Many people find that despite exercising and following diet plans, they do not shed body fat as quickly as they’d hoped. This is, understandably, demotivating and can lead people to give up, thinking that all that effort doesn’t make a difference! ‘I might as well drink all this wine tonight as I’m going to stay this weight anyway’. But there are some deep misconceptions and a general lack of awareness about how what we eat affects out body’s hormones-and this is one of the leading factors in preventing the body shredding fat.
The key hormone in this process is insulin. Reducing the amount of insulin your body makes, and increasing your body’s sensitivity to it, goes a great way towards reducing body fat, because: Less energy is stored in fat cells. We are also more sensitive to leptin, the hormone that stops us feeling hungry. How can you reduce levels of insulin? The first thing we should do is significantly reduce the amount of sugar in the diet. Completely cut out fizzy drinks, fruit juice, and flavoured water and, of course, sweet foods (cakes!) The sugar glucose is responsible for making the liver produce insulin. Less sugar in the blood means less insulin released into the blood steam. Eat more fibre. Eating food that is high in fibre will reduce the rate at which sugar enters the blood stream. There are plenty of foods packed full of this stuff, including beans, lentils, nuts and whole grains. Exercise. Yes it’s obvious that exercise is good for you but it’s also the quality of exercise that is particularly important. Muscles consume a lot of glucose. Exercise will increase their demand for more glucose, thus lowering blood sugar levels. This will not happen unless you have the correct quantity of quality weight training, high intensity training and some low intensity “cardio” in your fitness programme. Feel free to get in touch with me via my Facebook page if you are interested in finding out more. The other hormone that has a big impact on fat retention is Ghrelin. Ghrelin is the hormone that lurks around in the back of your mind telling you you want a doughnut on the way to work or encouraging you to eat your lunch at 10:30 – it’s the hunger hormone. Reducing levels of this hormone will help you to stop the snacking and not have to buy second lunch. If we have less of this hormone then we will have less desire to start snacking. How can you reduce levels of ghrelin? Eat a high protein breakfast! This could include omelettes, scrambled eggs, salmon or peanut butter. Protein reduces your hunger hormone, reduces insulin and requires more energy to break down. Don’t eat late in the evening. Night eating between 8pm – 6am is particularly risky. You are not going to burn calories quickly when you are asleep. [Unless you are one of those irritating people who thrash around] Sleep. Without adequate sleep your body will not be able to regulate blood sugar as effectively. It’s worth mentioning that sleep deprivation can also weaken the immune system, which will put a stop to any strenuous workouts you have planned. I would recommend reading Dr. Robert Lustig’s “Fat Chance: The Hidden Truth About Sugar, Obesity and Disease” for a more detailed explanation of these topics. 1. Set goals. How much weight do you want to lose each week / in total? What type of training will you do on each of these days? How many times are you going to train during the week? When can you make time to do it in your busy day? There is always time but sometimes you have to be a bit creative! Write out a timetable and stick it on your wall or highlight it in your diary. This is your time not anybody else's, it is only for one hour of your day so protect it.
2. Pick an exercise you either enjoy or something that will allow you to see progression. A faster time on your last series of sprints or lifting an extra few kilos more than the last session really helps you see how well you are improving! Each little improvement adds up and you will feel that bit more healthy and fitter each day. 3. During exercise, remind yourself that you have already done the hardest bit, you made it to the gym! Remember, you have goals, and it’s going to feel great when you reach them. If you are luckily enough to have achieved them before in the past then you already KNOW that you can do it! 4. Listen to your body and just do what you can. Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting crazy unrealistic goals. When you don't achieve them you will just feel rubbish and it will be more likely that you will give up altogether. If you feel sick then have a day off, if you are tired then just do something light (both are fine, don't feel guilty). 5. Try and surround yourself with people who are positive, who encourage and support you. Or even better, train with them! Doing it alone can be tough. 6. If you fell off the wagon in the past then figure out why. Did you get distracted? Did you run out of money? Family commitments took over? It was too busy at work? Your gym routine was unexpectedly messed up by hundreds of surprise meetings, you have had six too many "treat days" that week, you fell ill for a few days and just didn't go back, the gym burnt down! Now come up with a plan to deal with these and other obstacles in the future. Get your focus back and find alternatives to life's obstacles that you can’t control. Ryan Fearn: Personal Trainer Canterbury
Isometric example: Wall sit
Ryan Fearn: Personal Trainer Canterbury |
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Canterbury Strength Weightlifting Club
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