Are you an emotional eater ?

Do you crave sugar and junk when you are down, stressed, tired, bored etc ? Do you reach for the biscuits if work is stressing you out ? Do you crave chocolate in the evenings when the kids are in bed and you want to treat yourself to something "nice" . Do you crave sugar if you have had an argument with someone you care about and are upset ? If so, then you are an emotional eater. To be honest, I think a lot of people are emotional eaters, including myself. There is good news however, once you identify why you emotionally eat, and what emotions trigger cravings for junk, then you are on the road to recovery !
Here are some tips to stop you letting your emotions control your eating habits.

1. Write it down. Every time you crave junk even though you are not hungry, instead of giving in, grab a pen and paper and write down how you are feeling. You may laugh at this but it does work. By the time you have written down your feelings, you will have forgotten about what you were craving. Just hide your notebook somewhere out of sight if you do not want anyone else to read it !

2. Distract yourself. They say cravings last only 3 minutes ! So, ring a friend, have a bath, read a book, listen to music, go out for exercise, play an instrument, just do something to get you away from the kitchen !

3. Get rid of temptation out of the house. If it's not there you can't have it !

4. Be strong, mind over matter. Once you can control your mind, then you can control your stomach. Just say no. ! Use your emotions in a positive way, rather than in a negative way.

5. If you have a slice of cake or whatever tempting you in the fridge, just dump it ! Once it is gone you will feel much better that it is not sitting there, tempting you.

6. Google "sugar" and read about the negative effects it has on your body....

7. Drink a pint of water.

8. Think of  why you shouldn't give into your cravings. Picture yourself in three months time, looking and feeling fantastic.

9. If your cravings happen at night, just go to bed  earlier if you can !

10. If you must nibble on something, make it healthy. Raw vegetable sticks, a small few nuts and/or seeds, some fruit are all good options.

Many of us are very healthy all day and delighted with ourselves, but all our good work could be quickly undone in the evening by making poor choices when it comes to snacking. So, be aware of why you are snacking, and what exactly you are snacking on !

Caterpillars and Butterflies

According to the Daily Mail yesterday, September is the second "fattest" month of the year. As per their research, the average person gains around 5 lbs in Autumn. This is due to people hibernating in front of the TV during the dark evenings, snacking on unhealthy food. People are not as motivated to go out and exercise, and get more comfort from sitting inside in their warm houses, letting the pounds slowly creep on.

Why not be in the minority, and don't let yourself fall into the "average person" category. If you are reading this, then you are not going to fall into this category, because you care ! You want to get fitter and leaner, well done you! We will not let the dark evenings of Autumn and Winter get in the way of our quest for healthier bodies. It is very easy to find excuses not to exercise and the dark evenings is definitely a well used excuse. Lets not use that excuse! We are stronger than that.
Our bodies are more covered up now with the weather getting cooler. We are starting to wear jackets and jumpers again. We are like caterpillars, all covered up in extra layers.  However, this doesn't mean that we have to let our bodies also get covered up in fat! Why not use these months to get fit, toned, and healthy. Then, next year, when the weather starts to warm up, we can shed our layers and emerge as beautiful butterflies! We will have worked hard all Autumn and Winter on toning and getting leaner bodies. We can then use Spring and Summer to show off our toned limbs that we will have worked hard on all Autumn and Winter ! Sounds good doesn't it!?
So, lets do it!!

There are so many exercises and workouts you can do at home, and all you need is a pair of runners and a willing body! You can get ideas from my "Exercise of the week" on this blog, of fantastic exercises you can do.
Or, if you don't feel like working out at home, then join a fitness class (like Circuits in Cloyne:)), or why not join a running group? Another option is to get a friend to go walking or running with you in the dark evenings.
Your diet is also a critical factor in weight management. You cannot underestimate the significance of your diet when it comes to weight control. If you eat crap, you will feel like crap, gain weight, and be demotivated to exercise. Eat healthily, fuel your body for exercise, drink lots of water, and your body will love you for it!

There really is no excuse for putting up weight in these darker months. Remember, we don't want to be the "average person" who puts on weight in Autumn! Think of the beautiful butterfly that is going to emerge next year when we start shedding the layers again!!


 

We all know that white bread, white pasta, crackers etc are bad for us .... But why exactly?

It has been drilled into us for a long many years how we should avoid any processed, refined carbohydrates like white bread, white pasta, crackers, cereals, etc. We all are told repeatedly that over consumption of these processed carbohydrate will lead to weight gain, and that we should stick to the smart carbohydrates like wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, etc.

Unfortunately, yes, the experts are right, processed carbohydrates are bad for us, and will lead much quicker to weight gain if overconsumed, but why oh why is it so hard to keep away from them ....?
Do you ever notice that no matter how much white bread, or biscuits you eat, you never feel full? Yet if you eat a plate of roasted vegetables, sweet potato, and a salmon fillet, you would be very satisifed... Why is it so easy to overeat the "bad" stuff? ??

Point One: The difference between refined white foods and their healthier counterparts is processing and fiber. Most white carbphydrates start with flour that has been ground and refined by stripping off the outer layer, where the fiber is located ! And guess what? It is the fiber that fills us up! So how are we supposed to feel full with no fiber?
So anything white has little or no nutrients to fill us up and provide the body with what it needs. It is very tasty yes, but nutritious, sadly no.

Point Two : The body absorbs processed white grains and simple sugars quite quickly. Increased blood sugars from these foods trigger a release of insulin, and overeating these foods leads to elevation of insulin levels. Why is it bad to have too much insulin? If your body releases too much insulin, it will begin to lose its sensitivity to insulin, which means that your cells won't receive as strong a signal to sponge up excess sugar out of your blood, resulting in high blood sugar.
Excess insulin is also known to cause weight gain, since insulin promotes the storage of fat.

Why does insulin promote the storage of fat?
We know now that once we eat anything, the hormone insulin is produced. White processed food results in higher insulin being produced. The functions of insulin are:

• To absorb glucose, fatty acids and amino acids.
• Starts building glycogen from glucose (preferred energy to fuel exercise), fats from glycerol and fatty acids, and proteins from amino acids.
• The fatty acids are then absorbed from the blood into fat cells, muscle cells and liver cells. In these cells, under stimulation by insulin, fatty acids are made into fat molecules and stored as fat droplets. Therefore, the more insulin, the more the fatty acids are made into fat molecules and stored as fat.   

Also, unfortunately for us, it is possible that fat cells will take up glucose and amino acids, and also convert them into fat. Our bodies are experts at making fat!!!

So that's the end of the science lesson for today! I've explained it as simply as possible, apologies if you got bored half way through :( . For me, if I understand why something happens or how, I am more inclined to go along with it. It is good to know why exactly we should run a mile from anything processed or refined. When doing your supermarket shop, avoid the middle aisles where all this "nutrient poor" food is, and fill up on "nutrient dense" food from the outer aisles. e.g. lots of fresh fruit and veg, sweet potato, lean meat, fish, etc. etc. All of this food is absorbed much slower into the blood stream, doesn't cause a spike in insulin levels, actually fills you up, keeps you full for longer, and gives you lots of energy to fuel your exercise.

       Remember, eat for long term nourishment and not immediate satisfaction!! 

Exercise of the week - Burpees !

Hey! I've not posted in a week, apologies! I've been so caught up with, and excited about planning and preparing for my new classes which I started last night. I couldn't think of anything else but my new venture :) I was like a child waiting for Santa to come !!
So, they started last night, and I am so thrilled now that I've begun. A lovely bunch of people turned up, who worked super hard last night for the first night. I know that as the weeks go on, and we all get to know each other, we will not only work hard and sweat, but we will also have fun along the way. If we all put in our max effort, before we know it, everyone will start to see their hard work paying off! So if anyone who is reading this was there last night, thanks so much for coming, and for putting your trust in me. I will do my utmost to make sure you enjoy it and work to the level that your body is capable of, in order to see good results!

So now, it's time for exercise of the week, the Burpee. This exercise is a tough one, it will get the heart rate right up, and works almost every muscle of your body! It really is a fantastic all rounder. So here goes..


1. Begin in a standing position.
2. Drop into a squat position with your hands on the ground.
3. Kick your feet back while keeping your arms extended. (You can do a push up at this point to make it more challenging)
4. Immediately jump your feet back in to the start position.
5. Jump up from the squat position to a standing position.

See the diagram below. Picture 4 shows the push up, but you can leave this out if you wish.

If you are a beginner, try to start off by doing 5 of these at a time, at your own pace, and work up from there...

These are on my list for next weeks class!  

  

Exercise of the week - Wall Sit

This weeks exercise is deceptive. It looks easy, but once you are sitting into it for any length of time, you will start to feel the burn! It is a brilliant one for convenience as all you need is a wall! So no excuses, ok !:) 

This exercise works the core, legs and bum, thus the reason why it's one of my favourites! 

Here's how to do it:

1. Stand in front of a wall (back to the wall about 2 feet in front of it) and lean against it.
2. Slide down until your knees are at about 90-degree angles and hold, keeping the abs contracted, for 20-60 seconds. Do not rest your hands on your lap!
3. Come back to start and repeat, holding the squat at different angles to work the lower body in different ways.

If you want alternatively you can sit into it and hold for as long as you can hold it for, without standing up!

To make it more difficult, hold some weights in your hands and hold your arms out to the side, this will incorporate the deltoid (shoulder) muscles into the exercise. 

Try it tonight and enjoy :)  

                      

Strive for progression, not perfection

It is not easy. It is definitely not easy. What's not easy I hear you ask ? Living a healthy life all of the time is not easy. It is well worth the effort, but it is not easy. It takes a lot of hard work and discipline to stay committed and on track when trying to lead a healthy lifestyle. If it were easy, everyone would be walking around with perfect, toned bodies, eyes, skin and hair sparkling, and a mighty big spring in step, bursting with energy and positivity. The reality is that those of us leading a healthy lifestyle, are just working on bettering ourselves all the time, doing the best we can, some days being easier than others.  Life can be a struggle, everyone has problems and worries to deal with. Life is also very busy, we have to balance work, with families, with housework, with illnesses maybe, and a whole lot of other things thrown in the mix. So, isn't it only fair that we go easy on ourselves?
Being healthy shouldn't be such a huge chore in our lives, we have enough to worry about. There is so much in the media nowadays about being healthy and slim, and perfect. On every magazine cover there are different celebs flaunting their bodies (mostly airbrushed I might add!). If we are striving to look like those celebs, we do have a huge chore on our hands ! Every time we pick up a newspaper we are reading about the latest diet to try, and the latest book to buy that will promise to help fight the flab forever. No wonder we are so hard on ourselves and the strive for perfection. However, if we strive for perfection, I personally think we are setting ourselves up for unhappiness. What happens if our idea of perfection is never reached? What is the perfect body anyway, and even if we had one, would we be finally satisfied? That is a whole other blog.....
In the meantime, why don't we go easier on ourselves and strive for progress, not perfection? I won't deny that we should definitely be all as healthy and fit as possible, but we should praise ourselves for every small effort we take to leading a healthy life. Why not take pride in every healthy decision you make, no matter how small. Take pride in denying yourself that second helping, saying no to biscuits and cake, going for some exercise, swopping white for brown... it's all progress... and we should slap ourselves on the back for those efforts we take. It would be easier sometimes to just sit on the couch and have cake, rather going out to an exercise class, or going for a run, even though we know the latter option is definitely the better.... It can be hard sometimes to motivate yourself, especially in the evening after a long day at work, or a long day at home minding the kids.... So go on, every time you do something healthy when really you'd rather take the easier unhealthy route, tell yourself well done, and you will feel much happier about your decision even before you go for some exercise, or say  no to that cake !:)

It is actually the journey to health and fitness that is the best part, not the destination.

The power of positive thinking ... I can do it!!

Positive thinking is vital for achieving success. A positive outlook on life is one of the most powerful assets you can have. Positive people expect success, good health and happiness. When you are introducing any change to your lifestyle, if you are not positive, you will find it much more difficult to achieve your goals.

This is very true when it comes to diet and exercise. If you are trying to lose weight, if you are negative and tell yourself that you will not have any willpower to stick to a healthy diet, then you definitely will not make it any easier on yourself. Sticking to a healthy diet can be very challenging, even the person with a huge amount of willpower will admit to that. There are so many temptations at every turn. Every time I go to the supermarket, I have to run past the bakery section to avoid looking at all the gorgeous cakes, buns and bread! Tins of roses are starting to appear in the shops ... In restaurants nearly everything comes with chips ....I have a treat press for the kids at home ... In these challenging situations, you must try to stay positive. Remind yourself of the reasons why sticking to a healthy diet is so important to you, remind yourself of how you will look and feel in the future when you do stick to your healthy lifestyle. When you do stick to a healthy lifestyle, you will look and feel fantastic.

The same is true for exercise. If you are starting a new exercise plan, or are a regular exerciser, you must stay positive. I am a big fan of running, and enter an occasional road race. The last race I ran, it was a lap I had to run twice. As I finished the first lap, I was feeling tired. I thought to myself that I will never be able to run another lap. Pride got the better of me however and I told myself to keep running. I did and I finished the race in a reasonable time. If I had let my negative thoughts take over, I would have just stopped after one lap and went home feeling deflated. Exercise can be very challenging. If you are really pushing your body out of your comfort zone, it can be very easy to give up and go home. It is vital that you stay positive and tell yourself you can do it, you can run that extra mile or extra 100 metres, you can do more burpees, you can cycle faster, you can squat deeper.... Your mind can give up before your body does, but don't let it. You would be surprised at what your body can achieve if you let it, and don't let negativity hamper your efforts in getting fit and healthy!  

What is your posture like now as you read this?

Good posture is so important as we lead our daily lives. When you practice good posture, not only is it healthy for your spine, but it can improve your self confidence, and instantly make you look and feel taller and slimmer.

As you are reading this, notice how your posture is. If you were slouching, sit up straight and take note of how you feel now. Feels better, doesn't it? Try to remember during the day to sit or stand tall. It can be easy to forget, especially if you are sitting at a desk and absorbed in your work, or busy rushing around, but do make an effort to keep from slouching.

Try these tips to help perfect your posture:

• When you are standing, there should be an imaginary straight line that connects your ears to your shoulders, all the way down to your ankles.
• Pull your shoulders back so that they are in line with your earlobes. 
• Pull your tummy in, and keep your abs engaged.
• Imagine your nipples are headlights, and you are using them to light up the road ahead :)

• If you are sitting at a computer, sit up tall. Push your hips as far back as they can go in the chair. 
• Lower your chair if needs be, to make sure your feet are planted firmly on the floor Make sure your upper and lower back are supported.
• Sit close to the keyboard and make sure the keys are centered with your body.
• Make sure your shoulders are relaxed, and your wrists and hands are straight.
• It is recommended also that you take small breaks from sitting at a desk and walk around for a few minutes.

                                              "Stand tall, reach high, and dream big"   

 

Exercise of the week - Tricep Dips

This week I'm going to talk about Tricep Dips. As the name suggests, these hit the tricep muscle, which is at the back of your upper arm. A lot of people dislike this part of their body, but with this exercise, you will be wearing sleeveless tops all year round to show off your toned triceps!
The beauty of these are that they can be done anywhere, anytime! All you need is a chair, bench, step, couch ... anything at all which is a few inches off the ground.

1. Sit down on a chair. (Easy! :)) Position your hands behind you, shoulder width apart on the chair.
2. Slide your bum off the chair with your legs extended out in front of you. You can keep your knees bent or straight, if you are a beginner I suggest keeping them bent, (see picture). As you progress and get stronger you can straighten your legs.
3. Nearly straighten your arms, but keep a little bend in your elbows.
4. Slowly bend your elbows to lower your body towards the floor until your elbows are at a 90 degree angle. Keep your back close to the chair.
5. Once your elbows are bent to 90 degrees, straighten your arms as you rise back up. Keep your shoulders down and relaxed as you perform this exercise.

Aim for 3 sets of 15 reps of these every second day.