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!
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