Why We're Killing Our Kids

In the UK our children are getting fatter. Contrary to popular belief this is not just due to the fact that they are eating more (many studies have shown that they are actually eating less) but in fact because they are exercising a lot less. There are a number of reasons for this including the fact that schools allocate much less time to physical activity than they did 20 years ago. Child safety is a major reason why children don’t walk as much,and opportunities to exercise are few and far between unless your child wants to specialise in a particular sport such as rugby or football. Some children don’t have the ability or interest in these types of activity and there is therefore a lack of activities for them to participate in.

Physical activity is very important because it promotes optimal growth and development, helping to prevent obesity which reduces stress and anxiety about body shape and helps to enhance self esteem. Physically active children have been proven to be more likely to become physically active adults thereby reducing their risk of serious life threatening diseases such as coronary heart disease and diabetes.

Tackling obesity must start in childhood for a number of reasons
.
• Firstly, it is much easier to prevent obesity than to correct it.
• Secondly, it is far easier to adopt healthy eating and physical activity patterns when children are younger than to change in adulthood.

Some sobering facts are coming to light following recent studies which show that at nine years old, obese children have higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels than their non obese peers.

So what can we do to encourage our children to be more active?

Recent recommendations are that children should perform at least one hour’s moderate intensity activity each day and at least twice a week activities should be performed that enhance and maintain muscular strength, flexibility and bone health. Most parents want the best for their children, saving for university fees, sending them to the best schools, hoping they’ll be healthy and happy.

The truth of the matter is without physical exercise in their lives these children will grow up in to unhealthy adults later to be at risk of illnesses brought on through inactivity and obesity.

This is not looking after their welfare. Lead by example by becoming more active yourselves. Children are extremely impressionable and always look to their parents for leadership. Simply telling them to be more active wont work. We need to instil the aspect of ‘do as I do, not as ‘I say’. Studies show that children who have parents that drink heavily are more likely to drink heavily themselves, children from parents who smoke are more likely to smoke themselves, and children that have active parents are much more likely to exercise themselves.

So set them the best possible example you can and start exercising regularly. Let them see you drinking less and eating well and see what effect it has on your children.

Why diets make you fat

A wedding, a big night out, a holiday, a birthday, Christmas parties all have one thing in common, they all make us want to look our best. It is inevitable that when a special event comes along we all want to look as good as we possibly can do. Sometimes this can prompt a shopping trip for new clothes, a trip to the hairdressers or a few sun bed sessions. If it is a really big occasion like your own wedding or a big birthday like a thirtieth or fourtieth then a much greater attempt will be made to look good for the day and this is more often than not done through shedding a few pounds by the way of a good old diet.

Diets come wrapped in many guises these days from the Atkins to the GI diet. All these diets have a number of things in common, firstly they all restrict calories, secondly they all generate huge incomes for their companies and thirdly they will all leave you fatter than you were before you started the diet in the long run. Add to this the feelings of hunger during and guilt at the end of it then you really have a concept that you’d be better off avoiding than going through on a regular basis. But the worst effect of dieting is the long term weight gain almost always gained during the in between times.

So why do diets make you fat?

• When food is restricted over a period of time your body responds by slowing itself down, in order to conserve energy, its main concern is maintaining the function of your internal organs and brain etc which without food it can not do. The metabolic rate is the first thing to slow down, this is the rate at which calories are burned to carry out every day tasks.
• Energy levels take a nose dive, you’ll feel less inclined to be active and as result of this you’ll burn off even fewer calories.
• Your body will start to cannibalise its own muscle protein as a reserve energy store and with a reduction in muscle the metabolic rate slows down still further and will remain slow until that muscle is regained.
• The body gets starved of essential nutrients which trigger cravings and an increased appetite. Hunger craving can become so strong that you feel ravenous.
• In an attempt to store more energy there is an increase in the activity of fat storing enzymes which means you will find it much easier to store fat.

What happens when you stop the diet?

• Because of muscle wastage during the diet you will have a much slower metabolism. Muscles burn calories to simply exist whereas fat doesn’t, it just sits there. You must create a need for muscle it won’t simply grow back and this ultimately slows down the metabolic rate dramatically, leaving you storing much more fat as opposed to burning it.
• You continue to crave all the wrong sorts of foods in an attempt to get as many vitamins, minerals and nutrients back in to the body and therefore eat a much higher calorie diet which leads to storing more fat
• Because your body still thinks it is being starved initially following a diet you will store any excess calories much more readily hence the saying “ I only have to look at a cream bun to gain weight”.
• Your self respect, esteem and confidence goes when the weight creeps back on and there is a tendency in today’s society to eat to feel better and this makes matters even worse.

95% of the people who lose weight from conventional diets can’t keep it off. I am not saying that you shouldn’t try to lose weight if you need to but in order to be successful it should be gradual and controlled through making small adjustments in your overall diet over an extended period of time. To get maximum benefits a healthy diet should be combined with a regular pattern of exercise.

Instead of a quick fix diet look for a long term solution. New Image personal training in Halifax can give you that solution, click here to find out more.

Personal Trainers In Halifax

Just a quick post today, to make a comment on something that Ruth told me yesterday about a personal trainer in Halifax, or more precisely a fitness instructor in an aerobics class she went to.

Now, as a fitness professional it’s important for me to make sure that the people I work with have an understanding as to what it takes to get in shape or lose weight etc.

It really does a lot more harm than good when some instructors make comments and give out advice that simply isn’t right.

I don’t want to name names here, but lets say that it was a fitness instructor that works for one of the larger fitness centres in the area, during one of her classes.

A couple of the comments relating to the amount of weight that she wanted her class to use were: -

‘Don’t use too much weight because we don’t want to bulk up’

and

‘I don’t do this exercise myself because I tend to bulk up like Arnold Schwarzenegger’

The weights referred to regarding these comments were 2kg and 3kg hand weights as used in an aerobics class once or twice a week.

Well I have to say - ‘IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN’…ever.

This is very bad advice to women who are simply looking to get fitter and I guess probably lose a little bit of weight.

Using resistance in your workouts is ‘the fast track’ to a great looking body and a permanent reduction in body fat levels.

Fortunately there are a number of good personal trainers in Halifax who will be able to give you sound advice or you can get in touch with me or leave me your comments here.

To your health and fitness - Jago

I Bet You Don't Do this

If you’re like most people when you book a holiday you know exactly where, when and how you’re going to get there.

• Christmas is probably the same, most people plan where they’ll have their lunch and the presents they’ll buy.

• What about your job, you no doubt do what you should be doing, regularly and finished on time.

• What about family if you have any. I’m sure they are all organised clean clothes, homework done assignments finished on time etc, etc...

But what about your own health?

When was the last time you sat down and planned what activities you were going to do, or even less likely what goals you’d like to achieve to make yourself fitter, healthier, thinner or any other targets you have in mind?

When did you last sit down at the beginning of the week and plan the meals and snacks you would have that were both healthy and nutritious?

If you’re reading this now and it sounds like you, then take action and do something about it. Put your own health higher up your priority list.

It never ceases to amaze me as a personal trainer in Halifax how many successful and wealthy clients we are privileged to work with that don’t take care of their health and well being.

For them the cost of success is their health.

The good news is that it’s never too late to start. The sooner you begin, the longer you’ll live.

Leave me your comments below if you get chance.

To your health and fitness - Jago

Personal Training in Halifax, Helpfull weight Loss Tips

5 Simple Ways to Claim Back Your Body in the New Year

Round about this time of year your best laid plans about eating healthily and exercising regularly (if you made these Pledges) will be starting to fade and this is why many people turn to personal training in Halifax. But stop; hold on a moment, the reasons why you made these promises won’t have changed. Don’t give up on your new years resolutions just yet.

Instead try my 5 simple ways to get in to shape in 2009. I'll keep it brief and simple, that's what works best.

#1 Find healthy alternatives to your top 5 foods and beverages, for example if your favourite food is a meat feast pizza, then you can make a healthier choice by ordering a vegetarian or seafood pizza. Or by asking for less cheese.

If your favourite drink is tea, try drinking fruit or herbal teas instead. You get the idea.

#2 Structure extra activity in to everyday life. For example if you are able to, try parking 10 minutes further away from work every day. This should increase the calories you burn each day by quite a bit.

#3 Get a group of friends or work colleagues together and form your own exercise buddy group to provide motivation and support for each other.

#4 Design the 'IDEAL YOU'. Be realistic, if 2 years ago you weighed 2 stone lighter then this is an achievable aim. If you are quite broad framed and have never been anything below a dress size 14, then expecting to be a dress size 10 within the next 4 weeks is probably unlikely to happen.

#5 If you are looking for personal training in Halifax, then consider employing the services of a personal trainer to get you to the shape you want to be. We get superb results with the clients we work with and can help to provide support, encouragement and motivation.

BEWARE - there are a lot of unscrupulous weight loss companies out there at the moment, some doing amazing business by promising that you will lose weight by surviving
on a very low amount of calories each day. This approach will always have a long term downside...much more extra weight gain.

Don't give up on your long term health for the sake of a short term weight loss fix...it doesn't work.

To your health and fitness - Jago

Personal Training in Halifax

One of the great things I like about personal training in Halifax is the wonderful clients we get to work with. We get clients from from all walks of life but they all have one thing in common, they are a pleasure to train.

Why, because they work with us because they want to get results, which means they DO get results, see rapid changes and start to feel instantly better. Its an incredibly rewarding job for us to do.

Today's post has very little to do with our one to one training however, no this is about an internet weight loss programme I have designed for new mums. Read Emma's story to find out more: -

“After giving birth to a premature baby in June and my baby having to spend 2 months in hospital, the last thing I had been thinking about was losing my baby weight and claiming my body back.

Take aways and snacks on the go were becoming more of a routine. Once my baby was home, it was time for me to face the truth. I didn't like looking at myself, and the prospect of buying clothes for myself filled me with dread.

I knew I needed to do something but was unsure how I was going to combine healthy eating, exercise and 2 children.

After seeing the programme, I felt confident that the eating and exercise plan would help me lose weight, but also support and help my body recover from the pregnancy.

The eating plan was very easy to follow. All meals were simple and easy to prepare, which of course is essential when you are on the go with a baby. Some meals can be prepared in advance, such as the homemade soups, which have been really tasty. Non of the foods on the plan, were expensive 'diet' products. It was just simple, but tasty healthy eating.

The exercise plan was really easy. I thoroughly enjoyed going for a walk everyday with my baby. It even gave me the confidence to rejoin the gym. I also saw my fitness levels increase, which made me feel so much better about myself.

I would recommend the programme to any new mum, its realistic and more of a way of life now rather than a programme - Emma, Halifax

Emma lost 17lbs, 12cm off her waist and 11cm off her hips in just under 8 weeks.

If you would like to discuss personal training in Halifax visit my website by clicking here for more details

Weight Loss in Halifax

Weight Loss In Halifax

Just got back from ice skating today with Megan my daughter, we had a great time, but my god, do the top of my legs ache now, just shows if you don't use muscles on a regular basis how tired they can quickly get.

Anyway just wanted to post my observations today about the problems surrounding the issues of weight loss in Halifax. I came across 2 distinct types of people today. One group were the fit and healthy type, the ones that were at least fit enough to take their children ice skating.

Then in the coffee shop afterwards I saw the second type -

Overweight and inactive, in fact most people in there seemed to struggle to move around from the counter to their seats.

I had hoped to get a soup there as my snack, but this particular place doesn't sell that type of food, just cakes, pastries and buns. (by the way its a national company)

No surprise then this place was totally full of overweight and inactive people.

Generally speaking there is a desperate need for weight loss in Halifax. But we need to change our attitudes to both diet and exercise. Our diet needs to be consistently good with the odd treat and we need to exercise more regularly, doing things that we enjoy.

Oh I forgot to mention I couldn't have soup so I had to have some carrot cake instead, well it was my weekend treat and will burn it off this week!!