The Top 4 Times People Go Off-Plan with Their Nutrition

As much as people can try to follow a healthy diet plan, there are some times where they can go off-course. As a personal trainer in South East London, I have found that there are 4 times my clients are most likely to slip.

In these situations, I offer some key techniques to help my clients stay on track with their nutrition.

When Friends Are Around

If you have friends around, you want to offer snacks and nibbles for them to enjoy. However, if they aren’t also following a nutrition plan, it can be difficult to offer snacks of carrot sticks! As a personal trainer in South London, I offer some trays of nuts to friends, as well as maybe some lentil chips and a healthy hummus dip. I can then stick to my healthy eating plan while they get to enjoy some tasty snacks.

When Alcohol is Involved

I simply recommend that if a client is following a healthy diet plan, that they limit their alcohol intake. The unhealthy eating only seems to come into play after a heavy night of drinking. As a personal trainer in Canary Wharf, I recommend that not only should they stick to just a few alcoholic beverages on a night out, but to have a good meal beforehand, in order to keep cravings at bay.

When Tired

When we are tired, our hormones are imbalanced and this causes us to crave sugary junk foods. I simply insist that all my clients ensure that they get a good night’s sleep. A poor sleep regime will throw your eating plan off course and affect your ability to exercise.

When Staying Up Late at Night

When staying up late at night, we can often get the urge for a “midnight snack”. As a personal trainer in Canary Wharf, I recommend that clients do not eat after 8pm. If you think you feel hungry, get up, have a walk around the house and drink a glass of water. When you sit back down, the notion will have passed! The truth is, often you’re not actually hungry late at night, just bored. Watch out and be prepared for this 4 situations and you'll find it much easier to stick to your healthy eating plan.

A Great Weight Loss Breakfast: Essential Components

Losing weight can be an amazing thing and in some cases can save (or prolong) your life. But let’s make one thing perfectly clear: this is not an “ends justify the means” situation.

Do not skip breakfast

You should not be starving yourself or attempting to survive on an all-lettuce diet. So don’t skip breakfast – just choose a healthy and nutritional option that will keep you in great health while helping you lose weight.

Here are some tips for a good breakfast to help you lose weight, based on my many years of working as a personal trainer in South London:

1. Contains protein

Regular intake of protein is crucial and has a huge influence over the success of your goal to lose weight. Protein increases hormones which burn fat and also slows the speed at which sugar enters your blood stream. It's very filling and will leave you full and satisfied until you next meal.

Make sure to include a source of protein in your breakfast. Eggs, fish (mackerel on toast is my breakfast of choice at the moment) and low-fat yoghurt are good sources of protein in a traditional breakfast. If you're adventurous then leave tradition behind, get your day started properly with chicken or any other great source of protein.

2. Include fruit and vegetables

Fruits, and especially vegetables, are your friends. Low in calories and full of vitamins, minerals and essential dietary fibres, you should get as much fruit and veg as you can. This is the place to splurge yourself! One my Crystal Palace personal trainers is a devotee of berries – and indeed this small fruit is not only delicious but also packed with antioxidants and dietary fibres, aiding in digestion and overall health.

3. Don't overdo calories

Enough calories are important, but excess calories are the leading cause of weight gain. Try to cut down on calorie dense foods such as carbohydrates and full-fat dairy – one or two slices of toast are more than enough, and if you’re covering it in a thick layer of butter – one is probably too much…

4. Drink water

Drink water rather than sweetened beverages. Even fruit juice, which is often regarded as a healthy drink, contains a lot more sugar than you need and drinking too much contributes to weight gain. So have a glass of water – it’s good for you. Years of working as a personal trainer in South London have taught me that consuming sweetened beverages is one of the most common obstacles to weight loss. Start your day on a healthy note with a vegetable omelette, or at the suggestion of my berry-loving personal trainer from Crystal Palace, go with some berries (obviously) and low fat yogurt. There are plenty of other options out there – just make sure you follow these 4 guidelines.

Weight Loss: Useful and Inexpensive Home Exercise Equipment

When a client comes to me for personal training in London Bridge, I also recommend that they do some exercise outside of our training sessions. Now, many think at first that means that they have to sign up to a gym. However, as I always tell them, you can do a great training session in the comfort of your own home with some useful, inexpensive home exercise equipment.

1.Exercise Mat

These inexpensive piece of equipment has many uses and can easily be stored away in your home. You can use an exercise mat to do yoga or pilates, great workouts for toning the body. You can also use an exercise mat for doing core exercises such as planking and sit-ups. Clients who come to me for personal training in London Bridge find that the exercise mat helps them to create a workout atmosphere, as we use them in our sessions for various exercises.

2.Kettlebells

As a personal trainer in SE16, I am a big fan of kettlebells. They are an inexpensive yet versatile piece of home exercise equipment. You can use them as dumbbells, to work specific muscles or for kettlebell exercises, which offer total body strength training. They are great for helping to improve posture too. They are easily stored – mine often doubles up as a door stop! I recommend an 8kg weight kettlebell for women and a 16kg for men, just to start out with.

3.Skipping Rope

Skip in your garden, your bedroom or your kitchen. Wherever or whenever you skip, you are conducting a great cardio workout. Skipping can burn anything from 110 to 200 calories every ten minutes and so can be a great exercise for those who are trying to lose weight. If you find yourself getting bored after a few minutes, try to do some tricks. This will certainly make the exercise a little more interesting and bump up the workout intensity.

As a personal trainer in SE16, sometimes I workout at home myself. These three items are enough to make sure those workouts are time well spent.

The Difference Between Running, Cycling, Rowing and Cross-Trainer For Your Cardio Training

Any decent exercise programme should include regular cardio training. This kind of exercise will do wonders for your heart, cholesterol levels, body weight and your overall athleticism. This article will review some popular forms of cardio training and examine the advantages of each, based on our own experience as personal trainers working in Dulwich and South London.

Running

One major advantage of running is that it requires no specialized equipment or machinery. All you need is a nice street (or better yet – a public park), your own two legs and a pair or running shoes! Running is great for weight loss, strengthens your bones and helps build confidence and self-esteem. As personal trainers and Londoners, we would definitely recommend a jog through Dulwich Park for some fresh air and a good work out.

Cycling

This is another sport which is simple to do and is also a lot of fun. Cycling is an enjoyable activity and can be done in most weather conditions. These two factors make it the perfect choice to build stamina and increase your level of athleticism. A fun workout is usually a better and longer workout! Kat, (our personal trainer in Crystal Palace) strongly recommends a cycle ride from Crystal Palace to Corkscrew Lane for a lovely view of the English countryside.

Rowing

This can be done on the water if you’re the outdoors type, or via machinery which our personal trainers in Crystal Palace will be happy to introduce you to. Rowing is a total body workout, utilizing all of your main muscle groups. You will be also be performing a wide range of motions, which is great for your flexibility.

Cross-trainer

The often overlooked cross-trainer is another great option for aerobic exercise. It is very easy on your joints and the intensity of the workout is highly customizable, so it can be practiced regardless of your current level of fitness. The cross-trainer also works out many different muscle groups and is one of the best ways to burn calories. Experienced users can burn up to 500 calories in a half-hour workout using this device.

Mix it up

From our experience, doing a little bit of each is best. It will allow you to work different muscle groups without overstraining your muscles or putting too much pressure on your joints, as well remove one of the difficulties of regular cardio training – the fact that it can get quite monotonous and repetitive. Doing a little bit of each should keep you interested, motivated, and grant you the maximum health and fitness advantage.

Increasing Your Daily Activity to Aid Weight Loss

Losing weight is much easier when you're active throughout your day. From my experience as a personal trainer in Greenwich, I use a number of ways to make this happen. Losing weight doesn't necessarily mean running 6km every evening - there are small but beneficial steps that you can take to add activity to your daily routine. These are the small changes I've found to be most effective in helping my clients lose weight:

1. Take a walk on your lunch break

Your lunch hour at work can provide a perfect opportunity to get a walk into your daily schedule. Did you know that walking for 30 minutes at a moderate pace can burn anything from 80 to 100 calories? It also provides you with a chance to take in some fresh air. I like to do this myself in between my sessions as a Crystal Palace personal trainer.

2. Be a tourist

It is amazing how much we don’t get to see in the areas that we live. You always have the option of touring your local area and taking in all of the sights that it has to offer. After all, it won’t cost you anything, and all that walking around will allow you to actively burn calories. As a personal trainer in Greenwich, I regularly take up the opportunity to “be a tourist”.

3. Take the stairs

Think of how many times you take the lift or escalator in any given week. If you choose to take the stairs instead for these trips, you can burn at least 100 extra calories per week. As a Crystal Palace personal trainer, I actively promote this tip to my clients.

4. Play with the kids

Children are always looking to play. Their energy levels know no bounds! Why not join in on their play time. You would be surprised how many calories you can burn trying to keep up with their games!

3 Tips to Make Your Run More Interesting

One of the most common issues our personal trainers in SE16 encounter is how to keep your daily run interesting. We’ve all been there: after a few weeks, running begins to feel monotonous and can become somewhat of a chore. This could be bad news: when you stop having fun, you might lose motivation and start skipping workouts. So here are some tips, gathered from our years of experience of personal training in the London Bridge area, to keep your run fresh and interesting:

Music

This is basic, but essential. Take your mp3 player or smartphone with you, fill it with your favourite tunes – and you’ll find your run has become that much more pleasurable. Research recommends listening to high-tempo music, as this will boost your adrenaline levels and keep you pumped for the duration of your run, but if you’re more into cranking some Vivaldi while you jog through the park – go ahead.

Change your routes

If you’re used to the treadmill – go outside. If you’re bored of the Thames – go to Regent’s Park. Or take a car and go deeper into the countryside. Our personal trainers in SE16 can give you some great running routes around the river. Varied locations and scenery are sure to get you out of your runner’s rut, and allow you to experience your neighborhood and city.

Make it a contest

Human beings, either by nature or nurture, are competitive creatures. When you feel like you have a mark to set, a record to beat or a table to lead – that in itself is ample motivation for action. So set yourself some goals and try to best them. Better yet, get some friends to compete against, and making it a running tournament. The thrill of being number one will be an added bonus to the myriad of health benefits and overall feeling of wellness that you will receive from running regularly. From our experience, these tips will help you run faster, longer and more regularly. We have been using these tips for our personal training in the London Bridge area for many years, and have seen some great results. Try them for yourself – one or more will surely do the trick.

Healthier Alternatives To Your Favourite Foods

From my experience as a personal trainer in South London, losing weight comes as a result of a combination of both regular exercise and healthy eating. I understand that it can be hard to steer clear of your favourite foods so I recommend simply sourcing healthier alternatives instead.

If ice cream is your sweet treat of choice, why not try some frozen yoghurt or sorbet instead? The latter contains many fewer calories but can satisfy your cravings for something sweet. If chocolate is your weakness, why not swap your Mars Bar for some rice cakes topped with a layer of carob. Treating yourself to something sweet doesn't have to throw off your weight loss goals.

As a personal trainer in Canary Wharf, breakfast is a very important meal for me. Breakfast cereals can be a very popular choice of morning meal for a lot of people. Try swapping your bowl of Shreddies or Cheerios for a bowl of porridge. It will help keep you fuller for longer and will contain less sugar. I also highly recommend using a dairy free milk such as coconut or almond milk. If toast is your favourite breakfast option, make the simple swap from white to wholegrain bread, which is more nutritious and more filling.

If you feel hungry between meals, there are healthier alternatives to crisps and biscuits that you can snack on, which are equally as tasty. I like to snack on a handful of nuts, a piece of avocado or some celery or carrot sticks dipped in nut butter or humus in between my sessions as a personal trainer in South London.

For your main meals, veggie sausages and burgers can prove a healthier, lower calorie option than their meat alternatives. I personally look forward to some turkey mince or turkey rashers after a day of working as a personal trainer in Canary Wharf.

Following a healthy eating plan can introduce you to a whole range of new, tasty and exciting foods!

The Importance of Sleeping Enough For Weight Loss

Are you currently trying to lose weight? Did you know that sleep can play a key role in achieving such a goal? As a team of respected personal trainers in SE16, we believe that in order to conduct a successful weight management programme, you must look at a combination of nutrition, exercise and behavioural patterns.

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? If so, you may be susceptible to feeling sluggish throughout the day. When we feel sluggish, our bodies crave calorie-dense, sugary and processed foods, which can derail our weight loss plans. Lacking adequate sleep can cause havoc with our hormones, causing us to experience larger appetites and require more food to “feel full”.

A steady sleeping pattern is also important for optimum metabolism. If your sleeping patterns are irregular, your body will struggle to maintain a pattern for metabolising food. Remember that your body is “programmed” to conduct its most active metabolism at night time. A fast metabolic rate is an essential element for weight loss, something that any personal trainer in South London will testify to.

This also applies to those who like to spend “too much” time in bed. You should be aiming for about 8 hours sleep each night. Any more or less can affect your body’s metabolism and hormone regulation. An irregular sleeping pattern can leave you feeling disorientated, lacking focus and motivation and finding it difficult to concentrate. These feelings will make it very difficult for you to follow your fitness programme and conduct exercise. This can lead to you “putting off” and avoiding your personal trainer in SE16.

Want to find out more? Our team of expert personal trainers in South London would be glad to answer your queries!

Importance of Protein in Weight Loss

Something that we have noticed during our years of experience in personal training in London, is the common belief among clients that protein is only important for bodybuilders and weight lifters. This belief is not correct, protein is an important macro-nutrient for general health and plays a big part in aiding weight loss.

As a personal trainer in Canary Wharf, we aim to advise clients not just on exercise plans but on nutrition too. Protein is a key component of our weight loss nutritional plans for three main reasons:

• Protein is much more filling than both carbohydrate and fat (the other two macro-nutrients). This means protein is incredibly important in helping you reduce your calorie intake in order to lose weight while staying full and avoiding hunger.
• Protein protects your muscle. Research shows that when on a calorie restricted diet (as is required to reduce body fat) muscle can be lost as well as fat. This is an undesirable side-effect. A diet high in protein protects this muscle and leaves you looking slim and toned rather than thin and unhealthy.
• Protein plays an important role in immune health. We have seen many people over the years have to cancel personal training in South London due to colds, flus and other immune system illnesses they have picked up.

There are an abundance of high protein low calorie foods around which to plan your diet. Examples include poultry (chicken, turkey), fish (salmon, tuna), lean meats (lean beef, lean lamb), lean game (venison, rabbit) along with vegetarian proteins (tofu, soy, legumes) and protein supplements.

At Nathan Towle Personal Training, the top personal trainers in Canary Wharf, we are advocates of the belief that protein is of great importance to weight loss.