Personal Training Blog
Should I avoid fruits as they contain too much sugar (too much carbs)
Often I hear individuals say they try to avoid fruits (such as bananas) because they contain too much sugar (or too many carbs), but should the sugar in fruit really be the blame for our obesity epidemic?  Yes fruits contain sugar. The main sugar found in fruit (which you have probably heard of) is fructose. However, fruit is not made up entirely of fructose – it contains water, fibre and other beneficial vitamins and minerals that make it an optimal choice to include in a balanced and healthy eating regime. Additionally, due to the presence of dietary fibre, fructose derived naturally from whole fruit has a different metabolic effect on the body when compared with fructose that is “added“ to foods. In fact, most fructose consumed in the diet is not from fruit, it is actually derived from sucrose, commonly known as ‘sugar’. Sucrose is a double sugar comprising one glucose and one fructose molecule. Discretionary foods such as sweet biscuits, cakes, chocolate, lollies, fruit drinks, sport drinks and soft drinks contain large amounts of fructose, commonly referred to as “added sugar”. These are the foods that we need to monitor and there is a general agreement among health professionals that we should be consuming less of these discretionary foods as they are easy to overindulge in, generally provide no nutritional value, or essential nutrients. Furthermore, weight loss is typically achieved by strategies that consistently result in a lower energy intake relative to the energy used so reducing energy-dense, processed and high sugar foods (such as those mentioned above) may assist with decreasing the high rates of obesity and other metabolic disorders affecting our nation. The World Health Organization has recently dropped its sugar intake recommendations from 10 percent of your  Please note these sugars are different from intrinsic sugars found in whole fresh fruits and vegetables. Many of us don’t realise much of the sugar we actually consume or how much sugar there is “hidden” in processed foods. To put this into perspective, we compared the total CHO and sugar content of 3 items (see below) 1 can of coca cola (375mL): • Total carbohydrates: 39.8 g • Sugar: 39.8g • Equivalent to 10 teaspoons of added sugar/fructose • Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Colour (150d), Food Acid (338), Flavour, Caffeine. 50g chocolate bar: • Total carbohydrates: 29.6g • Sugar: 28.7 g • Equivalent to 7 teaspoons of added sugar/fructose • Ingredients: Full Cream Milk, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Milk Solids, Emulsifiers (Soy Lecithin, 476), Flavours. Milk Chocolate Contains Cocoa Solids 24%, Milk Solids Minimum 24%. 1 small banana: • Total carbohydrates: 16.8 g • Sugar 14.4.g (with 2.3g of that being dietary fibre) • Equivalent to 3 teaspoons of natural fructose So what does this mean? When looking at the can of coca cola and the 50g chocolate bar you can see that total sugar is much higher than that of the banana. Additionally, in both of these products, sugar is listed second highest on the ingredient list (ingredients are listed in descending order by weight) and as a rule of thumb, if the product has sugar in the top 3 ingredients it is too high. This is also an indication that the almost all of the total carbohydrates is derived from sugar that has been added to the product. So in summary, what nutritional benefits would you get from this? Not many. The banana has 12.1g of sugar when deducting the fibre content. However, the bananas’ sugar comes with a quality nutrition package containing important nutrients such as vitamin C, B-6, potassium. In conclusion, the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend that we eat a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five food groups. There is no discussion on avoiding sugar altogether, so cutting out foods such as fruit, dairy products and many wholegrain that do contain some sugar, along with other major nutrients, is unnecessary and unhealthy. If you avoid bananas because of their sugar content, think again. You don’t need me to tell you that a banana is a healthier alternative to a can of coke or a bar of chocolate. Dietitian, Kimberly |
How to stay motivated during the colder months
 During the warmer weather, it is easy to get physical activity. We work in the garden, go for walks in the evening, bike ride with the family, and spend lots of time outdoors. When someone wants to go, we jump up and go. There seems to be more energy in our steps. The main motivation is looking good in great clothes. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all want to look our best for as long as we can. The by-product of looking good is that we can achieve great health benefits. Unfortunately, when winter rolls around, all we desire is to curl up on the couch in big sweaters and slippers. It’s not cute but it’s comfortable. But, that big sweater gives us a false sense of security. We can’t see how much damage we could potentially be doing by eating and maintaining a sedentary lifestyle. It is okay to want to slack off a bit on the exercise but totally dropping things is a no-no. Here are a few tips to help you stay motivated during the winter months. To start, set a regular time to work out and stick to it. You may not feel like meeting a friend at the gym for a class but you can pop in a DVD or VHS tape and sweat at home. Instead of cranking up the car and braving the cold, you stayed comfortable and worked out anyway. Maybe the busyness of the holidays has you skipping workout sessions. Exercise is cumulative. Every little bit adds up. Fifteen minutes in the morning plus another fifteen minutes in the afternoon equals thirty minutes of physical activity that day. Physical activity doesn’t have to be an hour of jumping up and down to a routine. It could be reading a magazine while walking on the treadmill. Dancing around the room, as you vacuum and clean, counts as exercise, also. Talk to a friend or workout buddy even if you can’t get to the gym with them each day. Use the telephone to keep each other motivated. When the weather leads you to slouch on the couch, phone a friend and get a pep talk until you jump up on your feet and get going. Listen—you’ve worked mighty hard all year. Why throw it all away during the season of frivolity and food? It won’t be easy to stay motivated, but friends can help. Stick to the routine as much as possible and you won’t feel the after effects of a long indulgent holiday season – you’ll be one step ahead when January rolls round too. Difference Personal Training Narellan |
Why the “pause-button mentality” is ruining your health and fitness.
How to Hold Yourself Accountable
For those of you who don’t know me, I am extremely passionate about my work and my study and they are my top priority. My work and study allows me to work with great people helping them become stronger, fitter and healthier. I help people become disciplined with their diet and exercise and encourage them to always make healthy choices. The problem is that I do not have the same discipline that my clients have, and I don’t always make the healthiest choices. I’ve attributed this to my lack of accountability, my clients are accountable to me, but I am accountable to no one. But, that will change; my new year’s resolution is to hold myself accountable to ME. If, like me, you struggle to stay on track while you’re on holiday or over the Christmas period, try these steps to motivate yourself and hold yourself accountable, just as I will be doing. 1. Create a Personal Mission Statement What is it that you want to achieve? Why are you spending hours every week exercising and preparing meals? What is it that you value most? It is so easy to forget the reason that you started your journey but writing your own mission statement that you can easily reference will make your journey more successful. My personal mission statement, at the moment, is this: “To consistently build my strength and protect my health through working hard and making healthy choices.” Your personal mission statement doesn’t have to be profound or poetic – it just needs to convey your core values and define why you do what you do each day. 2. Set Micro-Goals There are countless benefits to writing down goals of all sizes. Annual, five-, and ten-year goals can help you expand on your mission statement because you know you are working towards a tangible result. But long term goals are useless unless you have a strategy to achieve them. Manage yourself by setting micro-goals. What is a micro-goal? I like to think of it as a single action that, when accomplished, serves as a building block to a much larger goal. For example, the resolution to make a
larger-than minimum monthly payment on a credit card balance is a micro goal.
Each month you successfully increase your payment, you are closer to your big
goal of getting out of debt. A micro goal is not, however, anything that goes on your to-do list. Responding to a customer inquiry or cleaning out your cubicle is not a micro-goal, unless of course you have bigger goals to specifically involving that customer or to get more organized. 3. Use Lists Wisely Lists – from simple to-do lists to complex project plans – can be a helpful tool for prioritizing and planning your day. If lists are too big or poorly organized, however, they can overwhelm you and defeat their purpose. Manage yourself by using lists effectively: keep a small to-do list of 5 or fewer items. If it’s not important enough to be on the top 5, leave it off. As you complete activities, you can add more. One way to help achieve smaller, more manageable lists is to break one big list into several. I often find my to-do lists contain a dozen or more activities than can be grouped. If you’re a blogger for example, and you have 5 great article ideas, writing each one might be on your to-do list. I would recommend putting one item on your to-do list – write 5 new articles. Prioritize it accordingly, and when you sit down to write, break out the list of topics and don’t move to another project on your primary to-do list until all the others are complete. 4. Make Yourself Accountable Managers hold employees accountable. After all, managers want to make sure employees are earning their salary. If you are a sales rep, managers want to know how many calls you make and how much business you close. If you are a lawyer or a consultant, managers want to know how many hours you bill. Manage yourself by making yourself accountable for how you spend your time. Some of the most successful people I know review their to-do lists each night and every Friday. They study what they accomplished—and what they did not. Even outside of work, you can do the same. Schedule a time each week to reflect. How were your eating habits this week? Did you exercise this month? What about your spending? Did you stick to your budget or did you splurge? What can you do better next week? 5. Reward Yourself Great managers know that rewarding employees for a job well done is far more effective than doling out penalties for failure. Rewards range from simple praise to promotions to cash bonuses, but they all achieve the same goal: Rewards make us work harder to get something we want. If you have a mile-long to-do list, want to start exercising, or want to tuck away more savings, manage yourself by creating a reward for each goal. If you get through your to-do list, leave work early and do something you enjoy. If you get to the gym every day, indulge in a food you enjoy but ordinarily avoid. And if you have a savings goal, tell yourself that when you reach it, you will take a month off of saving and buy yourself something you have always wanted. 6. Do One Task at a Time How many job postings include the line “must be able to multi-task”? In today’s wired world, it is impossible not to multi-task most of the time. If I were hiring an employee, I would be infinitely more interested in his or her ability to focus and to see tasks through to completion. You can manage yourself by striving to do one thing at a time, and not stop until it is completed. Working on one thing at a time is easier said than done, but the harder you concentrate on completing one task, the faster you will get it done – even if you are interrupted. Get in the habit or checking email only two or three times a day and decide to either respond immediately or delete the message. Close your door, mute your phone, or work from home when you need to get through significant projects. In your personal life, don’t try to give up coffee, smoking, and sugar all at the same time. If you’re tackling debt – or trying to save more – pick the most important debt to pay off, or saving goal to reach, and put everything towards that goal. You will find that you reach your goals faster, and you will be less stressed. 7. Emphasize Your Strengths, Improve Your Weaknesses Nobody is born to do everything. We all have natural talents and abilities in some areas, and we all struggle in others. For example, some of us are born writers, but have a difficult time with conversation. Others can work a room or present to hundreds like a pro, but can’t write a coherent email message. Good managers want to help their employees shine, and also develop. To manage yourself, take every opportunity to show off your strengths, and actively seek out ways to improve in improving in weaker areas. 8. Value Your Time Do you know how much an hour of your time is worth? No matter how much you earn per hour, chances are, each hour is worth far less. After all, you spend time each day getting ready for work, commuting to and from work, and even thinking about work when you aren’t actually working. When you divide your salary by all that time spend on things related to work, you hourly rate is probably a lot less than you think. Now, think about your free time – however much of it you may have. What is it worth to you? Could you put a price tag on an hour at the beach with nothing to worry about? If you’re like most people, the time you have yourself will almost always be more valuable than time at work. Manage yourself by learning to maximize your productivity during the hours you are actually working, and by maximizing your personal time by ignoring your cell phone, Blackberry, and laptop, and focusing on the things you enjoy. 9. Seek Feedback Good managers don’t only rely on personal observations of their employees. Good managers will seek other opinions of employees – opinions from coworkers, friends, and customers. Such feedback will provide valuable insight into the employee’s competencies and weaknesses, and will help the manager give the employee tools to grow and succeed. As your own manager, how you see yourself may be radically different from how others see you. Don’t be afraid to ask others how you’re doing. Ask coworkers or friends to provide an honest evaluation of how they think you perform your job, and survey customers to learn what you’re doing right – and where you can improve. 10. Review Yourself Going back to holding yourself accountable,
every manager provides formal feedback to employees at regular intervals in the
form of a performance review. Whether quarterly, semi-annually, or annually,
make a habit of managing yourself by taking an hour to perform a self-review. Personal Trainer Narellan Jess |
The Skinny on Fat-Free, Low-Fat and Healthy Fat
With so many supermarket labels reading ‘fat-free’, ‘low-fat, ‘skim’, ‘reduced fat’ it can be difficult to know what you should be buying and whether fat is friend or foe. Word of advice – don’t be fooled by fat-free product claims. The skinny on fat is that we need to eat moderate amounts of healthy fats every day In the 1980s and 1990s, consumers observed a big change in the products lining their supermarket shelves. From every corner of every shelf, food labels claiming to be ‘fat-free’ or ‘low-fat’ sang out. People started to believe that by ditching fat, they too would become ‘low-fat’ and lean. In theory, eating ‘low fat’ absolutely makes sense. Fat contains double the amount of calories per gram (nine calories per gram) as carbohydrates and protein (each four calories per gram). Low-fat eating became a dieter’s dream and consumers chowed down on anything low-fat; including low-fat ice-cream, confectionary, bread and pasta. Somehow the message ‘you-are-what-you-eat’ became completely warped and sadly fat was often replaced with sugar, a ‘fat-free’ flavour booster. As low-fat options boomed, so did obesity rates. Low-Fat Food Doesn’t Mean Low Fat PhysiqueClearly, low-fat foods and diets do not deliver low fat physiques. Whether it comes from protein, carbohydrate or fat itself, if we eat more fuel (energy or calories) than our body requires, it gets stored as fat – no matter what.The problem with low-fat foods is that they are not very filling, so we can eat a lot more. Fat is satiating – it fills us up and makes food taste good. Fat also triggers production of the hormone Leptin, which turns on that “full” feeling and switches off hunger. There is something about fat that also makes us mindful of our portions and slows us down – we know that extra fat will make a beeline to our butt or belly if we overindulge. Swapping Low-Fat for Good FatsThe fat-free message of the 80’s and early 90’s was too simplistic; consumers overindulged and ignored healthy fats that are essential for our hearts, hormones, skin, hair and healthy cholesterol levels.According to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, the recommended allowance for unsaturated spreads and oils per day is two serves for women and four for men (two for men over 70). A serving is equal to:
Healthy Fat for a Healthy HeartConsuming healthy fat is also surprisingly good for our hearts. Whole foods like avocado, oily fish, olive oil, nuts, seeds and olives are extremely beneficial.The Mediterranean Diet is an excellent example of this and with countless studies identifying reduced mortality rates in these populations, health professionals cannot help but sit up and take notice. Choosing the right kinds of fats is critically important; you don’t need to be Einstein to figure out that a chocolate bar isn’t going to be cardiac protective like salmon. 9 Healthy Fats for Every Day
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How Much Sugar Are You Really Drinking?
We are continually bombarded by expert opinion about hydration status and keeping cool, particularly over summer. As a nation we spend millions of dollars gulping back super sized juices, iced teas, soft drinks and vanilla chillas. Although we are drinking, we are losing track of what we are drinking… excess calories and surprising amounts of sugar! You don’t need to be Einstein to know that a can of cola has a lot of sugar in it. Sadly there are certain drinks that are loaded with sugar but appear to be ‘healthy’ for us. Let’s take a look at some of the worst culprits. Sports Drinks A sports drink is not necessary unless you are training continuously for 90 mins or more. They are designed to replenish your electrolytes, including glucose. In a typical 600ml bottle of sports drink you are looking at 34g of sugar! Fruit Juices Juice bars are popping up all over the place. There’s certainly some beneficial vitamins in the fruit used in a juice, but a single juice can have up to 8 serves of fruit in it. 4 times the daily recommendation. A 500ml of orange juice has 40g of sugar in it. TIP: Use your fruit juice like a shot of cordial and top it up with still or sparkling water. Iced Teas Commercially bought iced teas are certainly tasty, but in a 500ml bottle you’ll be swallowing 41g of sugar. Why not try making a fruit based herbal tea and popping it in the fridge to chill? Add some ice cubes and a straw and it will feel a little special, too! Fancy Coffees Chilled coffees with crushed ice and lashings of cream on top – they look like the belong in a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory scene! Save ‘iced coffees’ as a rare indulgence. A small 300ml chocolate milk alone has 34g of sugar, so once you add in the ice cream or whipped cream, the calories really do multiply. Cafe Smoothies A green smoothie can look really nutritious, but be careful as some juice bars load them up with fruit or even sorbets. Creamy banana and mango versions often have full fat or high sugar yoghurt added to them, as well as lashings of honey. So be mindful that if it tastes super sweet or super creamy, that it’s not just a blend of plant food Debra Personal Trainer Camden Difference Personal Training |
Getting stronger can get you leaner – the benefits of resistance training for fat loss
When most start out their weight loss journey, what usually occurs is the beginning of harsh dieting on very restricted calories and an abundance of cardio-based training with resistance exercise being given little attention. Resistance exercise is essentially lifting weights through a variety of modes such as machines, free weights (i.e. dumbbells and barbells) and other equipment such as tyres and sleds. However, resistance exercise may provide the different training stimulus that you’ve needed! The benefits of adding resistance training into your program occur through two mechanisms, which will be discussed below.
Remember, lifting is for everyone! Males and females respond to training differently with men primarily increasing muscle size and with females showing a more toned and sculpted look with resistance training. This is because females lack the testosterone concentrations required for the increase in muscle mass. Keep smashing those goals! Tim PhD Candidate in Advanced
Resistance Training at Sydney University |
Exercise is not a final destination - how to enjoy the journey
 What if a magic pill could replicate the effects of exercise? A way to get a healthy and toned physique without all of the blood, sweat, and tears. No more crowded gyms or grueling hours of road work, and the only weight you’d have to lift would be a cool drink at the end of the day.Sound too good to be true? While no magic pill yet exists, one recent study suggests that such a dream could one day become a reality. Scientists from the University of Virginia recently magnified the benefits of exercise in mice by increasing production of a specific molecule. The study both demonstrated the power of exercise in providing “profound” protection from chronic health conditions and suggested that one day the benefits may also be available in pill form. What Science Can't Do Depending on how much you enjoy exercise, this may or may not be thrilling news to you. The prospect of not having to spend countless hours performing exercises you don’t actually enjoy might sound like winning the lottery. But while science may some day be able to imitate some of the physical benefits of exercise, you can’t take a pill that will reproduce the journey of exercise. It is on that journey that we discover our sense of purpose and passion in relation to our body. It is where we develop our craft and learn poignant and lasting lessons from our successes and failures. That experience will never be available in pill form. "Exercise for many is about reaching a destination. But behind every destination is an adventure that takes us there." Exercise for many is about reaching a destination. But behind every destination is an adventure that takes us there. More importantly, every destination is merely a layover en route to another temporary locale. But even if you do somehow arrive a destination - be it health, wealth, or mastery - life has a way of forcing the unexpected upon us. All of us must grapple with life’s ultimate question of what’s next. Athletes retire, bodies atrophy, health can be fleeting, and even wealth can be lost. Therefore, it’s essential that we look not on exercise, fitness, or sport as a means to an end - but a journey. Here are three life lessons to help you maximize your fitness journey: 1. Stop Looking at Exercise as a Means to an End Focus on your purpose and your passion for the work. Many find this difficult to accept, as we are very much a means-to-an-end driven society. But while setting goals is an admirable process and part of how we grow in life, make no mistake - there is no way to win the war in fitness. All of us will age and die. In fitness, the means-to-an-end attitude translates to burning calories and striving to achieve a body that looks a certain way. This paradigm is all well and good, assuming you actually do the work, for the work teaches us who we are. But arriving magically or instantly at such a destination is a fallacy. Many who win the lottery find their fortunes lost within years. Money without the work and purpose behind it loses context. It’s not about the money - or in fitness, the body. All of us must ask deeper questions about our true sense of purpose. In fitness, these questions include: “How are you meant to express grace and your true physicality?” and “How can you express fitness as a lifestyle?” 2. Seek Out Coaches, Mentors, and Heroes A great coach will get the most out of you and help you outperform your own limitations. A great coach rejects the notion of can’t and helps you see possibilities. A great coach won’t come cheaply, but will be more than worth his or her weight in gold. "Every hero starts as an individual with a drive, a vision, and a belief that he or she can make a difference." A great mentor will impart wisdom and serve as a coach in a different role - that of the sage. It takes humility to ask for help, especially from those you know. But mentors have the experience you lack and from their expertise you can gain valuable know-how. Having a good mentor is like taking a fast-track college course in the subject in which you want to excel. Heroes are larger than life and almost mythical figures, but they can also inspire us when we see that they, too, put their boots on one at a time. Every hero starts as an individual with a drive, a vision, and a belief that he or she can make a difference. When I look to my heroes, I notice they all shared one trait in common - a passion for the work. Even masters of their art, who have everything they could ever want materially speaking, such as a Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, go to work each and every day. To them, there is no end destination, just the journey. 3. Find Exercise With Deeper Meaning and Purpose If you hate exercise and find it devoid of meaning and inspiration, I have some advice for you - stop. If you hate cardio, then never do it again. Instead, find a way to move your body that you do enjoy - ballroom dancing, ice skating, or ultimate frisbee. The human body is meant to move and everyone has something in them that can provide an outlet for grace, health, and passion. "When you watch a master in motion, you see unbridled enthusiasm and joy, but getting to that point takes years of sacrifice and hard work." A word of caution: do not make the mistake of thinking joy is synonymous with ease or even fun. The athletes I know do not refer to their crafts as fun or easy. When you watch a master in motion, you see unbridled enthusiasm and joy, but getting to that point takes years of sacrifice and hard work. Getting to that passion all starts with a small step. As to how and where to take that first step, if you experience a nagging sense of intrigue and butterflies in your stomach, odds are that passion and purpose aren’t too far down the path. The Journey Is What Matters A fad exercise program, a supplement, or someday even a pill could help you achieve a quick fix to your fitness woes. And whether you reach your goal with sweat equity or with a little help from a pharmaceutical, the larger means-to-an-end mentality in our society isn’t going away, in fitness or elsewhere. "Deeper reflection and introspective work are essential in establishing what is behind our objectives. Without that, goals end up simply as brief moments and we miss out on the bigger journey." Goals are valid part of the fitness process. They can serve as fuel for our fire. But deeper reflection and introspective work are essential in establishing what is behind our objectives. Without that, goals end up simply as brief moments and we miss out on the bigger journey. Ernest Hemingway said, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” When it comes to your journey in fitness, immerse yourself expressing qualities that are enduring and lasting. Focus on the journey and find your passion. Ride a bike, ride a horse, do triathlons, practice martial arts, be a yogi - but do something. Jess Personal Trainer Narellan Difference Personal Training Camden #persoanltrainingnarellan #personaltrainernarellan #results #weightloss |
Benefits of Drinking Water
The summer months are approaching at a rapid speed, jumpers will no longer be an essential, the air conditioners will be running and the beach loaded once again. All well and good, but one very important aspect to keep an eye on as the weather heats up is adequate hydration. The human body is about 60% water, we are constantly loosing water from our body’s, as the weather heats up, your body will naturally expend more sweat to maintain your body temperature in normal ranges. It is very important to stay one step ahead and be well hydrated to cope with these changes optimally. Health Authorities commonly recommend to drink 2 Litres of water per day. The best way to do this is to take small sips of water throughout the day. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells, and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. All in all, the benefits of staying properly hydrated are crucial for maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle. #drinkingwater #water #hydration #narellanpersonaltraining #gymnarellan Sam Difference Personal Training Narellan |
Benefits of Exercising Pregnant
 Exercise and falling pregnant Exercise increases fertility – The ideal weight as far as fertility is concerned is a BMI between 20 and 24 says fertility experts. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine actually estimates that 12 percent of infertility cases are because of weight-related issues (with roughly an equal number of people suffering from infertility being overweight and underweight). Why? Your weight can affect your periods and ovulation - so if you’re not at a healthy weight, your fertility can suffer. Benefits of exercising during pregnancy ● Maintaining a healthy weight gain (20% of pre pregnancy weight). A 60kg woman should gain approximately 12kgs during her pregnancy at the rate of 1-2kgs per month. Weight gain is usually made up of: Baby 3.5kgs Extra fat stores 2.5kgs Mother’s extra blood and fluid 2.0kgs Uterus and amniotic fluid 1.8kgs Breasts 1.5kgs Placenta 0.7kgs ● Increase energy and promote healthier sleeping patterns ● Labour and delivery may be easier. No guarantees, of course, but strong abs and a fit cardiovascular system can give you more oomph and stamina for the pushing stage ● Relieve, or even prevent constipation as pregnancy slows down your bowel movements. ● Improve circulation which will in turn help prevent/reduce fluid retention, varicose veins, bloating, swelling and haemorrhoids. ● You lower your gestational diabetes risk by as much as 27 percent. High blood sugar during pregnancy puts you at extremely high risk for developing type II diabetes in the decade after delivering and raises the odds of preterm delivery or having an overweight baby. If you do develop it—and many fit women do because genetics and age play a significant role—exercise may help prevent or delay your need for insulin or other medications. ● Speed up post-delivery recovery, the more you increase your pregnancy fitness, the faster you'll recover physically after childbirth, the more fit you'll be after delivery. Did you know that: Being pregnant doesn’t mean you’re now eating for two? It’s recommended only an extra 200 calories a day and only in the third trimester. That’s the equivalent to 3 eggs or a whole avocado! Or if you want it in sweet terms 10 werther’s originals or just 41g of a Snickers bar (not even a whole one!) You can still drink one small cup of coffee a day during pregnancy is perfectly fine. It's another controversial subject for sure, but moderate caffeine intake isn't likely to harm you or your baby. The same goes for soft drinks with a caffeine jolt. Is exercise safe during pregnancy? Generally participation in a wide range of recreational activities appears to be safe during pregnancy. However each sport should be reviewed individually for its potential risks. An activity with high risk of falling or with high risk of abdominal trauma should be avoided. 30mins or more of moderate exercise a day on most if not all days of the week is recommended for pregnant women. Exercising to get back your post pregnancy body You can return to exercise either 6 weeks post partum after a vaginal birth or 12 weeks post partum after a c-section as long as you’re doctor/gynaecologist has given the ok. But you can begin gentle walking before that and very gentle abdominal work between 2-6 weeks post partum. If you’ve exercised throughout your pregnancy have no fear the muscles are still there! I promise you they will start functioning again even though it may not feel like it. One thing I learnt was going through labour is essentially like doing a marathon, you need to give your body time to recover afterwards and most importantly be patient with yourself! Here are some general benefits of exercising: ● Decreased risk of breast cancer – Being overweight can increase you odds of breast cancer by 30-60%, according to the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Abdominal fat is particularly dangerous and it can increase your risk by 43%. ● Improved heart health – Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that looked at nearly 15,000 otherwise healthy Korean adults with no known heart disease found that people with a BMI of more than 25 were more likely to show signs of early plaque build up on their arteries when compared to ‘normal weight’ people. This caused researchers to conclude that, even though these people may have been metabolically healthy at the time of the study, their weight was probably still starting to have negative consequences on their health. ● Better sleep – According to a 2012 study from John Hopkins University School of Medicine, losing weight – especially pesky abdominal fat - can help you log higher quality Zzzz. “Fat, and particularly belly fat, interferes with lung function,” says Dr Kerry J. Stewart, Ed.D., a professor of medicine at John Hopkins University and one of the study authors. “It becomes harder for the lungs to expand because fat is in the way.” And since breathing issues can lead to night time problems like sleep apnea, it takes a toll on your shuteye. ● More motivation to exercise - Recent research published in The International Journal of Obesity suggest that overweight women’s brains respond negatively to the idea of working out - but that the brains of women who are at a healthy weight are positively stimulated by photos of people in the middle of a sweat session. ● Decreased risk of diabetes - For people who are overweight, even minor weight loss is associated with delaying or preventing diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Chloe Personal Trainer Difference Personal Training Narellan and Camden |
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