Training Blog

PROTEIN - are you getting enough?

Last month I listened to 2 podcasts on protein. One was saying we eat too much of it, the other was saying we don’t eat enough. Confusing? Digging deeper, the first one was talking about the general population with no differentiation between gender, age or stage in life. The other was specifically referring to women over 40. 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN TO GET ENOUGH PROTEIN AS THEY GET OLDER?

Estrogen is not just a sex hormone, it has many other roles in our bodies. One is to help build muscle and maintain bone density. Once we head into perimenopause and our estrogen levels fluctuate and eventually bottom out in post menopause, we need to look too our diet and exercise to full the gap left by estrogen. 

KEY BENEFITS of protein for menopausal women are:

• The amino acids in protein, when paired with exercise stimulates the building of muscle. Which in my book is the number 1 thing we can do to keep us strong, mobile, active and slow the aging process. 

• Levels out blood sugar, therefore avoiding the 3pm energy slump and mood swings

• Reduces brain fog.

• Keeps us fuller for longer so we don’t reach for those “empty” calories.

HOW MUCH DO WE NEED?  

A rough rule of thumb is 1.8 to 2.3g/kg/ day. E.g., If you weigh 65kg you need 120-150g of protein/day. The more active you are, aim for the higher end of the range. 

GOOD SROUCES OF PROTEIN

The highest sources of protein are from animals, but there are also many plants that are good sources as this infographic shows.

Aim to get as much as you can from real food. 

Image 1: Amount of protein per 100g of food

IMPORTANCE OF TIMING

To get the best benefit eat protein across the day. Don’t leave it all to your evening meal, have some for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you do a boot camp or other vigorous exercise have some protein within an hour to maximise the muscle development your exercise has stimulated. With gentler movement such as yoga and walking, you can wait until you next meal or snack.

So are you getting enough? If you would like to know please do get in touch with Jane.

Have you thought about the health of your bones lately?

I wanted to share this graph with you. It illustrates how we reach peak bone mass around our late 20s/30. We maintain it for a while before it starts to decline. For women the decline speeds up, once we arrive at menopause due to the loss of estrogen. The type of lifestyle you live also plays a role in how quickly it declines. And it is not just women that are affected. Osteoporosis New Zealand says 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over 60 will suffer a fragility fracture due to osteoporosis. This leads to a loss of mobility, independence and fun.

So, what can you do to avoid the crippling effect of fractures late in life? 

1. Strength training with weights. Improves your bone density & lean muscle mass
2. Improve your balance and coordination
3. Eat a nutrient rich diet especially in calcium and Vitamin D (helps absorbs calcium)
4. Get outside in the morning sunshine for some Vitamin D
5.  Limit alcohol, too much makes bones brittle.

It is never too late to start

And finally, if you have children in their teenagers and 20s encourage them to do all they can to build a high peak bone mass now. (It will be the last thing they are thinking about!) Researchers agree that the higher it is to start with the bigger the dividends later in life.

PERSONALISE YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS

Each and every one of us are unique in how our minds and bodies are made up. Your genes plus your lifestyle work together to create YOU. In scientific terms this is call Epigenetics. We each react differently to food, exercise and the environment and we all have our own individual greatness. 

 We are constantly bombarded with information about the latest “best thing” to do, one often contradicting the other. It all gets very confusing as to what you can do to achieve optimum health and to function at your best. This can result in flip flopping from one thing to the other, getting nowhere or taking no action at all. Feel familiar?

Scientific research shows that one size does not fit all when it comes to your optimum diet or type of exercise or even when to sleep. Maybe you have a friend who dropped a dress size or 2 by following a keto diet so you thought you would try, but it didn’t work for you. Don’t despair, it probably means that you are a different health type and hence your diet and exercise needs are different from your friend’s. For example, some people get great results eating 6 small meals a day while others are better skipping breakfast and having 2 good meals. Some need lots of protein, while others very little. Some of us feel great getting up at 6am and doing a high intensity workout, yet for others the best way to lose weight and thrive is doing a weights session later in the day or doing more endurance-based exercise. Do you thrive working in an open plan office or do you do your best work in a quiet place?  It is important to focus on what is right for you, not get caught up in what your friends or Celebrities are doing. 

If you would like to know more about personalising your health and finding out what it right for YOU, please do get in touch. I am passionate about empowering people to improve their overall health and thrive. 

Jane Williams, Personal Trainer and Women’s Health Coach,   #Iamwithyou  

Are you thriving or surviving?


Do you wake up each day ready to tackle any challenge that comes your way with enthusiasm or is the mere thought of getting out of bed a scary challenge because of what lies ahead? What could you do to wake up each day feeling refreshed and excited about the productivity and results that lie ahead?

Surviving your day being tired, overwhelmed and unproductive?

Does this sound like you: You wake up feeling like you haven't slept well, in reality you have been in bed trying to sleep for 7 hours. Not an ideal amount of sleep but enough time that you should feel rest
Coffee is the first thing on your mind, a necessity to start the day and avoid the potential headache/ sluggishness that would otherwise dominate your mindset to start the day. You now feel good, coffee has done its job, a quick breakfast and it's off to work.
You start to process the day ahead - “overwhelmed” is a good way to describe your emotional response to the day. There seems to be a gap in the level of performance your brain needs and what’s available. The shortfall leaves you wondering where that next stimulus is going to come from.

You bounce through the day on stimulation (sugar or caffeine?) and drive to meet your commitments. Mid-afternoon comes and as lunch was missed you feel like the day should already be finished. The last 2 hours of the day are under productive and you head home exhausted.
Food and hunger dominate your agenda when you arrive home, after all you have created an energy deficit by riding high on mental stimulants like caffeine and sugar all day whilst your energy levels have been decreasing as the day went on.
At this point it can even be hard at home to spend time engaging with loved ones, as your mind remembers what was meant to be done during the day. Being present can be a challenge when we are tired.

Thriving- an energising, productive and positive day

An alternative scenario see’s you wake up having spent no longer in bed but feel great - well rested and looking forward to the day ahead. You know what sort of food makes you feel good, eat when it's convenient and focus on the right type of food. You enjoy a coffee but don't feel it's “needed”.
Throughout the day you operate well, feeling energised. Your productivity is high and you accomplish what you set out do without stress and get ahead of the game for tomorrow. When it's home time you arrive with a positive mindset, you enjoy the evening wind down and can be present when spending time with family and loved ones. You even have some time to think about what you wish to accomplish tomorrow - without it affecting our sleep.

What could you do to make each day seem easier?

When we realise that our actions around personal wellbeing help our ability to manage stress and improve productivity we create and in control mindset.

If we spend our time surviving we do so out of control and just getting by. Not a place our body of mind likes to be.
Most of us like to have control of some or all aspect of our lives.

5 suggestions on how you can be proactive around your health

Reduce sugar and alcohol in the evening for better sleep quality, nothing after 7pm.

Place a 1-2 litre water jug on your desk and finish it during the work day.

Make a larger portion of your dinner meal and take some for lunch the following day, twice a week to start with.

Prioritise your day, tackle your most challenging task first and then take 5 mins to stop and refresh.

Set an hourly reminder on your desktop/ device to remind you to move: 1-2 mins every hour is proven to improve cognitive performance and increase your ability to stay on task.

Take a proactive approach to your health and you may well remove some of the challenges in your professional life or your ability to manage them will improve.
What's one thing you could do to improve your personal health that will in turn improve your professional health? Make one change and become aware of the improvements so you value the change. If you have an all or nothing mindset put your all into making one change!

Paul Todd
Health and Performance coach
Smart Body Fit Mind/ Advanced Fitness

How exercise can help you stay young & feel wonderful

I watched a BBC programme the other day on how exercise can help your brain and body stay young and there are a few points I would like to share with you
How to keep the brain young.
We all know as we aged our brain can lose some of that sharpness we once had. You forget things, problems are harder to solve.
Well all is not lost…
They did a study where they got together a group of people all in their 60s. To start they had to do a logical & thinking test and recorded the results. Then for 10 weeks half of them walked and the other half played table tennis several times a week.
At the end of the 10 weeks they resat the same test.
The results showed three key things;
1. An increase in their cognitive processing.
2. Their brains had changed physically, the hippocampus and grey matter had increased in size. This is the area that controls memory and decisions making.
3. Their emotional state had improved with people feeling happier and more positive, particularly those playing table tennis.
Why did this happen?
Well when we exercise we raise our heart rate and this gets the blood following faster and improves the flow to our brains. It also increases the release of those feel good chemicals.
Also when you exercise with others you have a social interaction which is good for our emotional state. Whether it is a friend(s) or trainer.
And finally for some of the people they were learning a new skill. This is what creates new connections between your brain cells.
In Summary
Movement increases your blood flow to your brain which helps to keep it healthy. And if it involves are new routine or skill then you are forming new neural connections as well.
If you would like some advice or assistance on what is the best form of exercise for you to do please get in touch with either Paul or myself at the gym or pop in and see us. Next time I will talk about how it helps the body stay young.
Paul: Mobile 021 409 558 Email paul@advancedfitness.co.nz
Jane: Mobile 021 2727 003 Email: jane@advancedfitness.co.nz


Jane Williams
Personal Trainer
Advanced Fitness

We see more commonly than ever people coming to us with the goal of shifting weight or changing body composition but have a thyroid issue which is frustrating them by having an impact on metabolism.

What does it control…..

Thyroid hormones act on nearly every cell in the body. They act to increase the basal metabolic rate, affect protein synthesis (key for muscle development), help regulate long bone growth (synergy with growth hormone) and neural maturation.

The thyroid hormones are essential to proper development and differentiation of all cells of the human body. These hormones also regulate protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism, affecting how human cells use energy.

For those not familiar with metabolism or basil metabolic rate, put simply its is your body’s energy system that determines how much energy we burn at rest and during our daily activities. (Basil metabolic rate is how much energy your body uses at rest) Put simply metabolism and weight change are closely linked and could be the reason your results are hard to come by.

With a sluggish metabolism seeing changes in body fat levels can require a real personal focus with tradition weight loss methods often worsening effects.

Thyroid drives metabolism!

So how can you look after your thyroid…….

-We know that both your gut and your adrenals have an impact on the function of your thyroid.

-Within your gut your body converts T4 (thyroxine) to T3 (Triiodothyronine) which is your active thyroid hormone and essential for good function.

-If your gut isn't functioning well then the flow on effect could be your not able to convert enough T3. Research has shown that a gluten sensitivity is commonly linked to thyroid dysfunction. All food sensitivities will have an impact on your gut function.

-Iodine deficiency is another common link to low T3 production as the hormone is made up of part iodine.

-An imbalance in gut flora or infection and bacteria overgrowth will all contribute.

-We know that when stress is present in high or chronic levels your body doesn’t produce as much Secretary Iga (sIga) hormone which has a role in protecting the mucosal barrier in the gut and keeping out those nasty things that are present in our food or from our environment.

What can I do…… tomorrow

1)In short from a lifestyle prospective keeping a balanced healthy diet with limited processed foods and good quality Iodine intake will help.

2)Avoid long duration or very high intensity exercise and your body will see this as stress!

3) Make sure your gut is functioning well, bloating, cramping, gas and inconsistent stools are all signs there is room for improvement.

Go and see your GP or medical professional and ask for a blood test to find out how your thyroid is functioning. Try to get TSH, FT3, FT4, and TPO antibody so you can understand the full function.

I know from working with clients that it can be a challenging road to recovery and management of a thyroid condition so in my opinion it make sense to take a proactive approach to controlling your health!

Paul Todd
Health and Performance Coach
Advanced Fitness