WelcomePosted by Dymphna Byrne Mon, March 01, 2010 15:46:22Why are squats so good for you?
This article has been drawn from Eat, Move and be Healthy - written by Paul Chek, which is widely considered the bible of holistic health and wellbeing.
I am a big fan of squats. If you incorporate squats into your training then you will see vast differences in your energy levels, strength levels and your physique. But first lets talk about what a squat is and why they are so good for you.
The squat is one of the fundamental stages of gait development when children learn to walk. Before a baby will stand it will learn to squat as it is one of the most important functional movement patterns a human can perform. But through the changes in society and such inventions as the modern day toilet we are no longer required to perform full squats on a daily basis - and so our motor engram patterns have changed, our muscles have become imbalanced and we have become less functional. If you watch a young child it seems like second nature to them when they squat down to pick up a toy. If you can’t perform a full squat then you are less physically functional than a 2 year old! Something I would want to address quite quickly!
So if squats are so important for your body then it makes sense for us to be performing them regularly. But how?
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN’T, THIS IS HOW TO SQUAT
- Stand in proper alignment, with your feet shoulder width apart.
- Draw your belly button inward towards your spine and keep the spine straight.
- Allow yourself to lower to a squat position under control without compensation, making sure your back is straight and your knees are behind your toes.
- Keep the weight through your heels.
- When at the bottom of the squat extend your hips, knees and ankles to a standing position.
- Try to breathe throughout the exercise
Try starting with 3 x 12 sets per day with 90 seconds rest between sets. Progress slowly so you don’t get DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) and try to increase the repetitions in each set. In a few days you should notice an increase in your energy and strength levels and may even see your bowel habits improve. Bowel habits you say? Well read the statement below!
“Many early naturopathic physicians attributed the massive increase in constipation in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s to Thomas Crapper, often mistakenly thought to be the inventor of the modern day seated toilet; Thomas Crapper was actually a plumber that popularized the toilet but didn’t invent it. To combat the fact that the modern toilet doesn’t require a full squat, and therefore doesn’t facilitate evacuation of the colon, Colon Hygenists recommend the use of a footstool ranging from 6-14 inches in height” - Paul Chek.
This makes you wonder what else isn’t good for you!
WelcomePosted by Dymphna Byrne Sun, February 28, 2010 19:33:06I thought i’d write a post showing my food diary for the day - to let you all know how sickeningly healthy I am… yeah right. But then i thought i’d pop down some information about food diaries and why we recommend you use one for your weight loss programmes.
Actually writing a food diary is always a good idea. Check out some info below about food diaries and why they work.
THE FOOD DIARY
Behavior modification weight control is the number one most successful method for long-term weight management and the number one tool used in behavior modification weight control is “the food diary”.
So why is a food diary so effective?
An important step in any weight loss programme is understanding your eating habits and what triggers your excessive eating. People are overweight for different reasons. For some of us it’s because of the quantity or type of food that we eat, but for others it might be that your mood triggers uncontrolled eating, or that your work style encourages poor eating choices. By using a food diary, you can easily identify your eating style.
So why should I use a food diary?
- Because it just gives you the facts Many people are baffled by why they are overweight. They can’t figure out why they overeat. Our feelings are abstract and hard to pinpoint, whereas a food diary puts things in black and white. We can’t deny that which is on the paper.
- Because you can’t eat unconsciously Our most damaging eating happens when we’re not paying attention. Our eating style is like a reflex, a habit. We have built it up over time so we naturally eat as a reaction to certain situations or moods. By using a food diary, you can instantly create awareness where before there was none.
- Because it makes the connection between food and mood Most food diaries measure just that, food. They measure what you ate and how much you ate. Those diaries are missing the most important components of behavior. How often do we eat because we’re bored, stressed, celebrating, etc? These emotional connections to food should be recorded so they can be identified. If you find that you eat because you’re stressed, then maybe your focus should be on finding stress reduction techniques.
How to use a food diary:
The food diary is one of the most powerful tools in weight management, but it is also one of the most resisted. A food diary can be seen as tedious and cumbersome. You should carry your diary with you at all times and record immediately upon eating. Nothing should be left out. That single cookie and that handful of popcorn does count. Don’t depend on memory at the end of the day for recording your entries. The only person that you’re hurting when you’re not honest on your diary is yourself.
WelcomePosted by Dymphna Byrne Tue, July 28, 2009 00:04:23coming soon .................!!
WelcomePosted by Dymphna Byrne Thu, October 16, 2008 17:53:39A change is as good as the rest!
We all need to make changes, as time goes on we tend to let things slip by.
Bring in some of these changes to your lifestyle for a healthier you.
Changes that make a big difference
- Don’t diet. Dieting can leave you hungry & craving for food. Learn to eat a healthy balanced diet.
- Read labels. Know what the product consist of, knowing how many calories are in a 25g of crisps is ok, but there may only be 3 crisps in the bag!
- Portion control. Do not put a lot of food on your plate & feel as if you need to eat it. Take a smaller place, fill with salad or vegetables, then add a small portion of protein ( size of you palm ) & carbs (wholegrain/brown) smaller than palm.
- Healthy foods. Try & make the healthier choice when choosing your food. Leaner cuts of meats, fruits & veg instead of starchy products. Go for the most natural, less processed products.
- Eat slowly. Chew as many times as possible& take your time eating your meal. It takes 20 minutes for you stomach to acknowledge it is full.
- Food diary. Keeping a log of when & what you eat during the day will help you overcome some bad habits, like eating a few of the kiddies chips when they have finished their dinner, or avoiding having a decent breakfast.
- Lose weight slowly. 2lbs a week is the maximum you need to lose to ensure you are losing a healthy amount of weight. More than that and you will likely put it back on, too.
- Exercise. You should be doing at least 20 mins exercise a day that raises your heart rate. This will also help to keep the weight off once you have lost it.
- Sleep. Get plenty of sleep as your body works more effectively, you feel better & have a more positive attitude.
- Reduce stress. Hard I know, but stress can trigger bad eating habits, work against your weight loss & generally make you feel low.
- Fast food. Its fatty, don’t eat it! Take in your own lunches, after a week it will take 5 minutes to prepare & taste a whole lot better.
Motivation
Before we give you the tools to work with, you need to want to help yourself. It’s no good starting something ½ heartly because, you won’t stick to it.
12. Tell everyone. Tell your friends & family you are exercising or eating healthier
13. Get support. Join a group or make one up for yourselves & share the cost of personal classes.
14. Pick your exercise wisely. Don’t pick an activity you know you will dislike – you will not keep it up. Also go with something that will progress as you get fitter.
15. Just do it. Don’t think about it, go now!
16. Don’t over do it! Once you start there is a tendancy to want to do more. Go at a pace where your body can adapt.
17. Music. Use your favourite music to motivate you. Stick it on loud & sing away while you exercise.
18. Write a diary. At the end of every day pick out all the positive things that happened today ie you had a well balanced eating plan or you managed to get to do a workout, walked the steps at work instead of taking the lift. Soon these will become habit.
Feeling good about yourself.
- Take before & after photos. I have started doing this with my clients. When you lose weight, you are the last person to notice. Taking a photo will show you how your body is changing.
- Don’t expect immediate results. It will take time, however this is not a two week change, it is a life time change.
- Don’t compare. We are all different & made up in different ways, therefore we will tone, lose, adapt differently.
- Don’t constantly weigh yourself. If you have to weigh yourself do it monthly, the same time of the day.
- Don’t judge yourself too harshly. We all make mistakes. Learn by them & move on.
Nutrition.
24. Fizzy drinks. Don’t! They are full of sugar. Go for plan old water! Great for your skin, squeeze in some fresh citrus juice.
- Drink green tea. Green Tea has little-to-no calories, sugar, fat or carbohydrates, but is rich in potassium. Catechins and other flavonoid-like compounds in green tea are shown to be strong antioxidants.
- Avoid bread. Use corn tortillas or pitta bread. It is lower in fat & will leave you feeling less bloated.
- Use frozen yogurt instead of full fat ice cream.
- Use lentils whenever possible in stews & soups. These little powerhouses are super high in iron, protein, and fiber. They also have lots of potassium, calcium, iron, B vitamins, phosphorus and copper. Also, lentils have absolutely no fat.
- Fruit smoothie. Add bananas, blueberries, apple juice, and wheat germ or protein powder for an excellent food to keep you healthy and encourage weight loss.
- If you feel the need for crisps, try “Twiglets”, they have less fat than normal crisps.
- Popcorn. Skip the butter and try any number of healthy touches sprinkled on top such as chili powder, a light sprinkling of flavored sea salts, or Italian seasoning.
- Dark chocolate. Get dark chocolate with 60% cocoa or greater for a delicious snack that can reduce blood pressure and is full of antioxidants. Better yet, try an all natural version like Innocent Chocolate made with organic, raw, and unprocessed ingredients and sweetened with agave instead of sugar.
- Romaine lettuce & spinach . Give up the iceburg lettuce, which has barely any nutritional value and use romaine for your salads and sandwiches.
- Protein. If you need to snack, make sure you have plenty of protein foods in the fridge e.g boiled eggs, chicken, lean meats & fish. They will also fill you up.
- Use wholegrain carbs instead of the white sort.(brown rice, pasta, bread)
- Organic. Fruit, vegetables, meat, chocolate(!) Go organic where ever possible. It tastes so much better too!
- Eating out? Don't be scared to say you're on a diet and ask for a child's portion, order one meal between two or ask for a doggy bag. If you don't feel confident enough for that then skip dessert or stay in!
- Don't give up your favourite food treat completely. Just have a sensible amount of it.
- Avoid excess alcohol - as well as being a source of empty calories, it'll lower your willpower.
- Plan your shopping & write a list so you always have healthy food in the house & you don’t buy unnecessary goods.
- Throw away what your children do not eat. Do not pick at it!
- Never, ever shop on an empty stomach ( saves money too! )
- Don’t fry food - bake, roast, grill, boil or steam it
Treat yourself
- If you have been good, treat yourself
- Have regular haircuts/ tints/ highlights. A natter with the hair dresser & a new you!
- Try something new: if you’ve never had a massage- have one, try acupuncture – it may work for you!
- Get your bust measured professionally. Double boob effect does not look good & gives you the completely wrong shape.
- Do lunch with the girls – relax, enjoy good company, good food… what more does a girl want?
- Read- Keep learning, surprisingly it can give you confidence!
- Pull your stomach in, stand straight, shoulders back… how good do you look now?
WelcomePosted by Dymphna Byrne Wed, August 13, 2008 15:23:41
Your body & mind image can start your day off well or put you in a fowl mood for the rest of the day. So, we are going to look at your image in a positive way, so you can over come your image fears.
- Stop stepping on the scales. I rarely use them. Just a kilo gain can change you mood in an instant. Go by how your clothes fit. Remember, getting fit & healthy is a process, not an over night miracle.
- Stop talking about your weight. Becoming obsessed with your weight can become depressing. Stop, get a pen and write down some goals, use all the negative thoughts, turn them around to positive ones & take action.
- Change your attitude. Take away the can’t / haven’t got & focus on changing them to positives. Smile as you say the positive. Write them down & keep looking at them throughout the day. For example, “I have no money & I’m in dept”…. change to “money comes easily & frequently.” Keep telling yourself that you are a new changed person & surround yourself with positive people.
- Stop worrying about what everyone thinks about you. If you are over weight, only you can do something about it. Don’t let others thoughts control you, think of number one, do this for yourself & you do not need to justify your actions to anyone but yourself.
- Me time. Take a few minutes every day to look at what you have achieved, how do you feel, re-write your goals & to do lists, reaffirm you are doing this for you & take action.
- Find your motivations. What makes you tick? What gets your heart racing? What brings a smile to your face? We are all uniquely beautiful & different. Find what drives you, your hunger, if you like & feed it.
- Get moving. Exercise does improve you… in many aspects. You attitude changes, you feel better about yourself, you find you actually do have fun! If you are following an exercise regime & you are not enjoying it, change it quick because before long you will talk yourself out of it. Do it with a partner or a group & laugh while doing it.
- Ahhh laughter. Have you ever noticed how laughter is contagious? Also, you use 42 muscle to frown & two to smile…think of all the wrinkles you’ll be avoiding if we smile & laugh more. It’s good to laugh & you know what… we feel younger too!
- What is your definition of beauty? Is it a certain make up or is it what you radiate? Think of someone you admire. Why do you admire them? Most of us will say it is something that comes from within them, not how they look. Take a look at your inner self & learn to love yourself, accept yourself for the person you are, define beauty the way you want to.
- Don’t judge yourself too harshly. We all make mistakes & by them, we learn. Be positive, smile & be honest with yourself.
"Determination comes from
within you. You simply say you WILL do it and
then you begin TO do it."
WelcomePosted by Dymphna Byrne Wed, August 06, 2008 15:58:06A guide to alcohol units and calories
|
|
Drink |
ABV |
Units |
Calories |
|
|
Pint of standard strength beer (e.g. Carlsberg) |
3.5% |
2 |
160-180 |
|
|
Single measure (25ml) spirit (e.g. vodka, whisky, gin) |
Vary |
1 |
50-60 |
|
|
125ml glass of red or white dry wine |
12 % |
1 |
80 |
|
|
125ml glass of sweet white wine or champagne |
12 % |
1 |
100 |
|
|
175ml glass of red or white dry wine |
12 % |
2 |
110 |
|
|
75cl bottle of wine |
12 % |
9 |
500 |
|
|
250ml glass of red or white wine |
12 % |
3 |
160 |
|
|
440ml can of premium beer |
5 % |
2.2 |
260 |
|
|
25ml measure of Campari |
25 % |
1 |
110 |
|
|
50ml measure of port or sherry |
18 % |
1 |
75 |
Alcohol
Most people do not know how many units of alcohol they drink. Do you?
This is because different drinks contain different amounts of alcohol.
Here is a general guide to how much you can drink to consume ONE UNIT of alcohol. It uses pub - not home - measures.
One Unit of Alcohol =
- Half pint of ordinary strength beer
- One glass of table wine
- One glass sherry
- One single whisky
There are about:
- 30 units in a 70cl bottle of spirits;
- 7-9 units in a 70 cl bottle of table wine (10-13% alcohol by volume)
- 13 units in a 75 cl bottle of sherry
- Beer depends on the strength volume of the beer.
3-4% alcohol by volume, ½ pint + one unit
5-6% abv, ½ pint = one & half units
And 8- 10% are two and a half units.
So, what are the safe recommendations?
Not looking at other considerations, the weekly recommended intake is up to
- 21 units per week for a man
- 14 units per week for a woman.
If you wish to complete a drinks diary for a week, e-mail me and I will send you a sheet that you can record your drinks on & calculate yourself or send to me to do it for you.
“Our beer belly”
According to conventional wisdom, the infamous "beer belly" is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat. Yet, less than five percent of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat. Rather, the main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat your body burns for energy.
Some evidence for this comes from research carried in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Eight men were given two drinks of vodka and sugar-free lemonade separated by 30 minutes. Each drink contained just less than 90 calories. Fat metabolism was measured before and after consumption of the drink. For several hours after drinking the vodka, whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat your body is burning) dropped by a massive 73%.
A car engine typically uses only one source of fuel. Your body, on the other hand, draws from a number of different energy sources, such as carbohydrate, fat, and protein. To a certain extent, the source of fuel your body uses is dictated by its availability.
In other words, your body tends to use whatever you feed it. Consequently, when acetate levels rise, your body simply burns more acetate, and less fat. In essence, acetate pushes fat to the back of the queue.
.
A small portion of the alcohol is converted into fat.
. Your liver then converts most of the alcohol into acetate.
. The acetate is then released into your bloodstream, and replaces fat as a source of fuel.
Adding it all up
One beer every night adds 1,036 additional calories per week, or 15 pounds to your stomach per year. No wonder they call it a beer belly. Three glasses of dry wine a week will cost you 318 calories, or an additional three miles on the treadmill just to walk off the extra calories.
The calories in alcohol add up to increased body fat, so consider these points the next time you have that extra drink:
· Alcohol is mainly just a source of 'empty calories', meaning it has no nutritive value other than providing energy. Although most alcoholic drinks contain sugars and traces of vitamins and minerals,it's not usually in amounts that make any significant contribution to the diet
· People who are overweight actually gain weight more easily when they drink alcohol.
· Calories from alcohol tend to be stored in the gut. If you want six-pack abs, you’ll need to cut down on the booze.
So, the conclusion is, If you want to lose weight, lose the booze.
You can drink, within moderation & don’t binge drink ( ie save all your units to the weekend)
This is only a brush over on a very emotional, deep & complicated subject. If you do require further information or any questions, I will do my upmost to answer them or find you someone who can.
WelcomePosted by Dymphna Byrne Wed, July 16, 2008 16:44:13Hi!
If you have been looking at my website, then you have a brief outline of who I am & what I do. If you do have any questions, please go ahead & ask! I don’t bite! 
Today, I thought I would start off by asking you why you are here looking at a fitness website. I would say that the majority of you in some way wish to change something about yourselves…..lose weight, increase your fitness levels, train for an event, need more energy, rehabilitate a part of your body.. The list is endless.
So, where do you start? You need to look at your reasons & maybe answer a few questions, we call them goals. Write them down, it will help motivate you & push you to achieve them. I have made a few suggestions, only you will see them, so answer honestly. Once you have done that, you will have a clearer idea of what you want to achieve and what direction you need to go in.
-What do you want to achieve?
-Why is it important to you to make these changes?
-When do you want to achieve these by?
- Describe how you would feel when you achieve them? Imagine yourself, how do you look, how do you feel inside?
- How would you feel if you did not achieve your goals?
- Will you achieve this look if you continue to live the way you are at the moment?
- How many days are you willing to give to achieve you goals?
- Do you need help with your motivation, eating habits, confidence?
Once you have answered these questions, you can mail me for advice on which direction to take, to discuss your goals or general advise. Goal setting is the 1st step & if you have done this, WELL DONE!!!!
Look at them frequently for motivation & to keep you in a positive state of mind.
Look out for my next blog for hints on healthy eating & exercise.
Quote for today:
"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things."
—Albert Einstein:
Stay healthy & happy!
Dymphna
