First of all, I'm just going to assume that you know the importance of protein within a healthy diet. If you don't know.... Click here Why would I use protein shakes? Can't I just get my protein from food? Yes, most people can get all of their protein from food, however, there are some cases where protein shakes can be very useful. 1. If you are on a lower calorie diet - With not a lot of calories to play with, shakes are a great way of upping your protein whilst sparing calo

Agghhhh help! I've put on 10lbs over Christmas! How am I going to lose all this fat?!? First. Relax. You enjoyed yourself and put on some weight. Its ok. Second, you definitely haven’t put on 10 lbs of fat in the 2 weeks of Christmas and new year. Third, let me tell you what’s going on with your scales and body, and how you're not that far from where you were before the holidays. So, you’ve put on some weight over Christmas. Let's use 10lbs as an example and you can apply it

With winter on it's way and the hours of darkness getting longer, it's not rare for your mood and energy levels to drop. On top of all this, there are the numerous bugs and viruses circulating which are easily picked up in the winter months. The solution? Vitamin D! Vitamin D is often described as the sunshine pill because it is synthesized within you body when your skin is exposed to direct sunlight. Because only small amounts of Vitamin D are available from your diet (143 e

Nobody wants their parents and grandparents to get old and frail. Yet for most of us, this is the harsh reality of ageing. In this article, I will explain three of the most common factors that effect quality of life in the elderly and what you can do to help. Heard of Sarcopenia? Yeah, I didn't think so! It's basically where, as you age (and after menopause), there is progressive loss of muscle size, strength and performance. This is bad news. Like, really bad. Not only does

This is My Review of the BBC's 'The truth about Carbs'. I will start by saying, if you haven't watch it already, then please don't. Not only will you waste an hour of your life, but you will be watching a uniformed and under-educated (in terms of nutrition) doctor attempt to tell you that Carbohydrates are uniquely fattening. If you think my dig at doctors' lack of nutritional knowledge is unfair, then take a look at the BBC's own article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43

With so much information circulating social media and the internet about how to lose fat, I thought it would be best to show you the hierarchy of whats important when trying to lose weight and fat. The single most important thing (which should really be taking up the whole damn triangle), is energy balance. To lose weight, you MUST be in a calorie deficit. This means you are consuming fewer calories than you are burning... e.g if I burn 1500 calories in a day and I consume 10

Fibre is an essential part of a balanced diet. It not only helps provide fuel for gut bacteria, but it is also vital for maintaining healthy, frequent bowel movements. These foods are all high in fibre, and are an easy way to meet your daily fibre recommendation of 30g/day. There are also many other ways of ensuring high fiber intake such as eating lots of whole grains and eating whole fruits and vegetables rather than juices. Hope this helps! #fiber #optimalfit #toptips #sna

There is a huge trend with products being ‘gluten free’ and everyone seemingly being Celiac these days. But is Gluten bad for your health and does it stop you from losing weight? First of all, we will look at health, and while there is limited research in this area with non-Celiac participants, Jenkins et al (1999) showed that 2 weeks of increased wheat gluten consumption in 24 non-Celiac adults actually reduced their serum triglycerides by 13%. So, increasing gluten actually

Time and time again we are told "You must eat breakfast!!" "Something is better than nothing!" And, for most of my time as a PT I have been relaying this message to clients without stopping to look at the evidence behind these sayings. Common myths about breakfast: 1. It helps you lose/maintain your body weight 2. It kick-starts your metabolism and stops you from going into 'starvation mode' 3. Without breakfast you won't be able to concentrate 4. It will stop you snacking l

#optimalfit #nutrition #protein #highproteinfoods #personaltrainingcheltenham #Recipe #Weightloss #diet #healthyeating #healthy