Fit

Nearly 80% of our body is made up of water at birth. When something in our biological make up takes up so much volume the chances are it plays a critical role in our neurobiology which also means it affects every aspect of our fitness. By the time we reach maturity water levels have stabilized to 65% for adult males and 55% for adult females which suggests that water continues to be critical throughout our lives, so the question is how much should we drink in order to be fit and healthy?  Depending on where you look and who you ask the answers are going to be either up to eight glasses a day or less than eight glasses a day. Those who say we don’t drink enough also cite evidence that water helps our metabolism stay active, boosts our brain power and helps athletic performance while the critics claim that too much water makes us stupid, it can seriously depletes sodium levels in our bloodstream impairing athletic performance and can, in extreme cases, also kill us.  Both camps ...

How you feel during training is not always a reflection of how fit you are. If you know just how to manage it and use a variety of mental tricks you don’t just get to feel better than you would otherwise, you will be performing better, doing more and work out harder. Fitness is, mostly, inside your head. It’s first of all a mental battle you need to win in order to make yourself train, make yourself train on the level you need to, and then to continue doing it time and time again. Once you do get yourself to exercise, there are a few tricks you can use to make the whole process easier on yourself: Don’t think about how hard it is. We often concentrate too much on how difficult and challenging training is, magnifying it in our head, all the while struggling more and more with the load. The more you think about yourself not being able to cope, the harder it feels. Essentially this is the pre-game pep-talk technique, applied to your training routine: Keep telling yourself that what you ar...

All food has a set energy value which determines the amount of energy it can give us once consumed. How much energy you need in order to function is determined partly by your gender and age but mostly it’s determined by your lifestyle. The more active your lifestyle is the higher your energy needs are going to be.  The energy all food contains is usually measured in Calories (with a big C) which is short for kilocalories. 1 Kilocalorie  = 1000 calories (small c) = 1 Calorie (big C).  What is one Calorie?  It’s a measure of energy. One Calorie is the amount of energy it takes to heat one kilogram of water 1°C at sea level. The term was originally used in engineering and physics but eventually it migrated to nutrition.  How calories are calculated?  The current way of calculating calories in food uses the Atwater system where the calorific value is calculated directly by adding the total calorie content of each of the ingredients in the food (protein, carbohy...

The debate of whether or not it’s good to train on an empty stomach also represents the divide between what science can tell us about fitness and what tradition accepts as being ‘true’. To answer the question of whether it’s possible to train on an empty stomach we need to understand that every time our muscles are asked to exercise a number of complex, overlapping systems kick in. These systems intertwine which only adds to the confusion. To simplify and untangle them and get to a definitive answer we will look at this from the perspective of three simple elements that are involved in the process of muscle activation, every time: Muscles Fuel (in the form of Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP) Oxygen Every time that our muscles work these three  elements combine to power several different chemical processes the efficiency of which is determined by a person’s cardiovascular and aerobic fitness, diet, body fat composition and the quality of the muscles they carry. Without oxygen of ...

When it comes to nutrition for muscle building and weight gain there are only three rules to remember: eat more, eat often, eat quality food.  Quantity + Quality There is no other way around it. In order to gain weight you need to eat more, a lot more, but you need to eat quality muscle building food rather than junk food like doughnuts and chips. Because you’re aiming to build muscle rather than just get fat, eating a lot of the wrong things will not give you the results you want. To gain weight and gain quality muscle mass you need to base your diet around an intake of quality protein and complex carbohydrates. Make sure you eat more poultry (chicken and turkey), fish and lean meat (pork and beef), eggs and low fat dairy (Greek yogurts and low fat cheese are the best), beans, quinoa, oatmeal, nuts, nut butters and oils. If you are vegetarian or vegan, check out tempeh and seitan meat substitutes. Milk, cow or any other type, is also a good source of protein. Vegans need to incorp...

Pre and post workout nutrition is simple: one is fuel and the other one is repair. You eat before your workout to have the extra energy to push yourself during a training session. You eat afterwards to repair the damage done to your muscles, help them rebuild faster and grow. Depending on your goals, you can do either or both, or you can ignore it altogether. The before and after meals are there to aid you do all of the above. They’re not something you need if all you are trying to do is lose weight. Your body has two fuel tanks: primary and secondary. Your primary fuel tank is the energy stored from your previous meal (glycogen stores) and the secondary fuel tank are your fat reserves (fat stored in fat cells). Unless the primary fuel tank is empty, your body will not access the secondary energy supply = your fat cells. So if your goal is to lose weight and/or streamline, you really want is to make sure you empty your glycogen stores first so you can access the fat stores. Weight loss...

Roast meat and vegetables in the oven instead of frying.  You can roast pretty much anything in the oven in half an hour or less with only one teaspoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Use foil to line the oven tray or make a foil “boat” for no-mess and easy clean up afterwards. Try to have at least one meatless day a week . Use beans, tomato salads and salads with nut toppings, oven roasted broccoli and cauliflower, spinach and mushrooms with or without eggs to compensate.  Snack on fruit, vegetables and low fat plain yogurts  instead of chips and chocolate bars. If you don’t like plain yogurts, make your own toppings using fruit, berries, seeds, nuts, honey or cinnamon.  Try to eat meals that are at least half vegetables . Vegetables can be eaten in pretty much unlimited amounts and can easily fill up a plate making a meal look larger.  Use fresh sliced tomato or mashed avocado instead of ketchup and mayo  in sandwiches. Most chicken or turkey sandwiches an...

For most of us, food bill is the largest bill we’ve got already before we introduce healthy into the equation. Most of us spend over half of the money we earn monthly on food alone so there is no surprise it is such a sensitive subject. It doesn’t have to be, though, there is a way to keep the food bill low and still eat healthy and well. Just be practical about it. You can eat healthy, eat well and eat on a budget at the same time if you shop smart and cook everything yourself. Healthy eating isn’t rocket science – you already know what’s good and what’s bad for you, it’s just that junk and takeouts are often more convenient when it comes to a quick budget meal. If you make healthy eating convenient and affordable at the same time, you’ll have no problem switching to better food. Understanding “Healthy” The idea of what is healthy is distorted these days. Most of the stuff available is modified and has been altered in some way. I doubt that you can get hold of anything truly pure unle...