So its Friday again... Time to talk PROTEIN......

What is Protein?  Why is it important?  How much do you need?    Do you need to take a Protein supplement?  Lets investigate

OK

WHAT IS PROTEIN?

Protein is a long chain of 22 amino acids which are compounds of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen which join together and form
different structures which form different types of protein that the body needs
e.g. collagen. Protein is an essential requirement for the body function
efficiently.  These amino acids are further broken down into essential and non
essential amino acids.  Non essential ones can be produced by the body and the
essential ones are derived from food that we eat. 

SO WHY IS PROTEIN IMPORTANT?

Protein is required by the body for the growth, maintenance and repair of all  cells. For example when we exercise the muscle fibres are damaged and in order to repair and grow stronger we need adequate protein to do this.Protein is the main component of  all muscles, tissues and organs and is vital for
practically every process that  occurs within the body such as metabolism,
digestion and the transportation of  nutrients and oxygen in the blood.
It is also necessary for the production of antibodies, which prevents illness.  It is the main nutrient that keeps our hair shiny and  healthy, our nails strong, our skin fresh and glowing and our bones strong and  healthy. 
 
 
HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO YOU NEED?


This is a question that I get asked all the time.  Within the fitness
industry you will hear different numbers.  It is important to remember  Protein
is an important part of our daily diet and it should be consumed every 
day.  Expert nutritionists recommend us that 10 - 15% of our calorie intake should be  made up of protein.

The official RDA for adult men and women is 0.35 -. 5g for each lb of body weight per day, about 55-75 grams of protein for a 150 pound person.

However if you are an active and regular exerciser or athlete Fitness
Professionals may recommend eating  up to 1 gram of protein per pound
for the best performance and health. Also when you are trying to lose fat the amount of protein may increase.  Depending on your body fat percentage the ratio of Carbohydrate Fat and Protein will be different.  In order to lose fat you may need to increase
healthy fats and proteins and decrease carbohydrate.  This information is
something that I discuss with my clients and devise for them a tailored
nutrition program to fit THEIR BODY. 

DO I NEED TO TAKE A PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT?

Now a days it seems that everyone is using or talking about taking Protein Shakes, I myself take them daily.  Bottom line is if you reach your protein requirement through whole food then NO its not essential to take a protein shakes.  But sometimes its easier to take a shake the eat a chicken breast or a can of tuna....

If you are training hard and looking to lose body fat and tone up, I feel and have seen with clients who include protein shakes in their daily diet pre and post workout see the biggest results.  The results are in the form of fat loss a quicker recovery rate. 

There are many types of protein powders on the market today.  You will be able to find one to suit your requirement whether it be, fat loss, muscle gain or maintenance.  Also protein shakes contain many different types of protein in varying amounts. They may include: 

 

• Milk


• Whey


• Casein


• Egg


• Soy

The difference between these proteins is how they are purified during manufacturing.  Each one may affect how well your body can digest and absorb its amino acids. For example Casein is a slow digesting protein and absorb slower than Whey into the bloodstream. 

I hope that you found this article informative?  If you have any questions leave a comment or contact me directly via the homepage. 

Also If you want a question answered drop me a line and we can look at it in the next blog....

Keep
healthy

J

Hi all,

Its Friday again and time to answer another question (of many) that has been asked this week.

A member in the gym I work at came to me  very frustrated wanting to know the reason why she cannot lose the excess fat  that she carries.  I am well aware that there are alot of people in the same  boat so I wanted to highlight some of the possible reasons why.   
 
Now  she is by now means very big but she does carry a little excess
bodyfat.  She is  very dedicated to the gym and in my classes appears to be
working very  hard. 

This is what PT's call Plateau- a period of little or no  apparent progress in an individual's performance, marked by an inability to  reduce bodyfat, and improve shape.

Some common reasons for this  include:

Doing the same workouts over and over.  Your body needs to be challenged to progress.  You need to change some part of your program 
every 4-6 weeks. 

Not eating enough calories. Believe it or not if your body doesn't have enough fuel to sustain your level of activity, you can actually stop losing weight.

Over training.  If you exercise too much, the body can respond by reducing the amount of calories you burn during the  rest of your day.

Age- Remember ladies as we grow older and more  beautiful our metabolism begin to slow.  Menopause causes changes in our hormones which can effect fat storage, and may cause weight gain in certain people.

The point that I want to cover and one of the possible reasons why this member and maybe you have not changed is TRAINING.  After a long chat I  discovered that she had been religiously exercising daily doing the same thing,  lifting the same weights and eating the same foods for maybe 6 Months!!!.  

So... Your training.  Have you religiously carried out the same  program at the same intensity forever?  Are you still using the same weights as  you did 6months ago?.  

For the body to change it needs to feel a  change. ( I will discuss this later).  Or is your training inconsistent? Do you  go for a week then disappear then decide after a naughty weekend to go back to  your training.  *CONSISTENCY* is the key.

As a PT who Trains
well and  likes to see clients progress I know how important it is to change
exercises,  and different methods of training to shock the body.  I recommend
changing what  you do every 4 to 6 weeks.  

This can be done by following the FITT  principle, change the

FREQUENCY- number of sessions a week (unless you  train 7 days then decrease)

INTENSITY- take yourself out of your  comfort zone, add in some interval work to increase your  metabolism.

TIME- Maybe increase the duration.  If you normally run for  30mins 5x a week why not on 2 of the days increase to 45mins 
 
TYPE- Do  you always do that aerobics class 3x a week?.  Well why not try
something new  like a Spinning Class, Body Attack, Body Combat or even a Dance class.  Variety  is the spice of life and when adding variety to your program you use different  muscles, energy systems  and in turn may stimulate that change you  want.

So to sum up.... If you want a change you must change.  The body  is very smart and will adapt very easily so the *Key* is to keep it guessing and  see the results.

I hope you enjoyed this blog, please feel free to  leave a comment or question.

Also if you need any
help about your  training or nutrition you can contact me directly on the home
page and I will  Endeavour to help you.

Keep healthy

Jill

With any job you will find that there will be one question that ALWAYS comes up.  For me as you know I work in a Lady only club and even with language barriers I get asked,

"How do I get rid of fat from this area only ( and more than  likely they are referring to their stomachs or triceps) ??

The answer.... 

Well what you are referring to is what PTs call ,

Spot Reducing- Spot  reduction refers to the misconception that you can burn fat only in certain  areas of the body that you wish to reduce.  Some products promise, but none  deliver.

If  I had the formula that they were looking for I would be a multi  millionaire (which sadly I am not.)

So lets educate. 
You are looking  for a better shapely figure, better muscle tone and less body fat.  This is  ACHIEVABLE.  HOW??  Through a good nutritional program based on you statistics  (i.e. bodyfat) and a safe and effective exercise program.  These two should be  carried out together to achieve the results. So lets look at  them:


Nutrition-  In order to lose fat not muscle you must manipulate  your
diet so that you consume a LITTLE less than you require to maintain your  weight (which is different for everyone) to create a calorie deficit which in  turn
will lead to weight loss.  People will loose weight at different rates as  EVERYBODY's Body is different.  One mistake is to stop eating.  Yes short term you might lose but long term this is not something that you can maintain, 
 therefore the classic yoyo scenario of your weight will occur.  There are 
 certain nutrition programs that I find effective and manageable, please feel 
 free to contact me regarding this.

Exercise- So hand in hand with a good nutrition program should be an equally good exercise program, including CV (cardiovascular work/ aerobic activity) and Resistance Training ( using weight to challenge your muscles).

Too many people especially women neglect resistance based training as they fear that they will get Bulky, this is not the  case, when.  Infact ask any PT they will tell you that they rarely do CV work  e.g., long periods on the treadmill or cross trainer with their clients.  


In my opinion and how I train my clients that need to lose fat is to 
focus on BIG Functional exercises that challenge the full body, like Burpees 
and, clean and press, or focus on compound exercises (exercises that target
more  than one muscle at a time e.g., Squat it challenges all the leg muscles as
well  as the core area.)    The reason for this is they will burn more calories
than  an isolation exercise ( an exercise that focuses on one muscle such as Leg
  adduction)  yes you might like that isolated burn feeling.  But for me I would
  rather work All the muscles at once and burn more calories doing so which in
  turn will contribute more to you calorie deficit for the day and enhance weight
  loss.  However I am not saying that you should not include isolation exercises
  in your program just focus more on compound exercises.  

Again if you are looking for an exercise program please feel free to contact me via the homepage.

I hope that you found this article interesting and if you have any feedback please leave a comment. 

So for now keep healthy :)  Jxx