Posts

Give it a Go!

I come across men and women every day in my job that want to get fit and live a healthier life but don't know where to start or are just too scared to get stuck in for fear of judgement. Whether it be walking into the weights area and picking up some dumbbells or attending a class and joining in with group exercise, so many people are afraid to make the first move. I get it, I really do.  I remember the first time I walked into a gym, I headed straight for the treadmill and didn't leave the cardio area, it was a safe zone!  It was only when I joined a 28 day program run by my gym that weight training was introduced to me, but even then, walking into the weights room on my own was scary and I would wait for my friend in reception so we could walk in together.  Safety in numbers, right?! Even now, I can sometimes feel intimidated by walking into a new class or weights hall, but you know what, after the first 2 minutes I forget my fears and enjoy every second of my wo...

The 'D' Word

Diets, argh, I hate that word.  If I could ban any word from the English language, it would be the word 'diet'. Why? Because, time after time, day after day, I hear stories from men and women who are tying themselves up in knots. They are unsure what they should be eating, following the latest fad, generally gaining more and more weight, whilst increasing their stress levels, declining the state of their health and losing more and more confidence in themselves because the latest "fix all diet" hasn't worked. But who do they blame? Certainly not the diet, or the celebrity that sold them the idea.  They blame themselves for being weak and just not good enough. Diets are everywhere, high carb, low carb, high protein, low protein, low sugar, low fat, juice diets, low calorie, diets with supplements, the cabbage diet, crash diets, detox diets, the list is endless. STOP! There are two types of product on your supermarket shelf. Firstly there is 'food...

Protein, Protein, Everywhere

Protein drinks. You've been to the gym, you've worked hard, you need a protein drink, right? For the vast majority of gym bunnies, no, you don't! Sorry to be so blunt, but for the majority of people, including a vast number of people working in the industry, you don't need to be drinking your protein. What you need is a balanced diet filled with nutritionally rich foods that provide you with all the macro's (carbs, proteins and fats) your body needs alongside, guess what, vitamins and minerals!  Your protein needs can come in the form of meat or plant based proteins.  Yes that's right, you can get all the protein you need from plants! The protein shake industry has been incredibly clever in their marketing campaigns, making us all believe we need these expensive, processed, 'fast food' style drinks. Let me ask you this, have you EVER heard of someone medically suffering from a protein deficiency? No? Neither have I. However, I have hea...

We're All Starving

I recently heard someone describe the population of the western world as starving.  Weird right?  All we ever hear in the media is how we're all getting fatter and obesity and obesity related diseases are on the rise. So what was meant by this bizarre statement? They meant that the western world is NUTRITIONALLY starving.  Yes, as a population, we eat a high calorie diet, filled with processed foods, rich in calories, salt, sugar and fat.  However, the nutritional value of these foods is negligible. Imagine for a moment, we turn this current state of affairs on its head.  Imagine a world where we eat a low calorie, highly nutritious diet.  Well, you don't have to look too far in order to find real life examples where this is the case.  This is in fact how our ancestors used to eat and even today certain cultures and populations still consume food in this way.  In these populations, obesity is rare, as are obesity related disease such as hea...