Calories..
What are they and how many a day should we consume? A question asked all the time!!!
Some foods and beverages contain ‘empty calories’ such as alcohol and sweets because they contain lots of calories but no nutritional value whatsoever
A generic table shows below the daily recommended amounts of calories to be consumed per day:
Women Sedentary 2000
Women Active 2500
Men Sedentary 2500
Men Active 3000
A Calorie is ‘The unit of measurement of energy derived from digested food. Fat contains about twice as many calories per gram as protein or carbohydrate’.
Foods have carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Some beverages have alcohol.
Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram.
Proteins have 4 calories per gram.
Alcohol has 7 calories per gram.
Fat has 9 calories per gram.
The UK department of health estimates that a female requires on average 1940 calories per day and a male requires 2550 calories per day.
These figures vary greatly though depending on your lifestyle, your age, your body composition, your height and weight and your daily activity!!
If someone is very active and works out a lot or is constantly busy then they will be burning off more calories than say someone who is sedentary.
To lose weight you need to burn off more calories than you are consuming - leaving your body in a deficit. Easy!
When your body is in a deficit it has no choice but to consume some other form of energy such as your body’s fat resources - common sense really!!
Monday, 28 July 2008
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Heart Rates!
Do you exercise because you want to lose weight?
If so, you probably know that cardio exercise is a key factor in helping you lose weight.
Many people are warned to stay within their 'fat burning' zone for the best results, but do you really burn more fat if you work at lower intensities? Is it the most effective way to help you lose weight?
The body does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat in the 'fat burning zone' or at lower intensities.
But, at higher intensities, you burn a greater number of overall calories which is what you should be concerned about when trying to lose weight
What Is Your Target Heart Rate Zone?
In order to figure out which zone you are in you can use the KARNOVEN FORMULA, which in basic terms is 220- your age!
Or to make it a bit more precise you can incorporate you resting heart rate as well!
Here is the formula for a 25 year old with a resting heart rate of 65:
220 – 25 = 195
195 – 65 (resting heart rate) = 130
130 x 65 % = 84.5 (lower end) 0r 85% (higher end) =110.5
84.5 + 65 = 149.5
110.5 + 65 =175.5.
Therefore to work out between 65% and 85% or your maximum heart rate you would train between 149.5 and 175.5!
To work out your resting heart rate the best method is when you wake up in the morning take for pulse for 15 seconds then multiply by four! It is most accurate in the morning as you have not yet had any caffeine or stress!
If so, you probably know that cardio exercise is a key factor in helping you lose weight.
Many people are warned to stay within their 'fat burning' zone for the best results, but do you really burn more fat if you work at lower intensities? Is it the most effective way to help you lose weight?
The body does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat in the 'fat burning zone' or at lower intensities.
But, at higher intensities, you burn a greater number of overall calories which is what you should be concerned about when trying to lose weight
What Is Your Target Heart Rate Zone?
In order to figure out which zone you are in you can use the KARNOVEN FORMULA, which in basic terms is 220- your age!
Or to make it a bit more precise you can incorporate you resting heart rate as well!
Here is the formula for a 25 year old with a resting heart rate of 65:
220 – 25 = 195
195 – 65 (resting heart rate) = 130
130 x 65 % = 84.5 (lower end) 0r 85% (higher end) =110.5
84.5 + 65 = 149.5
110.5 + 65 =175.5.
Therefore to work out between 65% and 85% or your maximum heart rate you would train between 149.5 and 175.5!
To work out your resting heart rate the best method is when you wake up in the morning take for pulse for 15 seconds then multiply by four! It is most accurate in the morning as you have not yet had any caffeine or stress!
Monday, 14 July 2008
Snacks!
After coming home from finishing a tough ride on my new bike I was so hungry I barely had any control over my hunger and ended up eating anything I could get my hands on…and then feeling guilty after I decide to stock up on some healthy snacks!
So thought I would list some for you to choose from!
One of the best nutritional tips for people trying to lose weight or just eat healthy is to eat little meals all the time!
Never go for more than two-three hours without eating.
When you eat more often you speed up your metabolic rate, the longer you go without eating the slower your metabolic rate gets…
SO, some healthy things to snack on during the day could be:
• Dried fruit/ nuts
• Yogurt with fruit/ muesli/honey
• Granola bars
• Fruit-bananas/apples/strawberries
• Handful of nuts (raw)
• Fruit smoothie
• Wholegrain crisps
• Hummus and carrots
• Crispbread/ryvita with peanut butter/honey/jam
• Seeds and raisins mix
• Two pieces dark chocolate
The benefit of eating foods such as listed above is that they are mostly slow releasing meaning they will help curb your cravings. When you eat meals high in sugar and fat you feel full for only a short time and soon you are craving something sweet to satisfy your hunger.
Eating foods which have a low GI (glycemic Index) means they release into your blood sugar levels slowly hence keeping you full for longer.
Eating little and often is proven to help people lose weight but you must remember to make your portion sizes smaller otherwise you will end up consuming more calories than before and could end up gaining weight.
So thought I would list some for you to choose from!
One of the best nutritional tips for people trying to lose weight or just eat healthy is to eat little meals all the time!
Never go for more than two-three hours without eating.
When you eat more often you speed up your metabolic rate, the longer you go without eating the slower your metabolic rate gets…
SO, some healthy things to snack on during the day could be:
• Dried fruit/ nuts
• Yogurt with fruit/ muesli/honey
• Granola bars
• Fruit-bananas/apples/strawberries
• Handful of nuts (raw)
• Fruit smoothie
• Wholegrain crisps
• Hummus and carrots
• Crispbread/ryvita with peanut butter/honey/jam
• Seeds and raisins mix
• Two pieces dark chocolate
The benefit of eating foods such as listed above is that they are mostly slow releasing meaning they will help curb your cravings. When you eat meals high in sugar and fat you feel full for only a short time and soon you are craving something sweet to satisfy your hunger.
Eating foods which have a low GI (glycemic Index) means they release into your blood sugar levels slowly hence keeping you full for longer.
Eating little and often is proven to help people lose weight but you must remember to make your portion sizes smaller otherwise you will end up consuming more calories than before and could end up gaining weight.
Monday, 7 July 2008
Weight Training
Following on from last week I thought I would write a bit more about RESISTANCE TRAINING.
What is resistance training?
Well, it is basically using resistance to gain more defined or bigger stronger muscles!
People can train in many different ways and styles to obtain the goals they desire.
There are different types of weights such as machine weights, free weights, kettle bells and even core stability based weights! Depending on whether you want to gain size or tone and define there are different sets and repetitions you can undertake to help aid you to your ultimate goal.
To gain size it is generally recommended that you force your muscles to go beyond its customary intensity. Overload progression can be obtained by:
• adding more weights
• number of sets or repetitions
A common guideline for building size would be between 8 and 10 reps to failure! Meaning that somewhere between the 8th or 10th rep you should be almost on your maximum and really pushing that last rep out!
To tone and define, it is usual to decrease the amount of weight you are lifting and increase the repetitions.
For example, a common guideline for toning would be:
• 12-15 reps
• beginning to tire at between the 12th and 15th rep
It is generally recommended that if given a program you should stick to it for six weeks then change it so your body doesn’t have a chance to adapt! You can break up your program easily by either:
• training different muscles on different days
• doing a mini circuit one day- i.e 5 min warm up on bike/ rower then do one set of about 3 or 4 different weights, then again do 5 mins on treadmill/ bike, then back to weights again and so on
• push and pull exercises- opposite muscles- triceps and biceps, back and chest, lower back and abdominals
• doing upper body one day and lower body the next
Some very general rules for resistance training are:
• Never train the same muscles two consecutive days in a row- give your muscles 24-28 hours rest in between
• Always work opposite muscles- chest/back, biceps/triceps. As this decreases your chance of injury as muscles will be same strength and one muscles wont be pulling on the other
• If you are sore- don’t train! The theory no pain no gain is NOT true! Your body is trying to heal itself!
What is resistance training?
Well, it is basically using resistance to gain more defined or bigger stronger muscles!
People can train in many different ways and styles to obtain the goals they desire.
There are different types of weights such as machine weights, free weights, kettle bells and even core stability based weights! Depending on whether you want to gain size or tone and define there are different sets and repetitions you can undertake to help aid you to your ultimate goal.
To gain size it is generally recommended that you force your muscles to go beyond its customary intensity. Overload progression can be obtained by:
• adding more weights
• number of sets or repetitions
A common guideline for building size would be between 8 and 10 reps to failure! Meaning that somewhere between the 8th or 10th rep you should be almost on your maximum and really pushing that last rep out!
To tone and define, it is usual to decrease the amount of weight you are lifting and increase the repetitions.
For example, a common guideline for toning would be:
• 12-15 reps
• beginning to tire at between the 12th and 15th rep
It is generally recommended that if given a program you should stick to it for six weeks then change it so your body doesn’t have a chance to adapt! You can break up your program easily by either:
• training different muscles on different days
• doing a mini circuit one day- i.e 5 min warm up on bike/ rower then do one set of about 3 or 4 different weights, then again do 5 mins on treadmill/ bike, then back to weights again and so on
• push and pull exercises- opposite muscles- triceps and biceps, back and chest, lower back and abdominals
• doing upper body one day and lower body the next
Some very general rules for resistance training are:
• Never train the same muscles two consecutive days in a row- give your muscles 24-28 hours rest in between
• Always work opposite muscles- chest/back, biceps/triceps. As this decreases your chance of injury as muscles will be same strength and one muscles wont be pulling on the other
• If you are sore- don’t train! The theory no pain no gain is NOT true! Your body is trying to heal itself!
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Protein!
After talking about women’s health last week I thought it was only fair to mention a few topics today on Men’s Health! After working in a gym for nearly five years one of the most common questions I hear from a man are ‘should I use protein shakes?’ and ‘when should I take protein shakes?’
SO, a few tips about Protein are:
• Protein is required for building and repairing muscle
• most athletes will find that their protein intakes are high enough because of the extra food they are eating to meet the energy needs of their sport
• high protein diets are not necessarily harmful but can get expensive and can carry the risk of replacing other nutritional goals
Guidelines for daily protein intake- grams per kg or body weight per day
Activity level Protein g/kg/d
Sedentary to low levels of activity 0.75
Regular activity (more than 1 hour per day) 1.0-1.2
Endurance athletes 1.2-1.4
Strength or speed athletes 1.2-1.7
The body naturally produces protein and most people can get their protein from food! Some of the foods that contain protein are:
• Eggs
• Chicken breast
• Turkey
• Nuts
• Cheese
• Milk
• Tofu
If you still feel you need protein shakes, then the times you need to take the shake depend on what your goals are! If you take the shake before your workout you will help preserve the lean tissue and will provide a small amount of energy. If you have the shake after your workout it will help aid in the recovery of your session!
SO, a few tips about Protein are:
• Protein is required for building and repairing muscle
• most athletes will find that their protein intakes are high enough because of the extra food they are eating to meet the energy needs of their sport
• high protein diets are not necessarily harmful but can get expensive and can carry the risk of replacing other nutritional goals
Guidelines for daily protein intake- grams per kg or body weight per day
Activity level Protein g/kg/d
Sedentary to low levels of activity 0.75
Regular activity (more than 1 hour per day) 1.0-1.2
Endurance athletes 1.2-1.4
Strength or speed athletes 1.2-1.7
The body naturally produces protein and most people can get their protein from food! Some of the foods that contain protein are:
• Eggs
• Chicken breast
• Turkey
• Nuts
• Cheese
• Milk
• Tofu
If you still feel you need protein shakes, then the times you need to take the shake depend on what your goals are! If you take the shake before your workout you will help preserve the lean tissue and will provide a small amount of energy. If you have the shake after your workout it will help aid in the recovery of your session!
Friday, 27 June 2008
Health Tips For Women!
Sorry guys, this week its going to be some health tips for women!!
For a woman to be fit and healthy all she needs to do is follow these general guidelines and believe in herself that she can do it!
Why not train with a buddy if you are conscious of training in the gym by yourself?
Or, if you lack the motivation don’t forgot that most gyms offer a wide variety of exercises classes for all different levels of fitness and personal tastes, from dancing to aerobics to spinning!
1) Exercise:
To maintain a healthy body all you need to do is take part in physical exercise three times a week for thirty minutes. Whether is be going for a walk in the park, taking part in an aerobics class or going for a swim in your local pool
2) Weights training:
No weights are NOT just for men! Resistance training has so many benefits! Many women are under the misconception they will ‘get too big’ or ‘they will hurt themselves’ or ‘look stupid’ by doing weights! The common phrase heard when a women mentions weights is ‘I just want to get toned’.
Well, here are a few ‘real truths’ on the benefits of resistance training:
• Your resting metabolic rate will be elevated
• You will continue to burn calories even after you have finished your workout
• It is very difficult for women to gain huge muscles mass- a women must have a high level of testosterone in her body to enable her to build muscle. Some women do- you will know if you are one of them!
• It will decrease your chances of developing arthritis and osteoporosis later in life
• It will improve your posture and increase your stamina
• Weight training will aid you in your chosen field whether it be running or cycling or swimming or playing a sport! As you
• Weight training can elevate your mood
• Weight training will bring your body fat percentage down more than just doing cardio alone
3) Eat Right:
Exercise alone won’t give you the perfect body! Diet plays a big part in achieving that dream body. On average a sedentary women should consume about 1800-2000 calories a day. Active women should consumer anywhere from 2000- 2500 calories depending on the amount of exercise being undertaken
For a woman to be fit and healthy all she needs to do is follow these general guidelines and believe in herself that she can do it!
Why not train with a buddy if you are conscious of training in the gym by yourself?
Or, if you lack the motivation don’t forgot that most gyms offer a wide variety of exercises classes for all different levels of fitness and personal tastes, from dancing to aerobics to spinning!
1) Exercise:
To maintain a healthy body all you need to do is take part in physical exercise three times a week for thirty minutes. Whether is be going for a walk in the park, taking part in an aerobics class or going for a swim in your local pool
2) Weights training:
No weights are NOT just for men! Resistance training has so many benefits! Many women are under the misconception they will ‘get too big’ or ‘they will hurt themselves’ or ‘look stupid’ by doing weights! The common phrase heard when a women mentions weights is ‘I just want to get toned’.
Well, here are a few ‘real truths’ on the benefits of resistance training:
• Your resting metabolic rate will be elevated
• You will continue to burn calories even after you have finished your workout
• It is very difficult for women to gain huge muscles mass- a women must have a high level of testosterone in her body to enable her to build muscle. Some women do- you will know if you are one of them!
• It will decrease your chances of developing arthritis and osteoporosis later in life
• It will improve your posture and increase your stamina
• Weight training will aid you in your chosen field whether it be running or cycling or swimming or playing a sport! As you
• Weight training can elevate your mood
• Weight training will bring your body fat percentage down more than just doing cardio alone
3) Eat Right:
Exercise alone won’t give you the perfect body! Diet plays a big part in achieving that dream body. On average a sedentary women should consume about 1800-2000 calories a day. Active women should consumer anywhere from 2000- 2500 calories depending on the amount of exercise being undertaken
Monday, 16 June 2008
Metabolism
A lot of people ask me about ‘metabolism’ and ask how it works and what it actually is…
Our bodies get the energy they need from food through metabolism, the chemical reactions in the body's cells that convert the fuel from food into the energy needed to do everything from moving to thinking to growing.
Some people have slow metabolisms meaning they burn off calories at a slower rate than others and people with fast metabolisms tend to burn off calories very easily…here are a few tips in which you can speed up the rate of your metabolism
1) Build Muscle
Increase the amount of muscle in your body. For every extra pound of muscle you put on, your body uses around 50 extra calories a day. In a recent study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is ‘metabolically active’ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.
Training with weights just 3 times a week for around 20 minutes is enough to build muscle. Not only will you be burning more calories, you’ll look better – whatever your weight.
2) Move More
Although the average person burns around 30% of calories through daily activity, many sedentary people only use around 15%. Simply being aware of this fact – and taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn.
The trick is to keep the ‘keep moving’ message in mind. Write the word ‘move’ on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll notice them when you’re sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move – here’s some ideas for burning calories:
• Stand up and stretch
• Move your head from side to side
• Change position
• Wriggle and fidget
• Pace up and down
• Don’t use the internal phone – go in person
• Use the upstairs loo
• Park in the furthest corner of the car park
• Stand up when you’re on the phone
• Clench and release your muscles
You’ll find lots of opportunities for burning more calories if you remember that you’re looking for them! Keep thinking ‘keep moving’.
3) Aerobic Exercise
As well as the actual amount of calories burned during exercise – studies have shown that sustained, high-intensity exercise makes you burn more calories for several hours afterwards.
Try 30 minute sessions of heart rate raising exercise, such as vigorous walking, step aerobics, jogging or swimming, 3-4 times a week.
4) Eat Little and Often
There is some evidence to suggest that eating small, regular meals will keep your metabolism going faster than larger, less frequent meals. There are two reasons why meal frequency may affect your metabolism. Firstly, levels of thyroid hormones begin to drop within hours of eating a meal, and metabolism slows. Secondly, it may be that the thermogenic effect of eating several small meals is slightly higher than eating the same amount of calories all at once.
Provided your small meals don’t degenerate into quick-fix, high fat, high sugar snacks, eating little and often can also help to control hunger and make you less likely binge!
Our bodies get the energy they need from food through metabolism, the chemical reactions in the body's cells that convert the fuel from food into the energy needed to do everything from moving to thinking to growing.
Some people have slow metabolisms meaning they burn off calories at a slower rate than others and people with fast metabolisms tend to burn off calories very easily…here are a few tips in which you can speed up the rate of your metabolism
1) Build Muscle
Increase the amount of muscle in your body. For every extra pound of muscle you put on, your body uses around 50 extra calories a day. In a recent study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is ‘metabolically active’ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.
Training with weights just 3 times a week for around 20 minutes is enough to build muscle. Not only will you be burning more calories, you’ll look better – whatever your weight.
2) Move More
Although the average person burns around 30% of calories through daily activity, many sedentary people only use around 15%. Simply being aware of this fact – and taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn.
The trick is to keep the ‘keep moving’ message in mind. Write the word ‘move’ on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll notice them when you’re sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move – here’s some ideas for burning calories:
• Stand up and stretch
• Move your head from side to side
• Change position
• Wriggle and fidget
• Pace up and down
• Don’t use the internal phone – go in person
• Use the upstairs loo
• Park in the furthest corner of the car park
• Stand up when you’re on the phone
• Clench and release your muscles
You’ll find lots of opportunities for burning more calories if you remember that you’re looking for them! Keep thinking ‘keep moving’.
3) Aerobic Exercise
As well as the actual amount of calories burned during exercise – studies have shown that sustained, high-intensity exercise makes you burn more calories for several hours afterwards.
Try 30 minute sessions of heart rate raising exercise, such as vigorous walking, step aerobics, jogging or swimming, 3-4 times a week.
4) Eat Little and Often
There is some evidence to suggest that eating small, regular meals will keep your metabolism going faster than larger, less frequent meals. There are two reasons why meal frequency may affect your metabolism. Firstly, levels of thyroid hormones begin to drop within hours of eating a meal, and metabolism slows. Secondly, it may be that the thermogenic effect of eating several small meals is slightly higher than eating the same amount of calories all at once.
Provided your small meals don’t degenerate into quick-fix, high fat, high sugar snacks, eating little and often can also help to control hunger and make you less likely binge!
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