All posts filed under: Mind and Body

What to do when your energy is low

Published by Leanne Spencer

We all have moments when we don’t feel as energised or inspired as we’d like, and we feel a little disconnected from everything. However, there are many things you can do when your energy is low.   Here are my top five tips. Move As human beings we were designed to move, but many of us simply don’t do enough of that any more. The best way to energise yourself is to move your body. Get all your joints moving. Walking is a fantastic way to do this, or you could use something like a kettle bell; I get up and do 10 kettle bell squats every hour and I might pump the kettle bell to work my biceps too. You can also use it for tricep extensions, there are many different ways to use it for movement. Having something around in the house or in your office to help you get the blood pumping is really good. Walking, standing up regularly if you’re sat down a lot during the day, stretching out the body and …

How to avoid gaining weight in your 40s

Published by Leanne Spencer

We tend to think that gaining weight is something that happens with ageing, but this isn’t the case. It is, however, really important to monitor your body composition as you get older, to avoid putting yourself at risk of things like diabetes and other types of metabolic conditions. Here are four things you can do to avoid gaining weight into your 40s. 1. Monitor your energy balance (calories in versus calories burned from exercise). If you have less energy being expended, then you need to monitor and reduce the amount of energy that’s going into the body. Take a look at your food consumption and ensure that you’re not eating the diet that you were still eating when you were much more active. Also, try to include the following: More daily life movement – This could include taking the stairs not the escalator or walking 10,000 steps a day. Moderate exercise – Combine more daily movement with moderate exercise three to five times a week e.g. a light jog or lots of brisk walking. High intensity exercise …

Why maintaining weight loss is so hard

Published by Leanne Spencer

We’ve all heard about people who manage to lose weight, but how often do they maintain the new weight? Dieting is easy initially because you’re full of enthusiasm and can draw on willpower for the energy required in the first few weeks. Willpower is a finite commodity though and isn’t enough on its own. Willpower is also an energy-intensive resource, and needs to be fed. If you are relying on willpower alone to get you through the first few weeks, you need to feed that power by sleeping fully, keeping the mind busy with constructive pursuits and staying active. Early promise… Initially, we tend to see results because often the body dumps a load of water, rewarding us with a few pounds off the scales. Despite the fact that it’s fat, not water, that we want to lose, it’s motivating to see that dial go down on the scales. Usually with a bit of effort more weight can be lost, but after a while, it all starts to feel like hard work. Sound familiar? The …

Take Action This Spring!

Published by Becca Teers

Whatever you decided that you wanted to achieve this year, if you haven’t already started to take steps towards your goals yet, now is the perfect time to get things rolling! After the winter months are finally over the spring is all about new growth, change and transformation. It is a hopeful season and a really good time to take action with a new habit or goal. Whether your goals and aspirations for 2018 are in the areas of health, lifestyle, career or financial use the following tips to get you going; Just get started! There is a wise quote from an ancient Chinese text; ‘ A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step’. Any worthwhile goal in life, whether large or small, can be attained by simply breaking it down into small steps and beginning to take them one at a time. Start at the beginning but always with the end in mind! As you work towards your goal always keep your focus on the end result, the ‘why’. How …

How sleep affects weight loss

Published by Leanne Spencer

This is one of the most popular questions about sleep that is asked on Google, which is interesting as I think it’s an under-appreciated aspect of weight loss. The fact is, sleep plays a major role in fat loss (and in muscle gain as well). Sleep is a critical factor for almost every aspect of our health. So how can a lack of sleep affect weight loss? There are three major implications to a lack of quality sleep – and they’re all linked to hormones. Ghrelin Ghrelin is a hormone that regulates our appetite – its nickname is the hunger hormone. Ghrelin tells our brain that we’re hungry, and when it’s working well, we can rely on it to steer us towards food when we need it. It’s like following your intuition – you’ll know what to eat and when to eat. When you’re sleep deprived, there can be too much ghrelin in your system, causing feelings of hunger. This makes you far more likely to overeat and gain weight. Leptin Leptin is a hormone …