Fitness Q&A

1. What made a biggest impact on losing weight? cut down carbs, junk food or did you go low fat?

To be honest. It was a bit of everything. I did all of the things mentioned above. I didn't cut junk food completely, just reduce it to one or two cheats a week. I didn't cut carbs completely just measure them to don't over eat them. And I went high fat actually.

I find myself I feel fuller and with more energy having plenty of fats in my diet and by this I mean good fats like: avocado, almond butter, nuts, coconut milk (for curries and dishes), seeds, etc. I don't consume any cow milk and cheese only on my cheat meals. 

But the above is up to each individual. I know some ladies that much rather have a higher carb diet and lower fat. So analyse how you feel, and do what your body feels happy with. 

2. When you are training should you always focus on a particular part of the body?

Not necessarily. I know extremely fit people that do a full body workouts every time they exercise. So they do 1 or 2 exercises of each body part in one session.

I personally prefer dividing the muscles into: legs & glutes, Chest & Shoulders, Bicep & Tricep and finally back. I squeeze abs work-outs in at least 3 of those days after each workout.

3. Best food for a flat tummy?

There is a few foods that do help to have a flat tummy but the truth is all this foods work in as a team. Is not like you can eat an apple and have a flat tummy. If you eat that apple covered in melted chocolate is not going to work. So all those articles you see saying: "10 foods that keep a flat tummy" are only trying to get you to click on their pages.

To get a flat tummy you need to constantly eat these foods and reduce your junk and processed food to a minimum. 85% of your meals should be fresh produce and healthy dishes. The other 15% you can squeeze in a little cheeky cheat meal or some processed sauce you like, mayo, etc...

Now in saying this the following foods are good to help you have a flat tummy if you include them often enough in your diet and of course if you exercise regularly:

-Almonds: These delicious and versatile nuts contain filling protein and fiber, not to mention vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant

- Apple: A large apple has five grams of fiber, but it's also nearly 85 percent water, which helps you feel full

- Berries: The more fiber you eat the fewer calories you absorb from all the other stuff you put in your mouth

- Green Vegetables: One cup of spinach contains only about 40 calories, while a cup of broccoli has 55 calories and satisfies 20 percent of your day's fiber requirement

-Yogurth (If its vegan even better) The probiotic bacteria in most yogurts help keep your digestive system healthy, which translates into a lower incidence of gas, bloating, and constipation, which can keep your tummy looking flat.

- Oily Fish: Seafood, especially fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel, is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. These uber-healthy fats may help promote fat burning by making your metabolism more efficient

- Cucumber: Thanks to the flavonoid antioxidant quercetin (which reduces swelling) and a high water content of 96%, cucumbers “can definitely help prevent bloating

Those foods above are just to mention a few, but remember is no all about eating this foods is about including them regularly, avoiding sugar as much as possible and beign active!

4. How to keep healthy when doing shift hours?

Shift hours for nurses for example have it very tough as your body clock is not working as effectively as it should.

When you’re working a shift schedule, your eating and exercise habits can suffer.  People who work shifts sometimes skip meals, eat irregularly, eat unhealthy food, and may find it hard to keep up a regular exercise schedule. To avoid icing up the pounds here is a few tips:

Have healthy foods readily available at home and at work. If you are tired you will be more likely to reach for any foods that are near, doesn't matter if they are healthy or unhealthy so stock your kitchen and your work place with easy-to-eat raw vegetables (baby carrots, apple slices) and hummus, fruits (bananas, oranges), or a container of raw almonds and raisins. For carbs consider whole grains and “slow burning” foods like brown rice, oats, sweet potato, etc that keep you full and productive for longer stretches.

Do batch cooking! To have ready meals for when you get home. Freezing portion sizes of your favorite healthy meals for easy access, so you can just get home and re-heat your meals!

Eat small, frequent meals as opposed to large heavy ones. Heavy meals often have more calories than most people need in one sitting. Eating a large portion can also make you feel sluggish or tired while on the job. 

Sit down to eat. Pause for meals. Eat at a relaxed pace. Eating on the go or in front of a computer encourages mindless snacking.

Keep yourself hydrated. Your body often signals hunger and thirst in the same way. Bring a water bottle to work and fill it often. 

Exercise moderately. Try to take walks, walk up and down stairs, or stretch before or after your shift or during your breaks. People who exercise not only burn more calories during the day, but they sleep better as well

Get the sleep you need. People who sleep the recommended seven to nine hours each day are healthier, fitter, and less likely to suffer from obesity or other health issues than those who don’t sleep well. Remember that you can space out sleep with naps if a single period of rest isn’t possible with your schedule.  

5. Whats the best exercise classes? full body workout, step, spinning etc?

It all depends what are your goals. If in general you just want to maintain a lean body and be healthy, all those classes are very good. 

(Any activity that includes resistance and make you sweat is good)

Now, if your goal is to target specific body areas then I'd recommend you hitting the heavy weights machines at the gym.

6. Are pre-work outs good?

Like this "funny" memes about pre-works are thousands of them! I honestly don't find them funny. This s*** powder can literally make you feeling like s*** and if you have anxiety or suffer with depression this is a terrible idea as it can leave you just feeling worse!

 It might be tempting to try one of these supplements before hitting the gym or heading out for a run, in hopes of increasing your energy levels, muscle power or endurance during your workout.

Preworkout supplements often contain a mystery blend of ingredients ranging from caffeine to guarana to creatine

You've got ingredients that are going to increase blood flow, increase heart rate, increase focus, increase blood flow to the skin and give you a little tingle

Too much caffeine can pose a health risk, and supplements can contain 4 times more than is found in a cup of coffee. A person could guzzle gallons of coffee and not suffer from a true caffeine overdose. But even at much lower levels, caffeine can worsen underlying conditions such as a heart arrhythmia, leading to cardiac arrest.

This drinks are usually used of olympians who are pushing themselves to the limit. But if you are doing a few weights or heading out for a 5k run this is just very damaging for your health. Drink a coffee and have a banana. That will be much better for your performance and your body.


7. How do you start strength training? Do you need a personal training or can you do it yourself?

(Image from book Men's health big book of exercises)

I definitely think you can do a good routine by yourself with a good book a good look around the internet BUT to get your form right is always good to have a Personal Trainer available to correct you on your form. If your form isn't good you can injure yourself badly or the exercise won't give you the expected results.

I know that a lot of people do online training. (Maybe I will do it myself done day who knows). But I think if you can, you should train with someone who does person to person coaching so he/she can show you how to do the exercises  with a good form and they can measure your progress and your body fat, etc,

8. Best core exercises?

There is hundreds of different core exercises but to built a goo routine every time you do abs chose exercises that hits every muscle in your abdominals: the top, bottom and sides of your abs.

Here is an example:

9. How to start when you have no fitness condition at all

When I started to exercise I remember I went to a "jumping in a trampoline" class. I couldn't believe how unfit I was. I honestly didn't think I was that bad at it. I saw all the other girls jumping so high I  honestly could barely jump 10cm of the trampoline. Even the teacher asked me If I had an injury or something. I was mortified. It was one of those moments where I never wanted to come back to the gym again. 

After that class I was totally out of breathe, tired, sweaty and have to say that I hated it. So I decided to work on my physical condition before doing anything else. So I started to go only to the treadmill for about 3 weeks. Literally started just walking 3k, then jogging for 1 minute walking 2 and so on until I was able to jug 5k by week 3. 

At that stage I went to one of the trainers available in the gym and he gave me a full body routine which it was very easy. Few bicep curls, jump and jacks, lounges, etc. I did that for another 3 weeks mixed with my 5k walks and when I felt ready, I jumped to individual muscle groups weight sessions which I still do, but now I do heavier weights, and I  have jumped from 5k to do 10k. 

It is amazing how the body can go from not begin able to do anything to do bigger things. Don't give up!

10. Recommended foods for before and after working out

 if you exercise on an empty stomach, you're not giving yourself the fuel you need to power through an intense training session. So make sure you fuel yourself with some carbohydrates  and protein before your workouts. Here is a few vegetarian examples:

- Brown rice with black beans and veggies of choice

- Small sweet potato with steamed broccoli and drizzle of olive oil 

- Banana with almond butter 

- Multi-grain crackers with hummus 

- Smoothie with 250ml almond milk, 1/2 cup frozen berries and 1 banana

-Apple and a handful of almonds

During exercise, your body taps the fuel stored in your muscles known as glycogen for energy. After you've exercised, your muscles are depleted of their glycogen stores and broken down. Eating (or drinking) something that combines protein and carbohydrates 30 minutes to an hour after your workout will refill energy stores, builds and repairs your muscles that were broken down, and helps keep your metabolism burning strong.

Ideas for your post-workout meal:

-Protein shake made with half of a banana, almond milk, and hemp seeds (excellent protein source)

- Salad with roasted chickpeas (1/2 cup), light olive oil and vinegar

- Sautéed or steamed vegetables with an omelette

- Salmon & sweet potatoes 

- Multi-grain bread (2 slices) with raw peanut butter and chia seeds sprinkled on top

- Burrito with beans, brown rice, guacamole, and salsa

Fitness Q&A

1. What made a biggest impact on losing weight? cut down carbs, junk food or did you go low fat?

To be honest. It was a bit of everything. I did all of the things mentioned above. I didn't cut junk food completely, just reduce it to one or two cheats a week. I didn't cut carbs completely just measure them to don't over eat them. And I went high fat actually.

I find myself I feel fuller and with more energy having plenty of fats in my diet and by this I mean good fats like: avocado, almond butter, nuts, coconut milk (for curries and dishes), seeds, etc. I don't consume any cow milk and cheese only on my cheat meals. 

But the above is up to each individual. I know some ladies that much rather have a higher carb diet and lower fat. So analyse how you feel, and do what your body feels happy with. 

2. When you are training should you always focus on a particular part of the body?

Not necessarily. I know extremely fit people that do a full body workouts every time they exercise. So they do 1 or 2 exercises of each body part in one session.

I personally prefer dividing the muscles into: legs & glutes, Chest & Shoulders, Bicep & Tricep and finally back. I squeeze abs work-outs in at least 3 of those days after each workout.

3. Best food for a flat tummy?

There is a few foods that do help to have a flat tummy but the truth is all this foods work in as a team. Is not like you can eat an apple and have a flat tummy. If you eat that apple covered in melted chocolate is not going to work. So all those articles you see saying: "10 foods that keep a flat tummy" are only trying to get you to click on their pages.

To get a flat tummy you need to constantly eat these foods and reduce your junk and processed food to a minimum. 85% of your meals should be fresh produce and healthy dishes. The other 15% you can squeeze in a little cheeky cheat meal or some processed sauce you like, mayo, etc...

Now in saying this the following foods are good to help you have a flat tummy if you include them often enough in your diet and of course if you exercise regularly:

-Almonds: These delicious and versatile nuts contain filling protein and fiber, not to mention vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant

- Apple: A large apple has five grams of fiber, but it's also nearly 85 percent water, which helps you feel full

- Berries: The more fiber you eat the fewer calories you absorb from all the other stuff you put in your mouth

- Green Vegetables: One cup of spinach contains only about 40 calories, while a cup of broccoli has 55 calories and satisfies 20 percent of your day's fiber requirement

-Yogurth (If its vegan even better) The probiotic bacteria in most yogurts help keep your digestive system healthy, which translates into a lower incidence of gas, bloating, and constipation, which can keep your tummy looking flat.

- Oily Fish: Seafood, especially fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel, is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. These uber-healthy fats may help promote fat burning by making your metabolism more efficient

- Cucumber: Thanks to the flavonoid antioxidant quercetin (which reduces swelling) and a high water content of 96%, cucumbers “can definitely help prevent bloating

Those foods above are just to mention a few, but remember is no all about eating this foods is about including them regularly, avoiding sugar as much as possible and beign active!

4. How to keep healthy when doing shift hours?

Shift hours for nurses for example have it very tough as your body clock is not working as effectively as it should.

When you’re working a shift schedule, your eating and exercise habits can suffer.  People who work shifts sometimes skip meals, eat irregularly, eat unhealthy food, and may find it hard to keep up a regular exercise schedule. To avoid icing up the pounds here is a few tips:

Have healthy foods readily available at home and at work. If you are tired you will be more likely to reach for any foods that are near, doesn't matter if they are healthy or unhealthy so stock your kitchen and your work place with easy-to-eat raw vegetables (baby carrots, apple slices) and hummus, fruits (bananas, oranges), or a container of raw almonds and raisins. For carbs consider whole grains and “slow burning” foods like brown rice, oats, sweet potato, etc that keep you full and productive for longer stretches.

Do batch cooking! To have ready meals for when you get home. Freezing portion sizes of your favorite healthy meals for easy access, so you can just get home and re-heat your meals!

Eat small, frequent meals as opposed to large heavy ones. Heavy meals often have more calories than most people need in one sitting. Eating a large portion can also make you feel sluggish or tired while on the job. 

Sit down to eat. Pause for meals. Eat at a relaxed pace. Eating on the go or in front of a computer encourages mindless snacking.

Keep yourself hydrated. Your body often signals hunger and thirst in the same way. Bring a water bottle to work and fill it often. 

Exercise moderately. Try to take walks, walk up and down stairs, or stretch before or after your shift or during your breaks. People who exercise not only burn more calories during the day, but they sleep better as well

Get the sleep you need. People who sleep the recommended seven to nine hours each day are healthier, fitter, and less likely to suffer from obesity or other health issues than those who don’t sleep well. Remember that you can space out sleep with naps if a single period of rest isn’t possible with your schedule.  

5. Whats the best exercise classes? full body workout, step, spinning etc?

It all depends what are your goals. If in general you just want to maintain a lean body and be healthy, all those classes are very good. 

(Any activity that includes resistance and make you sweat is good)

Now, if your goal is to target specific body areas then I'd recommend you hitting the heavy weights machines at the gym.

6. Are pre-work outs good?

Like this "funny" memes about pre-works are thousands of them! I honestly don't find them funny. This s*** powder can literally make you feeling like s*** and if you have anxiety or suffer with depression this is a terrible idea as it can leave you just feeling worse!

 It might be tempting to try one of these supplements before hitting the gym or heading out for a run, in hopes of increasing your energy levels, muscle power or endurance during your workout.

Preworkout supplements often contain a mystery blend of ingredients ranging from caffeine to guarana to creatine

You've got ingredients that are going to increase blood flow, increase heart rate, increase focus, increase blood flow to the skin and give you a little tingle

Too much caffeine can pose a health risk, and supplements can contain 4 times more than is found in a cup of coffee. A person could guzzle gallons of coffee and not suffer from a true caffeine overdose. But even at much lower levels, caffeine can worsen underlying conditions such as a heart arrhythmia, leading to cardiac arrest.

This drinks are usually used of olympians who are pushing themselves to the limit. But if you are doing a few weights or heading out for a 5k run this is just very damaging for your health. Drink a coffee and have a banana. That will be much better for your performance and your body.


7. How do you start strength training? Do you need a personal training or can you do it yourself?

(Image from book Men's health big book of exercises)

I definitely think you can do a good routine by yourself with a good book a good look around the internet BUT to get your form right is always good to have a Personal Trainer available to correct you on your form. If your form isn't good you can injure yourself badly or the exercise won't give you the expected results.

I know that a lot of people do online training. (Maybe I will do it myself done day who knows). But I think if you can, you should train with someone who does person to person coaching so he/she can show you how to do the exercises  with a good form and they can measure your progress and your body fat, etc,

8. Best core exercises?

There is hundreds of different core exercises but to built a goo routine every time you do abs chose exercises that hits every muscle in your abdominals: the top, bottom and sides of your abs.

Here is an example:

9. How to start when you have no fitness condition at all

When I started to exercise I remember I went to a "jumping in a trampoline" class. I couldn't believe how unfit I was. I honestly didn't think I was that bad at it. I saw all the other girls jumping so high I  honestly could barely jump 10cm of the trampoline. Even the teacher asked me If I had an injury or something. I was mortified. It was one of those moments where I never wanted to come back to the gym again. 

After that class I was totally out of breathe, tired, sweaty and have to say that I hated it. So I decided to work on my physical condition before doing anything else. So I started to go only to the treadmill for about 3 weeks. Literally started just walking 3k, then jogging for 1 minute walking 2 and so on until I was able to jug 5k by week 3. 

At that stage I went to one of the trainers available in the gym and he gave me a full body routine which it was very easy. Few bicep curls, jump and jacks, lounges, etc. I did that for another 3 weeks mixed with my 5k walks and when I felt ready, I jumped to individual muscle groups weight sessions which I still do, but now I do heavier weights, and I  have jumped from 5k to do 10k. 

It is amazing how the body can go from not begin able to do anything to do bigger things. Don't give up!

10. Recommended foods for before and after working out

 if you exercise on an empty stomach, you're not giving yourself the fuel you need to power through an intense training session. So make sure you fuel yourself with some carbohydrates  and protein before your workouts. Here is a few vegetarian examples:

- Brown rice with black beans and veggies of choice

- Small sweet potato with steamed broccoli and drizzle of olive oil 

- Banana with almond butter 

- Multi-grain crackers with hummus 

- Smoothie with 250ml almond milk, 1/2 cup frozen berries and 1 banana

-Apple and a handful of almonds

During exercise, your body taps the fuel stored in your muscles known as glycogen for energy. After you've exercised, your muscles are depleted of their glycogen stores and broken down. Eating (or drinking) something that combines protein and carbohydrates 30 minutes to an hour after your workout will refill energy stores, builds and repairs your muscles that were broken down, and helps keep your metabolism burning strong.

Ideas for your post-workout meal:

-Protein shake made with half of a banana, almond milk, and hemp seeds (excellent protein source)

- Salad with roasted chickpeas (1/2 cup), light olive oil and vinegar

- Sautéed or steamed vegetables with an omelette

- Salmon & sweet potatoes 

- Multi-grain bread (2 slices) with raw peanut butter and chia seeds sprinkled on top

- Burrito with beans, brown rice, guacamole, and salsa

10 health & Fitness Q&A

1. Are protein shakes good to consume post work-out?

I personally don't take any protein shakes any more! Why? Because I have a very strong view that dairy milk isn't good for grown humans. Only about 2% of the population can digest milk. I have seen some dieticians on T.V shows recommending to keep ingesting milk so our body becomes resistant to it! 

I mean how crazy is that? Why would you force the body to ingest another specie fluid? and not to mention the suffering that the animal goes through so we all have access to its babies fluid!

You might be thinking why is this crazy woman talking about milk on a whey protein subject? well I'll explain you briefly: When milk is being processed its divided into 2 different processes: one to produce milk, one to produce cheese. Once cheese is produced, they are left with this liquid that (before whey protein was popular) they used to just get rid off.

 But one day, they decided to analyse this liquid and realised it was full of protein. They then processed this liquid further and what was left? Whey and casein protein! So they thought to themselves: - How can we sell this instead of wasting it? - A smart person said: "Well, athletes need plenty of protein in their diet, so why don't we process this further add some flavouring and shit, make all athletes drink it and promote it so everyone that wants to look like those athletes basically has to drink it?" - Perfect! boom! millionaires! Now whey proteins companies are a boom in every economic market!

I used to drink it before but I was never so bloated! Also my skin looked terrible. I was at that obsessive stage where I was reducing calories to lose more weight because I wasn't seeing any changes in the scale (I know that scale isn't important but I wasn't seeing a change on how I looked in front of the mirror either). 

I informed myself, stopped drinking it and guess what happened? Started to see changes immediately. This doesn't happen to everyone I know that. I simply can't digest it properly and that was the main reason. But I personally wouldn't recommend to drink this processed powder that claims many "health benefits". It is also proved that in some cases taking it every day for certain amount of time it can cause kidney failures between other things. 

Unless you are competing to be a body builder or training to go to the olympics you certainly DON'T need this processed powder. If you just want to look lean and you train about 1 hour a day or every second day, you DO NOT need this powder! High protein meals will do the job perfectly and you will stay in better health! 

If you are vegetarian or vegan and want or need extra little bit of protein I advise you to go for a natural plant based protein like the Sun warrior one or the Nua natural ones which are made of hemp, rice, pea protein, etc...

If you want to read a very good article about proteins click here: http://nutritionstudies.org/no-whey-man-ill-pass-on-protein-powder/

2. How to start when you have more than 3 stone to lose?

I have lost nearly 5 stones since I started my journey. I really do know how hard it is. I know the mental challenge that we have to go through to lose weight! 

I want to start to start mentioning how hungry I genuinely used to be when gaining weigh/while over weight. I used to wake-up at 3 am and felt a pain in my stomach of hunger. I don't think that everyone understands that feeling of not begin able to stop eating ever! because you are genuinely never full! I think is worth mentioning this in case you are going through the same I did. Understanding the following, is a great start to any weight loss journey!

Since I studied nutrition I think I understood this problem I had. I learned that there is 2 hormones that are called "the hungry hormones": leptin & ghrelin

Leptin is in charge of decreasing your appetite (appetite suppressor). Levels are low when you are thin, high when you are overweight! I learned that some people (generally overweight) have built up a resistance to the appetite-suppresing effects of leptin (affecting many over weight people out there by feeling hungry constantly)

 And not to mention when emotions come in this get worse.

In the other hand we have the other hunger hormone: 'ghrelin' which research suggest that this hormone play a big role in determining how quickly hunger comes back after we eat. Normally gherlin levels go up dramatically before you eat; (this is when you feel hungry). They go down for about three hours after a meal.

Now, you can balance the effects of this hormones by disciplining yourself! following this advice:

1. Eat 6 times a day

2. Those meals have to be carefully planned according to your lifestyle, for example if you work Mon-Fri prepare on Sunday little bags with almonds and fruit for your snacks

3. Eating so often will ease your head. Knowing that a meal or snack is around the corner will make it easy for you to control your appetite

4. It is important not to feel restrictive so make sure you have 1 cheat meal a week  ( a pizza, a burger, take away, etc) and a small one (a little bit of ice-cream, small chocolate, some crisps, some popcorn etc) If you feel like it. This meal has to be schedule and is not a license to pig out. It is here where you have to practice portion, moderation and balance!

5. Alcohol needs to be moderate it. Empty calories will only be sabotaging your progress!

6. Drink plenty of water! Beign hydrated not only helps to flush toxins and keep you feeling full it also helps to don't get the hungry hormones confused with thirst!

EXERCISE WISE:

To the contrary of what a personal trainer would tell you I personally think you don't have to kill yourself in the gym. I mean It obviously does helps. But what those personal trainer don't understand is the mental state that we are on when wanting to lose weight. 

I founded myself feeling restrictive and at the same time, exercising was so hard mentally, so I started by walking in the treadmill to get some type of condition into me. So exercise wise my advice is do it slowly. Build some condition before you get into a fitness plan. So start by walking, maybe jogging and then, find an activity that you like like: Zumba, a DVD, dancing classes and aim to do it at least 3 times a week. 

3. How to deal with muscle soreness after working out

When muscles are required to muscle harder than they're used to, or in a different way, it is believed to cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibres, resulting in muscle soreness.

There is no one simple way to treat the pain, Nothing is proven to be 100% effective but things that generally work are:

- Ice-packs

- Massage

- Foam rolling

- Tender-point acupressure

- Anti-inflammatory drugs such as: aspirin or ibuprofen (which I'm not a fan of)

- Light walk or  a swim 

- Rest

Remember that before exercising warming up your muscles will reduce your chance of injury and improve your performance

4. How do you know when you have lost enough weight and when to stop?

In my personal experience when I was 80kg plus I use to think that I was going to be happy at 70kg. When I got there I was like no maybe at 65, same at 60 and now I have been very happy at 57kilograms. One good way to guide you is the BMI chart. And as this chart is not 100% accurate as it doesn't measure muscle mass is a good way to more or less guide you to be in a healthy weight:

5. Are vitamin C supplements full of sugar?

If your vitamin C contains ingredients such as: corn syrup, sugar, grape juice concentrate, modified corn starch, purple, berry colour, glucose syrup, sucrose, etc. More likely yes it does contains quiet a lot of sugar. 

The ones that have the most sugar are liquid or gummy forms—and the gummies actually stick to your teeth, which can cause cavities.

Tablet forms of vitamins and supplements generally have the least sugar

Don't go for one that has 100 different ingredients. Choose a vitamin without food colouring in it. Most of them will have some sugar in it but make sure this ingredient is at the bottom of the list not in the first ingredients. Last thing you want is to chose one that the first thing listed is sugars or syrups as it would be the main ingredient. 

Also if you see corn syrup, sucralose or aspartame on the list put it down.

6. What nutrients should go into every meal in order to be healthy?

Some people has trouble of how to put a meal together as you read here and there not to eat too much protein or not to have 2 different types of carbohydrates etc. But don't complicate yourself too much.

We have 3 main Macro nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) and the we also have micronutrients that are mainly (vitamins and minerals) found mainly in vegetables, fruits, seeds, etc

So Make sure you have a generous portion of each in a full day. So in a full day you should have included each macro nutrient  in most of your meals and plenty micronutrients. 

Basically choose one of each section in the following table. And your snacks base them on fruits, nuts, seeds, homemade bites etc. 

7. Is it enough to work-out for only 30 minutes in order to burn fat?

Absolutely! The fat-burning process in ongoing throughout the entire day, even when sleeping. However, there are points during exercise when you will burn more fat.

If you exercise 30 minutes efficiently you will burn fat through the whole day. The fitter you are, the more efficient your body becomes at getting you back to a resting metabolism.

Strenght workouts only burn 180-300 calories in an hour. However, strength training exercises also gradually increase the size of your muscles. Each pound of muscle tissue on your body burns through about 35-38 calories every day, and this burning process is not limited to the hours following your exercise session. As the size of your muscles increases, your body burns through even more of your calories reserves every day to meet your ongoing energy needs.

So yes as long as you do a good workout you can be fit, burn enough fay in a 30 minute workout. Remember to at least do it 3 times a week in order to see results.

8. Does muscle weights more than fat?

Muscle does not weight more than fat, any more than lead weights more than feathers. A pound is a pound. A kilo is a kilo. Where misunderstanding often comes in is that muscle is much more dense than fat, so that, by volume, it seems to weight more. that is, a pound os muscle occupies less space than a pound of fat.

9. Are protein bars ok to lose weight?

The truth: it depends! There are healthy protein bars, and then there are some that might as well be a snickers chocolate bar, considering how much sugar and fat they contain! 

Just because there bars are the size of a candy bar, it doesn't mean you should think of them as a snack. A lot of them have as much as 400 calories! If you are eating one as a snack, you should stick to the ones that are around 200-250 calories. At the end of the day, I don't care how "nutrient-packed" your favourite protein bar might be; If you eat too much of it, you're going to gain weight

Many bars sold today contain an insane amount of sugar. Bars that look healthy often have 30 or more grams of sugar which is more than the amount in a candy bar. While you look at the grams of sugar, also review the ingredients. There are some bars that have only 4 to 5 ingredients like almonds, dates, peanut butter, etc.- those are great! On the other hand, there are bars that has more than 56 ingredients. It doesn't matter what health benefits the bar may claim to have. You have to treat a protein bar as you would any other food, and if you see too many unfamiliar words on the ingredients list, just put it back on the shelf!

Also, many bars might not contain sugar as such but they are packed with artificial sweeteners that might be ok calorie wise but they are terrible for your health.

10.  Is it better to do weights first then cardio or the other way around?

 For most women, the right answer is at the weight racks.

See, when it comes to slimming down and shaping up, strength training and cardio work best in that order. Here's why: When you start your workout with weights, by the time you get to the treadmill or bike your anaerobic energy systems will resort to burning fat to keep your aerobic system going strong. That means more calories burned, not just in the gym, but after your cool-down, too. 

This is what is best in science but at the end of the day I always advice anyone to do what is best for them. I know great woman with great physic that does it all the way around and works for them. So do what works best for you but do it!

10 health & Fitness Q&A

1. Are protein shakes good to consume post work-out?

I personally don't take any protein shakes any more! Why? Because I have a very strong view that dairy milk isn't good for grown humans. Only about 2% of the population can digest milk. I have seen some dieticians on T.V shows recommending to keep ingesting milk so our body becomes resistant to it! 

I mean how crazy is that? Why would you force the body to ingest another specie fluid? and not to mention the suffering that the animal goes through so we all have access to its babies fluid!

You might be thinking why is this crazy woman talking about milk on a whey protein subject? well I'll explain you briefly: When milk is being processed its divided into 2 different processes: one to produce milk, one to produce cheese. Once cheese is produced, they are left with this liquid that (before whey protein was popular) they used to just get rid off.

 But one day, they decided to analyse this liquid and realised it was full of protein. They then processed this liquid further and what was left? Whey and casein protein! So they thought to themselves: - How can we sell this instead of wasting it? - A smart person said: "Well, athletes need plenty of protein in their diet, so why don't we process this further add some flavouring and shit, make all athletes drink it and promote it so everyone that wants to look like those athletes basically has to drink it?" - Perfect! boom! millionaires! Now whey proteins companies are a boom in every economic market!

I used to drink it before but I was never so bloated! Also my skin looked terrible. I was at that obsessive stage where I was reducing calories to lose more weight because I wasn't seeing any changes in the scale (I know that scale isn't important but I wasn't seeing a change on how I looked in front of the mirror either). 

I informed myself, stopped drinking it and guess what happened? Started to see changes immediately. This doesn't happen to everyone I know that. I simply can't digest it properly and that was the main reason. But I personally wouldn't recommend to drink this processed powder that claims many "health benefits". It is also proved that in some cases taking it every day for certain amount of time it can cause kidney failures between other things. 

Unless you are competing to be a body builder or training to go to the olympics you certainly DON'T need this processed powder. If you just want to look lean and you train about 1 hour a day or every second day, you DO NOT need this powder! High protein meals will do the job perfectly and you will stay in better health! 

If you are vegetarian or vegan and want or need extra little bit of protein I advise you to go for a natural plant based protein like the Sun warrior one or the Nua natural ones which are made of hemp, rice, pea protein, etc...

If you want to read a very good article about proteins click here: http://nutritionstudies.org/no-whey-man-ill-pass-on-protein-powder/

2. How to start when you have more than 3 stone to lose?

I have lost nearly 5 stones since I started my journey. I really do know how hard it is. I know the mental challenge that we have to go through to lose weight! 

I want to start to start mentioning how hungry I genuinely used to be when gaining weigh/while over weight. I used to wake-up at 3 am and felt a pain in my stomach of hunger. I don't think that everyone understands that feeling of not begin able to stop eating ever! because you are genuinely never full! I think is worth mentioning this in case you are going through the same I did. Understanding the following, is a great start to any weight loss journey!

Since I studied nutrition I think I understood this problem I had. I learned that there is 2 hormones that are called "the hungry hormones": leptin & ghrelin

Leptin is in charge of decreasing your appetite (appetite suppressor). Levels are low when you are thin, high when you are overweight! I learned that some people (generally overweight) have built up a resistance to the appetite-suppresing effects of leptin (affecting many over weight people out there by feeling hungry constantly)

 And not to mention when emotions come in this get worse.

In the other hand we have the other hunger hormone: 'ghrelin' which research suggest that this hormone play a big role in determining how quickly hunger comes back after we eat. Normally gherlin levels go up dramatically before you eat; (this is when you feel hungry). They go down for about three hours after a meal.

Now, you can balance the effects of this hormones by disciplining yourself! following this advice:

1. Eat 6 times a day

2. Those meals have to be carefully planned according to your lifestyle, for example if you work Mon-Fri prepare on Sunday little bags with almonds and fruit for your snacks

3. Eating so often will ease your head. Knowing that a meal or snack is around the corner will make it easy for you to control your appetite

4. It is important not to feel restrictive so make sure you have 1 cheat meal a week  ( a pizza, a burger, take away, etc) and a small one (a little bit of ice-cream, small chocolate, some crisps, some popcorn etc) If you feel like it. This meal has to be schedule and is not a license to pig out. It is here where you have to practice portion, moderation and balance!

5. Alcohol needs to be moderate it. Empty calories will only be sabotaging your progress!

6. Drink plenty of water! Beign hydrated not only helps to flush toxins and keep you feeling full it also helps to don't get the hungry hormones confused with thirst!

EXERCISE WISE:

To the contrary of what a personal trainer would tell you I personally think you don't have to kill yourself in the gym. I mean It obviously does helps. But what those personal trainer don't understand is the mental state that we are on when wanting to lose weight. 

I founded myself feeling restrictive and at the same time, exercising was so hard mentally, so I started by walking in the treadmill to get some type of condition into me. So exercise wise my advice is do it slowly. Build some condition before you get into a fitness plan. So start by walking, maybe jogging and then, find an activity that you like like: Zumba, a DVD, dancing classes and aim to do it at least 3 times a week. 

3. How to deal with muscle soreness after working out

When muscles are required to muscle harder than they're used to, or in a different way, it is believed to cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibres, resulting in muscle soreness.

There is no one simple way to treat the pain, Nothing is proven to be 100% effective but things that generally work are:

- Ice-packs

- Massage

- Foam rolling

- Tender-point acupressure

- Anti-inflammatory drugs such as: aspirin or ibuprofen (which I'm not a fan of)

- Light walk or  a swim 

- Rest

Remember that before exercising warming up your muscles will reduce your chance of injury and improve your performance

4. How do you know when you have lost enough weight and when to stop?

In my personal experience when I was 80kg plus I use to think that I was going to be happy at 70kg. When I got there I was like no maybe at 65, same at 60 and now I have been very happy at 57kilograms. One good way to guide you is the BMI chart. And as this chart is not 100% accurate as it doesn't measure muscle mass is a good way to more or less guide you to be in a healthy weight:

5. Are vitamin C supplements full of sugar?

If your vitamin C contains ingredients such as: corn syrup, sugar, grape juice concentrate, modified corn starch, purple, berry colour, glucose syrup, sucrose, etc. More likely yes it does contains quiet a lot of sugar. 

The ones that have the most sugar are liquid or gummy forms—and the gummies actually stick to your teeth, which can cause cavities.

Tablet forms of vitamins and supplements generally have the least sugar

Don't go for one that has 100 different ingredients. Choose a vitamin without food colouring in it. Most of them will have some sugar in it but make sure this ingredient is at the bottom of the list not in the first ingredients. Last thing you want is to chose one that the first thing listed is sugars or syrups as it would be the main ingredient. 

Also if you see corn syrup, sucralose or aspartame on the list put it down.

6. What nutrients should go into every meal in order to be healthy?

Some people has trouble of how to put a meal together as you read here and there not to eat too much protein or not to have 2 different types of carbohydrates etc. But don't complicate yourself too much.

We have 3 main Macro nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) and the we also have micronutrients that are mainly (vitamins and minerals) found mainly in vegetables, fruits, seeds, etc

So Make sure you have a generous portion of each in a full day. So in a full day you should have included each macro nutrient  in most of your meals and plenty micronutrients. 

Basically choose one of each section in the following table. And your snacks base them on fruits, nuts, seeds, homemade bites etc. 

7. Is it enough to work-out for only 30 minutes in order to burn fat?

Absolutely! The fat-burning process in ongoing throughout the entire day, even when sleeping. However, there are points during exercise when you will burn more fat.

If you exercise 30 minutes efficiently you will burn fat through the whole day. The fitter you are, the more efficient your body becomes at getting you back to a resting metabolism.

Strenght workouts only burn 180-300 calories in an hour. However, strength training exercises also gradually increase the size of your muscles. Each pound of muscle tissue on your body burns through about 35-38 calories every day, and this burning process is not limited to the hours following your exercise session. As the size of your muscles increases, your body burns through even more of your calories reserves every day to meet your ongoing energy needs.

So yes as long as you do a good workout you can be fit, burn enough fay in a 30 minute workout. Remember to at least do it 3 times a week in order to see results.

8. Does muscle weights more than fat?

Muscle does not weight more than fat, any more than lead weights more than feathers. A pound is a pound. A kilo is a kilo. Where misunderstanding often comes in is that muscle is much more dense than fat, so that, by volume, it seems to weight more. that is, a pound os muscle occupies less space than a pound of fat.

9. Are protein bars ok to lose weight?

The truth: it depends! There are healthy protein bars, and then there are some that might as well be a snickers chocolate bar, considering how much sugar and fat they contain! 

Just because there bars are the size of a candy bar, it doesn't mean you should think of them as a snack. A lot of them have as much as 400 calories! If you are eating one as a snack, you should stick to the ones that are around 200-250 calories. At the end of the day, I don't care how "nutrient-packed" your favourite protein bar might be; If you eat too much of it, you're going to gain weight

Many bars sold today contain an insane amount of sugar. Bars that look healthy often have 30 or more grams of sugar which is more than the amount in a candy bar. While you look at the grams of sugar, also review the ingredients. There are some bars that have only 4 to 5 ingredients like almonds, dates, peanut butter, etc.- those are great! On the other hand, there are bars that has more than 56 ingredients. It doesn't matter what health benefits the bar may claim to have. You have to treat a protein bar as you would any other food, and if you see too many unfamiliar words on the ingredients list, just put it back on the shelf!

Also, many bars might not contain sugar as such but they are packed with artificial sweeteners that might be ok calorie wise but they are terrible for your health.

10.  Is it better to do weights first then cardio or the other way around?

 For most women, the right answer is at the weight racks.

See, when it comes to slimming down and shaping up, strength training and cardio work best in that order. Here's why: When you start your workout with weights, by the time you get to the treadmill or bike your anaerobic energy systems will resort to burning fat to keep your aerobic system going strong. That means more calories burned, not just in the gym, but after your cool-down, too. 

This is what is best in science but at the end of the day I always advice anyone to do what is best for them. I know great woman with great physic that does it all the way around and works for them. So do what works best for you but do it!