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HOW TO FUEL YOUR BODY

“THE GREATEST WEALTHIS HEALTH”“How long we live is 75% down to our lifestyle”

So that means only 25% of our health is predetermined by our genes, the rest is down to what you eat and do in the your day.

Exercising is huge part of running a healthy body, but all the more important, is how we fuel it. Eating the correct foods that are naturally nourishing has

immense benefits for our bodies.

Start making the right choices to eat the right things and stop listening to your taste buds when they are telling you to eat the pizza! An hour later or even the next morning you won’t look back think “how amazing” the Pie was, nor will you remember how you felt about eating the salmon salad, but within weeks, moths and years

later, you’ll definitely been feeling the benefits of saying no to the pizza or Pie. So before you order or make an unhealthy meal, just think to yourself how you may feel about it an hour late and also further into the future.

You only get one body, only you can help it become as efficient and worthy as possible !

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Taking part in exercise is great for our bodies, we relieve stress, boost our metabolism, build muscle, reduce our resting heart rate and hopefully reduce fat! But to make the most out of exercise, we need to consider how we are fuelling bodies. Below is a list of guidelines and tips that will aid all of the above and allow our bodies to function efficiently.

1. Drink Drinking water is so important. Especially before, during and after exercise. Even when you feel like you have not perspired during a session if it is cold, you will have, it's just evaporated! Drinking at least 2 litres a day (water is best, but caffeine free cold or hot, water-based drinks can be counted) is essential for the all bodily functions. A few benefits of being hydrated: - Healthier skin- Increase concentration and brain function- Healthier teeth and bones- Healthier joints- Improved digestion- Reduces fatigue- Suppresses appetite- Increased metabolism

Fruit juices and fizzy drinks are to be avoided, the high amount of sugar in these drinks create a spike in our blood sugar which is quickly turned into fat if it is not being used as energy.

2. Breakfast

It is true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When we first wake up is when we need energy the most.

Setting yourself up for the day with the right fuel is essential. A protein filled breakfast will not only fill you up until lunch, but provide your body with the nutrients it needs to repair your muscles after your work out.

An ideal breakfast is poached eggs with spinach and avocado, adding a thin slice of toast if you are training that day.

Avoid cereals, often filled with refined carbohydrates and added sugar, cereals provide no benefit to your morning routine. If you have little time in the morning, try making overnight oats.

Try using different milks i.e coconut milk, almond milk or soya milk as an alternative to dairy or add your favourite nuts, seeds, fresh/dried fruits or even raw cocoa powder to make each day exciting!

Energy, Food & Drink

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3. Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are essential in our day-to-day diet. However, we need to be aware of the different kinds.

Refine Carbohydrates - White Bread, biscuits, cakes, white pasta and anything with added sugar (Quick tip: always check the label! So many foods are filled with added sugar when you least expect it, fruit yoghurts being the secret devil!) These food are not necessary in our diets and should be avoided.

Complex Carbohydrates - Vegetables, brown pasta, brown rice, whole grains i.e oats and pearl barley

In short, these carbohydrates are much better for your body. Without getting too technical, they do not release energy into your body as quickly as refined carbohydrates. These foods tend to be higher

in fiber and take longer to digest, therefore releasing energy into your body more gradually.

Don't be scared of Carbohydrates, just be aware that eating too many of them and outside your bodies needs causes you to store fat. I recommend consuming carbs such as sweet potato or brown rice within one hour of your workout and remember to consume less carbs on rest days when you don't need the extra fuel.

4. Fats

Not all fats are bad for you in fact, some fatty acids are essential because the body cannot create them itself so they must come from dietary sources. Eggs, oily fish like mackerel, salmon, avocado, nuts, flax seed, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil are all great sources so aim to include some of these into your diet each day.

Avoid any deep fried food and limit fatty meats and dairy high fat products in order to stay lean. 5. Proteins

Similar to fats, proteins are also essential and are vital for building a strong lean body and contribute towards a healthy immune system.

I recommend that all meals include a complete protein source such as fish, poultry, eggs or lean meat. Eating these correctly in line with your energy demands will ensure muscles get repaired effectively. As a result of this and the consistent training, your lean muscle tissue will increase in size and therefore speed up your metabolism.

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Food Planning We all love food the problem is, we are meant to, it's how we fuel our body and stay alive! From when we were cavemen(or women) we never took food for granted, we had to eat what we could when we could. Sweet foods were very scares, so when we found them we would gore on them! Unfortunately we still have those innate tendencies to do the same today.

If we fuel our body correctly, we can control those craving and become and stay lean.

The key to this is planning. It's not fun or spontaneous, but a little planning ahead goes a long way.

1. Make Breakfast the night before.

Previously, I spoke about the importance of breakfast. Always make sure you have a wholesome breakfast, even if you are on the go. Make those overnight oats whilst you are cooking dinner or

take 5 minutes in the morning to throw a few eggs and mushrooms in a pan to make a quick omelette. Another great breakfast that is easily prepared in advance is "Paleo Pancakes" (Basic recipe: 1 Egg, 1 Banana, handful of oats, blend together, pan fry small pancakes until cooked on both sides, serve with fruit)

2. Make lunch the night before (you see a trend here?!)

Make extra dinner and pop a medium portion in a tupperwear tub, add some spinach, salad leaves or microwavable veg and there you have your healthy lunch, and you have saved yourself money that you'd have spent on a sandwich!

By making our lunch the night before, we are stopping ourselves from buying an unhealthy lunch, when we are really hungry after a stressful morning at work.

If you don't fancy having the same meal twice in a row, cook up a batch of veg soup

on Sunday night, add some shredded chicken or ham on top to make sure you are getting enough protein and then you have a few days worth of healthy lunches!

3. Fruit

Eating fruit helps us control our sweet cravings, but due to the amount of sugar in the fruit (even though it's natural!) can make unnecessary spikes in our blood sugar.

The best time to eat fruit is right after your main meal, this helps you feel like you have had your sugar hit, therefore controls cravings.

Be wise in what fruits you choose. Fruits with a low sugar content such as raspberries and blueberries are perfect! They are high in fibre, antioxidants and vitamins.

High sugar/high energy fruits such as bananas and grapes are to be enjoyed in small doses.

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4. Plan Cheat/treat meals After a good week of consistent healthy eating, your body will not pile on the pounds if you limit your treat to about once a week!

Set a day which you can look forward to having your treat meal and try and stick to it. If you get invited out for a meal last minute, either opt for the healthy option on the menu or have your cheat meal then, but make sure that you don’t still look forward to other cheat meal you had planned in!

Don’t over do it! After eating well for some time, you may find high fat or high carb food give you a sore stomach as it’s just not used to it, so take it easy and enjoy it slowly so that you can notice when you are full..

5. Alcohol

In an ideal world, I would say don't have any alcohol at all, but on a special occasion or a small glass on the weekend, again it won't make you pile on the pounds. However, a glass a night or drinking in excess on the weekends can have a huge effect on the body.

Alcohol is made by fermenting sugar, that sugar still remains in alcoholic drinks in a very high percentage. A large glass or wine includes around 250 calories (mostly from sugar!) this is the equivalent of half a big bag of Hairbo sweets.

So, just consider how many calories you are drinking that are going to turn straight into fat! (Let's be honest, we aren't going for a long run after a glass of wine)

6. Dinner

At this time of the day we least need energy (fast release energy in particular i.e sugar and carbohydrates), with that in mind, it should be the smallest, lightest meal of the day with minimal carbohydrates.

However, if you have just been training either at bootcamp or another form or vigorous exercise, incorporating carbohydrate into the meal after this is key, but once again, making sure they are a good source of carbohydrate such as chickpeas, whole grains or sweet potato and ensuring that we don't over exceed the energy we output.

An ideal dinner (without exercising) would be:

1 Salmon FilletHomemade Mixed pepper & cucumber salsa Tonnes of Fresh or wilted Spinach 1 Heaped Tablespoon of Cooked pearl barley

A dinner for after exercise:

Pan fried chicken breast (add garlic and herbs to taste) Sweet potato Wedges (5 - 7 wedges) Cripsy Kale (as much as you like) 1 x Roasted Beetroot

All of the above cooked in Coconut or olive oil

Try to eat your dinner at least 2 hours before you go to bed, this allows it to digest properly and helps avoid indigestion.

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Smart Snacking

If you can manage not to snack throughout the day, then this is an ideal situation for fat loss, but in a real world, most of us need that mid morning or mid afternoon pick-me-up. Here’s what yto fill up on so you are not reaching for those chocolates & biscuits!

1. High Sugar Snacks

An absolute no. The intake of high sugar/carbohydrate food (biscuits, chocolate, sweets, crisps, cake) between meal can give our bodies all the wrong messages. Our blood sugar levels will go sky high and then drastically dip after less than an hour of the sugar rush, making you feel sluggish and in need of another sugar hit. Remember, un-used sugar will convert straight into fat!

2. Fruit

Avoid high sugar fruits between meals. By having a low sugar, high fibre piece of fruit straight after your meal, you will curb your sweet cravings without increase the drastic sugar hit as it will be digesting with the other foods you have just eaten. By all means, if you are feeling famished and you have to choose between chocolate biscuits and fruit, obviously, pick the fruit. The high water and fibre content in most fruits will leave you feeling fuller for longer than a biscuit.

3. Nuts & seeds

If you must snack, these are a great shout, full of good fats and protein. BUT we must be aware of the energy we are intaking when consuming nuts and seeds. Try and buy them in small portioned snack packs, like these “munchy seeds” or make your own smaller packs when you buy a large bag of nuts. Its too easy to keep picking your way through a large bag, as nuts can be very moreish! On

average, 100g of nuts contains a whopping 620 Calories, which for women is nearly half your resting days calorie intake.

So, try and stick to a small handful 20-25g, this will keep you full without inputting too much energy.

Ideal snacks

1. 2 Rice cakes & 1/4 crushed avocado, salt, lemon & chilli 2. 20g Cashew Nuts 3. Small punnet of Blueberries/rasberries 4. 2 Small Falafel bites 5. Kale crips 6. Hard Boiled egg 7. Cucumber & Carrot sticks 8. Fruit tea (In know its not technically a snack, but it can help curb cravings!) 9. 20g Pumpkin seeds 10. 2 Cubes of Homemade Vegan Fudge

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Energy & Calories You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned very much about calories. Calories are essentially a unit of measurement of the amount of energy in food. With all of the advice I have given you so far, there is really no need to count calories, It would be difficult for you to exceed you daily energy intake by eating lean meats, fish, plenty of vegetables and small amounts of good fats and carbs.

Be aware

I don’t advise counting and tracking calories, it can become obsessive, it’s not practicle and its not very social when a menu item doesn’t have its caloric value!

With this in mind, it is good to be just be aware of roughly how many calories we are intaking. Pre-packaged foods are all clearly labeled with calories, sugar, fat etc. so when you are shopping, just make yourself familiar with the amount of energy/calories in the food that you are buying.

Always check the lable for added sugar, you may not think it, but so many pre-packaged food will have added sugar in these days. Fruit Yoghurts, milk alternatives, fruit juices, savoury sauces & dried fruits are the main culprits for

having hidden added sugar! Anything labeled “low fat” is almost guaranteed to have added sugar, it may seem that it has lower calories but you are better off with a full fat version, without the added sugar. If you are a yoghurt fan, look out for Arla Skyr Yoghurt, its high in protein, low in fat and has very little added sugar.

Once you have checked your labels enough, you will get to know the kinds of foods that you should be consuming and the kinds that will have added sugar in. If in doubt, just check before popping it in your basket.

Energy intake and weight loss

High Energy input (lots of food) + Low energy output (little to no movement)= Weight gain

Low energy input (low amounts of food) + High energy output (high amount of movement) = Weight loss

In extremely simple terms that its 1. how we get fat, 2. how we loose weight.

So surely a low calorie diet will make me loose fat?

Loosing “weight” it not always a good thing, we could be loosing if from the wrong sources i.e muscle. There is a

fine line between eating little amounts food to loose fat and eating enough to maintain muscle. It’s all down to eating the right kind of foods.

Low calorie diets are unsustainable and in general, the low calories foods that are prescribed on Fad low calorie diets are full of artificial sweeteners, have no health benefit whatsoever and are very low in fats and protein. Your body will get used to having a smaller amount of energy and it will want to preserve the energy (fat) that it has got, your fat will stay and all that hard earned muscle will deplete.

As mentioned in my previously, Protein is essential for muscle growth and repair. When we are exercising 3+ times a week, we need to ensure that there is a substantial amount of protein in each meal we have. Lean protein is something that will not create excess fat and will also help us maintain/gain muscle tone.

By creating a small calorie deficit, but including all the essential food groups in the right amounts (which you will naturally do by following my guidelines) we will see a gradual, sustainable fat loss, without causing any muscle loss.

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In this section, I share with everyone some tasty and healthy alternatives for some classic meals that we all love!

Spaghetti bolognese:

The nations favourite - original recipes can be very fatty and full of white carbs. Try these changes to up your fat burning game!

1. Try making with lean turkey mince or extra lean mince beef, add in finely chopped peppers and grated carrots into the tomato sauce.

2. Use brown spaghetti and only cook yourself a small amount. Even better, make "courgetti" using either a grater o a spiraliser. Serve with lots of leafy green salad i.e Spinach or Kale to fill the plate.

Curry:

Take away Curries can be full of fats and very more-ish. To make them your self from scratch doesn't have to be time consuming or tricky!

1. By making your own curry paste/sauce, you can limit the bad fats used, so pop together some of your favourite spices, an onion, fresh herbs and a few garlic

cloves, whizz together in a food processor or chop together very finely. Add a tin of coconut milk, tomato puree, stock and chicken breast/prawns and veggies like peppers, courgette and sweet potato. cook until thickened or add cornflour to find the right consistency.

2. Limit the amount of rice you serve with it and of course, go from brown or wild rice where possible.

Sausage and Mash:

1. Cut the Pork! Pork sausages are nice for a weekend treat, but can be very fatty. Try chicken sausages, you can find them at Tesco or Morrisons, the brand name is "Heck" - they do a few different flavours, they are very yummy, low fat, gluten free and nothing bad added!

2. Serve these with Sweet potato and carrot mash (add some beetroot or red onion in there too!) as opposed to white potatoes. Again, be careful of the amount of mash you are having and don't forget to add some more veg, like peas and asparagus!

Roast Dinner:

1. Choose lean cuts of meat,

or stick to lean poultry such as chicken or turkey.

2. Have little or no potatoes. Or trade the white potatoes for Sweet potato

3. Limit the amount of gravy and stuffing you put on your plate and when you are making the gravy, skim any fat off the top before adding a thickener.

4. Make tonnes of veg! Cut up loads of root veg to roughly the same size and roast with garlic and olive oil, top with kale salt and a little more oil 5-10 minutes before serving and return to the oven, this makes lovely crispy Kale. Steam, boil, pan fry or microwave some greens, such as broccoli, asparagus or spinach and fill your plate high with goodness!

Classic favourites - Healthy alternatives

Yealm fit camp

Yealm fit camp

Yealm fit camp

Jasmine Dunn e: info@yealmfitcamp.co.uk t: 07588660503