Starchy vegetables: a weight loss pitfall

sweet potato

When we think about eating for weight loss or weight control we rarely consider the vegetable food group as one that requires attention. We receive a very general message from most sources recommending that we consume 4-5 servings of vegetables every day but we very rarely hear about starchy vegetables specifically, what they are, how much carbohydrate they contain and how they affect our energy intake and weight.

What should I eat after training?

This is one of the questions I am most frequently asked and often the answer is one of the most difficult for people to understand. It's NOT difficult to understand because it's complicated, it's NOT difficult to understand because it's hard to explain, it's difficult to understand because there is so much misinformation available regarding this topic. The post workout nutrition puzzle has become so confusing that most people give up trying to solve it. It doesn't have to be complicated and it is something that everyone can take control of. To help everyone understand this better I am going to pull the post workout nutrition puzzle to pieces and put it back together in an easy way to follow (skip to the summary at the end if you just want the guidelines).

10 tips to help stay motivated

As a personal trainer, above everything else I need to be able to motivate my clients. I could prescribe the most effective training programs and be the best technique coach available, but if I cannot motivate people to turn up to training consistently then my training programs and my coaching skills are both wasted. We all lose motivation at one stage or another. Unfortunately, a small drop in motivation can result in a big step backwards. I would like to introduce 10 tips that I apply as a personal trainer to help motivate the people I train.

Skipping: benefits, basic techniques & workouts

Skipping is one of the best pound for pound cardiovascular training options but unfortunately it is often overlooked. It is well suited for warm ups, cool downs and intervals between weight training exercises. Some of you reading this may not have skipped since school (or ever) and jumping may feel foreign initially. Like all exercise techniques it will take time and practice to develop proper form but it's well worth persevering with for the following reasons:

Metabolism - is it under your control?

When I meet with a new client for the first time to discuss their weight loss goal and our strategy to achieve it the word 'metabolism' is often mentioned. A 'slow metabolism' is blamed in a lot of cases for previous failed weight loss attempts and slow weight loss results. Metabolism in this context is referring to basal metabolic rate (BMR) or its close relative resting metabolic rate (RMR) which is the rate that energy is 'burnt' by the body at rest. Greater the BMR, the more energy is burnt by the body in a resting state, lower the BMR, the less energy is burnt by the body in a resting state. By increasing BMR, the amount of energy being burnt continually across the day is increased. Since weight loss requires a greater energy 'out' than 'in', BMR is of particular significance for all weight loss programs.