Author: admin

LABELS – IGNORANCE IS REMISS !!!

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Many of my clients aren’t from the UK, and often ask me how to read the food labels here; it’s vitally important to understand the label in order to be in command of what you’re nourishing your body with. Even if you do understand it, far too few take the time to read and digest it – no pun intended! This post will set out some tips and tricks for staying on top of the label.

Questions I ask myself every time; is it high in fat? saturates? salt? carbs? sugar? Knowing the answers is essential to maintaining a balanced, healthy diet. The label should, at a minimum, list the information on energy – calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat and salt. Nutrition information is shown per 100 grams and sometimes per portion of the food. A good deal of supermarket products show a ‘traffic light colour coding’ system where red is a warning, and green is fine – but relying on these without further thought is lazy and won’t help awareness for the diet.

1) WHAT ARE THE GDA’s ???
Some product also list Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs). The GDAs are based on UK government-set figures and are recommendations that give approximate amounts of certain nutrients and calories required for a healthy diet. GDA’s don’t account for your size, age, lifestyle, activity levels etc, so take them with a pinch of salt (literally!).
– FAT: Adult GDA is c. 70g, of which ‘saturates’ should be 20g (see ‘Ingredients’ below for more on this). Beware if the product has >20% fat, and I tend to think that <5% is truely ‘low fat’.
– SUGARS: Adult GDA is c. 90g. Sugars are carbs, so look for the ‘Carbohydrates (of which sugars)’ part on the label. You might see it as sucrose, fructose, maltose, honey, corn syrup or starch – but ultimately it’s still sugar. Aim for complex sugars, which are slow release, and sustain your blood sugar levels at a more constant rate through the day. Think whole grains, whole wheat, seeds, nuts and pulses. Too much simple sugar risks diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
– SALT: Adult GDA is c. 6g (one teaspoon!). Also labelled as sodium, it regulates nerves and the overall fluid balance in the body, but too much over time increases blood pressure and can lead to heart disease and/or stroke, plus it can make you look and feel bloated as it retains water. To cut down on salt when cooking use herbs, spices, garlic, ginger, lemon zest or chili (will up your metabolism!) instead, to add flavour. Use low-salt stock. When buying tinned foods get them without the added salt or brine (e.g. tuna in spring water). Avoid microwaved ready meals, and if you must (for some inexplicable reason) get it with reduced salt. Keep an eye on sauces they’re are often high in sodium too.
– CALORIES: Adult GDA is 2000 Kcal (calories) a day, though that will clearly vary hugely depending on gender, activity, metabolic levels etc. It’s a measure of energy contained within the food, so if you consume too much food-energy, you’ll store the excess as fat. Basic, but sometimes people forget this. Equally, if you have too little, you’ll lack the nutrients required to function properly! It’s about balance and control, which is the whole point of this post!

2) INGREDIENTS ???
– When reading the ingredients manifest, the nearer the beginning an ingredient is listed, the higher the content, e.g. if honey is the second thing listed on your granola bar, then that bar certainly contains a lot of sugar.
– Avoid transfats, they are usually fish or vegetable oils that have been artificially hardened by hydrogenation, they increase bad LDL cholesterol and reduce good HDL cholesterol which can contribute to stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, and worse. You can usually find them in biscuits, cakes and pastries – so watch out for any oil that says ‘hydrogenated’ before it.

3) THE LAW ??? 
– All food products must legally be labelled and not be misleading – great in theory, but unfortunately it’s not like that in practise. You might fancy yourself for having an antioxidant boost when you drink a ‘blueberry milkshake’, but often it won’t contain blueberries – much like ‘cheese & onion crisps’ usually don’t contain onion.
– The word ‘light’ also has no legal definition, and simply means the product might be lighter than another product (which product that is we don’t know), whilst it might only refer to fat, alcohol, sugar or salt. Similarly, with ‘Low fat’, there’s no legal guideline around this, which makes it lazy and misleading to just ‘trust the claim’. Check it. Don’t let the food manufacturer insult your intelligence! 

4) HOW TO COMPARE & CONTRAST !!!
– Deciding which product is healthier for you is very easy – don’t over-complicate it, and don’t be intimidated by the numbers.
– Whenever you look at two products, each will show a ‘Per 100g’ or ‘Per 100ml’ column – if you see that product A has 20g fat, that’s 20%. If you see that a similar  product B has 10g fat, that’s 10%. If product A happens to weigh 200g, then  you’re eating 40g fat out of your c. 70g GDA – that’s clearly way too much! Product B (also weighing 200g) would invariably be a better choice here at 20g fat. There are complexities around types of fat, amount of sugars (as discussed above) etc, but broadly, the process should be that simple.

I really hope this helps not only foreigners like myself, but also encourages more curiosity about what we’re putting in us (think ‘horse’ or ‘beef’). Worth checking the sell-by date too – the fresher the better!

SLEEP YOURSELF STRONGER !!!

One of my favourite feelings in the world is collapsing into my bed, physically and mentally exhausted, knowing that I have a long, deep, deserving sleep ahead of me. But that’s not just lazy indulgence, as a good night’s sleep isn’t a passive activity, but rather, I think it’s just as actively valuable as regular exercise and quality nutrition. A good night’s sleep can improve overall health and make every aspect of the following day more productive. This post is my take on why and how sleep matters in your healthy lifestyle.

1) “WHY SHOULD I ???”
Getting the right quality and amount of sleep:
– Enhances muscular recovery by speeding-up protein synthesis,
– Restores and maintains mental alertness (by discharging the brain’s accumulated daily Adenosine build-ups),
– Releases Human Growth Hormone – 60% to 70% of daily HGH secretion takes place when you’re in early sleep, following which the deepest sleep cycles often occur! Poor quality sleep can negatively impact human growth hormone levels.
– Restore organs, bones, and tissue; replenishes immune cells; and circulates human growth hormone around the resting body.
– Vastly improves the quality of interaction with other people!

2) MY “SLEEP TIGHT” ETHOS…
‘Get more sleep’ is easily said, but I know a lot people who simply can’t fall asleep, and toss and turn for hours on end. For a while, that was me too, stuck in a catch 22 of feeling too tired during the day, going to bed too late and waking up too early in the morning, only to do it all over again. One way I tackled this was by working out on a regular basis which is proven not only to help you fall asleep, but also to improve the quality of that sleep. Every body is different, so it takes time to figure out what works best for you; I personally prefer a heavy workout early in the morning, a productive day, then a light ‘exercise’ in the late evening (e.g. a power walk which gives my body the final reminder of just how tired it really is!). I wouldn’t recommend doing an intense workout before bed as that energises the body instead of calming it. Afterwards, a relaxing warm bath (I add this lavender bath oil to unwind muscle fatigue) and a mint tea (try to avoid any caffeine or alcohol before sleep, as they’re stimulants). Other things that may help is avoiding oversleeping as it will interrupt your circadian system (‘body clock’), which in turn will set you off later when you need to fall asleep. I’d stay away from sleeping pills as much as possible as they cause the body to develop a dependency, and they don’t get to the root of the real problem anyway, but just mask the symptoms. There are stories of politicians surviving on 4 hours sleep a night, but frankly, that’s unhealthy for anyone in the long run. I’ve always felt 7 hours to be a minimum in order to maximise wellbeing during the day, and I regularly aim for 8 hours. Also a room that’s dark and not too hot helps too. Investing in the largest & highest-quality mattress the room will take can be life-changing, and even fun little apps like the Sleep Cycle alarm clock can help you sleep smarter too!

3) “…AND WHAT IF I DON’T ???”
Not getting enough / high-quality sleep:

– Weakens the immune system,
– Renders you less energetic which will lower the quality/intensity of a workout,
– Affects the concentration of sugar levels in your blood – they’re likely to become elevated, which can lead to development of a pre-diabetic condition,
– Slows the metabolism, leaving it harder to maintain or lose weight,
– Induces a sluggish sense,
– Can increase appetite (certainly does with me!),
– Makes you moody and loose the motivation to workout or do anything!

Hope that helps you to rest up, sleep well, and train harder!
Faya

“IS THAT HOW YOU ROLL ???”

These days you’ll find ‘Foam Rollers’ in pretty much every gym, generally in the ‘stretching mats’ area. This is great news as it suggests we ‘exercising types’ are becoming more aware of the importance of taking time to stretch, which helps us to stay flexible and prevent injury (as you might remember from my previous post on stretching, here).

WHAT DOES IT DO & HOW DOES IT WORK ???
I had key-hole surgery on my knee a few years ago and my doctor recommended I use a foam roller, as it’s a fabulous tool in the physiotherapy industry – it massively helped my recovery by encouraging correct and supple muscular rebuild. By applying pressure using your own bodyweight on sore spots, it’s a kind of self-accu-pressure technique (self myofascial release) – or simply a nice self-massage! Manipulating the soft tissue will support and massage muscle groups whilst improving balance, stabilisation, flexibility and core strength. It’s a valuable part of any workout and I recommend incorporating it in a warmup (to help increase blood flow, and relieve muscle tightness to encourage better training) and likewise in a cool-down (to flush out toxins and help soften muscles for faster recovery).

They are available in different densities from relatively soft foam, to high-density rollers that are like granite. The more accomplished, athletic and muscular the user, the more dense the roller should be. Try out a few different ones and see which one’s for you. Work your way up from the softest as a beginner. If one of this blog’s goals is to share great tips that help you train smarter, this intermediate Foam Roller from Myprotein (which provides unlimited self-massage for under £15) comfortably ticks that box!!

HOW TO USE IT ???
This collection of pictures I shot in Regent’s Park below should help to demonstrate some of my favourite exercises with this training aid. Try to target the areas that are more tender, then roll them out to release & decrease some of the over-activity. It can be hard work and can even border on being painful or uncomfortable, much like stretching. It’s important to distinguish between a moderate level of discomfort and a discomfort that can lead to injury – your body will tell you this loud & clear! Below are just a handful of many exercises to try!

Wearing: Grey cotton leggings from H&M, white canvas Converse, MyProtein cotton woman’s hoodie in black

6 SUGGESTED USES

1) Iliotibial Band (as per below picture)
Lie on your side place the roller under you, near the hip. Place the other leg’s foot on the floor. Roll along the outer thigh. Increase pressure by placing both legs on top of each other.

2) Calves (as per below picture)
Place the roller under a calf. Rest the other foot on the floor. Roll from under the knee to the ankle. To add additional pressure place the other leg on top of each other. By moving the calf to one side and the other will target the muscle at different angles.

3) Adductors (as per below picture)
Lie on the stomach with lift one leg slightly to the side, keep the knee bent. Place the roller in the groin area of the bent leg and roll the inner thigh.

4) Piriformis (as per below picture)
Sit on the roller and place one foot on the opposite knee. Lean into one buttock and roll forward and back, using your supporting leg to control the pressure.

5) Quadriceps and Hamstrings (as per below picture)
Lie on your stomach with a roller placed under the front of your thigh and slowly roll up and down from the bottom of your hip to the top of your knee. The same technique applies for the hamstrings, but apply pressure on the back of the upper-leg; to increase pressure, cross a leg over the other.

6) Biceps (as per below picture)
Lying on the side, with the upper arm against the foam roller keep the outside of the bicep pressed against the foam roller. Raise the hip off of the floor and support all weight on the arm and on your feet.

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MY CHEAT TREAT ???

I was recently invited to try out the Gym at London’s Corinthia Hotel, which recently opened at a reputed cost of £300m. Given that level of investment, I’d assumed the fitness facilities would be excellent, and unsurprisingly, I wasn’t disappointed. It’s invariably the largest and best equipped hotel gym I’ve been to, with an ample supply of soft fluffy towels and refrigerated bottled water on hand at a moment’s notice. Fantastic, great workout, good…

… But it’s not the gym that blew me away, unsurprisingly, since I spend most of my days in one! That was reserved, instead, for the Spa. Or more specifically, Espa Life at Corinthia. Living in a ‘never-sleeps’ buzzing city like London, it sometimes seems impossible to stop moving and take a deep breath. That’s never more apparent, I think, than when you go on holiday only to realise how exhausted you feel. But there are things you can do in the meantime to mask that dilapidation of the soul, and to ensure you don’t turn into a ball of stress and combust before you reach the beach!

Aside from the obvious – eating healthy, training regularly, sleeping well etc – spending a day at a spa is the ultimate indulgence for both man and woman! The mood is boosted by endorphin, dompamine and seratonin release, it promotes regeneration and healing, muscular relaxation as well as invigorating & energising, and expunging toxins in your body through the cycles of sweating and re-hydration. Plus it’s likely to make you sleep like a baby later that night! Espa Life is impossibly relaxing, blending outrageously ‘cool’ design (e.g. a sauna with no perceptible walls, sleek lines and fibre-optics) with all sorts of fabulous spa innovations, from heated-stone ‘anatomical loungers’ to effervescent ‘vitality pools’ and regenerative ‘sleep pods’. This hotel basically bisects Trafalgar Square and Embankment – both frantically stressful parts of the City – but you wouldn’t know that you within 500 miles of the nearest ‘Nelson’s Column’! The cavernous (but always intimate) 3,300 square meters of uber-luxurious spa space are spread over 4 floors (!!) which has to be verging on excessive indulgence! You can literally watch the stress receding.

Admittedly, maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle takes planning, dedication and hard work; the pay back is without a doubt worth it, but sometimes a little reward to pat yourself on the back isn’t just allowed; it’s compulsory. Many find that staging a ‘cheat day’ once a week is a great option to keep you on track, especially knowing you’ve earned yourself some extra chocolatey calories. But for me, given that I spent 1 hour in the gym and 3 at the spa, there can be no better treat than this place!

PLAYING FOOTSIE ???

I’m a big fitness fashion junkie, and am especially a bit of a fiend when it comes to trainers (i’ll post a shot of my collection one day!). But aside from being spoilt for choice in terms of prints and colour, these humble gym-slippers also serve a far more functional purpose – to look after our poor old feet, knees and posture! Far too often, feet get neglected and suffer because of it. They work so hard for us every day, yet we pay very little attention to them – aside from the occasional indulgent pedicure. ‘Fashion over function’ doesn’t serve your long term interests with feet – if you exercise as regularly as I do, appropriate foot care is critical as the skin and bones are put under so much more stress. Above all, I think it’s worth paying extra attention to what kind of shoe you buy and for which occasion. A little gem that I’ve used for some time is ‘Runners Need‘ – they always have good descriptions, specs & reviews alongside the brand products, so I can be pretty sure that I’ll end up with the right shoe for the right purpose.

Another one I’ve recently stumbled across (no pun intended!) is Simply Feet. Due to an old knee-based running injury from a long time ago which flares up every now-and-again, I’ve been wearing ‘Rhythm shoes’ from Weil footwear recently. They’re super comfy – perfect for trekking around London – lightweight, breathable, with technical fabrics – but most importantly they’re podiatrist-designed, and feel like they support & stabilise my foot every step. Crucially for me, they don’t look like a piece of ugly medical technology; they look just as good as, for example, the Nike Lunarlon – my pair of Rhythm’s in the pictures here even have some coral pink girly detailing so I can coordinate them! If you have any back, heel, knee or leg pain when you run, or if you simply over-pronate, these relieve pressure & naturally re-align the foot.

I’m going to write a post on running socks too, as I think that completes the fitness-ready footcare regime! Keep your eyes open!

WEARING?? Nike Limitless Leggings, Bershka hooded waterproof jacket, Weil Rhythm Shoes in Silver / Coral, Mulberry ‘Henry’ gym bag. See all the pics from this shoot HERE.

More shots here:

WOMEN’S FITNESS FEATURE !!!

Hugely excited and flattered to have been featured as the first blog in this month’s Women’s Fitness magazine, in their special feature on finding motivation online. It’s a journal that I regularly plunder for great tips and tricks on nutrition and workouts, and they always feature a pretty good fashion spread too, so to have been included in it is quite an honour indeed! Thanks guys x  (Article below)

IN SEARCH OF INSPIRATION…

As a study in ‘fitness innovation’, I went to “the UK’s number one fitness, sport and nutrition exhibition”, Body Power Expo, at the Birmingham NEC. The place was vast, welcoming about 40,000 visitors a day; but when I was there it seemed they all came at once – it was absolutely rammed! Cue wall-to-wall stalls promoting old and new fitness products alike, supplements, training equipment, clothing and needless gadgets. Most of the people working there were half naked, oiled up and looked like they’d just come back from a 6month holiday in the Sahara. A few familiar faces were seen as well including WBFF Pro Fitness Model Shaun Stafford (pictured to my right, above), British Grand Prix Open Champion Shawn Rhoden, Mr Olympia James ‘Flex’ Lewis, and Ronnie Coleman. I went a bit shop-crazy and here are some of the inspiring goodies I brought back home, which are helping to flavour my fitness ethos at the moment!

Click HERE to see them in more detail:

1) “KoKo Dairy Free” Coconut Milk – it’s cholesterol-free, loaded with calcium, vitamins B and D, plus it boasts fat levels matching that of semi-skimmed milk, with a micro 27 calories per 100ml! But I intend to use it for cooking as most importantly, it doesn’t separate under heating – perfect! Other than that it’s freshly pressed from coconut milk (completely free of lactose, cow’s milk protein, soya & gluten). It tastes great and I might just add a few drops to my protein shakes – which normally only consist of water – for some (much needed) extra flavour!

2) “Purition” – an awesome new supplement company based in the UK who pride themselves on using exclusively natural ingredients – this is an ethos that really chimes with me, and complements the core message of ‘Fitness On Toast’. Some of their inputs are such healthy buzz-foods as chia seeds, flaxseed, almond meal, linseed etc. and their labelling is crystal clear. After sampling the range (a few times), I bought back a few 500g pouches of the ‘BODYPRO PROTEIN & FIBRE SUPER-SHAKE’ which is low-GI (manages sugar release through the day), gluten free (doesn’t bloat), is high in protein (42.3g per 100g), high in fibre (16.7g per 100g), high in BCAA’s (renders your protein more readily absorbed by the body during digestion), with no added sugar, no artificial flavouring or preservatives, GM-free, caffeine-free, and a naturally rich source of Omega 3. Finally, if I may say so myself, it’s very tasty – especially the pistachio flavour – yumm!

3) “PROMIXX Vortex Mixer“- No, not a piece of DJ kit, but a take-to-the-gym ‘protein shaker’ which has a battery-powered motor, and small plastic blades, so you don’t have to actually do the shaking! I’m not sure I necessarily need this or will in fact use it but at the time I thought its was great…

4) WALK energie – A Hungarian development on the trusty treadmill, I tried it out briefly and it’s definitely tough – the work involved in motorising the treadmill is all done by you! Rather than letting a motor get it moving for you, set it on a high incline (mimicking hiking), with regular squats thrown in just for some endurance-based fun!

 

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NAILED IT !!!

It was a gorgeous sunny Saturday in London and I had the pleasure of getting my very own unique nail art painted by the immensely talented Jenny Pasha of 10 Blank Canvases – winner of this year’s Cosmopolitan blog award for ‘best beauty blogger’, and who is currently working with Elegant Touch and Little Mix. I love her art, and ended up basing this entire training ‘look’ on her monochrome nails – a thin black windstop top, monochrome training leggings and black shoes – a look which is always super easy-to-pull-off, flattering, casual and fairly chic in my view! I just added a splash of neon pink for fun!

After a blustery HIIT session (high intensity interval training, as you might remember from my post’hiit me again’, here) on sunny Primrose Hill yesterday, this super lightweight Castelli Leggera jacket proved to be ideal – totally windproof, impossibly lightweight and still comfortably breathable – practically as if I wasn’t wearing anything at all, so to speak! The leggings are from Bershka – quite fun and comfy for running :). Post-run, we went for some yummy lunch at Lemonia for a little protein – grilled swordfish, seared tuna, boiled veggies and steamed spinach!

See more pics from the shoot HERE.

Wearing:
Nail Art: Jenny Pasha ( www.10blankcanvases.com )
Trousers: Bershka two-toned leggings,
Top: Sweaty Betty ‘Athlete Workout Vest’
Jacket: Castelli Leggera jacket
Trainers: Nike Free Run+

 

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WHO YOU CALLING SWEATY, BETTY ?!?

Whilst we’re on the topic of fitness fashion, I am a big fan of the British acitve-wear brand, Sweaty Betty, and often find myself scooping-up entire training outfits there when I was just planning on an innocent browse. I’ve always been particularly taken by their ‘yoga’ range, because the clothes are so incredibly relaxed, the fit is flattering and the materials are usually super comfy – great for either lounging around or being active. Also, their ‘workout wear’ (which I’m wearing in these photos, shot for a Facebook banner) is very functional too, with summery, fun bright colours & prints that aren’t too garish to actually wear! Its a feminine-looking range of clothes, with technical materials that I think justifies their slightly premium price-point.

I know new outfits can encourage me to go to the gym if I’m lacking motivation to train; it’s not a catwalk but you are allowed to look and feel good at the gym, plus dedicated training gear can often be designed to enhance your performance (e.g. oxygenating / breathable / moisture-wicking fabrics etc.) – though that’s also just a good excuse to go shopping

See more about the Capri Pants, Top and Vest, (with extra pics) HERE…

PANTS: I’m wearing the ‘Adrenaline Ombre Run Capri‘ 3/4 pant. The underwater-inspired print is made of Polyester Polybutylene and is super-tight, stretchy, lightweight and pretty comfy. The only downside with this material is that it’s not completely opaque when stretched, which can get a bit risqué to say the least! so I recommend getting a larger size so the material doesn’t stretch too much becoming too ‘invisible’. Detailing includes reflectives at the knee for visibility, an elastic waistband and a functional back zip pocket.

TOP: The ‘Finish Line L/S Run Top‘ is long-sleeved with their trademark thumb-eyelets, figure-hugging, but comfortably breathable, with gorgeous scrunchy, girly details.

VEST: This is a pretty classic ‘Athletic workout Vest’ (in what they call ‘electric lime’), and the material is something called Meryl which has a soft feel to it. It’s lightweight, stretchy and I especially like the length of the top – it’s a bit longer so you can pull it down if you want to cover up a bit.

 

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IT’S IN THE BAG !!!

I was reading a certain fashion magazine the other day and came across a pretty mundane article entitled ‘what’s in your bag?’ – but reading it, some of the bizarre ‘essentials’ made me giggle including ‘air freshener’, ‘an iron’ a ‘mini screwdriver set’! It got me thinking however, so I decided to blog about ‘what’s in MY bag’. And these are genuinely things that I carry with me on a daily basis to help me live a healthier lifestyle – all fitness related, of course ?

Click MORE to read about the benefits of each item…

1) Water – c. 70% of the body is made up of water. I aim to drink at least 2l a day. 3 on a sunny day like this!

2) Apple – whenever I feel like something sweet I have my apple close at hand to help me stay clear of all chocolate. Apples are low in calories, a rich source of antioxidant compounds which repairs cells and tissue, plenty of vitamin C, heaps of dietary fibre, and only c. 80 calories per apple (!)

3) Nuts & seeds – A handful of these a day are a packed with dietary fibre + omega-3 fatty acids, plus lower cholesterol & stabilises blood sugar to give you sustained energy.

4) Multivitamin – It’s hard to get everything you need in a day and this little pill helps me along the way.

5) Fish oil – Essential fatty acids great for healthy looking skin, nails and hair. Essential fatty acids are also immune boosting, help regulate blood pressure and much more.

6) My Fitness Pal – I am a big fan of this and slightly obsessive too. I try to get all the essential vitamins and minerals naturally in a day. Any app which keeps you on track is good and fun as you can connect with friends and compete/motivate them using this ?

7) Work out log book – Don’t make the mistake in thinking ‘you’ll remember’ because one day you’ll show up in the gym and think to yourself…’what am I training today?’ / ‘how much weight did I use last time’? And the chances are your training will suffer because of it, when the intensity plateaus as you end up doing the same weight over and over, never pushing ahead, unsure what you did last time!

8) Heart rate monitor – How hard can you push and for how long? I love to check my heart rate and see how my anaerobic threshold and recovery improves over time. Any gadget that can educate and inform you of your progress is a great thing!

9) Music – I NEED music when I train! Having a great upbeat tune when I feel like I cannot do anymore can push me that extra rep!

10) Chewing gum – Another trick to keep me from giving in to my sweet tooth!

11) Alcohol Cleansing Hand-Gel – Gyms are not the cleanest of places and a lot of bacteria is spread through sweat so make sure to use this!

 

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