A “Stress Buster” Smoothie

The perfect armour against the winter season, this smoothie packs all the vitamins needed to protect against the snowy weather. While it is important to ensure that there is a healthy amount of fruit and vegetables in your smoothie, it is still vital to supply the body with energy. And, if you don’t have the time to make smoothies of your own, consider signing up for a weekend retreat with Prestige Boot Camp, who’ll make you smoothies and teach you how to stay fit and healthy.

For one glass, you will require:

• One cup of orange juice
• One peeled orange (cut into pieces)
• Two bananas (best frozen for extra creaminess!)
• ¾ cup of almond milk (or low-fat milk)
• One Carrot (cut into pieces)
• One tsp of vanilla extract
• Crushed ice

Put all these ingredients in a juicer, and you will be greeted with a sweet treat that is guaranteed to leave your taste buds beaming!

Turmeric Orange Lemonade

Known as the ‘master healer’ of drinks, this lemonade provides a healthy twist on the summer beverage. Packed with anti-inflammatory medical properties of Turmeric, this plant encourages digestion. It is the perfect addition to any clean diet.

For one glass, you will require:

• Four inches of fresh turmeric root
• Two inches of fresh ginger root
• Two peeled oranges
• One peeled lemon
• Five mini carrots
• One tbsp of basil

Place all these ingredients, except the basil, into a juicer and mix. Then add the basil when the mixture is liquid and mix again for two minutes.

Carrot and Kale Juice

Feeling ill run down from a long day at work? This drink is the perfect tangy concoction for a boost of energy. Packed with plenty of Vitamin A and C, it is ideal for weight loss.

For one glass, you will require:

• Two oranges
• Four carrots
• Two handfuls of kale
• Half a lemon
• One knob of ginger

Begin by slicing the skin from the oranges and lemon before chopping the carrots into small pieces. Then add to your blender!

Mint Tea

Mint Tea doesn’t usually bring an orange drink to mind, but when Dan Nadaeu, Medical Director of the Exeter Hospital, promotes the health benefits of tea (especially green tea) against health diseases like osteoporosis and cancer, it has clearly earned a place on this list.

For one glass of mint tea:

• A handful of mint
• Boiling water

Be sure to wash and tear up your mint before leaving it to stew in a teapot between five and ten minutes.

Ginger Mocktail

It can be difficult to stick to a healthy diet when faced with an active social life. However, at 99 calories, it is still possible to enjoy a classic mocktail.

For one glass, you will require:

• Two-three oz of pomegranate/cranberry juice
• Three-four oz flavoured water or seltzer
• One oz of ginger syrup
• Ice

In a large shaker, add the juice, ice and the ginger syrup. Shake well and then add the seltzer. Your mocktail will then be ready to serve.

Proats (Protein Oats/Protein Porridge) have been made popular by those looking to add an extra shot of protein into their diets. This powerful porridge packs a punch by using protein powder mixed with porridge oats. This combination is quick, easy and ensures you get the protein your body needs to go harder in your workouts. Proats really are the perfect way to get more protein into your diet!

If you needed any more reasons to start making your own Proats, the oatie experts over at MOMA have put together their favourite protein porridge facts below!

Experiment with Proat flavours

Protein powders now come in a huge variety of different flavours, from banana, chocolate, to more extravagant flavours like creme brulee and peanut butter cookie. Simply mix a scoop of your protein powder into your porridge oats before adding a splash of boiling water. You might need to add a little bit more than you usually would due to the protein powder.

Proats keep you fuller for longer – perfect if you’re working out!

We all know that porridge oats are amazing for releasing energy slowly and consistently throughout the morning – meaning you’ll keep hunger at bay for longer. Additional protein can ensure you don’t reach for less healthy snacks whilst waiting for your next big meal.

The body takes longer and uses more energy to digest protein, which makes it great for filling you up. Not only is it good for keeping you fuller for longer, but protein is also essential for repairing and building muscle, making Proats the perfect pre/post morning workout meal.

Quick and easy to make and eat!

It is reported that many of us don’t get enough protein in our diets and with our busy, fast paced lives getting in the way, Proats are the perfect quick and easy breakfast solution. Just like overnight oats, Proats can be made the night before in a bowl or jar and eaten as soon as you wake up in the morning. Pre-preparing your Proats can also be handy for when you are rushing to and from the gym, and need a quick post workout meal.

Easy to transport

If you’re using porridge sachets to make your Proats, consider making them in a jar or an easy to carry tub to make them easy to eat on-the-go! You could even add your protein powder to an instant porridge pot such as the MOMA Super Seeds Porridge Pot, which already contains 13g of protein per serving – perfect for eating on the go!

The benefits of a high protein diet

Skipping breakfast increases your chances of snacking on unhealthy foods throughout the day so adding in a protein rich meal in the morning could help you keep both your weight and cholesterol down.

High protein meals are essential for fuelling pre and post workout. Whether you hit the gym in the morning, or prefer an afternoon session, starting your day out right can make all the difference to your training.

One option is always to indulge, but to plan to indulge. Put your evening’s excess in your diary ahead of time and work to minimise the impact with exercise and controlling your intake throughout the week to balance it all out.

If that’s not an option for your fitness goals, no problem, here’s a battle plan for you to follow:

Don’t be afraid to ask for substitutions: Salad or seasonal vegetables rather than fries, skipping the cheese, having the burger without the bun… there’s plenty you can do to make dishes healthier, and most establishments are willing to be flexible. 

Focus on fish: As long as it’s not fried, fish is a great choice for a healthy main course and is usually rich in protein, vitamins and good fatty acids.

Sauces and dressings can be secret weapons for diet sabotage: They’re too often filled with calorie-heavy oils or sugars, so ask for them on the side and use them sparingly.

Consider ordering an appetiser as your main course: By design starters are less substantial than main dishes, so consider having a starter dish as an entrée with a side of vegetables. Once you’re full of veggies, you won’t be craving the big main meal quite so much.

Ignore the bread, keep the butter: While the bread is full of starch and empty calories, milk and butter get a bad reputation when it comes to health; butter especially is associated unfairly with being overweight. Butter is, however, rich in vitamins and good cholesterol and in moderation is good for you.

Don’t trust the menu implicitly, especially when it comes to the ‘healthy’ section of their menu: Chefs will do their best to make tasty, healthy food, but it doesn’t mean it’s right for your specific health goals. Ask questions about contents and preparation if you’re not sure or the menu isn’t clear.

Share your meals with others: Sharing dishes with friends can give you the option of controlling what and how much you eat without having to make a fuss over substitutions.

There’s an almost shocking amount of calories and carbs in alcohol, so skip the plonk: While you’re at it, you probably want to avoid the dessert menu as well!

Look up the restaurant online before you go and try to put your plan of action together. This will allow you to plan a healthy meal and get all your substitution questions in order so you’re ready to blaze through them when it’s your time to order.

Lastly, enjoy yourself!

It’s important that you consider whether you need to take it, and how’s best to get your daily dose. After all, as the body only requires 30g of protein for day-to-day activities, any excess is simply removed as waste, so if you’re currently spending a fortune on expensive protein shakes it might be worthwhile knowing if you’re really just flushing it all down the toilet.

It’s essential to understand that even without exercise protein is an important macro-nutrient that provides our bodies with the ability to build and repair tissues.

Weight Loss

If you’re looking to lose weight your diet is a key part of this goal, as the old saying goes “abs are made in the kitchen and not in the gym”, so whatever you’re fuelling your body with it has to help aid your rigorous regimes rather than counteract them.

As many calories you burn it’s not ideal to eat them with high fat foods that don’t nourish the body.

Low carb diets and the infamous Paleo diet have reigned supreme in the food fads as their high protein intake is helping many achieve results without feeling hungry, or as though they’re actually dieting.

Protein rich foods take more energy to digest which means your body is constantly burning up calories in the process. In conjunction with this as protein does not leave your stomach as quickly as other foods, they leave you feeling fuller for longer, hindering your likelihood to snack or overindulge.

Using a Whey protein along with a healthy diet can enhance your attempts at weight loss and give your muscles the nutrition they need after intense workouts.

Taking this in the morning along with your breakfast and after a workout will dramatically improve its absorption into the body and will not only set you up for the day, but also encourage muscle repair after a workout.

Build Muscle

Hitting the weights hard and taking inspiration from Arnie is one way to build muscle, but eating the correct amount of protein with a varied diet can improve your muscle mass, and give you a more defined silhouette.

The trouble with protein and building muscle is that many people can go overboard and begin to drink high calorie shakes that are often more full of sugar more than they are of any nutritional value. Eating clean when your body building is just as important as when you’re losing weight.

Once you’ve understood the basics of muscle building, find a protein supplement to take immediately post workout. You’ve put your muscles under a lot of stress and must now provide the nutrients to repair and re-grow your muscles.

Research shows that after strength based training session your muscles are starved so have a ‘sponge-like’ property. Feeding the body with protein ensures that nutrients are available during the overnight fast and muscle breakdown is avoided.

Endurance

If you’re workouts involve heavy endurance it can be easy to focus on carbohydrates and pay little attention to protein.  A common occurrence in athletes is for a protein deficiency to appear giving negative effects on performance and health.

A lack in protein will make you become susceptible to fatigue, lethargy, anaemia and possibly even severe disorders. Protein is still essential to repair muscle and gain optimum immune system function, you just don’t need as much as a body builder.

Taking a whey protein after your run can massively impact your recovery, so find a clean protein that will provide your body with the nutrients it needs.

Although protein can feel like a confusing supplement, if you’re putting your body through its paces you need to ensure you’re proving your body with the nutrition it needs.

He is a video from Nick Broad (who sadly was killed in a car crash in 2013) about Sports Nutrition Tips, here the former Chelsea and PSG head of performance is talking about how to simplify strategies for sports nutrition and how to make it more performance related.

Nick goes on to mention about all the three macro-nutrients, why to source local and organic foods and why recovery is so important.

Thanks,

I just wanted to present to you  some of my thoughts about what you can eat and how to eat better.

Think about what you have had to eat today ;

Did it come in a wrapper/package?

Did it contain sugar?

Did it have a list of ingredients on the back, half of which you have never heard of?

For a lot of people the answer to those questions will be YES.

It’s getting harder these days just to get real food, people think they are eating a ‘healthy’ snack bar, but look on the package and find sugar in there somewhere or some other ingredient which is damaging our health, yet promoting a very different message! A handful of nuts will be a lot more beneficial!

I’ll admit it is an effort to really, and  I mean REALLY eat clean. When I first started I was wandering around the supermarket checking labels for sugar, wheat, gluten, e numbers etc and only came out with half a basket of food! I was thinking how the hell do I survive on this?!

I went about it the hard way just cutting out anything with more than 1 ingredient , I found it difficult making meal times more adventurous than just meat and veg. By following some recipes I found online, and coming up with some of my own, I now love meal times and actually geek out about what to have!

During this time I went through a phase of boycotting supermarkets, as I dislike their manipulative ways of having all the biscuits and chocolate aisles  near the checkouts so, as your waiting, the cookies are just sitting there innocently alongside the family sized chocolate bar waiting to be added to your basket, whilst the veg and meat are at opposite ends of the store, so you have to pass everything they have to offer on the way! Really annoying! But I know this is just great marketing skills from their part.

I decided to try shopping at nearby farm shops and markets to get local produce until I realised even some of these establishments didn’t get their produce locally!?

So finally I went back to a supermarket and opted for the fairtrade and organic where possible,. ‘Try what works for you’ I say this often and I stand by it, if there is a market nearby try it out, but first lets get on with the actual article of ‘small steps’!

Whether you drink 5 cans of coke a day or eat relatively ‘healthy’ I’m here to help. Every single person is different and this is where we find out what works for you. You might have to try new things and experiment with different foods or more unusual ways of combining your foods and for now just make small additions to your existing day, so…. if your willing …read on!

Have a think back to what you have eaten today (again!) and lets start from there, have you had a glass of water or did you start your day with a coffee?

Take small steps, if you know your nutrition isn’t really up to scratch don’t panic and start thinking ‘arghhh I’m going to have to cut out this food and never drink that again’ lets focus on what you can add into your existing daily food intake.

Lets start with an extra glass of water a day for a week, simple as that.

The following week add some green veg like spinach, broccoli, kale, courgettes, green beans, peas etc to at least one meal a day.

If your not very active start with just going for a walk before dinner. Keep it simple just start moving around a bit more!

If you get a lot of fruit & veg each day, try some you haven’t done so before. Experiment with them raw or in smoothies!

Smoothie! Now there’s a topic, I won’t spend too long on this but what I will say is the smoothies I recommend people concoct are REAL food, not powered shakes, weight loss shakes or slimming drinks. They contain real ingredients and are super good for you, here is the most common one I recommend which I first heard Joe Rogan speak of;

250ml Rice Milk (sometimes I just use water though)

1 Banana

Handful of Kale

Depending on your blender I’d leave it a good few minutes to really get rid of any lumps! Also if your new to greens, just a small handful of kale to start will do the job just fine.

So there you have some small tips, to take small steps, which in turn lead to big results. Everyone has to start somewhere and at some point so start today, start thinking more positive, surround yourself with positive people and the whole process will become a hell of a lot easier!

I hope this helps you take some small steps!

I thought this was great and wanted to share this with you all.

Thanks,

Christmas eating is always a subject people like to talk about mainly because they have done to much! Which can be forgiven as life is for living but for those of you that are currently training or seriously thinking that your health needs to improve then have a read of this below!

The average person will consume around 6,000 calories on Christmas Day.

The average traditional Christmas dinner is 2,000 calories

The average person will gain at least 5lb during the Christmas period;
Christmas Eve – New Years Eve.

Breakfast
300 – 1000 calories

Dinner
1000 – 2000 calories

Supper/Tea
Leftovers/Turkey Sandwich
500 – 1000 calories

Mince Pies/Chocolates/Nuts etc
1000 – 1000 calories

Alcohol
180 – 1000

Here is a further breakdown of Christmas Dinner based on ‘normal’ portion sizes with no extras eg. Butter on carrots etc.

Turkey – 170
Roasts – 130
Roast Parsnips – 100
Turnip – 29
Peas – 70
Sprouts – 8
Carrots – 3
Sausage, Bacon Wraps – 120
Stuffing – 250
Cranberry Sauce – 86
Gravy – 200

Sub Total - 1,166

Christmas pudding and brandy butter – 423

Total - 1,589

Extras
¼ or 100g Celebration chocolates – 450 calories
Nuts – 160 calories
2 Mince pies – 420 calories
2 pub measures wine – 180 calories
Pub measure sherry – 68 calories

It is easy to see why the average person overeats by 3,200 cals per day over the Christmas period and can gain over 5lbs!

Now what you have been waiting for: Ways to save calories

Now I’m not always a fan of calorie counting for the normal run of the mill individual but it is important that you understand what calories are and where they come from in order to control portion size etc.

• Remove skin off turkey and save 50 cals per portion
• Replace sausage meat stuffing with chestnuts, fruit and veg based ones

• Use yams or sweet potato rather than potatoes

• Serve Christmas pud with low fat custard or low fat greek yoghurt or better yet without

• Fill up on veg or have a veg soup starter to take edge off appetite

• Start the day with a big breakfast porridge or scrambled egg and smoked salmon to slash hunger pangs and mindless nibbling

Finally…

Stop at two alcoholic drinks – apparently according to Robert Pandina at the institute of alcohol studies, New York, somewhere between the end of the 2nd drink and ½ way through the 3rd the part of your brain that controls inhibitions stops functioning and so this can stop you making good food choices and who you go home with!

DRINK LOTS OF WATER – Dehydration is one of the major causes of low Christmas energy, grumpy moods and constipation. You will burn around 60 fewer calories when hydration levels are low.

A 30 min walk each day can use up to 200 calories, making a total of 1,600 calories.

Happy Christmas!

I saw this on Facebook yesterday and I just had to share it with you. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t drink soda or ‘fizzy pop.’ I used to drink gallons of the stuff when I was younger but I hardly ever drink it now. The main reason for me was that it used to make me hungry and bloated. You wouldn’t believe the size my stomach used to grow to! Here are 7 reasons why you should think twice about drinking loads of soda.

1. Phosphoric acid

Soda is full of this stuff and it weakens your bones and rots your teeth!

2. Sweeteners

Excessive artificial sweeteners make you crave more. As I mentioned above, I found I was eating more once I’d had a drink. If you feel hungry in the first place, drink a glass of water as you’ll probably find you’re just thirsty and not hungry.

3. Caramel colour

It’s made form the chemical caramel and is purely cosmetic. It doesn’t add any flavour yet is tainted with carcinogens.

4. Formaldehyde, carcinogen

This is not added into the soda but when you digest aspartame, it will break down into 2 amino acids and methanol. Formic acid and formaldehyde (found in diet sodas).

5. High fructose corn syrup

This is a concentrated form of sugar, fructose derived from corn. It increases body fat, cholesterol and triglycerides and it also makes you hungry.

6. Potassium benzoate

This is a preservative that can be broken down to benzene  in your body. Keep your soda in the sun and benzene = carcinogen.

7. Food dyes

Impaired brain function hyperactive behaviour, difficulty focusing. Lack of impulse control.

Think about it,

I’d like to talk to you today about something that some people struggle to limit whether they exercise or not. That something is alcohol! I personally don’t know that many people who don’t drink alcohol at all, only Deano really. In my late teens, I drunk quite a bit on weekends. Looking back now, I don’t completely regret it. I just think I’m glad that stage of my life is now over. Nowadays I limit my drinking of alcohol to social events like Weddings and Birthdays and a couple of beers on a Friday and a Saturday night. That’s only two days out of seven so I’m happy with that. As my wife is currently pregnant (due tomorrow!) and because of the physical events I’ve been doing lately, the last beer I touched was 4 weeks ago. This is the longest I’ve gone without any alcohol for a while and I’ll probably go another week or until at least the baby is born. I know I could still have the odd beer but I wanted to go a full month as it’s been a while since I did that. I’ve found it pretty easy to be honest, although with the hot weather at the moment I really fancied one at the weekend while having a BBQ! If you think you or your loved one is drinking too much, checkout this great link ‘signs that someone is abusing alcohol.’ Thanks.

That’s my introduction to exercise and alcohol, now I’d just like to make a few points about what affects alcohol has on you while you exercise. For starters the average pint of beer has 250 calories and a glass of wine has around 130. You can see by these figures that half an hour in the gym maybe equates to a couple of pints so the weight you think you’re losing, you may not be. The way alcohol is absorbed by the body can also reduce the amount of fat you’re able to burn by exercising. Alcohol also gets in the way when our bodies try to absorb all the essential nutrients we need.

My weekly 5k’s are a brilliant example to look at. I burn around 400 calories per run. So one run doesn’t even cover 2 pints of beer. As the run is at 9am on a Saturday morning, running with a bad head is not a very good idea either. Fitness experts agree that to get the most out of cardiovascular exercise such as running, you have to put in the physical effort. This may mean you think you’re working much harder than you really are.

The majority of the human body is composed of water and when you don’t have enough water in our bodies, dehydration occurs. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it causes a greater loss of fluids than gains when you drink it. Alcohol also increases urination, which in turn makes you lose more water. For more information, checkout Deano’s article on The Importance of Hydration.

If you feel like the balance between alcohol and exercise is not working for you, then it’s a good idea to consider cutting down. I still enjoy a drink and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I find the key is sticking to the daily unit guidelines. These advise that men should not regularly exceed 3-4 units (equivalent to a pint and a half of 4% beer) and that women should not regularly exceed 2-3 units (equivalent to a 175ml glass of 13% wine). Of course there are other benefits of reducing your alcohol intake, things like reducing the risk of developing heart disease, cancer and liver problems. I recently wrote an article called How Smoking Affects Health & Fitness, I didn’t want to just state the obvious but rather point out the affects these kind of things have on exercise. Why wouldn’t you want to get the best results possible when exercising?  Even if you’re looking to reduce your stress levels, look your best or just lose weight, then reducing your alcohol intake will help you.

Stay fit and healthy folks,