you want to say yes! Unfortunately, you will find your colleagues forcing/encouraging you to eat something or other so you need to be strong, you can do it! 3. Standardise your lunch! Do you decide what you want to eat for lunch AT lunch? Bad idea. Making food decisions when you are hungry will ALWAYS lead to a poor decision. You need to decide your lunch when you're not hungry. Personally, I have a list of restaurants that produce healthy food that I frequent. In addition, I only eat given things from their menu, typically their soups and salads. 4. Take snacks to work or wherever you are going that day If you have a fruit or yoghurt to hand you have no reason to buy chocolates, granola bars and other high-calories snacks. This alone helped to control my temptation to buy biscuits and chocolates. My husband started me off by giving me fruit to take to work everyday then at some point I got used to it and started packing it myself. It does work. Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy You can be thin on the outside but fat on the inside...it's what's on the inside that counts!18/11/2012 By Dr Harry Be warned, this video is NOT for the faint hearted. If shock tactics are what work for you however, don't waste any time in checking it out. Have you heard the expression "It's what is on the inside that counts?" Turns out, whoever said that had it spot on. The fat on the INSIDE of your body could be doing you more harm than the cellulite you can see on the outside. Why? Not only is this fat so dangerous because it literally coats your internal vital organs like your heart and liver but it is totally invisible to you (under normal circumstances). Unless you are a fan of TV shows like Plastic Surgery Live (and to be honest, I am too squeamish), you are unlikely to have seen the fat that's on the inside. So next time you are about to tuck into that burger, ask for dessert at a restaurant or take an extra portion at an all-you-can-eat buffet, consider the build up of fat that's happening out of sight. And make sure out of sight does NOT equal out of mind. Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy By Dr Harry “Screen time” is the term used to describe time spent in front of your TV, computer games, iPad, Nintendo DS, etc. Recent research suggests that the more time we spend in front of a screen, the higher the risk of adverse health outcomes. The average American child spends 7.5 hours per day in front of a screen (Canadians slightly more and for British children the figure is 6 hours per day). This is mostly discretionary screen time – in other words not related to school work. For adults the figure is higher, with more time spent in front of a screen than spent sleeping. In one study, more than 2 in 3 of us actively engage more than one screen simultaneously – such as watching TV and using a laptop. Screen time is apparently much worse for your health than other sedentary behavior like reading a book or drawing/painting. One reason is that average blood pressure readings on individuals watching TV or playing computer games is higher than those engaging in other sedentary behavior which does not involve a screen. This is thought to be due to the TV and video game content, which is more stressful or exciting and hence raises blood pressure. Another reason is altered sleep patterns. Children who engage in more than 2 hours of screen time per day are less likely to sleep well and more likely to have sleep disorders and daytime tiredness, with the problems associated with this such as lack of attention and poor school performance. Screen time is also very distracting. You have probably read in earlier blogs that eating while watching TV is not advised because you end up eating more because you are failing to notice signals from your body which let you know you are full. This effect also has an impact on memory, which makes you more likely to eat again a few hours later, simply because you have “forgotten” just how much food you ate at the last meal. This effect on attention is obvious when you come home from work to greet your spouse and children only to find your greetings totally ignored because these family members are “engrossed” in screen time. You would not find it surprising therefore to learn that the increase in screen time is having negative effects on our social interaction. Far from “social networking” being social, as the name implies, it is having the opposite effect with real world relationships suffering. This lead to low self-esteem and negative psychological outcomes, such as depression, anxiety and stress disorders as we zone out of reality and rely more and more on a network of virtual “friends”. Obesity is on the increase due to many factors – one of which is less time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity. The trend of increased screen time has a major effect on obesity promotion for the obvious reason that if you are spending a lot of hours in front of a screen, this is time which you are not able to use effectively at the gym, or outside the house exercising. Another fact is that your metabolic rate is slower during TV watching than during sleep. So when you think you are relaxing in front of the TV after a hard days work, perhaps you could just go to sleep instead – you could be burning more calories!
By Heather A lot of people consider having cereal for breakfast as healthy; indeed, as grain is the base of most cereals you would be forgiven for immediately assuming it's all healthy. Grains are all naturally low in salt, sugar and fat. However, lots of cereals of have a crazy amount of sugar added to them usually as actual sugar and sometimes as dried fruits. For this week, we went out and found out how much sugar some of the most popular brands of cereal have:
That's almost one-fifth sugar in a cereal marketed as a dieting aid. What?! See Kellogg's or Nestle's website for more detail. But I eat a lot less than 100g! Are you sure? If you look on the box the recommended portion size normally ranges from 30g to 45g. The only way to be 100% sure of how much you are eating is to weigh it out. 30g is a lot less than you think!! Getting into weighing out your cereal is an easy habit to develop. I've been doing it for years now. My little secret I always weigh my oats out (I eat them 6 out of 7 days a week); however, if I want to have something like Alpen or Jordan's Crunchy Oat Granola - I recognise this is as a treat, I don't weigh it because I will only feel guilty. That said, I have a little trick that stops me from over-eating: I pour the cereal into a cup NOT a bowl. I am pretty sure I have more than a 100g of Jordan's Crunchy Oat Granola but I can live with that because I seldom have it. So how should you shop for cereal? Look for cereals with under 5g of sugar per 100g! Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy By Heather Another request by a regular Fat Creep reader; please keep your queries coming guys, I've been responding to requests for the last month straight and I love that. The simple answer is yes BUT if your periods have stopped, it's very unlikely that the cause is too much exercise. It is very difficult to exercise 'too much' especially if you have a desk job. However, a highly restricted diet is much more likely to stop your periods. Amenorrhea is the term given to a cessation of periods. It is common in people suffering from anorexia, models who aren't eating enough and athletes who aren't replenishing their bodies adequately. Why exactly do periods stop if you're not eating enough? Your body goes into starvation mode. This means it shuts down the activity of all unnecessary bodily functions and organs. This includes the reproductive system as well as nutrition to hair and nails. To stop your periods from occurring the hypothalamus stops releasing the hormones involved in the regulation of periods. This then causes a reduction in oestrogen and progesterone, the main female sex hormones. What are the consequences of your periods stopping due to a poor diet? In the long-run a lack of oestrogen and progesterone could result in:
What should you do if your periods have stopped?
What should you be eating?
In summary, if your periods have stopped it's likely due to a poor diet and/or an underlying medical problem e.g. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, PCOS.
By Heather This is a request from another fervent Fat Creep follower. I have never had a baby myself but the research I've just done will hopefully prepare me for balancing being a mum with being hot. Losing weight after having a baby is different to losing weight under other circumstances because your nutrition affects the baby and the hormonal changes can make you moody and therefore more likely to give in to temptations. 1. Eat nutritiously whilst you are pregnant and continue afterwards Pregnancy is not a time to be dieting. That said, lots of people use being pregnant as an excuse to eat lots of junk. If anything you should be eating more nutritiously than ever. Everything that you eat passes from you to the baby. Monitor your cravings. If you want cake, make it yourself - supermarket-bought cake contains preservatives that you don't want to pass on to the baby. 2. Empty your cupboards of all junk food It's likely that you'll mostly be housebound in the first few weeks after birth. If you don't have any unhealthy snacks around you can't give in to temptation. 3. Simple exercises count It will be tough to do any hardcore exercises initially because you'll be exhausted, your body will be going through a lot of hormonal changes and you simply won't have the time. If you're used to being very active you might feel annoyed that you can't do more but you need to be content with doing exercises like lifting light weights and going for walks. Try to do three 10-minute bouts of exercise a day, four days a week. That's good start. 4. Get an exercise DVD or find a fitness channel It can be fun. With a DVD or fitness channel you won't have to come up with your own exercise. 5. Don't feel guilty about handing the baby over to someone else so you can go out to get some exercise Is your husband doing his fair share of the work? Yes you are a mum but there's nothing wrong with wanting to have time for you. Even within the first week there's nothing wrong with you leaving the house to exercise. It's likely that grandma and grandpa will be around at the start; let them have some alone time with the baby. 6. Breastfeed! Breastfeeding burns an extra 500 calories per day. That alone is a great reason to breastfeed. I don't know why everyone doesn't do it. Some people claim to have dropped all their baby weight by breastfeeding alone. The calories you burn will fall as you start to wean the baby. 7. Get support Boredom stimulates the appetite. As exciting as having a baby is, you do need mental stimulation from adults. Join mother's support groups. If possible, invite a friend or relative to come and stay with you in the months following the birth. Having company means you'll have more time for you. I hope the above helps. If you're a mum please share any extra tips with us. Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy By Heather It's so frustrating isn't it? You're doing everything you can and every time you jump onto the scale your weight hasn't changed. You might not be losing weight because: 1. You're not eating as healthily as you think If you are calorie tracking and have set yourself a fixed calorie allowance per day you need to be very strict. If you want to track accurately you can't even pop a grape into your mouth without accounting for it. This is especially true if you are getting close to your ideal weight. The more overweight you are the larger the impact of small changes on your weight loss. However, as you get closer to a normal weight you need to eat a lot better to lose anything. Do not eat mindlessly. Learn to say no to offers of food. There's always a reason to celebrate and you have to say, no! Solution: calorie count to remind yourself how you should be eating It's easy to forget how many calories are in food. I recommend that every three or four months you do a week of calorie counting. I find calorie counting so time intensive but I think doing just a week can help you with discipline and it will remind you what foods you should be eating. 2. You're not burning enough calories To lose 1 lb of weight a week you need a deficit of 3,500 calories per week. This can come from a combination of burning more calories and eating fewer calories. You might be burning less than you think. Solution: discount gadget estimates It's very hard to estimate the calories burnt by a particular exercise. If you're using a gadget that tells you how many calories you've burnt, I recommend discounting the value by at least 10% to account for inaccuracies. 3. You're building muscle Muscle weighs more than fat so I wouldn't worry if you can see that your body is changing but the scale says you weigh the same. The more muscle you build, the more calories you will burn at rest. Solution: just keep at it, you'll start losing weight again soon 4. Hormonal changes e.g. due to stress your hormones might be resisting change If you are suffering from stress deal with that underlying issue. High stress levels stimulate increased production of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol promotes fat storage. Solution: destress 5. The compliments are getting to you I recently went home for a holiday and everyone was complimenting my weight loss. They were astounded that I wasn't chubby any more. It felt great and unfortunately I felt as though it gave me license to eat more liberally, and I did. I had a piece of cake almost everyday for two weeks! Do you think this could be happening to you? Solution: don't let compliments get to your head, use them to egg you on. Is it the type of food you are eating? It's better to substitute junk food with healthy alternatives but ultimately it's the total number of calories that you eat that matters. Whatever you eat, have a small portion. Portion control is the ultimate problem for most people and dealing with just that is massive progress. Consistency and time I am personally still working on losing weight but sometimes I go for a couple months without losing anything. On the plus side I have been on a general downward trend and I'm not gaining weight either. I have learnt that consistency makes a big difference especially consistent exercise. Don't be impatient. Give your body time to adjust to changes in your diet and in your exercise regime. If your exercise schedule is too ambitious you will feel discouraged when you miss a session and might end up giving it up altogether. It's better to exercise twice a week only consistently than to exercise four times in one week and then do nothing for two weeks. Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy By Heather Fat is a necessary part of a healthy diet but nowadays many of us regularly exceed our recommended fat intake. The average man should eat no more than 95g of fat in a day and the average women needs no more than 70g (food.gov.uk). Excess fat consumption causes weight gain and increased vulnerability to all the problems borne of being being overweight. Here are some tips that will help you cut on fat: 1. Use less fat in the preparation of food:
2. Choose less fatty foods when you eat out and when you prepare your own meals: Fried food is a major problem, it makes non-fatty foods fatty e.g. egg fried rice (just boil rice), fried steaks, chicken and other meats. If it says fried, avoid it. The best dishes to go for are those that are:
3. Learn which foods have a lot of fat and eat less of them. Foods that contain a lot of fat include:
4. If you eat a lot of dairy (milk, yoghurt, cream and so on) choose the low-fat or reduced fat range. 5. Remove fatty snacks from your regular diet. Consider these treats. You should only need to treat yourself irregularly If you love nuts, stop buying them regularly. Nuts are actually a major stumbling block of mine, I love them and so does my husband so although I try not to buy them, he does! I've asked him to keep them at work but he doesn't want to! He doesn't like touching food with his fingers in a hospital - major problem if you're a nut-loving doctor. 6. Change your meat consumption pattern
7. Handle fatty meat differently to lean meat. If you do buy fatty meat, you can:
8. Don't add fat to your meals and snacks. These are the main culprits for most people:
9. Make sandwiches without using a spread... ...you might not notice and if you do, you will get used to it. If you buy a sandwich, a bagel or a baguette, check how much spread has been added, if there is more than a sliver - scrape some off. Seriously, I do this. I find the French-styled cafe Paul a very big user of fat. I love my Paul baguettes but I always have to scrape the fat out. 10. Don't have a fried breakfast more than twice a week. If you are on holiday and want to treat yourself you can increase that but remain cautious. When I say no fried breakfast, I am including even something as simple as a one fried egg. No fried breakfasts!! 11. Eat more grains e.g. beans and lentils! They are very low in fat and high in fibre. 12. If you're lucky enough to have a cook or chef teach them how to use less fat. When you stock your cupboards with oil, butter etc, tell them how long you expect that stuff to last. 13. Need to grease a pan? Use spray oil. Some varieties provide only one calorie per spray! Alternatively, instead of pouring oil into the pan, measure it out using a tablespoon. 14. Take a packed lunch to work. You'll save money and calories. Lunch is one-third of your main meals and eating a restuarant bought lunch on daily basis will lead to a lot of extra fat consumption. Avoid it at all costs. I hope these pointers help. If you follow the above rules you should be able to cut your consumption of fat by a huge amount. Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy By Heather I am currrently at the lowest weight I've been in 10 years! Having reached this optimal weight, I decided I don't want to lose much more but I do want to tone up. To this end, two months ago I increased my level of strength training. Actually, who am I kidding? I started a regular schedule of strength training for the first time in my life and the impact on my body has been awesome. Note: Strength training is the same thing as resistance training. What counts as resistance training? Resistance training normally doesn't require much movement from one place to another; it's achieved using the body's own strength. Examples include:
What isn't resistance training? Any activity that involves a huge amount of movement and can increase your heart rate significantly e.g. running, cycling, dancing, football and other sports that involve a lot of moving. These are cardiovascular exercises or simply, cardio. Why is resistance training good? 1. It increases your strength (and energy) levels which is good in itself 2. It improves your muscle tone and with consistency builds muscle 3. It increases your metabolism; the more skeletal muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate i.e. you burn more calories when you're doing nothing which certainly cannot be bad What's harder - resistance training or cardio? Personally, I would say resistance. Cardio involves a repetition of the sam movements over and over again so you can jog or cycle, for example, but have your mind in another place entirely. A successful strength traning workout involves lots of different actvities and your mind has to be more engaged in the session. Indeed, the first sessions are almost imppossible. Two months ago, I couldn't do two consecutive bent-knee leg-drops (the easiest form) it took me two full months to get to six consecutive leg drops. And the best bit? I found that I was eating a little more but still maintaining my weight. This goes to show that the combination of cardio and resistance does help with weight maintenance. If you don't already do both, start to incorporate both forms of exercise into you regime to get more out of your work outs. Currently, I do two 5 km jogs per week and two sessions of resistance training. I also use cycling as a mode of transport if I'm not going very far. Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy |
By Heather
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