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Wednesday 21 July 2010

What is good nutrition?!

what is good nutrition?????? well that is certaininly the question.
Many times i have believed that my general food intake is pretty rich in the nutrients that i should be getting, however being a vegetarian for 15 years (recently fallen off the wagon) i often dont get enough protein, but generaly i try pretty hard to take in the right foods and not too many calories.
However today we have been taking a bit more of an indepth look at nutrition and it turns out its a bit of a political quagmire, with companies bribing scientists to research the benefits of their food... and then blatently lieing about the result.
Now how many of you out there  grab the low fat this and the low fat that? or use marg instead of butter?
well i tell you now be very careful of what you are picking up..... it could indeed be far worse for you than the original full fat version.
for many years people have been afraid of fat (did you know someone was paid to do some research to say how bad it was for you and when he actually found out it was near the oposite he was paid to tell us otherwise!)... we are constantly told of how bad it is, and how much it will clog our arteries.... and eat our low fat spread because its far better for you and will lower cholesterol too.
what they dont tell you is that to make their spread look or taste similar to the real thing they have prodded and played with and mutated what was once a good food and created a monster TRANS FATS being a prime example.
stay away from anything that says hydrogenated... or partially hydroginated, steer clear of anything white... nature doesnt do white (except coconut) and instead reach for the most natural and unprocessed food you can, it will take longer to break down and thus keep you on a more even keel.
Many processed foods will cause the dreaded sugar spike... most people just associate this with a sugar low after and as long as its only a couple of hundred calories (that yummy twix) think its fine if its in my daily limit. but actually its far more than that,  high GI  foods (those that break down into energy/glucose/sugar easily) with high Glyceamic loads (increased blood insulin levels for longer) can cause havoc with your system.
Most are more afraid of fat than they are sugar... when the truth is sugar is by far the greater evil, by causing increased levels of blood glucose they increase the levels of blood insulin which in turn stops you from burning fat. Put it this way insulin loves to store fat, imagine it running round your body stealing any free floating fat and wacking it straight into those bumby areas! Now i know i would rather burn it than store it so im going to be far more careful about my sugar intake and a little less fearful of my GOOD fat intake (after all your spinal cord is primarily made up of fat amongst many ther things)
so if you really want to make sure you are eating the right things by all means listen to the advice but keep an open mind about where that advise is coming from and who it might actually benefit. and most of all try to avoid highly processed food.... if its been bashed, microwaved, rolled, frozen whatever its guna be far easier to absorb and thus the body will use less energy to break it down... and roll on thunder thighs.
but dont think this means you cant have a little of what you want.... i will still have my chocolate bar, pizza or my caffee late.... ill just be far more aware of its affects and limit the times i have it.

Monday 19 July 2010

Mairis army

Well it's been one heck of a week. I have taken part in more aerobics classes then I ever would have thought humanely possible in a week!
I have side stepped,grapevined and leg curled my way to a very sweaty victory.
Now I have never been the most comfortable aerobics participant often feeling more like a baby elephant on ice than anything else. But through sheer determination, sweat and tears not to mention a few hours in London fields park prancing around like a looney..... I have made it through.
Today was assessment day and along with a banana a few of what looked like the cast from frame, and myself dressed as an army sergeant we pranced our way through aerobic hell and came out the other side qualified!
Oh yeah me and my barmy army can dance and no we will bring forth our aerobic prowess to the world 

Saturday 10 July 2010

Today has definatly been a Fat Day

It has been so hot in london today..... which completly blew out any plans we had to go wondering far or do revision.
So instead we had a rather unsuccessful trip to primark (short shopping) and then headed to the market where a mahusive slab of water melon was bought and some cucumber and strawberries! yes you have guessed its pimms O'clock and today was going to be a pimms day :-)
We then headed to sainsburys and after getting various bits for sandwiches we also had some mint icecream fall into the trolley along with various ice cream sundae making materials.... such as that chocolate sauce you had as a kid which goes hard on contact with the icecream yummmy.
I know its bad but it was just too hot to do anything today other than chill out, drink pimms and eat icecream.
we all deserve a Fat day everynow and again. but i will do the gym time in the week as penance :-)
Happy Pimms Day

Now i guess i should go on and do a little revision for my Personal Training exam now its a bit cooler.

Thursday 8 July 2010

Now heres where it gets interesting

Well im now nearly half way through my PT course and im still loving every minute. Now most of the anatomy and physiology we have done up to this week has been more of a refresher for me, but we are now getting deep into the practical applications of the science and all i want is more.....
Im learning so much about myself and the reasons both mental and physical as to why i have plateauxed! and Yes Toby i can now see what you mean about over training.....and i admit im falling firmly into that category.
All this time i was thinking ive been training less vigorously than last year and couldnt quite see why i have not managed to loose this last stone and a half... its been so irritating.... stubbourn fat!
I thought i had a fairly mixed up routine, but when i look at it now, even though many of the excercises may change i have been training in the same zone and essentially my body has got bored. Its desperate for a change. imagine how bored you would get eating the same breakfast every day for a year.... well thats pretty much how my body is feeling.
Now much of the reason my routine is set is due to work and time i have availible.... but its no excuse for me not to change it up a bit more..... as the saying goes "if you always do what you have always done you will always get what you have always got!"
I cant wait to start instigating some of the training methods we are learning, now i have a better understanding of what works what and why, and how it will make it so much easier for me to apply logic and get gains ( or losses dependent on how you look at it :-) ).... not just for me but for my future clients too.
i can barely control the excitement of the potential for me to not only change my life but also improve others too. as i have said before if i can just change a handful of peoples lives the way i have what better reward could i have... and i really hope that i can be just good enough to do that.