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HIIT training toowong

Bad Fitness Habits

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In case you’re confused why you don’t seem to get the results you’re aiming for no matter how you religiously sweat it out every day, getting fit might not be just about exercise alone. Apart from your workout plan, your lifestyle and habits outside of the gym may have a bigger effect on your fitness goals than you think. Know what these habits are so you wouldn’t keep wasting time cranking it out in the gym, yielding little or no effect at all.

Excessive Cardio

HIIT training toowongYep! There’s such a thing as too much cardio in isolation. The best way to burn fat is indeed through cardio exercises BUT if you go overboard with cardio workouts, it can diminish your overall muscle mass, leading to a decrease in your metabolism which in turn will lead to a fat-loss plateau. Instead of focusing on cardio alone, alternate it with strength training and fine tune your diet, making sure you won’t fall short of the nutrients essential to your body.

Not Enough Sleep

Have you ever noticed that you seem lethargic and tire easily during your workout routines when you haven’t had a good sleep the night before? Sleep aids in muscle repair and recovery. Without it, you won’t be at your best for an intense exercise workout. In addition to that, sleep alleviates stress and reduces cortisol levels that are responsible for stabilising testosterone and HGH production to process fat. That being said, make sure you get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep every day.

Bad Form

Many people do not understand the importance of good form when exercising. It may be because they’re beginners or they just lack proper guidance. They do not realise that exercising in the wrong way can put your muscles and joints at high risk of injury. Not to mention, it diminishes the effect of the workout. If you’re not sure about your form, ask assistance from a certified trainer. Work on correcting your bad form as soon as you can because old habits are harder to break.

Inadequate Protein in Your Diet

Protein plays a significant part in the recovery and restoration of your muscles after a vigorous workout. A diet rich in protein aids in the metabolism of fat in your body. This is due to the fact that protein takes a lot longer to break down, thus your body burns more calories while digesting.

Starving and Bad Food Choices

Starving yourself to shed fat is, by far, the biggest misconception regarding weight loss of all time.  Ensure that you get the nutrients that your body needs. You will generally need a post workout meal to help in the repair process of the muscles worked. Make sure you consume the best fuel you’re your body and stay away from processed and refined foods and maintain a healthy combination of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats.

Exercising on an Empty Stomach

How can a car keep running when it’s out of gas? The same analogy can be applied to humans. Many fitness experts advise fuelling your body before working out. Doing cardio on an empty stomach in the morning (a.k.a. Fasted Cardio) have both positive and negative effects to your body but still it’s sustainable.

You see, when you run low on blood sugar, glycogen will be extracted from your muscle tissues. The result? You start losing muscles instead of gaining them. Either that or you get dizzy and pass out, whichever comes first. You don’t have to eat much. You can have a banana, some berries or some yogurt 45 minutes before you start exercising.

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Smoothie Ingredients to Avoid If You Want to Lose Weight

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Whipping up a smoothie is such a simple and tasty way to get the nutrients you need during your morning commute or at your desk in the middle of the day. Smoothies are often used by dieters as meal substitutes, since they’re high in nutrients and can be low in calories. Be aware of going on some type of a smoothie or juice cleanse, though. Your liquid mini-meal should always be part of a balanced diet and lifestyle.

Weight loss near meAll those rich vitamins, protein, fibre and other such healthy ingredients packed into one drink seem to be too good to be true. Sometimes, that may be the case. Just because you’re throwing in fruits and protein powders doesn’t mean they’re great for you, especially if your smoothie is part of your journey to losing weight.

Here are the ingredients nutrition experts agree on that you should cut back on or skip entirely for your weight loss smoothies.

Fruit juice

Adding fruit juice seems like a good idea. It’s much easier to store those bottles of juice than to keep watch over fresh fruits. But fruit juices can do more harm than good when you’re trying to keep your waist trim. And, as you should know, sugar adds more weight. Even if they’re rich in fibre, some juices even contain more sugar than soft drinks!

Canned fruit and overly sweet fruits

Just like fruit juice, some juices contain more sugars than you need. They may not be artificial sugars, but they can still be more harmful to your weight loss goals. Canned or dried fruits may appear tempting, but canned fruits are packed in sugary syrup or juice. Meanwhile, dried fruits are just as calorific. Opt for the frozen variety, particularly berries, green apples, and citrus fruits.

Flavored and non-fat yoghurt

Yoghurt that already comes with bits of fruit or flavoured with fruit contain extra sugars. And, while the word “non-fat” may appeal to you, full fat yoghurts come more recommended. Fats can help you feel fuller for a longer time, which is essential if your particular smoothie is replacing a meal. Greek yoghurt especially is packed with more protein than other yoghurt varieties.

Whole nuts

Nuts are great sources of fat and protein, but they will make your smoothie gritty. On that note, nut butters can be tricky as well. Be sure they’re low or free of sugar.

Additional sweeteners

Sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar and agave nectars are still sources of sugars. Some of them may be less calorific than cane sugar, but avoid them anyway. If you really need an extra kick if sweetness in your smoothie, try sugar-free and calorie-free stevia extract.

Chocolate chips

You’ve probably read somewhere that a bit of chocolate can do you good, but not so much in your smoothie. For a healthier alternative to a chocolatey taste, add cacao nibs or unsweetened cocoa powder. They may not be as sweet as regular chocolate chips, but with the right blend of ingredients, it can result in a tasty treat.

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Does Sleep Help You Lose Weight?

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In every guide for losing weight or maintaining a fit lifestyle, there’s always a note about getting more sleep or adhering to healthy sleeping patterns. But, what’s the science behind this? How does sleeping more or sleeping better help our bodies, especially when we want to lose weight?

Sleep can be just as important as your diet and exercise. In fact, a lack of sleep could just be what’s stopping you from reaching your fitness goals despite your hours at the gym and constant clean eating. When we think of weight loss, we usually think of cutting back on calories and being more physically active. The key, however, is balance, especially if you ascribe to a fast-paced and stressful lifestyle. Balance includes rest and regeneration, and there’s no better way to achieve that than through sleep.

Getting enough sleep is so crucial to one’s health that, according to one report, sleep deprivation kills 3,000 Australians each year. This number of deaths were all linked to sleep deprivation. The study also concluded that 9.8 percent of Australian adults experience some form of inadequate sleep. Aside from affecting our energy levels, sleep also influences our food cravings, calorie intake, fat cells, metabolism and insulin sensitivity.

fitness training toowongIn terms of research, weight loss and sleep have been proven to be linked. One study observed that when dieters are put on varied sleeping schedules, they also lose a varied amount of weight. Getting enough sleep made them lose fat, but less hours for sleep resulted in half that amount of fat loss. The participants also felt more hungry and lacked energy to exercise when they cut back on sleep.

An important factor in weight loss is our appetite and sleep or lack of can affect our calorie intake. One study with participants on four hours of sleep eat 559 more calories than those who got eight hours of sleep. Other studies have also observed that these extra calories are consumed as post-dinner or late-night snacks, which can make falling asleep more difficult and affect digestion.

If you have a hard time battling cravings, ask yourself if you’re getting enough sleep. Leptin is a hormone that is crucial in resisting tempting foods and making healthy choices. When the body produces less leptin, the more the stomach feels empty. Our cravings are also affected by the hormone ghrelin, the more of which increases appetite and the amount of fat the body stores. Sleeping less than six hours has been found to decrease leptin and increase ghrelin. Another vital hormone is cortisol or the stress hormone. The more stressed we are, the more cortisol is produced and this can persuade us to reach for sugary junk food as well as gain more fat.

Metabolism is also a significant factor as we still burn calories when we’re at rest. Our resting metabolic rate or RMR could be lowered due to sleep deprivation. According to one research, keeping awake for 24 hours decreased RMR by 5 percent compared to a regular amount of rest. Lack of sleep can also result in a reduction in muscle mass which leads to a reduction in metabolic rate which can lead to storing additional energy as fat.