You know it’s important to make exercise a regular part of your life, but what you might not realize is that theres more to a healthy routine than working up a sweatneglecting to take care of your gym gear can have health consequences. If you’re putting in the time to improve your strength and stamina, make sure you don’t sabotage your efforts with shoddy hygiene that could lead to fungal or bacterial infections.
Fitness & Exercise Articles from QualityHealth
How to mentally prepare yourself for weight loss.
» Think about your core values and what you want out of life.
What brings you happiness? Perhaps you rank health as a high priority and want to feel good and have more energy? Now look at small steps you can take to live in line with these values.
» Find something that suits you
Hate the gym? Then don’t force yourself to go. Instead find something you enjoy (maybe yoga, bushwalking, pole dancing or underwater hockey is more your style?). If you indulge in fitness pursuits that you value and enjoy you will be happier and more motivated.
» Be open to change
Just because running half marathons worked for you five years ago, doesn’t mean that running is still the best option for you now. Listen to the needs of your body and switch to a new fitness routine if necessary.
» Have realistic expectations
If you weigh under 100kg then it’s not safe or realistic to try losing more than 0.5kg per week. If you weigh between 100 and 150kg, 1kg per week is achievable, and if you’re over 150kg, 2kg per week is considered healthy.
» Try to eat every three hours: three main meals per day with two small snacks.
When possible, exercise before breakfast on an empty stomach, and then eat breakfast within an hour of exercising. When starting or changing an exercise regime, watch that you don’t eat more. Your body will naturally crave more food initially but after a few days your appetite will settle down.
NEXT: 10 tummy flattening foods>>
Need help losing weight? Here are 3 key fat burning tips from the experts.
1. Get more sleep
You’re less likely to hit your maximum intensity if you feel like crawling into a hole. Melanie McGrice, from the Dietitians Association of Australia, says tired people are less likely work out.
“It makes it really easy to think of an excuse not to go to the gym.” There’s also a good physiological reason to get enough kip. “We know that lack of sleep decreases the production of leptin, which is a hormone that helps us to know when to stop eating, and we know that it increases the production off ghrelin, which is a hormone which increases our appetite,” McGrice warns.
2. Meditate
If you’re stressed, you may find fat loss harder. Stress hormone cortisol “triggers the brain chemical neuropeptide Y that increases food cravings, and high levels of cortisol causes us to hold onto abdominal fat,” O’Neil says. “I’ve seen really good weight loss results when people address their stress. It’s like the cortisol was hanging on to all the fat and when cortisol was lowered the gates opened and the fat flowed out.”
3. Eat more protein
Here’s where those protein shakes come into their own. Of all the macronutrients, protein ‘costs’ the most calories to digest. In other words, a higher proportion of the calories in a protein shake are used up just to digest it than those in a muesli bar.
“Thermogenesis is basically the production of body heat,” explains McGrice. “Thermo, relates to temperature, and genesis to production. So if you think of the body as a machine, when it’s working and active it produces heat and burns kilojoules. When we are exercising or digesting food our body undertakes thermogenesis.”
But beware ‘thermogenic enhancers’, which often claim to stimulate fat loss. “The commonly promoted thermo bars and drinks and products that target brown fat and increase metabolism have no substance,” says Matt O’Neil, exercise physiologist and dietitian.
Next: 20 sure-fire ways to lose weight>>
Want to burn more calories? Here are 10 simple weight loss tips to try today!
1. Eat a healthy breakfast
Research shows that people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight than those who skip it.
2. Monitor portion sizes
Even overshooting slightly at each meal can add up to a hefty calorie excess over weeks or months – and it’s easier to skip half a spud than try to claw back a couple of kilos.
3. Choose smarter snacks (they can still be scrummy)
For instance, swap a blueberry muffin for two slices of lightly buttered thin raisin toast. You’ll save around 800 kJ.
4. Get creative with comfort foods
Need something hot and saucy? Instead of the sticky date, try porridge with reduced fat milk and fruit.
5. Beware high calorie bevs
While you’ll hardly notice the difference between hot chocolate with skim and full cream milk, the former will spare you up to 800 kJ. Each teaspoon of sugar you skip saves another 70-odd kJs. Also consider having one ‘luxe’ hot drink a day and trading coffee two and three for herbal or black tea. They have almost zero kJs.
6. Give desserts a dressing down
As with the pudding, you can still get key elements of favourite treats without tipping the scales. Instead of apple crumble, try a baked apple with reduced fat custard – and maybe a dash of cinnamon.
7. Make exercise easy
Find a stack of free workouts spanning cardio, strength and resistance, intervals and yoga right here on our website!
8. Keep a food diary
Become more mindful of your eating and exercise routine.
9. Get an accountability partner
Sticking to your plan (when you’re miserable and feel like you deserve the extra half spud, dammit) can be as simple as having a friend or relative who knows what you’re doing. Even if you don’t text or call them when you’re struggling, just knowing you’ll have to report in can keep you honest.
10. Reward your wins
If you do keep your weight on an even keel over winter – and we know you will – treat yourself to things you love like a massage, manicure or long bath. Just make sure your gift-to-self isn’t choccies!
Adapted from tips from the Dietitians Association of Australia.
You know it’s important to make exercise a regular part of your life, but what you might not realize is that theres more to a healthy routine than working up a sweatneglecting to take care of your gym gear can have health consequences. If you’re putting in the time to improve your strength and stamina, make sure you don’t sabotage your efforts with shoddy hygiene that could lead to fungal or bacterial infections.
Fitness & Exercise Articles from QualityHealth
How to mentally prepare yourself for weight loss.
» Think about your core values and what you want out of life.
What brings you happiness? Perhaps you rank health as a high priority and want to feel good and have more energy? Now look at small steps you can take to live in line with these values.
» Find something that suits you
Hate the gym? Then don’t force yourself to go. Instead find something you enjoy (maybe yoga, bushwalking, pole dancing or underwater hockey is more your style?). If you indulge in fitness pursuits that you value and enjoy you will be happier and more motivated.
» Be open to change
Just because running half marathons worked for you five years ago, doesn’t mean that running is still the best option for you now. Listen to the needs of your body and switch to a new fitness routine if necessary.
» Have realistic expectations
If you weigh under 100kg then it’s not safe or realistic to try losing more than 0.5kg per week. If you weigh between 100 and 150kg, 1kg per week is achievable, and if you’re over 150kg, 2kg per week is considered healthy.
» Try to eat every three hours: three main meals per day with two small snacks.
When possible, exercise before breakfast on an empty stomach, and then eat breakfast within an hour of exercising. When starting or changing an exercise regime, watch that you don’t eat more. Your body will naturally crave more food initially but after a few days your appetite will settle down.
NEXT: 10 tummy flattening foods>>
Need help losing weight? Here are 3 key fat burning tips from the experts.
1. Get more sleep
You’re less likely to hit your maximum intensity if you feel like crawling into a hole. Melanie McGrice, from the Dietitians Association of Australia, says tired people are less likely work out.
“It makes it really easy to think of an excuse not to go to the gym.” There’s also a good physiological reason to get enough kip. “We know that lack of sleep decreases the production of leptin, which is a hormone that helps us to know when to stop eating, and we know that it increases the production off ghrelin, which is a hormone which increases our appetite,” McGrice warns.
2. Meditate
If you’re stressed, you may find fat loss harder. Stress hormone cortisol “triggers the brain chemical neuropeptide Y that increases food cravings, and high levels of cortisol causes us to hold onto abdominal fat,” O’Neil says. “I’ve seen really good weight loss results when people address their stress. It’s like the cortisol was hanging on to all the fat and when cortisol was lowered the gates opened and the fat flowed out.”
3. Eat more protein
Here’s where those protein shakes come into their own. Of all the macronutrients, protein ‘costs’ the most calories to digest. In other words, a higher proportion of the calories in a protein shake are used up just to digest it than those in a muesli bar.
“Thermogenesis is basically the production of body heat,” explains McGrice. “Thermo, relates to temperature, and genesis to production. So if you think of the body as a machine, when it’s working and active it produces heat and burns kilojoules. When we are exercising or digesting food our body undertakes thermogenesis.”
But beware ‘thermogenic enhancers’, which often claim to stimulate fat loss. “The commonly promoted thermo bars and drinks and products that target brown fat and increase metabolism have no substance,” says Matt O’Neil, exercise physiologist and dietitian.
Next: 20 sure-fire ways to lose weight>>
Want to burn more calories? Here are 10 simple weight loss tips to try today!
1. Eat a healthy breakfast
Research shows that people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight than those who skip it.
2. Monitor portion sizes
Even overshooting slightly at each meal can add up to a hefty calorie excess over weeks or months – and it’s easier to skip half a spud than try to claw back a couple of kilos.
3. Choose smarter snacks (they can still be scrummy)
For instance, swap a blueberry muffin for two slices of lightly buttered thin raisin toast. You’ll save around 800 kJ.
4. Get creative with comfort foods
Need something hot and saucy? Instead of the sticky date, try porridge with reduced fat milk and fruit.
5. Beware high calorie bevs
While you’ll hardly notice the difference between hot chocolate with skim and full cream milk, the former will spare you up to 800 kJ. Each teaspoon of sugar you skip saves another 70-odd kJs. Also consider having one ‘luxe’ hot drink a day and trading coffee two and three for herbal or black tea. They have almost zero kJs.
6. Give desserts a dressing down
As with the pudding, you can still get key elements of favourite treats without tipping the scales. Instead of apple crumble, try a baked apple with reduced fat custard – and maybe a dash of cinnamon.
7. Make exercise easy
Find a stack of free workouts spanning cardio, strength and resistance, intervals and yoga right here on our website!
8. Keep a food diary
Become more mindful of your eating and exercise routine.
9. Get an accountability partner
Sticking to your plan (when you’re miserable and feel like you deserve the extra half spud, dammit) can be as simple as having a friend or relative who knows what you’re doing. Even if you don’t text or call them when you’re struggling, just knowing you’ll have to report in can keep you honest.
10. Reward your wins
If you do keep your weight on an even keel over winter – and we know you will – treat yourself to things you love like a massage, manicure or long bath. Just make sure your gift-to-self isn’t choccies!
Adapted from tips from the Dietitians Association of Australia.
