Five Foods You Should Include In Your Diet Over Christmas

With Christmas fast approaching I wanted us to take a moment to think about what foods we’re going to be feasting on over the festive period, hopefully this post will help you get started. There is always a lot of temptation at this time of year with numerous different indulgent options available so it’s the perfect time to step back and think about what you’ll be putting in your mouth. Christmas should be a time where we relax and have fun with our family and I wouldn’t ever say don’t let yourself go a little but, with that being said, let also focus on some of the tasty options on hand which won’t damage your waist line quite as much. Below I’ve listed five incredible foods that you must include in your diet over Christmas. These foods boast fantastic nutritional value and will also benefit your health in many ways.

1. Smoked Salmon - Having smoked salmon with eggs on Christmas morning is a tradition for a lot of families and it’s certainly one I plan to act on in my household. Salmon is extremely high in omega 3, which will contribute to healthy function of the brain and heart, act as great anti-inflammatory for joints and can also reduce the risk of depression through acting as a stress ‘reliever’. What more could you want before a busy day of unwrapping presents, preparing the turkey and dealing with all those in-laws!
    
2. Turkey - I’m sure this one will come as no surprise to you and I expect the majority of people reading this post intend to tuck into a nice big turkey for their Christmas lunch. Turkey is a great source of lean protein and it also contains numerous minerals and vitamins such as selenium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, niacin and vitamin B6. Turkey will help keep blood sugar levels stable as it registers very low on the GI scale. Finally, turkey contains the amino acid tryptophan which plays a role in the release of serotonin, improving your mood whilst playing an important role in proving a boost to the immune system.
    
3. Vegetables - Brussel sprouts, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower etc. are all great examples and as far as I’m concerned the more variety you can get your hands on the better. Vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and contain virtually no sugar registering very low on the GI scale. The more colour you can get on your plate the better as eating more coloured vegetables will help protect against certain illnesses and degenerative conditions. Vegetables contain hundreds of phytochemicals which act as antioxidants helping to get rid of potentially harmful molecules called free radicals before they get a chance to damage our cells.
    
4. Fruit- If you have a choice of desserts over Christmas, make sure you go for the dessert with plenty of fruit in. Most fruits are low in fat, sodium and calories. Try and stick to fruits without skin such as berries, grapefruit and watermelon. These tend to have a lower sugar content and will therefore minimise raise to your blood sugar level. Fruit contains many essential nutrients such as potassium, fibre, vitamin c and folic acid. Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Dietary rich in fibre can help reduce blood cholesterol levels, may lower risk of heart disease whilst aiding overall bowel function. Finally vitamin C is important for growth and repair of all body tissues, immune system function, healing cuts/grazes and keeps teeth and gums healthy. So don’t just eat fruit over Christmas, start eating it regularly all year round to take advantage of these great health benefits.
5. Nuts & Seeds - Instead of snacking on chocolate, sweets and crisps replace them with some mixed nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds are full of different vitamins and minerals for example:  all nuts contain vitamin E in, a powerful antioxidant to help promote better looking skin, hair and nails. They also contain magnesium, potassium, fibre, zinc, iron and vitamin B6. Most nuts are high in healthy monounsaturated fats. By eating a handful of nuts a day instead of sweeter alternatives you will, in the short term, help stabilize your blood sugar level and, in the long term, improve cholesterol levels whilst reducing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Hopefully you won’t get bought too many sweets and chocolates if you ask for mixed nuts instead.

 

So please take note of all the above foods you should include over the Christmas period. They are all incredibly tasty and healthy so if you do in fact enjoy them why not make it a change for life and take the positive steps into the New Year as well. I hope you have a fun, fantastic Christmas and New Year. Relax from your busy and hectic lifestyle for a few days. Eat lots of good food, recharge and prepare yourself for an awesome 2015!

Thank you for reading.

Simon Passey – sjp@tonbridge-school.org

Testosterone & Oestrogen Effects on Training

In this modern day people have a variety of training goals with the majority based around making a change to overall fitness, aesthetics and health. Male or female, increasing ones percentage of lean muscular tissue is a crucial step taken to reducing body fat and improving overall health. As with most things these days’ people often want results as quickly as possible and individuals often ask: “What is the fastest/best training programme for fat loss?”, “How many times a week should I train?”, “What is the best nutrition/diet plan to increase my muscle size quickly?”, “How many grams of protein and carbs should I be eating a day?” These questions are all perfectly valid and of course specific training/nutrition bring about specific results. There are however other key components that will lead to a big big difference in the amount of lean muscle you can gain.

Testosterone is one of these components and it plays an extremely important role in building muscle, fat metabolism, increasing energy levels not to mention improving ones sex life. Having high levels of testosterone will boost virility, vitality, strength, power and energy and if you have consistently low levels of testosterone it may inhibit your performance in the gym.  Testosterone levels also naturally decline from about the age of 27 as well so, this article makes for even more important reading to individuals above this age. Although testosterone is fundamentally the male sex hormone females do also produce it on a much smaller scale. This is why women tend to possess less muscle and more body fat then men. These days both men and women tend to have inhibited their testosterone levels through the pressures of our ever modernised lifestyles

So with the above taken into consideration you’re now probably asking yourself “How do I know if I have low levels of testosterone and how do I fix it?” Having your testosterone levels measured accurately will involve having to have blood tests taken by a medical professional, but some other good indicators can be struggling to reduce body fat, low energy levels and low sex drive.

Here are some basics ways to improve testosterone production and help them keep levels healthy:

• Avoid processed and refined foods.
• Eat a variety of nuts.
• Ensure you consume omega 3 in your diet.
• Eat healthy saturated fats in moderation.
• Perform regular heavy weight training
• Perform high intensity interval training.
• Limit your workouts to 45-60 minutes.
•  Get 20 minutes of sunlight per day.
• Have sex more often.
• Compete in something.
• Aim to have 8 hours sleep a night.
• Minimise/manage your personal stress levels.

 

Now to discuss the female sex hormone oestrogen. In females oestrogen plays an essential role in the growth and development of secondary sexual characteristics whilst regulating the menstrual cycle. Other functions effects cause increases to the fat stores around the hips and chest. The female sex hormone is also present in all males in lower levels. These average levels have recently increased due to environmental factors and because of modern food production techniques.

Therefore, if your want to lose fat you need to ensure you’re oestrogen levels are ‘regular’.

Here are some ways to keep oestrogen levels healthy:

• Try to eat organic, grass fed, and wild caught fish.
• Avoid drinking or eating out of plastic.
• Avoid drinking beer.
• Detox your liver to improve oestrogen removal.

 

If you suspect your testosterone levels are ‘low’ and you oestrogen levels are ‘high’ then try some of the tips above and hopefully your levels will get back to where they should ideally/naturally be.

For more information on this post, please contact sjp@tonbridge-school.org

Thanks for reading,

Simon.

Preventing Illness through training and nutrition

With the winter months well and truly here, I thought I’d write about how regular training/exercise and proper nutrition can really boost your immunity and help fend off any nasty bugs or illnesses. This time of the year is notorious for more people taking time off work, one of the main reasons being due to the colder and wetter weather. People tend to stay indoors more often during the winter and understandably so, but this means we’ll come in to contact with more dangerous bacteria, for example people coughing and sneezing around us. Also something else to consider is during winter months we are hidden from natural sunlight, meaning we will more than likely be deficient in vitamin D, which can lead to a whole host of health problems such a skeletal deformities, achiness/soreness, gut problems, and poor mood, in worst cases leading to depression. Through better nutrition and maybe supplementation our vitamin D levels can be at a more “healthy” level.

Of course we can take care and be more vigilant in our own hygiene and other simple habits to help protect ourselves as much as possible. Simple things like washing our hands regularly, putting our hands over our mouths/nose when we cough/sneeze, maintaining stress levels, sleeping properly (7 hours minimum) and then of course exercise and nutrition, which I will go into a bit more detail. Put this all together and fingers crossed, your immune system will be boosted and more protected from illness. Let’s hope you can not only go all winter without being ill, but all year round too, if you stick to this advice.

Training/Exercise

It is well known that through regular exercise, whether that’s going to the gym or playing sports, can be the pillar of good health. It will improve cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, control body weight and protect against various diseases. Just like a healthy diet, exercise can contribute to general good health and therefore to a healthy immune system. It may contribute even more directly by promoting good circulation, which allows the cells and substances of the immune system to move through the body freely and do their job more efficiently.

You don’t have to exercise every day to benefit from this. As long as your body is training or exercising at least 20 minutes, a few times a week, your immune system will spark new cells that will help keep foreign invaders away. This could be a simple dog walk, a jog around the park, or a weights session in the gym. As long as you’re breaking a sweat, it’s exercise!  Each time you exercise you’re immune system will build up and therefore you’ll be at less risk of getting an infection, like the common cold for example.

Nutrition

Now onto the most important element of this subject. When it comes to nutrition, think of your body as a car. If you put the wrong fuel into a car, it’s not going to last long; it will come up against problems and will breakdown. It’s the exact same thing with the human body. If we fuel our body with the wrong foods, our body will not perform to what it’s optimally capable of, we’ll get ill, we’ll feel less energetic, stressed, unhappy, the list goes on. When I say “bad” foods, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out what I mean. But here’s a list of a few food categories you should avoid:

• Processed food (takeaways), do we really know where they’re getting there sources of food from?
• Foods high in sodium, sugar and trans-fats (chocolate, crisps, sweets, cakes, biscuits, fizzy drinks etc.)
• Foods with additives, e-numbers and hidden chemicals/sugar (Ready meals, “low fat” products, smoothies/fruit juices, cereals, coffee shop products etc.)
• Alcohol.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to putting junk into our bodies. Some of the stuff above we can have in slight moderation, for example a couple of pints of beer at the weekend or a glass of red wine with a meal out is fine and can actually have some health benefits (red wine). The devil is in the dosage with a lot of the foods above. One takeaway a month won’t kill you, a cheeky bit of chocolate at the weekend again won’t hurt you, again dark chocolate has health benefits (80%+),  it’s just when you see all of the above mixed together frequently, you’re potentially at a very high risk of a lot of health problems, which I shouldn’t have to explain.

Now onto some positive information. The human body was designed to eat anything that:

• Flies (poultry like chicken, turkey, duck, eggs)
• Swims (fish like mackerel, sardines, salmon, tuna, cod, seafood, etc.)
• Runs (farm animals like cows, lambs, pigs)
• Grows out of the ground or on trees (fruit, vegetables, grains,  nuts, and seeds)

And one other key component of our nutrition we tend to forget about is water for hydration of the body and vital organs. All of the above should be a staple in your understanding of basic nutrition. Not only will all these foods provide you with the right amount of protein, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins to fuel you for day to day activities, but also help fight against infections. These are packed full of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, water soluble vitamins B, C and folic acid. They also provides other key minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc and selenium, which help the function of vital organs in the body. Eat a variety of foods from the above categories, incorporate as much “colour” in your diet as possible to gain the maximum amount of nutritional benefit to help run that very precious machine of yours, your body! You will see the difference and hopefully prevent illness.
After reading this I hope you now have a bit more knowledge on what to do when it comes to avoiding illnesses. So if you’re one of those people who always goes down with a cold this time of the year, follow my advice, put it all together; hygiene, exercise, nutrition and proper sleep/rest and I guarantee you you’ll feel better in some shape or form!
Simon

Training with a new born

Some of you reading this may have heard that very recently I have become a father to a baby boy. The past year has been a whirlwind, last October I found out I was going to become a father and a month ago my son, Isaac, was born. A new-born has a huge impact on your life, and I knew my training would have to change with less sleep, less time to eat and generally less time to do anything! It's not about you anymore, you always have to put the baby first and so I am going to tell you how I've changed my training to keep myself fit and maintain the strength I have built up since starting to train 5 years ago, whilst raising a baby with my partner.

Previously before becoming a dad, I had enough time to train 5 times a week and play basketball once or twice a week. I love training and have come far since starting when I was 18. With a new-born, you will have less sleep and find it hard to keep your nutrition intact (I've tried my best!), therefore you will have less energy to train regularly. So I knew I wouldn't be able train as much as I used to. I've reduced my training frequency to 3 times a week and if I have time I add a 30 minute cardio session. It's built around compound lifts and is split into a push day, pull day and leg day, with abs at the end of 2 or 3 days for 10-15 minutes or so. Here is what I do:

Push day:

Flat/incline/decline bench press 4-6 reps x 4 sets -  change each week.

DB Shoulder press/barbell push press 6-10 reps x sets

Tricep extensions/skull crushers/narrow press ups - tri set 6-12-25 x3

Pull day:

Deadlifts/stiff legged 4-6 reps x 4 sets

Pull ups wide/narrow 6-10 reps x 3 sets

Lat pull down/one arm row 8-12 reps x 3 sets

Seated DB curls/Z bar curls/Cable curls - tri set 6-12-25 x3

Leg day:

Barbell front squat/back squat 4-6 reps x 4 sets

Good mornings/negative hamstring curls 6-10 reps x 3 sets

Walking DB lunges/leg extensions 8-12 reps x 3 sets

Sprints/Prowler sprints 25-50m x 5 sets

Cardio (optional):

Treadmill Interval training- 30 second sprint, 45 second rest. 10-15 minutes.

Keiser bike- 15 minutes.

So there it is, as you can see it's built around heavy compound lifts such as the bench press, shoulder press, deadlifts and squats. This is to maintain or even stimulate muscle growth and strength, depending on my sleep patterns and nutrition. The rest is a mix of strength and hypertrophy. With some exercises I will go to failure on the last set, on one arm rows or leg extensions for example. In terms of abs, I will set up a mini circuit of 3-4 ab exercises (e.g. hanging knee raises, leg raises, bicycle crunches, ab wheel rollouts) of 10-20 reps on each exercise and complete 3-4 times, with a rest time of 90 seconds in between circuits. I will do this 2-3 times a week at the end of a workout.

Not only do I think this is a great 3 day split for my situation and others in it too, but it's also a great training plan for newcomers to weight training. It gives you a full days rest in between each training day to recover, so you can put 100% into each workout without feeling too tired or over trained. E.g. Monday (push), Wednesday (pull), Friday (legs) and Sunday (optional cardio). Once you feel you have plateaued on this plan then add in another training day or come up with a new split, as there are tons of different ones out there. I have been doing this for 4 weeks now and feel great on it. I haven't lost much of what I have gained at all and I have even increased my deadlift weight. Once Isaac starts sleeping through the night and I finally get 8+ hours sleep then I will increase my training days again, but until then, this is working fine! 

Simon