 I’m going to tell you a little story about the crazy week I had last week. And I’m sharing this because I’m 99.9% sure you can relate.
It all started when my schedule suddenly became unexpectedly crazy (work & home). Which meant I didn’t get a chance to work out as much as usual, or even get outside to take a walk. And because I was busy, my food choices were more “grab & go” than normal. And, of course, my sleep was terrible. Which made everything feel even crazier, which made me crave even more comfort and junk food, which made me sleep even worse, which made me feel too tired to work out.
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 The last couple of weeks I’ve been talking a lot about moderation, mostly about food … but guess what?
Moderation ALSO applies to exercise and your workouts. The old days of “no pain, no gain” are definitely in our rear-view mirror. Instead, it’s about the “minimum effective dose” for results. That means getting just enough exercise to maintain or improve your fitness, without overdoing it (especially when it comes to long or super-intense workouts). More is definitely NOT better, for so many reasons. Some of those reasons might surprise you: 🔸 It can set you up for injury 🔸 Your body needs time to recover between workouts 🔸 It can lead to burnout 🔸 It can make you feel hungry 🔸 It can make you tired, which means you’re less active the rest of the day, burning fewer calories than would have without exercising, and 🔸 Doing too many long or super-intense workouts is not good for your heart The key is to find the right mix for your fitness level, your goals, and your likes/dislikes. Your fitness prescription:  If you’ve ever had a stressful day (or year!) that affected your eating habits, you are NOT alone. In a study, more than 75% of adults said that stress played a role in their eating during the past month. This included overeating, eating junk foods, or not eating. Many of them said it happened weekly. They also said it made them feel sluggish, lazy, disappointed in themselves, or irritable. The good news is that I have a few tips below to stop stress from getting in the way of your results when it comes to food. But before I get into the tips, it’s important to know WHY stress affects our appetite. Knowing why can help you manage the situation when you’re in it! When you get stressed, your body releases hormones to help you deal with stress. Not only can these hormones – including adrenaline, insulin, and cortisol – cut your appetite and/or make you crave high-calorie, high-fat foods … They also can make your body store MORE fat than when you’re relaxed. The horrible hormones! This means it’s NOT a willpower issue, but an actual physiological response. Knowing this can help stop you from giving in to it when it happens.  Have you ever been here before?
Something motivated you to set a new health and fitness goal that you were REALLY excited about. Maybe you:
So, you committed to clean up your eating, start exercising, and make some BIG CHANGES when it comes to your self-care. And then you go at it … HARD! And things are going great. But then something unexpected pops on your schedule …. or you eat a little “off your plan” … or you skip a workout ….  Did you see the ‘Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood’ documentary last week?
Joe bravely opened up about the impact his parents' 'severe mental health problems' had on him during his childhood. During the documentary he revealed that he used exercise to de-stress and avoid the atmosphere at home. He said: “If I hadn’t exercised, I would have been a nightmare. No one would have been able to control me. PE was the one subject I looked forward to because it helped me focus.” Which is what I want to talk about today; the importance of exercise for mental health. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to improve your mental health and wellbeing. When we exercise it releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that boosts your mood and make you feel good. Regular exercise can even have an impact on depression and anxiety. The good news is, you don't have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the benefits. Even just modest amounts of exercise can make a difference. The trick is to make it enjoyable and don’t set your goals to high to begin with. If you have mental health issues and haven't exercised for a long time, setting yourself unrealistic goals like completing a marathon or working out twice a day will only leave you more despondent if you fall short. Better to set yourself achievable goals and build up from there. Here are my top three ways to get your body moving and those endorphins flowing:  If you sometimes get food cravings, rest assured that you’re not alone!
Most people battle with the urge to eat high calorie, sugary foods like chocolate, cake, ice cream, and pizza on a daily basis. Unfortunately, these excess calories and processed foods can harm your health and prevent you from losing weight. The good news is, with the tips below, you can break those habits quite quickly and improve your health and fitness in time for Summer:  It’s 5 a.m. You’re comfortably lying in bed when your alarm clock breaks the peace to summon you for a morning workout. “I’ll have time later.” “I’ll get it done after work.” They’re thoughts we’ve all had as the temptation of the snooze button takes over. However, working out in the morning is the best thing you can do because you are immediately setting the tone for the rest of your day. If you get yourself out of bed these are the benefits you’ll be rewarded with: 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 - When you workout at high intensity your body continues to burn calories after the workout, even when you’re not moving. So, if you get your workout done early on a morning, you’ll still be burning calories while you go about your daily tasks. 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 - Movement can be an excellent source of energy, something many of us need when we start our day. But beyond that, morning exercise has been shown to improve focus and mental abilities all day long. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗿 - Exercise releases endorphins that improve your mood. Working out in the morning is always a great way to put yourself in a happy place to take on your day. This endorphin release will keep your spirits up all day long and leave you with a better attitude. 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 - Waking up early on a morning to exercise certainly requires self-discipline. It’s not easy at first and does get easier over time. But while you’re training yourself into a routine, the discipline is likely to spill over into other areas of your life too. Making morning exercise part of your daily routine isn’t easy at first. You’ll have to be disciplined to wake up early. But it just takes a little time and practice to make it a habit. Here’s seven tips to help you get started:  Many things can cause stress. It can be caused by one big event or situation in your life. Or it might be a build-up of lots of smaller things.
Stress often occurs when you worry about something, feel under lots of pressure or face big changes in your life. It can also build up if you are going through a period of uncertainty or you feel like you don't have any control over certain situations. Fortunately, you can take some simple steps to reduce stress. One of the best things being EXERCISE! Here’s how exercise helps clear your mind:  Do you feel tired when you wake up on a morning?
Are you desperate for caffeine by mid-morning? Does your energy take a nosedive in the afternoon? If you’re experiencing those feelings above, one (or more) of these four issues could be affecting your energy levels… 1. Nutrient deficiency A poor diet, deficient in key nutrients like magnesium and B vitamins can lead to fatigue, as your cells don’t have the necessary vitamins and minerals to produce cellular energy. 2. Sugar overload Eating too much sugar and refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, pizza, cakes and cereals) triggers your blood sugar levels to spike rapidly. Even though that will give you a quick energy boost, your blood sugars will soon come crashing down, leaving you feeling tired again. 3. Excess caffeine Caffeine overstimulates the adrenal glands and puts the body into a stress response. It can also cause insulin resistance, which means your body can’t get fuel (glucose) into your cells, resulting in fatigue. 4. Dehydration Insufficient water prevents your cells from working efficiently. Seventy per cent of the body is made up of water, and you need to constantly replace fluids lost throughout the day. Aim for a minimum of two litres of water each day. If you’re feeling low on energy try these four simple lifestyle tweaks:  Most of us use the Easter holidays to spend time with friends and family, socialising, having fun and eating chocolate. Four days of indulgent eating over Easter isn't going to do too much damage to your health or fitness - as long as you get straight back on track asap. To help you, I've listed 5 of my best tips for getting back on the wagon after Easter: |
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May 2022
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