If you like myself and love running, you’ll always find that time in your day to put your trainers on and get out in the fresh air and smash some miles in. Tuning without a doubt is great for your fitness and burning calories, but most importantly getting your Endorphins (natural happy drug). But sometimes when we’re in are running zone ticking off 10k races and the odd half marathon or even a marathon. We start getting recurring injuries that stop are progress, put us some uncomfort and the worse having an effect on our loving passion as it’s not enjoyable anymore. At some stage we’ve all been there and then go and spend loads on physio‘ stock help your body to repair from injuries that had been caused by running. But in some case may mean a long lay off and that only brings on weight gain because of lack of calories being burnt and feeling down as no happy endorphins. We can help avoid this if we look at doing strength & conditioning. Most runners I talk to do none or little strength & conditioning training which always puzzles me on why not? As when you running and burning calories you breaking down muscle fibres and putting strain on your joints. All top athletes like Mo Farah do this training well all our Olympic athletes we look up to do this hence why they can put there body through so much Year in Year out. Also there is the nutrition side and recovery but there’s no underlining that strength & conditioning plays a big role on why they can starve through injuries as they constantly rebuilding muscle tissue and strengthening there tendons. So if you find you suffer with recurring injuries and not doing strength & conditioning I would highly recommend this type of training. More info on strength & conditioning training follow this link Strength & Conditioning
One of the most effective ways of losing weight is on a high protein diet, but how much should you be eating?
Most case studies on this subject online say on average between 0.8-1.5g per pound of bodyweight but from my experience it completely depends on your goal whether you’re dieting, maintaining or bulking.
If you’re dieting and you want to maintain as much muscle mass as possible id recommend on having your protein intake higher between 1-1.2 g per pound of bodyweight.
Example;
Say i weigh 180 pounds and i’m dieting so i choose i want to have an intake of 1 g of protein per pound of bodyweight, which will keep me fuller and assist holding onto as much muscle and strength as i can.
so to sum this up:
1g of Protein X 180 lbs Body Weight = 180g of Protein
Therefore for me to diet and keep hold of as much muscle as possible i need to be eating roughly 180g of protein a day because i’m on a caloric deficit, if my goals were to maintain weight of bulk i wouldn’t need as much protein as my body wouldn’t be losing fat and muscle from a calorie restriction.
Protein Supplements – Whey Protein/Diet Whey/Protein Bars
Note: I only recommend Protein supplements if you cannot get enough Protein through your diet alone, these are not a meal replacement and should only be used as a Supplement to assist your diet!
What are Carbs? They are sugars and starches which the body converts into Energy which then helps you function normally, you need a certain amount of carbs to maintain normal bodily functions.
If you starve the body you can experience fatigue, muscle cramps and a very tired/drained mental state. The body can survive of proteins and fats however this will eventually have a negative affect on your body.
You should be eating an amount of Carbohydrates to keep your body fuelled and working affectively.
There are two different types of carbs, Complex and Simple Carbs;
Simple Carbs: These are Processed carbs usually very high in sugar and often give you a quick influx of energy however doesn’t keep you full or energised for a long time, this is often where you get your “Sugar Rush” from.
Examples; sugar, white pasta and bread
Complex Carbs: These are slower digesting and will keep you fuller and energised for longer periods of time
Examples: unrefined grains, whole grain breads, rice and oats
How do you digest Carbs?
Your liver digests these into glucose, which then stimulates the production of insulin in the pancreas. The insulin functions to get the glucose into the body cells to be used as energy. Simple carbs create a higher level of insulin than complex carbs therefore the simple carbs are used faster where as the complex carbs are used slower resulting in longer lasting energy!
So in a nut shell the more complex carbs you eat the higher amount of energy your going to have for a longer period of time. However still with any type of carbohydrate if you eat more than what your body requires it is going to be stored as energy formally known as fat.
1. Gram of protein = 4 calories
2. Protein is one of your micronutrients your body needs.
3. Your body digests 30% of protein your body consumes
4. Muscle is made of protein. So we need to consume protein to help maintain and build muscle.
5. Protein in eggs is considered the best quality of protein we can consume.
Ok so you want to figure out how many calories you should be consuming.
First of all you need to figure out your Maintenance Calories this is the amount of calories you burn day in day out doing everyday tasks and normal bodily functions. If you eat this number or calories you will maintain the weight you have, example you will be burning 2500 calories and eating 2500 calories therefore Maintaining your weight.
We do this by multiplying your body weight in pounds by 14-17 somewhere between these numbers will give you your maintenance calories
example:
weight 170lbs x 14 = 2380
Weight 170lbs x 17 = 2890
so your maintenance calories is somewhere between 2380-2890
The numbers we multiply by depends on your activity level
14 – inactive
15 – lightly active
16 – moderately active
17 – very active
so you would begin tracking your calories and if your weight goes up or down with the calories you’ve set you adjust accordingly to Maintain.
Once you have this primary number you can then adjust this to adhere your goals;
Fat Loss: Minus between 3-500 calories
Weight Gain: Add between 3-500 calories
Depending how harsh you want to lose weight or gain weight depends how drastic you increase or decrease your calories.
Recently I’m seeing the same question everywhere online…
“How can I lose belly fat in 3 weeks?”“How can I lose a stone in 5 weeks?”“How can I lose weight off my waist in a month?”
These are all un-realistic goals the only way you could loose such weight is putting your body in an extreme caloric deficit and your not only going to lose some fat but also develop a lot of muscle wastage, feel drained and tired everyday and for the most m, it won’t be maintainable!
A lot of people resort to weight loss shakes which do exactly the same thing they put you on three shakes a day at around 250 calories each giving you a total of 750 calories a day. Now imagine if your deficit is at a 20% loss is 1200 calories that’s still a major deficit however your down a further 450 calories!
Now if you started 3 months sooner you could achieve a safer way of dieting keeping to 1200 calories loosing 1-2 pounds a week. This is much safer and maintainable way of losing weight, you won’t feel drained and you won’t want to binge by simply tracking your calories.
Now let’s look at the bigger picture why not stay fitter and healthier all year round year upon year so you don’t need to crash diet!
What would you need to do? Simple to get your desired weight through a deficit explained above then once your at this weight you can eat more to maintain that weight at your maintenance calories!
Through tracking your calories to lose weight gradually you will learn what foods are high in calories and begin to make better choices which then educates you on how to make better choices going forwards!
Lastly do you have to exercise ? No…But is is beneficial? HELL YESCardiovascular exercise strengthens and improves your aeorobic capacity..which basically means your heart and lungs are more efficient at supplying your body with blood and oxygen thusfore being fitter!
Weight training builds muscle which improves posture, strength and everyday functionality.
BUILDING MUSCLE ALSO MEANS YOU GET TO EAT MORE.
Yes building muscle means your body needs extra calories and nutrients to maintain that muscle thusfore enabling you to eat more 🙂
Training also burns calories so if your trying to lose weight it will get you to your goal quicker, with the Right balance of cardio and weight training this will help tighten and tone your body aswell as improving your fitness.
What you waiting for? GO GET STARTED!!
Alan Fitton
Head Pt @veritefitness
Bench Press is one of the best exercises for building your pectoral muscles (chest muscles) Christian Verite will go through how to do it right. In this video Christian will show you how, going over technique, form and how to perform the perfect Bench Press!
Check out our video were Christian Verite personal trainer Southport explains why flexible diet is the best way for most people to diet when it comes to calories and micronutrients.
Checkout our video on how to burn fat. In this video Christian Verite will explain thee three phase your body goes through to getting rid of body fat storage with in the body.
One of the most effective ways of losing weight is on a high protein diet, but how much should you be eating?
What are Carbs? They are sugars and starches which the body converts into Energy which then helps you function normally, you need a certain amount of carbs to maintain normal bodily functions.
If you starve the body you can experience fatigue, muscle cramps and a very tired/drained mental state. The body can survive of proteins and fats however this will eventually have a negative affect on your body.
You should be eating an amount of Carbohydrates to keep your body fuelled and working affectively.
There are two different types of carbs, Complex and Simple Carbs;
Simple Carbs: These are Processed carbs usually very high in sugar and often give you a quick influx of energy however doesn’t keep you full or energised for a long time, this is often where you get your “Sugar Rush” from.
Examples; sugar, white pasta and bread
Complex Carbs: These are slower digesting and will keep you fuller and energised for longer periods of time
Examples: unrefined grains, whole grain breads, rice and oats
How do you digest Carbs?
Your liver digests these into glucose, which then stimulates the production of insulin in the pancreas. The insulin functions to get the glucose into the body cells to be used as energy. Simple carbs create a higher level of insulin than complex carbs therefore the simple carbs are used faster where as the complex carbs are used slower resulting in longer lasting energy!
So in a nut shell the more complex carbs you eat the higher amount of energy your going to have for a longer period of time. However still with any type of carbohydrate if you eat more than what your body requires it is going to be stored as energy formally known as fat.
Ok so you want to figure out how many calories you should be consuming.
