There is SO much conflicting information, myths and factually incorrect material out there when it comes to nutrition, it can be hard figuring out what is the healthiest way to eat – even for those with a solid understanding of nutrition! It can be helpful, particularly in a fickle area like nutrition, to have professional guidance. 

Here are five things you should know…

How To FIt In Exercise When You Have A Full-Time Job

It’s relentless; work schedules can be unforgiving, the emails are ceaseless – and this can really interfere with your exercise regime, often reduce it dramatically, or in some cases, stop it altogether. The paradox here though is that when you are stressed and sedentary, one of the best things you can do is to move your body.

Regular exercise is crucial for maintaining bone density, muscle tone, good posture and to carry out ones’ usual activities, as well as reducing stress, your risk of disease, and improving sleep! (Warburton et al. 2006)

We’ve all heard people say that sleep is important, but why?

Sleep is vital for...

• Overall health 
• Recovery Adaptation 
• Muscle gain Weight management. 
• Physical and cognitive performance 
• Mood, energy levels & feelings of wellbeing 

In order to promote all of the above, the National Sleep Foundation recommendations for sufficient sleep is 7-9 hours per night for adults (National Sleep Foundation 2015), but many of us are getting a lot less!  

Insufficient sleep can lead to...

• A change in appetite and increased hunger. Sleep helps to regulate hormones such as Leptin, the ‘Satiety Hormone’, and Ghrelin, the ‘Hunger Hormone’. Lack of sleep can, therefore, cause hormonal disruption that leads to an increase in hunger and a decrease in satiety, which makes dieting, weight management and general life much harder! 
• Impaired cognitive function 
• Decreased performance and therefore an increased risk of injury
• Reduced overall activity level, which can then have an impact on weight management and physical health 
• Negative impacts on mood and energy levels, which are vital for social, emotional and psychological health 

So how can I improve my sleep? 

Let’s get into the practical tips to promote good quality, long-lasting sleep...

• Sleep in a dark room and avoid blue light 
• Reduce noise or opt for constant low-level noise, such as from a fan
• Sleep in a cool room as heat can delay sleep onset 
• Avoid alcohol after dinner 
• Avoid caffeine 6hrs before bedtime
• Exercise during the day to promote better sleep at night
• Stick to a consistent sleeping schedule 
• Work back from the time you have to be awake to make sure you are getting to bed in plenty of time for those 7-9hrs! 
• Establish a pre-bed wind-down routine that will soothe you rather than stimulate you 
• Melatonin has been shown to improve sleep quality
• A lack of magnesium can impair sleep so it might be worth considering this. However, if you are consuming sufficient levels of magnesium, adding more in won’t produce any further benefit 
• If stress and anxiety is a problem, try lavender 

Promoting sufficient good quality sleep is so important for health, and when working towards any goal - don’t overlook its impact! 

Are you getting enough Recess? Before you begin to answer that question, let’s get clear on what Recess even is.

Recess is the act of taking time out to look after you. It is personal development time, self-preservation or as it’s more commonly known self-care time.

Do steps matter? Or is it just the latest fad?

Good questions. The answer is Yes, they do, and it’s for a couple of reasons.

Weight Management & NEAT

You’ll remember from our ‘The Basics of Nutrition’ section that we chatted about Energy Balance. When you are looking to manage your weight, you need to consider how your energy intake (calories consumed) matches up with your energy output (calories burned on an average day).

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) made up of a number of different things:

• Exercise Energy Expenditure (EEE) = energy expended during exercise.
• Thermic Effect Of Food (TEF) = energy expended through digesting food (protein has the highest TEF of all the macronutrients).
• Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) = energy expended for everything that is not sleeping, eating or exercise.
• Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) = energy required to sustain vital functions in a waking but inactive state.

The easiest way to control the energy balance equation is to control the input (calories in) and we never advise our clients to approach exercise as a tool to ‘burn off’ calories - that encourages an unhealthy approach and takes away from all its other benefits. However, NEAT is absolutely something to consider when looking at weight management.

NEAT is the easiest part of the energy output equation to manipulate and is most often tracked through tracking someone’s steps as it tends to be a good indicator of daily activity levels.

Increasing your daily activity levels and therefore (NEAT) can have a big impact on your total energy expenditure and will therefore help you manage your weight more effectively!

Physical Health

Moving is good for your physical health! We live in an increasingly sedentary world (especially now with Coronavirus and the rise of working from home) and hours spent at a desk, sitting down, in front of a laptop are not good for our bodies.

Ever started to get niggles and pain in your back, neck, shoulders after hours of prolonged sitting? When we do that for too long our body starts to learn ‘bad habits’ and it can lead to niggles and poor physical health long term.

Of course, sometimes you just can’t pull yourself away from your desk, and that’s okay. How are you fitting in movement around that? How about these...

• Standing desk
• Desk Stretches
• Hourly get up and walk around
• Morning and evening outing/walk
• Increasing steps at the weekend
• Exercise and mobility

So, YES, steps matter! They will help you manage your weight more effectively and keep you physically more healthy. Try taking the stairs, walking to work, or tracking and increasing your daily steps over time.

PSA. You don't have to hit 10,000 steps… understand your starting point and go from there!.

In the interest of keeping this to blog-post length rather than dissertation length, we've picked our top 5 most infuriating myths to debunk. 

Unfortunately, much of this information is still spouted and perpetuated by those who should know better, despite the swathe of research that has continuously disproven, or failed to support, these ideas but we're here to clear the confusion for you.

So, let us begin…

Over the last few weeks, most people have been adjusting to a new normal and trying to establish new habits to keep them healthy, happy and sane during this period of lockdown and throughout the coming weeks and months.

We published the 1st 5 steps last week, which we hope are working well for you, now here's the next 5.

Over the last few weeks, most people have been adjusting to a new normal and trying to establish new habits to keep them healthy, happy and sane during this period of lockdown and throughout the coming weeks and months.

There’s so much information out there and so much you *could* be doing right now and it can be a little mind-boggling, so we’ve put together a simple guide from our own experience and from what we’ve seen as particularly important for our clients.

No need to overcomplicate things. Here’s how to stay healthy, happy and sane throughout lockdown and beyond.