Your Body Needs At Least 5 Meals Per Day : Sheffield Personal Trainer Tip #1

When I suggest eating more meals to clients, as a personal trainer I often hear the response . . “I will get fat!”. Not so! as the traditional nutritional advice to eat three meals per day and avoid “snacking” between those meals actually slows you metabolism down and actively increases body fat storage (another one of our survival mechanisms).

Most people at some point during the day experience feelings of tiredness, low energy levels and headaches this is because that people who eat three times or less per day have conditioned there body to get by on less calories and there – for are undernourished with low blood sugar levels and guess what, end up craving sugar and binging on processed junk foods storing all bad calories as body fat.

Basic science: – The way the Human body works is that from the moment any food enters our mouth the enzymes there begin to break it down, the body then continues this process in the small intestines and stomach, a process that takes 2 hours, then depending a. if we have eaten correctly and b. on our “burn Rate” the amount of energy required by the body at that moment you will take anywhere between 30 – 60 minutes to burn it up for energy, there for we must constantly feed our bodies every 2 – 3 hours to maintain stable blood – sugar levels (for optimum absorption of the food we eat), which in turn will increase our metabolism alleviating lethargy and fatigue and keep us “anabolic” – a constant state of growth and recovery. So, for optimal muscle – building and fat burning eat 5 – 8 small, balanced meals evenly throughout day.

Forget about Stress. You do not need it! – Sheffield Personal Trainer Tip #2 

Stress can make you gain weight faster than you can say “Bob’s your uncle!’ You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to realise stress affects everything you do. Stress can make us gain wrinkles, affects concentration and can make us miserable. Stress drains you mentally and physically, making your health deteriorate rapidly. So to avoid fat gain and an early grave . . . avoid stress.

Quick tips to reduce stress:

• Exercise (Just move a little everyday!) – go for a walk in the Peaks, play tennis, go to the gym, walk your dog, do the housework (yes this counts as exercise!), cycle to work, etc, etc.
• Sleep – If you don’t re-charge your phone, you battery goes flat. The human body is no different. Make-sure you sleep at least 7 hours every night. That doesn’t mean sleeping 5hrs 5x days per week and then sleeping in for 12hrs on Saturday and Sundays! Aim to get 7hrs ‘Every night’. Here are some more – sleep tips.
• Avoid alcohol & sugary snacks: they increase anxiety and our stress hormones. Consume wholesome foods, foods that have not been processed: Fresh Meat/ Poultry, vegetables, nuts and fruit are great options.
• Be happy – for all that is perceived as bad in your life, there is plenty of good. Tune into the positives and remind yourself on a daily basis that you are alive and have the power to change for the better.
• Take a Walk – there is nothing better for reducing stress than going on a long walk in the countryside. Try it for yourself. Next time you are stressed go outside, find a nice long walk in the countryside and let your thoughts run free.

Find The Right Coach : Sheffield Personal Trainer Tip #3

Hiring a personal trainer or nutrition coach will cost you money. Hiring the right coach is like buying a fast track queue jump ticket at Alton Towers. You will jump the queue and achieve results much quicker, surpassing what you could achieve by yourself. Searching endlessly on the internet for articles and tips will most definitely leave you feeling confused.

There is an abundance of information on the web, and a ton of contradicting info . . . “hang on this person says I should do this but this person says I should do that! (pull hair out!) arghhh!” . Do your research and jump the queue by finding a personal trainer that specialises in what you are after i.e. fat loss. Look at the coaches results, are they good?, what do their clients have to say about the trainer? Ask intelligent questions and be clear from the outset of what you want to achieve.

Drink More Water : Sheffield Personal Trainer Tip #4

How many of you know you should drink more water? Yet how many of you do it? . . .

Exactly.

You should never be 5 metres away from a bottle of water and here is why ;

• Drinking water throughout the day will help improve your skin, making your complexion glow and look fresh.
• Most people mistake hunger for thirst. Drinking water will help keep you full and prevent unnecessary over calorie consumption.
• The cost for bottled water is little. The cost of tap water is £0! The health benefits are enormous. Come on people!

Lift Weights : Sheffield Personal Trainer Tip #5

Lifting weights makes you look masculine and muscular. WRONG! Lifting weights will not make you either masculine or muscular, it depends on the style of training and your nutrition. If I had a pound for every time somebody said to me “I don’t want’ to get too muscularly!” . . .

I would be on par with Richard Branson! In all my years of personal training I have yet to encounter somebody who has “become too muscular”. It doesn’t happen because it’s very difficult to gain muscle.

For every 1lb of muscle you gain you could burn an extra 50-100 calories per day. So build 10 lbs of lean muscle and you can burn between 500-1000 extra calories per day! Increased fat loss? Yep! Hire a great coach who can teach you the right style of weight training needed for fat loss, so you can improve body composition.

Final Note . . .

Fat loss is like a puzzle, made up of pieces. Every piece is important and must be used to create the final picture.