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Golden Rules of Drinking
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011Hi All,
This is a difficult topic as most of us like a drink or two every now and then. But in reality is that a bad thing? We need to bear in mind the importance of everything in moderation ad that includes alcohol, but also we need to recognise the social aspects (some may argue stress management) side of alcohol.
Is it realistic to ask our clients never to rink, well i believe it is not. we need to get across the message that as with everything in live moderation and portion control is the key eliment. There is evidence to suggest that small amounts of alcohol may actually be good for certain systems within the body.
So what are the negative aspects of alcohol? Well it obviously has an impact on the filtration systems (liver and kidneys), it effects hormonal balance, and also can casue the body to store fat.
Is there a way we can balance hese bad points with the good? Well yes…
Here are the golden rules:-
- Avoid binge drinking
- Do not just drink alcohol all night, try alternativing alcholic with non alcoholic drinks
- Try to avoid hangover food
- Keep it in perspective
TOM
What is a unit?
Thursday, October 27th, 2011Hi All,
Following on from last weeks blog about how many units your allowed to drink, I got a load of e-mails asking what exactly a unit was…So here is Tom’s short guide.
Beer
- A premium pint of lager, bitter or cider (5%) contains 3 units
- A ordinary strength pint of lager, bitter or cider (3-4%) contains 2 units
Wine
- A large 250ml glass of wine (12%) contains 3 units
- A standard 175ml glass of wine (12%) contains 2 units (Many pubs and bars call this a ‘small’ glass)
Spirits
- A large double measure of spirits (2 x 35ml at 40%) contains 3 units
- A large single measure of spirits (1 x 35ml at 40%) contains 1.5 units
- A small double measure of spirits (2 x 25ml at 40%) contains 2 units
- A small single measure of spirits (1 x 25ml at 40%) contains 1 unit
Alcopops
- A 275ml bottle of alcopop (5%) contains 1.5 units
To be sure though just check the side of the container that your alcohol comes in, UK law now staes that the number of units per bottle/can must be clearly stated on the side.
Hope this helps!
TOM
How many units?
Thursday, October 20th, 2011Hi All,
I oftern get asked how much alcohol a person is allowed? Well the reccomendations have recently changed in the light of the binge drinking epedemic.
We as fitness and health professionals used to work based on weekly reccomendations, thse were 21 units a week for a male and 14 units a week for a female. These were all well and good but as always people used to try and cheat the system. If a male had not drunk any alcphl for 2 weeks could they realy go out and drink 40 units on Saturday night and be happy that they were under the 42 unit limit for 2 weeks?
Well as daft as this sounds when written on my blog it is what people use to think (well convince themself of), so the rules were changed.
Current reccomendations are 2-3 units daily for a male and 1-2 units daily for a female. Now thee reccomendtions are all well and good in terms of avoiding binge drinking, but would we really what to drink alcohol every single day… I would say not.
I think that on the whole we should just go for everything in moderation and under control.
TOM
Fitness Vs Health
Thursday, October 13th, 2011Hi All,
Here is an interesting one for you… if your physically active and are hitting the gym on a regular basis, does that mean your healthy?
Well most people presume so, but in reality there is not a necessarily a correlation. If we think about it if you go to the gym or do any form of exercise you are bound to be fitter than someone who does not, and this will have some transition to health. But is we consider if our gym goer is also a heavy smoker, drinker and eats a poor diet, are they going to be considered healthy?
We need to remember that just because we exercise we may not be considered healthy, so look ito your lifestyel and diet and see if that reflects all the hard work your putting in exercising.
TOM
How many Steps a Day?
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011Hi All,
I was talking to a client today about walking and the massive impact that adding in a decent amount of low level physical activity can have on weight control and weight loss.
Why is walking so good?
- You don’t have to plan it, so you can be spontaneous! All you need are your feet and a pair of trainers or comfy shoes.
- You can do it whatever the weather. If it’s raining, don’t be put off, grab a coat and wellies and get out there. The kids will love jumping in the puddles too.
- It’s sociable – take a friend and have a good natter. Or have a nice long chat with your family.
- It’s a great way to make short journeys instead of taking the car; and you save money.
- You’re probably doing it already.
- It’s FREE!
What does walking do for you?
- Walking is good for bones and muscles: helping your kids grow up big and strong.
- It burns calories: in fact a brisk walk burns the same amount of calories as a run over the same distance!
- It builds stamina.
- It helps beat stress: walking can make you feel good and more relaxed.
- It can cut your risk of heart disease by up to 50%, reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and the risk of some cancers
- It boosts your immune system for 24 hours
- It can even lower your blood pressure.
10,000 steps per day is what would be considered active
12,500 steps per day would be considered very active
It sounds a lot more than you think as when walking briskly you cover about 500 steps in 5 minutes. These figures include EVRY step you take in a day, so the idea would be that you wear your pedometer from the moment you get up to the moment that you go to bed. I you do not have a pedometer what we suggest is that you do a 30 minute walk each day, if you find it hard to get in 30 mins then this can be broken down into more manageable chunks for you.
Look out for the Foresight Pedometer Challenge comming soon!
TOM
The Dirty Dozen – The Foods you Must Buy Organic!
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011Hi All,
I have been asked a couple of times recently about if you can’t buy all your fruits and vegitables organic, which are the most important that you do?
Well here are the ones you MUST buy organic!
12 Most Contaminated
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Pears
- Grapes (Imported)
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Potatoes
Tom
What is the difference between Physical Activity and Exercise?
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011Hi All,
I oftern get asked the question ‘What is the difference between Physical Activity and Exercise?’
Well here is your answer:-
Physical Activity:- are tasks of daily living that can be used to work the cardiovascular system (Heart and Lungs), for example shopping, walking the dog, etc… these activities generally do not need any specialist equiptment, a special venue and is not structured.
Exercise - is any form of structured activity performed on a regular basis with a specific goal in mind. So this would include things like fitness classes, playing sport, having a Personal Training Session etc…
TOM
What is being Physically Active?
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011Hi All,
This is just a very short post about what it means to be Physically Active, as a Personal Trainer in Manchester, I get asked all the time what is the minimum amount of activity a person needs to do for health. A scary fact is that 6 out of 10 men and 7 out of 10 women in the UK are not active enough for health (according to the Department of Health). The worst bit is it is so easy to be one of the few who are physically active.
So we are not talking for weight loss, or toning, just for basic health. First of all lets look at the benefits to low level physical activity on the body.
What Moderate Physical Activity will do for you:-
- Reduce your risk of premature death by 20-30%
- Reduce your risk of getting Type II Diabetes (Adult on set)
- upto 50% less likly to suffer with Coranary Heart Disease
- Improve function
- Reduce risk of back pain
- Increase bone density (reducing osteopherosis risk)
So what do you need to do?
- Moderate acttivity 5 times per week for 30 minutes
Moderate activity is anything that slightly elevates your heart rate, you might start breathing more deeply and feeling your heart rate raise. However you should NOT be gasping for air, sweating heavily, or in any kind of pain. For most peolpe brisk walking constitutes moderate intensity.
In terms of time you do not have to do this lot in one 30 minute block, you can break it down into sections of a minimum of 10 mins, this makes it much easier to fit into your day. Lets face it we are all busy people and trying to find an extra 30 minutes to fit into your day for physical activity can be hard.
We have a solution!
We encorage people to look for activities that they already have to do, such as shopping and see how they can start to use these activities of daily living as physical activity. Alot of the time we are moving about or doing physical activities but we just don’t do them at a good enough pace to constitute physical activity.
Some ideas for you!
- Walking round the shops
- Gardening
- Stairs instead of the lift
- DIY
- House work
- Walking the dog
- What else can you think of? Fill in your ideas in the comments box below.
Take every opportunity to get a little bit of activity in, and trust me it will all add up to have a massive overall effect on your levels of wellbeing.
Take it a step at a time!
TOM
Happy New Year
Saturday, January 1st, 2011Hi All,
Just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year!
From all of us here at the Foresight Personal Training Team we hope that 2011 is a year of health and wellbeing.
Now is the time to get started improving you levels of physical activity, nutrition and all round lifestyle.
If you need any advice on the above issues please do give us a call!
TOM