HIDDEN ENEMIES OF FAT LOSS

Surprisingly enough fat loss will not occur by simply exercising 24/7 and eating rabbit food. There are many more factors that affect fat loss, and sleep and stress are the one that we should never overlook if we are aiming at the long term fat loss.

1. SLEEP:

Cutting back on sleep reduces the benefits of dieting. Sleep has the ability to “reset” metabolism impacting hunger hormones, stress hormones, and muscle building/fat burning hormones. Sleep is a prime determinant of whether you can maintain sustained fat loss.

Eight hours of sleep should be seen as the minimum required for hormonal balance. This may shock some of you, but sleep quantity is one of the most important considerations in balancing hormones. Every night your body goes through its rhythm of hormonal computing to repair, regenerate, and revitalise the tissues of the body. This process is complicated and takes time (Metabolic Effect). You know if yourself: if we do not get enough sleep we crave carbs and sugar. Lack of sleep is causing us to be hungry the whole day. When sleep is restricted, we produce higher levels of ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger and reduces energy expenditure.

“If your goal is to lose fat, skipping sleep is like poking sticks in your bicycle wheels”

– try and give your digestive system at least 12 hour break (if your dinner is at 7pm then the earliest you should have your breakfast is 7am the following day)

– aim at having your last meal 2-3 hours before you go to bed

– walking and low impact exercises as Yoga and Pilates are good contributors to fat loss when combined with weight training and HIIT workouts

2. STRESS

Is stress making you fat? Stress doesn’t have any calories but it’s not only the calorie intake that affects the fat loss, there’s much more to it. There’s a very good article on stress and fat loss and I could have just copied it but I think it would be fair to post a link to the original article since I was not the one who wrote it. Click here to read it.

Who would think there are so many factors that affect fat loss?

HAVE A GOOD EASTER WEEKEND: SLEEP MORE AND ENJOY THIS LONG WEEKEND WITH YOUR FAMILY!

Natallia

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CAN YOU STICK TO EATING HEALTHY WHILE TRAVELLING?

I will be the first to admit that I used to be quite bad at NOT sticking to eating healthily while travelling (and I do travel a lot). What do people usually buy to get them through a long train/bus/plane journey? 99% of time it’s sweets, shop bought sandwiches, fizzy drinks, and crisps, i.e. processed food high in fat and sugar.  What are the alternatives?

1.  If you do like a sandwich – make one at home so that you know what is in it. Use rye bread or wholegrain bread (preferably either home baked or bought from trusted bakeries) i.e. Ham and avocado sandwich or chicken and avocado one ( you will get good fats from avocado and protein from meat, and a bit of fibre from bread (not a lot but hey ho  – it’s a sandwich so it comes with bread!))

A good alternative to a sandwich (gluten free!) would be rice cakes with all sort of toppings from nut butters to honey, ham, chicken etc.

2. Always carry with you a bottle of water. Whenever you think you are hungry drink 200-250ml of water. Very often people misinterpret boredom and habit of snacking with the feeling of hunger.3.  Snack on nuts, berries, protein bars, beef jerky, veg sticks (with humus) and fruit.

4.  If you do crave sugar – have some dark chocolate.

1. 5. Take a book or a couple of magazines with you – keep yourself occupied so that you don’t get bored and start snacking on junk food.

STAYING OVERNIGHT IN A HOTEL? 

If you are trying to stay on track and not to overindulge while you are on a business (or a leisure) trip you can try the following:

1. Take your healthy snacks with you (nuts mixed with dry or fresh berries, apples, pears, bananas, protein bars etc).
2. Do have a treat drink with your meal but opt for red wine or vodka/gin with soda. And always order a jug of water to keep you hydrated
3. If you are eating out  – go for a steak with veg and grilled mushrooms or fish/chicken dish (ask to serve you more veg or to give you extra mushrooms instead of chips (sweet potatoes are another option)). And there’s always a salad on the menu which is a great option (check about the dressing as they can contain more calories than your salad. Opt for olive oil and balsamic vinegar or similar)

        4. Have a coffee (if it’s not too late) or a tea instead of a dessert or have some dark chocolate (or if it’s your treat meal – go for a dessert!).

        5.  Breakfast: full English GRILLED breakfast is your best choice (excluding fried bread and hush browns). You can even have a sneaky slice or black pudding or a sausage  (grilled). If the hotel you are staying at does porridge  – it is also a good choice (not my favourite but better than sugar laden cereals), though I would stick to the more protein rich breakfast of eggs, bacon, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms to keep your energy levels up for a few hours.

And if you are used to exercising – you can always squeeze in a short 20 mins workout in your hotel room – push ups, sit ups, triceps dips, mountain climbers, planking, etc – there are loads of body weight exercises out there that you could do if you are limited for space! Most hotels do have gyms and swimming pools, which could be your other option.

Thanks for reading the blog and if you have any questions please post them on here or pm me!

Natallia

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