UK Seasonal Foods For November

Welcome to the second in the series of monthly articles on seasonal foods in the UK.  November is the month when the days are getting noticeably shorter, the temperature begins to drop and the shops are full of reminders that the holiday season is not too far away.  The list of foods that are in season in November are as follows;

Apples, Brussels sprouts, Chestnut, Clams, Cranberry, Cabbage, Horse Radish, Jerusalem Artichoke, Mussels, Parsnips, Pomegranate, Quince, Pumpkin, Pheasant, Scallop, Sea Bass

Continuing the theme from last month, I will present three recipes; A meat/poultry/fish dish, a vegetable based dish and a fruit dessert.  All recipes will be low in calories but high in taste and full of fantastic ingredients which are great for your health.

Brussels Sprouts are the first ingredient I am going to highlight.  This vegetable is full of goodness and share many of the same benefits as cabbages and other cruciferous vegetables.  They are high in fibre which is great for digestion, however the main health benefits come from its high content of Vitamin C and cancer protecting bioflavanoids.  In fact it has been reported that men who eat 3 portions of cruciferous vegetables per week (Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli) are 41% less likely to develop prostrate cancer than men who eat 1 portion per week.

Brussels Bubble & Squeak with Poached Egg (serves 4)  This tasty recipe is a great way of using up left overs from a roast dinner.

400g Potatoes, cooked and crushed
200g Brussels Sprouts, cooked and roughly chopped
2 small onions, halved and sliced
4 free range eggs
Butter

Cook the onions in a small amount of butter until soft.  Mix with the potatoes and sprouts, season with sea salt and pepper and form into 4 rough flat cakes.  Fry the cakes in a small amount of butter or olive oil in a separate pan until golden crusted on both sides.  Keep warm in a low heat oven.

Bring a wide, shallow pan of water (with a small amount of vinegar) to a simmer. Crack in the eggs then turn down the heat and leave for 6-8 mins until cooked. Drain well, then top each cake with a poached egg and serve.

Sea Bass with sizzled ginger and spring onions (serves 6) An easy but impressive looking meal adding a host of flavours to a protein packed piece of fish.

6 Sea Bass fillets, about 140g each. Skin on.
3 tbsp sunflower oil
Large knob of ginger, peeled and shredded into matchsticks
3 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 fat, fresh, red chillies de-seeded and thinly shredded
Bunch Spring Onions, shredded long ways
1 tbsp Soy Sauce

Season the fish with sea salt and pepper, then slash the skin 3 times.  Heat a heavy based frying pan and add 1 tbsp oil.  Once hot, fry the fish, skin side down, for 5 minutes or until the skin is very crisp and golden.  The fish will be almost cooked through.  Turn over, cook for another 30 secs-1min, then transfer to a serving plate and keep warm.

Heat the remaining oil, then fry the ginger, garlic and chillies for about 2 minutes until golden.  Take off the heat and toss in the spring onions.  Splash the fish with a little soy sauce and spoon the over the contents of the pan.

Pomegranate is well known in the media for it's "Super Food" status, but this is because they are extremely beneficial for your health.  Pomegranates are high in fibre, Vitamin C, potassium and niacin all which are associated with greater energy levels.  They are also packed full of anti-oxidants which are vital for a healthy immune system to help fight off disease.  Pomegranates are often consumed as a juice, but I am going to provide you with a fantastic smoothie that also is packed full of other seasonal berries;

Pomegranate Fruit Smoothie An anti-oxidant packed healthy smoothie.

1.5 cups of pomegranate juice (non concentrate)
0.5 cup blueberries
0.5 cup of blackberries
1 peeled banana
3 large spoonfuls of a good quality live yoghurt
ice

Blend to desired consistency and serve

Enjoy!!

Recipes taken from "The Healing Power of Nature Foods" and www.bbcgoodfood.com.

The Psychology of Weight Loss

If you picked up any health or lifestyle magazine it wouldn’t take long to find an article on the latest celebrity diet and an abundance of advice on how to shift unwanted pounds.  More reliable sources of information on the subject from fitness professionals and nutrition experts give a similar message; eat less and move more.  This of course on face value is correct, if you consume less calories than you burn you will lose weight.  It is also true that to maintain a healthy weight and body you should consume more unprocessed foods and focus on building a menu around fresh fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats.  So the question is; if it is that easy, why do so many fail?

I believe the reason for this is because many people do not understand the psychological factors that are associated with dieting success.  These factors range from understanding habitual behaviour, theories of behaviour change and finding true motivation.  If a diet program can incorporate knowledge of psychology it will not only help an individual reach their goal weight, but improve the chances of keeping their weight off for life.

Human beings are habitual by nature.  From birth human development is dependent on the brain creating neural networks that remember actions and feelings so that we are able to learn to survive.  Eating is obviously an essential component of survival so from very early on if our lives we begin to develop a pattern of behaviour that is associated with food.  This could be a certain feeling associated with foods (positive or negative), it could be a particular time you eat or an order that you eat in.  The simple fact is, by the time you have reached adulthood the neural networks associated with your eating habits are deeply entwined with everything you do; so it is no surprise to find out losing weight is slightly more complicated than having a young fit and perfectly toned fitness professional telling you not to eat certain foods.

Professors at the University of Hertfordshire have dedicated many years of research to understanding habits and how they can have a negative affect on life.  In their book, “The no diet diet”, Professors Fletcher, Pine & Penman explain how that changing non diet based behaviours can actually help untangle the web of neural networks associated with eating behaviour.  They suggest that taking time to make small changes in your life such as; reading different papers or magazines, watching different television programs, taking up knew hobbies and taking different routes to work allow the body to break out of routine and make a natural adjustment to its metabolic functioning, resulting in weight loss of up to 2lbs a week. Unlike many other diet books, this has years of scientific research and results to back up its claims.  Looking at this habit breaking task from another perspective can see it as a great way of practising and building up will power before attempting to cut something as addictive as processed sugar from a diet.

Understanding behaviour change cycles are vitally important in planning a successful weight management programme.  For example; a well known theory in social psychology is the theory of planned behaviour.  This theory has shown that a person’s behaviour can be predicted using knowledge of their attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norms about the behaviour and said persons perceived behavioural control.  What this means in relation to dieting behaviour is that knowledge of a persons attitude towards food and diets, what they believe others will think of them if they do or do not diet and whether they have the tools to succeed in their weight loss goals can be used to predict their action.  These important nuggets of information should be established during a consultation with fitness professional or a nutritionist, however if you are deciding to seek dieting success with no external help then you should take time to think about and write down the answers to the points I have highlighted.  If you happen to have a positive attitude to the idea of dieting, feel that others will be supportive and you feel you have the necessary will power and support network around you then you have a greater chance of success.

Timing when to start a weight management programme is also essential for success.  By this I don’t mean that you should peruse your diary to find a week where you have no social engagements, but choosing a time when you are ready for change.  Dr. James Prochaska and colleagues have studied behaviour change interventions for many years and have established six stages of behaviour change.  These are; pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and termination.  Establishing which stage you are at can help determine what is needed to help move on to the next stage and most importantly whether you are ready for change in the first place. 

Pre-contemplation is a term used to describe the stage in which people are in denial over their need for change.  Take for instance a person who is lives on fast food and consumes dangerously high quantities of alcohol.  They may see an article on the dangers of processed food and skip over it or become defensive if any body questions them about their negative behaviour.  Pre-contemplators are not ready for change and usually will only start a weight loss programme under pressure from those around them.  Contemplation is the stage when a person acknowledges that they have a problem and like to talk about it, read about it and think about it.  In fact they like to do anything except act on it.  This stage of change can take some people years to overcome whilst they research their problem deeply in hope of finding the Holy Grail that will send them on the path to change.  Others may contemplate for a short while and move on to the next stage; preparation.  This is quite simply preparing for action.  In the case of dieting behaviour it can involve seeking out a personal trainer or gym membership, planning meals, deciding what foods you are going to cut out of your life etc.  A key part of this stage is to go public.  Fear of failure is something that holds many people back when committing to any sort of change, so going public adds a certain amount of pressure to the situation, but can also be the factor that pushes a person into action.  The action stage of any change period is busy and time consuming.  In dieting behaviour it is a period that seems all consuming whilst a routine of new foods and exercise dominate your thoughts, whilst trying to combat cravings and negative influences that make it their mission to bring you down.  This is why before action the preparation stage is key!!  It is also important to recognise that in most change cycles, individuals get most support from peers before action.  Once someone is visibly changing it is not unusual for external support to dwindle as they believe that you have already succeeded; however every successful change cycle needs a maintenance period in which the new behaviour becomes engrained into a routine.  This maintenance period can last from 6 months to a lifetime before you can safely put yourself in the termination stage in which there is no danger of resorting back to old habits.  In a weight loss programme this maintenance phase is as important as many people lose weight quickly before regaining even more a few months down the line.  Remember CHANGE NEVER ENDS WITH ACTION. 

What these six stages of change show is that there is much more to weight loss than just deciding to go on a diet.  Before you should even consider starting a diet plan it may be worth trying to establish what stage you are at.  Once this is established you can work on getting to the action and maintenance stages.  I imagine if you are taking the time to read an article of this nature you will be at least in the contemplation stage so I recommend a task for you; write down all the negatives and all of the positives involved in losing weight.  Once your list of positives outweighs the negatives you are ready for change.

True motivation must come from within.  Understanding this simple statement is necessary to plan a successful weight loss programme.  As explained in the pre-contemplation stage, those who attempt a weight loss under duress will ultimately fail, which in principle is the same as somebody whose motivation is to lose weight to make someone else happy.

So, in danger of sounding a bit like a bad actor, what is my motivation?  There are two types of motivation; intrinsic and extrinsic.  Intrinsic motivation is gained from an internal satisfaction of completing the task in hand.  Research has shown that if a person has intrinsic motivation they are more likely to complete a task, however in the case of dieting and weight loss it is unlikely they will have an innate desire to lose weight or change their eating habits or they would not be overweight in the first place.  However, what can be established is a person’s true desire to lose weight.  A great way of doing this is to take time to write a letter to yourself and explain in detail why you believe that losing weight will change your life.  It is important not to focus on why it will make others happy, instead focus on the emotions involved and why you think your life will change for the better.  Extrinsic motivation is influenced by external factors such as rewards that are gained from success.  These can be anything from material rewards such as a new clothes or a holiday, to more personal rewards such as improved self esteem from the compliments that others are showering you with.  I suggest that anyone entering a weight management programme should take time to create a motivation wall.  This should contain anything that motivates you to succeed, such as; old pictures of what you used to look like, words and quotes that inspire you, pictures of a beach reminding you of the holiday you are going to take etc.  This motivation wall can be referred to in time of need when you feel like giving up giving you a boost.

So, as you can see the psychological factors involved in weight loss are too important to ignore.  Losing weight is not rocket science, but it is also not as simple as being told to change.  Remember you have to take time to break old habits and form new ones.  You have to understand your behaviour cycles and establish your attitude to change before being able to plan and maintain a new diet.  But before all of that, you need to want to do it in the first place.  Change for yourself and you will experience success and happiness.

Good luck!!

For more information on planning a successful weight management programme email me at james@hutchisonpt.co.uk

UK Seasonal Foods for October

I am a great believer in pushing the message that healthy food does not mean boring food.  I am also passionate about promoting the foods that these Great British Isles produce from within.  I am not going to start a debate about Supermarkets (in fact I am going to perch myself nicely on the fence on that issue), but one of the negatives that come from shopping in the Supermarkets is we never shop in season.  Now this does of course mean there is more choice from all of the foods from around the world, but it also means we are likely to form habits of eating the same foods week in and week out, it also means we are missing out on some of the amazing home grown ingredients when they are at their best.

So this is the first in a new series of monthly articles that will give a list of the best foods in season (UK only) and a few healthy recipes to try out using those foods.

Seasonal Foods for October:

Vegetables:     Artichokes, Aubergines, Beetroot, Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Courgettes, Lettuce, Marrow, Mushrooms, Parsnips, Potatoes, Leeks, Watercress

Fruit:              Apples, Blackberries, Grapes, Peaches, Pears, Plums

Meat/Seafood:Guinea Fowl, Partridge, Mussels, Oysters, Venison

Vegetarian Recipe: Spicy baby aubergine stew with coriander and mint

This is a really healthy vegetarian main dish that counts as 5 of your 5 a day and is

only 150 calories per serving.

Ingredients:     2 tbsp of olive oil, 2 sliced red onions, 2 red chillies (deseeded & sliced), 2 tsp coriander seeds (toasted & crushed), 2tsp cumin seeds (toasted & crushed), 16 baby aubergines left whole with stalks in tact, 2x 400g chopped tomatoes, bunch of mint leaves & coriander leaves roughly chopped.  Couscous and low fat Greek Yoghurt to serve.

Method:          1)  Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan, add the onions and garlic and cook until they begin to colour.  Add the chillies, coriander and cumin seeds.  When the seeds give off a nutty aroma toss in the whole aubergines, coating them with the onions and spices.

                        2)  Tip in the tomatoes and sugar, cover and gently cook for 40 minutes until the aubergines are tender.

                        3)  Season sauce and toss in half the mint and coriander. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes.  Sprinkle the remaining herbs and serve with couscous and yoghurt.

Nutrition:        148 kcal, 5g protein, 16 carbohydrate, 7g fat, 1g saturated fat         

per serving

Non Vegetarian recipe:  Mussels with tomato and chilli

A super healthy spicy seafood dish.  Ideal for a meal for two.

Ingredients:     2 ripe tomatoes, 2 tbsp olive oil,  1 garlic clove finely chopped, 1 shallot finely chopped, 1 green or red chilli (deseeded & chopped), small glass of dry white wine, 1tsp tomato paste, 1kg cleaned mussels, handful of basil leaves.

Method:          1)  Put the tomatoes in a heatproof bowl.  Cover with boiling water, leave for 3 minutes, then drain and peel. Quarter the tomatoes and scoop out and discard the seeds using a teaspoon.  Roughly chop the tomato flesh.

                        2)  Heat the oil in a large pan with a tight fitting lid.  Add the garlic, shallot and chilli, then gently fry for 2-3 minutes until softened.  Pour in the wine and add the tomatoes, paste and seasoning.  Stir well and simmer for 2 minutes.

                        3)  Tip in the mussels and give them a stir.  Cover tightly and steam for 3-4 minutes shaking the pan half way through, until the shells have opened.

                        4)  Discard any empty shells that remain shut, then divide the mussels between two bowls and add the basil leaves.

Nutrition         267 kcal, protein 20g, carbohydrate 11g, fat 14g, saturated fat 2g

per serving:     

A healthy but tasty dessert:  Spiced roasted apples and blackberries

A guilt free pudding that tastes great with low fat fromage-frais mixed with a little

Honey.

Ingredients:     4 medium Bramley apples (200g per apple), 4 tbsp clear honey, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, finely grated zest and juice of an orange, 250g blackberries

Method:          1)  Pre heat the oven to 180 °C/gas mark 4.  Core the apples so you have a hole the size of a pound coin in each one. Make a cut just into the skin around the middle of each apple.

                        2)  Stand the apples in a shallow baking dish large enough to take all four.  Mix together the honey, cinnamon and orange zest, put an equal amount into the cavity of each apple, then pour the orange juice into the dish.

                        3)  Roast the apples for about 40 minutes, spooning the juices over them occasionally.  Then, when the apples are almost ready, spoon the blackberries around and over each apple.  Return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Nutrition:        129 kcal, protein 1g, carbohydrate 32g, fat 0.3g

per serving

All recipes courtesy of http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/

Bootcamp Training with Hutchisonpt

Do you need to get in shape for a wedding, a holiday a sports event or just want RESULTS FAST?  Are you willing to work hard for them?  Then a personal bootcamp with HutchisonPT could be for you.

My personal bootcamp is an intense bespoke series of workouts designed with one goal in mind; RESULTS! I understand that sometimes people just do not have the time to dedicate months to an exercise or fitness goal, therefore I am now offering this personal bootcamp service.

The bootcamp consists of a short term commitment of either 4,5 or 6 weeks.  Each week there will be four workouts, each offering a different way of pushing you to the limits.  The exercise sessions include a mixture of resistance training, outdoor cardio workouts, boxing, circuits, body weight training, flexibility and much more.  A diet plan will be provided to compliment the exercise programme.

The bootcamps are hard work, be prepared to sweat, but they offer a safe and fun way of getting you GUARANTEED RESULTS!!

The bootcamp can be used for a variety of fitness goals.  Farah aged 30, used her 6 week programme as a Bridal Bootcamp so she could drop a dress size for the big day.  Check out her results;  she lost 7lbs, including 2 inches off her tummy and over an inch off her waist and hips.

"....the bootcamp was hard work, but well worth it.  I feel thinner, more toned and have bags of energy...."

The cost of the Bootcamp depends on the option you choose; there are 4,5 or 6 week programmes available and can be done individually or with friends.  If you are interested in finding out more about this exciting new guaranteed results service contact me on james@hutchisonpt.co.uk or call me on 07581457222.

The bootcamp service can be done at the studio in Highgate Village, London or at home or in the park in the Highgate, Hampstead,  Muswell Hill or surrounding areas.

Why failure is what most dieters experience

The obesity epidemic is fast becoming a crisis in the United Kingdom.  The term clinically obese is defined as, "a body mass index of 30kg/m squared or greater,".  In fact the NHS released statistics in 2009 that claimed 24% of adults in England were clinically obese, an increase of 15% since 1993.  The same report shows there is a 14% increase in raised waist circumference in adults across the same time scale.

More alarming figures were released in 2010 by top market researchers Mintel, showing that almost a quarter of women in the UK are wearing size 18 clothes or over, that equates to approximately 6.2 million people.

So with obesity problems like this it is no surprise that the diet industry is big business.  There are no official statistics for the amount of money spent on the UK diet industry, but estimates in the US quote figures of between $40-$100 billion.  So for the industry to be making this kind of revenue they expect one thing, your failure.  If every person who put themselves on the (place generic diet brand here) diet actually kept the weight off, there would be no need to sell the memberships, promote the books or champion the potions and powders that bring this miraculous weight loss.

Speaking as someone who has worked in the fitness industry for over ten years I can honestly say the clients of mine who have successfully lost weight and kept it off do two things; first they work hard in raising their exercise levels, not only in the gym or in personal training sessions, but overall in their lifestyle.  This could be exercising outside of the gym by taking up a sport, or just walking more often or cycling with the kids.

Secondly, and most importantly they adopt a sensible balanced diet, which provides adequate nutrition and calorie intake to sustain their daily activities, but a regime they can stick to without falling off the wagon due to treat deprived binges.  So, if the solution is so simple, why do most dieters fail?  I am going to answer this question from a psychological perspective rather than in the more traditional (regulate your blood sugar) sense.

It would be common sense to assume that if a persons attitude towards a behaviour, lets say their attitude towards eating healthier, was positive, then they are likely to participate in that behaviour.  However, it was shown many years ago that the correlation between attitude and behaviour was as low as 0.30 (1 being a perfect correlation).  Over the years there have been many academic studies into attitude and behaviour change, one of the most significant was proposed by Ajzen & Fishbein; The theory of planned behaviour.  This model has shown empirically that a persons actions can be predicted accurately using knowledge of their attitudes towards the behaviour, subjective norms about the behaviour and perceived behavioural control.  What this means when related to a person wishing to diet, is their behaviour can be predicted more accurately by knowing their attitude towards dieting in general, what they believe other people will think of them if they do or do not diet, do they believe they can succeed if they diet and most importantly do they show real intention to change.

Another theory has grown out of this model, mainly focusing on peoples intention to change.  Gollwitzer has proposed the idea of implementation intentions, and has good empirical support to back it up.  The concept can be summed up as planning how to participate in a behaviour that will result in a achieving a desired goal.  The implementation intention requires the person to specify when, where and how the behaviours will be achieved, this will not just provide the person time to evaluate their goals and think practically how to achieve them but also provides an emotional and psychological contract that they have signed.

So, my advice to those who are thinking of dieting, is to look at the situation from a psychological prospective.  Make sure before you go ahead with the latest fad diet in a glossy magazine that you choose an eating regime you believe you can stick to.  Then take time to write down when you are going to start, where it is going to happen (such as eating at home rather than restaurants and spending more time in the gym) and most importantly, how are you going to achieve this.  It is important to prepare meal plans and give yourself three or four small goals each week, such as drink more water, cut out chocolate, reduce salt intake etc.

It is also important to have this implementation intention on paper, if it is sitting as a document on your PC or lap top you are not going to see it.  Print it out, put it up on the fridge or somewhat where you and those around you will see it regularly, and make sure you add your signature to it.  If you do these small but significant tasks, it will greatly increase your chances of achieving your goals and avoiding the gut wrenching guilt of previous failures.

For more information about the psychological perspective of weight loss and exercise goals, contact me on james.hutchison4@btinternet.com.  

Is a gluten free diet for me?

The heroics and sheer athleticism of Novak Djokovic during the recent Wimbledon tennis tournament highlighted not only the climax of a journey that has seen him rise to the world number one spot, but also claims that his superior fitness and energy levels were due to his new gluten free diet.  A gluten free diet has been promoted by those in the fitness industry for many years, but what does it actually mean? More importantly, is it for me?

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.  This protein can trigger an immune response in the small intestine of people with gluten intolerance and those with celiac disease.  The body responds to this reaction by creating anti bodies to attack the 'foreign invader'.  During the process of the attack the villi of the small intestine are affected which can cause all sorts of gastrointestinal symptoms and dysfunctions.  These symptoms can include;

• Abdominal discomfort
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Fatigue
• Gas
• Joint Pain
• Migraines

Should I avoid gluten if I am not celiac or gluten intolerant?  An article by Charles Poliquin, a world renowned expert on health and fitness suggests it should be removed from every diet.  The reasons he gives are as follows;

• Gluten inflames the brain, therefore can interfere with brain function;
• The glutamate content in gluten is known to kill brain cells;
• Gluten intolerance has been shown to negatively affect the thyroid;
• Gluten can aggravate menopausal symptoms.  Removing it from the diet can help reduce the severity of associated symptoms such as night sweats, hot flushes, headaches, mood swings and fatigue;
• Gluten is associated with accelerated ageing;
• Gluten weakens tooth enamel;
• Gluten negatively affects body composition.  Gluten is known to raise the levels of insulin and cortisol.  The combination of increased levels of these hormones can lead to obesity.

(For full article, see www.charlespoliquin.com)

Following a gluten free diet means  completely avoiding the following foods;

• Bagels                   
• Beer                                   
• Beverage mixers
• Biscuits                 
• Bread                                  
• Bread crumbs
• Breaded fish          
• Breaded meat or poultry       
• Cake
• Candy                   
• Canned baked beans            
• Cereal
• Chicken nuggets    
• Croissants                            
• Crackers
• Crisps                   
• Croutons                              
• Custard
• Doughnuts              
• Dumplings                           
• Flour
• Flour tortillas         
• Fried vegetables                   
• Fruit filling
• Gravy                    
• Gum                                    
• Hamburger buns
• Hotdogs                 
• Hotdog buns                       
• Ice cream (also non-dairy ice cream)
• Ice cream cones     
• Macaroni                           
•  Melba toast
• Muffins                  
• Noodles                               
• Packaged cereals
• Pancakes               
• Pasta                                   
• Pastries
• Pizza crust             
• Pretzels                                
• Processed chocolate milk
• Rolls                      
• Salad dressing                     
• Salad dressing
• Soy sauce             
• Spaghetti                              
• Stuffing
• Syrups                  
• Tabbouleh                            
• Tinned soup
• Waffles

This seemingly endless list removes many of the foods that would make up a standard shopping list.  But do not fear, many supermarkets now offer a range of foods that are free from gluten (many from wheat and dairy too).  These foods are considered specialist, so inevitably more expensive than the standard versions, but eating a gluten free diet does not mean having a boring tasteless diets.  It does mean spending a little ore time in the kitchen preparing your own meals.  There is an abundance of gluten free recipe and cook books out there, a selection of 3500 recipes from top TV chefs such as James Martin and Rick Stein can be found on www.bbc.co.uk/food/diets/gluten_free .  A couple of examples are Steamed fish with Chinese vegetables and plum sauce, or Surf and Turf with wilted spinach, watercress and mustard sauce, both meals sound tasty and are full of whole foods and nutrients.

So all that is left for you to do is to give it a try.  For two weeks completely eradicate gluten from your diet and monitor your energy levels, your sleep patterns and your digestive function.  I would be extremely surprised if each of those does not vastly improve.

For more information regarding planning an effective diet or fitness programme contact me on james.hutchison4@btinternet.com

Walk away that waistline

Ever since the late 1970's when Jim Fixx's best selling book "The complete book of running", hit the shelves, jogging and running has been seen by many as the best form of exercise (despite the author dropping dead a few years later on his morning run) especially for weight loss.  There is no doubt that running is a very effective form of aerobic exercise, which in turn can promote many health benefits to the runner.  It is also true that in most sports, such as football, rugby, tennis etc, require some level of running ability, be it short sharp sprints or a more endurance based jog.  However in my experience as a health and fitness professional most of the clients I meet rarely play competitive sport (if they did I would base their programmes towards sports specific exercises anyway) and a high percentage feel sick at the thought of spending hours pounding away on the treadmill.  There are also a significant amount of people who would be advised not to run due to knee, hip or ankle injury or just general obesity issues.  So it to safe to say that running isn't for everyone.

The good news is that there are other ways of improving your physical fitness and losing weight.  Walking is often the most under rated activity when it comes to weight loss due to the perception that it is easy and ineffective.  However a brisk walk (getting slightly out of breath, not a poodle around the shops) for 30 minutes a day for an 80kg individual can burn approximately 1400 calories per week, the same walking rate for a 60kg individual would burn around 1100 calories per week.  So if this is multiplied over the year in can burn up to 75,000 for an 80kg individual, or 56,000 for a 60kg individual.  Or to look at it another way 21lbs or 16lbs of fat respectively.  These statistics clearly show that an achievable target of a 30 minute brisk walk per day can be an effective weight loss tool, especially if accompanied by an adequate nutrition plan.

Another advantage that walking has over running is that it doesn't have a counter productive effect to resistance training.  One of the most efficient ways of losing weight and burning fat is to build lean muscle tissue.  Building muscle mass not only helps make the body look aesthetically pleasing, but makes the body more metabolically active, which in turn burns fat more efficiently.  If an individual is attempting to build lean mass in the gym but then going for a long run the next day there is a high chance that the new muscle is being broken down in this process.  This would not happen during a 30 minute brisk walk as the body is not pushed to the same limits.  In fact it has been shown that brisk walking itself can raise the bodies metabolic rate.

Starting your walking programme

• Get yourself a pedometer.  A pedometer is a device that clips onto your waistband and counts how many steps you have taken.  This handy bit of kit can act as a motivational tool as it allows you to keep an accurate record of how far you are walking each day, which can then be used to set progress targets.  A 30 minute brisk walk will take approximately 3600 steps.  You can buy pedometers for around £10 from a variety of sports shops or online retailers.
• Get yourself some comfortable shoes.  Walking for 30 minutes per day is not a huge burden on any ones timetable, but if this walk was causing your feet to blister and get sore it wouldn't take long before 30 minutes in front of the television is a far more tempting use of time.  So I recommend either some comfortable trainers or some walking shoes.  These can be bought from either sports retailers or outdoor adventure stores.
• Find somewhere interesting to walk.  There is a greater chance of you sticking to your new walking regime if you find interesting walks to go on.  These do not have to be in rolling countryside or areas of outstanding natural beauty, but it is easy to go down to your local town hall or search online to find information on walks in your local area.  I am lucky enough to be based in the Highgate/Hampstead area of London, where there are hours of walks on the heath.

So all that is left for you to do is to get yourself outside, start walking and get burning that excess fat.  Remember every exercise programme should be accompanied by an adequate nutrition plan, this does not mean starving yourself or surviving on powdered foods or milkshakes.  It means a diet that provides an optimum amount of nutritional value whilst at the same time promotes a slow and steady weight loss (or weight gain or maintenance depending on the individual goal).  For more information on how to plan an effective weight management programme or to discuss a series of personal training or boot-camp sessions, contact me via james.hutchison4@btinternet.com.

Good luck!!