Pure Health & Wellbeing - May Newsletter
Greetings!
Well winter feels as though its arrived and the dusting of snow today certainly seems to confirm that.
As I was out walking this afternoon with snow flakes just starting to fall I thought of how this is often a time of year when we tend to hibernate (oh how easy it is to justify staying inside by the fire). This is great if you are a bear and want to store up fat for the next season, but not so great if you want to remain an active healthy human being!
Remember that we still get to choose what we do with our time, even if we can’t chose the weather or the temperature outside. So I say...rug up warm and get out there amongst it! Its quite refreshing walking in the snow and it makes coming home to a warm fire or a hot bath oh so much more enjoyable! There are always inside places to get active too, such as the gym, a nice indoor heated pool or simply your very own lounge!
Heres to a great month ahead, may you chose to make it an active one!
All the very best,
Lauren
In this Issue:
1 Inspirational Quotes
2 The Fountain of Youth
3 Nutritious Recipe
4 Quick FIT TIP – for your Health & Wellbeing
1 Inspirational Quotes…on self improvement
People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy.
Oliver Goldsmith
Let us strive to improve ourselves, for we cannot remain stationary; one either progresses or retrogrades.
Mme. Du Deffand
The safest principle through life, instead of reforming others, is to set about perfecting yourself.
B. R. Haydon
What you dislike in another take care to correct in yourself.
Thomas Sprat
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have laboured hard for.
Socrates
2 The Fountain of Youth
People sometimes fantasise about the so called “fountain of youth”. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you found some way to actually reverse the signs of aging? Imagine how much you might pay! Well, here is a practical way you really can make yourself biologically younger and best of all, its free! The answer…do some strength resistance training once or twice a week.
By Strength Training you will:
- · Boost metabolism
- · Increase or maintain lean body mass
- · Reduce body fat
- · Have faster fat-burning and a leaner physique
- · Increase bone mineral density
- · Increase everyday strength
- · Increase power and sporting performance
- · Reduce your risk of injury and speed up recovery
- · Improve your posture
- · Prevent osteoporosis and arthritis
- · Improve joint strength and stability &
- · Increase vitality and quality of life
As we age, we typically have all of the opposite things happen. As our muscle reduces down, our metabolism slows and we tend to put on body fat more easily. We can however maintain and increase our lean muscle, keeping our bodies ‘younger’ and the bonus is that by doing so we keep our metabolism revved up which then works 24/7 to keep body fat off!
You don’t have to go to the gym either – at home work outs can be great, especially if you are just starting out. The main thing is to know of the best exercises to do that will give you a good all over workout and to be able to keep challenging yourself as you improve – this is the key to success!
The gym is obviously a great place to train as well as, especially when you are a more advanced trainer as it gives you a greater range of ways to challenge your muscles and hence make them stronger.
Some people get put off strength training as they believe some of the myths out there such as
- · Muscle will turn to body fat if you stop training
- · Women who lift weights will bulk up and look bigger
- · Body fat can be spot reduced (e.g. Ab crunches will trim my waist)
- · Low weights and lots of repetitions are for “toning”
- · You must train for at least an hour 3 or more times a week
The first 3 are just quite simply physiologically impossible! Muscle cannot transform into fat (they are different substances), women don’t have the testosterone levels required to bulk up, and muscles don’t use up fat only from the fat cells that happen to be nearby but rather from all over the body. In addition, you can get great results by training for just half an hour one or twice a week by choosing the right exercises and intensity level – its all about training smarter not harder!
The truth is that an all over body exercise programme that involves lots of multi-muscle exercises, (the ones that really get your whole body working including your abs) at a challenging level (whatever challenging is for you) where you work close to your potential (e.g. heavy weights and not too many repetitions) are the best way to get all the benefits listed above.
Exercises such as press ups, tricep dips, chin ups, dumbbell rows, squats and lunges are all fantastic examples of multi-muscle exercises – all of which can be done in or out of the gym. Make sure that you know how to perform them with great technique (it’s a good idea to get advice from a qualified trainer.) Then simply keep increasing the weights over time and make sure that you allow enough recovery days between workouts.
You will see the results in how you feel and look, plus you’ll get all the flow on health benefits! So get together with a friend and get training today!
3 Gorgeous Green Soup
This makes a beautiful velvety soup that's not too thick. If you prefer a soup with more substance, add a handful of cous-cous to the blended soup, and leave it to swell in the hot soup for five minutes. It adds a lovely texture. If you have more time, a handful or rice or small pasta shapes work just as well, but need simmering for 10 minutes.
- · 500g (10 cups) spinach,
- · 1 large onion,
- · 2 medium potatoes,
- · 750ml (3 cups) vegetable stock
Get the stock (see recipe below) simmering nicely, wash and shred the spinach removing any tough stalks, peel and chop the onion and potatoes, and add all to the stock. Season lightly. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, until the veg are softened. Blend. Serve immediately, or chill.
Vegetable stock Recipe
Put vegetable trimmings and peelings – onion, potato, carrot, leek, broccoli, tomato, whatever you have – plus a little salt, a few black peppercorns, a bay leaf and some dried herbs into a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Leave to cool, then strain.
4 Quick FIT TIP
Start the day with a nutritious breakfast full of fibre. This will kick start your metabolism and give you energy to have an active day.
Aim for at least 5% fibre, less than 5% fat and less than 10% sugar (or 23% sugar for cereals that contain fruit.) Look at the per 100gm column on your food to quickly check out these percentages. You might be surprised. Did you know that nutra-grain is 33% sugar and fruit loops a whopping 50% sugar!
Try combining different foods at breakfast, e.g. add fresh fruit and yoghurt alongside cereal to give you longer lasting energy.
All the very best,
Lauren
